Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-05-21
ABOUT THE RACE PROBLEM
*. LAMITY uNIQuELY DISCUSSES
THE NEGRO QUESTION.
When sambo Is In His Native Eie-
ment-Hir strong Pail nj Eiec-
tion Time-How He Is Forgot-
ten After the Election.

is now puzzling some Of the wisest
heads Of the age. Will do the public
the favor TO turn on my 5OOO-candle-
power intellect and illuminate the dark
est corners of this national enigma.
The negro, or as we southerners call
him, the "nigger." is a difficult sub
Ject to handle. However, 1 propose to
strip him OF all sentimentalism and
secondhand clothes which he may
have accumulated since 1866. and hold
him up to the audience in ali his odorif-
erous simplicity and native Ignorance.
II So not difficult TO establish the
fact that the Niger Is Well connected,
and related to some OF the most prom
inent families, both in ancient and
modern times.
Ham was his fnther Noah, the great
shipowner. was his grandpa. Cush was
his brother, and Nlmrod the mighty
hunter" was his nephew. 1 believe,
from a close analysis Of his character.
that the Niger takes strongly after
his nephew. not so much in the pursuit
OF game as in hunting for soft job.
Put niger on the trail OF an easy
place and he win soon tree the game.
Goes In Good society.
Coming on down the line, we find
the Niger rather promiscuously and
mysteriously related throughout the
Northern and Southern States. He
moves in the best white society, espec-
tally II the windows are not fastened
down. and the sound of his voice is
heard in the land.
In this connection will say that the
South is more dependent upon the
Niger than the Niger upon the South.
He does the hardest work necessary in
the South at q cost that would cause u
Chinaman's cue to stand straight up.
and make the poor celestial hump him
self for Hong Kong. The niger does
great deal Of work, but 1t takes lots
of him to do 1t. He IS farmer by
preference, and never attempts any OF
the finer arts or professions, except
occasionally in the fall and winter
season he does some llttle ornamental
scroll work with u wood saw and an
nN
lie revels In tropical cline, and
ilourlshes In the melting rays of
july sun. He prevents many a white
man from dying Of sunstroke by alb
sorhlng all the loose sunshine in the
country. He rents n 200-acre farm.
plants one-third In corn onc-third in
cotton and one-third in watermelons.
lie plows It out once. then goes in
town, gets 5000 credit on the strength Of
his crop, and goes fishing TIL next sen
son, lie is generally credited with a
fondness for fowls, but find on
careful investigation that chicken is
not absolutely necessary for his happl-
ness dish of tpt cold pork, half
covered with turnip greens a big chunk
Of wheat bread. followed by half a
days nap In the brollng sun. Is entire
~ too heavenly for his constitution.
Where He's Right In H.
hut It Is during the toll, anxiety,
and worry of hot political campaign
that the Southern people learn to love
and appreciate the niger for lis then
he comes to the front like his satanic
majesty heating tan bark. At this pc.
riod Of national labor and unoaslness
the poor down-trodden nigegr forgets
the cruel lash OF ante bellum days
forgets his former enslavement, forgetg
Uncle Toms cabln--and rushes {,
the fray with bare breast mnd back.
too, usually and for hour after hour
Will stand at the polls. when all but
him has fled, The Niger will stand IN
one place and vote oftener for less
money than any other human being on
the globe.
The great social difficulty with the
Niger is his inability TO hold his grip
on society. At certain times he rises
In the social scale with a velocity equal
to sly-roeket, but always comes
down twice ms fast as he went up,
and strikes terra firma terribly firm
have noticed that Just prior to an
election seems TO be specially adapted
10 these sudden meteoric social flights
INDUCED in by the Niger, AT such
times he roposes ON the white mans
breast Ike Lazarus on AbrRham's
shirt front and the white man anxious.
ly asks "Whatll you takeg
And Mhcgc ttc isu't in IL.
The next day after the election the |
white man treats him like. an entire |
stranger, tells him To" go TO the devil" |
and evidently believes such Will be ths
nigger's ultimate destination. The |
nigger then grows angry and mutters
deep. dark threats OF future revenge |
hut Ills seldom he remembers an insult |
twenty-four hours. Life to him IL one |
continual 10th OF juno, and he has n. |
time TO waste on small personal mat |
tors
The Niger Ia naturally religious. |
lie WIN quit a. 81 day Job and walk |
eleven miles to church. and he can |
extract more good solid comfort out |
81 a camp meeting than nm ordinary |
being could crowd into a lie time He |
Is not at NIL sectarian In principle. but |
re0dlN unltes with any religious de-
nomination with which he may b,
spending sunday, He is waVerinE |
upon the subject OF baptism but indy,
tnE from the ~ a a..