The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-03
THEY WILL NOT UNDERSTAND.

for fact.
 THEY WILL NOT UNDERSTAND.
 It is really inexplicable that there should exist anywhere in the North such ignorance of the conditions and feelings which exist among the Southern people. but the most intelligent among them ap- pear to be utterly unable to understand the perfectly natural repugnance which we have to anything approaching race equality. For example. The Boston Her aid says:
 Taking their intercourse as a whole. the white people at the South are willing to associate with the members of the black race in a much more intimate manner than are a great many white people at the North. The former have negroes as servants in their houses, as nurses for their children, and come into intimate relations with them in other less credit able ways. But they draw the line on sit ting at the table with them, or in mak- ing a tacit acknowledgement of social equality. On the other hand, it Is not uncommon in the North to find people who do not like to have colored people near them in any relation in life; but they would far sooner dine at the table
 
 mon as nurse for their children.
 Passing over the insituation contained in the expression, Hess creditable ways" We are surprised that The Herald cannot see that it is precisely because we of the South have always been accustomed to | having colored servants about us that we now oppose anything approaching social equality, just as we did then. In fact, the feeling Is more pronounced now than it was in the days of slavery, because the slaves never presumed to take advantage of the familiarity between master or mis- | tress and servant which was part of the 1 old system, and which was necessary for | both. The slaves knew their position perfectly and knew that there was an | immutable line between the races which could neither be crossed nor abolished,
 The surprise which some Northern peo- pie exhibit at our opposition to race equality Is not as great as is our aston ishment that they should be opposed to colored nurses, and if that opposition is founded on actual conditions existing in Boston and elsewhere North, the race there is sadly behind those of the South. No children on earth ever had better nurses than have those in the South who had colored nurses, and although this Is not as strictly true now as it was in the slavery days, 1t is largely so yet. The black mammies' of the olden time were ideal nurses, absolutely faithful, kind and careful as a rule and as devoted to their charges as the mothers themselves could have been. There were exceptions of | course, but as a general thing the mother knew that her child would be protected and cared for to the death, If necessary.
 That freedom brought changes, and that the colored nurses are not as devoted and reliable now as they were in former days is true, but the most intensely prejudiced man or woman from Boston or anywhere | else would not be here long without be- | coming convinced that the colored women of the South are thoroughly competent and reliable nurses. And the visitor would discover, too, that this intimate relation between nurse and child carries with it no thought of social equality, nor do the nurses think of such thing, or often take advantage of their position.
 As to The Heralds assertion that Northern people would far sooner dine at the table with black man than have black woman as a nurse, that is prob ably matter of taste, but we should like to ask where they would draw the line. If dining together is right and proper is it not equally right and proper to assemble together in the parIor? And if that Is unobjectionable, would not in termarriage naturally follow? Does not The Herald recognize the natural se- quence of events from the social board to the marriage altar? Would a man who things it right to assemble negroes in his dining room with his family object to negro son-in-law or colored grand children? The Herald ought to know that one step follows another in regular | order, and that We of the South do not propose to allow the first step taken And we do not believe that The Heralds edi- tor would be more favorable to such a violation of the laws of nature than the editor of The Advertiser would. He looks at things from a distance and fails to nderstand what Is patent to Southern people.
 On the same line, and even less defen- sible, is the assertion of New York Republican paper which seems to live on it's hatred of the Southern people. that the death of slavery was the death of caste In this country" The reverse is true. There was no caste" in the days of slavery. It was master and slave, and no question of social equality was thought of Now the races are separate and will remain so. Our Northern friends should try to educate themselves.
 If the editor of The Marion County | News actually believes that itinerant ministers would be disfranchised under