Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16
THE COLORED PEOPLE
CONDITION OF NEGRO RACE I'M
NATIONAL CAPITAL.

presents sociological problem. unique, pc.
culiar to itself. alive with interest, and
unlike that OF any other city on which the
round moon shimmers. II extremes meet
anywhere they fairly bump against each
other here. and the two opposite ends are
OF the same race and hue.
| Here one finds the negro ana without
number. stin in the same elemental stage
where savagery left him, and here one 10
met at every corner by negroes who pos
sess all the refinement and culture that
| modern education can bestow. Coyn-aeld
negroes drifting In from Maryland, tobacco.
field negroes emigrating from Virginia,
negro drunkards who haunt the river bar
rooms stupefied with vile whisky, and ,rue
gentlemen OF color. like Prof. Kelly Miller
of Howard University and Judson w.
| Lyons register of the United States treas
| ury. are typical OF the two ends which
| the white man In the center meets at ey-
| cry turn.
What would be termed a SUM IN any
| other city Is denominated an alley in
| Washington, and these alleys-Blagden's.
| MAYORS. Clicks and dozen more like
| them-are filled, with but a white excep-
| ton here and there, by the folk of color.
Ordinarily these odd tenement districts are
peaceful and serene enough-so peaceful
and serene that one would scarcely suspect
| their existence, but let a quarrel or an
| affair of the razor occur and the black
inhabitants-the lowest that can be as
sembled anywhere-pour forth from their
squalid hives In perfect swarms. A full
80 per cent Of the crimes of the city are
| blackisted Qn every sense) against these
| quarters of the poverty-stricken of Wash
| irgton; and yet. in justice TO the denizen
| of the alley, 1t must be said that crime in
| Its worst and premeditated sense is rare,
and that stabbing affrays and murders are
| comparatively infrequent and the result of
| sudden impulse.
| a friendly 0S
| penetrate the gloomy crevices OF these
| seamy quarters, and If you are interested in
colored types, you can crafty your curl
osty to the full. In the rear room OF a
| tenement that shelters maybe five families
| you will find "old mammies," palsied and
| age-stricken. shiyering over dying FIRE;
| while in the cubby-hole of a room in front
you will discover an "old uncle" white Of
hair. toothless and blind who has crept
| here, object of the sporadic charity Of
| the miserable, to end his days. Ascend the
| rickety stairs. and a troop of ragged pick
aninnies will call their bandanna- turbaned
| mother to question your approach. No
where outside Of the BLACK Belt" will you
| find such variety Of types. and there they
| are scattered over wide areas.
| The average visitor will leave Washington
with the impression that the nations capi-
| tai contains no sluIn, so completely are
these odd haunts of vice and misery shield
| ed from the eye Of all but the initiated, SO
well surrounded are they by the mansions
of the rich. covered by imposing struc-
|
| imposing government structures, and SO
| hidden are they by broad, shaded avenues.
| A SUM Of this character Is more dangerous
| to the health and well being OF commit
| nifty than that of any other mentionable;
| its evils escape detection, vice breeds un-
observed restitution testers without pity,
| disease 1ourishes without check. In his
last message to Congress President Roose-
| welt who has thorough understanding Of
| the tenement problem. called attention TO
this condition Of affairs in few terse. apt
aragraphs.
| Besides the colored tenements Of the alley
| there is the colored shanty Of the avenues.
| Pass down Massachusetts, or Rhode Island
| avenue, strike into Dupont Circle-tn any OF
| the arteries and at the very heart Of WASH
| ingtonian seclusion and fashion, and next
| to the magnificent homes of the millionaire,
| you will notice the dilapidated shack Of ths
colored washerwoman. The negro came to
| Washington when the post-bellum senti-
ment for his race was at its height: he
squatted in the choicest of locations, and all
the governments horses and all the govern
ment's men cannot make him stir from
what he values as his choicest privilege. In
more ways than one these tumble-down
| shacks are an obstacle to the improvement
| of the city, a nail in the wheel Of progress
and q stumbling block to the plans for the
capitals Identification.
Talk to a negro of intelligence and edu-
cation and he will tell you that his race VIII
| survive the whites in Washington, since
| survival is to those fttest to survive under
given conditions, and the colored man can
Thrive IN MONIES ana i've on Il wage WHeto
| his white brother would fade like violet in
| the sun. The cast-of clothing of master,
which white servant would reject IN
| scorn, the negro wears In pride. for he
would seem to revel IN the picturesquenoss
that rags lend to his appearance, and the
| wife or daughter who goes out in service
| will nourish the family with food from her
| basket, filled nightly by the leavings from
| her mistress table. The white man cannot
compete; he must leave Washington or
starve; and hence the wagons, carts and
carriages are driven, vegetables and fish
are peddled, the houses are cleaned and
painted, the streets are paved and swept,
the buildings are erected and dismantled-
In short every manner of service varying
from the mental to the lower type of skilled
labor is performed by black hands
Quick to recognize and grasp his oppor-
tunites for betterment, the negro pours
into Washington from all quarters Of the
south, until the competition for place has
become savage and wages are cut down to
the subsistence limit Even the tip which
the congressman hands to the colored
waiter Of Washington Is lower than he
would think of proffering to him elsewhere.
Figures. 30 to speak, tell the story In other
words. Washingtons population OF 27S.000
Is one-third colored, while but 26 per cent
OF the 2S1O0O people in New Orleans are
black and As per cent OF Memphis 10S 600
is listed as negro. Washington, then, has
the largest colored population Of any city
IN the United States
II you would look on another and q
brighter picture walk into a Pennsylvania
avenue book store and observe the olives
complexioned, blue-eyed girls (their colored
ancestry barely perceptible) who ask the
clerks for textbooks In geometry, gram.
mars In Greek and Latin. the classics in
French; note their dress. their demeanor
and their accent, and II you are impartial
you must admit they are surpassed in moth.
Ing by the daughters Of Washington's elite.
In the car that bears you homeward, IL you
are on the lookout for 1t, you Will catch
sight of dark-hued faces bent in study over
the newest works on chemistry or biology.
If you are still doubtful of the capabilities
and possibilities Of the colored race, visit
the Colored High Scholar institution
supported by the government-and under
the able guidance Of the principal. Miss A.
]. Cooper, spend an hour In conversation
with its cultured teachers, inspect the work
of the classrooms and the laboratories,
listen to the Rotations In the sciences in
the languages and English literature. in
spect the artistic drawings; watch the faces
or the young men and women, beaming
with intelligence, surcharged with interest
m their studies; note the perfect deport-
ment-do these things in spirit that knows
no prejudice and you must leave the build.
Ing with the feeling that the powers OF edu-
cation have limit.
On some bright Sunday morning in spring,