The Enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 192?-1930, 1928-06-21
A. N. P. Reporter :.
Discovers Vardaman
CONTINUED from Page L

dirty. His toes stuck out of his
shoes, his fingernails were inky, his
face blotched, his coat and trousers
filthy Now, ! could not have made
him understand an intelligent order,
and could not have eaten it If he had
brought it. II occurred to me that
interest on the part of the Negro, in
cleanliness and services, could have
made worlds of difference in this res
taurant. similar, physically, but sep
arate from the clean, white dining
room on the other side of the
kitchen. 'a.frR' E,H. Et f..
Perhaps the Jim Crow coach in
which ] rode was wooden. but | did
not notice it. What noticed more
was that the buXom, greasy brown
woman who rode opposite me pulled
off her shoes, preparatory to messing
up the floor, with cake and bread
crumbs. also noticed that she Of
fered the porter a drink of gin, which
he drank, and neglected me. In the
front of the car, two railroad hands,
dressed in new overalls, engaged in
animated and loud conversation with
a gaunt, but gaily bedecked, black
woman who had Just left her hus-
band. All of the most intimate af-
fairs that may have occurred for two
or three years prior were gone into
by the three of them to convince one
another of how mean the husband
was. The two railroad hands freely
interspersed their stories with oaths,
regardless of the fact that !. min
ister, was in their midst, and the
presence of many others to whom
such language was repulsive. was
Tuning with disgust for them when
a young man and woman came from
the front Jim Crow, coach to the
smoking room-in the rear of our
coach. The two men and the woman
who had been talking were attracted
by the girl entering the smoking car.
One of the men had to desist from
his ribald narrative long enough to
go into the smoking car to learn
whether the girl was smoking. He
returned to tell us all, in a tone of
horror, that she was. One would
think they did not sell Bibles down
that way.
Jackson was safely reached and n
local on the Yazoo and Mississippi
Valley taken for the forty-fve-mile
ride to Utica. This coach was also
filled with a motley, careless group.
| sought the smoking car, in which
there were only two seats, one occu-
pied by the news butcher, white, of
course. sat down beside him (he
was in our coach, wasn't he?) and
offered him cigarette, which he
declined. Noticing later that the
brand was one with which he was
not familiar, he asked for one and
| began smoking. with comments as to
the virtue of the fag and its rare
ness, in that section. When the
! butcher left the smoking room, the
conductor entered and sat beside
me. His second ,or third question
was, "Where're you FROM"
| | told him Memphis. ID
When he asked me what ! did ir
Memphis. | replied that ! was stu
dent. making sure to keep my hat OF
4 50 that my badness, might not BE-
Observed.
/ From this conductor learned thai
possibly the white Mississippian Of
HiS IdHh ana SldllbH III lilC alo
ing about his state. He seemed TO b,
we'll acquainted with agriculture
conditions within the state and tn,
degree of prosperity being enjoyed
in various sections. He knew that !
was a good move on the part of Mis-
sissippi farmers to begin to diversif!
their crops, but felt that they ha,
not yet learned all they should abou
it. Weather conditions still hold to,
much sway on the outcome of
crop. Tomatoes, beans, peas, an
strawberries, he told me, are nov
making money for the farmers i
Mississippi. At that time, the frs
week in May, farmers east of Jack
son had more than six millions o
dollars in the banks from the sal
: of Strawberries alone. g.. :,
This man felt that the politica
situation in Mississippi today is pre-
carious. He did not believe that hi
state would support AL Smith. no
merely because Smith is. Catholic
but more because of the fact tina
Snith and his adkefents had evolve
no particular form of relief for tn
, farmers. He said that, Mississippi
, farmers wereWwise to- the fact tina
, Smith had not /, said anything TO
, them. His general remarks SCENE
to- indicate that somebody 4 woul
have trouble with Hoover in Mlssis
sippi. 1927 IS
! Thus did we talk until we reache
: Utica, this fearful traveller from tn
{ north, and this conductor, probabl
' of the clan Vardaman.
And, by the way, where is Vards