The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1896-04-11

splendid specimens o. TING negro raee -
Washington. and number Of them
are of superior intelligence. There II =
large Roman Catholic church on Fiji
teenth street maintained by colored
people. and their choir Ii an oggrcRH-
ton of excellent musical talent. On
the same street. near the white house.
there is Presbyterian church main~
tanned by the same race OF people. and
some of it's communicates are quite
wealthy, many of them being promio
rent in the political world.
Then. at the foot of Capitol hill. not
far from the botanical gardens. there
Is Methodist church where reyivalR
are held four or five times each year.
hut this church IN contiguous to tho
lower regions of South Washington,
and numerous scenes Of disorder havA
occurred there during recent years.
But the majority Of the negroes are ig~
norant, poor and vicious. There sre
distinct classes of them. and they are
as readily divided and discerned as are
the currents of the ocean. Some OF them
come from the old families of Washing
ton, others from the old homes and plnn-
tations of Virginia and Maryland. and!
few from the better classes in states
more remote. These are quiet, dociie.,
gentlcmanly and well-bred people.
They have as much pride in their FAM
lilies aud family histories as the blue
hoods of the cavaliers Of the southern
states.
When the union armies conycrgedl
-. - a ~.
brought with them the riffraff of tho
colored population Of the south. The
negro camp followers did not represent
the better element OF their cnslavedl
race. The good negroes were loyal to-
their masters and mistresscs. Tens Of
thousands of them declined TO accept
freedom. prcferring TO live upon the
old plantations with their white folks.
Only the worthless and vngabond classes
ran away and followed the armies. Com
scquently, when they were sloughedl
of here by the disbanding of the
armies, they became our permanent
lazzaroni. They have propagated their
kind, and fully 10000 negroes OF the
lower order IRE numbered with the
total population of the District of Co
lumbia- They drink. carousc. steal,
violate all OF the ten commandments.
and ignore ali human law. Their chief
cause OF continued crime and degrnda-
ton is the bottle. Like the redmen who
originally inhabited this entire con-
tinent, they have fallen victims to the
demon of the still. It Is the prime
cause of their woes and crimes.
"You have no idea how the faithful
negroes loved their masters and homes
before the war;" says Senator-elect
fernando ID. Money. of Mississippi.
"No book ever had such sale. ut that
period of our history, as Uncle Toms
Cabin, and yet IL was dreadful ex-
aggeration of facts and conditions. IL
was really n political pamphlet; and IL
produced its effect. The worst scenes
depicted by Mrs. Stowe were not cx-
aggsrated; but the book conveyed the
| impression that those worst scenes
were of daily occurrence In the land
where slavery existed: but in reality
they were the exception.
"You must remember that the black
people were regarded by their owners
as chattels. and they were valuable. No
man IN the north who possessed horse
worth $500 would beat him 10 death.
No man owning n calf worth $50 would
fny IL alive. You can understand that
such n man ns old Uncle Tom. faithful,
valuable and honest, would have been
easily worth $4,000; and his owner
Mould not carelessly drive that piece of
property 10 death. after horrible tor
ture. On the contrary. he would keep
lin well fed and well clad. and look
after his health.
"Well, no matter about that now; for
slavery mas gone. WHAT WAS going 10
tell you was about the fnithfulness Of
the negroes TO their masters and mis-
trcsses. An old negro who had belonged
90 my father. remained on the planta-
ton until after the war. and then said