The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-21
Is TIE NEGRO I sNoR7
Walter B. Hill Expresses Some Views
on the Subject

Il
To the Editors of the Christfdn Union:
In a recent issue you give al account Of an
| incident related to the negro problem:
The delegates 70 the national Baptist
convention il Indianapolis are justly in
dignant ever al attack made on southern
delegates. Rev. Z. K Love. one Of the
party, says they came over the East Ten
nessee and Georgia railroad, because they
expected courteous treatment from the
agents Of the road. On other lines colored
| people are compelled 70 ride IN second-class
! cars. The party took seats in one Of the
best cars, and soon began 20 hear murmurs
from the white passengers Mr.. Love was
warned by the porter that there would
probably be trouble as passenger had sent
telegram ahead that the party was
coming"
The narrative proceeds 70 relate how at
Bailey number Of white men entered the
car, forcibly uaseatei the c0lored delegates
and beat them. / took the same train on
which Rev. Mr.. Love and his party were
travelling. at a point not far from Bailey,
and shortly after the occurrence. The con-
ductor gave me the following account,
substantially, of the affair. His statement
made at the time is worthy Of credit, as
part Of the res gestR aud because OF his
personal reliability:
when these colorei passengers took their
| seats in the car INTENDED for white passen-
gers instead Of that intended for their own
race, knew there would be trouble. have
| no authority to compel them TO enter the
proper car, and / thought if l personally
made the suggestion 70 them that they
| should leave the car occupied by the whites
! 1t would be less agreeable to them than if
the suggestion came from one of their
| own race. Hence | got the negro porter
| 70 go and talk to them. He called
their attention to the fact that the
two cars were equal in every respect
| both first-class; that the white passengers
| objected TO their occupying the car they
were in, and that trouble would inevitably
result They replied that They had first
| class tickets and intended to ride in the
| first-class COACH The same thing hap
pened as always does in such cases. A
white passenger telegraphed ahead to
Baxley, aud there the negroes were put out
with violence. 1t was amusing to see the
| porter's enjoyment of the occurrence. His
| verdict is, Served EN- right One of the
| colored brethren, while in the car, pulled off
| his shoes and elevated his stocking feet
| disgusting the whites more than ever. The
negroes were very roughly handled paid
S. out of my own pocket for medical at
| tention to two of Them
| carefully examined the two coaches, in
order TO see if the conductors statement
| as to their equality was correct. The COM
| parison showed that both were first-class
cars-equal in every appointment. An
| official of the company informed me that
| both cars cost precisely the same money.
| The principal railroad systems in Georgia
are the Central and the East Tenne see,
| Virginia and Georgia. Both observe the
rule Of providing equal and first-class but
| separate accommodations for both races.
In view of the similarity of the two
| coaches on the train, what was 1t that made
| the colored delegates say that they had
| first-class tickets and intended to ride in the
first-class carp Why did they regard the
car intended for white passengers and occu-
| pied by them as the frst-class car!
| Obviously it was because of the mere
| fact that it was the "white folksn
| car. And because of this, the negro
passengers, after full warning. deliberately
| and of choice adopted course that would
| certainly lead to trouble. They courted
martyrdom, and they got it. For the bad
morals that counsel assault and battery as
| remedies for bad manners, l have no word
| Of apology; bu. my object is to call
| attention to the negro point of view, that,
where two cars are equal in every respect,
the one designed for and occupied by the
| whites as first-class, while the other, de-
| signed for and occupied by negroes, is not.
| This is rank snobbishness. 1t is utterly in
consistent with self-respect in the negro
character In an attempt to ascertain of
the Negroes equality, it assumes the supe-
riority of the whites. 1t reminds one
of the witty French definition of
"equality-a desire TO be equal to ones
| superiors and superior to ones equals" 1t
may be long time before the negroes gen
orally can realize the degradation they put
| upon their own race when they thrust
| themselves into unwilling association with
the white race; but it is somewhat disap-
| pointing to find those possessed Of the intel
! iigence expected of delegates to a national
convention willing to invite martyrdom for
the sake of the principle that where two
| equally equipped public conveyances are
| provided. the occupancy of white people
makes one first-class and the other second
class.
A spectacle of which l was an eye wit
| ness yesterday throws a side light on the
Bailey incident. AT certain railroad
| station large crowd Of negro excursionists
had gathered, going to camp meeting"
When the train stopped the crowd soon
filled the negro coach, and fully one-third
| were still outside These at once began to
enter the white car, and filled the vacant
seats. There was no murmur, no protest,
no objection by the white passengers. Why?
| Because there was real reason for the tenn
porary infringement of the customary
arrangement for public travel The negroes
recognized the arrangement by filling their
| own car first. The white passengers recog-
nized the justification for an exception to it.
The greatness of the problem seems to
increase, and its perils to multiply" Mems
hearts are quaking with fear because of it.
The people of the South dare not speak
their convict ions on any public question
above a whisper, lest they should provoke
| differences of opinion which would imperil
their solidarity in dealing with this mighty
problem. Meanwhile, the negro snob is the
pestiferous and disturbing element in the
social phases of the question. He
ought not to be encouraged; above all he
ought not to be lionized. The negro who
debases himself and insults his race by the
conception that he rides first-class only
when he rides with white people does not de-
serve to be "clad in the plumeo-picaan
robes of American controversy" but if that
discipline should befall him, poetic justice
would require that it should be admins
tered by those of his own color. 1t must
| have been from this point of view that the
colored porter Endorsed the Baxley incident.
Macon, Ga. WALTER b. HILL.