Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-10-05
THE NEGRO IN THE WEST INDIES.
Why He Is Not the Victim Of Lynch'ns
There.

| For the slightest tranSSleSSioii ~
| be fiogged, and the loss OF leg vi al
arm was frequently the peHaits ioi
| minor offences. jealous lliiS''
| used to seat their women slaves oii lot
stones in the blazing sun, ana cruellles
were perpetrated by slave owners IN
| the early part of the last century oiliy
eoualled by the fortunes lnfllcted on the
| negro in some of the southern states Oh
| America at lynching bout nowadays
| Tt is true that the standard OF educa-
ton among the West Indian whites was
| very little above that Of the negro in
| the DAYS of slavery. The master, q
| slave himself to drunkenness and de-
| hauchery. it is no wonder the negro
| ala not improve under his tutelage It
was not until he set an example and
became a respectable citizen that the
colored man followed in his wake. 1t
was only when humanity and morality
| went hand in hand among all class IS,
| and the white man took an interest in
| the welfare of his cOlored brother, that
| the condition of the negro in the West
| Indies became what it is now But
this did not happen until the slaves in
| Hayti rose in revolt against their
| French masters and proclaimed their
independence in 1903. To the brave
stand taken by its black sons one hun
bred years ago the colored people of the
| West Indies owe their freedom today.
| AS the French Revolution taught a les
| son to the aristocracy of France, so did
| the Haytian revolution teach d lesson
to the Shareholders and pave the way
for the freedom of every negro i'll the
rest of the Antilles. From that time
| the negro's lot was better one, and
emancipation following a few years
afterward in the English, French and
| Danish Islands, the last act which gave
freedom to the slave was proclaimed i'll
i the Spanish West Indian possessions.
Since then his career has been one OF
progress toward a happier condition.
That the negro today in the West
u Indies under such auspices, is an i'm
Il portant factor and contributes largely
to their material wealth and prosperity
can scarcely be denied. He is the real
Workingman of these ecolOnics. AGri-
culture is yet their rnainstay, and
sugar their staple product All of it is
planted, gathered in and taken to tn"
mill by the negro at Il daily wage i'll
some of the Lesser Antilles, scarcely
sufficient to keep the body and soul to-
gether. But he rarely complains, I'M
less some act of fragrant injustice is
done to him, and he never goes on
/ strike, labor unions being. fortunately,
unknown i'll these countries. He seeks
rather to supplement his earnings by
growing yarns, sweet potatoes, tanias,
rearing hogs and poultry.
AS Il rule he is a church member,
marries, sends his children to school
. education being compulsory in most of
the islands-and COMFORTS himself
equally, if not in a superior manner, to
. the most prosperous peasantry i'll
: Europe. He has wholesome respect
for the law, because it is swift to pun
!. sh in these countries and knows no
e distinction between the white man,
e mulatto or negro He is no longer styl-
: ed before the courts Free negro man
JOHN or Free mulatto man Thomas
t He is John Jones or James Thomas
4 with every one, and Mr.. Jones Or John
= Jones, esq, according to his standing.
. If eligible he becomes an elector and
sometimes a legislator. He can go to
, the polls side by side with the white
1 man, ard as neither of them dares to
? carry concealed weapons there is no
|
they ever so inclined. Nor is the negro
r the subject of outrageous and cruel
caricature. His features are not eXag-
, gerated in print, and if deserving
/ citizen he is respected as such. He
therefore respects others, to whatever
: class they may belong. There is no
separate church for the colored man
and his white Christian brother or
sister. AS they will some day stand be-
, fore their Maker equal as man or
woman, to be judged accordingly. SO
do they stand in the sacred edifice,
: whether in Il pew or before the altar.
Their children go to the same schools
| for religious or secular instruction.
There are no separate seats for them in
the theatres or places of public amuse-
ment. Every one, white or colored, can
enjoy himself to his hearts content at
any such place. sitting next to his
neighbor without feeling any the worse
, for it. They have grown large hearted
enough to tolerate each other and,
: where acquainted, to shake hands, the
white hand and the black hand meeting
in as friendly a clasp as if both We're
: black or white.
To see what the coored man has ac-
! cOmpliShed in the West Indies under
sucn conditions, one has only to visit
them. In the towns which he has help
ed to build he is d merchant. clerk or
mechanic, his Wife and daughters very
often helping him in his store, if a
merchant, or running stores of their
own. Some of the most successful
traders in the West Indies are women.
Everywhere you will find evidence of
their progress and standing in these
communities. AS professional men
some of them have left their mark on
West Indian history. Only lately to
one CT them Sir Conrad Reeves, Chief
Justice of Barbados when he died,
was accorded a public funeral.
That the present status of the colored
man, in the English and Danish islands
especially is largely due to his willing
ness to avail himself of every oppor-
| tunity for his advancement must be
conceded by every one who has watched
his career onward for the last forty
years. 1t must, however, be allowed
that the earnest efforts of the white