k
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Editorials
from Oregon History
Ler's Keep G rants Pass a W bite M an's Town
(b rorrt page editor lal - Southern Oregon Spec­
tator May 24, 1924)
f
*
w .
W illia m s Avonue looking north taken in 1920.
( Photo C ourtesy of Oregon llis t o i leal Society )
foreground
T iv o li
th e a te r.
Senator Williams of Oregon;
Author of Radical
Senator
G e o ig e It. W il­
to take the [o llttc a l conse-
(uerues ol id e c is lo n , tire Con­
A lb in a , who made (u e g o o 's
vention deckled to put ibe issue
f ir s t e o u it decision involving
to a vote of the people. T h is
sla very and Is credited w ith
question, as w ell as the Con­
preventing I it egon’ s liecom lng
s titu tio n , was to le voied on
a slave slate, w rote lias I en-
N o ve m t« i of 1857.
ur e -o f-( iff ice A c t, w ro te tire
Dur mg the months p ie c e d -
R econstruction Laws and le d
ing t h e
electio n, d e b a t e
tire Impeachment proceedings
reached a fever p itch and tlie re
■gainst P resident Johnson, lie
was sei lous p ro b a b ility that
fought for lire lig h ts of blacks
slavei y would 1« acceded ut
anti so for title d h is cai e e r, but
O regon. A t th is tim e Judge
in old a g e succumbed to t n e -
W illia m s w io te his “ F l e e
gon's “ soutirer n e x p o s u ie ".
Slate L e tte r“ I n t h e O r e g o n
George H. W illia m s a r r ived
Statesman, which is credited
hi O iegon in lus t, having been
w ith turning tlie tide f r o m
appointed the in st C hief Jus­
sla ve ry. A voiding them o r a I
tice of lire C ourt of tire r n egon
and legal Issue, W illia m s said
I et r llo r y at ttie age of 30.( me
s la v e iy should 1« avoided in
<rf i fie f u s t cases Ire heal d was
(n egon («cause It was not
the pe tition by Robin Holm es,
p ia c ttc .il (oi tin s a re a . Indus-
a fo rm e r slave, to have fils
t i y w a s seasonal a n d slaves
c h i l d r e n d e c l a r e d 11 e e .
would be co stly to suppoit d u r­
Holmes^ hie w ife ind his hil
ing long months of in a c tiv ity ,
dr err, and another black man
sm all fa rm s and lu in le t mg
had been brought to ( ti egon by
were not conduslve to tlie use
a sluve-holdet f i oui M issout t.
■ ' ,
I
W .
I he three adults had obtained
dangei of escaped slaves jo in ­
then own fie c d o m , but the
ing wai mg Indians.
Children were field by th e ir
1 1« Constitution was adop-
ow ner, Nathaniel For d . F ord
ted try Hie ,«o ple on Novem -
claim ed tie slaves had b e e n
l« i 9, 1857. I hey turned down
his p io fie ity le ga lly in M is ­
sla very by a 4 to I vote. I le y
s o u ri, and that a fte i lie had
also voted, by an 8 to I m a r­
brought them to Oregon lie had
gin, to Ira i i I m lesktence of
I i r e d tlie adults tu t re ta in « !
blacks in O iegon. T h is was a
the c litld ie n , whom be planned
continuation of laws of t ie
to fre e at the age of 21. Judge
P ro v is io n a l and T e r r it o r ia l
W illia m s returned the c h il­
C ovei nm euts. ( j i egon was ad­
d re n to the care amt custody of
m itted to t ie ( nion on F e h iu -
th e ir parents, stating t h a t
r V ! l , |g$9.
“ without some p o sitive le g is­
W Illia in s was a I lem ocrat in
la tive enactment establishing
a predom inantly D e m ocratic
sla very tie ie , it did not and
.state. He had been populai w ith
Could not exist in ( n egon.“ .As
p o litic ia n s ami a m em bei of
far as is k n o w n th is was the
t ie “ Salem C liq u e ” which
last attempt to hold slaves le­
dominated Oregon p o litic s .
g a lly in Oregon.
" 1th the publishing of his
“ I i«e staw i m w i “ , t.e aeon
Fot years Oregon had ag i­
lor t favo r w ith t ie p a rty . W i l ­
tated to become a state, fee l­
iu m s hod am b itio ns of h e u ^
ing oppress«! by l e r u t o i ia l
one of O regon's f ir s t senator s,
r u l e Irom W ashington, D.C.
but when the le g is la tu re met
Statehood was connected with
the s la ve iy question, («cause
to e I e c t, le was not chosen.
It was necessary tod ete in lin e
He again pre se n t« ! h im se lf lor
ele ctio n w len t ie term - ex­
whethei O ie g o n would enter
tlie Union as a fre e state or as
p ire d in IMbUamt 1801 and again
a slave state, o ie g o n was at
w len senator B ake r was k ille d
tn 1802, Ixil was not elected un­
that tim e predom inantly I le m -
t i l 1804. By tle n the p o litic a l
o c ru tlc anil m ost in flu e n tia l
situation had changed, w ith t ie
D em ocrats were sym pathetic
D em ocrats s p lit in to two fac­
w ith t h e p io - s la v e iy v te w -
tions and a sm all Republican
potnt. None was a b o litio n is t.
p a rty a llie d w ith t ie Union
Although not yet adm itted as a
I lenrocr ats.
state, ■ C o nstitutio na l Con­
vention was cal 1er I in June of
)V ith ln a month otW illia m s '
1857 to w i tie a State C o n stitu ­
a r r iv a l in W ashington, th e
tio n . Unable to reach a d e ci­
C iv il W .ire n d e il. W llh a m s te -
sion on s la v e iy ami u n w illin g
came a Republican, op,weed
lia m s , one of the founders of
P re sid e n t Johnson and teeam e
a rad ica l i econstt uctrom st.
D u ring th is period le was in­
flu e n tia l on the s id e of those
w tro advocated a m i l i t a r y
rule in t ie South. He was the
authoi of the I e n u re -in -o flic e
A ct, which was designed to
prevent
P reside nt Andrew
Johnson fro m replacing L in ­
coln appointees. H e w ro te th e
R econstruction A ct, w h ic h
placed t ie C o n le le ra te States
In t ie harxlsof m ilita r y g o ve r­
nors and planned t ie r eo rga ni­
zation a n d t« co n stru ctio n of
t ie South. He supported t l«
13th, 14th, amt 15th Am end­
m ents ami was a strong advo-
i ate of t ie black vote. Senator
W illia m s was one of t ie lead­
e rs of the unsuccessful u n -
peachment
p r o c e e d in g s
against P resident Johnson.
These a c tiv itie s c o s t him
support in Oregon. A ll ele­
m ents in Oregon w e r e vehe­
ment in the dental of th e d e s i-
r a b ility of em ancipation and tn
tlie11 denunciation of the a b o li­
tio n is ts . T I« e a rlie r a n ti­
black attitud es and the d e s ire
to tem aln ap art fro m p ro b­
lem s of sla ve ry continued
durin g tlie w ar y e a r s . The
S o u tl« rn secessionists ami the
N o rth e rn a b o litio n is ts were
acco rd« ! equal blam e for t h e
w a r. Oregon s e n t no troops
and no support fot the w a r a l­
though individual c i t i z e n s
fought on both sides.
T 1« I8b5 State Senate pass«1
the 13th Amendm ent but the
House refused to vote. 11«
18«' I e g lsIa trve A sse in b ly ra ­
tifie d the 14th Amendment; the
1868 L e g is la tu re repealed the
■ ra tific a tio n ami asked Sena­
to rs W illia m s and H e n ry C o r-
bett to resign. T he l87O Legrs-
a ltu re r e j e c t e d
the 15th
Amendment a n d
resolved
“ th a t
the s o - c a lle d 15th
Amendment is an infringem ent
u p o n popular rig h ts ami a d i­
r e c t fa ls ific a tio n o f th e
pledges made to the state of
Oregon by the federal govern­
m e n t."
The O regonian said
of it « black vote, “ Ib e man
who knowing tire situa tion and
ignorance of the A fric a n race
in oui cou ntry, favo rs the ex­
tension of the p riv ile g e s of c i­
tizenship to them is sure ly
re c k le s s ."
1 he D e m ocratic
State Convention of I8b8 was
“ opposed to shar ing w ith the
s e rv ile races the p ric e le s s
p o litic a l
heritage a ch le v«]
alone by white men and by them
tra n sm itte d to th e ir po ste r­
it y . " U n til 1872 the question
of black rig h ts dom inated O re ­
gon p o litic s although fe w
blacks lived in the state.
Senator W illia m s re a lize d
his actions would not b rin g him
fa vo r In O regon. He w r o te ," I
am w e ll aware that there is in
Oregon a wide spread p re ju ­
d ice against the negro race and
have no doubt that m y course
in
le fe re n c e
t-iw , a » « » . dw-a i ipii'üW W diftïffl
Grants Pass has always been a white m an’ s town and there
Is no reason under the shining sun why it shouldn't continue
to te a white m an's town. I he fact that th is is a white man’ s
country here irr this wonderful Rogue R ive r V a lle y has brought
the best of the white race here and such population w ill bring
the cream of the white race here in the fu tu re .
I he attitudes of the [reople ol this peaceful, law abiding com ­
munity toward the encroachment of the black, brown or red
fates of t l« land, or the wot Id for that m a tte r is:
NIGGER WE DON’T WANT YOL HERE - AND WE WON'T
HAVE YCM HERS - YCX HAD BETTER ROLI UP YCXJR BED
AN RIDE - n o s IS r o BE A W HITE M A N ' Ct NTRY,
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FDREVER.
WHO WANTS G R A M S PASS IO BE T HE SCENE OF A RACE
R ID I?
WHO WAN IS TO SEE the p ro p e rty values slum p in
Josephine County? Who wants to see the handiwork of years
pass into t l« hands of a designing black race who don’ t belong
in Oregon and who w ill only cause trouble if they tr y to come
here?
F oreigners of any kind are not wanted in this com m unity
that is made up of peacelul white people who are stiv in g to
live, move and have th e ir liv in g in peace with the W0
under the law that God has la id down fo r man to obey . . .
to the F re e d ­
m an’ s Bureau and t l« C iv il
Rights B ill w ill b e u n sa tisfa c-
to ry to some of my fr ie n d s ."
W illia m s was defeated in his
bid fo r re -e le c tio n . He was
appointed to the o ffic e of A t­
torne y-G ene ral of the United
States by P re sid e n t G rant and
was unanim ously c o n firm « ! by
t l « senate.
In 1873 he was n o m in a t« lb y
G rant as C h ief Ju stice of tr«
United states Supreme C o u rt.
Strong opposition in O regon,
as w ell as social in d is c re tio n s
on the p a rt of his w ife , caused
P re sid e n t G rant to request his
w ith d ra w a l.
W illia m s returned to O re ­
gon and in 1902, at tire age of
79, he was e le c t« l M a yo r of
P o rtla n d . H is term of o ffice
was m «H ocre and w ithout s ig ­
nificance to black i ’ or tlan de rs
who had expected him to b rin g
r e lie f fro m re s tric tiv e p ra c ­
tice s.
In his old age, speaking o f
his life as a Judge, and Sena­
to r, and A tto rn e y-G e n e ra l, he
said, " T h e r e is litt le doubt
that in the controver sy over
the re s to ra tio n of the r e f« l
states much was saidanddone
by both p a rtie s that m ig ht f e t ­
te r have teen om itted, but it
m ust be rem em bered that
w h ile the clash of a rm s had
ceased, the clash of le eling s
had not subsided, and it was
im p ossib le to subdue these
feelings at once w ith the close
o f the w a r as it would he to
stop the waves of the ocean af­
te r a tem pest had s tir r e d it to
its depths. 1 took an active
p a rt
in these proceedings
fro m the beginning to the end,
am) now In review ing the sub­
je c t, I do not see that 1 made
any serious m istake s, unless
It was w ith r« g ro s u ffra g e ."
The Oregonian - e d ito ria l. M ay 20, 1905
It is obvious that any place of public amusement would
speedily loose patronage it it were not understood that c e rta in
d iscrim in a tio n s would 1« made. If one per s o n - a Chinaman fo r
example - has a rig h t to buy any seat in the house and s it in
it, so many other persons - a Hotentot, o r a woman of no­
torio us reputation - do the same thing, ft is not a question
is to whether a w hite man objects to s ittin g next to a C h i n a -
■nan. It is sim p ly a w ell-know n fact that 1« does object, and
the theater m ust gover n its e lf acco rding’v .
It may be assumed that a s e lf-ie s p e c tin g person, like the
p la in tiff in the case ju s t decided by Judge F ra z e r, w ill not
hereafter in this state tr y to in frin g e upon the rules that forbid
persons of his co lo r f i om oerrrg seated in c e rta in p a rts of the
t h e a t e r . It is fa ir to presume that no such per son d e s i r e s
to Intrude where he is not wanted, and where, were he to suc­
ceed in gaining entr ance, he would be subjected to glances of
su rp rise if not of contempt and indignation.
F act, not ju s tic e in ti« abstract en ters into th is contention.
Colored People are wise who accept conditions that they can-
ru t change oi co n tro l, inc go t.’.eir way c h e e rfu lly , re a liz in g
that, a fte r a ll, their condition in th is c o u n try is much im proved
over that of th e ir ancestor s of a century o r two ago.
11« social status, whether of races o r in d ivid u a ls cannot be
li<ed by act of Cong ess, nor by force in any d ire c tio n , o r
from any source. The F ra z e r decision was made to cover
all (versons . . . but it is su ffic ie n tly spe cific to give colored
persons a hint that, if taken in a frie n d ly s p ir it, w ill p ro te ct
ite m fro m annoyance and d is c o m fitu re upon th is score in the
future. The decision of JudgeFrazer in the case is p r ob a b I y
good law, it is c le a rly good sense.
(T his decision supported a c o u rt decision that upheld the rig h t
of a theater to refuse to honor a box seat tic k e t purchased by
D iv e r T a y lo r, a black pullm an c a r conductor. The decision
was upheld by the Oregon Supreme C o urt.)
he ( regoman - e d ito ria l, September 2b, 1909
J W ork, fo r which negroes are fitte d , ami encouragement to
l«erform it, rather than agitation along p o litic a l and social
1 nes , is the cue to the dev elopm ent and usefulness of the negro
dice in A m erica, as fu rn is h « ! by that s ta lw a rt man of the race.
Hooker I . Washington. T l« South draw s a sharp line a ttire
kind of labor these people are f it t « l fo r, and is in sista n t that
they keep the place assigned to an in fe rio r race in the social and
p o litic a l w o rld by the sacred tra d itio n of the old South.
I his is not strange. It would be strange, indeed, if it were
otherw ise. The negro, ch e e rfu l, subm issive, resp ectful, even
lazy, when le ft to his own in d u s tria l in e l’"« tion a holds a place
in the hearts of Southern people fro m which he is totally-
excluded in the N o rth . It is only when they essay to become
fa cto rs in t l« p o litic a l life of the state, o r assume the swag­
gerin g a ir of social eq ua lity, o r yie ld in g to g ro ss anim al
in stin cts, become v e rita b le untamed beasts that the race
question takes a serious im p o rt in the South.
Ul-ßj/Ui&ul
d u r in g
E x tr a c tio n s
and
using
I he in te llig e n t A fro -A m e ric a n wants to be m easured by the
standard of manhood, ami not by c o lo r. They do not ask special
favo rs, nor do they want lifts from the governm ent, but we do
want t l« rig h t to walk as men unimpeded.
The P ortland New Age - e d ito ria l N ovem ber 17, 190b
(The New Age was a black owned newspaper
P ortland fro m 189b u n til 190b)
published in
The Negroes m ust be accepted as p a rt of the c itiz e n ry of
the country ami treated acco rdingly. If they vio la te the la w s
punish them . Encourage them by a ll possible means to w ork,
to 1« industrious and honest and to become independent. But
they are not to be exterm inated nor e xp a tria te d . T here is no
ne«! of fu ll social e q ua lity, and it is not o r should not be
desired on one side m ore than on the oth e r.
I hee is no social equality among w hite («ople e ith e r am! no
g ie a t fuss is made about it. But colored people ought to be
accorded th e ir p o litic a l rig h ts ami encouraged to p riz e A m e r i­
can citize n sh ip by p o litic a l recognition. If both races would
behave them selves Letter ami w o rk m ore and talk less, ami
each attend to its own business, and recognize o th e r's rig h ts ,
the “ race“ problem would soon dw indle into in sign ifica nce .
F IL L IN G S
Sodium Pentothal
W H E N DESIR ED
R e g ia f e r e r f A w e s f f c e liif in 4 < < e n 4 « w e e
No Appointment Necessary
j
" I m m e d ia te "
'
DENTURES
JIEDITJ
Pay in Smell MMithly
A mnanti
S a m e U a y • IN MOST CASIS
« befo,. >o . m
We W.II Try to Dsfatsr y o u Denture» by 4 p m Som« Day
A ll D e n ta l ___
IN S U R A N C E
A cc ep te d
llwrenee
D nroA .iilib Im ojrO flic« j
The Advocate - e d ito ria l Decem ber 12, 1908
(The Advocate was a black owned newspaper e sta b lish « ! in
P ortland in 1903. It was publish« ! u n til 1928 by E .D . Cannady
and Rev. V\. W, Mathews,)
C E N T IS T
V ji .& j M u L
S tre e t Level
D E N T IS T
5 1 5 s w
Ave.
B e tw e e n A ld e r 4 W a s h in g to n
Phi,nt- 227-2127
U l l i , , litu i,, ''a I,-m „ml ! itarin'
AKOA-
lOT
2nd t id
S W M .,,, m
Three programs
in one
to help you lose
wetont
and keep it off!
The Mew
V'tght Witchers’
program.
I
A
FROE.RAM
Many black cowboys r u le the range In the w est. Above, an un-
Id e n tlfl« ! black cowboy rid es “ 11« F o o t” at the Pendleton
Roundup. ( Oregon H is to ric a l Society Photo )
JOIN ANY CLASS ANYTIME
T H E ELOQUENT
N orth P ortland:
Mondays - 7:30 p .m ., Thur sdays - 9:30 a.m .
C a rp e n te r's H a ll, 2225 N. Lom bard St.
C O Î-O B *©
Tuesdays - 7:30 p .m .
H A L L ,
St. John Lutheran C hurch, 4227 N. Lom bard St.
N o rth ea st P ortla nd :
T hursdays - 7:00 p.m .
Em anuel H o spita l, 3001 N o rth Gantenbew
E xtend«! C are B uilding - C om m unity Room
Saturdays - 9:30 a.m .
M aranatha E va n g e listic C enter, 1222 N .I.. Skidm ore
F o r other cla ss locations, days and tim e s,
TITS IH 1 E m iN f i, APRIL Mlb IS 70.
Sr bjk . r • Tin- tirlo rr,. Citizen and Ihr Hallat." W hat hr w ill
ill
<l<> with il—A review of ih r Pant amt Prrurirt—T h r Kaihit and a
Klimpar Ilf »nr 111 I lire , nmí I í < h i .
a d m is s io n
rirrv
c en ts
,
(P ay ab le at the I loot |
Hour* epen a< 1 - Inrb
(See H N ra»«a «•«*»«» |
Mpeeking
tM m .nNM » a« * I. e ln rk
MAINTE N A h K f
D th
W EIG H T
WATCHERS
MR. GEO P. RILEY,
W ill Npeak at
n iT T T iII A A M O N IO
IIV IIIN C
R IA N
I'rwee and ( 'fe rs t re s i» . if u ll. ,
1 7 rwepe« i i u i i j i
Two unidentified black cooks pose on the steps of the Southern
P a c ific dining ca i In 1919.( P ho toC o urtesy of Oregon H is to ric a l
Society )
An u n td e n tifi« ! black woman, probably fro m P ortla nd . (Photo
c a ll 288-6388.
Com tesy of Oregon H is to ric a l Society)
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