The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-05-30
CURSlNG THE RED CROSS.
AVERY BITTER FEELING AGAINST IT
IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.

sc-csu,S Phtlsuthropics Il and Christian
Citizen who spes ks of Poor White Farm
srs ss ON Craekerh"-Does Miss Sar-
Ton Know of thess Things?
BLUFFToN, S. C. May 24.-"The Red
Cross Society is the greatest curse
which could have been inflicted on THIS
conntyn are the words which pro MI
nent white man uttered to me Wnen L
first GOT toto Beaufort County came
here to investigate the condlilon or the
Button cyclone sufferers, out the hSo
Cross and its work have 0een OrougnS
up in every conversation nave hao.
have heard and learned mucn ABOUT
the order which will surprise the gen
eral public. have also heard mucn
which it is hard to believe. Will say,
however, that there are DOT oozen
white men in Beaufort county, unless
If he in the towns of Beaufort apd Fort
Royap who have a good word for the
society, 1t is rouGdly cursed ana
abused and the charge is openly MADE
here that the suffering and destltuelon
of the white people in this township
are due TO the discrimination OF the Rea
Cross Society or some Of lts managers
The negro has been the pet OF the So
ciety since it took charge OF the dis'rl-
button Of charity after the fearful storm
He has been hugged closely and adec-
tionately and the white men, women
and children have had to beg to get any
thing.
Will not say that Miss Clara Barton
is responsible for all that is charged to
the society. She may be ignorant OF
some of it, but she is to blame tor ap-
pointing managers Of the society. Inc
same man whose opening remarks L
quote finished his statement by saying:
s5The society has impaired and de-
stroyed the usefulness or the negro IN
this county and has been USED or al
lowed itself to be used for polltlcai
purposeS." cannot speak Of what has
been done by the Red Cross IN Beau
fort and on theislands around there. L
can only give what has been told me
and what I know to have taken place
in this section, where nearly al the
white people of the county live.
It is understood that Miss Barton and
the Red Cross will depart from Beau
fort the first of June. l do not know
this to be fact, but I predict that the
society will leave many OF the negroes
Of the county in worse fix than Wnen
it found them.
When the steamship "City of SaVan-
nah" was wrecked off the coast OF thls
State just after the August storm one
of the passengers who was saved ana
who made his way to Beaufort was
John Mcdonald, who cane from some
where in the North. It is said that he
was on his way to Brunswick to nurse
yellow fever patients there. He re-
mained around Beaufort until Miss
Barton took charge as the head OF the
Red Cross Society. Mcdonald soon
cams to be known as "Dr" Mcdonald.
He became acquainted with Miss Bar
ton in some manner and got into her
good graces. She appointed him as the
Red Cross agent of all the territory
South of the Broad River. This terri
tory includes Bluffton Township and
Hilton Head Island. Mcdonald as
sumed charge with great deal OF dis
play. Shortly after he got to Beaufort
he was married and his wife joined
him in his lsbors. Mcdonald personal
IL took charge of the Red Cross COM
missary on Hilton Head Island, which
does not have as many people on it as
the Bluffton peninsula How much
stuff he has gotten from the Red Cross
I 10 not know, but even the honorable
Pompey Riley. colored master Of cere-
monies of the Button coDmissary and
the bosom friend Of Mcdonald, thinks
that Mcdonald has had much more
than his portion Of goods for Hilton
Head.
McDoDaId is the esteemed citizen
who speaks Of the while farmers ID
Button Township as "d-n crackers" J"
He has taken care not to Say this to
ally Of the white people here. The
aforesaid Med nald occasionally visits
Bluff on accompanied by his 0ife.
They wear big red crosses Oh their
sleeves and pass through the town.
without speaking to white person.
They have spent nights here but no
white person. knows anything OF their
sleeping With whlte people. This Is the
man who appointed a committee OF
negroes TO lis en to the sOrFo@lDg sto
ries of white people here and 70 dish out
to hem R. d Cross charity. Early after
he began his work Mcdonald became
obnoxious to the white people. His
appointment of q commi tee OF colored
polificiaps witho out previous knowledge
of who they were excited suspicion ard
it was operly charged that BOB Smsils
and McDOoald had an uDdeTs' andiog.
Boz Smalls was sharp enough TO selZ-
the opportunity presented of making
political capital out Of suffering pee
pIe. The committee OF Ii groes here
In Bluffton have been Bob SmalpS lead
ers for Years and 1t is singular that al
of them should have BEEN selected. At
ary rate BOB Smalls has risen largely
in the estimation Of the negroes Of
Beaufort 10 the last few months. Two
years sgo be could not have polled one
hundred votes. Today the ignorant
negroes of the county believe that
Bob Smalls and the Republicans Of
the North sent them bread. How did
they get such an impression? Miss
Clara Barton had thousands OF dollars
in her hands contributed by Southern
people for the aid Of the sufferers. The
negroes have gotten nearly all this and
think tRat Northern Republicans and
Bob Smalls have given 1t TO them.
Miss Barton may not nave Qau any
thing to 90 with the impression but it
exists and Bob Smalis will try to go to
Congress on it.
When all these things first began to
develop Thomas Martin wrote a com.
humiliation to the News and Courier
stating the facts. He was asked to
withhold the publication Of IL until the
paper could make an investigation Of
the charges. Whether the inVestiga-
ton was made Mr.. Martin does not
know. He told me, however, that the
communication Yves never published {.
and that in some manner copies Of
what he had written got to Miss Barton,
Mcdonald and all her staff. The ef-
feet of the communication was that
more leniency was shownto white suf-
ferers for awhile and some Of those
who applied direct to Miss Barton, at
Beaufort, were given aid. 1t caused a
bitter feeling, however. Mr. Martin
has many friends among the colored
people. The colored men who heard of