The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-07-25

The Tennessee supreme courts de
cision that former slaves cannot in
herit property under the ordinary rules
Of kinship was upheld by the Supreme
court Of the United States.
The question arose over the case of
John Jones, a former slave, who owned
a farm in Tennessee at the time of his
death, and the construction of the
state laws of Tennessee, which deny
the right of collateral inheritance to
be in violation of the fourteenth
amendment to the constitution.
John Jones died In Shelby county
Tenn, possessing n acres of land. He
left no children. but a number of
brothers and sisters. Marguerite Jones,
the widow of John Jones, claimed the
property. Win Jones secured quit
claim deeds from the brothers and sis
ters, turning over to him their inter
ests in the property. Litigation re
suited, in which the Tennessee courts
held in favor of Marguerite Jones.
They held that the brothers and sis
tiers were born in the days of slavery,
and hence could have no Unbeatable
interest in the land.
Will Jones, in his appeal to the Su-
preme court of the United States,
claimed that this decree of the Ten
nessee court violated the fourteenth
amendment to the constitution by de
priving former slaves Of their civil
rights as guaranteed to them by the
organic law of the land.
Marguerite Jones claimed that the
state of Tennessee had the right to
say which of its citizens should inherit
the lands of another citizen dying in"
t~estate, and also that none of he
constitutional rights of Will Jones had
been t~ransgressed. Under the decision
the land goes to Jones' widow.
The promise of Mr.. julius Rosen'
valid of Chicago to duplicate all gifts
for negro rural public schools in the.
South is no less notable for its Vision
thar for its generosity. Il Is not clear
from the dispatches whether this re
fers only to sums raised by colored'
people or by others; in either event,
it is munificent enough. But Mr. Ros-
enwald is accustomed to bestowing
his penefactions both wisely and gen
erously, as witness what he has done;
for the Y. NJ. C. A. movement among
the colored people. A number of i'm
pressive and useful buildings have
arisen because of his aid and inspira-
ton. So disheartening has been the
condition Of the negro rural school
in many counties they offer q mere
mockery of education-that the Slater
and general education boards, as well
as the Jeanes fund which applies itself
exclusively to the colored rural public
schools, have been devoting them
selves to the task of obtaining better
supervision, better teachers, aud bet
: ter conditions. If Mr.. Roseuwald will
now duplicate every dollar raised by
the colored people to improve their
crossroads schools, a splendid spur
for their activlties-and they give gen
erously in comparison with their small
means-has been provided.
The colored population Of the South
is making more rapid progress in
every line than those of the North,
according to the Rev. Simon P. w.
Drew, pastor of the Cosmopolitan
} Baptist church, who, in a sermon de
clared it would be but a short time
when colored men desiring to advance
themselves will return to their south
ern homes. He said that labor organi-
cations in the North are ~prejudiced
against members of the colored race,
and In many trades exclude them
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