The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-06-09
Not a Hotel or Restaurant In
st. Louis
Open to the Republican ColOred
Delegates of the South.
NO PLACE. no 4SLEEP
Nor Any Place to Eat offered
Them.
Color Line Stronger Even Than
Party Lines.

St. Louis. June 9.-What shall be /
done with the colored delegates and al /
ternate delegates to the national Re
publican convention?
This is a question which is pulling
the members of the national committee
who have arrived in the city and the
Business Mems league. which secured
the convention to St. Louis as we'll
Every hotel and boarding house and
cafe came out fiat footed today and de
clared it would entertain no Negro as a
guest or customer
Money is no object Threats of pros
ecutiOn have no effect, and from the
present outlook it would seem that IN
less tents are secured, the black men
viii have to go hungry and unhOused-
Il am thoroughly disguised and dis
cOuraged, - said National Committee
man J. G. Long Of Florida tonight, in
speaking of the matter. Il have been
looking all day long for a hotel, board
ing house or cafe that would admit the
Negroes, but it has been a fruitless
search I even went so far as to try to
charter a steamboat, but when the own
ers learned for what purpose I wanted
it, they found an excuse for refusing
me the use OF the vessel 1t IS the only
time in the history of the Republican
party that such a condition of things
has presented itself
When asked what the national com
mittee would do. Mr.. Long replied:
L have consulted the members who
are here and we have decided to offer a
resolution as soon as the committee
meets, cOndemning the hotels and inn
keepers, and for the setting aside of a
fund for renting a hall in which cots
shall be placed for the accommodation
of the Negroes who may come to the
convention. We will also request the
employment of a corps of cooks to sup
This trouble has been brewing for
nearly a week A number of days ago
it was learned by the Business Mems
league, that some of the leading hotels
had been canceIl1ng agreements with
certain state delegations when the
landlords learned that Negro delegates
We're numbered among them. It became
so apparent that the Negroes were be
ing disseminated against that the
I league issued the following manifesto;
THE Business Mems league, when in
/ w aShlngtOn, promised UnaL cOIOfeQ
/ delegates and members of the national
! Republican executive committee should
4 receive the same recognition from the
hotels that any of the other delegates
to the convention would receive. With
this it was implied that the citizens
representing the city of St. Louis would
ask and endeaVOr to induce public
! places hotels, boarding houses and
/ bath rooms, at least for convention
/ week. to accord to the reputable and
/ respectable cOlOred men, who would
f come here, representing their section
I and their people in the party, such
I treatment as any reputable and TeSpeC-
7 table person would receive. 1t is not
I believed q great many would want to
/ accept the privileges, but it viii be very
/ humiliating if one of them, with their
/ colleagues and friends. or alone, should
] present himself IN any pubic place ana
+ be refused adnittance or service. 1t is
1 hoped, expected and desired by the
i gentlemen who called the convention
4 that all will endeavOr to meet the stu
( alton as justice and prOpriety require.
/ Any parties in interest failing to re
{ ceive accommodations will please re-
port to the general hotel committee, c.
Q
/ of information. S. NJ. HENARD,
President 3. NJ League
James Cox, Secretary; Clark II. Samp-
/ son, Chairman Committee of Arrange
ments; Frank Gaienne, Secretary"
When the hotel men read this they
4 were exceedingly Wrathful. They said
+ it was an invitation to the cOlOred del
/ egates to prosecute them for damages.
They went to the league committee on
( hotel accommodation and protested.
+ Concerted action then followed. with
the result that the negroes cannot find
4 lodging places, nor even reputable
place to eat.
This afternoon received a half
dozen letters" said Committeeman
/ Long, from parties who said they
! would gladly receive all cOlOred dele
gates during the convention. was
+ greatly relieved for a time, but upon
+ investigating, learned that they We're
J keepers of disorderly houses. This
only added insult to the injury already
Major c. @. Rainwater, a member of
the Business Mems league which went
to Washington and of the local en-
! tertainment committee, is quite as
much displeaSed with the turn affairs
! have taken as is any member of the
committee. He, with several other
members Of the local committee. have
/ been hunting for a place to entertain
the negro delegates, but without sue
cess.
Perry Heath and Congressman
/ Thompson of Ohio, who are here in the
4 interests of Major Mckinley. are quite
as much disturbed as the national COM
( mittee They have been in Geographic
[ communication with Marcus A. Hanna
/ all day, but as yet no solution Of the
! problem has been reached
James III. Hill. a. negro and the ma
! tional committeeman of Mississippi, has
been busy all Gay today trying to md
/ quarters for the delegation from his
/ state He was not successful. He
was informed at every hotel in the city
that all rooms were engaged. He
! could not even find room for himself
/ and was quite Indignant.
4 hope to have the matter settled
before tomorrow night" he said. but
! it is an outrage to be so treated in this
/ manner in the face of the promises
+ made by the Republicans Of St Louis
in Washington"
NJ H. DeYoung of san Francisco.
owner and editor of the Chronicle of
that city and member of the national
committee said it was not part of the
duties of the committee to secure no
tel accommodations for any delegates
either white or black. He would oppose
any effort to bring the matter before
the committee
National committeeman James Hill
Of Mississippi and a negro, thought he
had secured rooms al Hursts hotel but
/ when he returned there last evening
from the headquarters of the Mer-
chants Republican League club, he
found the doors barred against him, as