Description
No Jim Crow Cars for Missouri - Defeat of Proposed Law Recalls the Usages of Old Slave Days - - At the present session of the state legislature an attempt was made to pass a "Jim Crow" car bill which provided for separate coaches for whites and negroes. The measure was defeated.
The bill met with opposition from both white and black men, but there was a time within the recollection of many old darkies of St. Joseph when they dared not ride upon a train of any kind without having a permit from their masters, which they had to show to the railroad men.
These permits were in the form of a letter addressed to the railroad and stating that the bearer had a right to go to a certain place along the route. Without these papers the negroes would not be allowed to travel as the trainmen would not know but that they were trying to run away.
A St. Joseph man who was connected with the old Platte County railroad, which ran from St. Joseph to Iatan, has a pass of this kind which he preserves as a curiosity. It is dated long after the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring the Negroes to be free, and was issued and their owner evidently realized that the war was nearly over, as the letter indicates that the Negroes were free. It follows:
St. Joseph. September 1, 1863
To the Platte County Railroad:
This Negro man Jacob and his wife Susan have permission to travel upon your road and cross the ferry into Atchison, Kansas, to make their home there if they wish, and whenever they wish to come back and visit us they have permission to do so whenever they wish. They have been very good servants and will make good citizens. J. S. Kelly
P.S. They also have permission to take their goods with them.Date(s) of Creation
3/11/1901
