The Covington Journal of May 17, 1862 published this opinion piece. I chopped this into two paragraphs to make it easier to read and added the bold emphasis at the end.
The "Contrabands
The name of "contrabands" has been given to slaves who have escaped to the Federal camp, and the management of them has given a great deal of trouble to the military authorities. This evil cannot be avoided. But, the difficulties inevitable from this natural state of things, in a time of civil war between the slave and free States, has been aggravated by measures adopted by the anti-slavery people, to treat the enfranchised negores as objects of particular regard, above those of the gallant soldiers who were the means of liberating them.
A lot of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses has been sent out to educate them, thus interfering with the business of the war. The negroes while they shrink from work for daily pay, laugh at the philanthropist, for there is enough of human nature in "Cuffee" to enable him to discover humbug. One of the young ladies, upon landing at Port Royal, ran up to a colored girl, and calling her sister, kissed her. The surprised girl, stepping back, exclaimed: "White gal! white gal! whar did you get your whiskey?" We are surprised that the Government should tolerate such ridiculous nonsense, as educating the negroes while the war is in progress.
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