The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-07

lection
u the expressions about him which you
may hear in all parts of the South to-day
are any guide that certainly was the fact
They regarded his appointment OF negroes
to Federal offices as mistakes, but the APP
pointments were made with absence OF
swagger or Of theatrical dragooning at
titudes
The question of their being made al
grand stand plays and for his own Interior
ends was entirely eliminated In President
MoKinleys case. As mistakes they were
deplored. but because Of the personality
of the man who made them and because OF
the implicit faith in his sincerity and OF his
| obvious self-effacement in making them,
they were accepted with sigh as part
OF the burden of the white man in the South
of which better understanding OF con-
ditions as they were would ultimately re-
| eve him.
The situation here in Indianola was
typical of all that Had President Mckinley
lived. Minnie Cox would have gone on
quietly to the end Of her term OF Office In
January next Had President Mckinley g
successor carried out President Mckinley
policy, had he manifested sympathy with
President McKinleys attitude and obvious
aspirations regarding the South, the In
dianola incident would have been unheard
| Of
But there came the agitation OF the ques-
ton Of the appointment of the negro Crum
| in Charleston: the moderate but very earn
est efforts Of the people Of Charleston to
avert that appointment; then the stories
of Ethiopian festivities and receptions at
the White House, and thus one aggressive,
| irritating incident after another
The conservative people here saw the
way things were drifting and vainly tried
to check the current. But the radical
agitators quickly seized their opportunity.
They kept up the growing irritation. and
the Senegambian fest in Washington still
going on. they never lacked for material.
Then came the meeting called here in the
Court House. at which Minnie Cox was
asked to resign.
That she was ever threatened is pre-
posterous nonsense. Neither by word nor
implication was any threat directed toward
her. The people here, those who supply
nine-tsnths OF the post Offices business.
never wanted negress as postmaster. They
tolerated her and would have gone on toler-
ating her to the end had it not been for the
suuueIl OulDIedh VI pIOuullk VI ltlS
mant negro question into life.
Then, and then only. it was that the
latent dissatisfaction took formal express
sion. The Indanola meeting which asked
Minnie Cox to resign and the anti-negro
education campaign now on in Mississippi
are the direct result Of the Administra-
tons course. Under the policy pursued
by President Mckinley the Indianola in
oident never would have occurred, and
the anu-negro education campaign never
would have been possible.
So far as this community is concerned.
the feeling has been greatly intensified
by what is regarded by all people here as
the petty persecution which was applied
after the closing Of the post office. That in
itself was bad enough. but it only reflects
the universal opinion here to say that the
smallness of the Administration course
subsequent to the fact was even worse.
Every embarrassment that the big Gov
eminent OF the United States could throw
in the way OF the people of this little COM
munity's getting and sending away its
letters seems to have been resorted to-
1t was directed that the Indlanola mail be
delivered at Greenville. for instance which
is nearly thirty miles distant, instead Of at
Heathman. which is only four miles away
The people here asked that their mail
be sent to Heathman and their request
was CURLY refused, the reason given baing
that the Heathman post Office was not
equipped to handle SO large an increase
Of business That that reason was not
a valid reason is demonstrated by the fact
that the Heathnan post Office. by the
methods pursued by the residents Of this
place is now handling every bit OF the
Indanola post Office business and has
been for months.
This was brought about by Indianola
people advising. 80 far as they could, all
persons who might write to them to address
them at Heathman.
To gather in such mail matter as got to
the Greenville Office they individually
wrote to the postmaster there. directing
him to forward such matter to Heathman
In the main effort to put the people here
thirty miles from their post office the Adj
ministration at Washington has scored a
failure. But it has one triumph. 1t has
caused Indianola much small annoyance
and crippled it's mail service with vexatious
and sometimes costly delays. In one in
stance a very important letter was ten
days in getting here from Greenwood, only
little more than twenty-five miles distant
But the postmaster at Greenville could
not be forbidden to forward letters to
Heathman and people at distance could
not be prevented from sending letters to
Heathman. So Heathman. which the Ad-
ministration said could not handle the
Indianola mail, as matter Of fact is hand
ling it, every bit OF it.
But the people OF Indianoa had to eetab-
lsh a local post Office Of their own and had
to inaugurate postal system Of their own.
That was not very difficult matter.
One corner Of the Sherih's Office in the
court house was fitted up with boxes a.
the post Office and Mrs. Halstead was ap-
pointed postmaster at salary of $40
month Sid Davis, who is one Of the livery.
men Of the town, took the contract Of car
rying the mail to and from Heathman.
He makes two trips day, charging there
for reasonable compensation. Beyond
the delays Of letters which stray around
by the Greenville route, the service is sur
prisingly good, Mrs. Halstead makes an
admirable postmaster. and the people have
settled down to a good-natured laughing
acceptance of the vexations and annoy
ance, which OF course cannot be wholly
eliminated, with philosophy that lis dis