YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 06126 3449

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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1945

GOD'S DEALINGS WITH
THE NEGRO BY
R. MAYERS, A.M., S.T.D.

BOSTON
RICHARD G. BADGER
THE GORHAM PRESS

COPYBIGHT, 1919, BY R. MAYERS

All Rights Reserved

Cb3

Made in the United States of America

The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A.

CONTENTS

PAGE

I. The Scriptures vs. Lynching .... 7
II. The Rise of Negroes  14
III. The Old Rut  19
IV. The New Rut  26
V. "Who's Who"  31
VI. A Record of Freedom .....". 32
VII. The Labor Market  37
VIII. Emigration  42
IX. Treatment of the Negro North ... 46
X. Voting  54
XI. History of Negro Freedom  59
XII. The Outlook for Peace  64
Xin. Western Journeying  99
XIV. Prejudice at Work  107
XV. The Newspaper Press  11 1
XVL Spectres Before the Eyes  118
XVIL The Outlook  126
XVin. The Church  131

GOD'S DEALINGS WITH
THE NEGRO

GOD'S DEALINGS WITH
THE NEGRO
CHAPTER I
THE SCRIPTURES VS. LYNCHING
"T'TT"? E are confronted with necessity for some-
Vy thing more than mere newspaper articles
against lynching of Negroes in the South. We need
to shew that God plainly defended Moses, his
prophet when a sister of his attacked him for
marrying an Ethiopian woman. This account is to
be found in Numbers xii. 1-15; and opens thus:
"And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses, be
cause of the Ethiopian woman whom he had mar
ried : for he had married an Ethiopian woman. And
the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses and unto
Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto
the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three
came out. . . . And he said. Hear now my words:
If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will
make myself known to him in a vision, and will
speak to him in a dream. My servant Moses is not
7

8 God's Dealings with the Negro
so; . . . with him will I speak mouth to mouth
. . . and not in dark speeches. Wherefore, then,
were ye not afraid to speak against my servant
Moses? . . . And behold Miriam became leprous,
as white as snow."
This passage establishes that God, who made
black people, defended them by punishing a dis
tinguished woman, a sister of the greatest Lawgiver.
And as the Bible has been much quoted by Negro
haters in other instances, it ought to be remembered
in this case.
Not many weeks ago, Anthony Crawford, a man,
a Negro, owning property valued at $20,000, was
taken, abused, and lynched in broad daylight, by a
distinguished set of men, who publicly declared their
"hatred of the successful Negro." And this was
done by the certainty of not being punished. The
conclusion is, therefore, forced upon me, that de
fiance of God, and injustice to men, is gone mad
here. What guarantee, then, have you to offer that the
diligent Negro will be protected? Or what reason
can be advanced that he must not protect himself?
We are told that he must obey the law. What
law? Surely the laws of the country which are not en
forced by the presiding authorities cannot be sue-

The Scriptures vs. Lynching

cessfuUy kept by the unprotected. In order to have
obedience, the Negroes must have protection. And
in numbers of cases, when men's souls have been
touched, they have acknowledged that as officers
they have given over the Negro to his persecutors,
and have even aided the murderers. This is done
because no punishment is feared.
To excuse these brutalities, a man on the Mis
sissippi boat said that the said Moses had declared
that Noah, an inebriate, had said, "Cursed be
Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren." He said, moreover, that Canaan was an
ancestor of the Negro, and that therefore the
Negro was cursed. To this it maybe answered
that the Canaanites were destroyed during 7 years by
Joshua, in an internecine war; that the Canaanites
were whites, but that the Negroes are colored; and
that this pre-defence of an Ethiopian woman by
God settles the question.
But all races of men, as all sorts of animals, are
put by God to live in this world. Has God said
since then that Negroes must be lynched? Not
in any part of history. Black people were known
in Solomon's time, and that potentate unquestion
ably married an African princess. And special ex
ceptions as to immigrants are being made to-day
by the congress of the United States. The law

IO God's Dealings with the Negro
then, now as well as before, protects the Negro.
But it left him to the mercy of the vi^hite citizen
who pleased to lynch him. But I was in contact
this week with an Englishman who asked why the
Negro would not leave the old rut. I replied, that
he was at the mercy of former lords, each of whom
was a god. "I had not thought of that," he said.
When the man-slave was receiving a whipping and
he cried, "O God! oh," the master said, "Give it
to him." But when the victim said, "Do, massa!
do!" the master said, "Stop!" The master after
wards received the due reward of his deeds.
The whole matter was a disgrace to civilization,
and civilization repudiated it by war and victory
in 1865.
One prominent feature in the Abbeville lynch
ing is the assertion that Crawford resented his
treatment, and struck the assailant, for which and
other offences, he was lynched. But there are
numerous examples in which providence either al
lowed or ordered the defence of his creatures. I
shall quote the authority of the same Moses, who
allowed a man to be killed in self-defence. Craw
ford tried to do this. Words are wind; blows are
unkind. Crawford resented the blows, and, had
the rock which struck him on the head not disabled
him, he would have done more.

The Scriptures vs. Lynching ii
Again : Joshua was ordered to remove Achan and
his family from among the children of Israel. And
the Governor of South Carolina has ordered, ac
cording to accounts, the punishment of the lynchers.
Joshua obeyed; we shall see the results in this
later case.
Now there are Negroes in Africa who are well-
treated by the English, French, Portuguese, and
others. They are employed in every honorable
office. And there are American missionary so
cieties which do all they can to evangelize the
African. But many people here oppress his race.
I have a book entitled, "Black Sheep," written
by a dear lady missionary in which she shews that
the women, called Negresses by certain people here,
ask the most intelligent questions about the reason
of things. What reason can she advance for the
lynching in Abbeville? If history repeats itself,
these lynchers will be punished by God. The peo
ple of Nineveh were no more cruel. They received
a terrible punishment, and their city is no more.
We cannot see God, but we can feel justice and
punishment. I wonder if the Negro has done some
terrible thing as the cause of his extreme punish
ment here. It cannot be color that causes this, for
the lynchers love colored horses, dogs, and cats.
If it is providence, an unusual punishment, even

12 God's Dealings with the Negro
for savages, is given him. And unquestionably the
time must come when retribution follows.
The proposed legislation, which is announced in
favor of the Negro, is prompted by providence if
the persecutions are allowed by him. For he asks:
Shall there be evil in the city and the Lord hath
not done it? The lynchers, then, are working out
their destiny. The general answer of the Negro
to all this oppression is, "I leave it all to the Lord" ;
and the Lord who works that white foreigners
should be called home to Europe, has made the
Negro necessary in the north. But that only exposes
the few who may be left to infernal smoke on the
cars, and the market-place, and injustice in the
courts. As I said at the beginning of this article, mere
writing in the newspapers against lynching is a
waste of time and paper. Laws must be enforced,
and his bad ones, if there be any, must feel the
effect of the gospel or the law.
Lynchings like the one at Abbeville may com
pel action; and, to this extent, they serve a useful
purpose. But slavery is exceeded now, for the slave
was protected, and the Negro is not.
His providential increase in this country is no
argument that God blesses him; for other races,
as the Jews, have increased, only to be oppressed.

The Scriptures vs. Lynching 13
Protection, then, must be had for the Negro. The
very breaking down of law is a warning for the
enforcement of law. But the Negroes must leave
the old rut. They must be educated, pure, and
determined. They must go elsewhere. The glori
ous Abraham Lincoln, had he lived, would doubtless
have found some means of colonization which would
have relieved congestion of population, and have
given the race a state to start in elsewhere. They
have had to leave, and are leaving. But all can
not leave: those who stay must be protected.
God's dealings with Nehemiah must be taken as
an example of His dealings with the Negro; and
time will shew the rest.

CHAPTER II
THE RISE OF NEGROES
IF the Dutch who landed slaves of African
descent in America had lived to see the anguish
caused to their race in America what would they
have said?
For there has always been a Negro who shewed
ability, or learning, or faithfulness to the master;
and the prayers of these Negroes doubtless led
men to view slavery with abhorrence. Four years
of bloodshed followed, and 1,000,000 lives were
spent before freedom came. This is providence, or
God in working. For a settlement of injustice is
necessary. If God delights in prayers, he delighted
to hear the cries of distress. He sent an emanci
pator. He raised up friends for the formation
of a bureau. He put it into the hearts of men to
admit to learning men forbidden to learn. He
enabled the ex-slave to buy the estate of his former
master. He shewed that the slave and the ex-slave
could learn anything. He made a prejudice a help
by giving principals who prepared teachers for the
afflicted race. He raised up a man, Booker Wash
ington, after Gen. O. O. Howard to shew that the
14

The Rise of Negroes 15
Negro is a necessary factor in the American body
politic. And he stirred faithfulness in the heart of
the Negro to prevent him from rebelling as a race
against oppression anxious to oppress unopposed.
This was charged against the Negro as cowardice.
But in fighting for the Union the Negro shewed the
utmost bravery. He was said to be incapable of
leadership, but he produced at least one political
leader, one educational leader, and one classical
Greek text book writer.
Nor was he less eminent in war. Colonels, and
majors, and captains rose by merit; and whole regi
ments conquered at times. As God raised up the
Maccabees, so he raised up champions of justice for
Negroes; and there is actually defence of arriving
Negroes even in a congress of the United States.
And since hardly any one will write in praise of
the Negroes, providence raised up American officers
who plainly spoke and wrote of their prowess. It
was left to Illinois to set a sum of money apart to
help a commission tell about the useful "Who's
Who" of the race. It was possible to get Virginia
where slaves toiled, to commemorate the Negro's
achievements after 50 years.
But perhaps the most remarkable progress was
made in the two African churches of Methodism.
That men should have been found capable of be-

1 6 God's Dealings with the Negro
ginning and continuing two church agencies like
the Bethfel and Zion persuasions is remarkable. Nor
is it less so to see their church buildings, their
book concerns, or the dignity and value of their
officials. Much more might be said on this subject,
but I forbear.
In the field of business, which is necessary to any
oppressed and despised race, in order that it may
be protected in buying and selling, the Negro banks,
the business houses of the South, and the manu
facturing plants connected with them are worthy
of notice.
In Philadelphia, Penn., it was fouftd that only
one or two means of livelihood were open to colored
women; Drs. Credit and Anderson began much
needed manufacturing. So in North Carolina,
where cotton . mills discouraged the entrance of
colored people.
I deprecate any separation — any Jim-crowism of
the races; and these separate factories should be
discouraged ; but where no other way is to be found
they shew original ability at least, and are being
increased. Nor was there any field of endeavor besides in
which the workers of this race did not distinguish
themselves ; for they became famous as cotton-raisers,
fruit-raisers, potato kings, miners, builders, and

The Rise of Negroes 17
jockeys; to say nothing of preachers, eminent for
their fervor and scholarship. And this preaching
has kept the race, — ^kept as it is in the main from
white churches — peaceful and orderly. For where
they are not so, we may trace their behavior to
absence from church, and bad company.
Every other people have rebelled en masse; the
Negro in America has stood by his master and op
pressor. He is brought unjustly as a lamb to the
slaughter, unavenged. God, then, must avenge him.
I cannot close this chapter without recording an
incident told to me by an aged and worthy lady,
the widow of a lawyer who, having inherited much
of her master's blood, acquired also much of his
good breeding.
She was born in Western Virginia and early ac
customed to see the lash applied, to the young
womanhood, ruined, and the young master de
fended afterwards. Sent west early in the war, she
settled at N  and married there, acquiring much
property. Adverse circumstances following, she had
only one house remaining by which she makes a
living. She has been instrumental in founding a
church, and in assisting to raise up lodges.
Of an unsullied character, she is easily able to
command respect. The pitfalls of noisy Christians
seem to be imknown to her. The mind is calm and

1 8 God's Dealings with the Negro
even. The habit is full and well proportioned.
And her speech is grammatically so correct as to
surprise one that her education is almost nil.
Many such specimens could be found. The de
spised, demoralized Negro can become as highly cul
tured and as thoroughly religious as any.

CHAPTER III
THE OLD RUT
IN spite of the saying that America is progres
sive the Southern Negro has had to remain in
the old rut. He yet picks cotton in October, No
vember, and sometimes, even in December, bales
it, sells it, gets killed for it, either by actual blows,
or burning, or by a slow starvation, and wasting of
his energies.
The field is often subject to swamps, or to dry
ness when, on the hillside, rain in June and July
does not come. The land is often subject to washes;
that is, rain carrying away the dirt in large quanti
ties. The master too often leases the land or al
lows the planter to plant without giving any help
by way of preserving or enriching the soil. The
bread and meat — a piece of fried bacon, is often yet
almost all that is eaten, unless in November, he feels
what the Australian calls "a craving base for pork
or ham," and kills his hogs, and "renders" his
lard and eats, and eats till all is gone. He has
borrowed $ioo, it may be, to carry him through
the winter; and he has bought harness worth $14
for $28 "being it's you, Uncle Ned;" and now he
19

20 God's Dealings with the Negro
must pay up these and other debts, and if anything
is left, he is offered something which the store
keeper is sure will be "just the thing for him,"
and he probably buys. He pays his preacher the
$13 salary he promised him, buys a new pair of
shoes for his child kept from Sabbath school, a new
suit for himself, some clothing for his wife, and
then puts the remaining money, if any, into some
hiding place. He does not believe in banks, be
cause he remembers that "Marse John lost all he
had one time in one o' them banks;" and he is sure
that he can keep his money best. For safety's sake,
therefore, he asks Miss Betsey to keep it for him
in Marse John's safe, and there it is deposited, and
safely kept. For Miss Betsey knew him when he
was a boy, and is kind to her Negroes and will do
anything for him as a Negro.
During the winter he may cut logs or clear some
more land: for Marse John said he could. He
burns what is left from the timber, which he has
stacked up, or hauled away, and plows with the
old mule Betty around the stumps, and thus pre
pares the land for next year's cotton. Or he goes
to help on the railroad in order to get some "cash
money" ; or hauls "light 'ood" to town to sell. When
spring begins he is very active. He plows for
April and begins to plant in May, the dearly-loved

The Old Rut 21

cotton. Nor does he forget the water melon, and
the onion, and the sugar cane; for he must have
some molasses which does in place of butter for
the children. A rabWt or so is often chased by the
dogs, and the little boys have got him. This makes
a very pleasant and wholesome change from the
fat bacon or fatter fresh meat.
His children and his neighbor's children are
healthy and happy; for they go to bed and wake
early. The church is their trysting place, and
the church is well attended. And at protracted
meeting, 'most everybody goes, because Sam and
William will meet Sarah and Rachel and be able
to walk home with them.
The farm house, in this case, is near the road, and
they always see the mail man when he is passing;
and it even happens sometimes that he brings a let
ter from Lawrence who ran away from these healthy
parts to seek a living, and see the world in one o'
them northern towns.
If Mary and Sally continue to learn as they are
doing they may some day become school teachers
like Miss Malinda Jones, and earn 5 months' salary
at 25 dollars a month; which is cash money.
The young swains like Miss Malinda, and if
mother will invite her to their house for dinner,
or supper, maybe they will have the shy pleasure

22 God's Dealings with the Negro
of going home with her as escorts to her boarding
place. The old turkey gobbler was killed last year by
master's dog; and daddy was so "skeared" lest
young Mas'r William should get mad 'cause he
might not like it, that daddy hollered out to young
mas'r long before he got near him,
"How you do Marse Tom?"
To which Marse Tom gruffly replied:
"H' dee, John."
There is a hot supper at a corn shooking over
the hill, and Sally and Mary and a host of them are
asked to go " 'cause Nanny Bates and her brothers
will be there; for Miss Bates aint goin' let Sally
and Mary go out alone ; and they will have a chance
in that way to see those youngsters. All the other
young uns are at home in bed ; and daddy is so tired
from logging that he goes to bed right early."
Such is the old rut. Fear of Master and Mistress
has permeated the mind of every Negro. The
business of each is to watch the other Negroes and
tell anything unusual that he hears. The Negro
is feared. The continued insults offered him will
result some day in revenge, it is feared. The plan
is to scare, intimidate, divide, and conquer. Now
and then a Negro is strung up, in order to warn
the others to behave themselves.

The Old Rut 23

Why does God allow this? The Negro was
forced away from his home in Africa, put to serve,
to become a footpad, a pet, or anything, and then to
multiply and fill the earth in order that the planta
tion might have enough. If he was humble he was
worked; if he was troublesome he was sold farther
south. In spite of untoward surroundings the
children were sometimes handsome, and became
housekeepers. They learned the masters' manners
and became civilized. But they did not get pro
tection after freedom came. Any man who wanted
the freedom of the ballot might be shot while rid
ing, or butchered when sleeping. The Negro who
distrusted banks, and kept his money at home, might
find the money an attractive power to draw the
violent to his house. If he had also fair wife or
daughters these too might be drawing powers; and
when the violence was disclosed next morning, and
justice was ordered, men said, — "Making such a fuss
about Negroes!" The Negroes, therefore, con
tinued in the old rut. And while the old mammies
nursed the children, and prayed to God from their
hearts for freedom, the young girls toiled in the
cotton patch, thought of love, and became accus
tomed to thoughtless living. There was no knowl
edge of the commandments, and they needed not to
obey them, for they were bought and sold, and

24 God's Dealings with the Negro
could have no families. Morality had to be low,
or nothing.
If perchance the plantation had a preacher, that
worthy discoursed of what he understood to be safe
to speak of — that there was a being called God who
lived somewhere: that he watched Niggers: that
he aided whites: that he had a Son named Jesus
Christ who died for people: — ^whether for Niggers,
doubtful; that you might follow Marse Tom to
heaven if you were good; that there was a de
lightful place called heaven, so warm, and sweet,
and comfortable; that there was a place called hell,
so cold, and icy, and dark and dismal! and that if
you Niggers "don't behave you'self you'll sho' go
dere." The old ones rocked to and fro, and groaned sig
nificantly; the young ones stood in awe; for were
not Mas'r and Misses there to back all this up?
The women had one sacred duty — to bear children ;
the men one compelling one ; — to work and obey.
The old preacher sometimes married couples. He
had seen his white master do so. He put the
couples together for better or for worse till Mas
ter parted them. When so parted the woman ex
claimed — "My heart's broke; that's all." The
little picaninnies looked on in wonder. They saw
daddy handcuffed and dragged away, while mammy
wiped her eyes with her apron, and they wondered

The Old Rut 23

what it all meant. Would they get supper — "corn-
poan, and 'lassis" — that night? or would mammy
go too? If only mammy would stay? She
stayed, and the boys were content. They knew
not what slavery meant.
But freedom came, and scattered them. Related,
one could hardly tell how, they sought brother
and sister, and found them not. They cried to
God. They wailed out their sorrows in song. The
manly voices could be heard afar over the cotton
fields. The labor of the wash tub was lightened
with spirituals: "Eble body say he gwine to heaven
aint gwine there," such was her song; and the
watchers commended her for her cheerfulness; but
her heart was rent, as she saw child and friend
leaving her. This was God's dealing with the
Negro. For the present, worse than Egyptian
bondage harassed her. The way was dark; the
heart was sad. The masters looked on — looked
ahead. Egyptian bondage had ceased.
Wilberforce, Clarkson, Sir Thomas Fowell Bux
ton, and others had condemned slavery. Would
freedom come? The masters' money was in their
slaves. Would they lose them ? Surely things must
continue in the old rut, or the masters must fight.
For tho' Israel might be a slave, his children were
kept in Egypt, and died, perchance, with him; the
Negro's own were scattered everywhere.

CHAPTER IV
A NEW RUT
WHEN Lincoln freed the slaves a. new rut
was made possible. But in order thereto,
protection was necessary to the newly emancipated
slaves. This was not perfect, tho' attempted by
Grant. For it is useless to tell a man he is free
when he is being shot at from ambush. And the
Negro men who aspired to be leaders were shot at
everyw^here nearly. Many were killed publicly.
Many were so intimidated as to leave for other
parts. All found their color a handicap; till one who
had hewn a way upon being asked if he was a
Negro is said to have replied, "Any one can see
by the color of my skin, and the texture of my
hair that I am not a Negro."
But he had hewn well a new way; a way to
learning and place, and salary. Others followed;
and soon the Greek and Latin languages were
known and taught by them. And the place of type
writer, electrician, and captain was attained by
others more venturesome. 26

A New Rut 27

Yet as a fly becomes accustomed to being hit at,
as a dog becomes used to insult, and as a man be
comes used to ill-treatment, so men hitherto exposed
to blows expected and feared them. They soon
learned to speak as warned. They adapted them
selves to circumstances like Issachar, whom Jacob
calls a strong ass crouching down betvveen two
burdens, and who saw that rest was good, bowed
his neck or shoulders to bear, and became servant
unto tribute. Genesis 49.
Such was the condition to which God allowed
the Negro to fall in America. Farther south he
became incorporated into the body politic; farther
north he was just like anybody else, except as to
trades. It is out of this rut that he is striving, tho'
without protection. And the fact that so many
as 1,000,000 have come out into open manhood and
dare to assert their rights to human treatment is
remarkable. Women, hitherto chattels, are continually men
tioned as protecting their virtue even with the
pistol. Men, hitherto cowards, have dared to re
main in their houses and to defend themselves.
Children assert their school rights, and parents
refuse to have them separated from the body of
the school, as is related in a paper before me. If

28 God's Dealings with the Negro
equal taxes are demanded, equal opportunity is
sought. Again: the public declaration related by a
physician last November in this city of a certain
number of men, Sheriffs, Judges, and others, that
they decided once to punish any Negro brought be
fore them, guilty or not guilty, but had now deter
mined to decide by law, reveals a new rut. From
the efforts of Dr. Benjamin F. Riley, of Alabama,
a much more healthy sentiment of justice has been
preached and the south is awaking to the fact that
in keeping the Negro in the old rut it injures itself.
Dr. Riley, without bespeaking equality, asks for
justice. He has been greatly discouraged, impover
ished, and misrepresented, but here at Knoxville
people are trying to continue their help to him.
Men in Birmingham are being asked to give
their opinions on the Negro problem. In Mont
gomery the sure way of getting recognition — the
opening of Negro industrial, business, and scholastic
places, such as, making hats, dressing hair, and
establishing stores, is now fully acknowledged.
No man can keep down a people who give money
and business value to the public at a time when
the public wants them.
But there are yet certain trades which certain
sections attempt to deny the Negro. The position

A New Rut 29

of chauffeur is denied; and one who ran an auto
endangered his life. The place of conductor is
restricted to whites in most communities. And
tho' an effort at trade with South America where
people of color are in every avenue of life, is being
made by the United States; yet their opportunity
to become diplomats is denied by those in authority
over the Negroes here.
Certain men, as Lynch, Douglass, and Durham,
have represented this country in Russia, Hayti, etc.
I am not aware of any encouragement being given
to any of their race. But neither is the Negro con
tent. He is preparing himself, and may yet have
the balance of power in this country.
In land ownership he is discouraged. A man
was beaten, another was shot to death in these states
for daring to own land near certain whites; yet the
Negro was accused of laziness by the very
murderers. The migrations, on account of this ill treatment,
are towards the North and West, and jealous
Negroes, expecting bad behaviour, are preparing
associations of safety. Yet the Negro moves north
ward. But even here, men are getting into grocery
stores as salesmen; into the police force as officers
and detectives; and into the law courts as barristers.

30 God's Dealings with the Negro
And many Negro homes would be a credit any
where. There are some in which not a fly can be
seen in winter.
Get together meetings are being held at Chat
tanooga, and other centers; and pleasant greetings
are exchanged at Knoxville and other places.
For it is impossible to read the Bible carefully
without getting the spirit of Jesus Christ the Son
of God, which is the spirit of union. The spirit
of disunion and brutality is better shewn in Chapter
VI.

CHAPTER V
"WHO^S who"'
SO important, indeed, is the Negro that a book
has been written called "Who's Who" of the
Colored Race, and it was published under the
direction of a bishop and a Mr. Mather, in Chicago,
by order and help of the State of Illinois, and en
titled Volume I, 19 1 5, for $7.50 a volume.

31

CHAPTER VI
A RECORD OF FREEDOM
LYNCHING is the quickest and most cowardly
way of getting rid of a Negro. If one man
in a hundred is praised, one man in 50 is threatened
or lynched.
But this is done, mind you, only when the object
is helpless and the mob is large and safe. Hence,
a mob, the defier of the law, is the most cowardly
of all men. But it does not appear that intimidation
has kept the Negroes from crimes as the following
article will shew:
Public Pusillanimity is Responsible for Mob
Law
The story of Governor Stanley, of Kentucky, in
hastening to Murray, the county seat of Calloway,
confronting singly and alone the mob that had over
awed Judge Bush, "threatening to lynch him," and
frightened him into signing an order to bring back
and expedite the trial of a Negro indicted for
murder under the menace and coercion of the mob
sentiment prevailing then and there presents at once
the glory and the shame of Kentucky. The Callo-
32

A Record of Freedom 33
way mob not only overawed Judge Bush, threaten
ing to lynch him and the commonwealth's attorney
if the Negro, Lube Martin, were not brought back,
but muttered threats of lynching the governor him
self when he made his unexpected and unwelcome
appearance among them and pleaded that law and
order be allowed to take their course. Knoxville
Sentinel, Sat., Jan. 13, 19 17.
This following is taken from the Louisville
Courier Journal, which recites the cause of the
trouble, and then adds: "Could the contrast between
the course of the governor in this emergency and
that of the circuit judge be more impressive ! Judge
Bush himself must to-day look upon Governor
Stanley's decision and action in the case with envious
admiration, rendered all the more acute because he
must realize that but for his own most unfortunate
infirmity he could have won even greater admiration
for himself instead of the pity — and worse — ^now
universally linked with his name."
Lynching is peculiar in that it destroys the force
of the laws made by representatives of the lynchers
themselves. In the annals of fame, certain Hebrews trampled
on a man at the gate of Samaria, when he tried
to hinder disorder. Certain people destroyed the

34 God's Dealings with the Negro
house of a hated Macedonian with all his family
when they heard that his king had had him as
sassinated. Many kings and nobles with presidents
of the United States have been murdered: — the
most atrocious cases being those of the rulers of
unhappy Serbia, of King Charles, of Louis the
XVI, and of King Seleucus Nicator. But hardly
any one will assert the importance of the Negro
to share such distinction. For he is so contemptible
in the eyes of the lynchers that his execution must
be traced to some other motive than fear. He is
so faithful that he will tell almost anything he
knows. He is so docile as to submit in any case.
What, then, can be the leadings of providence in
this case? Surely the mysterious slavery of the
Israelites, a chosen people, is the parallel. Has
God, then, as glorious a future for the Negro?
Will He overlook and excuse his sins as he did those
of Abraham, who lied and drove out his son and
maid with a bottle of water, of Isaac, who lied and
denied Rebecca his wife, or of Jacob, who took
extra means to rob his uncle and enrich himself?
The descendants of these people, most noble in
many instances, and the descendants who formed the
greatest empire — the Babylonian or Assyrian, the
Russian, the most of the Eastern nations, and the
Ishmaelites, yet inhabiting Arabia — have a parallel

A Record of Freedom 35
of David with Hannibal; of Gamaliel and James
Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, registrar, college profes
sor, etc.; of the Talmudists and Booker Washing
ton. The credit is in favor of the Negro. But the
Eastern peoples were warriors. Among these Moses
is not to be forgotten. Learned in all the wisdom
of the Egyptians, a great lawgiver, he was also
a warrior. He married a Negro and thereby in
curred the displeasure of his family. As a contrast
Frederick Douglass did the opposite, and incurred
the hatred of his people.
The parallel might be continued. The patience
and cowardice of the Israelites are to be in the
patience and cowardice of the Negroes. And the
430 years of Jewish slavery is not yet equalled by
the 300 years of American bondage. The coming
years will continue the slavery till God raises of
his goodness another Moses.
But the Negro is not perfect. How could a slave
be? The compulsory submission to brutality makes
manliness impossible. Moses had to be specially
led. Booker Washington, of glorious memory, must
have also been specially protected; for he escaped
lynching. And God's providence is as surely at
work now, as then.
But lynching is also a work of bravery, for it
defies the law.

36 God's Dealings with the Negro
When Mattathias killed the men defiling the
temple he boldly led a band of Jews, assisted by
his sons, and drove the Syrians from Judsea. When
lynchers, imagining they are safe, lynch a Negro,
they mask themselves or declare the Negro came
to his death by parties unknown. Mattathias
laughed, and the lynchers laughed, but how differ
ent the sense of nobility!

CHAPTER VII
the labor market
THE European war affecting the Northern
labor market, Negroes were asked, in the
course of Providence, to fill the places of the work
men. This will cause many able-bodied men to go
north, and leave many gaps in the ranks of labor
in the south, for as many as 10,000 left one state.
The immigration northward caused many persons
to interest themselves; among others the recent
Negro Conference held at Washington, D. C, and
representing the northeastern section of the coun
try. It was announced later that the Pennsylvania
railroad had transported on one solid set of trains
northwards, three thousand of these immigrants.
Manufacturers, mine owners, and other business
men assured the conference that these immigrants
would be given a square deal. Various opinions,
favorable and otherwise, were expressed by southern
folks. But the spirit of justice is in the minds of
some, and we may expect experience to teach the
others wisdom.
While writing of God's dealings with the Negro
here, we must parallel the dealings experienced
37

38 God's Dealings with the Negro
by the Jews with those suffered by the Negroes.
Four hundred years of slavery made the Israelites
terribly afraid of the Egyptians ; three hundred years
of slavery made the Negro afraid of his master's
children. The journey thro' from Goshen to
Raameses made the Israelites tremble, and the
sight of Pharaoh's host behind them made them cry
to the leader; the journey from slavery made the
deputations which , repeatedly visited the presidents
of the United States! Special preparations were
made by God for feeding the Israelites: and special
arrangements were made north and south for the
feeding of the emancipated slave. Repeated mis
fortunes drove the Israelites to prayer; and re
peated murders drove the Negro woman to ask
"Is God dead ?" Almost the only means of living "
open to the Israelite was agriculture and almost the
only means of existence for the Negro was tilling
cotton lands. But here the parallel ends. For
Moses, Joshua, and the judges were Israelites them
selves: while all the rulers of the Negroes were
whites. This led to suspicions and murders. This
prolonged slavery, not yet ended in some places, has
made a people without the necessary backbone.
They cannot act without a white leader. And the
only means of unity seems to be ill-treatment and
segregation.

The Labor Market 39
But these in turn hurt the whites. For the
servant class thus neglected and segregated carry
the conditions in which they live to their masters'
houses. A boy related yesterday that his father said that
when the master died every slave was warned that
he had better be crying. The slave accordingly put
something on his eyes, rubbed them, and looked
quite disconsolate. When the young master came
around to see how things were, he found what
appeared to be deep sorrow. When thus fooled,
he gave each a piece of meat. But the slaves had
heard somehow that freedom had come and they
stole all the meat they could get.
It would be unjust to expect immediate freedom
from this duplicity in their descendants. Hence
what is called by some veneering, by others com
pany manners, is yet common.
But I turn to a pleasanter chapter of events.
No one who has seen the beautiful homes of ex-
slaves in cities can doubt that they have made
wonderful progress. And the greatest amount of
credit is due the Northern whites who put their
lives in their hands, and came south to teach. Their
efforts seem to have been directed to lifting the
Negro to a plane of self-respect. They instructed
him in church and school, and at last gave him self-

40 God's Dealings with the Negro
respect in the eyes of his fellows. They took him
north, and let him see what is called "God's Coun
try." They gave him commission to teach his peo
ple. They assisted him in building churches. They
invited him into their counsels, and councils. They
sent him over the sea to teach his heathen brethren.
They taught him, above all, to look to the Jesus
of the whites, who some Negroes said was black.
And the grand doctrine that God had made of
one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the
face of the earth, announced by Paul 1800 years
before, was not. lost sight of.
The best road to material progress was in trades.
Trade schools were annexed to various schools till
Dr. Washington established Tuskegee. Every pos
sible impetus was given to the trades, and the Negro
was saved from himself in ignorance, to see him
self in usefulness and respectability.
The war of 1914 came on. The foreigners who
could ride an5rwhere on the cars were called to
their respective countries to fight. The Negro,
who had been taught nothing but a trade, was
called from iron work, from the farm, and from
various forms of puddling and mining to the places
which these foreigners had formerly occupied. It
was said that 1,000 were needed in January, 19 17,
in one place.

The Labor Market 41
Two men came afterwards with a bundle in white
cloth between them, and sought a lodging in a
framed rooming-house where, formerly, more re
spected persons were wont to dwell. These two
men had, they said, only 55 cents with which to
pay for their lodging. They said that it was im
possible to save anything year by year; for that
how hard so ever they might work they were with
out money at the end of the business year. They
therefore ran to where they hoped a plain living
might be got, and a man could lift his head without
being lynched. Many more were leaving ; but some
on their way too many to please the ticket-selling
men, were ordered to leave the waiting room. They
went out. From the published statistics, the bulk
of the property owned in the country by colored
people is owned in the south. This property is
said to be worth the state of Maine, to amount
to many millions, and to shew that with fair treat
ment, and no whiskey, it could be much more. For
if with oppression they have overcome wasteful
habits and owned so much, much more by oppor
tunity unfettered could they be well off, and even
give employment to each other.

CHAPTER VIII
emigration
WHEN Lincoln freed the slaves, he was only
one step in their emancipation. The peo
ple, hated for their color, and left among their
opponents can not do their best. The Negro knows
this, and is moving out. If Lincoln had lived he
would probably have helped them. A proper thing
for the United States to have done would have been
to put the many of them on some southwestern
federal district. That these people feel the desire
this way is shewn by Mound Bayou, and other
places settled by them, and where Negro settle
ments have been formed to help towards freedom.
Of the men who puddled at a southern town one
wrote back to say that he will only see the town
"passing thro'," he was getting more money in the
north. Of the men who had farmed, some had
run away to the same southern town with 4 trunks
of pork, and other valuables, because their lives
were not safe farther south. Men complained that
the Negroes took their money and their support,
and yet voted against them. But what did Craw
ford the martyr take? 42

Emigration 43

This man was a member of the Methodist church,
an officer, and highly successful as a farmer in
South Carolina.
This ought to have insured peace to him; and
peace is the only means by which land can be culti
vated. Among the Israelites this peace was secured,
Egyptians compelling to labor. Among the ruffians,
on the other hand, successful labor was a sure road
to lynching.
Had a new state been carved out of the south
west for the lately emancipated blacks the same
protection and care of them would have been needed
as that given to the Indians. But a better morality
is needed than what obtains, in order that the
protection might be worth anything. No amount
of lawmaking, it will be seen, can make up the
deficiency of disrespect for the ten commandments.
Of the colonies founded by Negroes none have
been very successful. Liberia followed the ex
ample of the nations, and got into debt, and the
creditors menaced the republic for the money.
Haiti and Santo Domingo did likewise, and are to
day in durance from the same cause.
But it is the history of every nation to get into
debt, from losses caused by wars or the necessity
of cultivation of the land.
The government of the United States would

44 God's Dealings with the Negro
therefore have had to give money to the emigrants.
Emigration is necessary here in the south ; Provi
dence planned to make men return to Europe and
cause employers to take able-bodied Negroes to
fill their places. But the women and children
should largely emigrate. This would remove white
man's apprehension of Negro domination, and en
sure a chance for those behind. For, says an ex
change: — "What both white and colored people
need in the south, as far as the legal status of the
colored man is concerned, is the appointment of
Southern judges who will administer the law with
strict impartiality; and this is an issue that must be
fought out, not so much in politics as in the broader
arena and before the higher tribunal of the public
conscience. This is the white man's fight, with
the Negro standing by as a most interested specta
tor." Dec. 14, 1916.
Another reason for encouraging migration else
where is plain: — In shaping the national legisla
tion, one vote in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, or
Virginia is worth as much as five votes in Con
necticut, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, New
Mexico,, or Idaho. The. eight Southern States
enumerated cast a total of 511,199 votes for the
election of members to sit in the 64th congress.

Emigration 45

This makes an average of 7,745 votes to each dis
trict, the entire number of districts returning 64
Democrats, one Republican, and one Progressive.
For the seven Northern states mentioned, the
total vote at the same time was 2,587,402; or an
average of 39,203 votes for each district, returning
50 Republicans and 16 Democrats. Thus slightly
over half a million southern voters have 66 spokes
men in the House of Representatives, whereas it
required more than two and a half million northern
voters to secure equal representation. . . . Are the
north and the Republican party to supinely submit
indefinitely to this condition of affairs ? Emigration,
then, of all Negroes is necessary in order that some
may be kindly treated.

CHAPTER IX
treatment of the negro north
THE matter of good treatment came from
the north. The New England states began
it, Pennsylvania followed, Ohio took it up, and
the emigrants farther west carried it as from the
north, in favor of justice; and as from the south,
in favor of brutality.
Thus Oklahoma is bitterly against him, while
Kansas — "bleeding Kansas" — succeeded in defend
ing him. In one state he could not intermarry;
in another, he had all kindness. But tho' he might
eat at a restaurant, and even put up at a hotel in
Pennsylvania, he was denied a chance to roll barrels
at times, as a porter, by the side of his white
brother in labor.
A single quotation from a paper read before the
union of ministers will shew further that the south
ern spirit went north.
"But what course must the Christian in the north
take? Certainly Christ did not refuse to Simon
of Cyrene the right to carry his cross: Philip was
ready to baptize the Ethiopian eunuch; and Paul
who said, "There is neither Greek nor Barbarian,"
46

Treatment of the Negro North 47
would say that spiritually there is neither white
nor black. Missions are based on the presupposi
tion that all races are men; and if men, brothers;
if brothers, to be treated just alike. Abraham
Lincoln, though, seems to have been the only man
capable of talking to a Negro without reminding
him of his racial difference.
There was once a great missionary meeting held
in a certain place. The speakers included a white
bishop and a Negro minister. The bishop alluded
to "our coloured brother. Rev. Mr. Black." The
"coloured brother" when he got a chance named
all the gentlemen on the platform, and then turned
to the bishop: — "And you bishop  , what a
pity that a mere man should be called a lord!"
It is certainly a weakness in a white dog to
distinguish between his black brother and himself.
The white ants or yellow ants in South America
are said to make the black ants work for them;
the white men made the red and black men work
for them, in pursuance perhaps, of this animal prac
tice. But the practice cost the country 1,000,000
lives by 1865.
Providence, then, has caused an increased im
provement in the condition of the labor market for
Negroes, and the end is not yet.
An effort is being made to put up a soldiers'

48 God's Dealings with the Negro
training school somewhere in the south, where
Negro soldier training was most hated. But I call
any man to witness whether prejudice did not
accomplish the very thing it hated. We have
among others, two cases in point, which I shall cite.
The patricians kept the Plebeians of Rome from
participating in the consulship. The marriage of
one patrician sister to a plebeian husband incited her
to envy her more fortunate sister who had married
a patrician; and a law was made to allow inter
marriage. Another instance is that of preventing any
"colored" man from any participation in any coun
sels of whites in the south; but they have such
counsels in Alabama, at two cities.
Contempt is given where a man is evidently
brutishly inferior. The African in ignorance, with
his shoes looking up to God at the toes for mercy,
his heels one-sided, and his knock knees, made
so by pushing heavy loads, is in contempt against
a man educated at Yale, and taught that he repre
sents God to the African.
A man in Alabama, therefore, who saw a genu
ine educated African, asked him if he said he came
from Africa.
"Yes, sir!" was the reply.
"I do not believe you!" said the gentleman.

Treatment of the Negro North 49
"I am an African all the same!"
"Well," replied the gentleman, "I will shew you
an African. Here! call uncle Nero."
A Negro came. His face was the picture of
human misery. His eyes dilated betwixt fear and
curiosity. His feet ambled as he walked. His
hat was battered. His shoes, unkempt, were too
large, and the front looked up, and the heels bent
out, while his knees rubbed each other.
"That is an African," said the gentleman, looking
at our educated brother.
"And that," replied he, "is what I would be if
I had had the same treatment as he."
Au contraire, if he had been educated and kindly
treated, he would have had fine, straight, small feet
like other Africans found in Northern schools,
and educated as professors, etc., for their native
hearths. This idea of fair play, coming originally from the
Jews in Palestine, and from them thro' the Romans
to us, has permeated every noble mind, and estab
lished a hatred for slavery in France and England
which is now shared by the New Englander, and
carried thro' their schools to the south land. But
brutality does not waver. The men who saw
the colored woman interfere with the white child
who was fighting the Negro child, and who hanged

50 God's Dealings with the Negro
the woman, and then, according to report, called
her husband and told him that there hung his cow,
were either shot or scattered by the enraged hus
band. One boy died some time before cursing and
defying his tormentors; and I want to ask if any
body thinks that there is a just God, who takes
vengeance. It is increasingly contrasted that in every other
country all men worship God together. The East
Indian may have a separate service for the sake of
a different language; but as to the African in
Africa he has the same with his teachers. If any
exception exists no information is to hand. And
it is intended that all shall share equally the re
sponsibilities of government. All are expected to
fight side by side for their country. Each one is
prepared to do his part to increase its efficiency.
Every one must be a member of the body politic.
The Negro is a banker, a judge, a magistrate, a
member of parliament, or a captain as the case may
be; and the word colored, so necessary in some
places here, is never recorded against him.
Is God, then, acting in two different ways with
the Negro? It is to be noted that he lives and
sins in the same way as the white man, and ought
therefore to have the same treatment.
Here, then, is the solution. The God that made

Treatment of the Negro North 51
him intends him to be good and able. If he can
not imitate the good and great gone before, he
must suffer the penalties of the worthless left be
hind. In connection with this condition, no set of men
is more necessary to the world than the Negro min
ister, so much maligned, and yet so badly rewarded
when he is good, for his services. Entirely with
out political help, the race depends for guidance
on its ministers. These, hunted and disrespected,
devise means of escape from trouble, reconcile those
who quarrel, marry, preach and teach. Besides
these spiritual employments, they set up banks,
organize lodges, and other benevolent agencies, and
act as models for the young. But most important
of all, they build churches and schools, without
which their people would resent all insults to their
women and children; and they keep their people in
memory and hope of another Canaan for which
they must prepare, and in which "the wicked will
cease from troubling, and the weary be at rest."
These services are performed under the most
adverse conditions. Taught thro' their mothers
and fathers to do anything they were commanded,
they have to overcome evil themselves, and induce
their members to overcome it in their homes.
Without a Christian model, except Jesus Christ

52 God's Dealings with the Negro
himself, they were taught that God was a white
man, and a white man's friend, while they had
no status at all. When their women were out
raged and sought magisterial protection, they found
no satisfaction; the rapists being allowed time to
escape. And when the ministers took up the matter
they were told that they had better be d  d
thankful that matters were no worse.
Without a central protecting government, and
with a local government made up of enemies, they
sought in vain for justice. Every officer connected
with a church, who stole money was jeered at by
some truthful correspondent of a newspaper, as a
Negro preacher. Every mishap was magnified into
a great fault. Every attack by ruffians on the
Negroes was called a race riot, and the men who
were attacked had no chance to reply in the same
newspaper. No weapon was respected but the murderers'.
No argument was heeded but the argument of the
fist. Every encouragement is given to mob violence ;
every sort of discouragement to pure women.
At last attacks on them are met with the pistol,
and some virtue asserted where vice reigned. So
our colored newspapers tell us. No mention of
virtue is made. No one praises; every one blames
a Negro in those localities.

Treatment of the Negro North 53
Accentuated prejudice is not likely to bring peace.
Emphasized hatred cannot secure blessings. In
creased migration north may continue the preju
dice, and make protection so uncertain as to bring
about a second Armenia of massacres and resistance.
Since writing the above, this has taken place in
East St. Louis, where Negro children were driven
back into the fired houses, and harmless women were
butchered.

CHAPTER X
voting
SAYS a voter : — "We used to have all the names
on the occasion of voting. If for the Repub
lican ticket, we wrote the name of the man we
wanted. The people in our district did not hinder
us from voting; they tried to get us to vote their
way." "But," he continued, "now we have to go
into a booth and vote differently."
The votes may be counted in some places, but the
results to the Negro are the same — unfortunate.
All voting is good, if the object be justice; but
when the judges have discretionary power, the ob
ject of good voting is made of none effect. I have
shewn above that fewer votes are sufficient to elect
in the south. But, few or many, the impression is
fastened on the voter's mind, that everything will
go a certain way. This is an unhealthy state of
things. All the Jews voted to kill Christ. All
France suffered from Jacobin rule.
But contempt is found where a man cannot vote,
either because he is not white, or because he cannot
read. The representation is then of certain per
sons only. The government is by a certain number.
I am made to pay taxes in such a case, when I do
54

Voting 55
not help to make the laws. The laws are then
administered for some ; not all of the people, and the
remainder are underlings, oppressed or well-treated
as the law-enforcers may please. This is taxing a
man without allowing him a voice in the taxing.
Some time ago a man who taught school was at
tempting to get registered. He was examined and
refused; but a man who could not read was regis
tered. Many subterfuges and hindrances were put
into the way of colored voters, till they became
alarmed, and ceased to offer themselves. But after
a time, they qualified by property, and registered.
Now the question may be again asked. Why does
God allow these vexatious discriminations? For
the same reason that He allowed the Israelites to
be enslaved.
A very effective mode of preventing Negro domi
nance is redistricting — an unnecessary and very
often vexatious proceeding. It causes a district to
be put into some other and thus to enable politicians
to elect their man.
The present expedient is segregation. By this
some part of a town will be well-cared for, and
another neglected.
But no country, says a great man, can exist half
free. We will await decisions. But let me give
some historical data.

^56 God's Dealings with the Negro
The people of Persia had enslaved or subdued
the Israelites. A certain man, Haman by name,
hated a Jew named Mordecai. In order to get
this Jew, he determined to kill, at pleasure, all
Jews. The king was offered an equivalent of taxes
for them, and consented. Their fate was decided.
Mordecai does not seem to have prayed, nor did
Esther, the Jewish queen; but they did resort to
those means commonly used by men; namely, poli
tics. Having dressed herself she appeared before
the king, was graciously received, invited him and
her arch enemy to dinner, and, having the chance,
accused his friend, Haman, of desiring her death.
The king was astonished. The queen left the
room, Haman followed to supplicate hen The
king saw him kneeling by her couch. His jealousy
was roused. A eunuch addressed the king that
Haman had built a gallows fifty cubits high for
Mordecai's death. "Hang him thereon!" said the
king. It might appear here that God was not sought
in any way by the parties; yet it is plain that He
interfered for the preservation of his people; for
He intended Jesus Christ to be born from them.
No better instance of God's interest in the Negro
can be adduced than in this that the race multiplies.
No better thing can happen for his continued promi-

Voting 57
nence in labor here, than that a law has been
passed for the keeping out of the ignorant, tho'
able-bodied foreigner. If the ratio of births of
American whites is kept up to, it is plain that the
number of Negroes will be 25 million in 1926.
And as every mixture produces a colored child,
and it seems impossible to keep the races apart, the
Negro-hating element works out its own destruc
tion. Esther, the Jewess, came to the throne for
just such deliverance. Here the analogy seems to
cease. But the war has supplied the rest. The
number of Negro voters will be increased in the
east, where it is wanted and be gone from the south,
where it is not wanted.
A second case in point is when Ahaz was utterly
at a loss to find a saviour for his country in her
domestic woes, and, foreign troubles. Murdering
had been most common, as here of Negro-men.
The king, wicked and wishing succour, was asked
to choose what aid he would have. He refused.
"Behold a virgin shall conceive," said the prophet,
"and bring forth a son."
It has been boastingly asserted that as a voter,
the Negro is helpless. But were not the Hebrews
helpless also?
An excellent way to vote is by popular assemblies,
and an aye and nay vote. It is quick and decided.

58 God's Dealings with the Negro
It causes no paper waste, no chicanery, no loss of
time, nor doubt. But it cannot be had, as in
churches, so the ballot is put into the hands of
enemies in some countries, and rebellion is often the
result. When the Italians in the time of the third Punic
war had nothing but a nominal ballot they applied
to the sword; and after many had been killed,
secured Roman citizenship, a more important thing.
The efforts of the Negro must be directed, how
ever, as much to intelligent knowledge of affairs,
as to an actual count of votes by an unprejudiced,
or, at least, one sympathetic person.
Government by majority is sometimes hurtful.
It was so when Jesus was crucified, for a majority
then and there was in contravention of justice
and the law, the witnesses not agreeing. Much has
been said in favor of republics; but an imperator
succeeded the one at Rome. A strong sense of free
dom tempered by justice is necessary to uphold
any government.

CHAPTER XI
history of negro freedom
THE stopping of the slave trade by the English,
the putting down of slavery by the North
thro' a voluntary emancipation, and the proclama
tion of freedom to the slaves of the masters then
in rebellion, led to the final emancipation by con
gress. From what can be gathered, Africans have
ever held high place in the world's history; and
Negroes in the east and west have made both sol
diers and statesmen. Our task concerns us with
America alone; but we may note that many men
in ebony were brave soldiers, and generals, and
thus shewed the mettle of the Negro.
The first I shall mention is Zerah, the Ethiopian.
Any man who could raise and equip 1,000,000 men
and carry them a distance of 900 miles deserves
credit. This man attacked Asa, king of Judah, accord
ing to II Chron. 14. 9, 10. Asa defeated Zerah at
Mareshah. We next find the Negro in Abyssinia,
where King Menelek is said to have been descended
from Solomon. Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,
was wise enough to allow her officer, a eunuch, to
59

6o God's Dealings with the Negro
go to church at Jerusalem. The bravery of the
Rabah of the Sahara, who fought the French for
six years is well acknowledged. Toussaint
L'Ouverture, of Haiti, is remarkable as having rid
his island of the rule of three nations.
The ability to make laws is shewn plainly by
the men who have helped in France and the West
Indies. We never hear that the French parliament
objects to them because they are not white: rather
that parliament welcomes them because they have
ability. All kinds of fish and all colors are wel
come in the sea. The celebrated Dumas, Fils,
was as welcome as his father. And the remarkable
B. K. Bruce, of southern fame, was possessed of
the same ability as any.
But Japanese are not Negroes, yet they are un
welcome. And Chinese are as much hated in places,
as are Negroes here.
The thing called color prejudice is a modern
hydra-headed snake which writhes, and twists itself
around the bodies of men, because the hated men
are of a different color.
The Negro as a political power is lost to view
in every other country but America in its southern
aspect. The hateful remark or writing "John Jones,
Col.," is as much out of place in God's creation

History of Negro Freedom 6i
as is the remark, "a flying fish, scaly." Surely, too,
one man's dollar or service is as good as another's.
While these hateful prejudices are unnecessary
here, they irritate the objects of them. A feeling
increases in these that this country is their enemy,
and many say they will not fight for it. On the
other hand, many colored Americans are enrolled
in the army of Canada, of which they form not
separate regiments "colored," but any individuality.
Yet the Canadians are in no danger of turning
black. And France that makes no difference is
yet white.
But the best argument against discrimination on
account of color is that the white people themselves
are divided on the question. The fact that Negro
men do everything as whites do; and the costume
of the blacks, got from the whites, which fits both
equally well; above all the giving of the gospel
to both would premise that both are destined to
go to the same places after death. That the black
man must pay taxes; that he must perform military
service ; that he must be governed by the same laws ;
all indicate acknowledgment, in the south, that he
is a man. Then he ought to be consulted to the
making of the laws which govern him in congress
or state, or municipality.
The equal application of law would result in

62 God's Dealings with the Negro
such representation. The thirteenth, fourteenth,
and fifteenth amendments to the constitution, tho'
dead letters, demand this.
Is God, and is the legislating done waiting de
velopments? The amendment gives congress ap
propriate power for appropriate legislation in case
the amendments are not observed; but republican
indifference has ended in republican disunion in
the election of a democratic power; and in the
spectacle of the government discriminating against
its citizens. Now where in the history of man do
you find such a thing without mischievous results?
Let us cite a few examples.
In Egypt there were certain kings remarkable
for bravery. One of these kings received Jacob
and his sons, and treated them honorably. But
in time there arose a king, who, jealous of his
countrymen's prestige, began to ill-treat and en
slave their fellow men. These were put to hard
tasks, whipped, and, as far as possible, diminished
by blows, by infanticide, and by threats. Did these
succeed ?
Take another example. The Boers, Dutch
farmers living in Southern Africa, determined to
"trek," and thus keep themselves apart, in African
wilds, from the English. Have they succeeded?
But the native African was to be dispossessed, and

History of Negro Freedom 63
ordered from the soil, the street, and the councils
of his home. Have the African women tamely sub
mitted thereto?
Nor have the efforts made to secure a peaceful
possession of American soil for Americans only.
Negroes make trouble by their very submission to
wrongs. Germans are many; Japanese may yet
cause serious trouble.
On the other hand, all nationalities are fighting
loyally under the banners of the entente allies, and,
with justice, all nationalities will fight willfully
under the American flag, for each one must pro
tect his own home.

CHAPTER XII
THE OUTLOOK FOR PEACE
WHEN the European war began it was ear
nestly hoped that no Negroes would be
further enlisted in the American army. Now a
Negro soldier's training institution is to be estab
lished. In the Boer war only whites were employed. In
the Great War, everybody — ^women and all — is
needed. There is not a single country in the world
that is not affected. Neutrals lose their ships and
supplies. Home folks make big fortunes. Women
get twice as much money as before. People ere-
while idle rich, are now diligent workers. Un
employment, once an English menace, is hardly
heard of. Trades, once helpless if left without
some articles, now substitute for others. Thus,
necessity excites invention.
Trade, the "golden girdle of the globe," is threat
ened by German submarines, and hunger so distant
once, threatens America now. The Negro, every
where adaptable, is called north, is wanted south,
is courted for the army, and will doubtless be put
like Uriah, in the forefront of the battle. This will
be a certainty in case of war here. This is a
64

The Outlook for Peace 65
measure already in vogue. What may we expect
for a repetition of his faithful services at El Caney
and at Bunker Hill? Ill-treatment. But he is
being educated by the same books, and often by
the same men, who expect better recognition them
selves. Will he always submit? This is the ques
tion which the lynchers worry over. Education
may make him quiet, but cannot make him forget.
And all cannot or will not be educated. Many
will be rough railroad hands fit to suffer, and to
shoot, and to wrench.
The educated man submitting will be no match
for the rough hand with a crow bar or a gun.
The praying parson will not be heard in the din
of battle. Right must succeed ; might must bow its
head. Spiritual means will be God's turned into
carnal weapons; for he sent Moses to destroy the
Amalekites; and he sends the Germans to destroy
the nations. Shall there, then, "be evil in the city,
and the Lord hath not done it?"
The highwater mark of prejudiced brutality has
been reached; the blood of the victims, innocent in
many cases, cries unto God from the ground. Fear
coupled with cruelty has yet to be punished. Craw
ford's blood, no less than that of the innocent boy
of eighteen in Texas, calls for vengeance.
And the Negro preacher who said lately that

66 God's Dealings with the Negro
God was love, and the Negro loved, and was there
fore of God, may have been right after all.
The outlook, then, is good for the rough Negro,
for he can stand anything; for the gentle Negro,
for he will not fight, and like Issachar crouches
down between two burdens; and for the workman,
for his labor is needed.
But there are the present sufferers. They crouch
in back alleys, and on front streets under threat
of expulsion, of intrigue, of death. Becoming
lawyers and doctors, and gentlemen is their bane.
"I can't be any gintleman," says the little darkey,
" 'cause I'se a nigger."
Such people are satisfied; but the gentleman,
never! He may be silent, and prudent, but satis
fied ? — never !
There is one power in this connection, however,
which is a safeguard for the Negroes' enemies. His
love to tell what has passed in the Negroes' coun
sels more than counterbalances his resentment. So
that unless some sudden all-directing power appears,
he is likely to trust to God and law to give that
protection he so sorely needs. And I think that
this trait has been discounted; therefore he is de
spised. Protection of self by oneself is yet to be
taught him.
In preparation for war, Germans in America are

The Outlook for Peace 67
said, by the newspapers, to be leaving at the rate
of 400 a week for Mexico. And why for Mexico ?
And why is this preparation for war so slow;
or rather this power, to declare war kept back?
It prepares the Germans who are fighting as well
when they are said to be starving. If they shall
ever get hold of the grain of Odessa, of the oil of
Oka, of the sugar cane of India, of the farina of
South America, another song will be sung.
England, the nation which, after the French, has
the most to lose, is well aware of the danger ahead.
Her statesman, at the head of affairs, warns the
sellers not to enhance prices. There is no waiting
back to hear the opinion of a commission, having
to wait, but notice is at once given not to enhance
prices in England. All Negroes are glad to help
England, for all Negroes are free under its flag.
It is a flag of action. It loves peace ; but peace may
be bought too dear. Peace is like gold, good to
spend, and good to keep. And the Negro loves both.
He goes to England, to France, to Spain to look
for it. His going to Liberia emphasized the feeling
that he could not find it here ; but he cannot alone,
without borrowing, make good there. Nay! if
Roman citizenship is worth anything, it is worth
in Rome, here must freedom be worth while to the
American.

68 God's Dealings with the Negro
If Simon of Cyrene bore the cross of Christ, the
Negro, unwilling, is yet bearing it. He is a very
plain example of unwilling submission to a willing
tyrant. And without protection he cannot work.
Yet he endeavors. Many men of color have been
turned out of office. All men in office nearly are
white ; and in order to keep them only, the following
rules are observed, and enforced at head-quarters :
I. Never to call a worthy person of color Mr.
or Miss.
2. Never to allow them to sit or eat on terms of
equality. 3. Never to give them any chance to make an
equal living.
4. Never to have them worship God in the
same house, or place, or way if possible.
5. To regard them therefore as inferiors to be
kept in that condition for ever.
These plans are laid by people fond of fair play
otherwise, but who profess to be Christians. Peo
ple watching them, as they politely take off their
hats to their ladies, go to church, pray, and get
ready to leave their possessions to their officers in
church, and to their children would believe them
incapable of doing a mean act. But the same men
will take their pipes into the Negro waiting room

The Outlook for Peace 69
and smoke there, because none but Negroes are in
there. I was travelling once eastward from here.
The coaches stopped at S  . A man saw two
persons, a man and a woman in the so-called colored
car. He looked around, and then said: — "There
is no one in here but colored people !"
Upon that, he sat down and began to smoke.
The man who was thus contemned ran to get the
conductor who was off the car. The cowardly
gentleman smoker watched the man, saw the direc
tion he took, divined his purpose, and left the Negro
car before the conductor arrived. The man who
went to get the conductor was a highly educated
person, who had travelled extensively, had seen
many customs, but was unused to this brutal sort
of manners. The woman had remarked that she
paid for first class treatment, and wanted it.
"Go to the conductor!" said the traveller, "and
he will give you protection."
"I want to have first-class treatment," said the
lady. "I tell you to go to the conductor!" said
the traveller.
But he had to go. And when the conductor heard
his plaint he moved rapidly forward with — "Where
is he?"

70 God's Dealings with the Negro
But the cowardly gentleman had disappeared into
the "white car," and the colored passengers could
not go there even to make complaint.
An attorney in a great city had a case in hand
for the protection or punishment of a ruffian who
had struck a traveller in the face for keeping his
buggy till 6 : 30 o'clock, in the evening. And this
is how it happened.
A certain Baptist preacher had borrowed a chair
from the ruffian for the accommodation of the
preacher's wife, and seeing the traveller returning
thither, detained him, to carry back the chair. Un
willing to go, and still more not wanting to say
he would not carry it, the traveller went and waited
for a note, and the chair. On his arrival at the
store to give up horse and chair, he was asked what
had kept him so late.
"This note will answer," he said. Upon which,
the ruffian pulled up his sleeves, and with an oath
emptied out of his throat, he struck the traveller
in the face. Several men in the store ran forward
upon this, to hold the hands of the traveller in
order that the brave aggressor might beat him un
molested. He saw the plot, and without moving
and while the blood trickled from his face, said:
"You will pay for this, gentlemen."

The Outlook for Peace 71
"God d  n it!" said the ruffian. Why did you
keep my buggy?
"The note will explain," said the traveller.
Another blow came.
The note fell on the floor, and the gloves he
had taken off behind it, the men still looking on.
"Lend me your gun!" said the ruffian.
"Order here!" said the quondam constable who,
tho' his term of office for the Christmas season
was expired, yet made a shov\f of defending the
oppressed traveller. "Order here!" he cried again.
"Get out o' here!" said the ruffian.
"I will never leave till my gloves are given
to me," said the traveller, "and you will pay for
this." The clerk of the store who was from another
part of the country, thereupon picked up the gloves,
and gave them to the traveller, with a sigh of
sympathy. The traveller left and went to a house where
he sat up all night.
Early next morning he went to the county town
where he shewed his face (which the doctor had
plastered after putting on an antiseptic), to the
attorney-general. This gentleman said it was a
d  ^ned shame, and sent him to another man, who
sent him to a magistrate.

72 God's Dealings with the Negro
Now, upon learning of the case, the head man of
the village, which was 12 miles from the county
seat, pretended to fine the ruffian who had inflicted
the blow, the sum of five dollars. And as the
ruffian was clerk and treasurer of the village, he
made no ado about submitting. Meanwhile, an
order for the ruffian's arrest had been issued by the
magistrate, and the officer went to get the men
guilty of assault.
Upon his arrival, the head man of the village gave
bond for their appearance, and they prepared to
have the complainant jailed for perjury.
When the case was called in court, the com
plainant was absent at his wife's funeral. The at
torney employed by him sent the case on to the
grand jury altho' he was told that the complainant
had no evidence that the man had assailed him
with knuckles of brass, without which proof it
would be impossible to make a case in high court.
Immediately upon the dismissal of the case the
traveller was arrested for perjury. In offering to
give bond, no one could be found. A man dressed
in a tweed suit appeared, and ordered the officer
not to touch the traveller, even if he was a stranger;
but to wait until the magistrate, St. Patrick, arrived.
Upon his arrival one stranger offered bond, and
another gentleman, a professor, acted with him,

The Outlook for Peace 73
and the traveller was allowed to go free. Upon
arriving at a house to which he was invited the
matron said she had no room, and made other
excuses. He sought another place and paid for
a lodging. On arriving at the next town next day,
a merchant called him and shewed him a newspaper
in which the following appeared in large headlines
of a newspaper, "Indicted for Perjury! A sub
ject of King Edward in the hands of the law for
Perjury. It is thought that King Edward will not
interfere, and that the law will be allowed to take
its course!"
A message was sent by a certain lady at the same
time telling the complainant that tho' he had
escaped the professor, he was now in the hands
of solicitor Esaes, whom he could not escape.
While all this is going on let us see what the
authorities are doing.
I said that the traveller had sat up all night
after the doctor had dressed his face. The doctor
had asked if the assailant was drunk. To which
he replied that he could not tell. When the magis
trate was ordered by the solicitor to have the assail
ant arrested, he asked the complainant to write
his name in a certain place on the paper form. He
did so.

74 God's Dealings with the Negro
"What did he strike you with?" asked the
magistrate. "I do not know anything but his fists."
"And did his fists produce all that bleeding?" the
justice asked.
"He pulled something on to his hands, but as it
was dark in the room I cannot say for certain."
"Well," said the magistrate, "return on Monday,
and you will hear what to do."
On the following Saturday as the traveller's
buggy came up for him, at the station, two men
started after the buggy. The driver trembled;
but the traveller asked him to stop the vehicle, and
turning opened the window, and asked the two men
what they wanted. They turned back. On reach
ing the office of the magistrate on Monday the aged
traveller confronted the two men with the charge
of intimidation,
"He stopped my peaceable journey," he said,
pointing to one of them; "and that one said that
before I can get redress, they will do for me."
The man shook his finger at the speaker.
"He is shaking his finger at me now," said the
traveller. The trial was put off in order that defendant
might summon certain witnesses. When the time for
trial came the complainant's wife was lying dead in

The Outlook for Peace 75
a far off city. Leave had been granted by the
magistrate to go and bury her. On the way back
the attorney was on the car with a bottle of drink,
and in company of two other men. They had left
their car and entered the Negro car in order not
to defile themselves. The writer read since that
strict laws were afterwards enacted to put an end
to such car entering, refusal to give notice of delay
of trains, purity of water-drinking on trains, polite
ness on the part of railroad employes, and cleanli
ness of trains.
But at that time any one of the gentry might
enter any Negro train, and do almost as he pleased.
Hence the drinking on this occasion, and the notice
from the lady that the traveller was in the hands
of solicitor Esaes. The train reached its destina
tion and the occupants dispersed. At last the day
of trial came.
The traveller, upon receiving the blow had writ
ten in his diary the necessary information of the
whole affair; and this he had shewed to the magis
trate who issued the warrant for the arrest of the
assailants. A copy was immediately afterwards
dispatched to England, another to Washington, and
a third to the consul near, and events awaited.
When the issuance of the notice of the intended
arrest of the traveller reached him, he immediately

76 God's Dealings with the Negro
repaired to the office of the magistrate. That
gentleman said he did not remember how he wrote,
but that the assailant of the traveller had been
to him, and that the magistrate had refused to
issue the warrant; that the magistrate had told
him he had better beware what he did; for that
the traveller was no fool; that the assailant had
gone to another magistrate who might, perhaps,
issue the license to take the traveller prisoner. He
added to the assailant that perjury was a hard
thing to prove, as it depended largely on the in
tention of the person; that, in this instance, the
traveller had not been sworn, and therefore had
committed no perjury; that the form of warrant
had been inserted in the paper after the signature;
and that it was evident that a mean advantage was
being taken of a stranger by men who had no
principle. These remonstrances had no effect as we have
seen. A cable message had been sent from England to
Washington; thence to the consul, and thence to
the county of Tigre where the matter was sub
judice. And a special letter had been sent to the
magistrate by the head man of the village, declar
ing that the traveller was "sassy," and ought to
be discouraged.

The Outlook for Peace 77
"Take it and read it," said the magistrate, "we
do not try cases here by color, but by proof. But
what a rumpus, have you been making here. They
have been cabling from England about you saying
they wanted a fair trial."
"No true bill!" was the verdict of the grand jury
in the case of the traveller vs. the assailant.
That very afternoon he was a prisoner. The
only minister of the gospel on whom he should rely
refused even to consider whether he would go on
the traveller's bond. One man, a pure stranger,
stood for him. Nor was there a single person in
the whole length of North America to whom he
could look in case of proved perjury. His busi
ness was scattered. His property interests were,
as it turned out afterwards, in the hands of a
dishonest man who killed himself to escape the
penalties of the law a second time.
In this dilemma he had written his will, and pre
pared for the worst. The people were, indeed, like
sheep without a shepherd. The vote of the elec
torate chose the magistrate, and his action was
largely at the dictation of the people — the electorate.
The magistrate arrived at last from somewhere,
and accepted bond.
The traveller had to wait until the case was
heard before he could go on his journey. Yet

78 God's Dealings with the Negro
he was calm and apparently unconcerned ; but there
burned in his breast such a desire for vengeance
against his persecutors as nothing could quench.
Everything being ready, a lawyer, who had been
lately relieved from suspension, took the case for
$10.00. The former magistrate had sent a bondsman to
the traveller to advise him not to utter a word in
court ; for that the very manner of his independence
of spirit aroused his persecutors. He added, that
the magistrate himself would appear as witness for
the traveller, and that if the case was lost by the
ruffian assailant the traveller vyould be murdered
immediately by him.
But the uninstructed lawyer had to be advised.
The witnesses for the prosecution had to be cross
questioned, and the utter malice of the proceedings
had to be exposed.
The prosecutor sworn, said : "My name is Somers
Nestor. I hired a buggy to the defendant, Magis-
ter, a day before New Year. He brought the
turnout back late, and I asked hirti what detained
him so long, and he put his hand on his hip pocket.
I then struck him with my fist, believing that he
was going to pull out a pistol."
"Ask him," said Magister, "what he said when
I returned."

The Outlook for Peace 79
"What did he say to you, when he returned an
swer to you that the note would explain?"
Somers did not answer. "Ask him," said Magis
ter, "who was the person that borrowed the chair
from him?"
"Who was the person," said the lawyer, "that
borrowed the chair from you?"
"Rev. Turabout," was the reply.
"Did not Magister tell you that he had been
delayed?" "Yes.""Why did you strike him then ?"
"I thought he was going to shoot me."
"Is he in the habit of shooting?"
No answer.
"Call the next witness," said the magistrate.
"Egbert Dawkins."
Dawkins appeared.
"Do you know Magister here?" said the magis
trate. "Yes," said Dawkins.
"Ask him questions," said the magistrate.
"Were you not present when Somers Nestor
struck Magister?"
"Yes." "Ask him what he said when Nestor called to
him to lend him his gun," whispered Magister.

8o God's Dealings with the Negro
"What did Somers say to you," asked the law
yer. "He asked me to lend him my gun," said Egbert.
"Did Magister appear worked up or quiet?" said
the lawyer.
"He was very calm," said Egbert.
"And did he say anything?"
"Yes; he said, 'You will pay for this, gentle
men.' "
"You may stand aside," said the lawyer,
"Call the next witness!" said the magistrate,
. "Dr, Mooney!"
When Dr, Mooney appeared, he was asked if he
knew Magister,
"Yes.""Did you dress a wound on his face about the
31st day of December last," asked the lawyer,
"I did,"
"Was the wound made by brass knuckles?" in
quired the lawyer.
"I cannot say," said the doctor.
"Could such a wound have been made by the
knuckles of the fist if the person inflicting the
wound was thin," asked the lawyer,
"It could," said the doctor,
"Ask him," said Magister eagerly, "if he did
not tell me he put on an antiseptic."

The Outlook for Peace 8i
"Did you put on an antiseptic on the wound?"
asked the lawyer,
"I did."
"Does not that shew that you feared blood-poison-
ing?" "It does."
"Was any punishment inflicted on the prose
cutor?" asked the lawyer.
"He was find $5, for a breach of the peace, in
the intendant's court."
"Who is treasurer?" asked the defendant of the
lawyer, "Who was treasurer of that court ?"
"He is treasurer," said the doctor,
"Ask him if the fine was paid!" whispered the
defendant. "Was the fine paid?" resumed the lavryer.
"I cannot say," said the doctor.
The next witness was called.
Magistrate number one was in court, and was
asked if he would testify.
He took the oath,
"Do you laiow the defendant in this case ?" asked
the lawyer.
"I do. Magister came to me with a wound
plastered under his eye, and about three inches long,
on the left cheekbone, yet running corruption, on

82 God's Dealings with the Negro
the first day of January, and told me that the
attorney had ordered that the assailants of the com
plainant be arrested for assault and battery. As
Magister said he had a sick wife, and desired to
leave by train, I told him to sign the form for such
purposes, and I would see after the matter."
"You did not then read over to him what you
had written?"
"No ! he was gone."
"They cannot touch you for perjury to save their
lives!" exclaimed the lawyer.
Egbert was again called, and asked if Magister
was rude or excited.
"He was very calm!" said Egbert,
"I will reserve judgment," said the magistrate.
The court is adjourned. The defendant is out
on his own recognisances,"
"Come to me on Wednesday!" he said to Magis
ter. "Wait," he added. "Let me speak to you in
my office. Where did you come from here ? Where
were you born? How long have you been in this
country?" These questions having been answered — "Go to
California," said he, "if you like. This man had
said that if the case went against him he would
shoot you on the spot, and, as he is a desperate
character, I thought it better to dismiss as I did;

The Outlook for Peace 83
for your heirs could be the only beneficiaries in the
event he had carried out the threat."
On leaving court, Magister wondered where to
go. The resting places gave no rest to the weary
traveller, and the Negroes were scared to death.
The secret manner in which the case had been dis
missed prevented any but the specially informed
from knowing results.
He went to a house of a set of females, and
offered them money for a night's lodging. The only
person who could have vouched for his good charac
ter and address shrank from doing so, partly from
fear, and partly from malice.
On going to the church on the following Sab
bath, Magister was accosted by a member of his
flock, in this wise: — "Miss Betty was talking to me
about you and said to tell you you ain't in the
hands of Professor Swiss now, but in the hands
of Solicitor Esaes."
"Did she?" asked Magister. "And who is Miss
Betty, pray?"
"The lady I work for. You got out clear from
Professor Swiss, and Miss Betty thought that was
not fair, so she was mighty glad when Solicitor
Esaes took this case up."
But when the traveller made no reply, she added,
"But I am nothing to do with it, though."

84 God's Dealings with the Negro
"Why do you talk about it then?" asked the
traveller. "Well," said the woman, "Miss Betty asked me
to tell you."
"Tell Miss Betty," said he, "that I am out of
the hands of Solicitor Esaes."
On going to his headquarters, he was asked by a
merchant to sit down at his store door.
"I have heard," said the merchant, "some strange
things about you. Read this newspaper."
He put the paper into the hands of the traveller.
"Keep that paper,'" said the merchant, "and use
it in future for your protection. I read it with
satisfaction." Magister took the paper and read —
"The case for perjury against Rev. Thomas
Magister was dismissed by the magistrate on Tues
day." These words were printed in very small type
and not in the flaring headlines used in the case
before. Thus tardy justice, slower than tardy truth,
asserted itself at last.
"You must leave this district," said a Methodist
minister to the traveller, one day.
"Why?"

The Outlook for Peace 85
"Because they are going to lynch you if you
stay." "Who will lynch me?"
"The factory hands," he said.
"Why?""They say you took away a split rail from a
white woman."
"Where?""In your yard. You had better leave this house
to-night!" "I rented this house, and paid $  a month for
its use. Right here will I stay then."
On Sunday he went to his work.
On Monday morning a young girl came and said :
"A white man is out here wanting to see you."
"A white man!" he said. "I have no business
with any white man."
He got up from the table and went to the door.
"How d'ye do?" said the white man.
The traveller gave no answer.
"I am quite well," the white man said.
"I did not ask you how you were," said the
traveller. "You wrote a letter to the mayor defaming a
white lady's character," said he.
"Have you seen the letter?" asked the traveller.
"Yes, I saw it."

86 God's Dealings with the Negro
"What are you asking about it then?"
"Well, you have got yourself into a God d 
state of things!" growled the white man.
"Wait a minute," said the traveller.
He turned into the house, opened a drawer, and
took out a pistol.
Holding it in his hand, he said pointing it full
at the man — "Tell me all you have to say! You
came here to threaten my life. Look at me, and
see if I cannot look at you any length of time
without winking!"
"Don't you be telling," exclaimed the white man,
retreating. "Tell me what I must not be telling. Far away
from here I heard what I was to expect, and I am
here to get it. Is this your Christian civilization?
I will immediately put the matter into the mayor's
hands." He turned into the house, got a black travel
ling bag, put a pistol into it, and left for up
town. "Where is the mayor?" he asked a policeman.
"He has gone to S  ," he answered.
"I have some business with him."
"What is it?"
"A white man has just been threatening my life,"
said the traveller.

The Outlook for Peace 87
"We will give you the same protection we give
any one else!" said the officer.
"I do not ask any protection," said the traveller.
"I will sell my life as dearly as possible."
He returned home and continued his work.
There was not a single Negro when the white
man came. There were several in the space of a
few minutes. From one of them the traveller bor
rowed a repeating rifle, and to this he added a
sharp butcher's knife, and a razor. These were
carefully put on the floor at the head of his bed,
and chairs put as barricades to the door. He then
prayed for strength and protection, and prepared
to go to bed. A chapter was read, and prayer
offered. The niece retired to another room, and
he lay down, after carefully examining the pistol.
As he was a very good sleeper, he feared much that
he could not be easily awaked. But no one came,
and the sun arose on a peaceful landscape. The
man who called himself a Methodist preacher never
appeared again. The white woman was asked to
give up the house. The traveller kept the same
careful preparations as before; but after a while
another ruse was tried.
On arriving home one day, the girl said that
the factory hands were coming to lypch him. "Let
them come!" he said, and went on with his work.

God's Dealings with the Negro

On arriving at a house a woman said that Miss ¦

told her he would be soon in the hands of Solicitor
Sease. "And what does he want to get me into his
hands for?" asked the traveller. "They say you
went where you had no business," she answered.
"And where is that?"
"You will hear from some one else," she said.
"But I am nothing to do with it. She only asked
me to tell you. I am nothing to do with it. I
do not want to have anything to do with these
white people."
"Why, then, are you so anxious to tell?"
"Because they will hurt you."
He left for his work. This was Sunday morning.
On Monday, the man of the town employed as Con
stable, came and said that the intendant wanted
him. "What for?"
"For going where you had no business."
"All right. I have some business with the minis
ter of the town. Take me there, please."
They were accompanied by a church officer whose
curiosity overcame his fear.
On arriving, the ecclesiastic discovered great sur
prise, and seriousness.
"I have never heard a word of this," he said.

The Outlook for Peace 89
"Had you not better avoid a trial, and compromise?"
"I never compromise with anybody," answered
the traveller.
"But you have a white woman against you, as
I understand, and you have little chance of escape."
"I have all the chance that truth obtains," an
swered the traveller.
"Very well, then, we will go on to the intendant."
Arrived, seven or eight young men with ropes in
their hands were dawdling around. The traveller
eyed them angrily; the minister with doubt.
"Who is the accuser?" he asked.
"The lady that saw him," said the constable.
"Where is her brother? I will see him," said
the minister, and he spied where he stood and
beckoned to him.
"Let me speak with you!" he said.
For half an hour they argued. The brother's
voice became louder. "I will punish him to the
utmost limit of the law," he gesticulated.
"But are you sure?" said the minister in earnest.
"I have witnesses."
At last the intendant arrived, and the case was
called. "Magister!" cried some one. The traveller went
up the stairs into a hall, where sat several men.
"Read the charge!" said the intendant.

90 God's Dealings with the Negro
"Guilty or not guilty," said the clerk.
"About what?" asked Magister, "I want to
know who accuses me, what I am said to have
done, who saw me, when, and who are the wit
nesses." "Very well, send and get her evidence,"
"You will have no evidence against me," re
joined the traveller, "unless you confront me with
my accuser,"
"Call her then,"
She came, a girl about 21 years of age, or less.
Her evidence was taken, and the traveller was
told to ask her questions.
"What have I done to you?" he asked.
"Nothing," she replied.
"Why have you brought me here then?"
"I saw you where you had no business,"
"When? On what day?"
"On a Wednesday six weeks ago,"
Instantly the almanac was searched by the judges,
while the day book the young man carried was
eagerly examined by the accused.
On that Wednesday, he was sick 9 miles away,
was seen by a doctor, and now shewed the post
master's receipt for a money order sent then to
Boston, Mass. Not only so, but he had been
steadily refused when he asked to cross that land

The Outlook for Peace 91
when journeying; and the testimony given by the
mother of the girl was to the effect that Magister
was a good man.
The brother was called. A copy of the trial
had been asked by the traveller, and he had been
answered that they did not give copies.
"I will make a copy then myself," he said. Bor
rowing paper of the clerk, and filling his fountain
pen with ink, he stood up, and took the testimony
of the witnesses,
"Ask him questions," said the intendant, as soon
as the brother had been sworn,
"Do you prosecute this case," asked the traveller,
"What do you mean?" said the brother.
"Just what I said!" answered the traveller,
"I do not understand you," said the intendant,
"I mean what I said. Did you see me at that
place?" "No," "I have nothing further to ask him," said the
traveller. The men looked at each other,
"I do not want this man to trespass on those
grounds, and I want you to forbid him," declared
the brother,
"You will please call the next witness,"
The female that came declared Magister to be

92 God's Dealings with the Negro
a perfect Christian gentleman, incapable of doing
a mean act,
"I know he is a perfect Christian gentleman,"
answered the brother,
A girl was called. Her short hair, dogged ex
pression, and determined look, ill-boded conviction
of one who had been partly exonerated already,
"Mr. Magister is a good man," she blurted out,
"and I never saw him anywhere."
"Have you any further witnesses?" asked the in
tendant, "None, your honor," said the brother.
The witnesses had been dismissed, and the
brother and Magister were asked to go outside,
Down the stairs he started,
"Let us have your day-book!" asked one.
He gave it. On going outside, however, the wife
of the church officer bade him watch them examine
it. He accordingly returned, and made the request.
"Of course," they said.
They searched through it.
After a time he was again dismissed.
Called in again, he stood up to hear them.
"We fail to find you guilty of the charge."
"As to the request that you do not trespass on
those grounds, you can go where you please."

The Outlook for Peace 93
"Thanks, gentlemen!" sa,id the traveller, "I will
never cross his premises."
"I knew you would beat them out!" shouted
the officer's wife.
"I can only stand by you to the last!" sympathised
the friend with her.
He thanked them, (as the intendant put his hand
on his lips in a warning gesture to the women, ) and
left in a buggy for a distant call.
The young men with the ropes had disappeared,
but the traveller had the clerk of the court to give
him a testimonial as to the nature of the trial, and
the minister to make a statement about it.
This was necessary: for on getting to the church
court the man — a Negro minister — ^who had been
the cause of all this trouble had so impressed an
enemy of Magister that the latter was a bully, that
the former said some things had happened to him
which were very damaging.
"What things?" asked Magister.
"I will tell you," said the enemy.
On this Magister asked the privilege of the floor,
and said, "I am a member of this body: am I not,
sir?" "You are."
"This brother has said, publicly, that some things
have happened on my field, calculated to hurt me

94 God's Dealings with the Negro
worse than anything he could do to me. Will you
make him explain?"
"I will see you privately," said the enemy.
"No sir! State it now,"
"I will see you," he said,
"Mr, Chairman — I have in my grip yonder,
something calculated to confound any such persons
as this enemy," said Magister, "Come with me!"
He followed; the portmanteau was opened, and
the two credentials exhibited.
He read,
"That is excellent," he said, "Keep that."
"I will now bring a charge against you for vilifica
tion of character!" said Magister.
"Look here, Magister," said he, "/ have spoken
against you and you against me. Let's be quits."
They returned. The business of the meeting
being over, each returned to his place.
The prejudice, shewn by the great, induced the
traveller to leave for other parts. Arrived at a
certain town, he was so hungry, a cake being the
sole means of support for a journey of 2,ooo miles,
that he ventured into a railroad restaurant to ask
for something to eat. A man put his hands on his
shoulder and said, "What do you want, my friend?"
"I am hungry, and am seeking some one to tell
me where to get something to eat."

The Outlook for Peace 95
"If you will go around there, they will give you,"
answered the gentleman.
"Where?" asked his companion in travel. "Some
where," said the traveller.
By this time a constable was near.
"What want you ?" he asked.
"We are travelling, and looking for some place
to get a meal," said the companion.
"If you will go to the kitchen you will get some
thing!" "We are not kitchen men," rejoined the com
panion. "I don't care," said the constable.
The two men passed. Though deadly enemies
they were one in need, in travel, and in misery.
They parted after some distance each one continu
ing his journey. By nine o'clock next morning the
traveller arrived at Grandport, and took train for
a city northwards. As many passengers, not afraid
to have themselves defiled by color, were going in
that direction ; conversation quickly began, and, upon
stating, that he was hungry, several ladies gave him
all the remaining food they had. He ate greedily,
and drank some water. After business he went to
an eastern city, visited old seats, and returned to a
southern town. It was rumored that a wedding
was to take place there in "the church of God."

96 God's Dealings with the Negro
Weddings are so common in some places that they
stir no unusual interest; but this was a wedding
in which Jews and Gentiles were equally interested.
A special invitation was given to the traveller, and
an equally pressing invitation was accorded the pub
lic by itself. The room was full within an hour
after the opening. A friend introduced the traveller.
The church of God was founded on the book of
Acts; but tho' so founded, it has new explanations
of the Old Testament; as, for instance, Abraham
and Sarah. "The very faithful man of the church
is called 'Father Abraham,' " the friend said.
"When he was introduced as Mr. Cole, I so re
garded him. But soon after he was called 'Father
Abraham.' 'Father Abraham?' said I.
" 'Yes,' was the answer."
Mrs. Stewart was an old lady. Soon after she
was called Sarah. Sarah went and kissed Father
Abraham before exercises began. He said, "Yes,"
The couple delayed two hours in order that the
aunt of the bridegroom might be present.
The bride was very pretty, and not more than
18 years of age. The groom was, perhaps, 19
years old. The auntie was a very large, handsome,
and pleasant looking woman.
The elder performed the ceremony.
He began by a very long and loud, and enthusi-

The Outlook for Peace 97
astic symphonious rendering of a piece that God did
not intend that man should be alone. No organ
was needed, and John Calvin could not have been
more pleased if his Institutes were being read. For
he hated church organs, and so do these hate them.
The minister stood afar off and read, unsteadily,
the 2nd chapter of Genesis in part. He then asked
the bridegroom if he would have the woman to
be his wedded wife, and forsaking all other, cleave
only unto her as long as they both should live. As
the "man" did not answer, the elder told him to
say "I will."
"Then take her by the right hand!"
He did so. Unto the woman the elder said,
"Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded hus
band? Wilt thou honor, help, and obey him, and
forsaking all other, cleave only unto him as long
as ye both shall live?"
She did not answer, and the minister told her
to say "I will."
The singers told the next anthem in powerful
fashion. It was anti-phonal; the soprano having
some words; the bass certain other, and a kind of
tenor answering these two. The words were
founded on a passage of Scripture, and were in chant
form. At last the joining was over, and the elder pro-

98 God's Dealings with the Negro
ceeded to congratulate the bride with a kiss. He
exhorted the bridegroom to be faithful, and the bride
to stick only to him.
So much interest had been shewn in this marriage
that the elder remarked that only on two occasions
could one get a crowd — at a wedding, when there
was happiness for most, and at a funeral. The
traveller nodded assent. Almost all the rice and
lungs having been used up, the guests of fewer days
departed, and Magister was called to the head of
the table as honored guest. The things served were
very simple and proper, and then an exordium on
color ensued.

CHAPTER XIII
WESTERN JOURNEYING
CALLED some time after to see some men at
a place 13 miles distant, the traveller went,
a number of Caucasians being present. A strange
gentleman was called on to speak to the meeting.
The traveller listened. The speaker began: "If there
is one thing I am prouder of than another, it is
that I am a white man."
The traveller thought to himself that the speaker
would not have been so proud in Barbary in the
13th century, at a pulley, or handling the oars.
The speaker continued that all possible aid
should be given to the Negro who was a menace
to the white man unless he was educated. Above
all, the gospel should be given him, in order to
civilize him, and to keep him safe,
"For what place?" thought the traveller. Upon
returning, a mixed coach was used. The traveller
was obliged to leave the town, and went along
with the Caucasians, The conductor eyed him
for some time, and then said,
"You will have to go in front?"
"To the front where?" asked the traveller,
"Through that door," said the conductor.
99

lOO God's Dealings with the Negro
The traveller did not move. He was thinking.
Invited to a meeting of Christian ministers, he was
obliged to hear one say he thanked God that he
was a white man; and now another man told him
to go in front. He would have been welcome as
an ignorant servant; not as an educated Negro.
He might worship Jesus Christ apart, and if he
was good, he could go to — ^where? But "God is
no respector of persons, but in every nation he that
feareth God is accepted of Him." Was this true?
he thought.
By this time the conductor was back,
"I want to treat you as a man," said he.
"I asked you politely to go in front, because the
state laws said you must."
Upon this Magister rose and went. The place
was a sleeping room for rough hands, a smoking
room, spitting, and jolly room. His very nature
shrank from contact with the smoke. But the men
had been apprised and they smoked harder than
ever. He went out to the platform, but they fol
lowed him there. At last they tired of the cold,
and returned, and he stayed there until he could
escape. There was no remedy, for he had no wit
nesses, and he was not white.
Departing for a city farther south, the car was
so dirty as to call attention and remarks.

Western Journeyings lOl
A railroad "hand" was sitting there smoking.
The traveller called the Negro porter and asked
him to stop the smoking.
"Where must he smoke then?" furiously de
manded that worthy. "Must he go on the platform
or in the top of the car?"
Magister did not answer. He waited the advent
of the conductor. That gentleman appeared after
a bit, and seated himself as usual, in the front seat
of the Negro car but one. The "hand" continued
smoking. The conductor did not notice it.
"Do you allow smoking in this car?" asked the
traveller. "Who? where?" said the conductor.
The Negro pulled the cigar out of his mouth.
The conductor said —
"Let me see you smoking in here again!" The
porter's attention was called to the condition of the
car, and on arriving home three letters were sent,
— one to the president, one to the divisional pas
senger agent, and one to the local agent.
After a time, no annoyance from smoking was
found, and a polite letter was received from the
railroad. By this time the traveller was well known to con
ductors and porters. He had been requested to
notice and report irregularities; and he could en
gage the attention and interest of persons so well

102 God's Dealings with the Negro
as to be welcome. On going east, he told another
conductor, "I want, conductor, to speak with you
privately." "Well, here I am," said that gentleman.
"Privately," rejoined the traveller. "Well, here
I am," said the conductor louder.
"If that be so," said Magister, "I have been
requested by the union to notice irregularities as to
race on any car and report to headquarters."
The conductor became serious.
"There is no one on here but this man who is an
engineer, and this one who is a baggage agent, and
this gentleman is travelling as a friend."
"I am not worried about 'who's who,' " rejoined
Magister. The men went out. The traveller soon found
a congenial companion who had travelled in the
southwest, and whose thoro' education as a general
church officer, entitled him to respect. The officer,
the Rev. Thomas Thompson, D.D., travelled in
the interest of the Methodist Church. He related
the following story:
"When I was travelling towards California, I
was very hungry. They called out 'Dinner ready!'
and I longed for a meal. I waited until all had
eaten, and asked the waiter if I could not have
something. He said, 'I will ask the conductor.'
That worthy said, 'No.' I had been refused in the

Western Journeyings 103
presence of every one, and in the presence of every
one I said what I wished.
"Standing in the aisle of the car, I cried out 'Hun
gry! hungry! hungry!' at the top of my voice.
This touched the hearts of those who had eaten,
and they told the conductor that if he did not
give me something they would get it and give me
themselves. "Upon this he ordered a meal to be brought to
me, and I ate heartily. The 14th and 15th amend
ments to the U. S. Constitution are violated com
monly, without redress, and yet we are made to
pay taxes and do all that any other citizen must do
in support of the government. But continual com
plaints and ceaseless agitation will improve matters.
For God helps those who help themselves."
Travelling as far as Cincinnati and westward
the traveller was returning when he met a woman
with two young children from California. She
had been born in South Carolina, but had married
in California, and was paying her last visit east
ward in order to see a very much beloved grand
mother. "I had good treatment," she said, "until I reached
Cincinnati, when the children began to cry, and
I asked for a supper. The porter told me I must
wait till the white people had finished eating. If

I04 God's Dealings with the Negro
you had not given the children something, I know
not what we would have done. We had not
eaten since we left St. Louis."
We made sleeping places of a portmanteau, a
couple of overcoats, and wraps, and put the little
ones to bed on the seats. The jerking of the un
comfortable seats, and the long journey already
travelled, made the traveller's limbs ache; his body
being too long to lay down to repose, and prejudice
being too great to enable him to obtain a sleeper.
Exhaustion compelled uncomfortable sleep; and
when the porter announced Scotsville, as the next
station, a hurried dressing was the consequence.
Immediately on getting off the train, a man called
for luggage. Passing through the waiting rooms a
little boy asked the traveller if he wanted a con
veyance. "Yes; please."
"Then here's an auto," he said.
The driver had a red face, a turned up nose, a
thick-set pugilistic body, and a sleepy expression. In
ill-humor he asked, "What do you want?"
"I desire to get near the water works," said he.
"What do you charge?"
"A dollar."
"Oh, no ; they charge less than that."
"Go about your business, you black devil! I do

Western Journeyings 105
not want to carry you no way," said the noble
gentleman. "And this at Scotsville, where they say the races
are so pleasant," said the traveller.
Turning, he saw a cabman. He related what
had happened, and asked what man it was. But
the auto had left.
"I will carry you for a quarter," said the cabman.
"I know you, and have carried you before. The
streets are cut up, and I'll have to go around. But
tell me what sort of man was he who insulted you ?"
Describing the man as best he could, he received
a message at three o'clock that day saying that
the man was discharged.
Some time after this a number of men in a store
were discussing whether the Negro population
would ever get justice here. One man said he was
looking for war with Germany or some other coun
try, and that would be the Negro's opportunity.
"How do you know?" asked another.
"The Mexicans expect aid from the Germans,
and would never annoy the United States if they
did not have an eye to conquest. And what will
the Negroes do then?"
No one answered.
"Providence intends justice in the world," con
tinued the speaker, "and there is none here."

io6 God's Dealings with the Negro
About the month of May it was suddenly an
nounced that England and Germany were "at
outs," and men began to give their opinions against
monarchy. "But what's your republic doing?" asked one man.
"I would become a British subject to-morrow."
"Takes time, my friend," said another. "You
have to wait two years there."
A great many men were called from the north
to serve their nations in Europe, and Negroes were
asked to fill their places there.
"There will be conscription, I think," said one.
"The Germans have no quarrel with us," said
another. "But you will be bound to defend your home,"
answered a third.
"That's so; but we are not satisfied," was the
rejoinder. "Did you see what was in the papers this morn
ing?" asked John Magdeburg, as he stepped into
the store.
"What! the English licked?" laughed one.
"No, worse than that!" said Magdeburg.
"What then? Paris taken?"
"No, they have set fire to the Negro quarters in
East St. Louis, and burnt or killed many."
"Don't tell me. I reckon not. That is the north."

CHAPTER XIV
PREJUDICE AT WORK
""X TORTH or South; it has happened."
L^ "How was it?" asked one.
"I don't know, you will get perticklers from The
Crisis. But the Niggers shore done burned," said
Magdeburg. "Same thing I was a saying just now," remarked
one. I
"I thought they had called the colored men to St.
Louis to work," rejoined a stranger.
"They did," said Magdeburg, "but they called
prejudice from elsewhere too. This killing is the
result of Negro labor. When I used to work on
the railroad at C  , they used to say that a
nigger was no better than a rabbit. You could hear
them men talk about what they would do with a
nigger if they got the chance."
"But some white folks love niggers."
"How?" asked Magdeburg.
"When they cook for them, and mind their chil
dren well."
"Where's that?" asked Magdeburg.
"Right here in the south. The black mammy
107

io8 God's Dealings with the Negro
can get mos' anything she wants if she is good to
mas'r and mistiss."
"And what about her daughter that plays the
piano?" queried Magdeburg.
"They jes' don't like her."
"Don't like her, man, for playing the piano?
They play themselves."
"Ain't you green? Pianos is for them, not
Negroes." "Man go and read you' Bible !" said Magdeburg.
"Bible 'bout what?"
"Moses and the Ethiopian woman in Genesis,
and Paul in Acts," said Magdeburg.
"You are a Scripture scholar; I am not, but I
know white folks."
"That's so," rejoined the first speaker. "It's a
question of social equality, not one of right."
"Democratic, you mean," said Magdeburg.
"Republican, too."
"Will they try the burners?" asked Magdeburg.
"They may. It is natural they should, for they
have burned down folks' property, and that's worse
than killing a Negro, you know."
"Well, we'll see; but talking's no use. You see
we have no showing."
"Let's go to France. You can get justice there."
The men separated. By Monday there was a

Prejudice at Work 109
Union meeting of ministers, and the travellers
found, on entering, two visitors.
One of these was a doctor somebody, who was
asked to speak.
"He said that the killing and burning in East
St. Louis was necessary that some men and women
might die for the race, and that the whole race
perish not. He had been on the spot, and had
promised to get the scared Negroes to go back if
they would protect them."
The traveller was asked to respond.
"I do not know what prompts the remarks of the
gentleman who just sat dojvn," he said. "That
opinion was used by the Jews when they wanted to
kill Jesus Christ. They killed him, and are getting
their deserts."
"It took 40 years before they got them, but they
got them at last. When men say they want fair
play for all men, and then proceed to kill helpless
and quiet Negroes, they are asking history to re
peat itself. History repeats itself, and we will have
some of these people's folks killed in battle yet.
This is to be a world war. New kingdoms and
powers must come out of it. All nations must suf
fer; but the one who is most unjust will suffer
most. When this country has learned to be just
to the Negroes, to punish them for their crimes, and

no God's Dealings with the Negro
reward them for their good behaviour, it will be
truly God's own, and the awarder of righteousness."
The brother came forward, shook hands, and said
he agreed with what had been said. Since then
it has been said that the culprits will be brought to
justice.

CHAPTER XV
THE NEWSPAPER PRESS
IN 1 89 1, while in British Guiana, the leading
newspaper of that province published an article
headed with the words — Black America. So strange
a title led the writer to think it worth buying a
copy of the paper to be kept until time could be,
found for reading it. On perusing the article a
new and strange world seemed to open up. Could
it be possible that "a Negro" was hated because
he was not white? Birds, horses, dogs, are all
petted, and have no prejudice against them. Negroes
often believe only in the white man. The more
ignorant he the more confiding in the Caucasian, the
less trustful of his own. And often he has good
reason. If, therefore, he trusts the Negro less,
and the white man more, why is there so much
prejudice against him? It is riot because he does
not advance, because he has advanced more rapidly
in 50 years than the white man did in 1,000. Not
because he is not adaptable, because he is called
"an imitative monkey." Nor is it because he is un
sociable, for he will tell the boss any and every
thing he knows. Not because his women are un
acceptable, for the mixed colors disprove that; and
III

112 God's Dealings with the Negro
Lord Macaulay has shewn in his criticism of Major
Moody, who, with a gentleman, by name, Mr.
Dougan, was sent to Tortola in the year 1821 to
enquire into the condition of the lately liberated
and apprenticed slaves there. Mr. Dougan appears
to have been so peculiarly prejudiced as to believe
that these Negroes were his fellow creatures; and
this delusion Major Moody endeavored to palliate.
It appears that Major Moody shared the views of
certain persons who despise, contemn, and joyfully
degrade the Negro; and this -Mr. Dougan could
not do. It appears, moreover, that Mr. Dougan
in his examination naturally desired an apprentice
to take a seat, instead of standing up; and ven
tured to think that one of African descent was en
titled to some respect in the presence of a white
person. This prejudice of Mr. Dougan's is not shared
by many Christian ministers. The writer remem
bers having been sent by a superior to see an official
in a great town. The writer approached the gentle
man by remarking that he believed he had the
pleasure of approaching Dr. R  .
"Yes, and what is it?" said Dr. R  , gruffly.
"I am the bearer of a message from Dr. N  ,
asking that you will assist me in getting the statis
tical knowledge necessary to my work herein."

The Newspaper Press 113
"Very well!"
Dr. R  never asked him to sit down, nor
gave any idea that he had read of Jesus Christ.
On another occasion the writer went to see a
famous Christian minister. He kept him at the
door, until the former reminded him that he had,
in former days, been accustomed to much different
treatment. The minister apologised that it was
dinner time; but that when the visitor returned he
would treat him better. He accordingly took him
next time into the session room, and let him sit
while session was going on. It may safely be said
that the apprentice of Tortola was not either as
educated or refined as the Presbyterian minister;
and that Mr. Dougan had gone a long step in 1821.
What, then, is the cause for this contempt of the
Negro? Is it not that, as a senator is reported to
have said, he is too much of a coward ?
Again: when a newspaper published that "a cer
tain Negro has been accused of an attack on a cer
tain woman, and that if he is caught, he will be
lynched," was not the public of those parts pre
pared for the lynching? And when it is a common
newspaper account that "the Negro was caught,
confessed, and was lynched by a respectable set of
citizens," was not that a full endorsement of lynch
ing?

114 God's Dealings with the Negro
A grand headline was paraded before the eyes
of its readers thus: "A Subject of King Edward
in Trouble," and in smaller letters, "It is thought
that King Edward will not interfere." This was
read and attracted much attention; but when the
case fell to the ground the report thereof was put
at the end of the paper in small headline — "Case
Dismissed." Such middle class writers, grown important from
chance, do much harm to the Negro. They never
enter a cultivated Negro home, except for bad rea
sons, and these cultivated people unwilling to ex
pose themselves to insult, shrink from the presence
of their tormentors. A soldier bully was sent to
kill the writer at A  , and would probably have
done so, because he would not say the words ordered,
if the mistress of the house had not come in and
ordered the soldier out. Upon being informed that
the writer was a British subject, and very deter
mined, he begged that he would not prosecute him;
and as the life of the owner of the restaurant would
be endangered by prosecuting the soldier, the writer
had to desist.
The Negro press of the country was called into
play because no good news of the Negro could be
found in a white newspaper unless there was also
a private informer saying to the editor — "Give us

The Newspaper Press 115
a rest." But if there were any accounts of Negro
thieving, murdering, jailing, or some fun to be put
at the expense of a Negro preacher, it went in
large headlines in the said newspaper.
But neither the hatred of the public, nor the jeers
of the great, not yet the ignorance of English,
prevented the publication of the Negro newspaper.
It was continued until it had highly educated and
able editors, and commanded respect. Assassination
became, then, a powerful preventive. As that Roman,
when asked what to do with the prisoners, took
the messenger into the field, and cut off the heads
of the tallest papas; as the principal men of Calais
were ordered to come with ropes round their necks ;
as the Bible said, "I will smite the shepherd, and
the sheep shall be scattered"; so the ministers of
religion have been the principal victims of the
mob, until recently there came the news that one
had been lynched after preaching, on the recom
mendation of members of his congregation.
But if certain newspapers have led on lynching,
they tell little or nothing of when the Negro de
fends himself.
On the other hand some newspapers have hon
estly defended the colored people's rights, and
some of them are in the south. Step by step, public
opinion is directed to their wrongs; and men are

ii6 God's Dealings with the Negro
going around preaching their rights. After a time,
it will be talked that in order to save "ourselves"
we must educate the Negro. The education of the
fist and of the gun may be superseded by that of
the head and hand. Fifteen hundred thousand
workers are needed as teachers and preachers ¦ in
neglected school districts, and as a supply for killed
and wornout workers. New Sabbath schools are
being continually organized; new preaching places
opened up. And much interest is being taken in
trades in the secondary schools. These all point to
the Negroes' advancement in this country. Last,
but not least, the Negro music of America has
kept him cheerful in every misfortxme, and pro
duced that hopeful outlook at things, which will
enable him to bear sorrow. This is acknowledged
in the Literary Digest of some weeks ago.
The charming "spirituals" have kept many a
church lively; and contributed to its future success.
While making these animadversions, the news
came that the traveller's one time friendly enemy
was at the door. He had arrived from the state
in which the traveller had lived for years, arid
brought a message that the persecutors of the
traveller had sent to say that they were sorry at
his leaving, and would be glad to see him return.
"But I am not glad to see myself return," said
the traveller. "Bad as things are here, they were

The Newspaper Press 117
many times worse there. Here white and colored
ministers meet in union, and unison, and we are
called to take part in municipal matters. The re
lations between the races are very much improved,
and the public and private schools are in excellent
buildings. There is no Negro district in this city.
There is no complaint in town. There is, indeed,
an island on which no Negro is to be a purchaser,
but the decision of the United States Supreme Court
will largely assist in removing that disability. I
would not be understood to say, however, that I
favor insolence, or promiscuous intermingling of
Negroes among whites. Just let the matter adjust
itself after the people are imbued with a proper
sense of right, and the Negroes have that proper
behaviour which would entitle them to considera
tion." "But it is a long time before they will get fair
treatment!" answered the visitor.
Just then there came news that a mass meeting
of citizens was to be held in order to stimulate
patriotism in the race. The meeting was called
at the market hall; and the speakers were chosen
with a view to bringing the matter before the
colored people. As there had been a school closing
service at which all the ministers attended by in
vitation, this political meeting was timed one hour
after.

CHAPTER XVI
SPECTERS BEFORE THE EYES
A CERTAIN amount of real patriotism per
vaded the meeting. The traveller attended.
The speaker of the occasion was a noted orator,
a major of the army. He was introduced by a
distinguished doctor, who said something longer
than the speaker thought proper. On rising, there
fore, he prefaced his remarks by saying that the
doctor reminded him of a certain man who said
the introducer had taken all he had to say, and
also his time. "But seriously, the purpose which
brings me to you concerns you in a peculiar man
ner. The United States of America, our country,
has thought it fit to declare war with Germany.
In that war, all her noble sons should be engaged;
and the sons of shady hue, along with those of
a lighter color, are called upon to defend home and
fireside, church, and school, cattle and horses. It
is in vain that one of us should say, 'This is not
my country.' For you are born here, bred here,
and know little but what has happened here. The
white man says in vain that this is his country alone;
ii8

specters Before the Eyes 119
it is my country. My ancestors were brought here
without any request on their part; I have made
myself welcome by adopting the dress, the habits,
and books of the Anglo-Saxon neighbor, and I
expect to help him rule and manage this country
of ours.
My ancestors spoke another language than this,
but they and I have caught up with him, and speak
as well as he. In the arts, in buying, and in selling,
I am right along with him; for I know how to
manage a ward, to sell votes, to buy votes, or to
count them. When he sits in judgment, I sit with
him, for do I not judge whether he gives me
justice? When he wins a battle I win with him;
for was I not at El Caney? On board ship, I am
with him; for I cook his meals. In the manage
ment of the railroads, I am with him; for I supply
him with money, paying my fare, and laboring
with him.
My ancestry is noble; for I have before me the
great Hannibal, and Crispus Attucks, and am blest
with colonels as my examples worthy of imitation.
He has made me feel at home; for do not I pay
the taxes he calls for, without a question, or any
hope of office? I give my advice freely and with
out pay in the newspapers, while he charges for
every line he writes. My example, if followed,

I20 God's Dealings with the Negro
would make this nation one of peace without fear,
and honor without cowardice. How grateful
should he be then to me; especially as I am willing
not only to claim a place in his country, to fight for '
it, to suffer with it, but also to claim a place in
his affections. Heaven decreed that I should be
here, and he decreed that I should serve him. For
these services he pays me little, and I give him all
I have — ^myself — ^my house — ^my life on the high
way, and on the battlefield.
He distinguishes me from every other race, by
making special provision for me on trains, in
churches, and places of public amusement. He
hopes by these methods to make me everlastingly
to remember him, to serve him in life, and remember
his attentions in death."
The speaker was warmly applauded by the white
portion of the audience. The traveller was intro
duced, and told that the orator had heard of him
before; and the race men crowded around him.
All the money needed for the expenses of the
orator, and more, were raised there, and the orator
proceeded on his way.
Some days after, there arrived a man who gave
the following to the union :
A certain party of fish lovers was pic-nicking down
stream, and left the lunch they carried on the bank.

specters Before the Eyes I2i
On returning, the lunch was gone. They saw
a man and his wife hoeing in a field near, con
cluded that these were the thieves, and shot them
both dead. These were old persons who were
killed. Proceeding from the meeting the traveller came
to a store. A young girl of about i8 years came
in. She was asked what she thought of her glori
ous freedom so eloquently depicted by the travelling
major. "I hear it is prophesied," she said, "that this
country must have a king; and I long to see him,
for I will then have protection."
At all which the traveller wondered. Then said
he, "Are the young women arousing themselves
at last?"
The garrulous audience, and the communicative
storekeeper listened.
"I hear," said he, "that butter will be 50 cents
a pound. People are fretting because they have to
pay 7 cents for a bar of soap; but if it was as dear
as rice it would cost 10 cents a bar."
"And has salary or money increased at the same
rate?" inquired the traveller.
"No ! but we give our minister a good salary, and
an auto."
"What of the Negro preacher?" asked some one.

122 God's Dealings with the Negro
"Oh! he can walk, live on molg,sses, and plant
cotton." "That reminds me," said the traveller, "of an in
stance I heard of in the far south. 'A storekeeper
asked a preacher what he was doing round there.' "
"I preach at that church!" he said, pointing to
a dilapidated building near by.
"Do the people pay you well?" asked the store
keeper. "Fairly so," said the preacher.
After a pause, "Why don't you plant cotton?"
said the store man.
"You keep this store?" said the preacher.
"Yes.""Why don't you preach?" asked the clergyman.
The storekeeper did not answer. Preaching was
regarded in those parts as an idle pastime; and
when a man left off being a carpenter at two dol
lars and a half a day, or a blacksmith at maybe
five dollars a day, to become a Negro preacher at
one dollar a day or worse; he looked idle indeed.
A remedy for this was to be found in prayer, the
encouragement of the sisters, and removing to a
better charge, with the prospect of a better salary.
For while all but the preacher dealt in temporal
things which people valued, the preacher, also a
poor man, dealt in things which no one could see,

specters Before the Eyes 123
and told of a future which no one cared about.
•The city preacher, indeed, might get more money,
a better house, and even some protection in case
of a threatened lynching. He might even be called
on in case of a lynching, to give his opinion on the
matter in a public newspaper. He might even be
come a public speaker, and be presented with a
horse and buggy by the ladies whom he pleased.
Nay more; he might become a landowner, a real
estate agent, and teach public school at fifty to
seventy-five dollars a month. But with all this, he
was but a Negro preacher, entitled to no other
consideration but a lynching at any time.
The most valuable thing planted was cotton ; and
the most valued man was white. Even among the
Negroes, in the darker parts, a Negro preacher was
said to be an idler, and a college education a sure
sign of unfitness for the gospel ministry.
And yet much has been done. A great step has
been made from the stage at which the self-appointed
schoolmaster sat teaching reading, writing, arith
metic with a whip, and regarding with displeasure
the urchin who called him names. The school
master in question was named Peter Hutchins; but
the boys called him Peter Hoghead. One day a
certain boy was very noisy and urgent in his annoy
ing, and the teacher brought the matter to the

124 God's Dealings with the Negro
notice of his pupils. "I want to teach all you to
write a letter," he said.
"Yes, sah," said the pupils.
"Wouldn't all you like to know where I got my
larnin from?" he continued.
"Yes, sah," answered the pupils.
"I hab great larnin," he said to himself, "I got
my larnin different from all you."
"How did you get it, sah?" urged a boy open-
mouthed. "You would like to know?" soliloquised the mas
ter. "My great-grandfather lef it gie mi."
The boys wondered. What a great great-grand
father they thought.
"The other day I was passing down monkey
gully," continued the master, "and Jim Shute ven
tured to call me Peter Hoghead. Whichin my name
is not Peter Hoghead, but Peter Hemmings, which
I obtained when I was made, a member of Christ,
a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom
of heaven."
The boys wondered.
"I will now shew you," he added, "how to write
a letter." "My dear Sar or Madam:
"I was passing the other day when you called
me Peter Hoghead. Whichiiji my name is not

specters Before the Eyes 125
Peter Hoghead, but Peter Hemmings Hutchins.
And I beg to tell you that if you venture that again
I will knock every teeth down you' throat.
"I am, my dear sar,
"Peter Hemmings Hutchins."
"Don't you think that was a good letter?"
"Yes, sah!" replied the boys with certainty.
The old man cut his pencil, and began to write
some copies on each one's book for writing. He
had really a very neat hand, and the parents were
delighted in viewing the writing. He passed for
a fine disciplinarian ; for he whipped the children for
every mistake in arithmetic, and bore with them for
every mistake in reading, as he could not read very
well himself, regarded grammar and geography as
useless appendages to learning, but took care to
learn as much history as possible. He taught algebra
to the extent of his ability, fostering a knowledge
of the reading of the examples in Addition, Sub
traction, Multiplication, and Division.

CHAPTER XVII
THE OUTLOOK
THE presidents of the United States will be
called upon by the leaders of the race to
take some steps to defend it.
The Congress, "which shall have power to devise
legislation for the enforcement of this article," but
which has been a silent spectator of its wrongs,
will at last be compelled to take the case up. The
ministry of the goSpel which kept silence, has, in
many places, called the colored ministers to sit with
them in union meetings. Lawyers have ventured
to call the wife of a certain colored man — Mistress,
instead of saying she was the wife of John Somers,
or some other.
Colored citizens have been accorded the right to
live by the court of last resort. Politicians have
at last found it proper to consult Negro voters.
Certain officers have, at last, been given workmen
of the race. Equal rights is demanded before the
Jim Crow law. Vessels of wrath are becoming
vessels of honor when the citizen rights of the
Negro are accorded him. A speaker from the uni
versity addressed an audience at Shiloh Church last
126

The Outlook 127

Sunday. In the course of remarks he said, "That
the Negro was no coward, he would fight. He
had fought on the streets when called on just to
shew that he could fight. The English, as a nation,
looked haughty and cold; but they gave every man
a square deal. The Negro would surely get justice
under the British flag. When the war broke out
every able-bodied Algerine jumped to arms to save
France, because that country treated every man
alike. There had been no cutting off of hands and
feet, or insult to color.
"These ideas of fair play in those two countries
led to the most intense love of country. The Negro
would fight as a duty, and never rebel."
The only countries in which these cases of abso
lute fair play occur, have no problem of race.
Mexico, Canada, and Central America are near to
the United States; yet there is no Negro problem
there. In South America a mulatto represented the
Presbyterian Church of Brazil when it was estab
lished. And as fair play gets into the minds of
men, and the Negro shews his fitness, a larger
amount of justice will be accorded him. For it may
happen yet that France and England will need
his services. No careful reader of Ezekiel's
prophecy or of Rev. xiv, can avoid the conclusion
that this war is to be world wide, to be finished

128 God's Dealings with the Negro
in Palestine, where the nation called Rosh, or Me
shech and Tubal is to go to take a spoil, and to take
a prey, until the Almighty causes the bodies of the
wounded to be more than enough food for the fowls
of heaven. In Ezekiel xxxviii. i to 6, we have the
very names of Japheth's descendants settling north
of and about the Black Sea, clothed with all sorts
of armour, even a very great company, the house
of Togarmah and all his company of the north
quarters. The land of Palestine is to be rescued
from the many nations, that have oppressed it, and
these are to be attacked by Gomer and all his
bands, who came to take a spoil and to take a
prey. The merchants of Tarshish, Sheba, and
Dedan, are to attack them; but God will be sancti
fied on them, for they shall be utterly overthrown.
In this terrible fighting the Negro will take part.
And he will get justice here, too. The earnest
efforts to teach him augurs improvement even if
it is only to save his white "neighbor." Of the
schools in which he is taught, he is most indebted
to the private schools. The teachers of the bfst
quality come from them. In Mr. Claxton's report
sent here the private school is recommended for
doing training, and the elementary schools' neces
sities are accentuated. See Report for August,
19 1 7, on Negro Schools. The men who founded

The Outlonk 129

the great public schools in England — Eton, Win
chester, The Charterhouse, and others, did more for
the education of the middle classes — and, therefore,
for those above and below them in England than
can be told. The men who founded Negro schools,
such as, Shaw, Lincoln, Biddle, Atlanta University,
Knoxville College, and a host of others, saved the
Negro from contempt, and rendered the nation a
service. But it is these men, trained in just such
schools, that gave reason for hope that all may be
trained and many may act as leaders. For the rail
road hand will make an excellent soldier in case
of necessity, while the scholar will submit at dis
cretion. The faster they are educated, the better
for the "neighbors."
Since the decision of the Supreme Court of these
United States that segregation is illegal, the Negro
will build and try to improve. He is building
very rapidly in southern towns, such as Knoxville
and Memphis. His efforts in the far south are
not confined to farming, but he extends those efforts
to millinery and other useful trades in demand. So
long as he provides what is wanted, he will prosper.
But there is another view. A collega education
is needed for any set of people; more so for the
Negro. This has been provided by almost every
denomination; and therefore these denominations

130 God's Dealings with the Negro
should be thanked by the race. For technics in
industrial schools do not teach to honor and fear
God, nor to conduct oneself properly, but rather
to be conceited about what one knows. On this
account much will be done to get improved moral
leadership.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE CHURCH
ALTHO' many churches are manned by
colored ministers, and the white denomina
tions are fairly represented, yet there are very many
colored people who never touch a church door,
and who acknowledge no God. The promise made
60 years ago by the slaves, that if freed they would
serve God, has not been kept much. A woman whose
congregation greatly admired their last pastor was
asked whether it was not that they went to church
to please the pastor, because the pastor pleased
them. She said, "Yes!" I said then, "You do not
go to serve Jesus Christ, but to please yourself
and the pastor." She answered, "Yes."
From this I conclude that God has dealt very
harshly with the Negroes, because they have not
sought him.
"First a Methodist, then a Christian," said a
sister to me.
"I love Methodism."
"I do not know whether I will be a Methodist
or a Catholic," declared another; "and tho' it may
seem at first that the two churches are not alike,
they will appear, on close examination, to be very
131

132 God's Dealings with the Negro
similar. But those churches that tend most to make
people think are the least loved by Negroes. The
excitement, the simplicity of some churches, appeal
to the imagination of the many. Never in history
have we a great number of noted philosophers in
proportion to the number of the shiftless. Never
have we found the thinking ones loved by the un
thinking for long. Accordingly, the mass of colored
people go to school because other reasons than love
to Christ move them. The knowledge of the Bible
is most superficial. There is a very well known text
however, — "Repent and be baptized and wash away
your sins," which is very popular. We need not
be surprised, therefore, to learn that a sister said
that she saw her sins going down the river during
her baptism. And here the imperfect knowledge
of the Negroes may be compared with the imperfect
knowledge of the Jews under Ezra.
When that people returned from captivity in 515
B. C, Ezra, the prophet, had to erect a pulpit and
teach the law to them. On the arrival of Nehemiah
the idolatrous wives had to be forcibly removed.
Afterwards we find two high priests exercising
the sacred functions. Similarly we find a con
tinual exhibition of ignorance of the moral law,
and splits in churches. And even as often as a
new form of religion springs up among the whites,

The Church 133

it finds adherents among the Negroes. Those forms
of religion which have the more numerous errors,
or the greatest amount of self-conceit are more
loudly preached. I heard a man trying to prove,
on the street, to a mixed audience, that Saturday
was not Sunday, but that the apostles had com
manded to keep the law. He asserted, further,
that the names of the days of the week commonly
used were given them by Jesus. Yet we know that
the Anglo-Saxons from whom we get the names
of our days were discovered after Christ ascended.
But the most remarkable illustration of God's
dealings with the Negro in America is that in some
places the Negro is honored, while in others, he is
cursed daily. In spite of the condition, however,
he has this advantage : he can read, teach, and preach
in his own church house, and learn how the nations
are doing.
If in course of time he shall succeed in getting
God's blessing upon him to the extent that he can
get justice, he has native ability to go on and be
come a power. His captivity is not yet as long as
that of the Jews. A great deal used to be said
of the return of the Jews in what was called the
Zionist movement. A good deal may be said for
the Negro in what may be called Negro Emancipa
tion. My hope is the sinking of all national and

134 God's Dealings with the Negro
racial enmities, and the blending of all in one,.
when peace on earth, good will to men will be
sung. To conclude: there are only two church denomi
nations that have kept the idea that "God hath
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell
on all the face of the earth." Every other is divided
on the Negro question. But Jesus prayed that
his disciples may be one, even as he and the Father
were one. Divisions, then, come of debate and
strife. All debate and strife are caused by preju
dice. Prejudice is wrong from the very meaning
of the word, or pre-judging — a thing not allowed
in a law court. How unjust, then, must it be out
side of it? But this is so strong! No sooner is
a circumstance related to any one than the question
is asked — "Is he white or colored?" The answer
decides the measure of justice or punishment to
be meted out.
It is the clear business of the great body of
Christians to so talk, and work, and pray as to
cause the kingdoms of sin and injustice to become
the kingdoms of our Lord. For they cannot hope
to be justified by unjustly killing a sparrow; much
less by destroying their fellow men. Nor is it just
to make a Negro responsible as a white man and
then punish him because he is a Negro.

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