Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1902-02-20
The City OF Charleston.

The City OF Charleston.
The city Of Charleston rests upon
pride. It is the kind Of pride that
renders man or city ridiculous.
Were there anything to warrant
the superior air that characterizes
the white people OF this dull, ugly
and dirty old town it's effect would
not be 30 irritating. The Charles
ton visitor finds series of surprises
which continue as long as he re-
mains.
One thing that is continually i'm
pressing you is the great number Of
colored people to be met with. So
many are there Of them in compar-
isnn with the whites that one in
stinctively wonders what the solu-
tion Of the problem will be. The
streets of Charleston are thronged
with them-an ignorant, despised
and shiftleas multitude. There is
not employment for all of them,
and SO they are q parasite class, I'M
able to struggle upw0rd and a bar
rier to the progress OF the whites.
Every since the close of the war
they have increased out of all pro-
portion to the white race, and it is
hard to reason from cause to effect
and not see fearful problem con-
fronting the next generation. There
are over nine million of them now,
mostly in the south.
If the word dilapidated applies to
any city in the union it applies to
Charleston. Everything is old, old,
old. Nowhere is there anything
that looks modern except the expo
sition. The homes that were sspa-
latiai mansions when George
Washington was president are "pa-
latial mansions now The people
are continually telling you SO, and
the amusing thing about it is that
they think it is true. The Charles
ton citizen thinks Charleston is a
modern city for he has never tray
eled. His father told him that
Charleston was modern and the
citizen of today tells his children
the same thing.
The house in which l happen to
be rooming was doing business as
u sort Of colonial army headquar-
tiers during the revolution. From
the room l am occupying General
Marion, 1.-THE Swamp Fox" made
his sensational escape from the
British soldiers. / hope to follow
his example myself before long.
HAS anything happened here
since," / asked Of the young man
who related the above incident;
anything except the fall of Fort
Sumter and the exposition?''
Eyes" he answered, 1--WE had an
earthquake"
The streets of Charleston are mar
row. AGrangeville business street
would make three Of these avenues.
There is Tut one street-car track
because there isn't room for two.
Every second block your car takes
the side track for one going in the
opposite direction. If a negro with
his mule cart is in front of you the
mule cart determines the speed oil
your own car. The other morning
my car to the exposition was on
one of the numerous side tracks.
The east-bound car had gone by
and we were about to proceed when
the motorman suddenly signaled
the other conductor to stop. Their
he went on and the passengers soor
saw him leisurely taking a bite o.
tobacco from plug belonging to
the conductor Of that car. He re
] turned and finally carried us to oul
: destination.
!, Yesterday ! took walk through
) the market portion Of the city
Running about, lodging wagons
j and, people like chickens, wer,
: from twenty to thirty buzzards
: They are as large as our own west
r ern eagles. How do they happier
). to be SO tame?" ! enquired OF
e policeman. 1--WE use them as sea y
!, engers," he replied. "They eat u
all the decayed fruit and refus
matter that lays in the streets. /
is against the law to harm them
e That is why they are not molested.
:. ! didn't quite believe the story h
:. told me and so | secured q copy {
d the city ordinances. Sure enoug
p it provided q punishment of 'sfin
i and imprisonment" for harmin
,e the buzzards. They perch on tn
u tops of business blocks until hur
cry and then go about cleaning til
streets. I thought it the MOI
te unique sewer system of which ha
ever heard.
r But what the city and Poop
N lack in attractiveness the clima1
N trys to make amends for. Jul
now the climate is like late May
y Idaho. Flowers and green tire,
de- are everywhere in evidence and 3
IS much to counterfeit the bad impre
ae sion that the city gives one.
ne S The civil war is being fougl
q over again every day and by Il