Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1900-04-26
OBSERVATIONS on the Negro.

In making feeble effort to give a few
Impressions on the negro race OF today, il
must be remem Dered that people honestly
differ on all other subjects and would il
not be strange II / should not express
some ideas in regard TO this question
that would not seem reasonable to the
readers OF this paper? Ii is not my pur.
pose to dwell upon the past, but the con-
dition OF the negro today.
The negro lived for long term of years
under bondage, where there was the Sc
verest penalty for even teaching him the
alphabet, and yet he was called OF an igno.
rant race. This was true, but let me ask
who was to blame for that ignorance, the
whites or blacks?
The wrongs OF generations cannot be
overcome in a brief period of time. Only
"a years have elapsed since the black man
was freed from bondage.
First let us consider the value OF the
black man to the South as a laborer. The
white man of the South dislikes to work.
Somebody must work. The white man
will hire the man that will do his work
the best and cheapest regardless of his
prejudice against the negro, but the negro
is strong and seemingly never tires. He
is wanted all over the South. In Georgia
there is law against people of other states
coming In to hire the negro to go else.
where, which was practiced by Mississippi
to such an extent that it nearly depopu-
lated some OF the counties in Georgia
/ There is another law In Georgia that holds
the landowner responsible to the mer-
chants for supplies to feed the families
during the year, which indicates that the
negro is being cared for.
The South is low, fiat land, largely.
Thousands OF acres are being ditehed and
drained for agricultural purposes. The
negro is proof against malaria and | am
told red headed white man is proof al
so against ii. A negro band OF ditchers
and red headed overseer and the ditch
ing moves on. The lowlsnds of Louisiana
are devoted to rice and cotton. White
men cannot live there unless they are red
headed. Everywhere in the South, whites
and blacks are seen at work together, save
the cases have cited above.
The claim has been made that sometime
there would be war OF races, but from
my observation there never will be. White
women OF the South have not gotten
over the idea that labor is a disgrace and
yet that idea IS not as extensive as years
ago. A Southern woman likes to have a
black servant and in thousands Of cases a
man servant, as the men are more to be
depended upon than the women. l saw
in Florida the best well-to-do families !
with a negro man in the kitchen as cook. |
The lady OF the house said she preferred |
the man to the woman. / thought how il /
would look in Vermont to see big, black /
negro in the kitchen cooking the break /
fast, but rememb Der the Southern people /
are used to the black face and hands, /
which look so repulsive to a northern /
Yankee. / saw plenty OF hotels where the /
kitchen and dining room we're run entire
ly by the negro men. The landlady and /
groWnup daughters did not lift a finger 4.
and would not be seen doing any labor.
The coachman Is negro in all cases, but i
not entirely so in Washington, ID. e. Old
negro women call at your door for your
washing, in every town, but the young
black girls are as independent as they can
be. Ia one case black girl was asked to do
some washing for a white woman. Her
reply was that she had been thinking OF
looking for a white woman to do her
washing. AS servants, the girls are not
as reliable as their employers wish and,
as some express it, Odd independent"
children in the parks and on the walks
everywhere.
One race seems to need the other. A
negro never calls at the front door, and
the man OF the house never asks him to
sit down. He takes of his hat and either
calls you captain or a colonel. The
colored people are very humble, usually.
They rarely give any "back-talkn to a
white man, which makes them good SER
wants. II also assures the fact that there
never will be a war OF races, which many ,
have believed.
In most Of the large towns OF the South
he negroes live in villages by themselves. :
In Atlanta they live away from the town, 5
lbout two miles, in a place called South
atlanta. They have postotfiee, schools,
torres, etc. some towns have streets
seemingly set apart for them, as is the
'ase al Washington, ID. @. | saw but one
negro in a white mans church.
The negroes are fond OF secret orders.
Among the most patroniZed is a benefit
rider which gives so much for burial
purposes at death aud something to the
widow, which is a good thing for the
legro. All over the South they have their
ecret orders, Masonic and Odd Fellow u
edges. They have a Masonic Temple in
ID. e. They have common
chools all over the South, which the
outhern people help support. The
higher institutions OF learning are not
Imported by a public tax. The Univer-
ity at Atlanta is supported by the
hurches Of the North. The Howard
University OF Washington, ID. e., is
artially supported bv the government.
| instructs negroes, Indians, Chinese and
apanese, and whites are not excluded.
he above are not all the schools OF the
outh, but such as came under my obser- K
alton. All the professions are taught,
NV, medicine, Normal music, agriculture, h
tc., to fit the negroes and others for n
and usefulness among their +,
wn races.
The darky is very much attached to his 2
hurch and in all cases, as | had supposed,
as negro preachers but since arriving u
D Washington find few Catholic negro b
hurches with white priest. As a rule, a
hey belong TO the Methodist or Baptist n
hurches. They love to shout and nearly
Il sing st church.
There is an order in Washington where
detail OF black women go and care for a
ne babies OF the black mothers during =
le day, while the mother goes 10 IN 3 S;
avs work. They held successful fair, W
lhibiting their skilled work of all kinds o.,
raise funds to care for the babes of the =
boring women.
The Republican administration gives y,
Ie negro some OF the offices. The col 6
ctor OF internal revenue at Jacksonville Sd
q negro. In Atlanta, Ga, about one IT.
Iird OF the mail carriers of the city are oil
sgroes. The boss ship builder at Cleve. NJ
nd, Fla, near Punta Gorda, is a negro. &
A H.