Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-06-22

exclusively by negroes of every imagi-
nable hue from the almost white straw
berry blonde octoroon to the genuine
'unadulterated African with a COM
plexions uggestive of the inside of box
of shoe backing.
It is a singular fact that the very dark
Afro-Americans are in a hopeless
minority in the large cities. You never
see a dozen negroes of uniform COM
plexion together, except on the negro
minstrel stage. / once called the at
tention of that famous negro minstrel,
Lew Dockstadter, to this palpable alb
rsurdity of attributing all musical ability
and conversational smartness to coal
black negroes. He replied that the
'Gght-complected" negroes wanted too
high wages, and burnt cork was much
cheaper.
This reminds me of an amusing Incl
dent that took place on a railroad train
in Texas shortly after the war. 1 was
seated opposite to northern drummer
and a southern planter, who were very
earnestly discussing the negro problem.
The planter was very much excited. He
said:
Its no use trying to get along with
niggers They are perfectly worthless.
They won't work, and they all steal.
They just ought to be improved off the
face of the earth,' making a sweeping
gesture with his arm as if he were ''im-
proving" a tract of land by clearing off
the timber and brush.
'You say they ought to be 'im-
proved, !" replied the drummer. swell,
it looks to me as if they had been sim
proved good deal already. Most of
them are half white" and he looked at
me with wink of intense meaning
but am drifting away from the New
York negro.
There is one occupation in New York
that is monopolized entirely by the
negroes. The Manhattan Elevated
Railroad company employs none but
colored men at the stations. The posi-
tion is not very exalted one, although
they are employed in higher position
about forty feet higher, on an aver
age-than most of the people on the
street. The elevated railroad porter
does not handle cash like the ticket
seller. He has no opportunity to shove
mutilated dimes and lead nickels off on
passengers who are in a hurry to catch
the trains. He has not even the salts
faction of slamming the gates in the
faces of passengers who want to get on,
Z nor can he tell the passenger who wants
to get off to ''step lively"
His principal duty seems to be impart-
+. Ing a dry shampoo to the windows and
brass door knobs, and industriously
: grooming the large tin cuspidors in the
waiting room. He also sweeps the
stairs that lead from the station. When
it is rainy the porters fresco the gar
ments of the patrons of the company
with liquid mud. In dry weather they
have to be satisfied with binding the
passengers with dust. I do not be-
lieve that white men could perform
their duties more effectively.
The colored porter has still another
= duty, which I had almost overlooked.
1t frequently becomes necessary to the
happiness of the employees to toboggan
some unruly passenger down the stairs
into the street. At a given signal,
something like the cry of ssHey, Rube!H
OF the circus men, the five guards of the
train, reinforced by the ticket chopper
: and the ticket seller, fall ''tooth and
toenaiI' on the victim. Then it is that
the colored porter produces club from
rome secret recess. and manages to get
IN whacl; so, you see, his life is not 4
altogether dreary and monotonous.
after all.
There are some occupations for which
the negro has a natural born talent.