Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1919-08-23
SOLVING THE RACE PROBLEM

IL lie cares TO speak to white woman here
abouts unless she first calls him, and even
then he had better keep his hat in his hands
as long she is talking to him. said Law
yer Martin of Shady Grove, Mississippi, to
Il beautiful OctarOOn young woman with
whom he frequently spent an evening and
from which hason one tiny tot already slept
in it's little bed and another one fast on
its way to a world of woe.
While George Washington Davis, late of
oversee service. had shown no signs of I'M
due familiarity with any of the white wo-
men Whereabouts, yet when Miss May
dauhter of Cap On Big Gun, saw him with
his uniform on and bearing the insignia of
a first lieutenant and the French CroiX de
Guerre pinned on his breast. she felt proud
OF him and condescended to say, Howdy
George! I'm monty glad to see you,' to
which greeting Lieutenant Davis calamity
saluted her as he had been instructed to
salute ladies by his respective officers of
the day. George knew he was making
mistake, but he was between the devil and
the deep blue sea, for hardy was a superior
white officer adroitly watching his every
move. If he took his hat off he was break
inc an army rule and if he kept it on he
was violating a southern regulation. Under
such circumstances, what could poor col
ored man do? He knew the penalty for
violating the army rule and that too in the
presence of a superior officer, and so he
quickly concluded that he would violate the
southern regulation trusting to luck that
the breach would not be noticed or under
the circumstances be overlooked bv the
southern white men.
Ordinarily Miss May would not have
spoken to a colored man in public. though
she might have known him on the farm or
III mental capacity at her fathers home
but George was the grandson Of Uncle jim
and Aunt Sally both Of whom were still on
Cap'n Big Gun s farm and George had been
a mice little niger boy before going to
France to fight to make the world safe for
democracy. and she saw no southern i'm
proprety in not only speaking to him but
smiling at him as he with his company
marched by on the way to camp to be de-
modified. Miss May was a granddaughter
OF Cap n Big Gun and was therefore of a
like age Of George and her youthful fond
ness for him they played together way
down on the farm broke over the traces
which put George in most distressing
position. Nancy Jane. the paramount of
Lawyer Martin. was likewise the grand
daughter Of Aunt Sally, and by common
consent, Uncle jim. "but Nancy James
mother looks powfully like Cap'n Big Gun,
and if she don't, how could Uncle jim
be Mandy's daddy, with Mandy so yaller
and Uncle Jim so back' was common
plantation talk, but it was not wise to do
much talking on subjects like that and little
was said
Mandy was a beautiful mulatto girl
and the colored boys mouths lust
watered for her, but when Mandy was
sixteen Mistah Bob, Cat n. Big Gums son,
spent every evening in the quarters play
ing with Mandy and the other children.
Of course Mandy was Cap'n Big Guns child
and the half brother Of Mistah Bob. but
Mandy was niger and white man could
be of no relationship to a niger.
Nancy Jane was the first born Of Mandy.
Uncle Jim's daughter, and Nancy was so
white and so pretty that Oh Miss Liza had
Mandy to come to the ''big house, to cook
and she would rock the baby while Mandy
did the work, and so Nancy Jane '"orOwed