The Jim Crow Bill Defeated
March 15, 1902
Summary
The “Jim Crow” streetcar bill was denied by the Committee on Roads of the Virginia legislature due to the inconvenience it presented for the streetcar workers.
Transcription
The “Jim Crow” Street-car Bill was defeated in the Committee on Roads of the Virginia legislature last Monday night.
Mr. Caton of Alexandria, the Negro-hating patron of the measure has been tireless in his efforts to inflict upon the Virginia public this pernicious and mischievous measure.
It is difficult to understand why men like Caton will forever tantalize and oppress a down-trodden, but humble people. They have taken away from us the franchise, and yet they insist upon passing measures which are a disgrace to a civilized and Christian country.
It is gratifying to know that men like Caton cannot live always and that death will overtake them through natural processes. We are content to wait. We know that conditions will change, that God reigns, that right principles will survive and that dishonest practices will in time bring upon the Negro-haters its own punishment.
It should not be forgotten that the defeat of this “Jim Crow” Car Bill was not due to either the colored people or the principles involved, but to the street railway companies, who could ill afford the expense and inconvenience which its operation would impose.
When a poor man, who is unable to pay carriage fare and who balks at a 5 cent fare wants private accommodations at the expense of the company operating the line, citizens are justified in enjoying a “horse laugh.”
Goodbye, Brother Caton! Farewell, the “Jim Crow” Street-car Bill!
Mr. Caton of Alexandria, the Negro-hating patron of the measure has been tireless in his efforts to inflict upon the Virginia public this pernicious and mischievous measure.
It is difficult to understand why men like Caton will forever tantalize and oppress a down-trodden, but humble people. They have taken away from us the franchise, and yet they insist upon passing measures which are a disgrace to a civilized and Christian country.
It is gratifying to know that men like Caton cannot live always and that death will overtake them through natural processes. We are content to wait. We know that conditions will change, that God reigns, that right principles will survive and that dishonest practices will in time bring upon the Negro-haters its own punishment.
It should not be forgotten that the defeat of this “Jim Crow” Car Bill was not due to either the colored people or the principles involved, but to the street railway companies, who could ill afford the expense and inconvenience which its operation would impose.
When a poor man, who is unable to pay carriage fare and who balks at a 5 cent fare wants private accommodations at the expense of the company operating the line, citizens are justified in enjoying a “horse laugh.”
Goodbye, Brother Caton! Farewell, the “Jim Crow” Street-car Bill!
About this article
Source
Location on Page
Lower Left Quadrant
Topic
Contributed By
Brooke Royer
Citation
“The Jim Crow Bill Defeated,” Black Virginia: The Richmond Planet, 1894-1909, accessed May 12, 2025, https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/266.