Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-23
RACE QUESTION UP;
HOUSE MEMBERS HOT
Rep. HefIin of Alabama Pro-
poses Local Jim Crow Law.
REPUBLICANS SNORT SOME
And All the Busy Democrats Come
Right Back.
CAMPBELL HAZED A LOT
Finally, After a Bunch Of Converse
tional Chow-Chow, the Helm
Amendment Was Showed Under.


Never was their livelier District day
in the House of Representatives Never
did the members of the lower branch OF
the national legislature. sitting as the
board of aldermen Of this helpless com
munfty, find themselves up against a
proposition that involved more conversa-
ton and less action. The fact that the
Union station permanent trackage bill
was passed resolved itself into minor
feature, for the race question was up In
all its glory, and the republicans anu
democrats of the House lined UP like war
riors of old and fought-verbally-unt
thew were mentally and physically ex-
hausted.
The permanent trackage bill had fairly
plain sailing. the race question pelhg
side issue. At the wlndnp Chairman Snll'h
of the House District committee was
tickled to death. as the committee Dill
went through without single change OIL
importance. All the excitement had to DO
with a Jim Crow car amendment oHefed
by Representative Heflin of Alabama, he
of the Grecian profile and strenuous ois-
nosition Mr. Heflin's amendment was
modelled on the Jim Crow law of his own
state and provided for fiat separation
of the races in passenger street car uaino
of the District of Columbia-separate cars,
waiting sheds and the like. And MT:
HefIin made a warm talk in support OF
his proposition.
Hedin on His Amendment.
.-Mr. chairman he said. 1.-THE passage
of my amendment will rebound to the
good of both races in the District of Co.
lumbia. 1t will remove the cause of tric-
ton that you now see upon the street cars
of this city every day. We read in the
newspapers about offenses and disturb
ances here and yonder. and nearly every
day in the District of Columbia there are
distur Dances ON the car which the news
papers have long since ceased to publish
anything about They occur because YOU
herd in the same car negroes and whites:
because the males Of one race see the
males OF the other race keen their seats
while the females of that particular race
stand in the aisle, holding onto straps
You will see in the cars every day negro
men keeping their seats and white women
holding onto straps, and when a negro
woman enters the car the negro man wilt
rise and give her seat. White ladies
come into car and white man will
rise and give the white lady his seat and
there you have It,
this account, fist fights between white
men and black men. A well-dressed lady
comes into a car and a negro, not well
dressed. who does not smell half so
sweet as bower of roses by Bendemeer's S
stream. is sitting next to the only vacant
seat In the car She does not want to
Sjt down by him, but she is forced to do
II or stand uD.
Racial Antagonism.
Nov. I have no prejudice against the
negro but I am acknowledging the facts
of human nature. am acknowledging
something that Senator Vest said was
above all human law-racial antagonism.
This amendment will remove that Put
separate compartments in car. Let
the negroes go into their compartment
and the whites into theirs. Then let the
white man give the white woman his
seat. and let the negro man give the
negro woman his seat in his part of the
car. Then this cause of irritation will
be removed. and this clashing and i'll
feeling which constantly occurs between
the races will cease.
Gentlemen may theorize about this.
but there are facts connected with it
that you must realize sooner or later.
In places where We have separate cars
we have no friction between the races
Take the cars that run to Alexandria and
Mount Vernon. You get into one of
those cars and you find there a COM
partment for the whites and compart-
ment for the blacks. and no disturbance
ever occurs on that car"
Mr.. Fosters Protest.
MIR. Heflin had hardly resumed his seat
when Representative Foster of Vermont
fairly leaped to- his seat. Mr.. Foster
protested that the day. Washington's s
birthday, was an extremely inappropriate
time to start a discussion of the race
question. Mr. Foster rang the chimes
on George Washington the father of his
country. the Constitution. the rights OF
man and several other high-soundins
things. and when he got through Repre-
sentative Madden of Illinois said the same
thing all over again in a different way
Then Represer' ative .fampbell>x Kansas
a member of tne House DistAict com.
mittee. secured the floor hn CampbcI
was all het up. His voice ordinarily
round and full was stronger than ever
and he waggled an impassioned fore
finger at the democratic side of the
House
The gentleman from Alabama" Inc
cried, "has led the House TO believe tha
there is riot upon the street cars her
I'm the District every day in the year be-
cause the colored people and the whit.
people ride in the same cars Now. | have
street cars in this District for fiv, yeary
and have yet to the first disturb
ance of any character. I have yet to sat
the first offensive action on the part o.
any colored man toward any white man
and have yet to see the first offensive ac
stion on the part of any white man to-
ward a colored man. 1t may be a fric
ton in the mind of the gentleman from
Alabama for colored men to come int
hts presence. The people of the Dstric
of Columbia are legislated for by thu
American Congress. The American Con
y x-ess ought TO adhere to the Constitution
of the United States in the enactment o
every law that goes out of this body. anC
that great charter knows no distinction
between the white man and the blacl
man. / should regard il as an evil da,
when the American Congress woult
create In this nation a class distinction
by the enactment of any law.
The gentleman from Alabama Mr.
Hefiin, says, and he was shaking hi
finger at this side o. the House. tha
there are men here who will vote agains
this amendment because there are col
ored men in their districts who have :
vote 1t is shame TO the gentleman
from Alabama and to his party that thor,
are thousands of colored men in his stat
Hobf