The colored American., 1901-10-12

ing a reply. Presumably the asker of
any such question never expects to
get a frank and honest expression of
opinion from the person to whom it
is addressed. At any rate I think /
am safe in saying that nine persons
out of every ten would not stop to
think seriously as to their reply, but
would Immediately answer: why
there are many things about your city
that [ like" or Il like the place very
well so far as l have seen," or some
such statement as would not give Of
fense or bring about a discussion as
to the good or bad characteristics of
the city in question. What else are
people to do when confronted with
any such inquiry in the ordinary con
verSatiOn of the drawing room, and
among persons with whom one is not
on terms of intimate friendship? One
cannot to everybody make known
ones real opinions or give voice to
what one really likes or dislikes,
especially when the question pertains
to the native city of the inquirer, and
more especially when the inquirer is
as much wrapped up in that city as
IS the average CharlestOnian in his
home by the sea. l can always find
something about any city to like and
many things to dislike; so when ]
meet the question face to face as I
did the other day, l shove the good
things forward, and leave the un-
favorable opinions in the back ground
This seems to me to be the part of
wisdom.
But coming back to the question:
How does one like Charleston and
what impression does it make on the
SOjOuner? In the first place Charles
ton is preeminently a city Of custom
and tradition. Nothing much is done
here unless it was in vogue 80, 75 or
100 years ago and was the practice
Of the fathers and the grandfathers of
the city. a prominent cOlOred gentle
man visiting the city recently. while
reading the News and Courier. re
marked: "This paper never gets ex-
cited,' and he was right for not ONLY
is this true regarding the paper but in
regard to almost everything else and
everybody else here. The same beliefs
that were held a half century ago OBJ
tain now, the same style of archi-
lecture is in use as in colonial times
the same gait characteristics the walk
of the business and professional peO-
pie as was their wont in the earlier
periods and almost the same social
distinctions prevail as in the DAYS
Of slavery. These observations refer
especially to the upper classes of both
white and COlOTed: the under strata of
population in any city never change
greatly unless there is some violent
upheayal. 1t does not take one lone
TO ascertain that the CharleStOnianS
do not take kindly to any person CT
movement calculated to divert their
paths from those in which they have
trOd without much interruption or
divergence for generations. Whether
or not the visitor would like this adj
herenCe to ancient custom would de-
pend largely on his temperament and
past associations As for me the
slOwness with which they move and
the tendency not to do things SimpIv
because it is not custom unneryes. me
and irritates me almost beyond ex-
preston. However, l think if one re-
mains here any great length of time.
these even tenor habits will he inn
bibed and the feeling that the future |
will take care of itself will become
second nature.
But there is one thing done here to |
which cannot reconcile myself and
against which 1 enter my most en-
phatic protest on any and all occa-
slons where prOpriety will allow. They |
have here white teachers in the coIored |
city public schools. l am too much of |
q colored man to endorse or even |
acqulesce in such a policy on the part |
OF the School Board If we are 10
have separate schools for white and
colored children, l say let us have