The Chickasaw messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1880-1900, 1888-03-08
TIE south American Emigration
scheme.


paper has long since been placed
At the head OF the list Of those
whe deal fairly with ell sub
jects, regardless Of race or condi-
ton, beg space in your valuable
columns TO express a few Of my
sentiments in regard TO, and give
some reasons why the South Amer
lean Emigration scheme should be
abandoned.
We have been in America about
26s years, and have passed through
an ordeal of slavery unparalleled
in the civilized world. Those
chains have been broken. and we
stand forth as freemen, clothed
with every vestige Of citizenship
in the greatest government on
earth, and are numbered with the
most powerful people; born and
reared in the Sunny South, where
the Southern sunny breezes play
their flute like notes on the waving
boughs, clothed with a verdure of
the brightest colOrs, perfumed by
nature with the most pleasant
scents on the earth, where the
merry songs Of the oontented, hap
Ply and free ring all the happy day,
and sweetest sounds from the sol
emn praises Of our God, to the rich
est plantation melody is heard,
cruel the hand that would disturb
so happy a people, and beastly the
man who would dare break up
happy homes to fill his Golfers with
sordid gold. Could any other
motive induce the would be phi
lanthropists to project a colonial
ton scheme than the love of gold i!
None. Then l ask "to what pur-
pose is this great waste ?" and to
whose benefit will it reeur, to the
negroes? Certainly not.
If the getters of this grand
so-called philanthropic scheme will
come South, get off the trains and
see for themselves, and disbelieve
the band Of loafers who usually
meet them there and talk Of hard
times, then they find neat and un-
pretentious homes, we'll supplied
and filed with happy families,
owned by oolored men who owe
nothing, and you will see others
striving to buy homes and many
succeed, in fact, majority succeed.
Go through the various towns and
cities and you find cOlored people
living in and owning neat and re-
spectacle houses, owning business
houses and engaged in every avo-
cation the white brother is, and
attaining about as much success.
The negroin North America is en-
gagged in every avocation the white
man pursues with less advantages
but equal success. / do not pre-
tend to say that the negro is justly
treated in every respect for he is
not, for that is a distinction the
poorer class of white people do not
enjoy. To attest this assertion !
call the attention of the reader to
the many organizations for the
advantages of the laborihg class.
But shall we after the great lion
Of slavery has been killed fee
from his whelpsY Does such
course show brave and ehivalrous
people as the negro has proven to
bel What is to be gained by going
to South America Shall we gain
greater prosperity, if so, howi
Suppose we 60, how and what dis
position is 10 be made of the mil
lions of dollars in property owned
by the negro9 What will become
Of his churches that are both cost
" and magnificent as the Metropol-
itan church at Washington or the
schools where the negro youths are
sdueatedl What will become of
Wnberforce, Atlanta Universities,
Fisk and Rust Universities, Of the
Alcorn, A. &M. College of Missis-
sippi, where the negro is taught
soientifcal farming, and other
schools too numerous to mention ?
Can South America offcr better in
ducements to the negro than l
hova named If not WHY should we