The Enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 192?-1930, 1927-09-30

y A report from New Jersey states
that Caucasian young woman was
refused admittance to one of the
larger hotels. The management based
its denial upon the fact that she
vas "colored" girl. It happened
that she was not. Her parents are
known to be Caucasians and have
held themselves forth as such. She
Is now suing the hotel company for
500, 10000.
lit will be interesting to watch that
suit. For it is of most vital impor-
lance in the adjustment of race rela-
tibns. Who is white and who is col
ored is beginning to be one of the
newer problems in these prejudice.
ridden United States. 1t is the in
exdrable law of compensation work.
ing immutable justice upon the fell
low who started the trouble.
Here is the case of Caucasian
girl who is made to undergo the
humiliation which was intended and
devised for race certainly not her
own. 1t reached her only because it
is SO strictly enforced that an acct
dent of swarthiness made her come
under its ban.
And the curious thing is that there
will be thousands more Caucasians
who will face these same barriers.
Because there are millions of Cauca-
SLAMS who are growing so swarthy
that they are easily mistaken for
people of color.
In any big city you might easily
notice this. Often in one block in a
busy district you might observe three
or four persons of Caucasian con-
nections who will puzzle you as to
their racial identity. The growth
of this number means that growth
of the confusion on this subject.
The final outcome of the whole
thing will be that white people them
selves will become disguised with the
annoyance of the color line that they
themselves have raised. And because
Of this the whole thing will fail.
White people are not going to let
their daughters suffer embarrass-
tnent because of any so-called color
line mistakenly applied. And when
they see that it will continue to be
so mistakenly applied they are going
to be glad to forget it. And when
they do forget it they are going to
forget it entirely because it will be
more convenient to do so. ~
You can trust Mencken to start
something. He has. In the current
issue Of the American Mercury he
comes near telling all about the
Nordic that people of color have
for To- these many years known.
MR.. Mencken points out that he is
willing to admit that this is an age
of the colored influence. He says
that if there is an indigenous Ameri-
can music it is jazz. He insists that
all the world is swaying to jazz, and
that it has taken on decided SEM
blance, even among the exclusive.
But it is creation of folk of color.
No dance invented by white men
has been danced in this country
since the war, ventures the sage OF
Baltimore. And he is right. He
AYERS that stewed terrapin, chicken
a Ia Maryland, fried soft shell crabs
panncd oysters and strawberry
shortcake are all creatures of col.
ored culinary genius and adopted by
white folk as the "food of feasting.
He adds that the language of the
southern whites and the southern
colored is identical, class for class
He supports it by asking that If the
speech of white men in the south
has not been changed by the influ'
ence of colored folk, then how does
II happen that this lingo of the south
ern white isn't spoken by white
members anywhere else in the world
In short, Mencken finds that the
entire present civilization of Amer
lea has been changed by the mos'
despised race in America. Unques
tionably the colored population OF
this country has had greater effect
upon the civilization of this country
than any other group.
But that isn't the queer thing
The queer thing is that Mr.. Mencker
seems to have made a discovery. And
undoubtedly it will prove surprising
to his fellows in blood. But it ISM
news to eolored folk. They have
known all the time that Americans
are rapidly absorbing all the coloret
influence that they can possibly as
simulate. And the joke is that they
don't know it.