The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-12
AN oPEN LETTER.

To the President and Board Of Direo-
tors of The City and Suburban Rail-
way;
gentlemen. On Saturday the 9th
inst the passengers on the Montgomery
branch of your railroad made Tho trip
fam sand Fiy out under the following
circumstances: There were about ten
white passengers Including two young
l.dies), and some twelve 10 fifteen ne
Vroes. most of whom were fishermen and
h.n-women returning from the market
with their baskets All were crowded
together indiscriminately in the filthy
little mule car that your honorable body
deems good enough for the inhabitants Of
section that has dared in the past to
oppose certain views of your president,
and the mingled odOrs of fish and "bou-
0uet3 Antique may better be mag
med than described.
Most of the negro men were grouped on
the rear platform of the car, and as soon
as we started it was apparent that sever
81 of them had been drinking heavily.
There was, from the beginning, roar,
1.-THE word is used adviSedly) of boisterous
laughter, of rude language and drunken
tests that made it uncomfortable to the
last degree to the gentlemen in the car,
while TO the ladies it was as insulting as
a blow in the face
The conductor endeavored to quell the
disorder, and threatened to put the ring
leader off the car; but he was openly de-
fed with the loud mouthings peculiar to
the race, and with such expressions as
these: "I'd like to see any white man
put me off''-"Let EN- try it, we all kin
die together" etc, etc. And so matters
kept up until the end of the journey was
reached. For the white passengers, there
was but one alternative, either to bear it
with what equinimity they could, or to
become involved in personal fight with
the men who were making the disturb
snce.
And now, gentlemen, some of you have
daughters of your own, and we desire to
ask how YOU would like to have them sub
iected to such an ordeal as we have de
scribed above, and for which every one of
you are responsible, either by your action
or by your nOn-action and tacit compli-
ance. If you would not like the lady
members of your families to take trip
of five miles through the woods under
similar conditions, you have no right to
force Others to endure such humiliation.
The state, in granting franchise to your
railroad, has made you the guard
ians of the safety and comfort of
your passengers, and the Montgomery
branch is now run in open disregard of
both, so fagrantly, that every pass enger
upon OJnef pdfGS OIL bne FOdu speaks OF IL
as outrageous.
Indeed, your own vice president, while
conversing with the writer of this letter
last spring, in the presence of Mr.. L. 7.
Turner, characterized the service as
"damnable" If you think our language
stronger than the facts deserve, let us
invite the railroad commission to look into
them and decide between US.
The crowding of whites and blacks to-
gether in railroad cars is in direct oppo-
sition to all southern sentiment, and
those OF you who are southern men should
be ashamed of forcing it upon your fellow
citizens.
Every native of your own community
condemns you for 1.-THE blacks them
selves prefer to be separate-and more
over, you violate the laws OF the state and
are guilty of a misdemeanor each time
the thing is done
If there is any remedy for the wrong in
tiicted, we propose to seek it wherever it
may be found. Yours truly,
CHAs. H. OLMsTEAD,
WALTER Q. HARTRIDGE,
LOUIS a. FALIGANT,
JAMES B. WEST.