The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-06
THE INDIANoLA PosroFFIcE.

Was the President right in ordering
the postofice at Indianola, Miss, dis
/ continued until the people were willing
/ to accept the col0red woman who holds
that office as their postmaster? He
( had some justification of course, be-
/ cause it is his duty to uphold the dig
/ nifty and authority Of the government,
! but when the woman resigned would
| it not have been the wiser course to
/ have accepted her resignation and APP
/ pointed some one acceptable to the
/ community Of Indianola? 1t may be
| true that she has managed the Office
| satisfactory and has held it for six
/ years, but at present there is very
/ great opposition to her, and the Pres
ident should recognize that fact.
The appointment of the woman was
a mistake. 1t is a safe assertion that
her appointment was not asked for
| by the people who control the com
| munity served from the Indianola post
office. 1t may be that negroes are
in the majority in that community.
We do not know whether they are or
A4bAs htAA a i4lo J'i ny Va INV b'ASANAA9 VI
the postohice are not negroes In fact.
judging from other Southern communi-
ties. the number Of negro patrons of
the office in comparison to the white
patrons is very small AS a rule ne
groes neither send nor receive many
letters and very few of them in any
community receive through the mails
ri frr~ 4rssatags I'M.
books. Primarily therefore the In
dianola postoflce was established FOR
the benefit Of the white people.
That being the case, the wishes of
the white people should be consulted
in the selection of a postmaster. A
postofice is established for the bene-
fit of the people, not to provide a
place for the supporter of the party
in power, and it is not intended to be
used as a means for breaking down
race prejudice. Indeed, it is no part
of the duty Of the government to I'M
dertake to remove race prejudice AS
Stunning therefore that the present oc-
cupant Of the Indianola office is COM
petent, if she is not acceptable to the
people who patronize the Office she
ought to be permitted to resign.
If this Indianola case We're an iso-
lated one there might be some reason
for the administration insisting upon
the woman continuing in office, be-
cause the objection to her might be
based upon something other than her
race, but the administration under
stands that there is objection all over
the South to negro postmasters. And
is there not objection to them in the
North also? We undertake to say there
is, and the proof is found in the
fact that in no Northern state
in which there is a large negro
population is there appointed negro
postmasters. And why? Is it not be-
cause the white people of those states
would not tolerate them? Why is it
that negro postmasters are not APP
pointed in Kansas, New York, Ohio,
PENNSYLVANIA and some of the other
Northern states in which there are
communities composed largely Of ne
groes?
To make a person postmaster who is
Objectionable to the community in
which his office is situated is not in
keeping with republican institutions,
not in accordance with the rule of the
majority and not in harmony with
the principles of local self govern
ment. 1t is simply an arbitrary exer-
else of power.