Democratic messenger., 1892-04-23
The NEGRO IN THE SOUTH.
How the Darky Provides for the Sic
and Isurics the Dead.

and iiurics the Dead.
The recent stranding in New York of
colony Of negroes. who had been dupcd
into leaving their homes in the south. is
a lamentablc lesson To their brethren.
And it is to I've deplored that their igno-
rance of such events prevents it from
being beneficial to the race.
But the individual horizon Of the col
ored people is So contracted that the
whirl of the outside world rarely reaches
their ears. And their narrow mental
vision catches only II glimpse of happen
ings outside of their immediate neigh
borhood
Like the peaSantry Of all countries.
the negroes are ignorant. Yet. as rule,
this ignorance is joined to childish
simplicity. Il native good humor and
generous open heartedncss essentially
different from the vicious scrfs of Rus
sia or the brutal vindictiveness of the
lower Italian classes.
In Europe the serving class presents Il
cheap and willy copy Of the sins of its
master. But the negro is generally like
an overgrown child-lazy AMI roguish,
rs generous i'll giving as he is quick in
stealing, improvidcnt of the future and
perfectly content with present satisfac
tion.
Living from hand 10 mouth. and pos
sessing but few of this worlds goods. it
is no wonder existence TO them has be-
come u happy go-lucky affair. i'll which
the man takes care of the present and
al. l.
some few seem 10 realize that bit must
be laid aside for rainy day, and these
band together into societies. The socic-
ties are all Of semireligious character
Some of the names under which these
societies are chartered are exceedingly
amusing. Daughters of the Household
of Ruth. Sons and Daughters of
Moses" .Cialilee Fishermen" sons and
Daughters Of the Morning Star, are a
few of the titles hy which they are chris
tened
These societies have as their object
the care of the sick and the decent burial
Of the dcad-an exceeding worthy pur-
pose when We remember the poverty and
general improvidencc of the race. \
member is allowed few dollors month
during sickness to meet the medicine and
doctors bills, and at death "a coffin and
church burial. with several carriages,
are provided.
Now. if there Is one thing ON earth
that Il negro loves more than circus il
is Il funeral. And the more hcartrcnd-
ing the display Of grief and heavier the
trappings of woe the greater Is the
pleasure. To have big funeral Is a
matter of such pride with some families
that whena member dies money is spen;
ex'ravagantly in providing an impos-
ing funeral cortcge, while the poor IN
valid may have suffered for the ncces-
stiles of life.
For the young generation the free
schools provide Il means which will at
least teach them the three RS i'll limit
ed degree. Yet there is no field where
the seeds of training and morality need
more TO be sown than among the negroes
of the south, and the money sent 10 the
missionary i'll Africa could he well ex-
pended in clothing and teaching those
of that land who are in our own country
and sadly need enlightenment and help
Throughout the whole of Dixie the
colored race acts rs the servant of the
| white. and as there must be servants in
the world. the negro. being the poorer
and more ignorant, fills the same place
that is occupied in the north by white
labor. 1t is certainly no more fair to
complain of the negro being the uni
versal servant in the south than il would
be 10 murmur that white labor is EN-
ployed universally III the north. But the
housekeeper in Maine or Vermont with
one white hired help" is far better of
than the woman in Dixie with three OF
four colorcd ones at her service. For the
negro is slow, careless and neglects his
work unless constantly watched.
Wages are greatly different. too. in
the sections on either side of Mason and
Dixon's line. On country farm negro
cook will have the use of cabin and
/ her firewood free. receiving III cash
wages about three dollars month In
the towns her wages are advanced to
five or six dollars. while in the cities she
receives Il few dollars more per month.
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