Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1903-12-31
TIE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.

CHAPTER VI.

StlbullOu VI 1901 was auOPhSu "
nearly a hundred thousand ma
jority. 1t was submitted to the
people as a separate proposition
from the rest of the document.
1t was for the most part a dead
letter Notwithstanding its great
majority, and persons of color
continued to come and go at their
pleasure except runaway slaves,
men hired them and traded with
them without so much as asking
them where they were from.
Our county, (RandolphQ alone
of all the counties Of the state
gave a majority against the 18th
article of the constitution of
1851. Because it was in some
counties before the war and in
all after the adoption of the 18th
and 18th amendments to the con-
stitution of the United States, a
dead letter it remained, a black
spoton our state constitution until
1881, than the voters of the state
noticing the inharmony of the
thing repealed it and adopted a
constitution in harmony with the
constitution of the United States.
This neglect was just simply
the result of the fact that the
thing was dead before and not
being enforced was just forgotten.
Under the working of this in
famous law, one Benjamin Rut-
land, colored man, whose truth
and veracity was never doubted
sold horse to fellow, who paid
$4,000 all in counterfeit money,
knowing that it was such at the
time. The purchaser was arrest
ed and readily identified by Mr..
Rutland as the man from whom
he had received the spurious
coin.
No one doubted his guilt but
the court was powerless. The
accused was a white man. The
witness against him was a negro,
and under the law he went free,
for outlands testimony could not
be taken in the court.
In the assessment and collec-
tion of taxes there was no dis
elimination made between the
white man and the black man.
The black man paid his full
share of taxes for all purposes in
proportion to his property, but il
was expressly provided in the
school laws that no negro or per-
son of mixed blood should receive
no benefit from the school
fund of the state. In this way
he was absolutely robbed, to edu-
cate the children of his white
neighbors while his own children
were shut out of the house which
his money had helped to build
and were left to grow up in ig.
norance. In justice to the slave
states, properly so called, it must
be said that not all the wrong by
great deal done to the negro
was confined to their territory.
i Sometimes we wonder why the
north had to suffer as they did il
the war. But we must remembeI
that whatsoever we SOW that alst
shall we reap and by sowing such
seed as the law spoken of above
we create a sentiment in eacl
, community that perhaps as il
this case must be washed out il
blood.
. We have only taken one stel
l above this law yet, for our wo
/ men have no rights above that o
: the darkie at that time in som
r respects for her money goes t
t pay taxes and while her children
: has the advantage of school, sh
t has in most of the states no voic
E in determining who shall govern
z the state or make its laws.
Bretheren should we not awak
to the fact that we might do
5 little better in this respect.
: Almost every free state had it
n code of black laws which Away
II