Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-23
THE "JIM CROW" CARS

Il Few PcTSoDS ANln6 IA vSdSiAAASsoAA -
aware of the fact that such things as Jim
Crow cars. or at least cars that are partly
Jim Crow run into the District of Column
| bia." said an Alexandria man; but we
| Alexandrians are thoroughly familiar with
| the fact. And from the sort Of thing that
| the conductors on the Mount Vernon line
/ of trolley cars have to go through every
| day in enforcing the Jim Crow car law OF
Virginia I'm more than certain that /
wouldn't accept one Of those conductors
billets If they paid me 81 a minute instead
of the 81 day which, understand. they
are paid. I don't, as a rule, indulge in
gloomy representations. but I am not
alone in predicting that there is going to be
tragedy some of these days, owing to the
efforts of those Mount Vernon trolley line
conductors to comply with the rules of the
road and to enforce the Virginia Jim Crow
law. The conductors have already had all
sorts of trouble In the matter, and l am
| told that the persons of color. in resistance
to the law, have at times displayed
weapons.
Leaving out Of consideration any view
which may entertain as to the necessity
or the propriety of the law-seeing that
am resident of Alexandria, you can form
conclusion Of your own as to that-the
d1hcuity In the way of the proper enforce
ment of the law is that it isn't operative an
the District Of Columbia. It goes in Vir-
GINA, but as soon the cars get to this
side of the Long bridge it is nullified and
the occupants Of the Jim Crow seats in
any seats In the cars that suit them best or
better. Needless to say, they take advan-
tage or this situation every time, and they
DO It pretty ostentatiously. too.
"A law that Is good only on a part Of a
railroads lines and no good along the re-
mainder OF the route, is bound to be provo
cative OF trouble and that is why the Jim
Crow car law of Virginia is so difficult of
n hVrf H. ,~1
ley cars that operate both in Virginia and
| In the District of Columbia In my opin-
lon, Virginia ought to either abrogate the
law altogether as it applies to cars run
| ming into the District Of Columbia, or the
District of Columbia should make COM
pan1on ordinance, SO that the thing would
be operative along the entire stretch of the
trolley road.
"As 1t stands now, while the cars are in
the state of Virginia the colored folk are
required to take seats in the rear Of the
cars. Now, Virginia isn't quite near
enough to the real south to make such a
law easy of enforcement. The blacks re-
sent 1T with all their might, not only in the
District Of Columbia, but down in the old
constantly placed in dangerous situations
| owing to this fact.
"The blacks unfamiliar with the law
board the cars down in Alexandria, say,
and take seats wherever they find room.
Some of them can't read. and so the sign
setting forth the fact that the rear seats
for colored mean nothing to them. The
conductor approaches them and tells them
the law, and informs them that they'll
have to go to the rear. Some of the old
fashioned blacks take this good-naturedly
| blacks take 1t with mighty evil looks AS
often as not, they absolutely refuse to
move to the rear seats, and then the con-
ductor has got to have his nerve about
him. Such q situation is usually settled
when the mOtorman is summoned to the
conference, and makes his appearance
through the front door Of the car, balanc-
ing his motor handle somewhat meaningly
in his hand. But some of the younger
blacks never take the rear seats without
violent protest.
THE younger women of color are pretty
liable to resist the law. too. and then the
conductors difficulty Is even worse. His
only way Is to threaten to stop the car and
to put the violators of the law Off. This
usually has its effect. but it has been
known to fail. and not a few Of the women
of color have stubbornly chung to their
seats in the white sections all the way to
Washington. These. however, are not la
BILE to repeat their violations Of the law, for
they are marked by the employees Of the
company and they are not allowed to ride
again unless they promise to abide by the
law as 1t stands upon the statute books.
Now, 1t often happens that while there is
plenty of room in the white sections, all
of the 'colored seats In the rear of the cars
are occupied. so that the colored persons
sent to the rear have to stand up through
",
into the District. where the law is inopera-
tive, and they are privileged to take seats
wherever they find them vacant. This Is
unjust. and the only remedy l know for
for the blacks. If the law is to continue in
operation.
There is even more trouble on the part
Of the blacks leaving Washington on the
trolley cars to go into the old dominion.
Those of them who are not familiar with
Virginia's Jim Crow car law take seats in
the white sections. and nothing is said to
them by the conductors In accordance with
their instructions. until the Long bridge has
been crossed. Then they are politely re-
quested by the conductor to take seats in
the rear. to comply with the law. Nine
times out of ten they resist. and resist vio-
lently. and only the threat to put them Off,
the lowering looks Of the whites preju-
diced against the blacks. or the appearance
Of the motorman to back up the conductor,
bearing that metal object in his hand with
which he regulates the flow of electricity
has the effect of getting the colored pro-
testants to take the rear seats set aside for
them. Often enough, they keep up loud
and often offensive complaining all the
way to their destinations. and this has the
effect of making the women in the white
sections nervous, often to the point of dis
traction. Some of the blacks do not scruple
to use language that is positively indecent
doesn't require them to keep their mouths
shut, riding under such circumstances Is
far from pleasant.
1.-The blacks. naturally enough. take great
delight. too. in ordering whites who mad
vertently. not being familiar with the law
take seats in the rear of the trolley cars
A white man will sit down in one of the
rear seats. and then an obstreperous black
will enter the car. perceive the white man
in the rear Jim Crow section, and ap-
proach him with a remark something like
this:
"'Git out o. dat seat w'ite man. Yo' all's
buckin' agin de law. Dis heahs a coon's
seat yo' ais sittin' In and the white has
to stand for this ordering about too, for
he has no more right to seat in the Jim
| Crow section then a black has In the
white section, and he has got to move
when ordered to by the blacks who eagerly
grasp a situation Of this character. do
| not need to say that white man from Vir-
| ginia who Is thus incontinently ordered to
! get out of a seat by black gets mighty
| hopping mad when he finds himself in such
a situation. particularly as he knows that
| the black has the law on his side and that
there is nothing for 1t but prompt obedi-
ence."
Cult Of the Simple Life.
From the London Chronicle.