New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-14
RACE PREJUDICE LET LOOSE
A plsGRACEFUL SCENE IN ATLANTA;
rvvo REPUBLICAN OFFICIALS, BOTH UNION
VETERANS, BURNED IN EFFIGY BECAUSE
NEGRO GOT OFFICE UNDER CIVIL
SERVICE RULES.

Atlanta Ca Aug 13 (Special).-Two oniclais vi 'io
limited states have been burned In emgy Iho "ii'oA
20 notice and his were present. al tho p"iin"e
Tho MAYOR and his substitute were both absent hon'
~ ur The Governor was appealed TO In VAIN 10
ort u Such Is the spectacle which has Deen
,yitroeeed last week in this metropolis OF uio npo
state OF the South Who were tho Vio'ini' - 4,
Iobn p Lewis postmaster Of Atlanta ana Coionci Al-
fred F. Buck clerk OF the United s'ates D,ss'e ..
what was their ofencel General Lewis h@i nafeu "
Nna' was a~'a, Goth and obey tho Civil Service law,
ao ,ha,gb Il compelled him to appoint oisch man
- Mace in tbe postoAlce just vacated oy ""''0
mon and Colonel Buck was supposed to have pooh oo"
cerned in tho transaction Liza. ,ost
General lie wis., the newly appolnteo hePu , %
master took possession Of his ofice the is "y an,
Auprst He at once found two vacancies " 10 -
ono IN the registry department and one IN tno MN
,on .,onar,,ncr, As required by law, he appheu
- ,ho ci,,u Service Board OF Examiners Tor lis. u
ouculo candidates TWO names only were luiI'''
Lin tho only two who had successfully pasSeu 'ho ~
! o,jrcd examination One Of these was "ni'' no.
| and tho other was pi" a.Io,
The Civil Service papers gave no i''oi la,
as TO the complexion Of the two men, anu ~, 49,,
Lewis was not supposed to know anything aDou' 'i"
matter. but no could not help knowing In TINS cas-"
| hccause both of the men had personally aPpheu -
| him for appolntment With this Information mus
| thrust upon him, and knowing the preIudoeS u ~l
| comn,unitv IL occurred to him that, other ulihs'
being equal, he might wisely put the whl'o ma" -
tho money order department where the poSi'on va" va,
| one that brought him into direct contact WI" W
public and the black man into the registry u9pa ,
mcnt where the position one that did hoV Dr'n>
him into contact with the public at all. IL 50 nap
pcncd that this assignment Of the two men %coiu'"
with their individual qualifications for the t"o p.
stions. Stugis, the white man. IS SAID 70 ha'o ''a'
an average Of 81 IL on his examination ana I'n5'
the black man, an avela3e of So. Penney was 'lo
/ oIdcr tho hot
department, where he to be copying CLERK
could Of course render better service TO the Govern
mcnt, while at the same time he would not Dc
brought into personal relations with the PUBIC. 30
the two men were thus assigned
But alas for General Lewis When he thought he
had most happily succeeded in securing the efficiency
Of the service without stepping the toes Of south
crn prejudice, he found that he had most uneX-
| pcctedly planted his heel squarcly upon that
prcIudice's most tender corn For it 50
happened that in that registry depart
ment was a young white lady, with whom,
as The Atlanta Constitution puts it, the apponteo
was brough: into direct and intimate association
By this appointment The Constitution continues,
the lady who held the registry desk would have
been forced TO a constant exchange of papers with
| a negro appointce-to sit facing him at desk for
most Of the day-and to have been IN constant asso
citation with him" This IS, indeed, horrible to con-
tcmpate-for people who cannot rise above the vul-
/
Of private life into the associations Of public
service. No wonder that the young white lady" re-
signed, and her father also who employed in the
same department of the postoilce, where, 1T would
seem, he could easily have kept his weather eye the
| relations Of his daughter and the negro.
But, as "a matter Of fact the above statement Of
the case taken from tho editorial comments Of The
Constitution" is fatty contradlctcd in the news col
umns of the same issue Of the paper, where the
Of tho
made TO him by Postmaster Lewis himself: d" Another
point IS this: The desk which Penny occupies is
IN the same room with that which Miss Lyons used.
| Pcnney's desk IS outside, brick wall being between
! the two rooms. There could be necessity for
Penney being in that room, except, possibly,
when the lady clerk, whoever she might be, was out
! of the Office
Such are the facts over which the white population
of this great city have gone into spasm of offended
| dignity. But the impe:u0us and unreasoning ma
! lightly with which they have jumped upon' tho
| new postmaster Is almost beyond belief. General
Lewis Is retired officer Of the regular army, and his
empty lcft sleeve his valOr I'm his country's
| service. At the close of the he stationed
here as an officer of the Freedman's Bureau, and
conspicuous for the aid he gave TO the early educa
tional movements in the State Afcr absence Of a
few years, having been placed the retired list Of
the Army, he returned to make Atlanta his home. For
he has been president Of the Atlanta Rubber
| Company conducting the only exclusive rubber store
! in tine South and as business man he has in many
| ways heartily identified himself with the business
Interests OF the South. But tine most striking fact I'm
connection with tho present episode is that General
| Lewis. though a Republican, has never been an active
politician and that he and his estimable wife have
long been conspicuous favOrtes in the most prominent
social circles in Atlanta Many have been the dinners
ard lunches at which Mrs. Lewis has most gracefully
entertained members of Atlanta's " -Four Hundred"
Loo gff1 ..
Capitol City Club the choicest Of the town.
But Of what account are business standing and
| social position, achieved by NOrthcncr who has
made the South his home, If he even seems TO rocog
nze the ex-saye "a free man TO be dealt with as
an American citizen, and not free negro, TO be
showed hlther and yon to suit the most whimsical
notions OF the southern white people? Read the two
daily papers of Atlanta for the past week. The
reporters and editors vie with another in infam
ing public sentiment against their felow-citizen, who
has simply done his official duty in the way he
| thought least nkey'o offend them The same papers
print abusive letters against him, one OF them 100
vile find admission 10 any respectable journal In the
| North. One writer calls upon tho public 10 boycott
| his rubber store, another to ostaclze
his family another urges his expulsion from
the CAPITOL CITY Club while two Of his bondsmen tell
the reporters OF their intention withdraw from the
bond. Meantime, abusive letters flow In through the
mall one Of them threatening 70 kill him. ANA nnaly
comes the eigy business, publicly announcer before
hand BIS The Atlanta Journal as in charge OF " re-
sponsble and prominent citizens, including merchants
and pro,cs. men" and afterward as having been
! witnessed by sprnkling OF Georgia LEGISLATOR ,
| Governor Gordon. who even by his unofficial word
emnaticay spoken could doubtless have averied the
insult 10 the postmaster and the disgrace 10 the City
and state is appealed to in vain. Up 20 the two straw
Gsure, saturated with kerosene In front OF the United
| states Government building General Lewiss ELI gy
h. recognized by the absence Of the left arm, lost in
the bal Ties OF the Wilderness The torch Is applied,
the ronslbe and prominent citizens set up yell
M delight and the brass band plays Dixie and the
" Roeles March, and the dignity of the AngOsSaXOn
| race S vindcaed
! Colonel Buck the other victim of IN, cllgy bust
nos, fought through the ent re in the Union army
and has made the south his homo over since the war.
IiLo General Lewis hc has. I'm a markell degree. won
| tho esteem of the white people of Atlanta and with
tIern bp and his esteemed wife have exchanged many
social courfeses. Last winter. entirely without his
| knowlcdge a petition was sent to President elect
t1.r,,,, stoned hv every monument DemOc