The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-10-22
MADE IN GOOD FAITH
NO DESIRE TO INJURE THE OK
FORD ASYLUM.
THE COMMITTEE REPORT RECEIVED
Somebody is Honestly Mistaken" Says Mr.
Britt All Taxpayers Have an In
terest in the Orphan
Asylum.


Mr.. John T. Britt, editor Of the OK
ford Public Ledger, was in Raleigh last
week. Asked about the investigation
of the statements with reference to tine
Orphan Asylum matter, Mr.. Britt said
that his position would be found in this
weeks Public Ledger. 1t is as follows:
MIR. BIRTHS STATEMENT.
On our editorial page we publish, as
it is lust and right we should, the report
of the committee appointed by the Ma
sonic lodge of Oxford to investigate
the charges we made in Public Ledger
of October 9TH upon what we honestly
believed to be reliable information. We
have always made it rule not to
publish anything unless we believed we
had grounds for doing so, even III the
heat of campaigns in which the supre-
macy of the white people was at stake.
The investigation seems to have
proven to the satisfaction of the lodge
that that part of the article relative to
the negro woman having been employed
as an instructor of the girls was a
mistake, but the fact still remains, as
is shown by the report of the commit
tee. that the negro woman was EN-
ployed to do the same work which the
girls were doing and received her in
struction from the same matrons the
girls did. and in the same room with
them and ON the same work the assis-
tant matron had begun and would have
finished had she not been sick. By re-
ferring to the Crews woman's testimony
YOU will find this to be substantially
correct, and in that particular sense she
was Occupying Miss fuckers place until
the work she mad already in hand was
completed.
As a practical illustration: If Mr..
e.. w. Jones. the able manager of the
printing department of the Orphan Asy-
lum, was engaged in setting up and
printing the proceedings of the Grand
Lodge, and he was taken sick and it
was urgent that the report must be
gotten out, and il General Manager
Bemis was to send down town and there
happened to be an expert colored printer
here and employed and put him to
work to finish up the report, would he
not be in charge Of that particular work
although he would not be instructing
the boys in the office?
For every man whose name appears
on this committee we have the highest
respect. even if some of them have not
the same for us. Every one of them
are men of undouhted honesty and in
tegrity, and for the honesty and i'm
tegrity of our informant, upon whose
statement we based our article we have
no less respect.
Somebody is honestly mistaken, but
we are satisfied that it will be appar
ent to everybody that the report of the
committee states the fact that the negro
woman Crews, was at work in the same
room with orphan girls. The conclusion
of the report is as follows:
Prom the foregoing statements your
committee is of the opinion that said
article is without ,dy foundation of fact
and is not true
Let us see But that. The evidence
which we r Il as part of the report
of the &C dittee, and we take it all
the evidence they took, establishes be-
yond controversy the fact that the negro
woman was employed in the sewing
room among the girls, and we have to
thank the gentlemen of the commit
tee for their kind aid in this particular
as we would have been unable to have
conducted such n thorough inyestiga-
ton and have substantially established
the grounds of our charge, in the face
of the fact that it could not be expect
ed that any one employed at the Or
phan Asylum under the dictatorial rule
of Miss Bemis would have been disposed
to even think of giving testimony that
might have had tendency so damaging
10 her administration, hence it would
have been injudici0us for the editor to
have attempted to combat against
management who had it in their power,
if they willed to do so, to have arranged
beforehand to forestall in a measure
the charge in every particular, but we
must again be allowed to thank the
Masonic committee for having accom-
plished for us what it would have been
impossible for us to do.
Be that as it may, there is no denying
the fact that the public, both in and
outside of the Grand Masonic Fratern-
ity, whose glorious work Is TO take care
of the widows and orphans in which the
Public Ledger join hands, looks with
suspicion upon the present administration
Of the beloved Orphan Asylum because
the real head is a Northern woman and
not a Mason of course, whose methods
are not in accord with Southern ideas,
and this same fact has been the cause
Of much friction in the Grand Lodge
of Masons of North Carolina.
We honestly believe we voice the SEN
timents of the people we come in contact
with. If Southern woman were at
the head of that institution does any
one suppose that the employment of
negro assistant matron could ever have
been suspected? Never Such thing
would have been impossible.
The Public Ledger wishes to ask those
in authority in all candor if it would not
be vastly better for the interest Of the
Orphan Asylum if this Disturbing ele-
ment, this Miss Bemis, on whose ac-
count there is so much dissatisfaction
among the outside supporters of this
great institution and so much dissention
among the Masons of the State. was
permitted to get salary of $1,000 per
year including board, room and lights
in some other place?
The testimony further shows that the
negro woman received her instructions
from Miss Maggie Meyer, matron in