THE PASSING THRONG.
Mrs. Susie Revels Cayton is now basking
in the warm sunshine of Los Angeles, Cal
ifornia. She has been more or less debil
iated for the past two months, the aftermath
of the flu, and she sought a warmer cli
mate with the hope of regaining her health.
Grace Presbyterian Church held what is
known as a "church meeting" last week
for the pui-pose of calling a pastor. One
year ago the Rev. A. B. Barbour came to
the congregation on a year's probation.
which year having expired, the members of
the church were called upon to either con
tinue his services or call a successor. There
were twenty-nine persons present at the
meeting, and the vote stood twenty-eight for
the Rev. Harbour and one against. The mi
nority being too small for the moderator
to take any cognizance of, the Rev. Bar
hour was declared the pastor-elect. His
salary was fixed at .SI2OO per year, to- be
increased as the membership of the church
gained in numbers. The Rev. Barbour
seems of a well balanced mind and will
doubtless develop into a very strong pastor.
Henry Gregg, Seattle's prepossing pound
master, has not only tendered his resigna
tion, but has actually absoved himself from
the job, and therey hangs a tale. Henry was
appointed to the position of official dog
catcher of Seattle many years ago and until
he was made pond master his was a life of
perfect peace and the dog fanciers all over
the State consulted him about their dogs.
Walter Washington was named as city
herder about the same time as was Henry
dog catcher, and so long as the two held
separate positions they were the best of
friends. Washington, like Gregg, had two
or more men under him, but unlike Gregg
and his men he had much trouble in keep
ing peace in his official family. Once on a
time trouble broke out between one of his
men and himself at a ball game and both of
them went for their guns and for a second
and a half it looked very much like one or
the other would be corraled for life. So
troublesome did the city herders continuous
broils become that sooner or later it was de
cided to abolish the job and merge it into
Gregg's job, which was subsequently done.
This was no sooner done than Big Henry's
troubles began, lie seemed quite equal to
the situation for many months, but it finally
got his goat, as said above, and he threw up
the sponge—Washington quit many months
prior. But be it said to the credit of both
Gregg and Washington they are both fine
fellows and both are heavy taxpayers of this
city. Gregg held the job twenty-one years.
Sergeant Vrooman, a retired army officer.
is a candidate for the place vacated by
Gregg, and, unless there are radical changes
made in the way the affiars of the job are
conducted, it is thought that lie has more
than a mere fighting chance to be named
city pound master of Seattle. However,
an effort is being 1 made to have the office
turned over to the humane society, in which
case all of the colored men now employed
in that department would be let out and
Vrooman would stand no show of appoint
ment.
Harry Legg, of the Alhambra Cash Gro
cery, is busying himself these warm April
days in assembling a baseball aggregation,
which he declares will wipe up the various
amateur teams of Seattle and vicinity with
the same ease as does a cow a handful of
salt. Harry may yet have a bunch of buc
aneers that will back even Rube Foster
off the map, if he (Foster) ever dares to
cross bats with him, Legg. The most of
the members of the team Avill be stars from
one or the other of the high schools of Se
attle and be it said to their credit, are very
clever baseball performers.
President Cooper, of the King County
Colored Republican Club, has been ;ill smiles
since last Sunday and all because the club
room was full and overflowing at the last
meeting and the club seems to take on so
much activity. Old Man Pessimist now oc
cupies a back seat and the young and vi<r
orous men are determined to do things. The
captains of the various districts have been
named, thus laying the foundation for ac
tive campaign work at the proper time. The
candidacy of Sergeant Vrooman for city
pound master was endorsed and put in the
hands of the executive committee. In the
future each member will be notified by card
of the coming meeting. Other important
routine business was attended to.
A. C. Garrott, son-in-law of John Frank
lin Cragwell, who has recently returned
from oversea duties in France, has been dis
charged from the army and has taken up his
residence in Seattle.
William H. Banks, manager of the Alham
bra Cash Grocery, is all het up over the fu
ture of the Seattle Negro Business Men's
League and the Colored Republican Club
and says they are on the high road to suc
cess.
Cayton's Weekly knows it has an editor,
and it also knows that its editor is by no
means infallible and it therefore takes ad
vantage of this opportunity to invite criti
cism or suggestions from any reader of its
columns, which criticisms if reduced to
writing will be given space in its columns.
We are just as liable to take the wrong
view of things as you and vice versa; there
fore, let's help each other. We repeat, in
case you differ from the editorial views and
wish to be heard, let us hear from you.
Thomas Freeman, who has been Henry
Gregg's Ist lieutenant for a number of
years, is a candidate to succeed his former
chief and his friends think that he should
have the place for two reasons: First, he is
thoroughly conversant with the workings of
the pound and is at present chief in charge
and unlike a new man would not have to go
through a learning stunt. Secondly, be
cause the seniority rule should apply to
this city position the same as to all others
and he is the senior member of the force.
J. B. Barbour has opened a soft drink
parlor at Seventh and Lane, having pur
chased the stand, which for the past year
lias been operated by Mrs. Mabel Stanway.
H. Thompson will address the mass meet
ing, which is to be held at Greyerbehl's
Hall Monday evening, April 28th under the
auspices of the National Association. Mr.
Thompson is deeply interested in the wel
fare of labor unions and his talk on this
occasion will be to endeavor to convince
the colored citizens its to their best in
terest to identify themselves with the vari
ous branches of organized labor.
ANECDOTES OF NEGRO SOLDIERS.
To tell a story at the expense of a col
ored man is the most fascinating diversion
of the money-mad white man of the United
States and he will stop his whole machinery
of "getting the money" to listen to a
"darky story" and will laugh heartily, even
thongh he does not quite see the joke. To
him it's alright just so it is labeled "darky,
coon or Sambo." A New York periodical
has recently published a number of amus
ing incidents in connection with the col
ored boys "over there" in army life, the
majority of which seem to read as though
there is a grain of genuineness in them. It
matters not how well a colored man may be
educated to tell a story about him or at his
expense without using the jargon of the
plantation slave of our Southern States
" 'fo' de wah," would be like serving lem
onade without lemons. The average colored
man from Harlem, X. V., is better by far
educated than the average white man from
the same community, owing, however, large
ly to the fact the average white man is
either foreign born or the son of foreign
parents, hence he is sadly lacking in the
lingo of the English language. When, there
fore, a writer quotes a colored man from
Harlem in plantation jargon he draws upon
his imagination and writes to please his
white readers, who would not appreciate
the story if written in good English as
well as if the colored subject had used
the well known jargon of the cotton field.
The writer hereof read with a great deal
of amusement and occasionally outbursts of
laughter the stories told below and they
seemed to us so good that we concluded to
let you enjoy the same and so here goes:
"Would you like to be in the airplane
service?" an officer asked one of the Ne
groes whife he was watching a French ma
chine sailing overhead.
"No, suh, not fo' mine," was the re
joinder.
"Why?" the officer persisted.
"Well, you see, ef I was up in dat dah
machine an' de officer got kilt I'd have to
git out an' crank up de engine, wouldn't
I? I wouldn't have nothin' to stan' on."
In one of the first trenches were 5,000
Negro troops, supported at some distance
in the rear by a force of whites 10,000
strong. A newly arrived Negro trooper,
who was visibly nervous, was being
"kidded" mercilessly by his companions.
"Whut'd you do. Hennery," one of the
tormenters asked, "ef ten billion o' dem
bush Germans wuz to pop up outen de
groun' right 'bout as close to you as.
nineteen is to twenty?"
"I ain't a-tellin' whut I'd do," Henry
answered, "but I know whut de res' o'
you niggahs would do, an' I know whut
de papers back home would be sayin' de
nex' mawnin'. Dey'd have big head-lines:
'Ten thousand white folks trampled to
death.' "
One force of Negroes was quartered next
to a division of Moroccans, who had a per
petual feud with a regiment of Singhalese
near by. The Moroccans are mulatto in
color, while the Singhalese are as black as
most of the members of Colonel Hayward's
old regiment. This fact was really at the
bottom of the feud. On one occasion Col
onel Hayward wanted to send a messenger
to the Moroccan commander and chose three
of his own men to deliver it.
As the messengers approached the Morac
ean camp the latter mistook them for the
despised Singhalese. They rushed from
their dugouts brandishing guns, knives, and
pistols, and with wild shouts warned the
strangers not to come nearer. The New
Yorkers beat a hasty retreat, and when Col
onel Hayward demanded of one what the
trouble was he replied:
"Colonel, you bettah sen' some o' dem
light-cullud Ilahlem lounge lizahds fo' dis
job. We's done!"
The Morocco division occupied the same
position for months, and during that time
managed to collect a large number of
German marks, each coin being worth about
sixteen cents. The New York troops spent
their energies in collecting French francs.
Whenever they were able to do so they ex
changed their francs for the German coin.
Colonel Hayward asked one of his men why
he did this.
"Why, we's gwine to spen' it in Germany
of cose," the dough-boy replied. "Ain't
dat whah we's a-gwine?"
A group of colored Ilarlemites was stand
ing in the mess-line when several German
pianos suddenly appeared overhead. In half
.'i minute the line had melted to one man,
the Top Sergeant.
"Is you jes' plumb crazy or don't you
know nothin'?" the Sergeant remonstrated
when the men returned.
"Well, boss," replied the courageous Sam,
''heaven is a long ways from France, an' I
ain't no hand to go travelin' on a empty
stummick."
A lieutenant inquired of a homesick
youth why he w Tas so anxious to get back
home. "Aren't you being used all right?
Did you ever see such pretty girls in your
life?"
"I'se bein' used all right and de French
ladies is sho easy to look at," was the
reply, "but my heart's jes natchally yeahn
in' fo' de little O. D. gal I lef in Ala
bam'."
(O. D. is army for olive drab.)
George Washington Johnson was rather
an obsterperous patient in an English hos
pital.