The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-07-24
My Favorite Stories
The White Man Who Stayed
By Irwin s. Cobl

The w nlCe M an w no OCayeu
 In small town in the southern part of Ken tocky no negroes are allowed. The place is exclusively white, and the whites intend that it shall be kept so. No colored man lives there and no colored man is permitted to tarry there. There are numerous places like this in the south.
 Some years ago the Louisville and Nash vile railroad decided to extend a branch line to this all-white community. Construction work was to be started at the edge of the town. An eastern contracting firm got the job. As agent for the contractors New Eng land man was sent to Kentucky to round up laborers for the job. The nearest sizable town was Bowling Green. The easterner put an ad in the Bowling Green paper for crew of laborers. A large number of negroes an swered the advertisement in person. The wages he offered were entirely satisfactory but when he told them where they were Q start operations spokesman for the gang in formed him that no colored persons were per mitted to finger in that immediate vicinity
 The northerner swelled with<A <Anger.
 ''Is that sol" he shouted Well, let me tell you something: While you working for mo you're going to work right where l put you and nobody is going to interfere with you. No matter what happens, you can count n me- I'll stay with youp
 Reassured by this pledge, the force signed on. After he had returned to Bowling Green on the afternoon of the following day and had caught up with his breathing, one of his late employees was overheard telling an inter ested audience of members of his own race what had happened:
 "Yas, we got there early this mawnin' an we commenced unloadn our shoves and picss and wheelbarrors and sich-like which we'd brung long with us in a couple of waggins. Befo' we got through doin' this white -.-1 come moseyin' up to us an he says, jest as mild-like: Who's in charge of his yere party7' We p'inted out de boss to hir an he walked up to de boss a. us boys drawed clos't ;o hear whut wuz said. Mister said the town man to de boss don't you know we don't Tow no nggers to live or wuk in dis town?' Well, suzz, you jest ought a-seen dat boss of ours. He turned on dat man like lion an he sez to him, These men is wukkin' fur me an they is goin' to wuk here. oh, is dat so?' sez de town feller, an he walks away jest ez quiet ez kin be. An den our boss he turns to Us an he seq: Remember, men, whut I tole you yistiddy, Is wid you an I'm gwine stay wid you
 "In lil' while we sees bunch of men comin, an they all got rifles. An' then we sees some half-grown boys an they's all got pis- tols An den, bless Gawd, here comes some women, too, an they's carryin' shotguns. De whole bunch forms line facin' us an this we're same w'ite man w'ich had done de talkin' befo', he walks up an he sez to us: Boys, you knowed good an well wen you come down we're dat us white folks didn't Tow no niggers to wuk in dis town an yit you come. Now you hit de pike back fur Bowlin' Green an you hit it mighty prompt Wit dat he th'owed his gun up in de air and fired shot over our haids an we sho did hit dat pike."
 The speaker paused then as though his story were finished.
 "But look a-here, Bud" said one of his lis. teners, "Whut about dat Yankee w'ite man who said he wuz gwine stay wid you?'
 "He kep his word. He stayed wid us all de way back to Bowlin' Green"
 Copyright, 1922, by the McNaught Syndi-
 cate, Inc.)