The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-10-12
THE PASSING OF THE BANJO.
The Negro is Less Mirthful and Less
ImprOvident--M MOrose and
Moro Melancholy.

The Negro is Less Mirthful and Less
Improvident--M Morose and
More Melancholy.
Waterbury (Conn.) American.
David T.. ST. Clair has been revisit
ing the South of his birth after u ter
years absence. Ho contributes to the
Criterion various evidences of the
change which has passed over the ne.
gro OF the South, developing out of the
"Old time darby" "a solf-cOnscious
colorcd man, less op imistic, less mil tn
full, less improvident, perhaps, more
m0rose, moro melancholy, with more
acute scnsc Of pain and sutforing." In
short, under the new conditions, the
Southern negro Is developing sonsi-
tive nervous system like that of the
white man, and with it the white mans
complaints, such as dyspepsia, sleep
| lessncss, nervous headache, etc, etc.
One sign Of the changed negro Mr..
ST. Clair finds in tho passing of tho
| banjo. ~ saw 4 number Of cclored
| excursions made up from both the
| town and country, and not once did l
hear banjo. But instead woll.groom-
ed colOrcd men from town thrummed a
guitar or Z.ther, or were busy winding
up music box" MIR. ST. Clair attri.
butes this to tho desire of tho Southern
With the passing Of the banjo has also
passed the spontaneous love of song !;
the sort Of song one WAS wont to hear
at the corn-husklngs, log-rollings,
house buildings and railroad buildings
in the 70s and sos" In q small town
in North Carolina Mr.. ST. Clair saw
fifty young negroes laying water pipes,
working ia absolute silence and their
faces as glum as so many Italian pipe
layers in New Ycrk.' He asked one
Of them to start q song, but "the re-
collapsed" The foreman explained to
him: Desc niggers can't sing no
more like dcy used to-" Mr.. ST. Clair
thinks the explanation, Dcy's in no
mood, seems to get near the heart
Of the secret
For another thing, MIR. ST. Clair
notes the change OF tho negro in their
churches. The modern organ, choir
and educated ministers hold the con-
greEation's emotions we'll IL check.
He recently witnessed Il scene In q
cOlOrcd church in Southern city,
where the elegant and scholarly
preacher dropped into a strain Of OLD
time fGrvOr and stirred every man and
woman in the house to an intense eX-
CitCtGcnt. Attempting in vain to Calm
the storm he had raised the preacher
sat down in utter disgust. Mr.. ST.
Clair heard a half dozen sermons from
educated COlorCu preachers and not
once WAS the word he'll mentioned.
Ouc minister explained to him that
this was due rartly to Il change in the
o!ogicnl views, but also to tho fact that
We cannot restrain our pcopls if we
go on talking to them about hell. We
arc now trying to teach our pCOplc lc to rca-
son aud think" In Mr.. ST. Clntr's Opin-
ion. the self consciousness Of the new
negro has brOugh with it tSClf-rcstraint,
aud that not more than ) per cent of
the negroes are guilty OF The Outrages
which have caused the lynchings. lie
adds that " in private the severcst
critic Of these brutcs is the negro him
sclf.' Owing to the race feeling, how
ever, the negroes are not able to de-
u0uucc these Outrages in public. Mr..
st. Clair adds that "when a negro
preacher i able to declare from his
pulpit. Your race will oatlaw you ii
you commit this crime, then the crime
wi! 40 I0uyGg be cJnnittcd."
Mr.. 5. Gar -4ys that the colOred
;i.u-. r:..-.y ....:....GG> OF his hard lot,
.- '.-l.t.' ..t.i T." iowns and cities,
wa'r- q. d. .Nuw..a into the foulest
-.p'i.", .:"a ~ -.lccgs the most ap-
la.-.r. u.. -. Say -cyc!Oping consump-
i.-- ... .l>A..;y. whose rHvages have
-.t-J:tH ~. 'gen grcUt among the ne
-"9--. =. ln.nhs that the negro Is
-,-I.y Disappointed cruaturc because
O! tn failure TO give him the ballot,
ai4 ina, every timD hc hears the word
" lection he hds some such sink
IN feeling AS IL disinherited son has
over his lost inhcritancc." Despite
this. now"vcr, there is no race develop
lueEl OF malice. Tno negro's crimes,
Ac =9ys, HrG largely the result of ignor-
an.c and irritation. "But," he con-
&.Uucs, With Il! the changes that are
taHtnZ place, the negro still rem aims
tnc best Judge OF q gentleman in the
South. When ho tells you this white
man is a gentleman and the other Is
not, you have got an opinion from an
insIiGct that is never fooled on this de-
Iig,t. rnip -