Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-26
VIRGINIA JIM CROW LAW
The Bill Passes TO b Houses of the State
Legislature.
Railroads to Obey It's Provisions
Literally, Should the Cover
nor Approve 1t.

The passage by both houses of the Vir-
ginia legislature of a separate car bill
which. it is understood Gov. Tyler will
sign. has awakened great interest among
the colored people Of Washington, and it
is felt by many of them who do consider
able travelling by rail that there may be
great deal of unnecessary trouble in store
for them If they go south by rail after July
1 next
The Virginia enactment generally term
ed the Jim Crow law, is said to be mod
eled after the law which has for some
years past been in operation in North Caro-
lima, South Carolina. Georgia, Florida, Ala
bama, Louisiana. Mississippi, Texas, Ken
lucky and Tennessee. in each of which
states the railroad companies are required
to furnish separate cars for the white and
colored races, respectively. and to supply
equally as good cars to one race as to the
other.
The tolored people are, of course, OPP
posed to the drawing of the color line in
the matter but this they would not object
to so much, they say, if the accommoda-
tons supplied were similar. They claim
that railway companies in the states named
furnish either whole car or one that has
been separated by partition for the use
of colored people, which is almost always
practically destitute of comfort. the seats
usually being hard as to make travel
extremely tiresome.
A wcll-known colored man who lives in
Washington, and who is believed to reflect
the sentiment here and who recently re-
turned from visit to Vii ginia, SAID today:
1.-THE large number of Intelligent colored
people in that state have had good reason
to believe that the better and more intelli-
gent class of white citizens do not sanction
the passage of such a statute. But the col
ored people of the state would not care so
much if the accommodations were really
equal. The whole plan of having separate
cars is dishonest. and it Is intended to
humiliate the citizens of color.
at is also dishonest" he said. lin that
while the railroad company takes, for in
stance. a dollar from each passenger buying
a ticket for a ride, it gives the white person
more for his money than it does the other.
If the railroad companies endeavCr to be
honest and will give the blacks accommoda-
tons really equal to those for the whites.
these who supported the measure Will be
surprised.
1T is further humiliating in that while the
Chinese the unnaturalized, uneducated for
eigner nihillst socialist and even the wild
the whites. clean, intelligent, patriotic,
Christian citizens of color are pronounced
unfit to do so unless they are employed as
nurses, porters or walters.
The separate car law passed by the
legislature of Virginia can have no extra
territorial effect. and it's operations will OF
necessity be limited to travel from ana TO
points wholly within the state. 1t cannot
effect interstate traffic, and PASSENGER
going from Washington to Alexandra, Va,
or one travelling in the opposite direction,
would be as much of an interstate passen-
ger as one going from Maine to California,
and no legislature has any power to pass a
law designating the car in which certain
class of such passengers shall ride. Under
the federal Constitution CVongress alone
has the power to regulate interstate COM
merce.'
Representatives of the various roads CEN
tering in Washington, whose lines pass
through Virginia, said their companies in
tend to comply with the letter of the law.
and to provide as good accommodations for
one race as for the other.