Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1913-01-11

IL
Before slavery was abolished in the
Un't.d States $4,000 slaves had neg,o
IT.asters That is a small number com
Jared to a total of 100000 but it IS
starting to those of us who were sat
urated in our youth with the idea That
all owners and masters of slaves w9,e
Of the kind pictured in Mrs. Stoves
Uncle Toms Cabin" When the h4l1
of our house returned in a faded blue
uniform after a year spent in a hosp.-
III at Frederick, Md, he was credi- "a
in our childish imagination with ha, =
ng put down the rebellion and win
having given liberty to the negro AMI
must be regarded as a brother. In
our town the only negro was John
Smith, the barber, and he was only
about one-quarter negro; but it seemed
to me at that time | should have been
happy to have had so much fuss made
over me as was being made in t he
| North over all the black men. Later
some of the romantic conclusions Of
youth were destroyed, so that this
| latest shock comes less severely. In
| Baltimore where the negro was any
thing but a curiosity, 10 years after
the war, l was told by more than one
black man that he would be mighty
glad to have his old master back; lie
never used to worry about his food and
clothes But always the masters were
white men.
Gathered by Investigators.
The fact that negroes were placed in
L.verty by the act that made free all
ether negroes in the land is a chapter
in American history only recently OBJ
tanned with difficulty by Calvin Dill
/ Wilson. The facts were gathered for
! tire Carnegie Institution of Washing
/ ton from documents in courthouses,
/ historical societies and libraries and
appear in a recent issue of the Popu-
lar Science oMnthly.
Ancient history shows people were
placed in bondage frequently without
regard to color or previous condition.
n fact, at one period in human pro =
gress being made slave was evidence
of kindness on the part of your cav
tor, whose natural inclination was
to kill and possibly eat you. without
loing into 'ae subject, which might
readily lead to great length, it may he
recalled that in Greece free parents
sold their children into slavery, and
that persons hopelessly in debt sold
themselves to their creditors. If there
were any justice at any time in the
CUSTOM or privilege, the negro with
equal rights had as much right as an
other to hold slaves, particularly ne
gro slaves.
Used to Slavery in Africa.
With slavery as a part of our social
fabric the negro who had acquired
property or capital might no longer be
content with the proverbial horse,
clean shirt and shilling; he naturally
desired to own slaves as evidence of
his standing, and as the customs Of
the country did not require slaves
with white faces, he could not but
choose those of his own race.
The negroes brought fifth them from
their native land African ideas and
customs" said Mr. Wilson. They were
used from immemorial times to slav>
cry. Many of those brought thence to
America had been slaves in Africa In
both cases they were used to slavery.
1t did not. therefore, seem to them I'M
natural for a negro in America 20
hold his brethren in bondage, when
he had become free and able to buy
his fellows William Pitt, the young =
; er, in a speech April 2, 1892, in the
British parliament on thea BOLTON Of
the slave trade, said:
Some evidences say that the Afri-
cans are addicted to the practice Of
gambling; that even they sell their
wives and children and ultimately