Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-11-10
pu,L,prLpuIA's NEGRO rRohLEM.

n negro probiem. This problem j. h"'
poll,icol The party in philadelphia tho'
inherited The traditions and the fanau-
c,sm Of the organization that was engageu
in robbing the South has bound inc ne
eroes Of the city TO IT hard ana last Inc
vote Of the Philadelphia negroes Is ho'
r,otter OF doubt 1t gives RepuDhc""
| Philadelphia no concern.
The negro problem that faces the CITY
Of Brotherly Love may be desc"peu a.
an economico-mofal one. and so grave
| 4, that Il has commanded the serious at
ton,ion OF a recent Philadelphia srand
irrv and evoked from the body solemn
and SIGNIFICANT deliveranee. This and pre-
vlous grand inquisitions hive found
great preponderance OF colored deienu'
ants" and the aforesaid recent srahu
iprv. after scratching IT'S head in mediia-
finn profound. has concluded that the
ca,,se Of such a sad state Of things rs
the limitations under which they O6e
neeroes) live in our midst The ueil''r
ance then goes on TO state that Dy 'nNSe
limitations there are fewer avenues OF
e,nnlovmcnt open to them Ohe negroes)'
they ara largely excluded from employ
mont lin our Industrial establishments
and are. therefore. consigned TO sec"iIn5
work Of the lowest and severest klhu'
And again. For this evil we are unable
70 suggest a remedy, certainly none 'n"'
would come within the province or 'he
courts and can only hope, by emphasiz-
inc tho fact. TO call public attention 10 H.
when. through the bene1cence of the pup
lie and the charitable consideration Oh
their position. their condition may be
ameliorated and opportunities be gwen
tboro nreater than now exist for employ
ment and education"
When we dissect this report the POSI-
tion Of the negroes in Philadelphia pe-
comes very plain. In large part they are
q burden upon or prey upon the whites
~ the community. Taken in connection
with the confession as to Limitations
and the side lights that are thrown on
the confession. and the obvious inference
,s that the offence of the vast majority
~ "tbe preponderance of colored DEFEND
orte" is APPROXIMATION Of other persons
goods and chattels
IN jndulging in this little moral lapse
the negroes Of Philadelphia do not d'iier
from the benefactors Of their race VINO
hold sway in the City Of Brotherly Love
during the paimy days of abolition. IN
fact if there are degrees of moral de-
unouency in the transgression OF the
Eighth Commandment the negroes are
entitled to be regarded in the class OF
tho lesser transgressors. Negroes who
are out of employment and to whom
charity is not extended are apt to suffer
from hunger and cold. But We shall not
dwell further upon this. The point Is
that Philadelphia. which has for over
two generations contended with Boston
for tho "honor" Of being the fountain
head of love and sympathy for the negro
is doing practically nothing for the ne
ero's moral and material elevation. In
contrasting the status Of the negro in
Philadelphia, as we read 1t between the
lines Of the grand jury's deliverance'
with his status in the South, we
find that race prejudice works infinitely
greater hardship TO him in the Quaker
city than it does in this section. Here,
as a former follower of Garrison's"-a
northern woman, whose words we quoted
the other day, pointed Quit is
rarely the case that a good negro cannot
secure means Of earning livelihood. In
Philadelphia, whose heart has been bleed
ing TO-, the neg O, 10, these many years
he is consigned 10 work of the Lowest
and severest kind" and the sidelights
We have referred to show that ii is
with the greatest difficulty he can get
that assignment. Moreover. they show
that when he gets it the remuneration
is. living expenses considered, barely suf-
ncient to keep body and soul together.
Not only does he not receive the social
recognition" the protestations Of the
Philadelphia negro lovers would justify
him in believing he has a right to, but
he is practically an outcost from the
sphere OF work.
4 New York contemporary copies so
much Of the report Of the Philadelphia
grand jury as we have reproduced above,
but confines Itself TO the comment that
southern editors who argue that the
treatment Of the negro In the South, in
social relations, is 10 worse than the
treatment given the negroes in the
North, and that the negros opportunity,
| industrially. is much better In the South
will read the report with satisfac-
| tion." The whites OF the South have
never professed to accord the negro $50
clal relations" and never will accord
| them 10 him. SO. in u sense. COMPARE
son. as far as 1t affects that question, is
| irrelevant, although it is true that as
TO these relations the negro is no better
off al the North than at the South. In
both sections his social relations with
the whites are nil. But the other ques-
| ton is relevant The revelations of the
| Philadelphia grand jury fully sustain the
| contention of the southern editors
Further, we tell the so-called friends OF
| the negro at the North that the negro's
| opportunities In the South for material
| advancement and happiness you'd be fan
greater II northern "sympathizers" with
I him would stop putting false notions In
his head as TO social equality-stor
preaching what they do not practice
and join with the South in reprobating
the crime that more than all else put
together has tended to bring the whites
and the negroes Of this section to the
| parting OF the ways.
HARDLY.