The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-02-22

not know, viz: that white cotton bloom
never yielded fruit, but was useless.
Every southern boy knew that cotton
bloom Is white the first day it opens, has
little red veins at sun down, and is red
the next day, but the Sublime superiority
of this man never led him to ask the
small darkey about this little fragment
of botany
Shortly after the war, old man Roebuck
came from Ohio to Lowndes county ana
purchased from a descendant of the Clan
Cameron, a plantation, yet bearing his
rame and 1t is said the canny Scotch
man, Mccall by name, related by affinity
to me- made a good trade when he parted
with the land, mules and the good Will
of the darkey tenants. who had been his
slaves all their lives. Roebuck was
good Christian, If men ever are such, but
honestly believed that the only difference
between a white man and a negro was
in the color of their skins, wherein we all
know he was about as far from the truth
as the other ICED and morality man was
about the cotton blooms. But Roebuck
came down to shed the light of the gospel
en- poor benighted freedmen and southern
whites teach them religion by example,
and incidentally make a little money by
farming. Mccall agreed to stay with him
a few months and assist as far as ne was
able, in showing the new settler how 10
farm.
Roebuck from the start called his ten
ants Brother Sam and Sister Susan. etc,
and had prayer meeting every night, and
the darkey brothers and sisters did their
full share in praying. Things went on
beautifully and Roebuck was reaping the
reward of his devotion to the colored
brother, until finally when spring blowing
got under way, he noticed that his mules
u-ara eating paunf and Moor although
bountifuly fed. When he complained.
Brother Mccall told him to watch the big
trough after the mules were fed at night.
He did so, and came with a woefully in
jured air and said. Brother Mccall. what
do you think? I found Brother San,
stealing corn from my poor mules
Brother Mccall, who had known such
things for forty years, only said, 'Yon
don't say sou Shortly afterwards he
became downcast and heaving deep signs
with the tale that Sister Susan was not
as chaste as Diana of old. Brother Nc
Call said. you don't say SOL" Thus, boz
cause Roebuck good, honest Christian as
he was, already knew so much more than
Mccall the latter. let him find out things
for himself He fArmed the year through
and the earkeys stole his corn and cot
ton from the fields at night, so that the
old man lost money. end worse than all,
| lObt Ialln III HIS tpiity u cHdHSt TIE
| leopards spots, so that he sold out and
went back to Ohio a wiser and sadder
man.
| Secretary Root said in his speech to the
| Union League that negro suffrage was a
| failure, and when he read 1t Brother Nc
| Call no doubt, exclaimed, You don't say
| so?" When on his dying bed Roosevelt
| shall confess that he could not make the
| Mississippi river run up HILL nor enforce
| negro social equality in the south. Brother
! McCalrs ghost will groan, you don't say
J so?" Profound ignorance, not innate Gus
| sedness is at the bottom of many pre-
| JUDGES. No doubt. we have ours, but we
do not try to force them on others, but
| let them alone
SO It is that very good people thou
| sand miles away know so much better
| than we how to manage the inferior race
| Their fathers resolved that the earth be
| longed to the saints, and forthwith toot
| their mllskets and shot the Indians In or
der to rob them of their land, and 1hf
poor Indian still gets the worst OF ever,
| bargain. But when other people are MOI
altogether angels in dealing with an IN
ferior race suddenly given the ballot, UNI
der new and untried conditions. their NAL
evidence knows no bounds, and the south
erner Is pictured as the worst of beings
| am very high tempered, but have nevel
struck negro, nor have I ever seen hal
a dozen struck since the war by whites
though for a long time lived where they
outnumbered the whites five to one.
(To be continually
| A.