The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-21
NEGRO LOAFERS IN
 FEDERAL BUILDING
Public Protest Against an Al
 legged Public Nuisance
NEGRO POLITICIANS OFFEND
Thronu Corridors and Disgust Every one Except Themselves-office Holders uperellous-off
 Seekers Are lnsolent.

'Is there any law, municipal state or federal, that requires place-hunting negro politician, or negro office holder, to keep his hat and deport himself offen- sively when he enters various rooms in the federal building?"
 "Is there any sound. reason why the negro office holders and negro place. hunting politicians should throng the cor riders of the federal building and discuss in high faultin' style every subject from political and social equality down to a crossroads poantmastershlp?"
 These are two questions that are being asked nowadays by patrons of the post office and by all persons who have bus mess to do in the federal building.
 Things have at length come to such a pass that prominent federal officer hold CTS in this city have been compelled to take eognizanee of existing conditions The attention of J. o. Thompson has been drawn to the subject, and 1t is un- derstod that he will promptly take action with a view to ending what Is recognized as an intolerabe public nuisance.
 "If you want to get a line on this thing of negroes holding federal offices said a non-partisan citizen yesterday, just go into the federal building in the business hours and watch the gangs of shftless, mo- count negroes who congregate there.
 Now, many of these negroes have no business there. They don't go there to get their mail. They don't go there to trans act public business. They go there merely to stand around, show themselves off, at tract attention and talk a lot of high throughout the building.
 "If I were postmaster or collector of internal revenue, or any other responsible office-holder in that building. I'd put an end to that thing in short order
 'These negro loafers, who work only with their jaws, ought to be fired bodily out of the building. They seem to imagine that because one or two of their number are holding down porter's or deputy clerks job there, the whole race of hangers-on have a right to go in and camp in the corridors.
 'Its bad for the campers, worse for the negro porters and clerks and worst of all for the public who have business to do in the building.
 "Once you put a negro into a federal office he becomes so insolently officious that he is absolutely intolerable. He gets intoxicated with an absurd sense of au- thority. His temerity has no bounds. His manner, ordinarily obsequious becomes condescending and supercilious. Because he is treated with conventional courtesy by his superior officers, he immediately begins to appropriate to himself every thing in the building from the stationery in the clerks desk to the cornerstone of the structure. His sense of proprietor ship Is carried to the point of delirlum
 "The manner of these negroes is ex- asperating beyond expression. l am white man, and when I go into a white mans office I take my hat off, and l ex- pect him to take his off. But these inso- lent negroes-porters, clerks and place. hunters-ramble through the federal building, their hats cooked on one side of or tilted on the back of, their heads, their hands stuck in their pockets and their whole demeanor one of indescribable insoence.
 To-day when I was in one of the most important offices in the building l saw a case that unseated me. At the desks writing sat two white men. highly educat- ed and well mannered-in word two gentlemen. Before them stood a negro porter. He had his hat on, and he was allsinP to those two white men in a tone so condescending and fin a manner so of- fensive that my blood fairly boiled"