Woodville Republican. (Woodville, Miss.) 185?-current, 1902-01-18

eSlS VI luJ6T6bJ. LdSL week letter
was upon "The Coming and the Over
throw of the Negro in Congress" His
notice of Hiram R. Revells, the first
negro to enter the United States Sen
ate Tin 1S70), concludes thus:
"Ten years after Revells' retirement
from the Senate I visited the capital
of Mississippi, and there met the late
Senator George, who was then Sena
tor-elect, with the Governor Of the
State and number of other promi
nent officials. l was equally surprised
and gratifed to hear from them that
ex-senator Revells was doing a great
work in Mississippi as president Of a
college for colored students, and that
he was very highly respected, and his
work was so we'll appreciated that the
State Of Jefferson Davis, who was then
living, contributed annually and liber.
ally to maintain the institution. Re.
wells continued in that work until his
death, and he lived to see Blanche X.
Bruce, Of his own race, represent his
State in the Senate, with half a dozen
or more negro representatives in the
House. Bruce entered the Senate in
1875, served full term, and afterward
was made register of the treasury. He
had more rosy pathway than his pre-
decessor in the Senate, as the negro
was no longer Stunned as a pest in
the councils of the nation"
B. X. Bruces son, Roscoe Conkling
Bruce, is, by the way, the orator of this
years senior class at Harvard.
Col. Mcclure relates also the follow
ing interesting story of John r. Lynch
and President Roosevelt:
in 1873 John R. Lynch, another
prominent negro, appeared as a mem
ber Of Congress from Mississippi, and
was one of seven negroes in that body.
He was elected for three consecutive
terms, and saw the rapidly growing
tolerance Of the Republican leaders for
negro political fellowship very impres.
sively portrayed at the Chicago Repub-
lican national convention in 1884
When the chairman of the national
committee called the body to order one
of the youngest members Of the con
vention rose and in a speech of sin
gular elegance and force nominated
Representative Lynch as temporary
chairman. In presenting this nomina-
tion the young orator said that it was
a fitting thing for us to choose to pre-
side over the convention one of that
race whose right to sit within these
walls is due to the blood and treasure
so lavishly spent by the founders of
the Republican party Mr.. Lynch was
promptly and unanimously elected,
and the young orator who thus pre-
sented the first negro to preside over
national convention, and the only
one of his race who has ever been in
charge of such body, was Theodore
Roosevelt, now President of the United
States"
Capt. John A. Webb, secretary of the
Railroad Commission, has recently
completed statistics from which we
gather the following interesting facts:
During the two years ending October
l, 1901, 1000 persons were killed or
injured on the railroad in Mississippi.
Such tragic happenings are on the in
crease and this record shows an in
crease of Is per cent. over the two
years Immediately preceding the Pc
riod, and this despite the fact that
there were no smash-ups or great ac-
cidents involving heavy loss.
The number of persons killed by
railroads in Mississippi in 1900 was
1O6 and the number injured 361, max
ing a total of 467 killed and injured
during the year. In 1901 124 were killed
and 400 were injured, making a total
of 59S, or an increase of 66 over the
record Of the previous year. The total
number of killed during the biennial
period was 2S0 and the injured 770,
making grand total of killed and
injured amounting to an even 1000.
Labor agents are infesting some Of
our "hill counties" again, each per-
suading the negroes to follow him to
some new land of promise" About
100 families have left Claiborne county
for the delta already. Most of these
people did we'll last year and cleared
money, but in spite of this they were
eager to leave their comfortable cab
ins and patches" their kindred and
home, to enter a new country and
new life Of "the ills Of which they
know not" The poor, deluded crea-
lures are usually glad to get back |
home after year or two spent in the !
arduous labor necessary on the big
plantations in the swamp. This fact, |
however, does not go very far toward |
helping the Claiborne county farmers
to plant, make and harvest his crops |
next year, whatever it may do the |
year after.
His friends-and wherever there are
men, Masons, merchants or
jolly good fellows in the State his
friends are numerous and sipcere-of
Hon. J. H. Duke CT Kemper county
with him in the loss by
fire of his business house in Scooba.
The loss amounts to $4,000 and the
insurance to $5,O00
Copiah county's fine new courthouse
will be built at once by the Hull Bros.
Of Jackson, whose bid (the lowest) |
was s44,6oS. The contract insures the