The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1890-03-20
THE Two RACES.
DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE SUB
JECT.
Prejudice Against the Negro is not
Greater iii the South than it is in the
North and West.
[Richmond Dispatch. ]

[Richmcnd Dispatch.J
1t is trlte saying that the people
of the North have the same race pre-.
judcices which characterize the people
of the South Of course, then, the
white Republicans of the South have
| the same race prejudces which charac-
terize the Democrats of the South
| 1t is not in Caucasian human nature to
acknowledge or to believe for one
moment that ga negro is as good as d
| white man. So we are not surprised
to learn, as we do from a paragraph in
the last Danvllle Times, that when Dr.
Moss, the newly appointed postmaster
at Henderson, n. c., went in to take
charge of the Office, taking a negro as
sistant with him, all the rest of the
men left.
The Northern Republican papers are
going to say that the prejudice of the
Southern whites against the negroes is
what caused the stampede from the
Henderson post-ofice. But they will
not tell the whole story when they tell
that much of it. There is not a town
of the same size in Ohio, Indiana, or
Pennsylvania where the whites would
willingly have negro assistants placed
in their post-office. Look how the
people of several towns in Ohio pro
tested not long ago against allowing
negro children to attend school with
| white children Whether in towns, or
cities, or rural districts, the Caucasian
will always protest against mixed
schools if a large proportion of the
pupils are negroes. One negro pupil, ,or
two, or three, may attend school with
white children without evoking any
outburst of indignation. The sense of
fairness in the whites sometimes seals
their lips, though they ought to pro-
sest against any and everything that
looks like recognition of social equality
between Caucasians and negroes. The
few negro children, though ostracized
by the white children, are allowed to
attend school with them. But let
negroes propose 10 attend white schools
in any locality North or South where
one fourth or one fifth of the popula-
lation are negroes, and result en-
tirely different from the one We have
just mentioned will soon he Witnessed
There is good reason at the bot
tom of the race prejudice which in
duced the whites employed in the
Henderson post-office to surrender
their situations rather than place them
selves upon the same social plane with
the negroes. There may be some
public offices which negroes might be
allowed to fill; but they should never
be appointed to any office in perform
ing whose duties they would have to
be recognized by white persons as
official superiors. Governor Cameron
committed an unspeakable outrage
upon the people of Virginia when':she
appointed two negroes trustees of the
public schools Of this city. We can
not imagine how such a man could
have been guilty of such:4an offence
against his own race. These negro
trustees had the right officially to visit
the white schools, talk with the white
pupils, male and female ,rattend at the
theatre or elsewhere the closing ex-
ercises of the schools,-in a word, had
the right to offend the SEN
of the white people. No
wonder Governor Cameron's party
met with disastrous deafeat. The day
will never come when the white1Fpeo-
pie of Richmond will be more tolerant
Of such an act as Governor Cameron's
than they were in 1883.
Shall we be told that there are some
negroes who are in a certain sense
more worthy Of respect than some
white people ? What of it? The
children of the most respectable nego
will be nothing but negroes whereas
he children of the lowest white man
nay become the associate of the best
IF people in the next generation, or as
Oliver Wendell Homes might say, /
lfter they have had portraits of their
ancestors hanging in their houses
or several generations. A thousands
'ears of probation would leave negro
negro.
We conclude that whatever places it
nay be allowable to give to the negro,
10 office ought to be open to him
which will make him the official su-
"a rior Of q cipu1a ,uhite ,,arcon