Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-01-30
BLACKS OF STATE TO FIGHT
MEASURE FoReiDDINa MAR.
RAGE WITH WHITES.
CONSIDER MOVE BEGINNING OF
QUESTIONABLE LEGISLATION
Negro Attorneys Appear Before House
Committee and Present Reasons for
I. Objsctions-ProposaI to Be Made For
State Ownership of Atlantic Rail-
road.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times
Des Moines, Jan. 30.-No lin crow"
LEGISLATION for Iowa. That's the de-
mand of Iowa colored people. They
don't want even a start made. or a
suggestion in Iowa laws that will lead
to legal recognition Of the different
treatment of persons Of different races.
Legislators woke up to the fact yes
terday thta there is another side to
the question of forbidding the mar
riage of whites and blacks. A house
committee having such bill under
consideration heard S. Joe Brown and
George H. Woodson in opposition AS
chairman Of the executive committee
of the Afro-American council, Mr..
Brown presented this brief:
LAS chairman Of the executive COM
mittee Of the Iowa American
council, an organization representing
more than 5000 negro citizens OF your
state, have accepted the invitation or
your honored chairman to appear be-
fore you at this time, and I therefore
desire to say on behalf of those whom
ably opposed to sexual interminglins
of the different races Of our state. by
marriage or otherwise, we are equally
opposed to the passage of the separate
marriage bills now pending before you.
because
eve consider them merely the be-
ginning of Jim crow legislation in
Iowa.
Not hn
of independence and the constitution
Of our state.
"They are unquestionably contrary
to the intention OF your forefathers
who as early as the year 1868 amend
ed our state constitution by striking
out the word white, thereby declaring
that thereafter the citizens of Iowa
should not be classified according to
race or color.
"They violate the spirit of every de-
caston Of the supreme court Of Iowa in
which the race question has been in
yoIyed, commencing with the very first
decision Of the territorial court, record
cd on the very first page of Morris our
3 territorial court reporter, in which de-
cistou tho rendered as early as the year
1880, a quarter Of a century before
Z. emancipation, declares for equality be-
fore the laws of Iowa, of all men OF All
races and conditions.
.Exnerience has proven that the
sexual intermingling Of the races Is by
fa- more common in those states IN
which such statutes have long been III
force than in Iowa, proving that such
legislation is unnecessary to restrain
<elf-respecting citizens. yet utterly IN
effective by way of prohibition upon
+ha vicious OF either race who will be
Guided only by the rule Of passion ana
Inst REGARDLESS of the provisions OF the
statutes.
"Finally, because it Is, in our Juds-
,nent- beneath the dignity of the gen
(: aral assembly of the great state OF
Z iowa to thus mar the record of this
( year Of the golden jubilee celebration
of our emancipation notwithstanding
n %ha remarkable progress that we nave
made in this, the first half century OF
( our racial history, by enacting the hrst
dim crow Legislation in Iowa since
/. emancipation: and this all because a
I paero sporting man and White "oni-
Y on If questionable character in another
3 state have been guilty OF conduct OF
/, which all self-respecting citizens OF
Z roth, races are ashamed, and should be
allowed to forget.
4 n is understood that the coioreo
lneople Of the state are getting reaoy 70
.s1x the legislature for an appropriation
for the purpose Of assisting them in
y 1ona proper celebration Of emanclpa-
zion. They intend to fight the Jim
Y crow" LEGISLATION to the bitter end and
Z .ov thew have friends on the floor OF
.,cb house who will see that they get a
fair show.
Is the state of Iowa ready to go into
the government, or state. ownership
4 and operation Of railroads? The leg
II fslature is to be asked to decide that
nuestion. It is going to come up on
proposal for the state to own at least
half Of the Atlantic railroad.
When this controversy was thrashec
nut before the supreme court some time
s aSo representatives Of the farmers who
mt up some of the money for the rail-
rpad appeared and suggested thai
neither the sale to Governor Shaw be
approved nor new sale be ordered; as
u q was expected that the stockholders
vo,ld be able to work out a plan fol
owning and operating the railroad
Their plan has now appeared before the
I legislature.
The plan rs to have passed specia
bill virtually for this particular railroad
4 case, providing for company in which
the shareholders in the old company
and the state itself should share equal
( To he 70