The Washington bee., 1911-06-03
EDITOR At DURHAM
DR.. j. E. Shepard is Doing a
Good Work
THINGS HE SAW AND HEARD
BUSINESS MEN OF DURHAM.
Wonderful Growth Of the Southern
Negro-Greatest Insurance Com
many in the World.
Correspondence. }

Editorial Correspondence.
If am to Judge the South by what
| see here in Durham, N. c., my
opinion of the Southland is changed
from this moment. am giving my
opinion of the conditions in this sec
ton of the South as | see them. ]
have been in Durham, n. G., just one
week, and | assure you that | don't
find as much laZiness here as | find
IN the North. There is no necessity
for any one to be idle in Durham, and
| am informed by reliable persons
that the same conditions exist in 9th
eT sections of the State. | am not
writing from hearsay, but from per
sonal observations and contact.
Both Races
are living together here in perfect
harmony The Jim Crow" cars don't
seem to disturb the people IN the
least because you will hardly see over
three or four colored people riding on
them at any time. The most pro-
gressive cOlored citizens own their
own teams and carriages. They are
under no obligations to the Street car
system | asked a prominent cOlOred
citizen what he thought of the Jim
Crow system at Durham He
thought it was a Godsend in disguise.
1t tends to force the colOred people to
become more united In many in
stances
The White Physicians
and the white dentists hold sway here.
Now the colored physician and den
tist about mOnOpOliZe the medical
profession. The Colored people with
but one exception employ cOlored
physicians and dentists. ! came in
contact with every prominent colOred
physician in the city Every one is
doing we'll DR.. Charles H Shepard,
brother of DR.. James f. Shepard,
seems to be the most successful and
the most prominent in the city. He
recently married a very accomplished
young lady who seems to be great
help to the young physician. Speak
ing of people
In Business,
the North can't hold the light for the
colored people in Durham. The
North Carolina colored American,
from my standpoint, can't ever teach
the Northern colored man how to
conduct business. | shall first take
up the North Carolina Mutual Insur-
ance Company which is reputed to be
the greatest insurance company III
the world among colored people. The
company is officered by such we'll
known business men as John Merrick,
who is the president and founder. Mr.,
MeTrick is one among the leading
business men in this city He is mar
ried and has a most excellent wife and
several children. It is rumOred that
his only single daughter is to be mar
ried shortly to a well-knOwn physi-
clan in Winston, n. c. / understand
that this young physician has a very
large practice. Miss Merrick is re-
garded as the belle of Durham. She
IS faultless in her dress. The Mer-
ricks live on Fayette Street, fash
ionable part of the city.
President Merrick is a genial and
agreeable companion. He wears a
smile that never comes off. He is one
of the strongest of supporters the
National Religious Training School
has, and a man of considerable wealth.
I went with him Thursday to his
church on Fayette Street, which is
one of the most imposing in the city
| have never seen a church so well