The Atlanta constitution. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, October 03, 1898, Page 5, Image 5
BLACKS PROPOSE TO COLONIZE AND CONTROL NORTH CAROLINA They Are al Work on a Startling Solution of the Race Problem. A ffl FOR CONQUEST IS ON The Negroes h Solidly United To Capture the State. WANT COM MONWEALTH OF THEIR OWN In the Struggle for Supremacy the Whites Are Divided —How the Elacks Have Attained Dom ination and Exercise ’ Their Power. By Erank Weldon. Raleigh, N. C.. September 30.—(Staff Cor respondence.)—The white race and the black race in North Carolina are engaged today In a momentous struggle for supremacy. Although ft has been conducted In peace, without loss of life or even the letting of blood, it Is as much a war for conquest as was ever fought and wen or lost by armed hosts. The black race, united, solid, aggressive. Is marching as one man against the divid ed whites with the avowed purpose of over throwing what slight vestige of their power remains and setting up for themselves a sovereign negro state. Then they will repeal the laws against intermarriage between the races and mixed schools, and all other laws which, in any manner, shape or form, provide for separate accommo dations for whites and blacks. This may be denied for political effect, but there Is abundant evidence to sustain the assertion, and the evidence Is furnished by the colored people. Their atm is to colonize and negrolze North Carolina and to so firmly establish themselves in possession that the black race will flock here from other southern states. This is the solution of the race question which the negroes are attempting for them selves. V. Idle some of our southern people have declared there was no problem and others have said, with Grady, that the two peoples were working it out together and could only "report progress," colored men of admitted standing and wide Influence among their own blood undertook to solvo the Issues on Un •' of their own. The dls , ~v r y of this fact camo as suddenly and m teor'e flight athwart a November night’s sky. It is no secret that colored leaders, ambitious for their race, have matured in their minds a plan by which they hope to obtain absolute control of the legislative, judicial and executive machin ery and th n to rapidly carry out a scheme of colonization by w hich this will become a thoroughly negro sovereign state, with that population in the majority and furnishing till officials in the public, service, from Unit, natot tnd gov< mor down through judg< v . legislators and solicitors, to the last constable ami janitor. if thefr plan succeeds. North Carolina is to he the refuge of their people in America. Their brethren from all the southern states will be Invited to come here, cast their lot among tl.-ir fellows and together to w rk out their destiny in whatsoever de gree of prosperity and advancement they may be able to achieve for themselves. Tri- >s no fairy story, no mention of the Imagination, but a vital reality, for the invitation is going out even now and the word is spreading far and wide. 1 heard it Wednesday on the southern border of the state from reputable witnesses who had that day returned from South Carolina. Yesterday It was told to trie by men who had just come from Virginia. The negroes in the adjoining states are discussing it and are enthused, and the idea Ing In ever widening concentric circles. “ff North Carolina goes republican again this year, w< intend to move over there. Tho negro has more rights there than anywhere 'lse." This was the substance of the talk in both South Carolina and V’rginla. The blacks arr very much dis satisfied with the political conditions in the former state and are anxious to get away. Nor Is this a fanciful and altogether il lusive drcam of commonwealth on the part of Its projectors On th> contrary, it Is fir more pr. <■: -:1 than Bishop Turner’s >eopie to Afrit a. and colonfz and civilize th' dark conti nent. It is more, praeti.nl, too. than the plan suggested by our own gifted Geor gian, John Temple Gr ive.-i. who for years has been nropagatlng the theory of form ing a negro state sorr i where In our great we.-tern domain. Tiie colored man of the south does not want to go to Africa nor to the west. He prefers this climate and this soil. Bishop Petty saw that any plan which ont -mplated an exodus of his people and colonization bv them of new territory would not b 1 (popular. Knowing that the negro prefers to stay in the south. Bishop Petty hit upon the bold scheme of colonizing a southern state with his race and he believe,! .North Carolina was tho one in which to make, the attempt. Whites Have Been Divided. If the while;- were unit'd t.-n-v would have a majority, but divided as they are between three parties, the negroes standing sol dly logo’her and with the aid of an element of the white populists anti white republicans outvote the white democrats. Sim e the neuro has come into power this last time, he has been strengthening his by legislation. The negro proceeded shrewdly, partly by design, partly by force of circumstances. While some of the white Iscariots thought they were playing the blacks for office, the latt.r wc|-e ciiimliiglv using these office hunter.; as in re tools for whom they had no r -peel or use besom! th l tem i ... w hieh they could give. The 1 ilorcd tiers realized that t hey must k'- p tin whites divided and, pro f o>. ■ S lll'.-l'l \ -Hoc, they offered the wliii- r ~u;>!|.ns and popu Sts some of the high":’ plm--s, taking tor themselves Jes.s eeiispicm ms positions. Hence w--. find negro aldermen, and white mayors. White chiefs, of police and tn-gro police men, whit' sheriffs and negro deputies, white judges and .solicitors, black magis trates and constables, a white governor and black legislators. It is absurd to speak of tie- white republicans and fu sionists playing for the negro vote. The truth Is the negroes play for tho white vote. A republican convention In eastern North Carolina looks like a spot on tho sun, as a prominent Georgia republican once described a Dyons-Rucker-Buck con vention in Atlanta. Tho blacks are bent on capturing the state and carrying out their plan of coloni zation. They do not want to drive the white man out, but to have a state In which they will be supreme. It has been suggested that some of the blacks would prefer that the whites stay In order to lord It over them. But If, the whites fall to regain supre macy on November Sth thousands of them will move away. They say that they can not enduro the conditions which now exist and they know that If they lose in the coming election their last hope will bo gone. The rich can move away by sacri ficing their property, but the poor white men with families to support will find it a hard matter to leave their homes, go into a new community and make their way. Hence it is that tiie poorer whites, the operatives In the mills, the farmers, the workingmen everywhere, are aroused and desperate. They are fighting for their homes in a double sense. They realize that ft is to their pecuniary Interest to drive back this advancing wave of black supre macy before it engulfs them In everlasting ruin. , , The Menace To Womanhood. And then there Is the other danger, greatest of all, the menace to the woman hood of the state, the constant and grow ing peril of each man's wife and daugh ter. That Is the thought which Is seared in the mind and on the heart of every man who loves his family. I know it to be a fact that the operatives In the cotton mills and the tobacco factories and the various shops and manufacturing concerns all through tiie state have given more at tention to this phase of the subject than to anv other. Arid, so far as my observation goes, the same Is true, of the farmers who here tofore have voted with tho republicans. It cannot be denied that In many counties tiie farmer leaves his family with appre hension. While in the field ills ear is strained to catch the first shriek of warn ing. His eye ever turns in the direction of his humble home. There Is a prayer In his heart if not on ids lips for the pro tection of his dear ones when he goes out In the morning and there is gratitude when 'he returns and finds them safe. Fusion and the accession of tho blacks to power have lessened the respect and fear of the law among tiie vicious. In cendiary speeches a.nd writings by black men to black men must have Inflamed some of them. Such a tremendous wave of indig nation has just swept the state over a published slander on the white women that actual violence by the criminally In clined has been checked. But if the cam paign of tiie blacks for tho conquest of the state succeeds this fall, an epidemic of assaults upon the unprotected in tiie coun try Is predicted. This lias aroused tho pure womanhood J HON. E M. SIMMONS, | t Democratic Chairman of North Carolina, Pays ihe Constitution An Ap- * •f; preciated Compliment. i *•* J. -uiIMM. ... . ... T T Democratic Headquarters. X J STATESEXECUTIVEtCOMMnTEE) ... • ■i,., • ... T iN NORTH wi NO OF*— TH £ CARROLLTON,” A -!;• Sept... 29, iHon. Clark Howell, X X X Editor The Constitution, X •i* X Atlanta, Ga. a X Dear Sir: In behalf of the Democratic party of this State, I wishy j; to thank you for the assistance your great paper, ’’The Constitution”, ?•: has been, and is giving us in the campaign we are making in behalf * Xof white supremacy and decent government* The clear and faithful ;i; i exposition of the awful plight into which this State has fallen nuder Fusion government, contained in a recent issue of the Consti- tution, has been of immense service to us; and the influence which $ :h it has been, and is exerting, throughout the State is one of the forces £ ❖ which has given to our campaign an impetus which is sweeping every- x x thing before it, and which I confidently predict will eventuate in x T X a great victory in November* $ Your staff correspondent, who wrote that review from personal x X observation and investigation, did not exaggerate the wretched con- ditions which exist here, nor overdraw the picture* X X Yours truly, X | v V CX I y \ \ X. \ \J\ / X AT - X X Chairman State Democratic X X X J Ex. Com. of North Carolina. :i: THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION: ATLANTA. GA., MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1898. of North Carolina from the seashore to the mountains. They are asking their hus bands and sons iiow they Intend to vote— for the wives and mothers and sisters or for negro supremacy and a reign of ter ror? A Poor But Noble Woman. Here is a case In point: A populist of some influence in his community w is given a postofliee by tlhe republicans In order to win his support. The income from the office, though small, helped him In support ing his family. He bad m ade up his mind to vote the fusion ticket this year. A friend who kn wv how the postmaster felt, asked the latter's son how he was go ing to vote. The young man, who had just come of age, replied that he had not made up ihis mind, but the chances were he would vote with bls lather. “What does your mother say?” asked the neighbor. "Mother wants us to vote for the demo crats on the white man's ticket," said the youth. ‘‘Have you thought that If you vote the fusion ticket you vote for tiie negroes against your own mother?” "No, I had not looked at it that way, but that is right, and 1 am going to vote mother's ticket.” "Det me ask you," continued the neigh bor, "to get your mother to put the case to your father as 1 have put it to you.” The next morning the postmaster went over early to see his neighbor. "See here, my friend, you have been in terfering w ith my family and my politics," •the postmaster began good humoredly. "My wife wanted to know last night whether I was going to vote against her or against the negroes. I told her that if I voted the democratic ticket, t'he republicans would turn me out of the postofliee, and what do you think she said then? Why, God bless her, she said she knew we were mlg'hty poor, and needed tiie few dollars we get out of the office, but she said she would put up with tine poverty and any hardships without a murmur." "Then what did you say?" "1 just hugged the old woman end told her I would vote her ticket, too.” Extent of the Black Belt. Through the black belt there are not fifty white republicans to a county, with possibly three -exceptions. The black belt includes that part of the state lying east of the Seaboard Alr-Dtne railroad, which enters North Carolina above Weldon, passes through Raleigh -and crosses into South Carolina below- Monroe. That is more than one-third tho area of the whole state. There are some white counties east of the line named, Sampson for Instance, and Wayne, Johmston and Onslow, but there are fully twenty counties in which, when the whites divide as they did in 1894 and 1896, tiie negroes control. Wake county, in which Raleigh, the capita! of the state, is situated, is controlled by the negroes. They are in the minority as to numbers, but by giving offices to a few white pie hunters of the Hal Ayer stripe, they have been able to capture the county government. Samp son county, which was mentioned as nn exception, is the home of Senator Marlon Butler, who was here today. Ho runs Sampson county politics. He remarked to me within the last hour that he is related to lialf the white people in the county and ills wife is related to the other half, hence his Influence there is not strange. 1 have stated that the negroes have strengthened their position by legislation. They have done, it in various ways, but the most effectual of ail was the adoption of a new registration and election law. in Georgia, and I believe In most states, a tax defaulter cannot vote. He must keep his taxes paid up or he loses his ballot. The registration books are carefully watched to prevent minors, non-residents and ex convlcts fronv getting on the lists of most states. Here the registration law is very broad. Tho gates are thrown open and anyone who will make oath that he is of legal ago and | NORTH CAROLINA'S SWEET WOMANHOOD APPEALS TO THE BALLOT FOR PROTECTION | t isx I 1 ■ Noh I 7 OB no y i O’ ' 7 is qualified to vote, can register. Tho reg istration was largely In the hands of the negroes and the fuslonists two years ago. and ft will be again this year In precincts where the populist registrar co-operates with tiie c010r..1 r-gistrar. Hundreds of cases were report'll two years ago where negro boys were registered. Reputable wiiite men might make oath that they knew of their own personal knowledge that the boy was not more tnan eighteen years old, but ff he stated that Uncle Mose had told him he wne born In 1875 he would bo registered. This year the registration frauds will bo reduced. In many counties the populists will not lend tin Ir aid to the black registra tion clerk and the voting list will be purged to some extent. Fvery White Gov ernment Unlo*n Club has a committee to lock after this matter and to challenge every one who Is pot .il*itled to register. This ought to keep 10,000 fraudulent ballois out of the boxes. No Fear ns to the Count. The democrat.’ ire not afraid of a fraud ulent count. Ti y will Ire represented at every ballot box, and If the blacks and th • fusionlsts attem; t to '-heat In counting the ballot sit will I letected and there will be trouble. The usual voting strength of the two races is about this: Democrats 0 Populists 3!.00i Wiiite republican:! 3 >.o’o Black republicans Bu.0<«; Total 321.000 This does not include tho 10.00) fraudu lent negro votes which it Is hoped will be eliminated this year. The democrats wfll poll their full vote and the negroes will poll all theirs. 'lb.' democrats will get some white renuhliean votes but what proportion no one can yet tell. I would figure on 2.1.000 white repuhli eaus voting with the .negroes, will'h would carry their vote up to 13.1000. So far the democrats lhave a big lead, l>tit there i> the populist vote to lie considered. Cy Thompson, Tin] Av«r and th.it pans: have m ule a deal with the nn?ro -s jus’ as Millkin did in the eleventh c< ngr ■ ■ l >n il district of Georgia. Thompson, Aver and H irry Skinner are the fusion 1< ad r on Hie populist side ami they have control of tho machinery of the peop e s party. I hej are trying to throw tiie popufist vote to the negroes. But they have opposition rn their own ranks. Senator Mirlon ihuler Is calling to tiie people’s party to stay in the middle of the road. Major Guthrie, the populist candidate for governor two years ago,, is denouncing : ' He has not ' far as known, to vote with the demo crats blit he is begging them to keep aw.ay from Skinner. Ayer, Thompson and the other fusion ringsters who sold him out in IS9C. I saw Major Guthrie find Senator Butler In conference this afternoon tind judging from the wig-wagging of the.r beads and the gesticulations of both. It was a right Ha ely int< rview. Neither would talk about, their conference n ft- r they concluded, but my opinion is that they are not going to fill out with each other Both of them want to punish the traitors— Skinner, Thompson und Ayer, who sold out Guthrie, and are now attempting to deliver the populists o'er to tile republican party. Senator Butler’s Policy. Fuller wants all the middle of the road , ts in the legh I iture that he < m get . leet.n He will tight th- r publicans and the d. mo. rats. to-., in ’ * popul I coun ties. Fowler, tho populist congres-m.i a m Butler’s district, has made a trade with the negroes and they will not run a candi date against him. Current report has it that the deal cost Fowler lots of money. It is said he gave Abe Middleton, the negro who "dictates” in Duplin. SI,OOO, but tint is merely hearsay. There is no doubt, it cost him a good part of his salary. A day or two before the convention met lie looked like - man wh h g wa ng pulled. win:!.er Butler approved that fusion Is n< t known. It is pr< bable that he k( pt hands otr and let Fowler work out his own salvation. Senator Butler will make ten or twelve speeches in the campaign. He hopes to e1e.,1 enough straight populist, to the b..use aid senate to hold tin- l.alance o’ power. Some of Hie populists will fuse with the negro, s in the bln. k belt. That is a fore gone conclusion, oiti a great many of the sincere populists uro coming ov. r to de mocracy. In some eountb s they are r- turn ing in numbers, but so far that ts in spots, it is not a general movement as yet but where their ballots will ■ led either a dem ocrat or a republican, the democrat stands tho b< st . h ince to get it. The honest populist- from principle pop ulist is dsg ted with I t on. Governor Russell'S allministration had not a defender up to the opening of the present campaign. Republicans and fusion populists denounc ed it as Shameful ..nd disgraceful. The re publicans did not intend to indorse him in tin- state convention, and even thr< it. li ed to impeach him. The governor loaded off his enemies in his own pat ty by sending out word all over the state to his appointees .and henchmen that they must g.> as dele gates to the convention. A number of them got in md they just did sav. b tn by get ting an indorsement of his administration for economy. Some of Russell’s appointees have I, ( . n publicly .■otnp.ar. d io Tobias Knight, Who wa.. .. r.-tary of the colony 200 y. ars ago. Knight « is suspected of pro tecting tin- notorious, murderous pirate Teach, better known as Black Heard, and he was driven from office in disgrace. The Negroes Do Rule. The fusionists in II I' slate and in Geor gia are telling th.- peo| le that there is no m-gi-o domination in eastern North Caro lina and no danger of it here or there, y 1 Hanson :m.l t'olnn.l Wilkinson m.ole '3T fteversihlo z-> LineneEEs“Z s “ Most economical and convenient. Made 4 fi ne cloth in sash- ionable styles, and ex actb' resemble linen i<°ods. Turn down \ z " are r''versiD‘c n° w ° rtf When soiled discard. ..J-aji I'cnt'ollnr-i nr five pnii s of t'utfi. --’.II-. Send 6c. in stamps for sample collar and pair of cuffs. Name size and style. this assertion In a meeting at Dublin, Ga., last week. In both states the fusionlsts are endeavoring to escape responsibility for the inevitable results of a political trade betw< en tin mselves and the negroes. I have spent this week, traveling day and night through tin- black belt, Investi gating tho situation,and what is written here is ttie plain, unvarnished truth. Further along, so far as space will permit, details will be sei out, and if a Thomas doubts, let him write to some reputable person, say a minister of the gospel, in any town nami d. The worst feature of black supremacy here comes from the character of negroes who get the offices. The intelligent, honest and respectable colored men are not in control, but tiie ignorant and dishonest members of the race receive th" spoils. On" of the educated, upright, respected colored men in Goldsboro, 1 think it was, stated that It would lie useless for him to apply for an appointment or run for a nomination. Tiie. other class of his people would defeat him with some barkeeper or other man of low associations among his race. "There is no encouragement from his own people for a decent man to try to do something for himself and his race," he said. In Tarboro, i-’.dg. combe county, the repub lican nomine" for coroner was pointed out. He is a Idio'k drayman, who cannot make count for holding an inquest. At Rocky Mount a. coal black negro, who was carrying a mail sack on his back up the railroad track, w is pointed out as the republic.m nominee for tin- legislature. In New Bern, Craven county, Isaac H. Smith, tile republican nominee i• r the leg islature, lias bi-.-n twice convicted of forg ery ami he. was finally let off by the negro solicitor. Smith has considerable money and is the richest negro in the county. He aspires to social b adership among his peo - ple, and partly out of that arose a jeal ousy between Smith and George H. White, the negro congressman from North Caro lina. Bast y.-ar Smith published a card intimating that White did not pay ids jiebis ami that lie. Smith, held White to be his inferior socially. W hite hit back in a published letter, stating that In- and Smith had jointly indorsed a note for 87 for a friend. The maker of tiie note failed to pay it and Smith insisted that Wiiite should pay it all. with interest. White off- red to p.ij half and he said In- n.c,-d that Smith had erased his own name from tin- note. In concluding his letter, White .said: "In conclusion; Mr. Editor, permit me to say that 1 may not be the social equal of a man who has been convicted tind sen tenced to tin- pi'iiitenti.irj- for forgery. [ may not be the so- lai equal of a man who lias east off his lawful wife and innocent children, who are struggling for an ex istence in another state, while the father and husl and is trying to buy ills way into the society of decent people, 1 do not wish l" be the 'social equal' of the fellow who lias been indicted lor forgery and come ¥ THE OUTLOOK IS ENCOURAGING y THOUGH CONTEST IS DESPERATE i " i > ~ j" ,t. After the story of North Carolina's wrongs at the hands of the fusion re- j, A gime has been hastily and Imperfectly told, this question comes: What will l>e the result? J* A The truthful answer is. no one can tell today. A <• The tide Is now running toward white supremacy and decent government, A which is the only issm . ,1. If the white men unite as solidly as the blacks have done, the whites wb .• A win. On the other hand, if the mountain republicans, who are practically al! *l* whites. Uno up with the negr es. the elect >n will be uncomfortably close. The v ••• republicans will not get many : ■ outside t ranks of the ;• ■ hun Senatoi Marion Butler will hold a large elemi ’ lo of a h‘ the road. The democrats are counting on ullst vo • 1 Ajsin an excited, turbulent state. There are of a I I; • a A mmt among the wblt< -> an 1 in the next few we< k ; it n v develop int ■ 1 X pede to the democratic party, which stands solemnly phdged and It Is t ie only A one so pledged, to restore white control. The democrats have promised an T honest and e. tnomlcal administration, but there never was a party that did y A not put that in its platform. The democrat ve promised protection to the T A wonnn and the children, which Is in no other platform that I rec.ad. a T The democrats arc aggressive; the rcpubli ans are on the defensive; the y A Butler popup ts are sitting steady in the boat. a A The republicans or fn • onists are weak in leadership. They have many lead % GrS) b u s jn this case there Is not wisdom in a multitude of counsels. The dem- T a oprats are fortunate in having an able leader, a wonderful organizer, a tireless T worker, a man of splendid poise and groat resource. His plan of campaign y A was broad and le p ind the work I - going on precisely as It was mapped out. ’£ Mn F. M. Simmons, chairman of th o party, has rallied a list of speakers J. j* whose appointments would, fill a column. The speaking has really Jn«t begun, y a The organization of the White Government Hnion lubs is going on rapidly. democratic papers of the state have thrown themselves into the contest T T and are fighting with the dash and gallantry of the troops at San Juan. A A ' And then to cap all this is the stern resolve of the democrats to win Every where T mot that grim, resolute exp resslon written on tho faces of the beat A type of Carolinians. V a \ jok*' |s seldom hoard from tho democratic side. Ono of the speakers re- j. A marked that the issue Is too serious; it borders on the tragic too closely for .|. a levity. a A The democrats can count with good reason on electing a majority tn the J. T house of representatives. They had only live senators in IS"! 'in t they must A change twenty-one to have a majority there. That is not a hopeless task. A A but P is exceedingly difficult and tho party leaders rcaliz. ■ it. If the demo- A crats do tail to control the senate. I h ave no doubt tiiat them will be enough .j. A straightout populists who will co-operate with them to relievi in great meas- •£ y uro the Intolerable conditions in the east. What those populists will demand for A their aid can only be guessed, but in the event that they .hold tho balance of ,|. A power, they will get whatever they ask. f into court while I was solicitor and begged me to allow him to put in a plea of nolo contendre, and let him off by paying the cost, to escape the penitentiary again. “But why need 1 go further? The dock ets of Craven county superior court will tell the rest. God forbid that I ever should be the ‘social equal' of a man who lives by skinning the poor, gullible, unsuspect ing people of the community in -which, he Jives. "Should tiie above statement fit any resi dent of the city of New Bern, I will say tlhat on the 2d of October, i-97, 1 will bo at my office on Broad street, in said city, for tiie transaction of such business as may come before me. GEORGE 11. WHITE." That is tiie negro congressman’s testimo ny about the negro nominee for tiie legis lature. No white man had anything to de witli it. In Greenville, Pitt county, the negro aldermen created a new office, that of night policeman. A negro was appointed, but his reputation was so baxl that tiie merchants of tm- town raised a fund by private subserfpt ion and hired two night watchmen to watch tiie policeman and guard their stores. 1 was at. Halifax courthouse, Halifax county, the day the fusion populists met to fill out the ticket agreed upon by one wing of the republican party. Among the re publican nominees who were Indorsed by th" white fuslonists was Baker, a negro, nominated for the legislature. He has been Indicted for stealing chickens. The other nominee for the house in that county is Rev. James H. Arrington, the negro chaplain of the Caledonia peniten tiary farm. Arrington succeeded Babb, who was removed as parson because he would get drunk and had > n found guilty by his fellow ministers of adultery. The people of Halifax say Bibb was much the better man morally of the two. The situation in Wilmington is worse in some respects than tn New Bern. A special chapter must be d"V"t<d to Wilmington to ti ll of tiie outrages of tiie negro official* fln-i'". Negro School Committeemen. Fusion h is elevated many negroes to the position of school committeemen. These committeemi n have the authority I by law to visit and inspect white schools as well as colored schools, and they do it, not in all counties, but in some. They have inspected white st-lioois here in Make county, and white seh "Is with cultured young women teachers. <me of these com mitteemen visited a wiiite school In this county not long ago ,«.n<l now the white republicans who sen: their children to that school announces that they will vol'* the democratic ticket. There are thousands of white repnbll- ans and populists in the mid dle and western parts of the state who would aet the samt way if their children had the same experience. They will see tiie very ssrne tiling in their township If the fusionists control the next legisla ture, bc- :iiis" til' negroes are determined to have a band in everything and rule tho roost, not onl.v in th-- east, but in the mid dle and w.'st. too. %ro school < ommltti < men In Halifax is one who calls a certificate a "certifical.” Bertie county has two negro school com mitteemen in every township. New Han ovt county has six all told. Craven and a number of other counties aro in the same boa t. it is said that in some counties these negrO"S attempt to b- domineering to 'he male t'-aehers. No Instances have been re ported of any disrespectful manner ni.i ii'l lady teachers. It. is worth while for the White teachers of middle Carolina and on up iri th- mountains to reflect that some I day they may see a colored visitor enter their schoolhouse and m ike a request to hear the first class in spellin' step up and spell. This is not nil. either. These colored mem bers of the committee must be consulted before appointments of teachers are made, and sometimes young lady teachers have had to hunt up a n -.ro committeeman to ! get her voucher signed so that she could : draw her salary. Negro Road Overseers. One of the latest evidences of tho negro ' In official position is bls' appearance in i the role of road overseer. In that office i It is his business to keep the roads In i good order and he looks after tho work. I In some counties these overseers have 1 called out and worked white men. This Is ; supported by affidavit. : The negroes resent It when white mon pay hands to work tor them. They want the whites to work instead of hiring It i d"ne. An off' ’tivo cartoon which is being clrcu i lated over the stat - represents a negro overseer directing tiie workmen. There are I three white men and two negroes engaged with picks and shovels, but the negro la- I borers are renting while the whites aro . perspiring to such an extent that they I sei-m t" bi in a shower bath. This road overseer feature- and tho negro i school committeeni'n are making votes for | the white suprem ■ <-a u-iid it es. It Is all I true and it is getting worse. The Orly Negro Colonel. North I’aridiii.t Is the only negro colo nel in the United States army. He is Jim Young, one of Gov mor Russell's espo ciai pets now. although a few yeans ago t'he governor denounced him as a scoun drel, hoodlum and thief. Young eime down from Knoxville last week, where his regiment Is encamped, and play d a star part in a county repob- Continued on Eighth Page. 5