--co ued
I
I a little curiou to
e tent the color d people too
th b tion I que ------------ ....
on I ed a ood
many of them ho th y
tood on th que tion of
reducin the t riff on
Cuban ug T. In pite
of the. f ct that iich­
i an i producing much
be t u r, I found that
mo t of th color d p 0-
ple in thi town hip \ ere
in f vor of helpin
Cub ,and they wer not
low to gi ve thei r rea­
sons. L ter I found out
from the rural free de­
livery mail-carrier that
forty d ily p pers ere
taken in the to nship.
Some year a 0 cer­
tain Congressman ho represented that
district in Congress got into the habit of
coming to Calvin whenever an election
was pending, to speak to his colored con-
tituents, but instead of discussing the
broad' National questions of the day he
� rould " jolly" the colored people. They
stood it for a while, and then they let him
know, in no uncertain way, that if he
wanted to peak to them he must discuss
public que tions in the same manner that
he . d in other portion of his district.
at of 10\' rnment for the town-
.hip is t .�o . hall, which is located
near the cen r of the
town hip. It is here
that the town officials
have their offices. The
principal busines of
the town is tran cted
tbro h the to n meet-
1 , t .
manner in N e Eng-
land. '
I was informed by
several reliable white
men of the county that
there had never been
any trouble worth men­
tioning growing out of
political differences.
When the war between
the States broke out, as
soon as colored soldiers
'ere permitted to enlist,
pr�ctical1y every negro
man in the township
whow eligible enli ted
ent to the front.
A re ult, there i
Grand Army Po t in
Calvin named Matthe
Arti Po t, in ho "' .. of
one of the old ttler
and soldier . TheGrand
rmy Post meet in a
hall on th . second floor
of the town hou e. The
pre ent commander of
the Post i Bishop Cur­
ti , who wa a memb r
of the Fi ftv-fourth M as-
achus tt Regiment. It
is' said that he was
wounded by the same
snell that killed Robert
, Gould 5haw.1 The po t
has been establi hed twelve years, and is
in a flourishing condition.
There are three churche in the to n­
ship, t 0 of which I saw-one an African
Methodist and the other a Baptist, One
of these was established in J 853 and the
other in 1854. Both of these congrega­
tions have neat and attractive buildings.
Although I had caused word to be sent
ahead of me that I did not want to make
any addres to the people, but simply
wanted to be permitted to visit them on
their farms and in their home, and
thus see them when they ere. not on
dress parade, I found
that when our party
reached the Methodist
church rather late in the
evening we were wel­
comed by a brass b nd
compo d of youllC men
li"iftl in th_ eommu ity,
and it eemed to me
that the whole township
had assembled. N oth­
ing but a short address
would satisfy them. The
most general complaint
that I heard at this
meeting, and from sev­
ernl individual farmers
with whom ( talked,
was to the effect that
the young men were lOti
J To wlwS(: memory the vtry beau­
tiful and famous monument by the
American sculptor St. Gaudenl has
been erected on Boston Common.
To
Cluk of Calvin.
MATTHEW ARTIS
Treasurer of CalviD TOW1llhip.
•
TH HOUSE IN WHICH MATTHRW ARTIS I.IVEI> FORTY YEARS AGO
.,
MATTHt:W ARTI , JR, WHO HAS KEPT WHAT HIS FATHER LEFT HOI
AND HA ADDED TO IT
BY BOO
HI G 0
more than one hundred person, and
mi ht, perhaps, be c ned a part of
thi There are colored id n in
r I of th to n hi in C County.
Tb tre urer of Calvin one 0 th
r t to report th payment of everY tax
in the to n. Th better elem nt, th
property-o nin el , re quic to i t
in th conviction of crimin Is U
r, Charle O. Harmon, c er of the
county, a born in Porter to n hip, nd
gre up amon the e people. He tau ht
hi fir t t rm of school in the Mount Zion
school-hou e. r. H rmon id:
"There i pr
rial eMlCllt10n
the two races in Calvin.
prosperous than twenty years ago, par­
ticularly in having better farms and better
houses. The moral condition is equal or
nearly equal to that of the whites. There
is a low and illiterate cla , but not
large considering the opportunities of the
people. They take advantage of their
opportunitie as much as the hites.
Thc=y are quick to take advantage of
improvements, uch as the telephone and
improved machinery. . There has been
great improvement morally in the last
twenty year •
" Some of the best people of the county
live in Calvin and mingle ith these people
in a business way with no distinction. I
do not think that the fact of the colored
settlers being there is considered any detri­
ment to the community, although white
people from communities which have no
colored settlers might be averse to buying
land there. Certainly land does not sell
for any less there, The land in Calvin is
among the best in the county. The mer­
chants of Cassopolis find these people
extra good customers. That may be one
criticism to make-that they bu 00 freely
for their own good. As a general thing,
though, they are good pay, and take a
pride in meeting their obligation .
. ," They have, probably, helped �e
county' as much as could be expected of
any people with, their opportunities. I
should say that they have helped In- thi
way only during the last ten years. The
tendency in this respect is good. The
present colored Supervisor is the first
colored man to hold this office. He is an
able man in official work. He is a member
of the county Committee of Equalization,
and of the Committee of Public Grounds
and Buildings. He was a delegate from
the last County Board to the State Board
of Equalization of Taxe , at Lansing."
, Mr. Co C. Nelson is an undertaker in
Cassopolis, wbo does mo t of the work
in his line in Calvin. He has lived in
Cass County for sixty years, and has been
po tmaster, beriff, and overseer of the
poor. He aid in substance:
"There i no to n hip in C County
th t ha m de 0 much improvement in
th I t twenty or twenty-five yea as
Calvin ha. The people w r once hap­
hazard and lawle . At one time Calvin
fumi hed two-thirds the court busin of
the county. That is p st now. They
have improved more, proportionately,
than' the hites. A rule, the . hite
feel friendly toward them; better than
formerly. People who know them m ke
no objection to them. People who live
in Calvin ould not ell their land there
ny cheaper becau of the colored popu­
lation. Probably more 'of the young
people go way. They put civic pride
before r ce pride."
The Hon. L. H. Glover is a prominent
Democratic 1a yer of Cassopolis, and has
been a J u tice of the Peace there since
1862. He aid:" The first generation
of settlers ere fine men-none better.
The econd generation as bad. The
third ho s a very marked improvement.
But through it 11 the best men h2Ve
supported the law unfailingly. There is
a steady improvement morally, and this
compares favorably ith that of the
whites. There is no social mingling, but
other ise the relations of the races are
entirely friendly. I do not know of more'
than a dozen marriages of whites and
blacks in the entire county. 50 far as
prejudice towards the colored residents
of the county is concerned, th! farther
a ay people live, the greater the prejudice.
As they approach, it gro s less. The
people have contributed as much to the
prosperity of the county as ought to be
expected of them."
Mr. Allison, the roprietor and editor
r 1ft C ,
practically confirmed an of Mr. Glo ,'.
opinions. Mr. Allison, like Mr. Glover,
bas lived in the county for many years,
and kno s the colored residents rell,
A I mingled with the white people and
tried to draw them out freely, I got the
idea pretty strongly that while they saw
the eak points as well as the strong ones
in this interesting little -African colony,
yet, on the whole, the whites ere very
proud of Calvin township and watched
its development with deep interest and
not a little satisfaction. In the story
of this development there is nothing'
startling or remarkable. It is simply
the story of the growth of a people when
given the American chance to I"ow
naturally and gradually. With the negro,
whether considered as individuals or in
group , I find that the t>earing of respon­
sibility is one of the chief e entials of
growth.
n:AM ,THRESHER. OWNED A. D OP RATED BY HENRY L •. AtOI(E
THR.ESHING A COLORaD· PAIUIE.' GRAIN
it" P oto rap" 'f C. . C adler
much inclined to le ve the to nship nd
go to the Ire citie .
In my in pection of their church ho
there r t 0 thin th t specially pie d
me. One s the fin nd neat appearin
p r on e hich tood near the Chain
L ke Bapti t Church; the other as the
appear nce of he gr veyard near the
me building. The church hou ,the
p rsonage, and he graveyard gave one
pictur which made, him feel th t he
wa in a Ma achu etts village. The
graveyard va aid out in family plot,
and most of the graves h d marble slab
or h dstone. There
the rlal-plac ee t
I thought that it ould prove of inter­
est and value to get the opinions of some
of the prominent white people of Cas
County as to what they thought of the
members of my race in Calvin. With
this end in view several of the leading
men in Cassopolis, the county seat-a
beautiful, sub tantial town of several
thousand inhabitants-were consulted,
and the following questions were at some
point in the conver ation asked of each
one of five men interviewed:
How does the material condition of the
colored people of Calvin compare with
that of twenty years ago?
How does it compare with that of their
white neighbor�?,
Ho do the moral conditions com­
pare?
What is the nature of the relations
between the two races? '., \
Do many of the colored people move
away, and if so, why, and where?
Have they contributed as much toward�
the prosperity of. the county as the other
residents �
Do you know of any other colored
community so prosperous?
In criminal offenses in the to mship
do the colored people assist the officers
willingly? In other words, does civic
'pride outbalance race-sympathy]
Judge L. B. Des Voignes, who ha been
Judge of Probate of Cass County for six
and a half year , and previous to that
was Prosecuting Attorney, said:
"The material condition of the people
has greatly improved in the last twenty
year. They have jnore wealth, better
farms and homes-they live better. Their
conditions have kept parallel with the
whites. Considering their opportunities,
they have advanced. Their moral con­
dition has improved very much. There
has been a great.-decrease in criminal
conditions dur,ing the last twenty ),ear •
Calvin does not give us-the courts-a
much trouble now as some of our white
communitie. There is increased mem­
ber hip in churches, and increased attend­
ance at schools. There 15 more desire
for education. There are six schools in
Calvin in which white and black go to­
gether. The relations of the two races
are mutually pleasant.
H I do not recall any instance where white
residents of the township have objected
to colored people buying land there. I
do not think there is apI .. depreciation
in the price of land. To a stranger bUyer
ing land the colored residents might be
an objection; but I do not think it would
be to tho e ho know the colored people
of Calvin. A slightly larger proportion
of the young people go a a"l to the cities
of South Bend, Elkhart, Dowagiac, Nile ,
etc. They go because they can earn
more money.
"The colored residents have helped to
contribute to the prosperity of the county,
considering the opportunities they have
had and the length of time they have had
to earn money. There is a prosperous
colored community in Volunia hich is
frupl, .etc. Thi is mall, though, not
