The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-01-19
1T IS NOT 4 SUCCESS.
The Marriage of Whites and
Blacks q Failure.
lovE mIl co wAERg rs sgNT
Bns II ithss Case Love Makes very ssrs-
Gus Aistakes-ssatIsties in
Boskaa.


Ing. hsaTt-bgeaking and ssnsalness that
have occurred from the time OF the
remarce Of the Garden Of Eden ssown Ia
the present era But ..the old, old STORY
Is presented in so many varied fashions
and served in so many varied styles that il
i often mistaken for an entirely TEX crea-
tor. Love is blind. and commits many
serious biunders. To excuse these It's
yosaries always advance the argument that
love will 80 where il Is sent" Aue 10
what funny extremes il Is sometimes sent.
and what inc0ngrnous unions are 50 often
the RESULT The ineongruity stands ont in
divers shapes and tornss. One form which
+ ever conspicuous looms up at al times,
Ike ar omInous black shadow which Is
never 10 BE got rid Of, and that Is
the very prevalent, but increasing. prAesire
81 insermarriage between colored ana
white people OF this country. la the
Southern states there may he an excuse Tor
the practice. considering the relationship
which existed betweea the men and
women OF both races during and just after
the war. IL is an imported custom ia the
North. where these unions are t0seTassti
although strongly disappToyed OF By both
white aud coiored people. The cases IN
northern cities arecomparasiyely few vixen
one considers the enormous number al
marriages contracted Ia s year. which
mount as high as COO and 500 and more
Ia Boston.
But Boston culture never allows her 10
oyersfo thing, says the Hefah Of that
town. and 50 her modest limit In the num-
Der OF these mixed marriages seldom or
never reaches even half a hundred 3 year.
In lssS twenty-seyen cases of marriage be-
tween White and coiored people were
recorded osis of t,T01. and in the following
year there were tell less. only seventeen ont
Of 1924. That wRS Ave years ago. Instead
Of a general decrease during the succeeding
years. il is found that in fSS7 twenty-niae
were recorded, and last year there was no
iuctuation IN the rats. twents-nine still
being the number Since the beginning OF
the present year there have already been
ten mixed marriages. and during the
past SIX weeks i've intentions Of this kind
have been registered. These i1-adyised
and Hi-deyised marriages are certainly
not on the wane. even ii they do not in-
crease rapidly. The sfrangest thing ab0at
this kind OF matrilnony Is that in nearly
every case the grooms are black and the
dozen cases during year that the grooms
are even meiaItoes. The white women
who take these men for their husbands are.
IN the majority OF cases, sithec hard-woEk-
ing women who marry for the sake OF a
hoIne. or women who have dragged out q
pitlabie existence, and have fallen from
the respect and even the protection OF
parents ami friends. who accept as a last
refEge the devotion of the black men who
make them their wives. They hope TO put
an end TO their miserable existence. but
this is only the beginning of new chapter
IN their unhappy lives. Even more niSer-
able than the former days do the sueceed-
ing ones become.
Hack men adore their white wives. and
are slaves 10 their eapriees, and lavish upon
them ali the attentions and luxnries the
scantiness of their purses will allow. But
their jealousy is unbeatable. especially %
women who. like their wives, have followed
their own inclinauons for a number Of
years, and then quarreis become inevitable:
blows follow, and soon after comes a sQpa-
ration This is nearly always the result
after two or three years of such married
life. and sometimes after only few
months. And the result is only natural
In every way these people are unsuited for
each other. Totally unlike IN every re-
spect. without mutual sympathies or tastes.
the woman VERY soon curses the day she
t0ok tie fatal step, and the man loses eli
respect Tor her.
While black men of the city viii irvari-
ably wed white women and boast OF il, it
has been cited as 4 somewhat remarkable
fact that white MEN viii nos make coioFea
women their wives. Instances 81 white
men marrying eolored women are very
rare in this city. SO rare that IN the year
1857 not q single one Is recorded, and dur
ing the last year flssSl. only two sueh mar
riaees were performed. As q rule the
white men sho DO marry them are Of
foreign extraction. and when they are not
their object il almost Always a mercenary
one. IL recent case the man vas q
farmer and wanted a strong and healthy
woman for second wile, enc that could
work. he said, and help about the farm,
He had chosen 3 bsxom mulat-
to girl Of nineteen years, and
scented perfectly well satisfied with her
lie came from 'cowa East and was mar
rsea in Boston ard took his wife back wiih
him 80 do The farming. In another case
the nan was porter. aud the woman be
married was 81 ordinary domestic servant
So faf this year there has only been one
instance where's white man snd coiored
woman married. The man was a railroad
conductor ot sixty years and the woman Is
4 servant. and has also attained The aRe
Il sixty.
II the ealoresi asea would fellow the ex-
aulp.e & tie while men there would, no
aaaDt be q genuine satisfaction between
both races. The eastom Is ~ dissasaefas 80
the 2hsse people generally. and the coiofed
Is we'll. fhat the sahiect e introducing q
bill into the legislature Eorhidding EaargsAge
hesween whites and blacks Vas ~ gae
tnse = matter Of discussion bus TIE la-
p~AcfsrahStitS cf the step was ~ oaee 20 ey-
saeas thas she idea Was abandoned. A.
though il Is strongly desired b large
nlnshsg % whites aud rososea peopse IN
the civ. The eAnses OF tfese sfsEermarsaTes
are ua1nsroas. II they Ernw out of
love affairs aiene. perhaps, no one
wo0ia have cause - esasaFe sstase
rarsx, tat because the halz q
fhen ara marriages os convenience oae
a7ses aaes eause Ii = ssSa faas certain
asses * .aaaAato women residing II tbs
city Nia tot encaaTSge the Rssen-
siaas "a s&ack msa hecsiIs> t1eg do
not mssh - wesl oshey thAn aaaa %
tAess eNn e0sae4exton. On the otaer hAna.
fAr4e 4se aaaek men ii E5essesa wlso sbow
repentance for waraeE u ahesF awn bae-
Thss l.ne q sleasarkats tiEAsa So shasfay
&mosg ssse eotoress psaEae tAenssssss i.ss
b seA 70 - wisa tase eszs 40 FEey@ssnf
sna - shAarrs8. A ealases EAa. u eea-