Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-06-29
THE i'm CROW LAWS.

virginia. LII mas iOuR D9en In t1ecJ
on the steam railways. That this law
is distasteful to The negroes is very nat
ural. They in effect brought it about
by their conduct on the trains and it
is natural that inasmnch az their gen :
eral manner and conduct caused the
"penalty" if it may he so styled. that
they should object to suffering 1t. It
is not denied any where that some
negroes are decidedly more compan-
iUnable than many of The foreign
whites now infesting this country, or
many Cinnamon, bat as a class they
are not. AS class, and we are telling
facts, the negro is not only loud, bOis.
ferrous, uncIeanly, often tanked with
bad liquor, and much inclined to make
himself heard, seen, felt. and we may
add trutbfully-smelled. Their man.
ners, notwithstanding they have long
lived amongst the white people and
have drawn inspiration for what of
manners refinement and social quail
ties they possess. from the example
and teaching of the whites. are not
the manners of white people. They
differ from them in manners just as
much as they do in their skins. The
negro ought to know that from an Oh
factory standpoint, if no other, the
commingling of the races is not deslr-
able, nor pleasant. He may find moth
ing obnoxious from his side, but from
the side of the white people there is
objection, Inconvenience and distaste.
No matter how much we may admire
any particular negro, these matters
can no more be eradicated than can
his skin be changed. This olfactOry
distaste which il unchanged and un-
changeable, because implanted there
by nature, would be sufficient in itself
to cause the enactment of the Jim
Crow laws. if nothing else, but when
coupled often with uncleanliness,
drunkenness, loud and boisterOuS man
ners, profanity and blackguardism,
guns and raZors, has made the law we'll
nigh imperative. 1t is no argument to
cite Individual cases of family servants
travelling with and nursing white chill
diem. These same nurses and servants
are far beyond their race in general :,
in cleanliness and ladylike qualities.
But why should negroes dislike as
soeiating with negroes more than whites
object to associatlng with whites 7 No
good reason can be assigned. But the
negroes likes to butt in. Every country
with railways has what may be term
ed Jim Grow cars, in that they have
first. second and third class coaches.
The principal difference between our
Jim Crow cars and those, is that our
cars are compulsory, theirs matters of
choice, but they separate classes very
much as ours do. though they do not
races, because few countries have SO
many different races rs ours.
A colored preacher of Staunton has
seen cause to present his views on this
subject recently in the Daily News.
He lays his grievance more largely on
the class of accommodations furnish
ed than upon the fact itself. The &C
Communications should be the same land
we hope they will force them to be SO.
This has nothing to do with the prin
ciple. We suppose be has sometimes
inferior surroundings in the steam
the street car. He describes accom-
mOdatiOns on some of the roads as
follows:
''As a matter of fact, the col
Ored compartment on the railroad train
is wOfully inadequate. Small and FL
thy, with one little toilet room for both
men and women, the newsbOy TAX es
up part of it. however small, for his
saleable commodities, and the pOrters
and conductors make 1t a stOrerOOm
for all of their old plumber; the express
car door is constantly opened and the
negroes are treated to an Odor of live
travelling chickens and fish.
On the b. & D. the cars are divided
and the negro gets just as good &C,
cOmmod ations as the whites. But
both whites and blacks have night to
kick, as the accommodations for neith-
er are properly descrlbable in words.
On the G. & U. 1t is estimated that not
one third as many negroes travel as
white people. The space accorded
them, however, on that road is about
half as large as that given the whites.
The Pullman cars are as wide open to
negroes as whites, SO there can be no
complaint on that score. The news
boy is white, the porters are usually
genteel blacks; their ''plunder" is
neither filthy nor offensive, and no
reasonable Objeticn can be made to its
presence. The fish may be mal0dOrous
in the express car at times, and he may
justly find fault with that, but where,
Reverend, was there ever 'nigger"
who objected to being close to or trav-
cling with chickens2
'"The better than thou" spirit which
the negro minister deprecates Is not
the spirit which made the law. There
is spirit of white country for white
people, pervading this entire nation
just as there is In Africa spirit of the
same kind for black people, but the
Jim Grow law is out fractional part
of it. The Jim Crow law is the same
which naturally forces the negro into
negro churches and schools. and into
certain communities in the cities and
towns. In the open and wide world
each can pick his locality, but in the
crowded compartments of a car he
cannot, hence the races have been sep
arated. If the negroes were rulers in
this country We doubt whether any
white person would be permitted SO