Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1909-10-30

strewed the ground In the fore
ground was the figure Of a stalwart
Negro man. bearing IN his strong
arms the form OF a fair-haired Anglo
Saxon youth. u was the devoted
body-servant OF a young Southerner.
bearing the dead body Of his young
master from the field of carnage.
not 20 pause or rest till he had de-
livered II 20 those whose love for
Il only surpassed his own: and I'M
derneath the picture were these
words" Faithful Unto Death" and
there are men before me who have
seen the spirit of that picture on
more than one held or battle
No reference that this distin-
guished educator made could be more
Impressive II reaches the tenderest
part of the heart in black and white
alike and the folly and foibles
of the Negro are forgotten by the
white man. and the stern rebuke and
punishment melted by the white man
are forgotten by the Negro. He says:
border States were. as a rule far
superior. or at least they considered
themselves so, TO the slaves of the
lower South. Even in freedom this
feeling of superiority remains. Fur
.thermore. the mansion house-serv-
ANTS. of whom Mr.. Page writes. hav-
ing had an opportunity TO share TO
la large extent the daily life OF their
masters. were very proud of their
superior position and advantages.
and had little contact with the field
hands. To is, perhaps. not generally
understood that in slavery days lines
were drawn among the slaves just
as they were among the white pco-
Pile The servants owned by a rich
and aristdcratic family considered
that the servants OF "a poor white
man.. one who was not able to own
more than half q dozen slaves. were
not in the same social class with
themselves. And YET the life of these
more despised slaves had it's vicis-
STUDIES. Its obscure heroisms and its
tragedies just like the rest OF the
world. In fact. 60 was from the
plantation hands as a rule. that the
most precious records OF slave life
came the plantation hymns. The
feld-hands sang these songs and
they expressed their lives.
Some time ago am old c0lored
man who has lived for number of
years near the Tuskegce Institute.
i'm talking about his experience
since freedom, remarked that the
greatest difference he had found
between slavery and freedom was
that in the days or slavery his mas
ter had TO think for him. but since
DE had been free ne had 20 think and
plan for himself
At another time out Ina Kansas 7
met an old colored woman who had
left her home in Tennessee directly
after the war and settled with
large number OF other colored peo-
pie I'm what is called Tennessee
Town now "a suburb OF Topeka
Kansas. In talking with her about
her experiences in freedom and In
slavery. I asked her if she did not
sometimes feel as az She would not
like 90 90 back 90 the old days and
live as she had lived on the pianta-
tion.
Sometimes" she replied. ct feel
as I'd like 90 go back and sec my
tated moment and then added.
hut they sold my baby down
south"
This description tallies with past
conditions. He continues
Opposition TO slavery. though
af An an
ceased there. and the evidence OF its
existence was the free Negro. In spite
of the efforts that were made 10
limit and check emancipation OF the
slaves. the number OF free Negroes
continued 20 Increase in the Southern
as we'll as the Northern States and
the existence OF this class Of persons
was the silent protest OF the South
.ern shareholders against the system
which he publicly defended and up
held
Under the conditions OF slavery,
the position OF the free Negro was
a very uncomfortable one He was
in certain sense an anomaly. since
he did not belong 20 either class
He was distrusted by the white peo-
pie and looked down upon by the
slaves. In spite OF this fact. indi-
vidual slavehOlders- sometimes by
providing ia their wills for the eman-
cipation and transportation of their
slaves to free State or 70 Liberia.
sometimes by permitting individual
slaves to buy their own freedom
were constantly adding TO the num-
Der OF free persons OF color
Among the most illustrious Of those
who freed their slaves were George
Washington, John Randolph, and
Chief Justice Roger B. fancy, author
OF the famous bred Scott decision.
When a master liberated his slaves
by Will, IL was frequently with the
explanation, expressed or understood
that he believed slavery was morally
wrong. When he allowed them to
buy their own freedom, il was
practical recognition that trc
TEN was economically a mistake.
since the slave who could purchase
his own freedom was one whom IL
did not pay TO hold as a slave. This
fact was clearly recognized by a