Pink Franklin, a colored man, was charged with breaking his labor
contract. The labor contract law of South Carolina says that a farm
laborer who leaves his job before the end of the year owing his
employer, is guilty of a criminal offense and may be severely punished.
In the dead of night the constable broke into Pink Franklin’s house,
shot at him and wounded him. Franklin could not see who was shooting
and had no means of knowing that it was an officer of the law. He leapt
from bed and returned the fire, killing the constable.
He was arrested for murder, threatened with lynching and condemned to
be hanged. Two colored lawyers defended him and appealed finally to the
Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court gave no relief
and Pink Franklin still lies under sentence of death. Effort is now
being made to induce the Governor of South Carolina to reprieve him.
* * * * *
She was a well-educated, attractive colored teacher.
“Some people,” she said, “think Charleston to be the prettiest city in
the Southland. The houses are big and cool with lovely gardens. And
then there is a park. You ought to see it! I don’t believe any park
could be prettier.
“I have only seen it once,” she went on. “I did want to visit that
park before I left Charleston, so I asked one of the white Northern
ladies--we were teaching in the same school--if she would take me
there. She was the right kind, and we walked all through it. Of course
every one thought I was her maid. It certainly was a pretty place.”
“But why should the colored people of Charleston,” I asked, “be
deprived of a public place of recreation? Don’t they contribute to the
city by their work and rent and taxes?”
“They certainly do,” she replied, “but that makes no difference. The
park I visited is a white folks’ park. It is very beautiful and so they
keep it to themselves. Do you know,” she added, thoughtfully, “I don’t
believe they would be happy there among the trees and flowers if they
thought people who were poor and black could get in.”
* * * * *
A Chicago schoolboy, claiming that a twenty-five-cent piece had been
stolen from him, accused the only colored boy in the class, who was
suspended. The quarter was subsequently found where the owner had
carelessly placed it and forgotten it, but the teacher made no mention
of this. The colored boy’s mother came to inquire into the matter after
several days and protested against the accusation. “You shouldn’t
mind so much,” said the teacher. “You know it is a common saying that
colored people are dishonest.”