Page:The American Magazine volume LXIV.djvu/150

136 come in from the mountains and the small farms to work in the mills: they, too, suffer fully as much as the Negroes.

Not a few of the cases both black and white showed evidences of cocaine or mor- phine poisoning — the blear eyes, the un- steady nerves.

"Whatfe the trouble here?" asked the judge.

" Coke," said the officer.

" Ten-seventy-five," said the judge, nam- ing the amount of the fine.

They buy the "coke" in the form of a powder and snuff it up the nose; a certain patent catarrh medicine which is nearly all cocaine is sometimes used; ten cents will purchase enough to make a man wholly irresponsible for his acts, and capable of any crime. The cocaine habit, which seems to be spreading, for there are always druggists who will break the law, has been a curse to the Negro and has resulted, directly, as the police, told me, in much crime. I was told of two • cases in particular, of offenses against women, in which the Negro was a victim of the drug habit.

So society, in pursuit of wealth, South and North, preys upon the ignorant and weak — and then wonders why crime is prevalent! One has only to visit police courts in the South to see in how many curious ways the contact of the races generates fire. " What's the trouble here ? " inquires the judge. The white complainant — ^a boy — says: "This nigger insulted me!" and he tells the epithet the Negro applied. " Did you caU him that ? " "No sah, I never called him no such name." "Three-seventy-five — you mustn't insult white people." And here is the report of the case of a six-year-old Negro boy from The Georgian : Negro boy, insulted Maggie McDermott, a little girl, who lives at 507 Simpson Street, Wednesday afternoon, he was given a whipping in the police station Thursday morning that will make him re- member to be good. fore Judge Broyles. It was shown that the little negro had made an insulting remark to the little girl." So it goes back and forth. Story of a Negro Arrest The very suspicion and fear that exist give rise to many difficulties. One illumin- ating case came up that morning. A strap- ping Negro man was brought before the judge. He showed no marks of dissipation and was respectably dressed. Confronting him were two plain-clothes policemen, one with his neck wrapped up, one with a bandage around his arm. Both said they had been stabbed by the Negro with a jack- knife. The Negro said he was a hotel porter and he had the white manager of the hotel in court to testify to his good character, sobriety and industry. It seems that he was going home from work at nine o'clock in the evening, and it was dark. He said he was afraid and had been afraid since the riot. At the same time the two policemen were looking for a burglar. They saw the Negro porter and ordered him to stop. Not being in uniform the Negro said he thought the officers were "jes' plain white men" who were going to attack him. When he started to run the officers tried to arrest him, and he drew his jack-knife and began to fight. And here he was in court! The judge said: "You mustn't attack officers " and bound him over to trial in the higher court. A IVhite Man and a Negro Woman Another case shows one of the strange relationships which grow out of Southern conditions. An old white man, much agi- tated and very pale, was brought before the judge. With him came a much younger, comely-appearing woman. Both were well dressed and looked respectable — so much so, indeed, that there was a stir of interest and curiosity among the spectators. Why had they been arrested? As they stood in front of the judge's desk, the old man hung his head, but the woman looked up with such an expression, tearless and tragic, as I hope I shaU not have to see again. " What's the charge ? " asked the judge. "Adultery," said the officer. The woman winced, the old man did not look up. The judge glanced from one to the other in surprise. " Wiiy don't you get married ? " he asked. "The woman," said the officer, "is a nigger." She was as white as I am, probably an
 * Because Robert Lee Buster, a six-year-old
 * The case was heard in the juvenile court be-