Huntsville gazette., 1885-05-09
The COl0red Man ana Railroad
Travel.

Editor MISUNDERSTANDING from some
of your past utterancts that you are in IA
vor of Justice being shown the colored man
on railroads. I am encouraged to write the
following for inseit ton in your paper.
I wish to say few words from a pnreiy
business standpoint It is not sutj.ct
with which to mix social equality or any.
thing bordering it. Tot Degroit is mat
ter of dollars and cents. claim tina. the
railroads in Alabama do not provide as
good accommodations for the colorei pas
sengers as those furnished white passen-
gers for the same money and that the fare
is not first class as claimed on the face Ct
the ticket.
My reasons for the above assertions are
(a) that in aost cases the smoking car aud
that in which colcred people are put are
the sane, (b) when not put Directly into
the smoking car they are crammed into
| ono end of q smoking Car with door be-
tween that is rs much open as closed, max
ing little difference between this and the
| smoking car; (c) on some of the roads the
colored passengers are carried in one end
of the baggage car, there being partition
between them and the baggage or express:
| (d) only halt coach is given to the color
ed people add this one is almost invoii ably
an old one with low ceiling and it soon be
comes crowded almost to snff cation an I i,
misery to one knowing the f.cts of impure
air. The seats IN the coach given TO col
ored people are always greatly inferior td
those given the whites. The car is usual
| ~ very filthy. There is 10 carpe. as in The
first class coach White men are permitted
in the car for colofed people. Wbene Yer II
poorly dressed slovenly white man boar,is
the train he is shown iuto the colored halt
coach. Wien white man gets drunk or
wants to lounge arouud in an indecent
position lie fiods his way into the cclored
department..
Plainly this treatment is not Al eq1ivAl-
ent for value received. Way sboul the
railroads be allowed to make ,;iscrimina-
ton that 70 other business corpora,i n
makes? l enter a d,y goods store ID TGs-
kegee, buy yard of calico. am shown to
|just as good courter, am treuted ja,t rs
politely by the clerks and for the same
money receive list as good (though a sep
erste) piece OF calico as the white man. !
subscribe for the Alcer.;ser. For the saiue
money you send ne paper printed j i,t
as nicely, done up as we'll ard that costs
you jnst as much il every way as the onl
send white subscriber. a lawyer is en-
gagged to take case for me. For the sane
money lie seats NE in lis ofIiee talks to me
ljust as pleasantly and works for me Isl rs
bard before tbs sourts as for white ciieut.
Why should the railroads be an exception
to these rules.
This unjust practice toward negro cuts
OF thousands of dollars worth Of negro
travel every year, while jnst treatment ot
the pegro would stop 10 white travel There
are ten time when Iwopld take my wife Oh
a lady friend Oh the railroad that only 10
80 ones, and then am conlpellet; to. because
shudder at the mere tLou2ht of the ac.
commodatiors. Numbers OF other colorsd
men have expressed the SINE feeling. Tie
mere thought of a t,ip on Il raiiro ID brings
to me feeling Of intense dread and l neY
er enter q railroad coach unless compelled
TO do SO. On account OF these djscrimna-
tions the New Orleans Exposition has lost
nany dollars. Since the Exposition open
l have asked many colored people in Nor
thern States if they We're going to attend,
: bat IN almost every case the answer came
that they would like to do SO, but feared
tho railroads.
If the railroad officials do not want to lei
US enter the first class car occupied By
; white passengers, let them give us sep,
arate one just as good in every particular
and just as exclusive, and there will be 10
complaint. We have no desire to mix.
Even in Philadelphia and other Northern
cities where there are no social balries; the
!, colored people have their own churches.
schools, hotels. &C., showing that there Is
no disposition on the part Of the colored 70
obtrude themselves on the whites when
they can receive equal, separate accommo-
dations. / have in mind the railroad run
ming between Selma & Marion. which turn.
ishes coach Of the same length and ht gLt
and just S good in every detail as that iur.
nished the whites. Runuing in one direc-
tion the whites use one of the coaches aud
running in the oppos to direction ths col
ored passengers uss the one previously
used by the whites. There Is never any
discrimination on this road. A party of
colored people recently travelling over il
were so we'll pleased with this feature, and
the gentle maply bearing Of tie conductor
that they pass d a resolution Of thinks to
| be sent to tie controller OF tie road Tuete
are few o.her roads ia the Soath whose
treatment of colored passengers can be re-
commended.
| If the rail, Dads wi not give Us first clees
oeco,om additions let them st! US tick at