Telegram-herald., 1890-01-12
A RACE WRANCLE.
Tns ColoF Line Comes % the Frori
st Upper Alton IL
4 HlCELI EIuIED OOEsTsln
TIE FreSels ARISES Over hs1s~as -
hssrsss ioF ths Aa2issia ias ~ ahsa
ozsprtas ts ghs ntxe soh~sA~
oFBssitisn - EhS ~ esfes-

tween thS kiEcks ana whites "a tie
schoel question has broken sug &frssh
a. CppeT AltoH. Aaa u lrsdGy and Pr
cay attempts ~ers made - the aegroes
= force their chilarsn irtc tie
high school which hSs berstcfore
been attended - TIE children e.
the Whites alone The blaoks and
- hitss were both armed fridGy and
there might have been blooashet u the
blacks bsa Rot withdraw Tie white
people srv fully detsrmines thAt black
children shall not attend the white
schools TAs blacks are eeually de
terminsd thar they shall
kight or tsu osloree children. &C
con panied by their psrentA, applies fer
admission Thursday Admissien ~as 81
hrst refused, e4t the demand beiEs PEI
sisted IN the supsrin tehdeBt assigned
/ fsw 81 them b. rooms n the lover gtsdes
They were net, ho~ever. assigned
/ classes by the teachers o. the grades
where tksy were placed At the fore
noon recess the oolored children we're
attacked BY the whites snd driven OF
I the grounds They oid not return dur
I ing the day
A. the hour Of opening school Friday
/ all the colored children, accom- panied by
l their parents, marched 10 the high school
| building and demanded adHlittanos A
/ body Of white citizens, who bad as
I the demand The city marshal Who
searched several % the negroes. found
I revolysrs and other weapons ~ their
poss sssion Many Of the whites were
also armed 90 resist any effort 70 force
an entrance on the part O. the blacks
The blacks finally withdrew.
At meeting Friday AFTERNOON the
school board Of Upper Alton resolved 70
dismiss the eolered people IN sslus se-
dition and substitute mixed school a
It's place. Action WAS also taken on the
establishment OF the boundary lines,
which will admit come of
the blacks 10 the high-school
building This Is complete
victory for the blacks and excites q great
deal OF bitterness and Indignation. bat
the board. having taken legal advice,
justifes itself on the plea q necessity.
The whites threaten 70 desert the
schools and 20 default ia their school
taxes
The story OF the struggle in and out
Of the courts which led Up 20 The dis
turbances is as follows. Soon after the
Adoption OF the constitution OF 1879 the
Illinois Supreme Court decided ir
number OF cases coming before
IL that colored children were en-
titled, under the organic law, 90 attend
the same schools a. whites and could not
be excluded therefrom on account %
color. This was merely the snuncia-
tion OF genera principle OF law. but it
was taken BY the negroes as giving them
the freedom of ali school houses, and
then began a struggle IN every oommu-
nifty with sny considerable negro popu-
lstion TO draw color line in the schools
II was everywhere sought 10 AFFORD
colored children the Same facilities
OF acquiring an education 90
were afforded the whites. and the
whites willingly taxed tbsmSslve.
whenever aud wherever necessary
to erect additional buildings and
employ additional teachers. The col
ored people. however, were not. except
in rare instances saissfed with this.
They were continually asserting their
rights, and. regardless Of all other
+ considerations, sought admission to The
schools attended by the white children.
School boards, driven 70 hnd means Of
keeping them out without violation Of
Law. established grades and created
districts and won't before the Su-
prems Court on the record For .
nun Der Of years the court 10 It's de-
/ oision. gave very wide latitude and
large discretionary powers - local
school boards, bat as The negro populs-
ton increased in all the towns
and cities apd the pressurs for
admission 20 the white schools
began 20 crowd the courts docket the
+ judges went back 70 srst principles
IS defined in The constitution Of 1879
( This was done in me Upper Alton case
which was decided last sumner IN favor
/ OF the negroes.
Under that decision the Upper Alton
school board was 80 dilemma had
resorted 10 grades snd found Itself Dc
/ fested The board never entertained the
/ idea OF sdu lifting the blacks They real.
ized that such = course voule sitheT -
sult ia violence OF az abandon nment
/ 90 the schools by the whites F0rtn-
I nsteiv FOR them. the great MSS - To-
T oolored people in Upper Alton i've In
or. part 81 ths town. know, az "Sslus
addition The building ssf apart for
F the use % ~. ooiereS pupils stands
in that eusrter % The plnos u 10
larT. ard oomfortsts building
muck superior 90 that occupied ~
the whites before TIE new building
which is nov shs white cits5.l -ss
erected TIE boars I'D istrictsd TIE tovrn.
+ n vas easy. vithcvt doing violsnos -
geometry. - cre,t. a hlsct distri~f.
AMI this vac done Apparently
The problem vas selvsd. frt not
long sso re negroes began 70 threaten
that thsr -suls for. their .sy into ne
I hisb-schooi building sna. vith thst snd
il, view instituted nsuosn -
proceedings - ooupsl tee sosra
e rs6 district ne tovb on vhst
wss termed mere "souftshis' bssis
Pending tbs serisior - this osss
fsw n.Fro fauili.s csr. iuto 80 hirh
schooi dfstrict wifh tbs svowsS objs~f
- sending tbsir children to TIE hiFt
school buiisinF r .ss ne sfoft e
cs-rr CIT - 3sss~nu iustist vfief rrs
eipffsts6 sisturbsne@s
James Frsuus vtotn - siFsrsts3
srokanr frou NsvRYk. = - = nov
~~rs-eS - tks lnsars zf-iuu - rsv