Iron County register., 1891-01-15
The Negro In the South.
BY ONE OF THEM,


The Pine Bluff, Ark, Street Railway Com
pany on the 9th of December filed u notice
Win the Secretary of State that they intend
ed 10 increase their capital stock from $780,
ooo to 100000. The stock holders are prin.
cipaily negroes, one Of whom, Wiley Jones,
owns controlling interest Now. il this
company was not composed of negroes and
was not doing business south Of "Mason and
DlXon's Line" the writer would have passed
IL hy unnoticed, or if the above incident was
the only one known of negroes doing pros
porous business in the South, or even if
thefe were parallel cases in the North Of
prosperous negro firms and stock companies
doing business the significance attached 10
the subject in question might not appear.
Yet, as the fact of the existence oflthe Pine
Bluff Company with its negro m magnates at its
head does not stand alone In Arkansas, but
has lts counterpart in majority of the
southern states, 1t must therefore be ac-
knowiedgedS that thousands of the ''blood
ana thunder" stories we hear about the mis-
cradle and wretched condition of the negro
In general OF the South are not true. It 10
SAID that the truth crushed to earth W iii rise
again. The truth concerning the true state
OF affairs in the South was for many years
crushed to earth and ground to powder, un-
der mercless feet of the designing politician;
but the time has now come when the good
dess of truth and justice comes forth from
fhe South, as fair as the moon and as bright
as the MONDAY sun, and points with finger
OF pride to more than score of successful
negro merchants, merchandise, tradesmen,
and, even here and there, a capitalist, who
are quietly following their respective callings
more secure from danger of loss or personal
injury than their fugitive brethren who,
years since, fled to the North for ''protec-
tion."
"If what you say be so," says one, show
do you account for those actual proscrip.
tons, murders by mob, violence and assas-
sinations which SO frequently occur In the
SOUTH"
AS there is no effect without a legitimate
cause, we find that the most of the troubles
of the South are caused by political dema-
gogues and men who have NO permanent, or
property interest in the South. Through
the unholy influence Of these III ll-desiguing
persons the ignorant negro and the ignorant
white man are pittied against each other,
and, according to the old maxim, "When
Greek meets Greek then comes the tug of
war;" Now, when these two, the African
and European Greek. meet, it is only ques-
ton of force. skill and ability, as to which
will leave the most dead on the field, and as
TO where men will be put into office; for the
legitimate question as to where man was
elected Is not always considered. "One train
ed man." said Garfield to delegation of
negroes from the South,"is equal in strength
and ability to five unframed men," He thus
explained TO those duluded, but honest
negroes, The reason why that in county
were there was majority of $4,000 negroes
they were not able to elect their candidate.
The logic at conclusion to be drawn from
this advice was the following: "Go back
home, take up the legitimate pursuits of life
and follow them until YOU, the negro, be-
come trained and better versed in the ways
of political life, and better prepared to bold
the reign- of government" This advice was
a good one and hard to follow, but fair
viii the negro, like the wise man, see the
danger afar and stop, or will be like the fool,
go On and be punished! G. A. NJ.