Part 3

One of the great questions which must command the consideration of southern people, in the immediate future, is better care of the servants, and more attention to their moral and industrial training. I am dealing with the servant class of our people, which at present is more than ninety-nine per cent. of the race. The employer can not help having a deep interest in this class, if he would protect his own family. Ninety-five per cent. of the nurses and chamber-maids of the South are colored. These servants are thrown in hourly contact with the children of the families they serve. The nurses do much to shape the lives of the children they carry in their arms. Earliest impressions are most enduring. Somebody has said: "Give me the first seven years of a child's life and you may have the man." The influences of the nurse will be felt throughout the life of the child. If those influences are virtuous, exercised by an intelligent, honest christian nurse, great good will result. But if the nurse have the opposite qualities--if she be indolent, sloven, ignorant, vicious and deceptive--the child will surely imbibe some of these disorders which will show themselves some where in the life of the child, or his offspring. Moral contagions are more deadly and easily communicated than any diseases of the body. What fond mother would commit her infant to the arms of a leper? And yet it were better to do that, than expose it to influences which corrupt the mind and taint the whole constitution. It is a fact that southern white women have been accustomed, for many generations, to surrender the care and training of their children to "black mamas," who inspired manhood and gave the first great lessons of God and truth to hundreds of the present hoary haired statesmen of the Sunny South. This custom is still a delight in the South, and white mothers trust their children to the care of Negro nurses with the same implicit faith that Thetis committed her young Achilles to the charge of Phoenix and Chiron. I wish that these nurses sufficiently appreciated this confidence and would feel a deep pride in their work and responsibility. It must be borne in mind that the relations of thirty years ago do not exist, and the results of the ante-bellum nursery government and the system of to-day, cannot be the same.

Here is a work for Southern women of the white race. Leave out of the question the love for mankind, which should prompt them to elevate the whole race of man, they must meet this matter of the elevation of domestics on selfish grounds if no other. They must in self protection strive to make the house servant class intelligent and virtuous. Honesty must become a part of the mentality, and not a form or a cloak worn while under the surveillance of the law, or the eye of virtue. Who says that the colored servant is not as honest as any other servant? I do not. I am not making comparisons at all. I am speaking of things as I want them to be. If they are so already, then I "rejoice with exceeding great joy." The importation of white family servants and nurses will not solve the problem. It is a question which cannot be handled except in the light of christian education. The importation of white servants means the introduction of disorder in domestic government, and it will produce a revolution in the social system of the South. It will bring communism in the kitchen, socialism in the dining-room, nihilism in the chamber, and the hand of anarchy to rock the cradles of the South. Let the South nurse the Negro with right and kindness, while the Negro nurses the infants of the South, and we shall have domestic labor of the most desirable class.

There should be attached to every well ordered southern home rooms for the servants. These rooms should be comfortable in all their appointments. In the villages and small towns as well as in the cities this is needful. Women of all grades must be modest. Modesty is her shield. When she loses that, she is exposed to the licentious missiles of vulgar men. It disarms a girl of her womanly reservedness to be thrown early in morning and late at night, alone, into the streets going to and from her work. She finally gets a boldness which is out of place in any home.

The South can not be too earnest nor too lavish in the cause of education. It can well afford to give two dollars to the cause where one goes now. It is right, and self preservation demands it. While the schools are being increased and put upon a higher plain, the work must be carried on in the families. Let industrial training become the watchword of every man interested in the true growth of our country. I know of a family (of Huntsville) which has done much in the training of domestic servants. The good lady of the house took great pains in explaining (not scolding) and teaching (not driving) to her servants things which her superior education enabled her to understand, or which she had been taught. She, in this manner, educated two or three servants, who, when the time came for separation (and it was always peaceful), were able to earn larger wages than their more unfortunate fellow servants.

I hope that all who love the happiness of home and are concerned about the good of society, will give this matter thoughtful investigation, and earnestly endeavor to benefit this important class of our employes.

XIV. "Social Equality."

"Social equality" is a political scare crow, as there is no such thing, in _fact_. It is to the illiterate class of whites what _putting the Negroes back into slavery_ was to the ignorant class of colored people. Those who talk most about it know the least about it. The cultivated southerner is not disturbed about social equality. There has never been, and there will never be, among the same race, nor between different races, any such thing as social equality. Freedom does not mean "social equality" nor manhood. It means only the opportunity to be a man. Freedom _per se_ brings nothing but abstract principles, but it opens the avenue for all that is grand and noble in this life and in the great hereafter. Freedom, legislative enactments and judicial adjudications cannot make men socially equal. The merit must be in the individual himself, and find a corresponding merit in some other individual. But I shall not attempt to follow out this line of thought here. I shall speak upon social contact or mixture (if I am allowed to use the word) of the races, improperly called "social equality" by some. They mean combination of races, I suppose, if they mean anything. I use mixture and combination in their broadest sense, preferring the chemical definitions. I am opposed to combination of the races in the least degree, and I see no necessity for mixture outside of business relations. I oppose it for more than one reason, which I cannot discuss here. Keep the Negro race separate and distinct, if it is desired to perpetuate its identity. The lines can not be too tightly drawn, for such lines guarantee the protection of the virtue of the colored girls of the South. The desire to mix with the whites--to marry and associate with that race--is a concession, on the part of those who have that desire, which is cringing and craven, and puts a libel upon the boast that the "Negro blood is equal to any other race". If it is so grand and noble a race, why seek combination and mixture with any other race? But I do not put this question to you. It must be answered by those who advocate such nonsensical doctrine. We can find in our own race ample scope for the exercise of our social ambition. However, I am willing to make the following contract with the white race of the South: "We, the Negroes, agree on our part, to hang by the neck until dead, every colored man who violates the seventh commandment with a white woman, if you, the white people, will agree to punish _according to law_ every white man who violates the seventh commandment with a colored woman. So help us God." There is not a sensible colored man in the whole South who will not sign the contract, and I know the better class of whites, those who say least of "social equality," will sign it for their race. Separation of the races does not mean depreciation of the merits or talents of either of them, any more than the division of States by geographical lines, or the continents, teeming in varied natural wealth, divided by the great oceans, signify the underestimation of the worth of one or the other. In his famous speech upon Mars Hill, St. Paul beautifully and eloquently said: "God * * * giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Whether these bounds appointed by God be physical distinctions in the races, or whether they consist of deep oceans or towering, craggy mountains, they must be observed.

There will never be even a mixture of the races, to say nothing of combination, in this country, to any appreciable degree, even if there were an inclination on the part of both in that direction, until the condition of the Negro is changed, and I claim, paradoxical as it may appear, that when the Negro's condition is changed by the cultivation of virtue, there will be even a less desire than now to mix and combine with the white race. In nine cases out of every ten the mixing and combining is the substratum of both races. I can not pursue this subject further at this time.

XV. The Employer.

I have confined my remarks so far to the duties of the employe. The responsibilities of the employer are even greater and more numerous. I can not speak of them at length now. The employer must have care of the health of the employe, as well as provide for him the necessaries of life while he is performing his work. The employer should ever be mindful of the general welfare of his employe. He is more than a mere medium of exchange of labor for dollars. On account of his superior knowledge, there are certain duties which the moral law requires him to discharge. To pay liberally and promptly are minor duties when compared with his general oversight of the moral and intellectual welfare of the laborer. He must not only not defraud the employe himself, but he must see that others do not take advantage of his ignorance or inexperience. He must provide suitable and comfortable homes for his workmen, having due regard for the laws of health. I have in my mind three model men of Huntsville, Alabama, of this class, whose names I will be pardoned for mentioning in this connection.

Dr. J. J. Dement is so kind and upright in dealing with his tenants that they give into his hands their net cash, allowing him to keep all the accounts. This confidence can come by dealing according to moral principles, which are broader and higher than formal business rules. Col. William M. Holding is another employer, or landlord, who has stamped himself indelibly upon the hearts of his employes or tenants. He is ever mindful of their interests, and stands between them and the men who are always watching for a chance to get their hard-earned dollars by fraudulent means. Mr. Holding supplies his tenants himself at cash prices, and never charges them one cent of interest, and yet he pays as high wages and rents his lands as cheaply as any other man in the county. Hon. Edmond I. Mastin is the third model employer. He runs a brick yard. His foreman is a Negro of almost full blood. Mr. M. contracted with him to work for $25 per month, but finding the foreman constantly increasing in competency, and finding his own cash account growing larger, he voluntarily advanced the wages to $50 per month. This struck the foreman with great surprise. One of his men had mortgaged his house and lot,--this Mr. M. paid off, secured to him the property, and charged no interest. These kinds of employers and landlords understand their relations to their tenants and employes. There are hundreds of others scattered over the South, and each one is doing more to build up the country and establish and maintain confidence and friendly relations between the races than a dozen politicians. I wish all the landlords and employers in the country would carry such ethics into their business relations with their laborers.

XVI. Be a Good Citizen.

What is the object of life? It is to make society better, and thereby honor and glorify the great Maker. How can you benefit society? By making of yourself _a man_, as God intends you to be--a good citizen, as the laws require you to be. It is not necessary, in order to be a good citizen, that genealogy shall play a part. It is of little consequence whether the Negro came from Adam, or whether he was evolved by the Darwinian theory. It does not matter whether his ancestors were the pyramid builders of Egypt, or the compatriots of Hannibal or Scipio, or whether they were the fetich worshippers of African jungles. It is not a question of comparison of the Caucasian and Negro intellectual abilities, capacities or attainments. It is not important to decide which race can dig deepest and soar highest in the sciences. These questions may be considered by anthropologists and scientists, but, for the laboring man, the main question is how to win bread--how to be a citizen. Whatever may have been your ancestry, whatever may have been their condition, is of little value to you. In this age of electricity and steam, men no longer are run on the pedigrees of their foreparents, regardless of merit. A lawyer whose only recommendation is the illustrious name of a dead progenitor, will never have clients. The physician, who pleads the excellence of a line of noble blood reaching into the far receding centuries, will find poor sale for his pills. The merchant who expects to get his inferior goods off his shelves on the credit of family name, will soon find the sheriff at his door. What would you think of a man, totally ignorant of carpentry, or masonry, or agriculture, proposing to work for you upon the worthiness of some dead relative? Be meritorious. Be a citizen of whom the State may be proud, and your ancestry will care for itself. I do not undervalue an honorable family record. It is diamond. But you must be worthy yourself.

In addition to all that I have said concerning your duties, I wish to add that no workman, no laboring man, can afford to violate the laws of the land. If laws are oppressive, you have your remedy at the ballot box, and not in evasion or violation. Government is ordained of God, and is necessary to the happiness and protection of man. No man has a right to disobey the laws of the land. Disobedience creates disorder. Disorder leads to anarchy and riot. Then who is safe? Whose property at any moment may not be destroyed? As stated above, it is not a question of the origin of the races, or a comparison of capacities, _but can the Negro make a good citizen?_ This is the problem in this connection. The answer which the Negro is giving, must be gratifying to all good men.

"Honor and shame from no condition rise, Act well your part--there all the honor lies."

"Victory and defeat. Joy and grief-- 'Tis these that make the warp And woof of human life. But Be faithful to right and duty, And you will have done Something to make the whole world better."

XVII. Well Done.

What has been done by the Negro since his emancipation to make himself an industrious, christian citizen? How well is he meeting the expectations of his friends? How successfully has he defeated the prophecies of his enemies? How is he working out his destiny? Go to the farms and the work-shops--go examine the tax-books of the country--go see the million colored boys and girls attending the industrial and other schools of the South--go count the hundreds of magnificent temples, all over the land, erected to God--go ask good men, who have informed themselves on the Negro question--go read the history of the industrial civilization of the last quarter century, and the answer will be, WELL DONE. There have been many discouragements--there have been many days as dark as the brow of midnight--as black as the curtains of hell--yet scintillations of Hope ever shot forth from the altars of religion and patriotism, which are bursting into refulgent light and heat to chase away the shadows, dispel the mist, disperse the clouds, and drive all animosities into the Red Sea of fraternal love. The asps which dropped from the head of the Medusa of slavery, are being driven out by the good St. Patrick of mutual interests and fellow-feeling. We are treading upon new ground, without the lamp of experience, or the lessons of history, to guide our feet. The conditions surrounding the races of the South are new problems in the political annals of the human family. The solution is proceeding according to the rules of Providence. Only the Negro and white man of the South can handle the crayon. External intermeddling can be productive of no good. The races of the South, alone, are responsible to God--amenable to the generations of the future for the figures and calculations which are being made upon the slate of southern development. It is true that we have had our Copiahs, Carrolltons and Danvilles, but the great wonder is that these conflicts have been so few, and so small. It is a marvel that the races have maintained such amicable relations, when the former conditions and the bitterness engendered by the change of those conditions are taken into consideration. It has required the exercise of profound wisdom, great foresight, and almost supernatural patience on the part of both races to bring us where we are with such propitious environments.

A Western paper says: "The negroes of the South are rapidly solving their own problem by their religious and educational progress since their freedom. In view of the ignorance, superstition and degradation that enthralled them, we do not believe any other race on the globe has ever made more rapid progress than this people in the twenty-two years of their emancipation."

The _People's Advocate_, whose able editor is worthy authority upon Negro statistics, says: "The close of the first century of the constitution finds us after a record of twenty years, fourteen men having been in congress, a thousand men in state legislatures; to-day with 16,086 schools, 1,030,463 pupils, 22,183 in normal and high schools, academies and colleges, 1,900 studying theology, 100 reading law, 150 studying medicine; pay taxes on $150,000,000, and fully two millions are invested in business."

XVIII. Conclusion.

When a young man, just arrived at majority, leaps beyond parental control, into the wide world of personal responsibility, it is true that his immunities are greater, but his cares have increased also. So the Negro, being clad in the habiliments of freedom, steps out of the tomb of thralldom into liberty and citizenship. But his responsibilities are in proportion to his new liberties. He has graver cares and more arduous duties than when he rose and retired at the sounding of the overseer's horn. He must look at these duties to himself, his family, his neighbor, his state and his God, calmly and in the new light which must accompany freedom in order that it may be permanent. Freedom is a contradictory term. It is a deceptive word. There is no absolute freedom in civilized society. Among civilized people freedom means restraint--restriction. The farther man is removed from barbarism, the less freedom he has, and the greater the curb and restraint upon his conduct. Obedience to law and a regard for the general interests of society are fetters stronger than the chains which bound Prometheus to the mountain rocks. When a citizen throws off this restraint, he ceases to be a healthful factor in the state. As long as the great Mississippi River is held in restraint by its banks, it floats upon its bosom the commerce of our nation, carrying joy and comfort into millions of homes. But if the great Father of Waters leaps beyond the lawful bounds he becomes harmful and destructive; or if we remove the curbs and permit the water to flow as it will, we could no longer derive the least benefit from this grandest stream in North America.

I have spoken as I think the interests of labor demand, without appealing to the prejudices or caprices of the laborer. I have endeavored to be candid, as I am sincere. I know that men, generally, do not like statements which differ from their views, though such statements be the embodiment of truth and virtue. I know, also, that the common ear leans to the titillations of flattery, however illogical and damaging.

The Negro is here to stay. He is a citizen according to forms of law. He must be, and can be, according to the light of the nineteenth century civilization. Let the past be as oblivious as the contents of an ante-deluvian reliquary. Turn the eye and the effort to the living present, and the rising sun of the future, which shall make his course across the skies of the nations, to the adjustment of all difficulties and the guidance of mankind up the broad plains of highest christian development, and THE NEGRO SHALL BE THRIFTY, INTELLIGENT, HONEST AND FAITHFUL IN ALL THINGS.

USEFUL INFORMATION.

Negro Vital Statistics.

It is a fact that the death rate among the colored people of the United States is greater since than before the war, and that it is far in excess of the white race, often doubling it.

Consumption and pneumonia are the diseases which are mowing down the ranks of our colored population. "In Charleston, S. C., the number of deaths from consumption for 1882-5 were 830 colored to 234 white; Memphis, Tenn., 471 colored to 323 white; Savannah, Ga., 391 colored to 212 white; Nashville, Tenn., 330 colored to 232 white. The mortality from pneumonia for the same period stands: Charleston, S. C., 219 colored to 85 white; Memphis, Tenn., 262 colored to 159 white; Savannah, Ga., 166 colored to 60 white; Nashville, Tenn., 155 colored to 100 white. The difference is also excessive in heart diseases, dropsy, scrofula, venereal diseases, and, when prevalent, from small-pox."

"In Savannah, Ga., in 1885, 7 whites and 114 blacks died without having a physician in attendance; in 1883, 6 whites and 145 blacks. Moreover, the fact should not be ignored that numbers of negroes are also the victims of empiricism and experiment. Some poor negroes are undoubtedly sacrificed for the benefit of science." This is the case all over the country.

Scrofula is said to be more fatal to mulattoes than to Negroes, and more deadly to both than to whites. It is seven times greater among colored than whites.

I believe, also, that the prevalence of scrofula among the Negroes is promoted by the immense quantities of meat consumed by them, to the exclusion of a sufficient quantity of vegetable food. I am led to this conclusion for two reasons: firstly, so far as I have been able to ascertain, scrofula is rarely found among the native Africans, whose diet is purely vegetable; seldom do they eat meat. Again, from a recent medical journal, I learn that the Esquimaux, whose diet is exclusively meat, usually die between the ages of 30 and 45, and among them scrofula is exceedingly prevalent.--_Conrad._

The number of still births is greater among colored than whites. This is due to many causes. Among them exposure of the mother, poor living, and lack of attention during the period of gestation.