The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-12-19
THE JIM CROW CAR.
THE HOUSE PASSES A BILL FOR SEP
ARATE COACHES ON RAILROADS.

Its Consideration Provoked Long and
hot Fight, but it Finally Passes by a
Safe Majority and Goes to the Senate.
COLUMBIA, 8. c., Dec. 12.-In the
House today the first legislative work
was the consideration of Mr.. Otis spe-
cial order bill to require railroads in
this State to provide separate first
class coaches for the accommodation
of white and colored passengers. And
the longest and spiciest debate of the
session ensued contrary to all expecta-
tions. Mr.. OTIS defended his bill
which had already been unfavorably
reported. He argued that most of the
other Southern States had such law.
1t was a bill the people demanded. To
vote against it was to vote for social
equality. The railroads were common
carriers and should give the best pos
sible accommodations.
Miller, the colored Congressman,
said that there was an unfavorable re-
port which ought to be adopted. The
provisions for first and second class
coaches in this State had settled forev-
er the vexed question ofsocial equality
on railroad trains. No one had ever
heard of negroes who rode in first class
coaches here doing anything to offend
ladies or any one else. The colored
man had been brought into this State
and he had done much to bring the
State up to it's present state of civiliza-
ton. It was not well to make any
new division of the white and colored
people. Honors were now easy as to
the negro vote. He was glad to say
that in Beaufort the negroes had vot-
ed for John Gary Evans. He was
here as Republican and Reformer.
He stood with the Reform element of
the white people and wanted real re-
form. This police regulation against
the colored race was not a reform
which was demanded. Laws should
be founded on necessity not on senti-
ment-a sentiment responsive to cam
paign voting. The bill did not apply
to parlor and sleeping cars.
Mr.. Watson replied. He said he fa-
vored such bills as this, not from po-
litical motives, but because he had
never yet admitted tho negro as his
equal. Leading negro Republicans
had aksed him to support this bill and
settle this question for all time. In
deed it was necessary to have some
protection for the olfactory organs.
Such amalgamators of the races as
Miller were going around trying to
keep up this race feeling to get offices
for themselves.
Judge Townsend, as chairman of the
committee on railroads, said the
speakers had appealed to prejudice
simply. The measure would entail
great expense on the roads and do nc
proportionate good to any one. The
present system had shown no bad ef'
fects. There was really no disorder
on the part of colored first class pas.
sengers. He supposed Mr.. Watson's
olfactory nerves never were very much
affected when his cook or nurse OF
driver was around. The next Consti'
tuition would do away with the decla.
ration in the fundamental law recog-
nizing social rights in schools.
Mr.. Sturlie had something to say
in favor of the bill. -.y
Mr.. Magill moved to indefinitely
postpone the bill, but upon his motion
there was tie, as follows:
,Ayes-Adams, Anderson, Bacot,
Bark1ey, Barry, Blackwell, Breeland,
Bramlett, Bunch, Burns, Caouthers,
Connor, g. M. and w. @. Davis, Dew
ereaux, Dothage, Duncan, Earle,
Franklin. Fowler, Gadsden, Goodwin,
Gregory, Harper, Hiott, Hollis, Hough,
Kennedy, Lesesne, Lotion, Magll, ,
Manning, Mehrtens, Mellard, Miller,
Mishoe, McKeown, j. F. McLaurin,
McSweeney, Nunuery, Pollock, Prince,
Pyatt, Robertson, Rowland Sanders,
Saunders, Skinner, Thomas, Todd,
Townsend, War;, Weston, Whitmire,
Wyche, Wyman-56.
Nays-Ashely, Bowman, Brown,
Carroll, Caughman, Connor, Crum,
Edwards, Elder, Ellerbe, Estridge,
Floyd, CASTOR, Hammett, Hardy,
Harvey, Haselden, Holloway, Hunter,
Humphrey, Iderton, Johnston, Kin
ard, Kirk, Lancaster. Lennon, Leve-
EFT, Love, Mellett, Miles, Mitchell,
Moore, Murray, Mcintosh, OTIS, Patt,
on, Phillips, Pickens, Price, Rainsford,
Rast, Sfngletary, Sturkie, Tatum,
Thompson, Thurmond, Tyler, Wallace,
Watson, Welch, T. S. Williams, John
G.. Williams, L. J. Williams, Fred
Williams, Wilson, Winkler, Wolf SO.
A motion was then made to strike
out the enacting words. This was lost
by a vote of 46 to 81.
The appointed hour having arrived
the senate came in and without much
ado B. R, Tillman was declared elect
ed u. S. Senator to succeed Gen. But
ler, for the next six yeaas, commenc-
ing March 4. next. =.
The discussion of the Jim crow
car bill was resumed. Canary" Miller
took the floor and he made a red hot
speech on the race question. He said
when he first spoke on the subject he
did not care to have much to say. He
was sorry to see the gentleman from
Anderson refer to the mixture of his
blood. He was no more responsible
for that mixture than the first child
born on this earth. Could he have
had a choice he would have elected to
have been born q black man Or white
man. The fact that his blood was
mixed had cost him more in sitting
his ambitions than any one could
know. He could say however, that
he had never allowed the advantage
it gave him, with his metal qualifica-
tons, to injure either the white or the
hlocl nace Nerrnes had annealed to