The Portland daily press., 1894-06-23
HONORED IN THE SOUTH,
Rev. J. G. Ross is Beset by a Mob
in Virginia.
THE SOUTH PORTLAND PASTOR HAD
SPOKEN ON THE COLOR LINE.

The Ku Klux Send Warning to His Host,
and Armed Colored Men Guard the
| House by Night-Rev. John Small
| woods Good Work Described-The
Historic Spot Where the First
Slave was Sold in America Now Cow
| cred by a Negro School.
! Rev.I. G Ross, pastor of the Methodist
church at South Portland, has retured
| from Southern trip, which will alway S
be memorable with him. He has had
the honor of being mobbed while ex-
| pressing his opinions as courageous
Northern Methodist clergyman, on the
platform of Southern church. He es-
| capped without injury; but for one an
| xious night his safety was guaranteed
| only by the fidelity Of band of armed
negroes, who guarded the house.
| Mr.. Ross was'in the South to attend the
commencement of the Temperance In
dustrial and Collegiate Institute recent
| ly founded at Claremont, Virginia, by
| Rev. John Smallwood, for the advance
| ment Of the colored race. Portland
| people will remember Mr.. Smallwood as
the talented young colcred man who
spoke at Chestnut street church one
Sunday last summer, and later at Old
| Orchard. About two years ago he took
! the preliminary steps towards founding
| the institution selecting as a permanent
| site an historic spot OF the banks OF the
| James River, midway between Norfolk
| and Richmond, within the corporate
limits of the northern colony and pro-
posed city of Claremont, where, in the
| year 1920, the first negro slaves landed
in America were sold by public auction.
Here, through the medium of friends and
without directly appearing as first party
| in the transactions, he. has purchased
and paid for several hundred acres of
valuable land with fine river front, a
! steam saw mill plant and wharf at
which the large steamers that ply on
the river can make landings.
While waiting to see his way clear to
erect the extensive buildings, plans for
which havenbeen carefully drawn, he has
been putting some OF his educational
| theories to practical test. by opening
school in such quarters as he could
rent for the purpose at Claremont. His
| second annual commencement exercises
| occurred last week. Mr.. Ross says that
| the exercises were most creditable, and
that the prospects of the school are ex-
cellent.
While these signs of progress are graf
| flying to the more progressive people,
said Mr.. Ross to the sPRESS yesterday.
they have served to excite and iDf1ame
| thesspirit of envy and jealousy in the
breasts of some of the fire-eating South
| ern element that find their rallying
place in the saloon. Their hands were
Strengthened, also, by the prejudiced ut
terances of some wouId-be aristocrats
from the North who have settled in
Claremont, and who appear. to have i'm
| bibed, even to greater extent than those
Southern born and bred, the nonsense
about the danger of the educated negro's
demands for social equality This
senseless fear was evidently aggravated
| somewhat in their minds by reason of
the fact that we chose to share the hos
pitality extended to us as guests of the
| school, allowing ourselves to be enter
tanned at sBagley Hall' and eating with
negroes, instead of stopping at hotel.
"-As an upshot of the matter, on Satur-
day last President Smallwood received a
threatening letter signed by the reputed
ACAPTAIN OF KU KLUX. co.
"No. 1" This letter was as follows, YER
batim ct litteratim:
Franklin. Va.
| J.J. Smallwood
| Yoa ar hirby Notified that yoa havi
only ten days to leave Clarimont and
you will be waited on by the Cuclucks
and our company we will not have you
mixing up with white folksaain the way
you are doing Not wishing to have any
trouble you better leave at once
Yours. etc.
| White Caps Co.'s, No.14.
"As soon as this letter was received
| the civil authorities were promptly noti-
| fed, but further than that no notice was
taken of the threatening epistle. The
following Sunday evening, however,
having been invited by the pastor of the
| church OF my own denomination, the
Methodist Episcopal-by the way, the
only white church in town-to occupy
the pulpit, l took occasion, in connec-
tion with my discourse, to clearly define
the attitude of the Methodist Episcopal
church upon the negro race problem,
and incidentally to rebuke the spirit of
| opposition manifested upon the part of
certain persons in the town, and among
SO me Of the mem bers of the church even,
toward the commendable work being
done by President Smallwood and his CO.
workers.
| Meanwhile the rabble had surrounded
the church, and stone vas thrown
through an open window at my head.
Provlden TALLY it only grazed my neck
and spent its principal force upon the