The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-12-18

he rapid increase of suicides in the
South Is alarming and provokes the
serious study of our thinking people.
flfty years ago a suicide was a rare
event among the white race, and neV-
er heard OF among the negroes. When
1t dId occur, 1t was considered an ev-
ldence Of insanity. l do not recall but
one instance In my youth ana that
was a woman who jumped into a deep
well when no help was within reach
But nowadays almost every daily pa
per contains an account Of one of
more self-murders and even negroes
have taken the infection for they will
initiate every vice and frailtv of the
whites. Old Lewis who is nv wood
chopper, asked me the other day how
II was that the white folks Kill der
selves so much, and de niggers didn't"
because. said |, white folks are
more easily overcome with gTiet, or
remOrSe, or distress than negroes
You negroes don't borrow trouble, nor
take it hard when it does come You
don't give yourselves much anxiety
about tomorrow, or next week, or next
year. You don't grieye long over
death IN the family; your emotional
nature IS Of low grade; your mar
riage relation is loose: in fact, il is on
L
marriage records show that your legal
marriages are 60 per cent less, accord
ing to population, than in the white
race, and the decrease gets less and
less every year. Your young men and
women don't marry; they just take
up AMI quit when they please, and SO
the men don't care very much about
the welfare of their children, If they
have any. Besides all this, Uncle
Lewis, your race has Il trait of steal
ing little things, and this accounts
IN a great measure for their indiffer-
ence tc the laying up OF something
for the future; something for the
winter, or the rainy days, or for old
age. If the worst comes TO the worst
they know they can steal or beg. If
your young folks, men and women.
haven't got but a dollar in the world,
they will spend it for a watermelon.
or an excursion. and take the chances.
Now, Uncle Lewis. YOU remember
when there wasn't q chainoang in the
South. nor a heinous crime nor a
brutal outrage, committed by Your
people. from the Potomac river to the
Rio Grande. Now there are in Geor-
gia alone over 1000 Of your people in
the chaingangs, and there would be
1900 more if all the little stealngs
were punished" Uncle Lewis had
stopped cutting and was leaning on
his axe helve. Oats all so" said he
land boss | knows it, and boss what
! wants to know is dis: What must
we poor niggers do about ito" There
is the rub. | couldn't tell him. but
did say, ''Uncle Lewis. Your race has
got some MIGHTY good traits, and
like to have you about rs; you are
kind-hearted, good-natured, easy to
please. and don't carry malice or re-
venge III your hearts; YOU steal, but
You don't cheat anvbOdy. The white
race won't steal, but they Will cheat,
or take advantage in a trade and that
is worse. If YOU trust negro with
anything he will not abuse your con-
fidence, but white man will embezzle
and defraud and even the cashiers of
banks will appropriate the banks
money, and falsify the books for
months and years. Every race has its
traits, both bad and good. Some of
Your bad ones were almost run out
by slavery, but they have come back
again, and all your college education
does not stop it. II makes it worse.
There is nothing that Will stop it but
work, constant work. every day. TN
der some good employer. Work on
the farm is your best safeguard, or
work as mechanics under good con
tractors. Your people make good nc
chanics, and the white people employ
them and patronize them just as viii
linSly as they do white mechanics.
The negro blacllsmithS and nlasons
get good employment here and every
where, and as for cooking and wash
ing and nursing. your women have II
nj 'ha H.-
nicely if it wasn't for politics and idle
ness. An idle negro is a dangerous
creature and should be taken up and
put to work. He is much more dan
gerous than an idle white man, for
he has no shame, and fears not God
nor regards man. II ] were a law
maker, ] would MAKE continued idle
ness o crime for, as Ben Franklin
says: 1t IS the parent Of vice.
| started 10 write about suicides.
but got TO preaching Uncle Lewis a
sermon and got of the track. Nine
teen hundred wears ago Plutarch. the
Greek historian, said that selfmurder
was cowaroiicc. for brave man would
suffer rather than lake the life that
God gave him. Seif-murder was q
heinous crime under the old English
law. The estate OF the fclo de Sc was
confiScated and taken away from his
family His body was buried on the
highway without a coffin and a sharp
spike thrust through il 10 mark III"
acclrrsed spot. Suicide was under the
ban of the church, and no prayers
were said for his soul. IN no civiliz-
ed country has suicide been justified,
except in such cases as that Of saul,
who fell on his sword because. aS he
said. Lest these uncircumcised Phil
istines thrust ne through and abuS"
ne" Or perhaps that other notable
,ase the Scriptures record, that Of
Judas. whose rcmOrSc was So dreadful
he preferred hell or anything that
would bc n change But generally il