The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1917-01-12
LETTER FROM COLORED MAN.
Urges Consideration of Thoughtful
Citizens to Certain Conditions.
published by Request)

published by Request)
Gibbs, S. c., Jan. 3, 1917.
Mr.. L. M. Rice,
Union, S. G.
Dear Sir:
AS nearly all of the older white men
of the country are leaving and going
to town the colored people are becom-
ing very much alarmed, not of the
things that surround them, as the
scarcity of the times nor the high
cost of living, but from what they
see transpiring around them. Our
country is full of men inducing our
boys to migrate to the North. I am
not in favor of my race migrating
North nor West and never have been
but as these white men point to our
boys the high price of wages North
and the better treatment they receive
1T overrides any argument we can pro-
duce or bring to bear on them, so they
are moving much Of the best and
strongest negro boys from our coun-
try and they are doing it secretly.
They do not come in as agents but as
contractors. One of them told me
that they expected to take $4,000 of
the best negro laborers from South
Carolina; that Union county was
booked for 500 and if they succeed
on until April as they have been since
September they will have their re-
quired number. l can miss 40 boys
from our township since September.
April is the time they have set to
make general draw on our colored
boys. They tell them that the wealth
er VIII change and be warmer and
that by next winter they will clima-
tized sufficient to stand the Northern
climate. The things these men call
to the attention of the colored people
is strongly considered. They tell us
that the courts and jurymen of the
country are against us and it must be
admitted that the word of a negro is
not recognized in our courts and the
men who compose the courts as Jury
men are commonly the enemies of the
negro. The jury is drawn from the
class of white men who are poorly ed
ucated and wish to get clear of the
negro and they seem to take this
method to force him away, all this
being pointed out to the negro by
these men; also the magistrates of
the rural districts are mostly men
who dislike the negro and if the negro
is brought before these men and he
disputes the word of a white man it
means the conviction and chaingang
for the negro, and the negro is de-
prived of getting his case to the city,
where he can get an intelligent mapis-
trate and jury to try his case. He is
forced to be tried by the nearest
magistrate who may be the inferior
of the one from whom he has fled,
and it is fact that the lawyer knows
when he goes before an uneducated
Jury there is no chance for a negro.
These things are being laid before
these boys and we old negroes who
know this to be true can not dispute
these men when we see this thing
taking place every day. When a ne
gro is carried into court he is ad-
vised by his lawyer not to dispute
the word of a white man; if so, his
case is lost.
If the land owners intend to work
the land with negro labor a change
will have to be made The hatred to
the negro, which is growing, can be
checked only by prompt action of the
white men of the country who know
the negro. The tide of the immigra-
ton of the negro will be on in the
warmer season of this wear if it is
not stopped by some means.
The intelligent Southern negro finds
no fault with the segregation of the
white and colored. We find no fault
with the Jim Crow case. We do not
object to the full rightaway of the
white to rule the country; we onl,
ask protection to our person and
household goods, which we are not get
ting. We are tired of political con-
fusion and we do not wish to move
and will not move as long as we can
feel that there is chance of life
and safety Of our person, but things
are beginning to look dark on our
part. If many of our old white men
were back here and could see the con-
dltlon of the negro they would call
halt. 1t is fact that whenever our
Legislators meet the man who offers
something to damage or disgrace the
negro becomes more noticeable than
anybody else among the masses that
nate the negro. These white men
who are now contractors and are in
ducing negroes to go North are bring
ing these arguments to bear on our
people, some of which are very con-
vlncing, but | think the best thing for
the colored men to do is to Law orr
case before the best element of South
ern white men who are interested in
the welfare of the country before we
take any other steps and see and hear
what they say and then we will under
stand what course we should take. 1t
is very clear that if the list from
which the juries are drawn can be re-
VlSed so as to put on nothing but in
telligent white men.
| write you because you are a pub
lie servant and an outspoken Christ
ian man and are helping to shane the
public mind and deeply interested in
the welfare of the country.
John ID. Norris
HER TREATMENT.