The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1900-07-07

n New Orleans that has favored the
passage of the separate car bill in
reduced in the Legislature by Re-
Watson, of Tangipahoa
PARISH, and which passed the lower
House few days ago with only
eight votes recorded against it. The
pill is now before the Senate, and !
as it will be voted on IN that body |
within the next two or three days, |
the Times-Democrat this morning,
in a labored editorial, seeks to
Justify the defeat of the measure,
but none of the grounds on which it
is opposed are tenable.
In its effort to have the Wilson
bill killed in the Senate, the Times
Democrat appears to be acting in
to the wishes of the street
companies and contrary to
the desire of an overwhelming ma
jority of the people of New Orleans,
who hailed the introduction of the
separate car act with expressions of
great satisfaction. The letters re.
Gently published in the columns of
the Times show quite
clearly that more than three-fourths
of its own readers are sincerely
hoping the bill will pass the Senate
and receive the signature of Cover
nor Heard.
II is no argument against the Will
son bill to assume that because the
separate car law has not been able
to separate in a satisfactory manner
the races in the smaller cities of
Alabama, Georgia and other South
ern States, such law will not opel
ate successfully in New Orleans.
No law that may be placed upon
the statute books will accomplish
the purpose for which it was enacted
unless it is enforced.
There are no laws providing for
the separation of the races in our
theaters and in the wards of our
hospitals, yet it is we'll known fact
that they are separated, galleries in
the theaters and wards in the hospi-
tails being provided for the colored
people. This being the case, there
is no reason to believe that an act
of the legislature providing separate
street cars could not be properly
enforced and made to operate sue
cessfully.
There is no danger either that the
separate car act would be declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme
Court of the United States, pro-
vided the accommodations in the
cars were equal, because the court
has held that the railway companie:
have the right to provide such cars
The truth is the opposition to the
that some additional expense will
be entailed upon the railway com
panies by the latter being required
to make every third car s'sta
car" to be set aside for the use O.
negroes. In view of the fact, how
ever, that fully three -fifths of tn
patrons of cur street cars are white
people, the railway companie
should be willing to acquiesce il
the demand for the passage Of tn
Wilson bill instead Of trying to de
feat it.
The presence of insol. mt. ill-smell
ing and boisterous negroes in GU
street cars, who have no regar'
whatever for the common decencie
of life, is exceedingly offensive It
respectable white men and women
and more especially to the latter
who are frequently, when unaccom
panied by a male escort, SUBJECTED
to acts Of rudeness as we'll as insults
and we do not exaggerate when W
say that nine te tbs Of the whit
women of New Orleans are hearth
in favor of the separate car bill
and the legislature can rest assure
that it will earn their thanks an
gratitude by making the Wilson bi
a law. The matter is now IN tn
hands Of the State Senate, com
t posed of representative men fror
,, all parts Of Louisiana, and tina
body must show whether it has
higher regard for the convenienc