Page:Race distinctions in American Law (IA racedistinctions00stepiala).pdf/49

 quoting People v. Gallagher: " if one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them on the same plane."

Where laws separating the races in railroad trains and street cars are in force, and the duty devolves upon the conductors to assign passengers of the two races to their respective coaches or compartments, it is surprising that they do not more often make the mistakes of assigning bright mulattoes to the white coach and dark-skinned white persons to the colored. There are several instances where the latter mistake has been made. One would not expect a mulatto to resent being assigned to the white coach and nothing would come of it, unless some white passenger recognized him as being a Negro and objected; but one would expect a white person to resent being assigned to the "Jim Crow" compartment.

In Atlanta, in 1904, a certain Mr. Wolfe and his sister boarded a street car and took seats in the part of the car reserved for white passengers. The conductor asked them to move back, and when they asked the reason, he answered that the rear of the car was for colored passengers. The lady asked if he thought they were colored, to which he replied: "Haven't I seen you in colored company?" Mr. Wolfe demanded an apology, and later brought suit against the company. The court held that the street car company was liable, and that the good faith of the conductor in honestly thinking that they were Negroes would serve only in mitigation of damages. Two judges were of opinion that the company would not be liable if the conductor used "extreme care and caution" to ascertain the race of the passengers. The court held