The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-29
THE NEGRO MAN-sERvANT.

THE NEGHO MAN-SEht ANi.
One of the few lines of employment that
| have been open for the negro in the North
is that Of servant, in the hotels, homes,
clubs and stables. But the negro-that is
the male negro-is rapidly being weeded
out of the place of even servant. OF all
establishments in the country where one
might expect the negro to be treated with
utmost consideration, the Union League
Club of New York stands prominently
forth. 1t was the meeting place and club
, of abolitionists during war times, and
has since been stalWart Republican in pol
itics. Nevertheless so unsatisfactory has
the service OF negro servants been found
by the Union League Club that move
ment was recently started to have all
of the negroes employed by the club
dismissed and replaced with French.
German and English servants. The trend
throughout New York city is said to be
in the same direction. Fewer and fewer
colored male servants are being employed.
A representative of the New York Eve
ming Post the other day called on the
head of an employment bureau that has
made a speciality of colored help, and
asked for the reason of the decline IN the
demand for colored males. The bureau
manager said that the decline did not APP
ply to colored women, especially those d.
rect from the South, who, with some at
tention and kind treatment become model
waiting maids. There was also good
demand for men as buffers, when the men
unders TODD their business. But, as for
the class OF negroes who apply as men
servants, we find that they are too ire
sponsble, lazy, and even treacherous. We
can place no dependence upon them. 1t
is this class of negro men who spoil all
our good negro mattresses. They get i'll
her affections first, then live on her earn
ings, and when this is not enough, 1t is an
easy matter for them to induce the girl to
prey upon the Iarder of her employer for
food to satisfy their extravagant appe-
tiles"
The Post representative talked with club
men on the subject. Many of them said
the negro was too slow when it came 10
waiting upon more than one person. In
accurately. Where there was not much 10
be done and only one man to look after,
the negro sometimes makes a model
valet.
In the course of his speech at Tuskegce
the other day DR.. Parkhurst deprecated
the prejudice" at the North which re-
suited in shutting negroes out from ave-
There is. unquestionaby, a strong preju-
dice in the North against the negro,
stronger than there is in the South; but
does prejudice" cover the whole ground?
is not the negro himself to blame in q
considerable degree for his failure to get
ahead in the North? During the war and
afterwards for a number of years the
Northern prejudice against the race was
not so strong as il is now. For senti-
mental reasons the black race was given
advantages at the North. The Northern-
ers wished to show the Southerners that
the man and brother" could quickly be
lifted up to the same plane with the fair
skinned race. And the black man neg
lected to make the most of his opportuni-
Ties, Dy beginning well ana deserving bet
ter. Maybe the coddling spoiled him.
Southern people, who are familiar with
the black race, know that what the en-
ployment bureau manager, quoted above.
said about the class of negroes who apply
as men servants, is true. And the class
represents a considerable proportion of
the colored population that is to be found
in every Southern city and doubtless
many of those of the North. There are
numerous individual exceptions. of course.
There is no better servant in the wide
world than the honest, painstaking, faith
full colored person, man or woman The
number of this class was large years ago,
but it is not large now.