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Title: Progress and Achievements of the Colored People - Containing the Story of the Wonderful Advancement of the Colored Americans—the Most Marvelous in the History of Nations—their Past Accomplishments, Together With Their Present-day Opportunities and A Glimpse Into the Future For Further Developments—the Dawn of a Triumphant Era. a Handbook for Self-improvement Which Leads to Greater Success
Author: Gay, Joseph R., Miller, Kelly
Language: English
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THE COLORED PEOPLE ***
[Illustration:
KELLY MILLER, A. M., LL. D.
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University,
Washington D. C.
]
PROGRESS AND
ACHIEVEMENTS
OF
THE COLORED PEOPLE
CONTAINING THE STORY OF THE WONDERFUL ADVANCEMENT OF THE
COLORED AMERICANS—THE MOST MARVELOUS IN THE HISTORY OF
NATIONS—THEIR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS, TOGETHER WITH THEIR
PRESENT-DAY OPPORTUNITIES AND A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE
FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS—THE DAWN OF A TRIUMPHANT ERA.
:: :: :: :: ::
A HANDBOOK FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT WHICH LEADS TO GREATER
SUCCESS
KELLY MILLER
AND
JOSEPH R. GAY
ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER 100 PHOTOGRAPHIC PICTURES, ACTUAL SCENES IN REAL
LIFE AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
AUSTIN JENKINS CO.
Manufacturing Publishers of Subscription Books
Agents Wanted Washington, D. C.
COPYRIGHT MCMXIII
BY JOSEPH R. GAY
COPYRIGHT 1917
BY AUSTIN N. JENKINS
The Story of a Rising Race Told in Pictures
[Illustration]
_PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE_
│INDUSTRY
Special Collection A │COMMERCE
│FINANCE
│INSURANCE
[Illustration:
CAPABLE OFFICE STAFF
Bookkeeping Department, National Benefit Association, Washington, D.
C.
]
[Illustration:
ENTERPRISING BUSINESS MEN
The Executive Committee of the “National Negro Business League.” The
purpose of this league is to bring the business men together for
mutual cooperation and trade advancement.
]
[Illustration:
MONOTYPE OPERATORS
Modern typesetting machines. A. M. Sunday School Publishing House.
Nashville, Tenn.
]
[Illustration:
MEN OF FINANCE—BANKERS
Members of The National Bankers’ Association. The men who control
trust funds and provide means for business and agricultural
expansion.
]
[Illustration:
PRIVATE LIBRARY OF A PROSPEROUS HOME
Refinement and culture is here shown in the home of Chas. Banks, Mound
Bayou, Miss.
]
[Illustration:
SUCCESSFUL IN LAW PRACTICE
A prominent lawyer presenting his case to Judge R. H. Terrell, who is
a colored Judge of a Municipal Court in Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
STENOGRAPHY IN A WELL EQUIPPED OFFICE
The type-written letter in business correspondence is almost a
necessity, hence the great demand for intelligent and experienced
stenographers.
]
[Illustration:
BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT
Vandehorst’s Shoe Store, Jacksonville, Fla. Evidence of the
opportunity for success in the shoe business.
]
[Illustration:
THE REWARD OF THRIFT AND ENERGY
The palatial residence of J. F. Herndon, a prosperous Colored citizen
of Atlanta, Ga.
]
[Illustration:
AN ELEGANT AND WELL-APPOINTED LIBRARY
An interior view in the home of a noted physician, Doctor George
Cabaniss, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
LUXURY AND COMFORT
An elegantly appointed Barber Shop owned and patronized exclusively by
Colored citizens. Birmingham, Alabama.
]
[Illustration:
AN UP-TO-DATE STORE
An example of Mercantile Success, showing possibility and prosperity.
Owned and operated by A. H. Underdown, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY
One of the largest Fish Markets in the South. Jacksonville, Fla.
]
[Illustration:
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE OVERGROUND RAILROAD
Here are lined up in their uniforms some of the brightest Parlor Car
porters of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
]
[Illustration:
THE COLORED MAN AS A PIONEER
The first house in Chicago was erected by a Negro.
]
FOREWORD.
“The progressive era” aims to set forth the marvelous achievements of
the Negro race in the United States since its emancipation fifty years
ago. Its plan is to cover the period of achievements by a series of
chapters devoted to the several lines of endeavor. I want especially to
commend the chapter on the Education of the Negro. Education furnishes
the standard in terms of which the past progress of the race may be
measured and its future progress gauged. Of the many elements which must
enter into the final solution of the race problem none will be so
important as that of education, whose purpose is to fit the Negro for a
useful and honorable place in the complex schemes of American life.
This chapter brings together for easy reference information concerning
the working of Negro institutions in better form and in fuller detail
than has before been attempted in a private publication. Figures are
taken from the reports of the Bureau of Education, and their accuracy is
vouched for by the authority of the government. Each institution listed
was visited by a special agent of the Bureau of Education and its work
thoroughly examined and analyzed by educational experts. Over three
hundred institutions are described, with the account of the equipment,
facilities and course of instruction. There are over sixty photographs
containing the fullest pictorial illustrations of Negro schools that has
ever been made available in book form. This chapter involves, at once,
the feature of a treatise and an encyclopedia, while gaining the general
view of the education of the Negro as well. The reader may at the same
time gain definite information about any particular school in any part
of the country.
No one who wishes to keep abreast of the trend of educational movement
of the Negro race, as well as to have at his elbow a compendium of Negro
institutions, can afford to be without this work.
KELLY MILLER.
Howard University, Washington, D. C.
March 12, 1917.
CONTENTS.
PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COLORED PEOPLE
Page
The Coming Men of the Race 17
The Turning Point 29
Earning Respect for His Race 31
Increase of Opportunities 37
In the Employ of the U. S. Government 44
The Colored American in the Service of God 49
Leaders of America Whose Ears Are Close to the Ground 53
The Colored American’s Nationality 59
The Four Divisions of Mankind 64
The World’s Congress of Races 67
Progress of the Different Races of Mankind 74
Ethiopia, the Great Black Empire 83
The Genius of Colored Americans 91
Development of the Race in the U. S. 98
The Overground Railroad 108
Physical Training 115
The Four “Learned Professions” 123
The Road to Success 126
Optimism, Pessimism and Indifference 129
Pleasures of the Flesh 132
The Survival of the Fittest 136
The Victory of the Man Who Dares 140
The Wise Man’s Philosophy 149
The Key to Success 152
Opportunity for Business Life 166
Superstition and Luck 180
Progress in Education 215
Introduction by the Editor 215
History of Negro Education 217
Education as a Soldier 224
Public Provision for Negro Education 230
Schools Maintained by Private Agencies 241
Independent Schools 247
Schools Maintained by Independent Boards of Trustees 253
Colored Schools Maintained by White Church Boards 254
Colored Church Boards Maintaining Schools 300
Agencies Interested in Negro Education 313
Hospitals and Nurse Training Schools 325
The Three Important Types of Education 326
The Training of Children 335
Developing Boys and Girls 340
Developing Moral Character 344
Reverence and Respect 354
Duties of Children to Their Parents 359
The Future of the Child, the Future of the Race 364
The Way to Perfect Health 366
General Health Conditions 381
Common Sense in the Sick Room 396
Rules for Accidents and Emergencies 407
[Illustration:
NINTH STREET BRANCH Y. M. C. A., CINCINNATI, O.
]
THE COMING MEN OF THE RACE
Our Young Men Will Be Our Future Leaders
Who are to be our leaders this coming generation?
We have had brilliant and faithful leaders in the past, men who labored
under adverse circumstances, but who succeeded in reducing opposition,
and brought the race up to a higher standard. They were the pioneers in
a great national movement. Their names are honored and will be honored
as long as the race exists.
Their preliminary great work done, they passed away leaving its
continuation in the hands of other noble men and women, who are still
among us.
Remember, we are now in the second generation of uplift, and the mantle
of the leaders of the first generation of freedom, passed to those of
the second generation, has been spread over a vastly wider field, and
shows room for still wider extension.
The history of man shows that in all great human movements for
betterment, there have been pioneers who commenced the work, and carried
it to a higher point. Then came a succeeding line of leaders who took up
the work and carried it higher still.
Neither the pioneers of the Colored people of the United States, nor
their successors, the present leaders, could do all or can do all that
is to be done in the way of elevation or betterment, because it has
grown to enormous proportions.
For this reason we must look about us and see who are to be the future
leaders of the Colored Americans.
We now have able leaders, men of great character and ability, men whose
loss would be keenly felt, but they know, and we know, that in the
course of nature all must pass away, and we have it from their earnest
utterances that their great hope is to have successors in the
leadership. Many of them are ready to train others to walk in their
footsteps. There are thousands of men, children in our schools, youth
beginning college life, and young men who have completed their course
and are ready to take up a position as commanders in the battle of life.
Here are a few of our present leaders, between whom no invidious
comparisons can be made, and to whose number may be added a thousand or
more working in more or less conspicuous positions to fit their people
to become leaders. They are shining examples of success and merely
mentioned to show your own opportunities.
Look at and study this list earnestly, it concerns you:
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS
Rev. S. G. Atkins, President of the State Normal and Industrial College
of North Carolina.
Dr. E. F. Boyd, physician and surgeon, Nashville, Tenn.
Hon. H. P. Cheatham, Recorder of Deeds of the District of Columbia.
Dr. D. W. Culp, A. M., M. D., author of “Twentieth Century Negro
Literature.”
W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, editor “The Crisis, A Record of the Darker
Races.”
Bishop G. W. Clinton, A. M. E. Zion Church, Charlotte, N. C.
Prof. J. M. Cox, President Philander Smith College, Little Rock.
E. E. Cooper, Editor “Colored American.”
Prof. A. U. Frierson, Professor of Greek, Biddle University.
Prof. N. W. Harllee, Principal High School, Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Lawrence Aldridge Lewis is a rising physician of Indiana, who made
the highest record in a competitive examination for the city hospital of
Indianapolis against 107 applicants.
Prof. R. S. Lovinggood, President Samuel Houston College, Austin, Texas.
Kelly Miller, Professor Mathematics Howard University.
D. W. Onley, D. D., Dentist, Washington, D. C.
I. L. Purcell, Attorney and Counselor at Law, Pensacola, Fla.
G. T. Robinson, Attorney and Counselor at Law, Nashville, Tenn.
Bishop H. M. Turner, D. D., LL. D., A. M. E. Church, Atlanta, Ga.
Rev. O. M. Waller, Rector Episcopal Church, Washington, D. C.
Prof. H. L. Walker, Principal High School, Augusta, Ga.
Prof. Booker T. Washington, President Tuskegee Institute.
Prof. N. B. Young, President Florida State Normal and Industrial
College.
The foregoing are a few leaders in the professions. There are numerous
others whose names and deeds have already made history and fame.
The present field of leaders in the professions is large, but there are
other fields of leadership in the business world. These men are
successful and point the way to others to follow, and they must lay down
their leadership with the others:
Charles Banks, Cashier Bank of Mound Bayou, Mound Bayou, Miss.
E. C. Berry, hotel man, Athens, Ohio. Said to keep one of the best
hotels in the United States.
Rev. R. H. Boyd, President National Doll Company; also of the National
Baptist Publishing House, Nashville, Tenn.
William Washington Brown, Founder of the True Reformers’ Bank, Richmond,
Va.
Junius G. Groves, “The Potato King.” Edwardsville, Ky.
Deal Jackson, Albany, Georgia, the great cotton king.
John Merrick, founder of the North Carolina Mutual and Provident
Association, the strongest Negro insurance company in the world; North
Carolina.
W. E. Pettiford, founder of the Alabama Penny Savings Bank, Birmingham,
Alabama.
The following condition of the Colored American opportunities will be of
assistance in suggesting fields of leadership:
The number of colored men now engaged in business and professions are as
follows:
Agricultural pursuits 2,143,176
Professional occupations 47,324
Domestic and personal service 1,324,160
Trade and transportation 209,154
Manufacturing and mechanical pursuits 275,149
This is close to 25 percent of the entire colored population of the
United States.
But this enormous field of opportunity, is not the limit. You have
aspirations toward music and the fine arts—singers, painters, sculptors,
actors and poets. Here are a few leaders to be followed by you or your
children, relatives or friends:
MUSIC COMPOSERS AND PIANISTS
Harry T. Burleigh, New York, composer of “Jean,” “Perhaps.”
Robert Cole and J. Rosamond Johnson, New York, musical setting to
Longfellow’s “Hiawatha,” “Idyll for Orchestra,” “Dream Lovers,”
(operetta).
William H. Tyers, composer of “Trocha,” a Cuban dance and other noted
compositions.
Will Marion Cook, New York, “The Casino Girl,” “Bandana Land,” etc.
De Koven Thompson, Chicago, composer of “Dear Lord, Remember Me,” “If I
Forget,” etc.
James Reese Europe, founder of the Clef Club Symphony Orchestra.
Among pianists is Miss Hazel Harrison, of La Porte, Indiana, who is
making her mark as a student of the piano under the celebrated greatest
living pianist, Ferrucco Buconi, of Berlin.
These and other leaders in their art succeeded many illustrious
composers. And you are called upon to prepare to follow the present
leaders.
VOCAL ARTISTS AND PRIMA DONNAS
Remember the Black Swan, that wonderful prima donna whose voice had a
range of three octaves and was frequently compared with Jenny Lind at
the height of her fame.
Madam Marie Selika, of Chicago, achieved enormous success in Europe, a
marvelous singer whose voice “trilled like a feathered songster,” and
whose “Echo Song” has not yet been surpassed.
You have heard the “Black Patti” (Madame Sisseretta Jones) who was a
success in Europe, and has her own company of which she is the head,
“The Black Patti Troubadours.”
There is Mrs. E. Azalia Hackley, of Detroit. This lady has been a
prominent singer for years. She studied in Europe, and is the author of
“Guide to Voice Culture.”
PAINTERS
William Edward Scott, of Chicago, should be noted for his extraordinary
works in America and Europe. Born in Indianapolis in 1884, he graduated
from the high school in 1903. From 1904, when he entered the Chicago Art
Institute, until the present time, he has been prolific in paintings,
three of which were accepted at the Salon des Beaux Arts at Toquet, and
others elsewhere. His work may be seen in three mural paintings which
decorate the Felsenthal School in Chicago.
This field is rich in artists of the colored people:
E. M. Bannister, the first Negro in America to achieve distinction as a
painter. One of his pictures was awarded a medal at the Centennial
Exposition of 1876 (Philadelphia).
Henry O. Tanner, the son of Benjamin T. Tanner, Bishop of the A. M. E.
Church, is one of the most distinguished artists of the present day. He
resides in Paris but is a native born American. During the past three
years his paintings have been on exhibition in the leading art galleries
of the United States.
A rising young artist is to be found in Richard Lonsdale Brown, a native
of Indiana, but who spent many years of his life among the hills of West
Virginia. Not yet twenty years of age, he is on the road to fame and has
received the encomiums of artists as a young artist of rare qualities
with the precious gift of vision which indicates artistic instinct.
SCULPTORS
The two great sculptors of the colored people are women:
Edmonia Lewis, of New York, now a resident of Rome, where she turns out
noted sculptures sought for in the great art galleries of the world.
Meta Vaux Warrick (Mrs. Fuller, wife of Dr. Solomon C. Fuller of South
Framingham, Mass.). She first attracted attention by her exquisite
modeling in clay in the Pennsylvania School of Industrial Art. Rodin,
the great French sculptor, took her under his charge, and her work is
the admiration of the art galleries of the world.
Mrs. Mary Howard Jackson may also be mentioned as a rising sculptress.
ACTORS AND POETS
Ira Frederick Aldridge, of Baltimore, was a pupil of the great artist
Edmund Kean. Aldridge appeared as Othello and other characters, and
received a decoration from the Emperor of Russia.
Phillis Wheatley, the first woman white or black to attain literary
distinction in this country. While a child she began to write verses,
and received the endorsement of the most distinguished men of her time,
including General Washington.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, a noted poet born in Dayton, Ohio. He showed
poetic ability while at school, and soon became known as a writer of
ability.
All the foregoing actors and poets have passed away, but there are many
treading and to tread in their footsteps. Success and fame must come to
them by utilizing their gifts to the best advantage.
We give you merely the edge of the field to be filled by you or some one
you know and hope to see attain it. It is a thickly sown field, and if
you cultivate it, you will be rewarded with an astonishing harvest.
INVENTORS
The evidence is accumulating every day that the Colored citizen, under
favorable environments, has performed his whole duty in the work of
benefiting mankind, whether in arduous labor or advancing the world by
his thought.
The records of the United States Patent office show more than four
hundred inventors and inventions among the Colored people. Many of these
inventions are of the highest value and utility. These inventions are
for devices of every conceivable use, from a rapid fire gun, invented by
Eugene Burkins, a young colored man of Chicago, down to a pencil
sharpener in common use today. In the line of humanity, life saving
guards for locomotives and street cars have been invented. All of this
goes to show the trend of the Colored man’s mind, and what he can do by
thinking and the proper use of his brain.
As an inventor Mr. James Marshall, of Macon, Georgia, has attracted
national notice through his novel flying machine which he has
had patented. Mr. Marshall has introduced what is called a
“Circumplanoscope,” which renders the flying machine non-capsizable, and
which will enable it to stand still in the air.
R. W. Overton, a sixteen-year-old student of the Stuyvesant High School,
within the past year won the long distance record for model aeroplanes
against more than twenty competitors from all the high schools of
Greater New York and vicinity.
It was said that the pioneer leaders of our Colored Americans struggled
up and carried their people up with them. The questions presented them,
the problems they were called upon to solve were new and the lights
given them to solve them was somewhat dim. They worked for betterment by
this dim light, but the light grew stronger as they advanced, and when
they came to lay down the lamp of leadership, it was taken up by their
successors burning brightly, and with added wisdom to carry on the great
work.
Who can tell then, the names of the leaders to succeed them? They were
in process of training, however, just as there are other leaders being
trained or growing up to follow in the footsteps of the present leaders.
They appeared and have expended and are expending their labors in
elevating their fellow citizens, but they will eventually be obliged to
lay down their mantle of leadership for others to take up. This means
that in the present Colored Americans there are those destined, or who
will make themselves fit to become great leaders in every department of
uplift.
Conditions have improved during the past generation, and the new
generation looks upon an enlarged field, with more varied prospects,
greater development, and opportunities that did not exist before, and
which have naturally sprung from the gradual progress of the race.
GREAT DEMAND FOR WISE LEADERS
There is a greater demand for a skilled and wise leader now than ever
before, and in preparing for that leadership, let each man of the race
look to himself as a possible aspirant and successor to the present
leaders. The very thought of such a possibility, based upon the
necessity for such leadership, is an inspiration, an incentive to
action, and a motive to take advantage of the opportunities. The path
has been cleared and you can not lose your course.
Let us revert to the question: “Who are the coming men?” Who will take
the places of the men now leading the race, when they have done their
work, fulfilled their mission loaded with honors and fame? They can not
go on forever, for they are human and must yield to the inevitable.
Perhaps you are one of the possible leaders to reach honor and fame. Why
not? Many a man living in apparent obscurity has suddenly come forth out
of his retirement at the call of demand following opportunity. This is
life and the natural progress of the world. You are living under
auspicious circumstances, surrounded by events that must cause you to
think, and know just what is required to advance along the lines of
human betterment.
Every man thinks he knows just what he would do under certain
circumstances if he had the opportunity, and that he has the power to do
it. Very well, here are the opportunities, and if you develop your
natural ability and capacity and take hold with a firm hand, you will
attain the power. It is characteristic among all men, an attribute of
modern affairs, that to obtain anything an effort must be made to get
it. Everybody knows this by experience. It has been the experience of
all men, and of all nations. A man must reach out and take what is
before him within his reach. A wise man never attempts to try to take
what is beyond his reach. Children do that, but a modern man is no
child. There is an old maxim which says: “A bird in the hand is worth
two in the bush.” Wherefore, take the bird in hand and hold on to it,
and you will get the two in the bush by and by.
FUTURE LEADERS NOW UNKNOWN YOUTH
Even now in some humble home, there is a youth, a mere child with
possibilities unknown to him or to you, who may develop into a leader.
Many great men have sprung from such sources, and made the world ring
with their exploits. What has been done can be and will be done again.
It is not fate, nor is it perhaps destiny as some may think, it is
opportunity.
Do you suppose that the poor child who looks on at the amazing things of
life, the things going on around him, does not think about them and feel
ambitious to be or do something that will make as good a showing?
It may be that he plods back and forth after his morning chores, to some
little elementary school with his few books under his arm, and which he
has pored over the night before or in the early morning. He knows that
he is learning, and his small ambition leads him to learn more. His
interest is aroused and he represents the seed, the foundation of a
leader or of some of our leaders who will make their mark, an advanced
man to take the place of some who will soon pass away.
He may have left the plow and the little elementary school to go to
college; there are opportunities for this, and when he gets to this
college, his mind expands, and he becomes fertile in resources to
embrace opportunities before him. The more he learns, the more rapidly
does his mind quicken, and the more his mind quickens the more he
advances along the goal.
PERHAPS YOUR BOY WILL LEAD THE RACE
He is your boy, perhaps, your son for whom you have the highest
ambitions, and your bosom swells with pride at the thought that he is
your boy, and that you have opened the door to opportunity for him.
Some young man just out of college, just out of the refining process, is
on the high road to position and honor, and is already making a name for
himself, may become the leader or some leader along the many fields open
to him.
Can you say that it will not be yourself? Who knows that it may not be
you, your brother, nephew, cousin, or some valued friend? Give yourself
the benefit of the doubt if there be any doubt, and there need not be,
and take hold of the intellectual plow, and till the field of
opportunity. It is waiting for you and for yours.
Do not throw straws in your own and in the way of those you know and to
whom you may be related by the ties of blood or friendship. Why not put
them and yourself in the way of opportunities? Give yourself and them a
chance to prepare for opportunity, every one possesses the chance, and
he must prepare for it, it is in the future, perhaps it is waiting now,
are you ready for it? Do you think you will be ready when it calls? If
not get ready by keeping your ear close to the ground and watch for the
signal. Keep in touch with the people, their needs, necessities and
demands; observe the signs of the times and study the shaping of events.
These are progressive times, and age of hustle, and the man who stands
out in front will win the race, for he has the advantage of place and
position, also readiness to start at the first sound of the signal.
THE CHURCH OFFERS HIGH INDUCEMENTS
The Church offers the highest inducements to a life of usefulness and
honor. It is guided by men of distinguished ability and humanity. The
Bishops and clergy of the various denominations have taken advantage of
the new lights of the twentieth century, and are striving to bring their
fellow men of the same race, up to the highest standard of right living.
The heights they have attained must be maintained like a protective
rampart in a great battle. Their successors are the ones to continue the
work of defence, and advance the lines still farther into the country of
the enemy of humanity and morality.
The army and navy have had their share of brave Colored men, and has
opened its ranks to more of them who are distinguishing themselves and
ennobling their race. In the school of army and navy discipline, the
Colored man has proven himself to be a man in every sense of the word.
Faithful and true to his duty, he honors and loves the country under
whose flag he is ready to draw his sword, and lay down his life.
YOUR CHILDREN MAY BECOME DISTINGUISHED
You or your children may be the fortunate ones to be offered an
opportunity to become distinguished for bravery and generalship, for the
way has been prepared and those now striving to uphold peace will have
successors. Remember this point, that the longer the test and the
greater the perseverance, the more and the higher facilities will be
given you to reach the leadership.
It must be plain from the mere birdseye view that has been given that
many leaders will be needed in the near future. Indeed, some of our
present leaders as they grow older will lay down their armor, and others
must be ready to take it up and wear it.
The filling of the ranks is almost imperceptible because it is so
gradual, but it goes on continually, and the time to prepare for
stepping into a vacancy is now. There is always a leader, and the coming
men, it is plain, are those who make themselves ready, and prepare for
immediate and future emergencies.
Have no fear that there will be no place for the lowly boy in the humble
home; the lad with his school books plodding his way to the elementary
school; the youth at college, or the newly made graduate. The wheels of
life are not going to stop, they are ever turning, and there is a vast
upward tendency which comes with every succeeding generation, the last
an improvement upon its predecessor, and the next one a still greater
improvement. So will go the world until the last whisper of time shall
beat against the gates of eternity.
THE TURNING POINT
_The Progress of the Colored American; His Chance in the Business World_
There are three points upon which every colored citizen may base his
chances for success in the business world:
First—From their inability to engage in any business whatever a
generation and a half ago, the Colored race now numbers about five
hundred thousand members engaged in trade, transportation,
manufacturing and mechanical pursuits.
Second—The Colored race having increased from about four millions of
people a generation and a half ago, to nearly ten millions of
people in 1913, the commercial field has vastly widened for
exploitation.
Third—Under the now accepted doctrine announced by Rev. Charles H.
Parkhurst of New York City, the field is still farther enlarged
and bids fair to become unlimited.
The exact bearing of this increase in the population upon business
chances lies in the increased consumption, greater demand and advanced
civilization—that is a greater variety of objects are necessary to
comfort or pleasure. This makes more customers, and all things being
equal, perhaps they should be a trifle better, it is quite on the cards
to believe that the Colored American will get his increased share of the
trade of his fellow Colored Americans. If he does not, then he is
probably in fault through inferior goods, poor service and lack of
prompt delivery. The business is in his hands at any rate and the
opportunity is at his call.
The first proposition is to the effect that business chances are now at
high tide, where a few years ago there were no chances of any sort. We
are speaking of the subject of business chances exclusively, but may
venture to add such employments as miners, masons, dress makers, pavers,
iron and steel workers, stationary engineers, engine stokers, etc. In
these latter occupations there are more than one hundred thousand
Colored Americans employed, a gain of over 85 per cent in ten years, or
rather since 1890. The other trades have fallen off somewhat owing to
the introduction of machinery.
To limit this question to commercial pursuits, it may be well to state
that economic progress has reached a high water mark among Colored
Americans. There are one hundred twenty-five and more Colored business
men’s local Leagues in about every State in the Union, with eleven State
Colored men’s business leagues in the Southern States.
These leagues are composed of bankers, merchants, and dealers generally
in goods, wares and merchandise—dry goods and groceries, hardware, etc.,
and are all at the top notch.
THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES
It is evident from the signs of the times, the business situation, our
interstate commerce laws, and the domination of the trusts and combines
by the Federal government, that there will soon come a great change in
our business methods, and practices.
We are expecting that competition will be restored to the place it
occupied before men were forced out of business by overpowering
interests and vast aggregations of capital. It will certainly happen in
the near future that any man will be able to open a modest store, or
engage in a quiet and reasonable business without being driven into
bankruptcy and poverty.
Our Colored Americans are not men of large capital, nor can they control
large amounts of capital, consequently they have been unable to make any
headway against great combinations, but here is an opportunity and if
you wish to grasp it make ready. Prepare for this turning point, for it
will be the turning point in the fortunes of many of our people who
never had such a chance before, and will not again if they permit others
with more sand and hustle to jump in and take up every valuable claim
and chance.
THE PROGRESSIVE COLORED AMERICAN EARNS RESPECT FOR HIS RACE
What Other Races are Doing to Rise—Persistence and Determination Will
Win
In a country like the United States where there are so many different
peoples gathered together, it is difficult for all of them to live in
perfect harmony.
In view of what is said in other parts of this book, it must come that
all men will be united as one nation, with one set of rules and laws
applicable to all alike and without discrimination against any branch of
the human family, and without regard to his color.
There are not so many prejudices against races as was formerly the
custom, or rather habit, and the signs of the times are that prejudice
and opposition are diminishing every day.
Colored citizens have had to fight against all kinds of prejudice and
even submit to humiliations that ought to rouse their manhood and compel
them to inquire when or whether it will ever end. Every Colored American
who reads this book may feel assured that the end is in sight, and that
his children will witness a great diminution in the slights put upon his
race and color. It will be effected by personal influence based upon
education and high standards of living.
Not so very long ago, the Jew was about as humiliated a race of men as
exist in the world. Driven out of public places because they were Jews;
unable to do business with others on account of their race, they were
made a byword and a laughing stock in every occupation of life, and held
up to the world on the theater stage as objects of derision and
caricature.
The Jew was a “Sheeney,” a “Shylock,” an “Ol’ clo’ man,” a “Christ
killer,” and given other choice epithets to bring him into disrespect
and excite prejudice, even abhorrence.
All these epithets and others equally as cruel and vulgar, were applied
to the whole race of Jews, and it did not make any difference whether he
was an honest Jew, or one of education, and of high repute, he was still
a “sheeney.”
But a change has taken place and the Jew is no longer a “Sheeney,”
unless he merits the epithet, but stands as a man among the other men
and is entitled to and gains their respect. Jews, as a race, are no
longer “Sheeneys,” or “Shylocks,” only those individuals of the race
that are in bad repute among their own people are such. Hence we
perceive that prejudice against the Jew as a race is diminishing.
THE FLANNEL MOUTHED IRISHMAN
Not very long ago, an Irishman was considered a “Paddy,” and to call a
man “Irish” was to provoke a fight in which blood was spilled. To call
an Irishman a “Flannel mouth” meant a broken head to the speaker. It was
a term of reproach. The Irishman also was caricatured on the theatrical
stage and held up to derision. “O, he is only an Irishman,” was an
explanation for every outburst of disorder.
We find that these opprobrious epithets are now limited to certain
Irishmen, and not to the entire nation or race of Irish. To call an
Irishman a “Mick” does not hurt his feelings as it once did, because he
knows it does not apply to him as a member of the Irish race.
The Italian “Dago,” and the Chinese “Chink,” were epithets applied to
the entire nation or race of Italians or Chinese. But a change has come
over the situation. There are Italians who are not “Dagos,” Chinese who
are not “Chinks.”
Epithets cruel and vulgar have been and still are applied to Colored
men, and we often hear our Colored Americans styled “Niggers.” Of course
this is slang for Negro, and although the word “Negro,” means a high
type of Ethiopian, nevertheless it hurts the Colored American. Why
should it hurt his feelings?
BECAUSE HE ALWAYS APPLIES THE VULGAR EPITHET TO HIS RACE
That is what the Jew used to do when he was called a “Sheeney,” and it
hurt the whole Irish race of people to call one of their number a
“Flannel mouth.” The Italian did not like to be called a “Dago,” and he
always felt for his dagger intending to kill for this insult to his
whole people. So too, the Chinaman does not mind being called a “Chink,”
because he now understands that the opprobrious word does not mean the
whole race of Chinamen.
When one white man calls another a “liar,” a “scoundrel,” a “thief,” a
“briber,” or other vulgar epithet, the whole white race of Americans do
not rush to arms to wipe out the insult to the nation, because such
epithets have nothing but a personal application, and the white man, who
is none of the things covered by the vulgar word, merely laughs.
Let us extend the idea to religion:
If a wayward boy or man casts a rock through a church window, he is
charged with sacrilege and an enemy of religion. If a man even on
provocation slaps the face of a clergyman, he is also a desecrator of
religion, and an enemy of God. This is ridiculous, and we begin to see
how ridiculous it is to attach to an entire system a mere petty detail
of local or personal insult. Religion can not be harmed by breaking a
church window, nor is the majesty of God insulted by an assault upon a
clergyman. If that does happen, then it is mighty poor religion that can
not stand so small a thing.
Applying the idea to racial epithets:
You do not offend a Jew now, by speaking of “Sheenies,” because he knows
that there are Jews who are Sheenies, that is, disreputable Jews, and he
is as anxious to get rid of them as you are.
When you mention “Dagoes” to an Italian, he shrugs his shoulders as much
as to say: “O, yes, there are Dagoes just the same as there are grafting
Yankees.” The Yankee to whom this is said does not get angry because he
knows that the Italian does not mean the Yankee nation.
It is the same with the Irishman and the Chinese. They laugh at the
application of vulgar terms to members of their race that deserve the
appellation—they do not take it to mean the whole race.
There is a reason for this diminution of racial prejudice against the
other races. That reason lies in the fact that education has put the
races upon the same plane of intelligence and good citizenship. When it
comes to caricaturing their race in order to create prejudice or excite
animosities against the whole, they protest and their protests are heard
because they are founded upon reason and common sense, as well as
business sagacity.
The movement among the Jews and Irish to stop the caricaturing of their
race upon the theatrical stage is bearing fruit and is doing much toward
eliminating race prejudice.
All the Jewish organizations have combined to prevent caricatures of the
Jewish traits of character which are notoriously bad, in theaters of all
grades and to punish their representation. It is a business proposition
mainly, but it is effective. “You make fun of the bad traits of my
people,” intimates the Jew, “and I will not trade with you.”
Likewise the Irish organizations are unanimous in their movement to
prevent and punish caricatures of the bad traits of the Irish people.
Says the Irishman, “You keep the Flannel mouth off the stage, or off
goes your head at the next election.” This is the loss of political
influence mainly.
So with the other nationalities: “You let us alone in your caricatures,
or we will not trade with you, work for you, or vote for you.”
The consequence is, that high-minded people, or those who have an eye to
profits and success in their business ventures, find that there is less
to be gained from encouraging the immature, or half educated, the
bigoted, and the ignorant whose race prejudices are based on mere
personal dislike or neighborhood animosity, gossip, or lies repeated
until they are regarded as gospel truth, than in the business of the
educated and cultured classes, or those who believe in equality of
opportunity.
The people who cater to the public are discovering that honey catches
more flies than vinegar and gall.
Comic and even sharply satiric portrayals of Jewish, Irish, or even
Negro foibles are appreciated by these races themselves, just as
Americans of other race strains are amused by caricatures of themselves.
But there are limits beyond which race enmities and prejudices are
fostered, and those limits are to be respected, and will be respected
when the race affected establishes a high standard.
This can only be done by education and self-respect. The body of men or
the race that does not respect themselves, can not expect to command the
respect of others.
There are drones in every hive, and they live on the work of the busy
members of the hive. If you know anything about bees, you must know that
these drones are killed off and thrown out as useless members of the bee
colony.
Among men, if a man refuses to work when able, and nothing but laziness
is his trouble, he is quickly thrown out and becomes a “tramp,” and when
a man becomes a tramp, why then, an ignominious life and an ignominious
death are his portions.
The Colored Americans have it within their power to rise above any race
prejudice just as the Jews and other races are doing. They made a bitter
fight, and finding that the Constitution, while giving them political
rights, could not give them the respect of other fellow citizens, they,
turned to education, business, employment and embraced every opportunity
to get on top in progressive influences and they succeeded. They made
themselves kings of finance and are deeply concerned in scientific
investigations, appropriating large sums of money to the cause of
education.
The Irish stand in the front as builders and workers, and none can point
his finger at any particular successful Irishman and call him a “Flannel
mouth” in derision. “Paddy” can refuse to eat meat on Friday, or eat it
as he wishes without calling forth any vulgar remarks—he is respected as
a race worth respecting.
So with the Italian, he is a worker and a fruit and produce caterer. He
is no longer a mere member of the “Dago” race, he is a respectable
member of the community. He does something.
The once despised “Chink” has arisen out of ages of superstition into an
enlightened member of a great republic. He is no longer a
“washee-washee,” but a man. He has cut off his pigtail and put on
civilized clothing. At a banquet or gathering, the chairman is proud to
introduce to the audience “My friend Wun Lung, who started out as a
laundryman in the Fifth Ward, and has risen up to the presidency of the
great Ginseng Company.” The Chinese are doing things and none of them is
sitting around waiting for something to turn up. They go after
opportunities and seize the one nearest and hold on to it until another
and better one comes along and then they grasp that.
We are all living in the present laying up treasures or preparing for
the future, and the Colored American stands in the same category as
every other race. The petty details incident to human nature of every
kind, go away with the present into the past. Every footstep made in the
mud yesterday is sunk out of sight on the morrow. What you are called
today, is nothing tomorrow, if you hold your position in the world’s
respect. Keep on doing something, and if the epithets of the vulgar
offer obstacles in the way of your progress, then give battle as have
the Jews, the Irish, the Italians, and the Chinese. You belong to a race
entitled to respect if you yourself respect it.
INCREASE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLORED AMERICANS
Trades, Business Occupations, and Professions Opening Up in Every Part
of the United States—Four Hundred Millions of Acres of Fertile Land
Waiting for the Tiller—Agricultural and Mechanical Facilities
Multiply—Honor and Profit Within the Grasp of Every Colored American
Nearly every occupation known to the world of endeavor, that is to say:
the trades; arts and sciences; commerce; business; manufactures; skilled
labor, and others, are now filled by Colored Americans with success and
profit.
There are at least one hundred and fifty different occupations and
professions utilized by Colored Americans, and not a single occupation
can be mentioned or thought of that is not open to them.
One colored citizen in any business, occupation, or profession, means
another one, and the field grows more extensive every year, with the
advantages offered by institutions of learning, trade and mechanical
schools and colleges, and every industry represented by an institution
of learning.
The Colored American is to be found in the Army and Navy of the country,
and the walks of life which are not menial are so various that one is
almost tempted to disbelieve the evidence of the record.
There are 17 State Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges in the United
States, and in all of them, the Colored American stands on a par with
the other races, often at the head of his class.
Distributed through the various States, are one hundred and eighty-four
special Normal and Industrial schools of the highest class, specially
maintained for the benefit of the Colored Americans.
To these add 14 schools of law, medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy, and
it will be seen that the colored citizen has opportunities within easy
reach.
If he does not want to fit himself for a high position, then the
training in the public schools gives him an insight into business which
makes him the equal of any other race in the struggle for existence.
We must put the Colored American upon the same basis, or foundation, as
the other races, and in doing so, and giving him the same advantages, it
is most astonishing to find that he is improving along the same line,
and in the same ratio as the other races. That is, the Colored citizen
is the intellectual equal of the other races, when given equal
opportunities and advantages.
It must be admitted, to be strictly just, that without advantages of
education or uplifting environment, the races are also equal in
ignorance and prejudice. A perusal of any of our great daily newspapers
easily demonstrates this as a truth.
TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR WOMEN
There are 36 institutions for the education of Colored women, and in
addition, there are 63 Training schools for nurses conducted by Colored
Americans.
It has been proved numberless times by actual experience, under the most
trying circumstances, that our Colored women make the very tenderest of
nurses. In these training schools, are to be found the most important
factors in the improvement of the health of our Colored Americans.
Indeed, their services are so valuable that they are not limited to
their own race.
At the close of the Civil war only five per cent of our Colored
Americans could read and write. In the year 1900, the number had
increased to 55.5 per cent, and in 1910, the number reached 69.5 per
cent. This is an astonishing increase in education, and it proves the
reason why our Colored Americans are forging to the front in the arts
and sciences, trade, commerce, and the professions. It is stupendous
progress when we consider that scarcely two generations were required to
bring about this uplift of an entire race. It takes the banner of racial
improvement.
It appears that the manufacturing and mechanical pursuits are very
attractive to our Colored Americans, the increase during the last ten
years being about 40 per cent. If we may make the comparison, it is on
record that 62 and ²⁄₁₀ per cent of all our Colored Americans are
engaged in profitable occupations, whereas, there are forty-eight and
six-tenths of the White Americans so engaged.
TRADE AND MANUFACTURING PURSUITS
The employment of Colored Americans in domestic and personal service is
becoming less and less every year, under the influence of education, and
is being changed into trade and transportation, mechanical and
manufacturing pursuits. This means as plainly as anything, that our
Colored Americans have found opportunities, and that they are taking
advantage of them. And where there have been opportunities to permit
such a transformation, there must be others equally as advantageous and
numerous—that is a law of trade and of progress. One business or
occupation successfully carried on always begets another.
THE JEW, THE IRISHMAN AND THE ITALIAN
In considering the various occupations, trades, etc., in which our
Colored Americans are engaged, the locality must be taken into account.
The colored man, like the Jew, the Irishman, and the Italian, meets with
more prejudice in one than in another locality, and he must govern his
occupation in a great measure by that prejudice, until he is strong
enough to overcome it, and intelligent enough to find a way to overcome
it.
There are many who hold that the Colored American in the South finds
less opposition and prejudice against him in the trades and occupations
than in the North. There is less also in the East than in the West,
except that in the Middle West, or the northern portion of Mississippi
Valley, where there is less prejudice against the employment of Colored
Americans outside the large cities where the trades unions prevail and
control. Owing to this diminution of prejudice in the Middle West, the
number of Colored Americans in that part of the country is increasing,
likewise improving.
In the South, it is said, the differences between the two races is not
so much prejudice against employment, as a political idea that the
Colored Americans are on the way to obliterate the color line.
Notwithstanding this opposition, the Colored American readily finds room
for his labor where he would be impeded in the North and West from the
opposition of the great labor unions, the great aim of which is material
progress and not intellectual.
It is for the Colored American, therefore, to govern his choice of a
business, trade, or profession by the locality in which he lives or
purposes remaining during his natural life. In that selection, he is
afforded advantages to rise to any limit of perfection and thus obtain
profit from his talents and capacity.
THE SKILLED WORKMAN
The man who limits himself to become a skilled workman, or a successful
tradesman anywhere, must drop his personal grievances, and not attempt
to father the evils and troubles of the race upon himself.
Who cares about the downtrodden condition of Ireland? The Irishman who
is constantly calling attention to the heel of the oppressor upon his
neck, makes a poor workman and remains stationary in the lower level.
The Jew who talks about the sufferings of his race receives but little
sympathy because he is referring to ancient history. So it is with the
others and so it is with everybody who attempts to take upon his own
shoulders the ills and burdens of the whole. In the first place, it is
not his business, and in the second place, people around him are
fighting their way up, while he is always looking down to see how far he
must fall, and he gets dizzy and does fall.
It is an old but true saying applicable to Colored Americans as it is
applied to everybody else: “Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep,
and you weep alone.”
There is one subject of the greatest importance to Colored Americans,
because the opportunities are enormous, but they will be lost in the
course of time, and can never be regained.
That subject is the land question; the farm problem.
It is almost like sounding a tocsin to repeat what everybody is saying,
every economist urging, and every civic reformer giving as the remedy
for overcrowded cities, and a cure for vice and crime: “Back to the
farm.”
In the “Wise man’s philosophy,” every Colored American is advised to
become a land owner. Get an acre, two acres, ten acres, twenty acres,
forty acres, and so on. Why? There are two good reasons why:
1. Every man must have a home of some kind unless he prefers to be a
tramp or a beggar with his hand held out for pennies.
2. There is no possible uplift without being a producer of something,
and land offers the easiest solution of the production problem.
FORTUNES TO BE MADE
The enormous markets of the country in our great cities, make such a
heavy demand upon production, that the commonest vegetables and fruit
are brought from great distances at a high cost of transportation.
Within reach of every populous center, there is to be found vacant land
that could be made productive with very little labor, and the result
would be profitable, for the supply must keep up with the demand. But
out in the vast territories of the Mississippi Valley, there are
fortunes to be made in producing cereals, cotton, tobacco, live stock,
butter, poultry, and fruit. There is an unlimited field, and every one
who has ventured into it finds a large reward in a good bank account. A
man cannot begin and then, when he gets tired, lie down in the furrow
and expect nature to pull him out. It never has and it never will as
many know to their cost.
It is estimated, that in the Mississippi Valley and its adjoining
territory, outside of mountain tops and rivers and lakes, there are in
the markets, four hundred million acres of land as fertile as the valley
of the river Nile. It is beyond the reach of present railroad
transportation and therefore it has been left untilled.
It matters little whether this enormous quantity of land exists or
whether it is exaggerated by one-half, it is a fact that millions upon
millions of acres of land are left untilled and can be had for small
sums of money. There are lands in Texas as an illustration, which can be
purchased for from one to four dollars an acre, with forty years to pay
for it in. This is not only the case in Texas, but cheap land can be had
even in the State of Illinois, or New York. In the great corn belt, the
farmers raise corn only, and even buy and bring their butter, eggs and
fresh vegetables from Chicago or St. Louis. Whoever heard of such a
thriftless condition? It is true, corn pays, but there is such a thing
as getting too much of one thing and not enough of another.
Investigation and inquiry shows that if a man should start a small
vegetable garden anywhere, on rented land, and supply the corn barons
with vegetables, eggs and butter, he would make a good profit and get a
large trade.
The idea sought to be conveyed is, that by taking advantage of a demand
where there is no supply, there is an opportunity to be seized without
arguing about it. It is there.
The advent of the motor track, which runs into localities fifty or a
hundred miles distant, carrying from five to ten tons of a load, and
trailing as much more, offers an opportunity for several workers to club
together and carry their products to market at small expense.
Our agricultural and mechanical colleges are turning their attention in
that direction, and preparing to fill the field. But it is a large field
and can not be fully occupied in a hundred years to come.
It is worth thinking about when a Colored American is in doubt what
opportunity to seize.
The main object in every man’s life, if he has any manhood and
intelligence, is to produce something. He may use his hands or he may
use his brain, but the result is that something is produced, and
whatever is produced possesses some value.
THE FIELD OF OPPORTUNITY
Ten per cent of our population is made up of Colored Americans. This
number creates a demand that it would be profitable to supply, but when
it is considered that the other ninety per cent, or ninety millions of
people are constantly demanding something, and take everything that
comes along, there is an everlasting field of opportunity into which
every Colored American can fit in some capacity if he makes the
slightest effort.
THE COLORED AMERICAN IN THE EMPLOY OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
The Army, Navy, Government Services, and Legislatures—Opportunities to
Colored Americans to Distinguish Themselves—Heroes and Patriots
Furnished by the Race—The Advantage of Discipline in the Formation of
Character—Avenues to Honor and Renown.
The Federal government is a large and generous employer of men of every
nationality where brains and capacity are shown to exist. In fact, there
is no country in the world where so many opportunities are offered to
its people of every class.
Not only subordinate positions may be sought with perfect confidence of
a raise in rank or grade, but the very highest positions are within
reach. This pertains to our Colored Americans without distinction.
IN THE ARMY AND NAVY
In the Army and Navy, beginning with the revolutionary war, Colored
Americans have taken an active part side by side with their other fellow
citizens in removing the foreign shackles from the limbs of the nation.
The War of 1812 also brought out Colored Americans to drive the
foreigner from our shores, and in both great wars the fighting ability
and courage of Colored Americans have been amply tested, weighed in the
balance, so to speak, and not found wanting.
The heroism displayed by thousands of Colored Americans in the great
Civil War, not only convinced the world of the sincerity and patriotism
of Colored Americans, but impressed the nation as well. The result of
this devotion to country and its interests, opened the eyes of the
government to an element of strength which it had recognized but had not
fostered to any great extent.
It is different now, for the government takes from the ranks of Colored
Americans its best and ablest men, satisfied from experience that
whatever duties are imposed upon them will be ably and intelligently
performed.
FORCE OF CHARACTER
Along this line, the struggle of Colored Americans to acquire by force
of character and education, a high station and to fit themselves for any
position of honor in the government, has met with success.
Not only in the army and navy, but in the halls of Congress, the Colored
American has demonstrated his wisdom, sagacity, and statesmanship.
It is historical that the first martyr in the Boston massacre, a
resistance to British tyranny, was the Negro, Crispus Attucks. In the
War of Independence so many of the Colored Americans made themselves
conspicuous in their fight for national independence, that they were
recognized by Congress and the States as national defenders.
At the siege of Savannah, October 9, 1779, it was the Black Legion under
Count D’Estaing that covered the retreat and repulsed the charge of the
British, saving from annihilation the defeated American and French army.
In the War of 1812, the Colored American was conspicuous for his
bravery. One-tenth of the crews of the fighting ships on the Great Lakes
were Colored Americans. In the great picture of Perry’s victory on Lake
Erie, may be seen a Colored American sailor.
Two battalions of five hundred Colored Americans distinguished
themselves under General Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. In 1814,
2,000 Colored Americans enlisted for the war and were sent to the army
at Sackett’s Harbor, where they performed deeds of valor.
RECORDS OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT
During the great Civil War, 178,975 Colored Americans took up arms and
fought side by side with the men of the North to maintain the nation.
The records of the War Department at Washington show that the Negro
troops were engaged in many of the bloodiest battles of the war,
distinguished themselves more especially at Port Hudson, Fort Wagner,
Milligan’s Bend, and Petersburg.
In the late war with Spain, in 1898, Colored American soldiers took a
more conspicuous part than in any other war waged by the United States.
In the famous battle of San Juan Hill, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry and
Twenty-fourth Infantry rendered heroic service. Col. Roosevelt delights
to tell of the part the Colored Americans took with his Rough Riders. It
is even said, that without the aid of the Colored troops, the gallant
Colonel would not have gone up the hill.
All this is evidence of physical prowess, patriotism and courage.
History has been made, and now the country is ready for the results of a
glorious history and as honorable a record as that exhibited by any race
on earth. Out of it has come a regular demand of the government to make
Colored Americans a part and parcel of its army and navy, and the ranks
of many regiments of infantry, cavalry, and artillery are filled with
heroes who have won their baptism of fire in the Philippines, and others
who are ready and fired with zeal to earn their spurs in some well
contested field of battle. They have but to ask, to be received.
Out of this also, has grown a confidence that has made the Colored
American a man of energy, fired him with an interest in improvement, and
a seeker after education. Out of his noble history has grown a spirit of
emulation, that impels him to aspire to high position not only as
deserved but because he is fitted to fill it.
With the twenty-five United States Senators and Congressmen who have
done good service for the nation at large, and have been faithful to the
traditions of their race, the record is augmented.
In the executive branch of the government, Colored Americans are
conspicuous for their ability in highly responsible positions.
IN THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE
In the Treasury Department, the Attorney General’s Department, the
Auditor of the Navy, Customs Department, Internal Revenue, Land Office,
and others, there is no dearth of efficient Colored Americans performing
onerous duties and engaged in unraveling intricate governmental details
with as much ease and intelligence as if to the manner born.
In the diplomatic and consular service, the Colored American is fast
making his way upward, many important posts being now filled by them
with honor to the country, and dignity to their positions.
With all these advantages in the way of opportunities, it can not be
said that Colored Americans are being crowded to the wall. Where
prejudice does hold him back, it is in small localities where there is
prejudice against everything, not the making of the prejudiced people
themselves. There is a prejudice against the Creator Himself, and to
expect all persons to drop prejudice is to expect more than the Almighty
can cure.
It is a fact that a blind man must be able to perceive, that the bitter
prejudice is becoming less aggravating. The rough edges of personal
opposition are being worn down smooth, and in the course of less than
another generation, the prejudices against Colored Americans will be
almost a horrid dream of the past.
THE DIGNITY OF THE RACE
It is for the Colored American to help smother the remaining shadows of
former prejudices by maintaining the dignity of his race, and by
education, fitting himself to stand beside any race on the earth. He has
done it, is doing it, and the incentives are offered for still doing it.
Remember what Colored Americans are doing; the positions they are
filling by their education and energy; none of them are asleep in the
furrow but are busy harvesting—doing something. If they do nothing else,
they are demonstrating that Colored Americans can do the same things,
fill the same positions as the other races, and that they possess an
equally balanced intelligence, and have the same brain power as others.
They never spend their time quarreling with fate, but overcome fate, and
manufacture opportunity and ride upon destiny as upon a fiery steed,
curbing it with the whip and the lash of education and intelligence,
mingled with energy and persistent determination.
These are the reasons why the Colored American must win if he tries.
THE COLORED AMERICAN IN THE SERVICE OF GOD
The Church as a Career for Colored Americans—Influence of Religion a
Powerful Incentive to Success—Opportunities to Follow an Honorable
Vocation—High Religious Aspirations an Inborn Sentiment of the Race—Men
Who Have Been Pioneers in the Field.
The church offers an opportunity to embrace a high and honorable
calling, a career that is the noblest in the world.
The spirit of religion is an instinct of the race, and the past decade
or two has demonstrated that the spirit has quickened into a most
beneficial activity, and is exerting an influence for good that has made
itself felt.
Before the race lifted itself up on the wings of freedom, there was good
soil to cultivate, and many apostles and evangelists of the Christ
prepared the way for the present splendid hierarchy. The latter are
preparing the way for their successors in the same manner as their
predecessors, but the field is enlarged to enormous dimensions. The
laborers in the vineyard are becoming too few to gather the harvest, so
it is necessary to prepare leaders of advanced thought to keep pace with
the work, and to increase it.
The Colored Americans are the fruitful vineyard, that is constantly
increasing and there must be more laborers. The foundation is laid, the
way is open, and the young Colored American with a vocation has not far
to seek to find an open door.
There is loving memory for Rev. Lemuel Haynes, the revolutionary
soldier, who drew the sword for his country and never laid it down until
the last foreign enemy had left the country. Then, he turned his sword
into the Word of God, and fought the powers of evil as the first
Congregational minister in the United States.
In loving memory is held Bishop Daniel A. Payne, the most remarkable
preacher among his race that has ever been produced. He was responsible
more than anyone else for the Wilberforce Community and University.
For sixty years the celebrated John Jasper, a preacher of highest
virtue, piety and sincerity, labored to bring souls to God, becoming a
national character.
There were Alexander Crummell, the eminent Colored Episcopal minister
and author; Henry Highland Garnett, missionary, army chaplain, and
diplomat; Joseph S. Attwell, missionary and rector, till his death, of
St. Philip’s church, New York City.
THE FORCE FOR GOOD
All these and many more have gone before and left their influence as a
continuing operative force for good.
Let us mention one Colored American woman who is still among us, Amanda
Smith, distinguished as an evangelist of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
This eminent lady taught herself to read and write by cutting out large
letters from newspapers, laying them on the window sill and getting her
mother to make them into words.
Her evangelical labors extended to Africa, India, England and Scotland.
The remainder of her useful days she is spending in charge of the Amanda
Smith Orphans’ Home for Colored children, at Harvey, Illinois, a suburb
of Chicago.
Through the influence of the Christian labors of the past and gone
apostles, and the apostleship of their enlightened and pious followers
and successors, religion has developed amazingly among our Colored
Americans.
Of Colored American members of white denominational churches, numbering
5,377, there are 477,792 communicants.
Of Colored American members of Independent Negro denominations numbering
31,393 churches, there are 3,207,305 communicants.
THE CAUSE OF RELIGION
As showing their faith demonstrated by good works, the Colored Americans
are supporting 34,689 schools, and contributing 1,750,000 children to
the cause of religion and education. They have donated in money more
than sixty million dollars to church property.
The shepherds guiding this enormous flock, consist of Bishops of the
highest attainments as scholars, teachers, and pious divines.
The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church has seven Bishops with an able
executive corps of ten members.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church is under the guidance of fourteen
wise shepherd Bishops, with an executive staff of eleven eminently
qualified divines.
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, has nine Bishops, devoted
men all of them, aided by a staff of workers numbering sixteen divines,
lawyers, editors, missionaries and financiers.
The Afro-American Presbyterian council consists of three presidents and
a secretary. The National Baptist Convention is guided by Rev. E. C.
Morris, D. D., President, of Helena, Ark., aided by Rev. W. G. Parks,
Vice-President at Large, of Philadelphia, Pa., and eleven secretaries.
The Methodist Episcopal Church has one Colored Bishop, Isaiah B. Scott,
D. D., LL.D., Missionary Bishop to Liberia and West Africa, Monrovia,
Liberia.
The general offices and officers, however, are in the United States, and
consist of eleven clergymen and other distinguished men who attend to
missionary work and executive duties generally.
There are numerous Roman Catholic priests among our Colored Americans,
some of whom occupy high positions as educators. Rev. Charles Randolph
Uncles is a professor in the Epiphany Apostolic College, Walbrook,
Baltimore, Maryland. Rev. John H. Dorsey is a teacher and Assistant
Principal in the St. Joseph College for Negro Catechists, Montgomery,
Alabama. Rev. Joseph Burgess is a professor in the Apostolic College, at
Cornwells, Pennsylvania.
YOUNG MEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
The Young Men’s Christian Association among Colored Americans presents
an illustration of the growth of the religious spirit in addition to
that exhibited by the churches, but of course, affiliated with them to a
greater or less degree. From the first student association at the Howard
University, organized in 1869, there are now six International
Secretaries, 96 associations organized in Colored American educational
institutions, with an enrollment of 15,000 male students, and forty-five
city associations scattered over 23 States. The Colored women of the
United States began organizing Y. W. C. A. work in 1896, and there are
now 37 associations affiliated with the national organization, with 12
city associations for Colored women.
In connection with church or religious matters, the work of the Colored
Women’s Christian Temperance Union should not be forgotten. This great
national association makes for morals, sobriety, good citizenship and
education.
With all these remarkably large and numerous opportunities, the young
Colored American should be able to find an opening for his desired
ambition to be an apostle among his fellow men.
The spirit is working and inspires the race with noble ambitions, and
all the human virtues possible to inculcate in this world.
It may be said, in passing, that to lead the souls of men to eternal
bliss in the world beyond is the noblest and highest attainable
profession or calling. In preparing men for a future home beyond the
skies, he is converted into an advanced man of morals and good qualities
on this earth to fit him for the next world.
Men and nations have sometimes forgotten God, but their end has always
been untimely.
_LEADERS OF AMERICA WHOSE EARS ARE CLOSE TO THE GROUND_
_Americans, Regardless of Color, Who are Leading the People out of the
Wilderness and Teaching the Brotherhood of Man._
We have at the present time in the United States certain persons
regarded as eminent in progress and advanced thought, who must be
reckoned with when it comes to human improvement, and the removal of
obstacles to man’s intellectual life and physical welfare.
There have been numberless proofs in the years gone by, in fact, we have
only to survey the pages of all history, to learn that it is a law of
human nature, that there is no distinction between color and race, and
that brains, intellect, soul, are and always will be the test, the
criterion, the standard of human excellence.
To review the past would be to open the door to endless pages of
history, and require pages of illustrious names that have shone like
stars in the human firmament.
Those who are engaged in the development of the human family, and
apparently unconsciously working out the designs of God in their
persistent advocacy of human betterment, the destruction of inefficient
environments, and the promotion of peace and good will, as well as the
preservation of health, are numerous. Strikingly prominent are many of
our Americans who seem to be blessed with an almost prophetic insight,
and the ability to bring about changes in unpleasant conditions.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
We have in Theodore Roosevelt, a man of many parts, none of which is
unimportant but all of them vital. When he speaks upon any subject he
not only speaks with determination but with an absolute knowledge of the
subjects he treats.
“Col.” Roosevelt, as he delights to be called, began in the New York
legislature, then became President of the New York City Police
Commission, where he did some powerful work in suppressing vice and the
saloon evil. Becoming too powerful a factor in American affairs after
his brilliant career as Governor of New York, he was nominated as
Vice-President of the United States, the politicians thinking thus to
close his career.
But he became President of the United States, succeeding to that high
office through the deplorable assassination of President McKinley, and
received the suffrages of the people for a second term because of his
energetic Americanism, and as an exponent of “Fair Play.”
He is now a private citizen, but as distinguished and as influential as
if he were filling the Presidential office. He is all energy,
persistence and force of character. He will fight, talk, or argue his
points, as long as he can stand on his feet, and then he will write them
to the world. No such man ever before lived in the United States.
On the other hand, among our Colored Americans, there stand at the top
two great leaders, Dr. Washington and Prof. Du Bois. Both of these men
represent different schools of thought and each of them has an equally
large following. This is encouraging, because working along different
lines, as is the case with diverse national parties, one serves as a
check upon the other, and without going to extremes they may follow a
happy medium.
PROF. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
Professor Booker T. Washington, whose aims, exertions and success tends
to advance his race along the same lines as other races, is meeting with
tremendous results, bringing about a more decided respect for the
intelligence of Colored Americans.
Mr. Washington, born in 1857, has, by grit and determination, reached
the leadership of his race, and become one of the great men of the
nation.
After a life spent in struggles to acquire an education, he was
recognized as a great teacher, and called upon to take charge of a
normal school at Tuskegee, Alabama, established by the legislature. He
organized the school on July 4th, the anniversary of American
Independence, an idea that denotes the character of the man.
Since that period, the widely known Tuskegee Institute has made such
progress that, today, the site of the institution is a city of itself.
Mr. Washington worked his way to pay for his education at the Hampton
Institute, Hampton, Virginia. What he did and how he did it is best
described by himself in giving his experiences at Hampton:
SELF HELP FOR YOUTH
“While at Hampton I resolved, if God permitted me to finish the course
of study, I would enter the far South, the black belt of the Gulf
States, and give my life in providing as best I could the same kind of
chance or self-help for the youth of my race that I found ready for me
when I went to Hampton, and, so, in 1881, I left Hampton and went to
Tuskegee and started the Normal and Industrial Institute.”
Mr. Washington literally worked his way through college. He helped
unload a vessel to get money to reach Hampton, and while there did odd
jobs of manual work, and acted as janitor.
Referring to another American of another race, President Woodrow Wilson
stands first, in reality he is the first gentleman in the land.
PRESIDENT WILSON
President Wilson is an uplifter rather than a reformer. When he sees
things to be done to better the people, or to better anybody, for that
matter, he does them and lets the reform take care of itself.
He has always been a student, and a worker at fashioning brains as a
teacher, professor, college president and at the head of a great
university—Princeton, New Jersey.
Having a trained, enlightened mind, and not buried beneath books, he
expressed his views about public matters and public men who did not
perform their duty to the people, so vigorously and so truthfully, that
he was believed, and the people made him governor of New Jersey.
In this office he did so much in altering distasteful political
conditions, that he was considered a proper candidate for the presidency
of the United States where the same untoward conditions existed as in
New Jersey. He was elected, and is doing things all the time to better
conditions, and although he has many enemies who fancy only a settled
condition of things where they will not be disturbed in the management
of them, the President is driving them to cover and will undoubtedly be
successful in his endeavors.
Woodrow Wilson is a man of action and has a large background of learning
to fortify himself. Fortified in every direction and from every point of
attack, he is not an easy man to tackle or to find fault with. The
opposition to him was that he was a university man, and therefore he did
not know enough about politics to carry the country safely through a
four years’ term. But the people are finding out that it does not
require as much politics to run the country as it does education and
intelligence combined with energy and persistence. He is beating down
petty statesmanship and establishing the government along the lines of
benefit to the people. He may be considered as an instrument in the
improvement of a nation, and as giving it a long start back to first
principles which mean progress.
DR. W. E. BURGHARDT DUBOIS
A noted man who is doing a great work along the line of betterment of
the Colored Americans and directing their thoughts into high altitudes,
is W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, known as the editor of “The Crisis,” A
Record of the Darker Races.
Dr. Du Bois stands on the principle that intellectual emancipation
should proceed hand in hand with economic independence, and he is making
himself felt by the earnest advocacy of a truth that must impress the
people for whose interests he is laboring.
It may not be known to everybody that Dr. Du Bois is one of the
Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People.
The movement of nations toward the accomplishment of the designs of the
Almighty to make all nations one, and in the supremacy of the
intellectual over physical force, is well understood by Dr. Du Bois, and
he is working along that line with other ardent humanitarians. He aims
to accomplish a world peace and a realization of human brotherhood.
To turn our attention to another race, William Jennings Bryan looms up
conspicuously with the others in his struggle to bridge the chasm of
prejudice and place all men upon the road toward human betterment and
universal peace.
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN
For nearly twenty years William Jennings Bryan has fought the battle of
human rights, and his name has become a household word in many ways. His
versatility has no limit, and to say that he is an extraordinary man and
friend of the human race, is saying one-half the truth.
Rising from the humble position of an attorney in Lincoln, Nebraska, Mr.
Bryan in an hour became the leader of the great masses of the American
people, and he has held his ground ever since. He had aspirations and
ambitions, but they were denied him through adverse circumstances, but
he never wavered in his love for the people and his desire to benefit
them in their onward movement toward betterment. As Secretary of State
in the Cabinet of President Wilson, he stands for everything that is
admirable in a man of honor, virtue and probity, and is in line with the
great movement toward universal peace.
Miss Jane Addams is a lady that causes one to believe in the human race
along humanitarian lines. Miss Addams in her settlement work at the
celebrated “Hull House” on Halsted Street, has incited others to copy
and others have taken up the great work of bringing the homeless workers
into social contact for mutual benefit. The lady is not only a worker
among the people, but an author and a lecturer, whose example may be
followed to advantage.
THE COLORED AMERICANS’ NATIONALITY
The Colored Americans’ field is the entire United States. They are an
integral part of the nation the same as other citizens, and their rapid
progress entitles them to an occupation of that field on a par with all
others.
We are fast getting rid of the vulgar epithets heaped upon citizens of
the United States who are Jews, Germans, Irish, etc., and the vulgar
epithets hurled at Colored citizens of the United States on account of
their color.
The time is soon coming, therefore, to ask: Why should we say, “Colored
Americans?” Let us advance to the next Government census and forestall
an episode to see how it would work:
The scene is supposed to be in the year 1920 and represents the United
States census taker of that period going his rounds and making
inquiries. He calls upon a well known Jewish citizen, and the following
conversation takes place:
“Mr. Solomon Isaacs, what is your nationality?” Mr. Isaacs replies: “I
am an American citizen, I was born in Chicago in the 19th Ward.” The
examining man asks: “Are you not a Jew?” Mr. Isaacs replies: “No, sir, I
am an American.” “But your nose,—” “My nose has nothing to do with my
nationality.” This being true, the Jew is allowed to go.
Calling next upon Mr. Patrick McGillicuddy, he opens his book:
“Patrick McGillicuddy, what is your nationality?” Mr. McGillicuddy makes
the same answers as the Jew. “But,” says the examiner, “Your long square
chin and protruding lower jaw proclaim you an—”
“My chin, sir, has nothing to do with my nationality.” So the Irishman
is passed.
Next in succession come visits to the Italian, the Spaniard, the
Japanese, the Chinese, the Russian, the Hindoo, and so on. All these men
deny that they are anything but Americans. The examiner points out their
nationality in their features, but is told that features, face,
complexion, noses, chins, or hair, have nothing to do with nationality.
They were all born in this country and there is nothing more to be said.
“I AM AN AMERICAN, SIR”
Finally, the examiner brightens up. He has found something that can not
be disputed. He calls upon George Washington Adams. “Ahem, Mr. Adams,
what is your nationality?” Mr. Adams responds: “I am an American, sir.”
The examiner is puzzled, but revives. “Are you not a Negro?” Mr. Adams,
having learned something from the Jew, the Irishman and the others,
replies: “No, sir, I am not a Negro, I am an American born in the United
States.”
“But, your color indicates that you are a Neg—.” “My color, sir, has
nothing whatever to do with my nationality, no more, in fact, than the
Jew’s nose, the Irishman’s jaw, or the Spaniard’s olive face, the
Russian’s matted hair, the Swede’s blonde whiskers, the Chinaman’s
pigtail, the Italian’s earrings, or the Indian’s scalplock. According to
the United States Constitution and all the laws thereunder, my color has
been erased and I am an American to all intents and purposes, the same
as you.”
After recovering from his swoon, the census taker goes out to the
nearest saloon, takes some refreshments and begins a movement to have
the legislature enact a law, prohibiting Colored Americans from
breathing the same atmosphere as other Americans. But the scheme fails
because when it comes to the question of color, the Jews, Spaniards,
Italians, Frenchmen, Mexicans, and so on, would be affected.
Of course this appears ridiculous. It is not intended to be ridiculous,
however, but suggested in sober earnest. It is what has been going on in
this country for several decades, and it is time to stop such folly.
The main point is, that the whole of the United States is the fair field
for the exploitation by Colored Americans. And there will not be the
slightest obstacle in the way of such exploitation, if Colored Americans
drop the past and look to the future. It is not supposable that ten
millions of people, who, in another generation will number twenty
millions, can be extirpated or crowded out of the enjoyment of human
rights because of the prejudices of a few persons who judge from their
own standpoint.
To show how fast this field is being exploited by Colored Americans
would require a large volume of statistics, but the essentials may be
given so that it may be inferred that the field is in a fair way of
being occupied.
Our most valuable account, strangely enough, comes from an English
source:
In 1911 a commission was sent by the English Board of Trade to the
United States to investigate the cost of living in American towns, but
the report included important information concerning the occupations of
Colored Americans in cities of the United States.
It appears from the report that the Colored Americans in New York City,
in spite of the industrial barriers that exist there, contain within
themselves most of the elements, professional, trading, and industrial,
that go to make up the life of other and more normally situated
communities.
BRICKLAYERS AND CARPENTERS
In Atlanta, Georgia, about three-fourths of the bricklayers are Colored
Americans, but the majority of the carpenters are white. Nominally, the
rate of wages is the same for both races. One large employer held, that
Colored American’s as bricklayers had a value exceeded by no one, and
that in his own case the highest paid workmen were Colored Americans.
In Baltimore, it was found that Colored Americans occupy a very
important position in the working class element of the population. An
overwhelming majority in the building trades are Colored Americans.
In Birmingham, Alabama, there is a larger number of Colored American
workmen than in any other district in the United States. The building
and mining industries are the two in which the two races come into the
most direct competition with one another, yet in neither of these
industries does a situation exist which occasions any serious friction.
In Cleveland, Colored Americans were found in the steel and wire works,
as plasterers, hod carriers, teamsters and janitors.
In Memphis, in the transport trades and also in certain industries, such
as the making of bricks and cottonseed oil, the labor is almost entirely
Colored American. They are making their way into the skilled trades, and
in some wood working establishments both whites and blacks work side by
side at skilled occupations.
In New Orleans, the industries are of a kind which employ mainly
unskilled or semi-skilled labor, with the result that white men and
Colored Americans are found doing the same kind of work and earning the
same rate of wages.
In the Pittsburg district, more than a hundred Colored Americans are
employed in business as printers, grocers, hairdressers, keepers of
restaurants, caterers, etc. Many are employed by the municipality as
policemen, firemen, messengers, postmen, and clerks. A large number of
work people in the building and iron and steel trades are Colored
Americans, some being in highly skilled occupations.
Here is the truth from a foreign source that must be considered fair and
unprejudiced. But the home records show a more diversified distribution
maintaining a proportionate employment everywhere.
There does not appear anywhere to be a fear that the labor of Colored
Americans will crowd out the white labor, but there is a lingering
suspicion that it may do so, although practically it does not.
In consequence of this timidity, what are known as “segregation” laws
and ordinances have been passed in various places, Baltimore having made
the most extensive effort to keep the laborers of the two races apart.
In other cities, as Atlanta, Kansas City, Norfolk, Richmond, and St.
Louis, efforts were made to effect legal segregation.
The result of all these attempts to keep the Colored Americans out of
their legitimate field of competition with other Americans, failed
utterly, or caused such great financial losses to White Americans
without affecting Colored Americans in any way, or stopping their
accumulations of property, that segregation may be considered a dead
issue.
In Spokane, Washington, it has been decided judicially, that Colored
Americans can not be excluded from buying property in any particular
place in the State. The same is the judicial sentiment in New York and
elsewhere.
THE FIELD OF ORGANIZED LABOR
In the field of organized labor, Colored Americans are also making great
strides, the prejudice heretofore existing having almost disappeared. At
New Orleans, Mr. T. V. O’Connor, President of the International
Longshoremen’s Union, sounded the keynote when he declared, upon the
admission of Colored Longshoremen to the Union: “We are going to bring
about industrial equality. If Colored Americans stand ready to assist
themselves, they will get the same wages and working conditions that the
white man enjoys.”
THE FOUR DIVISIONS of MANKIND
The African One of the Purest Types
Of the four great primary divisions of the human race, the Aryan,
Mongolian, Semitic, and Hamitic, there are three that preserve their
racial type and have been little changed by intermixtures. These are the
Semitic, or Jews; the Hamitic, or Africans, and the Mongolians, or
Chinese.
The Aryan division spreading out from the Caucasus Mountains by way of
India, and thence westward, became split up into a hundred different
races, with varying peculiarities and racial differences, becoming as
they are today English, German, French, Irish, Scotch, Swedes, Finns,
Russians, Hindus, and a hundred other varying races that have
intermingled until the Aryan designation as a division of the human race
is entirely lost.
All these split Aryan races have become centralized in the United
States, where they are continuing their intermingling, and getting
farther away from the Aryan type.
On the contrary, the three other divisions, the Jews, the Africans, and
the Chinese, have maintained during all the ages since their creation,
their original characteristics, with only slight intermixtures, so
slight, indeed, that they are barely noticeable.
Historically, the races that make up the Aryan splits, are a mere breath
on the surface of the ages of time, when compared with the other three
divisions of the human race. Long before the ancestors of many of them
composed the barbarian hordes that thundered at the gates of the Roman
capitol, and finally effaced it from the face of the earth, the Jew, the
African, and the Chinaman, were in possession of the evidences of high
civilization, wise government, and splendid monuments, and cultivated
the arts of peace. The Aryan posterity, on the other hand, were warlike,
and became conquerors of the others, appropriating their arts, and are
still digging among the ancient ruins of splendid empires, wondering
what manner of people could have perfected such noble works.
All the races had many forward and backward movements, with the
dominance always with the warlike Aryan blood.
But today, in the United States, the Hamitic, the African, if you
please, has found and utilized the civilizing arts of the Aryan, and is
moving upward toward the pinnacle of the same civilization which is
essentially modern and original, and which retains the ancient
civilization of the other three great divisions of the human family, in
its museums as objects of curiosity and admiration. At the same time he
is maintaining his racial unity.
MAKING THE BURDEN OF LIFE MORE ENJOYABLE
There is no going back, now, there can be nothing but advance toward
progress and higher civilization, that is, in the more adequate and
efficient means of making the burden of life more enjoyable and easier.
In one thing only is there doubt as to our progress, and that is in
human development, and racial perfection. The scientists and thinkers of
the age are impressed with the fact that there is degeneracy, or at
least, “recession,” as it is termed, which means a going back to some
unknown evil type that will operate disastrously upon civilization,
morals, and general well-being of individuals.
By a remarkable unanimity of opinion, these marks of recession and
degeneracy, sometimes called “delinquency,” are limited to the posterity
of the Aryan type. Superhuman efforts are making to avert catastrophe by
what is known as “selection,” that is, by limiting intermarriages to
those who shall have been declared physically and mentally capable of
assuming the marriage state. But in the opinion of many, this will still
be a further remove from the pure Aryan type, and thus be always
descending the human scale. At any rate, there can be no reversion to an
ancestral type, because the ancestor himself is mixed, and there is no
pure strain to culture up to.
But with the Jews and Africans, there is no such question, because the
type remains as it was in the beginning, and it is very easy to make a
selection.
THE JEWS HAVE AGES OF LEARNING
The Jews understand this matter and they maintain their own racial
standards which are the highest and best. Now, it is up to the African,
the ten millions of them in the United States, to adopt the standards of
excellence proper to their dignity, and to their purity as one of the
original or primary divisions of mankind.
The Jews have ages of learning and wisdom to fall back upon, and the
African, although interrupted in his advance, by ages of repression,
nevertheless has the ages of high civilization, the reigns of the Queens
Candace, the learning of the Egyptians from Ethiopian magi, and the
startling wonders and marvels of buried cities and high culture recently
unearthed in Africa as a foundation. These ought to be an incentive to
him to regain the lost prestige. He has the opportunity now, and there
is no one to stay his march upward, on the contrary, there are helping
hands everywhere, and incentives such as no other race in the world ever
had or will ever have.
He may look back to his ancestral days with as much pride as any other
race, and he may point to the magnificent ruins of the departed glories
of his race to prove that his origin is to be found in as high a type of
civilization as compared to any other race.
_THE WORLD’S CONGRESS of RACES_
_Great Importance of Colored Race in the Tremendous World Upward
Movement_
_One Thousand Delegates from Fifty Different Races Proclaim Uplift of
People_
In considering the opportunities offered the Colored people of the
United States, two things must be constantly borne in mind:
1. That the advance of the world and of the nations toward harmonious
action and unity of motives, is purely of the mind and soul and not of
the material things of life.
2. As to the world’s progress the Colored Americans of the United States
occupy a prominent position in the vanguard with the other divisions of
the human race, all of whom are moving in the same direction toward
carrying out the Divine plan of bringing all nations into one fold.
On July 26, 1912, there opened in the City of London, England, a great
congress of the races of the world including all the dark races or their
representatives. In fact, fifty different races were represented by
their leading men, consisting of over thirty presidents of parliaments,
the members of the permanent court of arbitration and of the delegates
to the Second Hague Conference, twelve British governors and eight
British premiers, over forty colonial Bishops, a hundred and thirty
professors of international law, the leading students of mankind, and
other scientific men of the world.
When Lord Weardale, at the head of the World’s Peace movement, opened
the first session of this congress, he looked into the faces of a
thousand people representing fifty different races of men.
Lord Weardale said among other things: “To those who regard the
furtherance of international good will and peace as the highest of all
human interests, this First Universal Races Congress opens a vista of
almost boundless promise.
“Nearer and nearer we see approaching the day when the caste population
of the East will assert their claim to meet on terms of equality the
nations of the West; when the free institutions and the organized forces
of the one hemisphere will have their counterbalance in the other; when
their mental outlook and their social aims will be in principle
identical; when in short the color prejudice will have vanished and the
so-called “white races” and the so-called “colored races” shall no
longer meet in missionary exposition, but, in very fact, regard one
another as in truth men and brothers.”
Dr. Felix von Luschan, of Germany, declared, “There is an increasing
mutual sympathy between the races as they come to know each other.”
Mr. Gustave Spiller, the organizer of the congress, said:
“The common standard provided by university diplomas shows almost all
races, even the majority of those which are regarded as inferior,
represented successfully in the universities of Europe and America, and
that they are equal in intellectual capacity with the others. Hence the
difference between them are mere physical characteristics.”
Professor Robertson, of England, among other things established this
comforting assurance:
“It is only after a long and painful apprenticeship that European
nations have attained autonomy. Why not admit that it may be the same
with the so-called backward peoples?”
THE POSSIBILITY OF PROGRESS
The possibility of progress with regard to the Colored Americans is
emphasized by Professor Charles S. Myers of England, who gives the
results of his personal observations in other nations.
Even viewing our Colored Americans as a primitive people with only two
generations of removals from the primitive state, Professor Myers says:
“The possibility of the progressive development of all primitive peoples
must be conceded, if only the environment can be appropriately changed.”
It is in evidence every day, that the “changed environments” of the
Colored race in the United States, has forwarded their progressive
development to an enormous degree.
BLACK MEN ORIGINATE EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
In line with the opinion of Herodotus and the German ethnologists, that
the Black Men of Africa were the first race, and the originators of the
Egyptian and Cretan civilization, Professor Lionel W. Lyde, of England,
announces:
“We are in a position to say that primitive man was dark skinned, and
that he, as he made his way northward, began to bleach, thus creating a
semi-primitive yellow type. This yellow man exposed to conditions of
cold and moisture, might become entirely white. The human skin develops
pigments to protect itself against a strong sun, and the quantity of
pigment in the skin varies with the intensity of the sun.
“It is therefore the men who live in the hottest and least shaded parts
of the world—that is to say, in the African, that we find the blackest
skin. The white peoples, on the contrary, are confined to a region where
the humidity of the atmosphere forms a screen against the rays of the
sun. Finally, between the Negro and the White, is the Yellow man, who is
a product of desiccating grasslands with seasonal extremes of
temperature.”
PIGMENT OF COLOR TO GUARD THE SKIN
The racial color, it will be understood, is merely a matter of skin
coloring. Nature provides pigments of color to guard the skin against
the inclemencies of sun and weather. Every modern man knows and has
experienced the result of strong sun and wind in his own skin. “Tan” it
is called, and sometimes, within a few weeks the color of a white man’s
skin is transformed into a yellow or a dark brown. If the exposure
continues, the color remains.
In the opinion of noted scientists, it is certain that the difference
between the races as to color is merely skin deep. Their psychological
conditions are equal, as we shall see when we reach that point.
Professor Felix Adler, the eminent scientist, speaking with authority,
upholds the idea that the relations between the races can be only
psychological and not physical. He said at the great Congress of Races:
“It is urgently necessary for us to have a clearer conception of the
ideal to be realized in international relations. What principle shall we
put in the place of war, brute force, etc?
“The appeal to sentiment and the progress of democracy, are not in
themselves a safeguard against war. It is not peace itself that we must
keep in view, but the object to be secured by peace. The ideal principle
of international relations consists in the progressive organization of
these relations between peoples and races. This organization involves
two postulates:
“First. To attain the most extreme differentiation of types of culture,
the maximum of variety and richness in the expression of human
faculties. The peace and progress of the world will depend on the
formation of a cultivated class of all civilized peoples.
“Second. This exchange between different types of culture will serve to
bring to light the weak points in each, and lead to their improvement
and healing.”
Sir Charles Bruce, the noted administrator of government attempts, in
various localities where the different races confront one another, to
give as his deliberate opinion, based upon experience and close study,
this succinct truism:
“The blacks have long been the instruments of the cupidity, cruelty and
luxury of the whites; but their intelligence, deliberately neglected for
ages, needs only to be awakened.”
Sir Harry Johnston, of England, said:
“The Negro race has produced men of great ability in all departments.”
Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, learned editor of the Crisis, appeared before the
Congress as a Colored American scientist, versed in ethnology, and the
needs and qualifications of the Colored race. After giving the number of
Colored Americans as about ten millions, and mentioning the fact that
“They live at the present time under a system of theoretical liberty,
which is restricted in practice by certain legal dispositions, and by
custom,” he adds: “Intellectual emancipation should proceed hand in hand
with economic independence.”
ALL NATIONS AND TRIBES ONE GREAT FAMILY
This is indeed the keynote to the elevation of the Colored Americans to
the high plane sought to be reached by all the nations of the earth, and
toward which they are surely drifting, in an unconscious fulfillment of
the designs of God to gather all nations and tribes together into one
great family.
Professor N. R. d’Alfonso, of Italy, laid before the Congress the most
profound thought that forms the basis of all progress and gives the key
to beneficial government:
“Speculative psychology teaches that the man, to whatever race he may
belong, has always the same psychological possibilities.
“Subject from childhood to certain conditions of climate, environment
and education, he can reach the highest and most complex grades of
civilization.
“=It is the action and reaction of the external world on the internal
world of the mind that issues in the creation of man.=
“If there are psychological differences between races they are the
outcome of the particular history of various peoples—a history that has
entailed a =different education=.
“=The psychological basis is the same in all men from whatever part of
the world they may come, and they may evolve in the same way and attain
the same psychic results.=
“In the same way racial hostilities and prejudices are not due to
organic heredity, but to tradition and education.”
So far as science has gone, it must be apparent that the learned men of
the age have returned to the Biblical account: Genesis, 1:26.
“26. And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’
“27. So God created man =in His own image, in the image of God created
He him; male and female created He them=.”
Again in Genesis 2:7, it is said:
“7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; =And man became a living soul=.”
Everywhere in Holy Writ, human beings are always referred to as “=Man=”
whenever he is considered as a being vested with a soul, a particular
psychological condition that makes him different from all other
creations.
In every movement toward human betterment, education, civilization,
development, and especially in the onward movement toward unification,
the human species is referred to as “=Man=” without any racial
distinctions whatever.
WARS BETWEEN JEWS AND ETHIOPIANS
It is only when men are opposed to one another; when they depart from
the Divine intention to unify all men, that man is designated according
to his racial or national designation. For instance: The wars between
the Jews and the Ethiopians three thousand years before Christ; the wars
of the Romans, Persians, Assyrians, English, French, and all other
divergent upheavals which depart from the Divine Design. In such cases
the psychological man, the man with a soul, the man into whom God
breathed the breath of life, is considered a different being and he is
unified as “=Man=.”
Not only is this distinctive unity of soul, of mind, of intelligence,
the predominating feature of the creation, known as “man,” but his
physical characteristics outside the mere skin deep differences, are
exactly the same.
Modern scientists, known as “biologists,” that is, men who investigate
the origin of physical life in men, have advanced so far that they know
and can easily demonstrate that there are no physical differences.
The infinitely small cells called “protoplasms,” which make up the
tissues of the human body, and which are present everywhere, plainly
visible to the eye under a microscope, are exactly the same in every
human being whatever his race or color, condition, education,
environment, etc.
All the machinery upon which these small cells of life operate and give
action, energy, and duration—the heart, the nerves, the blood, and all
the organs essential or co-operative, are identically the same.
Men have tried to find a difference in the physical make-up of the
various races but they have signally failed. They have even endeavored
to compare the blood and cells of inferior animals such as apes, going
so low as the common monkey, to show that some of the races originated
in what is known as the “Anthropoid Ape,” so as to bolster up the
doctrine of evolution and maintain the existence of an exclusively,
special God created race of men, of which they are the sole and
exclusive exponents, but they, also, have signally failed, and all men
today, proven by science demonstrating the truths of Holy Writ, stand
upon the same psychological, or soul plane, whether his skin be black,
yellow, brown, red, white or any other color or shade of color. They are
all part and parcel of the Divine movement which is impelling man toward
a universal psychological unity. Any man or nation that attempts to bar
the way, is submerged or cast aside like a straw before an avalanche.
This is written upon the pages of history so clearly, that it is beyond
controversy.
PROGRESS OF THE DIFFERENT RACES OF MANKIND
Marvelous Rise of the Japanese from Barbarism in Five Decades—The Jews
without a National Government Rule the Finances and Commerce of the
World—China in Contact with Civilization Has Created a Great
Republic—The American Indian Raised From Savagery to Peaceful,
Profitable Pursuits—The Colored American’s Part and Opportunities in the
Great Onward Movement
A reader of history who does not go deeper than the mere words in books,
sees nothing but confusion in the steady, onward march of all mankind
from the dawn of creation to the present time.
We hope to bring something easily understood out of this chaos, that
will be of benefit to the Colored Americans, and put them in line with
the great movement of the human family toward universal peace and
prosperity. We expect to show that he is an essential factor in the
human race, and that he has performed his part when his ancestors, the
powerful kings of Ethiopia, brought civilization and the art of working
metals into Egypt, as far as Asia, and into Europe.
The most learned ethnologists hold that there was a time in the history
of the human race when all mankind were unified, and that through
different causes operating upon passion for power, religious differences
and climatic necessities, they became separated and split into divisions
each of which claimed supremacy, and made war upon the others who denied
it.
Wherever we begin the national history of any nation or tribe, we find
them separate from every other nation and tribe, individual entities
with their own laws and government.
If we take any fanciful theory of the creation of man, or accept the
biblical account of the Dispersion at the plain of Shinar, at the
building of the Tower of Babel, 2218 years before Christ, we find them
scattered over the face of the earth, whereas before that Dispersion
“The whole earth was one language and of one speech.” (Genesis 2:1).
After that event “The Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all
the earth.”
The races of mankind began in unity, but separated and scattered
becoming a multitude of nations with different languages and religions.
But, at the same time, visible as a fine thread through the movements of
mankind, was a trend toward another unification.
THE RISE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Nations rose and fell, leaving the earth to a few powerful ones who
attacked one another until, finally, the vast and powerful Roman Empire
rose upon the ruins of the others. The central point of unification was
nearer, and it appeared when Christ was born, the Saviour of all the
world.
From that time began a movement toward another unification, but not a
national movement, a human movement, an uplift into higher aims and more
complete brotherhood.
The conquest of Rome by barbarians did not stay this movement, because
the barbarians fell in with it and moved along with it. Every great act
on the chessboard of nations, whether war, or the present peace movement
toward universal peace, demonstrates that the purpose of the entire
human family, as a unit, will be fulfilled sometime. It is rapidly
reaching that point.
The great nations that stood in the way of this onward movement toward
unification, have been abolished politically, but not individually, the
individuals becoming merged, unified into the great moving mass, and
progressing onward with it to the end in view.
Of these unified nations or rather peoples of nations who have no more
political power or significance, we find the following:
The Jews, the Semitic division of the human race.
The Colored Men, the Hamitic division of the human family.
The American Indians, Aborigines with tribal government.
We shall add to these, by way of illustration to demonstrate the power
of civilization, the following:
The Japanese, an offshoot of the Turanian.
The Chinese, pure Turanian.
The two latter races are foreign to our unification in the United
States, many of their people, however, have inserted the thin edge of a
wedge into our civilization and time alone will tell what the upshot
will be.
We have in the United States a most remarkable unification, or merger
into one political status, of the descendants of three great divisions
of the Human Family, who are living together substantially in peace and
amity. Whatever differences and difficulties arise are purely personal.
Of the Colored Americans in the United States, this book refers almost
exclusively; in fact, it is dedicated to them and their interests, and
intended for their benefit. Hence, we may omit them in this chapter,
there being a full account of them elsewhere.
A short sketch of the Jews may be considered as pertinent to the subject
and as having a bearing upon the status of the Colored men.
THE JEWS
The Jews considered from the biblical accounts exclusively, are the
descendants and representatives of the oldest branch of the human
family, but they existed as a nation contemporaneously with the
Ethiopians, in whose descendants we find the Colored men of the United
States.
It may be said that the unification of the Semitic or Jewish race began
with Moses, although Noah was in fact the father of the race. Their
history is one of the wildest, most varied and romantic of that of any
other race or nation.
After centuries of miserable bondage under the Babylonian kings, and in
Egypt, they emerged under the leadership of Moses who married an
Ethiopian, and began anew the struggle for national autonomy.
Prior to Moses the government was essentially patriarchal, but after
Moses and in the course of time it became monarchical, with various
petty kings and offshoots, always quarreling with one another, and
meeting with defeats and slavery from other nations, until the Romans
had acquired power to conquer the world, and included in their conquered
territory the various sovereignties established by the Jews.
Although the political power was taken from them, the Jews were allowed
to retain their religious authority, but in process of time, and at the
coming of Christ, their chief priests and spiritual rulers generally,
were sunk in corruption. In the 70th year of the Christian era,
Jerusalem and the great temple of Solomon were utterly destroyed, and
from that time until quite recent times, the Jews have been wanderers,
obtaining a foothold here and there against fearful opposition and
amazing suffering.
ADVANCEMENT OF THE JEWS
Bereft of political power and national autonomy, the Jews advanced along
the line of racial unification, and became leaders in the arts and
sciences, and have made themselves the financial and commercial masters
of the world. A power they never could have reached had they maintained
their national distinction under a monarchy or other form of government.
Their position in the United States is exactly that of the Colored
Americans. They have all the political rights of freemen, and can rise
to positions of high trust and honor. Like their Colored brothers, they
are not a race within a race.
THE JEWS THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE
They are all intensely interested in education, and their children
possess an insatiable thirst for knowledge. As a consequence they are
always ready to seize upon opportunity when it comes their way, and they
always profit by experience, and gather information from every source.
Many of the most distinguished scientists and statesmen in the world
have been Jews, and although able to dictate financially to governments,
and possessing political power, they have never yet attempted to seize
upon the reins of any government, or take it out of the hands of those
selected to govern.
If a Jew were to become President of the United States, and all the
offices filled by Jews, the government would run along the lines upon
which it was formed, without a change or jar, and at the expiration of
their term of office, or a change in political power, they would lay
down their trust and return to their individual avocations without a
single regret.
This is a unification such as the world has never before dreamed of. And
it is the same unification with regard to the Colored Americans. The
situation is the same, the conditions identical with the single
exception that the Jews are farther advanced than the Colored man, his
experience extending over a larger period of time, but the Colored men
are improving and soon they should be where the same sort of unification
can be said of them.
THE AMERICAN INDIAN
The American Indian has no ancestry of civilization to look back to. His
forebears so far as is known to history were savages, and the Indians
found in America by the first white settlers were also savages.
Their origin as a race is shrouded in obscurity, some asserting that
they are descendants of the Semitic race of Asia, others that they are
Turanian and Malaysian mixed. It is certain, however, that nothing
remains of any very ancient civilization, what does exist consists of
“mounds” containing crude articles of pottery, flint arrows, etc., and
in the case of the descendants of the cliff dwellers in New Mexico and
Arizona, their habitations remain, showing that their surroundings were
crude and their civilization at a low ebb.
The descendants of the Aztecs, Toltecs and other tribes whose ancestors
were ruthlessly slaughtered by Cortez and his Spanish soldiers, and
oppressed by his successors, had small title to what is known as
civilization. Of these little can be said except that the present
descendants present the vestiges of degeneracy, and have no marks of
being a pure race of any sort. They are just the same as they were when
first discovered, barring vices which they have acquired from the
civilized races without receiving any benefit from their virtues.
These people present no example worth being followed, but as to the
descendants of the real savage American Indian, the Sioux, Algonquins,
and other large and savage warrior tribes encountered by the American
pioneer and frontiersmen, they show the power of civilization and their
adaptability to changed environment.
Among them were many noble men, men of high aspirations and aims, who as
soon as they understood civilization, broke away from the trammels of
savagery and became civilized. That is, they adopted the manners and
customs of the civilized races, and became unified with them.
RESULTS OF EDUCATION
Among them, education has produced a large number of men of high grade,
and influence. Most of them have turned to agriculture, but being a race
that is still in embryo, so to speak, that is one of the present era,
the time has not yet arrived when it can be predicted of them that they
are equal to coming up to the highest rank in civilized life.
They are an open, living illustration of the power of education and
modern civilization. The lesson to be learned from them is, that what a
race so sunk in savagery and barbarism can do, is much more within the
reach of the Colored Americans who have a great and noble ancestry back
to which they may look with admiration and feel an incentive to continue
to advance—it is in them.
THE JAPANESE AS AN ILLUSTRATION
We come to the Japanese as an illustration of unification of the races,
because they have put themselves before the world as entitled to
consideration as much as any other race. Inasmuch as they are rapidly
becoming a world power, and have the warships and guns to back up their
pretensions, the nations of the earth feel justified in considering
their claims.
Whence they come nobody knows, not even their own learned men. They
originated somewhere in the past, but not ancient past, or they would
have been heard of, but may be a cross among the Turanian tribes. They
are small men and dark, which lends truth to this theory.
With their origin we have nothing to do, because their rise and progress
is something men now living have witnessed and stand amazed at its
suddenness and at the height to which these small men have attained.
They are a brilliant example of what education and civilization backed
by intense persistence and energy will accomplish in taking advantage of
opportunity.
They were given an opportunity to enter the ranks of civilization, but
they refused the offer. Then, trade and commerce urged and then forced
it upon them, and seeing that they had to progress, they took hold of
opportunities, and now, never let the smallest opportunity pass by them.
When an opportunity does not present itself they go to meet it or make
one to suit themselves. They are giving the world a bad scare by their
persistence and clamors for equality with every other nation and
peoples, due, perhaps, to their newness as a nation and the probability
that they may relapse into barbarism should they get the upperhand with
restraint removed.
The Story of a Rising Race Told in Pictures
[Illustration]
_PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE_
│RELIGIOUS
Special Collection B │PHILANTHROPIC
│EDUCATIONAL
│FRATERNAL
[Illustration:
IN THE SERVICE OF GOD
A meeting of the officers of the various churches of all
denominations.
]
[Illustration:
UNITY IN RELIGION
Bishops and Officers of all the Negro Churches in America, all
denominations. Conference at Mobile, Alabama.
]
[Illustration:
SEEKERS AFTER TRUTH
Graduating Class of the Bible Training School, Theological Department,
Tuskegee Institute.
]
[Illustration:
CHRISTIAN UNITY, FELLOWSHIP AND EDUCATION
Inter-Scholastic Young Men’s Christian Association Meeting, held at
King’s Mountain, N. C., May, 1913.
]
[Illustration:
SONGS OF PRAISE
Vested Choir attending devotional services. Howard University,
Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
REFINING AND CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE
The Reading Room in the Y. M. C. A., Washington, D. C. The young men
are studious and deeply interested in their educational and
Christian work.
]
[Illustration:
COLORED SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
The Holy Family Convent at New Orleans has eight Catholic Schools in
Louisiana and two in Texas. The students are taught Industrial Art,
Embroidery, Music, etc., and become very efficient.
]
[Illustration:
BRINGING THE BOYS TOGETHER FOR SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Social Settlement Workers teaching boys innocent games and interesting
them in developing their characters in order to make them useful
citizens.
]
[Illustration:
FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE RACE
The Fourth Annual Conference of The National Association for the
advancement of Colored People, at Chicago. In the group are, Jane
Addams, Dr. DuBois, Bishop Lee, Dr. C. E. Bentley, and many other
well known men and women.
]
[Illustration:
WORLD-WIDE EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENT
International Conference on better education held at Tuskegee July,
1912.
]
[Illustration:
THE WORKERS OF A PRINTING AND PUBLISHING HOUSE
The A. M. E. Sunday School Publishing House, Nashville, Tennessee. An
association which spreads “Christian Teaching” broadcast and opens
an avenue for the employment of intelligent men and women of the
race.
]
[Illustration:
MYSTIC SHRINERS
A group of the Mystic Shrine, or Scottish Rite Officers, which
includes many prominent in the Order.
]
[Illustration:
KNIGHT TEMPLARS
The International Conference, Pittsburg, Pa. Malta Commandery No. 19,
Knight Templars, welcomed by the Young Men’s Christian Association.
]
[Illustration:
ODD FELLOWS ANNUAL BANQUET
In attendance are such national characters as Booker T. Washington,
Ex-Register J. C. Napier, Former Register J. D. Lyons, Ex-Recorder
of Deeds Lincoln Johnson, the Local Grand Master, and others equally
well known.
]
[Illustration:
THE RISING GENERATION
A group of intellectual students comprising the Senior Class, 1913,
Tuskegee Institute.
]
Every man who has not had a very good or saintly past, is regarded with
suspicion when he joins the ranks of the good and pious. It is not
credited that such a man can become good all at once, and the belief
spreads that his reform is a mere makeshift, a delusion, and an
opportunity for gain.
The Japanese have not been tested by any of the conditions that have
made the civilized races what they are as to reliability after centuries
of experience, and the only thing to be observed is, that they were
found first as a barbaric tribe, or semibarbaric, with the most hideous
manners and customs, and a religion that was mere idol worship.
If the first American admiral who forced western civilization upon them
through trade and commerce could see them now at the bargain counter of
opportunities, he would be amazed.
Their arts and sciences are marvels of beauty; their home life when they
are not fighting is amid a bower of roses, and they can imitate anything
as to mechanical workmanship from a toy dog to a complicated man-of-war.
They make everything the civilized men make, and sell them for a
pittance. They know what they want and they get it or declare war.
Never did such a race of men exist since history began, and it has
sprung up into prominence within about half a century, without being
deep or profound, and having a character that is so dubious that one
never knows whether he is your friend or enemy.
While studying this race of small men, one is almost tempted to urge
every man behind in this world’s favors, to do as the Japanese. It is
indeed an incentive to wake up and go ahead.
THE CHINESE
The Chinese are as near the pure Turanian stock as it is possible for a
race with their environments to be.
The samples that come to the United States for employment are coolies,
mongrels of the race, just as we have natural born mongrels from
intermixtures with degeneracy.
But the real Chinaman, the Manchurian, and his similars among the pure
Turanian strain, are magnificent men physically, without the slant eye,
and highly educated in the Chinese fashion.
Like the other grand divisions of the human race, they lived along for
ages in peace and comfort, until the outside barbarian in the form of
the little Japanese came along and shattered his dreams of content. As
Alaric and his Huns battered down the gates of Rome; as the Romans put
an end to the Jewish nation; as the combined attacks of the gold
hungered kings of Europe and Asia subdued and obliterated the vast
Ethiopian empire, so little Japan routed the big Chinese empire.
But this accomplished something that emphasizes the idea of a universal
unification of the nations of the world. Japan forced open China and its
people saw the opportunity, and took it. After studying the methods of
civilization, particularly those in vogue in this great republic, its
students returned to their native land, and aroused the half a billion
people from the slumbers and behold! A vast republic. The Chinese are in
line with modern education, with the arts of civilization. Like the
Japanese, they have begun to wear American clothing. Withal, they have
abandoned their old pagan practices, killed their dragon, and are
rapidly coming in under the remorseless movement toward the unification
of the world.
ETHIOPIA, THE GREAT BLACK EMPIRE
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE AND ALSO RECENT DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA PROVE
THE ANCIENT AND POWERFUL CIVILIZATION OF THE COLORED RACE 3,000 YEARS B.
C.—THE STORY OF CANDACE, THE BEAUTIFUL BLACK QUEEN OF ETHIOPIA, AND THE
MARRIAGE OF MOSES TO AN ETHIOPIAN WOMAN 1490 B. C.—HOW PIANKHI, THE
BLACK KING, CONQUERED EGYPT 750 B. C., AND HOW EGYPT TOOK HER
CIVILIZATION FROM ETHIOPIA.
We read about Napoleon, Frederick the Great of Prussia, Catherine of
Russia, Marie Antoinette of France, and other kings and queens, many of
whom led mysteriously cloudy lives and came to a bad ending, but few
have ever heard of Queen Candace, Queen of Ethiopia.
You are referred to the Bible (Acts 8:27) as a beginning of the
information to follow.
Few among the learned in this present age, and less of the unlearned,
know anything about the origin of the colored race in the United States.
They are completely in the dark as to their ancestry, as a powerful and
highly civilized race of people.
The fact is, that while the Anglo-Saxons, Celts, Scandinavians, Germans,
and so on, wore skin coats, devoured their food raw, lived in caverns,
and were busily engaged in cutting one another’s throats over dry bones,
the ancestors of our Colored people in these United States were enjoying
the highest arts of civilization, lived in palaces, and erected
magnificent specimens of the most wonderful architecture in the world,
and behaved generally like civilized people.
Recent and authentic discoveries in Africa have brought to light,
through monuments and other evidences, that the Hamitic race played a
very important part in the first stages of the world’s history. There
are modern records, which, together with the great number of monuments
of great antiquity, demonstrate without the shadow of a doubt that the
African civilization of the Hamitic race, was older than the most
ancient history recorded of the Egyptians, going back centuries before
the birth of Moses.
THE BLACK NATIONS A POWERFUL CIVILIZATION
It appears now that Egypt took its civilization from Ethiopia, the black
empire south of it.
The old theories have been smashed into atoms, and it now appears that
the black nations of certain regions of the continent of Africa were not
races in their infancy, but the descendants of a powerful civilization
gradually broken by misfortunes and disastrous wars against it.
The Egyptians have always contended that their forefathers learned their
arts and largely received their laws from the black empire farther
south. Throughout the pages of Homer, the Ethiopians are spoken of with
great respect, as the friends of the gods, the “blameless Ethiopians”
being a common phrase.
The great Greek historian, Herodotus, who has been charged with drawing
upon his imagination in his accounts of Africa, is now demonstrated to
have been truthful. His extraordinary stories about the ancient empire
of Ethiopians, south of Egypt, are being verified from the recently
unearthed monuments, as having been erected by the very people of whom
the historian wrote, to celebrate their victories and honor their gods.
Although the most ancient inscriptions on the monuments along the upper
Nile have not yet been deciphered, the story of the Land of the Blacks
is well known as far back as eight hundred years before Christ.
THE BLACK KINGS
As showing a common civilization, in fact, perhaps a common origin, the
doings of the Black Kings were chronicled after the same fashion as
those of the Egyptian kings.
The writing of the people of the Great Black Empire, is like that of the
Egyptians, and the gods they worshiped were closely related to the gods
of Egypt.
Inscriptions on these monuments that have been deciphered, tell us that
Piankhi, the black king, conquered Egypt 750 B. C., and that he
worshiped without question in Egyptian temples, and the carvings in the
excavated ruins, which show men and women unmistakably Negro, give
evidence of the similarity of religion.
We have always supposed, as told by the scientists, that civilization
went up the Nile, whereas, it is now proven that it came down the Nile,
that is, from Ethiopia to Egypt, instead of the other way.
When Cambyses, king of Persia, conquered Egypt six hundred years before
the Christian era, he ventured to arrange an expedition against the
black empire to the south, stories of the greatness of which he had been
told. He sent to the Black King gifts of gold, palm wine and incense,
and asked to be informed whether or not it was true that on a certain
spot called the “Table of the Sun,” the magistrates, every night, put
provisions of cooked meats so that every one who was hungry might come
in the morning and help himself.
The history proceeds to tell us, that the black king, Nastasenen,
received the envoys of Cambyses peacefully but without enthusiasm. He
showed them the “Table of the Sun” mentioned by Cambyses, and took them
to the prisons where the prisoners wore fetters of gold, so that the
Persians might be properly impressed.
Cambyses was very much impressed by the fact that gold was so common
that it was used in making the shackles of prisoners, and he made war
upon the black empire to get that gold, but miserably failed.
THE BEAUTIFUL BLACK QUEEN
We now come to the Queen Candace mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.
The account there given is as follows (Chapter 8):
“26th verse. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, arise
and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto
Gaza, which is desert.
“27th verse. And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an
eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who
had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to
worship.”
This is all that relates to Queen Candace, but it transpires from
subsequent verses of the same chapter, that the treasurer of Queen
Candace was baptized and went on his way rejoicing.
One queen Candace of Ethiopia, was a famous black queen, tales of whose
prowess spread as far as Greece. It appears from the monuments, that the
kingdom was ruled by successive queens each bearing the name of Candace,
which may account for the different descriptions of her, some showing
her as very beautiful, and some allowing her but one eye with the
disposition of a termagant.
These kings and queens, whose records have been deciphered, are of
comparatively recent years—not more than 2,500 or 3,000 years old. It is
expected that the results of the excavations of the older ruins will be
more interesting.
ETHIOPIANS FIRST LIVING MEN
To revert to Herodotus. This ancient historian was a great traveler, the
first, perhaps, to visit the region of the blacks and their empire.
He says, somewhere in his history: “The Ethiopians were the first men
who ever lived.”
There is more astounding evidence of the civilization of the black men
to be found in recent excavations.
Lying north of Egypt and a little southeast of Greece, in the
Mediterranean Sea, is the famous Island of Crete, or Candia, embracing
3,326 square miles, and at the present time it has a population of about
300,000 people all told.
This island was anciently regarded as the spot where Jove himself was
cradled, and it became the center or reservoir of the highest forms of
ancient civilization. All the ancient Greek and Roman gods had their
origin or birthplace on this island, and under the famed King Minos,
nothing disgraceful or monstrous was permitted to find a resting place.
It has always been a mysteriously unknown island, and the great aim of
delvers into antiquities.
Within the last ten years, there has been dug out in this island of
Crete, the remains of a civilization two thousand years more ancient
than any hitherto known in Europe.
THEATRES, PALACES AND TEMPLES
There are actual buildings, theatres, palaces, and temples that existed
in 3,000 B. C., and were mere guess work in Homer’s time. What has been
unearthed shows that there was communication between Crete and Egypt
2,000 years before Christ. One of the frescoes found shows some
religious ceremonial in the Egyptian style. Some of the priestesses are
black, others white, and the connection between African and Cretan
civilization as to dates will soon be settled.
Enough appears to show that there were two great civilizations at a very
early time, that in the Nile country begun and maintained by black men,
and the other in Crete. The Cretans seem to have been a dark race,
rather small, with regular, almost Greek profiles and full lips.
Nothing has been found in this newly discovered cradle of the human race
to indicate that civilization came to them or to Africa from Asia,
whence it has always been thought all knowledge originated.
Everything so far unearthed in Crete and in the Soudan, favors the
theory that all around the Mediterranean there arose in the stone age a
common race of men, who in the course of centuries developed differing
physical characteristics, and they peopled Europe and Africa where the
first civilizations arose in Crete and the Soudan.
There is tremendous food for thought in these discoveries. It may
transpire after all is discovered the Colored American descended from
the African, the Hamitic, or the Negro—call him anything, it will not
harm his ancestry—is in fact descended from a superior race of people.
While the colored race do not care for any admixture of their blood with
the Aryan, the latter need have no fear that it will ever be forced upon
him.
MOSES MARRIED A COLORED WOMAN
What would Moses, the great lawgiver, say to you? Listen to the good
book in Numbers 12:1. “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because
of the Ethiopian woman he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian
woman.”
For this reviling, the Lord made Miriam leprous, and punished her, and
Aaron acknowledged that he had sinned.
While on this subject, it may be interesting to specify some of the
doings of the Ethiopians in ancient history. First, Moses married an
Ethiopian woman in B. C. 1490, quite a number of years before any
legislature had an opportunity to prevent it.
The Ethiopians must have flourished after the last mentioned date,
because we read in II Kings 9, that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, had come
out to fight the Assyrians—quite a distance from Ethiopia—and the
frightened Assyrian king besought the aid of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
This happened in B. C. 710.
Again, in B. C. 957, we learn from II Chronicles 14:9, that Zerah, the
Ethiopian, came out against Asa, king of Judah, with a million men and
three hundred chariots. The scripture reads, “an host of a thousand
thousand.”
GREAT ANCESTRY OF COLORED RACE
Let the Colored American live up to the records of the past history of
his race and prove himself worthy of his great ancestry.
It was said in another place in this article that there appear to have
been two great civilizations at a very early period of time. One
flourished in the Nile country, maintained by black men, and the other
in Crete.
It is an astonishing fact, for it is fast developing into a historical
fact, that a common race of men arose, and that in the course of
centuries, they developed differing physical characteristics, due to
climatic necessities, either black, brown or swarthy, and that they
peopled Europe and Africa, the first civilizations arising in Crete and
the Soudan, which is the very heart of the continent of Africa,
extending from the Equator to 25 degrees north latitude, and from 20
degrees west longitude to 50 degrees east longitude. A territory
comprising 1,650 by 4,650 miles extent, and including the “Phut”
territory, it is nearly as large again.
All this vast territory constituted the Empire of Ethiopia. An empire
that was able more than 600 years before the Christian era to send a
million of fully equipped soldiers against a Jewish king.
A very slight circumstance has been the beginning of explorations that
will undoubtedly alter all of our text-books upon the subject of the
origin of the human race.
A German explorer recently unearthed, in a remote region in the Soudan,
a bronze head of fine and exquisite workmanship. This has been taken as
another evidence of an ancient African civilization—indeed, a black
men’s civilization, and has operated as an incentive for other
explorations.
THE BIBLE AS A PROOF
We read in the Bible (I Kings 10), a whole chapter concerning the visit
of the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, coming to Jerusalem with a
very great train, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold and
precious stones. And that when she departed she presented Solomon with a
hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and
precious stones. “There came no more such abundance.”
The same account of this great queen is given in 2nd Chronicles, and in
Matthew 12:42 she is styled “The Queen of the South.”
A queen from the South who could present Solomon with about a million
dollars of our money in gold and precious stones, was certainly a rich
and powerful queen.
The Queen of Sheba had many successors, however, and they were all
warlike, leading their armies either to victory or successfully
defending the Ethiopian empire against attack. Ahasuerus, the most
powerful Persian monarch, who ruled over 146 provinces, attempted to
extend his dominion over into Ethiopia but could not succeed.
Some years ago, ruins of ancient dwellings were discovered in Upper
Rhodesia, which were declared by Dr. MacIver of Oxford to be those of an
ancient African civilization.
BLACK MEN DISCOVER ART OF WORKING METALS
Within the past ten years, excavations in the Upper Soudan, verify the
claim that the black man was the first to discover the art of working
metals, and that they gave this knowledge to Europe and Asia. Dr.
Schweinfurth, the famous German ethnologist, and the University of
Berlin, have adopted this theory.
Lady Lugard, the authoress, gathered from old Arab books, many details
of this high civilization among the black men of the Upper Nile, their
customs and government until quite recent times.
We know as a historical fact, that the Nubians conquered Egypt, and set
the pace for a good government among the Egyptians, suppressing many of
their cruel practices.
The end of these discoveries is far from having been reached. Indeed,
they are just beginning to attract attention. Enough has been unearthed,
however, to establish the ancestry of the Colored race of America,
greater and higher than that of any of the mixed races.
The Genius of Colored Americans in Literature; The Arts and Sciences
Inherited From the Ancient Ethiopians
Read, Study, and Educate up to Opportunities—A High Racial Type Appears
in Modern Times—A Cause for Pride and an Incentive to Action, Energy and
Efficiency.
Men of learning, wisdom, and honest, without prejudice, take the
standard of a race of men from his primitive type.
That type is sought for in the most excellent productions of the race,
their achievements and their position among civilized nations that were
the founders of our present civilization.
He who grovels in the worst human elements of any race, knows nothing
about that race, and opens the door to the degeneracy of all the nations
and races on earth, by advocating them as the evidences of degeneracy.
Since the world began there have been good and bad elements among the
peoples that inhabited it, but the good elements alone have survived,
the bad or the evil has gone down into ruin. Nations that sought to
waylay and throttle progress for their own selfish ends, and immoral
purposes have been forced out into the world’s Gehenna, and in the
garbage heap there are still rummaging many of the split races of the
earth, and many individuals bury themselves in its reek refusing to
emerge into the clear sunlight.
It is, as it always has been, the great, the high hope and aim of men of
intellect, and higher aspirations than the luxuries of life which kill
the soul, to lift the evil in mankind out of the category of
civilization, and develop mind and intellect as the only adjunct toward
universal unity and peace.
To cure all the evil which afflict men of every race and people, is an
impossibility so long as the earth exists for the use and benefit of
mankind. Force has been tried, but even the death penalty does not stay
crime and disorder. The Crucified One gave up his life and took upon
himself all the sins of men, and pointed out the way for them to follow
if they would be saved. But even this Majestic, this Divine Sacrifice
has not stayed the evils afflicting man when left to his own devices, to
his own ill-regulated freedom. We know the way, indeed, and whoso
refuses to follow it, must be classed with the evils we suffer. Every
man must lift himself out of the slough.
There is food for thought in the past, which hinges much upon the
present and the future, and if it is taken in the proper spirit, it can
not fail to develop the mind, the soul, and put men on the high road
toward the accomplishment of the designs of God.
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA AND SOLOMON
It was related in another article, that the Queen of Sheba visited
Solomon, but we shall give a further account of this great queen because
it will lead to the reason why Ethiopia reached a high state of
development.
Open the Bible at 1st Kings, 10, verses 6 to 10 and read:
“6. And she said to the king, it was a true report that I heard in mine
own land of thy acts and thy wisdom.
“7. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had
seen it: and, behold, the half has not been told me: thy wisdom and
prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
“8. Happy are the men, happy are these thy servants, which stand
continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
“9. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on
the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore
made he the king, to do judgment and justice.”
Here was an Ethiopian Queen who was clearly desirous of benefiting her
great empire and uplifting her people, traveling in pursuit of the best
way to do it, just as our modern men are now doing.
This, it should be remembered, occurred more than a thousand years
before the birth of Christ, or to bring the years down to date, it was
two thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight years ago—nearly thirty
centuries.
THE ETHIOPIANS CONQUERED EGYPT
To diverge a few lines: Napoleon Bonaparte was a deep student, and when
attempting the conquest of Egypt, he pointed his soldiers to the great
Pyramids saying: “Soldiers of France, forty centuries are looking down
upon you,” he uttered a truth of history, and established an Ethiopian
empire a thousand years before Solomon. The reason is this: The
Ethiopians conquered Egypt, or erected it into a province, and built the
great Pyramids that still exist.
But to return to the Queen of Sheba.
She found a knowledge of God in her visit and carried it back to her
people, because we find His worship beginning to make its appearance
upon the monuments and inscriptions.
Now a singular circumstance is presented by the claim of Ethiopian kings
and princes after the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon.
It was claimed by the princes of Axoum, in Ethiopia, which was
evangelized by the Empress Helena, consort of the Roman Emperor
Constantine, in the year 324 of the Christian era, that the Queen of
Sheba bore a son to King Solomon, and that he was the founder of a
dynasty, the annals of the kingdom giving a long list of the kings
descended from him, and relating that they governed for centuries
without interruption. Pieces of their money still in existence and the
inscriptions on recently unearthed monuments furnishing evidence of this
fact.
In a history of Alexander the Great, translated from the Ethiopian, it
is related of another Queen of Sheba, who, in the year 332 before the
Christian era, resisted that mighty conqueror with so much vigor, that
he capitulated to her charms, as she was a most beautiful woman, and
left her kingdom in peace. She laughingly reproached him for his
weakness, so the story goes: “You, the mighty conqueror who have never
been defeated by man, have been captured and defeated by a woman.”
BLACK QUEENS WHEN CHRIST WAS BORN
The reign of the Sheban dynasty was followed by that of the queens of
Candace, who were ruling Ethiopia at the date of the birth of Christ,
indeed, one of them is mentioned in the New Testament, Matthew 12:42,
and her story is related in another chapter of this book.
Among the many evidences of high civilization in Ethiopia, are its
literary productions. There are several hundred books in the various
public libraries of Europe which show a remarkable condition of
development.
In the way of history, there are the annals of ancient chronology by
Georges Ibn-al Amid, which follows the genealogy of David from Adam, and
a list of the kings of Israel and Judea, together with the principal
events of their reigns. To this is added a chronology of the reigns of
the Roman Emperors, and the Consuls.
In the chronological book, there is an entire chapter giving the history
of the kings of Ethiopia, from Ibn-al Hakim, son of Solomon by the Queen
of Sheba, down to recent times.
There are also volumes of poems of great beauty and perfect meter,
stories of wars, genealogical lists, biographies, commentaries, moral
maxims, philosophy, anecdotes, astrologies, homilies, hymns, etc. All of
these are contemporaneous.
In proof of this remarkable condition, reference is made to the
“Catalogue des manuscripts Ethiopiens (Gheez et Amharique) de la
Bibliotheque nationale de France, a Paris,” a copy of which may be found
in any of our great public libraries.
ETHIOPIAN WOMEN HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM
In refinement, the Ethiopians held women in a superior position in the
social scale, which says Dr. Reich, the historian, “Shows a higher point
of delicacy and refinement than either their Eastern or Western
successors. Colossal in art, profound in philosophy and religion, and in
possession of the knowledge of the arts and sciences, =the Ethiopian
race exhibits the astounding phenomenon of an elevated civilization at a
period when the other nations of the world were almost unknown=.”
Referring to this question of psychology in civilization exhibited by
the Ethiopians, the same Dr. Reich, in his “History of Civilization,”
says:
“People, as a rule cherish the idea that nations are like individuals,
and that accordingly nations have their childhood, their youth, and
their old age, and their death just as we are used to see in
individuals. This entire idea is utterly false. There is no such
parallel development. =A nation is a mental thing only.=”
Dr. Scholes, in his “Glimpses of the Ages,” citing Heeren’s “Manual of
Ancient History,” relative to the Ethiopians, says:
“It may be gathered from the monuments and records that Upper Egypt
(Ethiopia) was the first seat of civilization, which originating in the
South, spread by the settlement of colonies toward the North (Egypt).
“These migrations are proved by the representations, both in sculpture
and painting found in the yet remaining monuments throughout Egypt.”
“Glimpses of Ages,” p. 191. Heeren, p. 57.
There were tribes among the Ethiopians which were of a low grade of
civilization, just as in the most civilized countries of the present
times, there are peoples of a very low grade, not only in civilization
but in intelligence. But, there existed a highly cultured and civilized
Ethiopian people, who dwelt in cities, erected temples and other
edifices, and who had good government and humane laws. Moreover, their
fame and progress in knowledge and their social arts spread in the
earliest ages over a considerable part of the earth.
Upon the authority of Heeren, already referred to, and upon their own
investigations, Dr. Glidden and Dr. Morton, who are quoted in Scholes’
“Glimpses of the Ages,” made an examination of the Egyptian skulls, and
gave it as their opinion that the Egyptians and the Ethiopians never
came from Asia, but were indigenous or aboriginal inhabitants of the
African Nile country, and were all of the “Negroid type.”
ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE NEGROES
Featherstone in his “Social History of the Races of Mankind,” goes still
further, and confidently asserts that the ancient Egyptians were of the
Negro race.
“This,” he adds, substantially, “is borne out on all the Egyptian
paintings, sculptures, and mummies; the hair found, as well as that
possessed by their descendants, the Copts, is the curly, or woolly
variety, and the lips and nose the same.
“The fact that the ancient Egyptians were Negroes three thousand six
hundred years before the Christian era is substantiated, and that their
population in Egypt at that period amounted to seven millions.”
Admitting all these things to be true, it may be asked: “Well, what of
it? What good will that do the Colored Americans?”
It has to do with Colored Americans as much as an ancient highly
civilized ancestry has to do with the modern Jews. They know that their
race is not extinct; that they are an integral part of the great
movement of all mankind toward a unification of mind and intelligence.
This fact burned into their minds must operate as an incentive of the
greatest propelling force to urge them onward toward the high destiny
that awaits all mankind.
That they are working out the plans of the Almighty by so doing, puts
them in the vanguard of civilization, with opportunities at hand to
avail themselves of all the advantages attached to such a high purpose.
There is something to work for—something worth working for, and when the
Colored American takes this high view of his destiny, it will be too
small a thing to notice, even should he be denied the privilege of
sitting beside a white man.
THE JEW AND THE COLORED MAN
A curious racial transformation is going on in the United States outside
the two divisions of man, the Jew and the Colored man, which means much
more to the ethnologist and lover of mankind than is apparent on the
surface. The various nations, such as the English, French, German,
Irish, Scotch, Spaniard, etc., are rapidly losing their identity of race
or descent, and becoming American with new facial traits, as well as
mental attributes. All these nations or tribes, will lose their identity
and be merged into another and different stock distinctly American,
perhaps revert to the parent Aryan stock. Thus we shall witness, the
four primitive divisions of mankind, the Aryan, rehabilitated; the Jew
or Semitic, with renewed wisdom; the Ethiopian, or Hamitic, still a
distinct race, and the Turanian, or Chinese, working together to
accomplish a unity of nations, one in thought and high purpose.
Everything is apparently working in that direction, and there is no
single nation, or union of nations of diverse civilization that will be
able to stay the movement.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE RACE IN THE UNITED STATES
The Result of a Great Civilized Ancestry—Some of our Colored Americans,
Their Doings and Their Personality
The Colored Americans, as one of the great divisions of the human
family, with as proud an ancestry and as high a civilization as the
Jews, and co-eval with them in the point of cultured antiquity, are
proving themselves as progressive and, with the additions of modern
culture, civilization and progress, are building their race up to a high
point of excellence.
They have bridged the ages, so to speak, and are showing themselves
penetrated with the spirit of a civilizing evangelization, which began
in the Far East, nearly four thousand years ago.
They are carrying down to date, without losing by an intermission, the
great aims and purposes of the Ethiopian Candace and Sheba dynasties,
under which were introduced the arts and sciences, sculpture and
painting into Egypt and Europe, refinement, literature, and wise
government.
They are demonstrating every day, that they are moving with the great
divisions of the human race, toward that high goal of unity that is the
evident purpose of God in creating man.
Under an enlightened political system, the few aggravations in the local
laws of which will soon disappear beneath the mighty onward tread of the
peoples of the earth, our Colored Americans are beginning to realize
their destiny, and are seizing the opportunities that present themselves
for their benefit, as for the benefit of a common destiny of all men.
They are beginning to understand, and they are acting upon the
understanding that education is the chief factor in the solution and
proper attainment of their destiny.
This “education” has always been the essential element in the rise and
progress of every nation on the earth, the educated have forced their
way upward toward the light, and become factors in the world’s progress
toward enlightenment. Those who have ignored education have fallen and
lie buried beneath the sands of the deserts of Europe and Asia, without
descendants or successors, and known only to the excavator of ruins.
Their very races have disappeared without a trace.
THE CASE OF THE JAPANESE
The marvelous rise of the Japanese is due to the seizure of the
opportunity of education, and appropriating every detail that goes to
make power and physical influence.
Not much more than three generations ago, the Japanese empire was a mere
name, an isolated country of semi-barbarians, a mere tribe without
power, influence or standing as a national unit. It is now clamoring at
the door of every civilized nation for recognition as a world power, and
threatens to enforce its demands with an army and navy that is too
formidable to be ignored or slighted.
It has reached the acme of the physical and lays claim to that alone as
its right to recognition. It has not yet learned that in the great
movement of the peoples of the earth toward unification, the physical
must go down before the psychological, and therefore, if the Japanese
persist in their physical prowess, they will disappear as have other
greater nations claiming the same force as the summit of earthly
influence. They are mere fragments of a tribe detached from the Turanian
division of the human family.
History repeats itself always in the cases of the great divisions of the
human family, where some branch attempted to usurp the power, functions
and authority of the whole.
The Assyrians, the Persians, the mighty mistress of the world, the Roman
Empire, vanished like a breath when they presumed to stand in the way of
the designs of the Almighty.
All were pawns upon the chessboard of time, so to speak, the very
foundation of which is soul, that attempted to wrest the fiat from its
meaning by the adoption of brute or national force.
They served the purpose of carrying man toward a certain goal on the way
to his final pinnacle, then claimed the results of the uplift, and went
down through vanity and presumption.
Japan with its physical impress persisted in, will go down like the
rest. It must go down because it does not represent any factor in the
Divine designs. But it is an illustration of what education will
accomplish, and its fate will illustrate what human nature, obsessed by
its own reliance upon force, will reach in the end.
Our Colored Americans have no such incentive as force or physical
designs. The conquerors of the earth were compelled to yield to the
educational programme to uplift the soul of man, not his material
prospects, except so far as they advanced the psychological, and they
may be said to be now in that psychological phase of the movement of the
nations of the earth, which leads to the highest point of intensive
civilization.
A GREAT DIVISION OF THE HUMAN FAMILY
It should be constantly borne in mind, that the Ethiopians and their
descendants, the Colored Americans in the United States, represent a
great division of the human family, which, with the others, are alone to
be considered in the great design of unification.
The Roman Empire represented no such portion of the human family.
Assyria, Persia, Egypt, and the dominating historical peoples were all
mixed, and when their uses had culminated, that is, when there was no
more use for them, or when they ventured to assume superiority over the
rest of the earth, they were submerged.
Of the mighty races that constituted the primitive divisions of man,
there are now remaining, with each bearing a sharp line of distinction
between them, the Aryan, Semitic, Turanian, and Ethiopian. Into these
four divisions all the nations and peoples of the earth may be resolved.
It may be said that the Aryan consists of the white race; the Ethiopian,
or Hamitic of the dark race; the Semitic, the Jews, and the Turanian,
the yellow race, of which the Japanese are a mere branch of a
subdivision.
Each of these great divisions of the human family has its own part to
play in the great drama of the world’s progress, and the elimination of
brute force or the physical as a negative element in progress, has
brought these grand divisions face to face with the problem of
psychology, mind or soul. It is immaterial what it is called, it cannot
be disregarded.
The conditions or environments that have hedged in these great divisions
have appeared to be similar in the world’s history. The Jews had their
mighty empire. The Aryan developed into enormous power, but broke into
fragments. The Ethiopian possessed the initial civilization of the
world, and the Turanian, evidenced by the Chinese, have still a high
position in the world.
Let us give a few details and then proceed to the progress of our
Colored Americans toward the fulfillment of the great design:
The Jews lost their physical empire to become a psychological force. The
Aryan became split into numerous branches which are now existing and
moving steadily forward toward the psychological. The Turanians that
controlled the Orient for ages by their physical prowess, have become a
great republic based upon the power of mind. The great Ethiopian empire
after leaving its impress upon the civilization of the world, was
transformed into the psychological progress of the other members of the
human family.
It will be perceived that all of them are drifting toward the same
point, and that each of them is employing all the advantages and devices
of modern life to continue on the march toward that point, at which all
men shall be of one mind, one soul.
OPPORTUNITY AND ADVANTAGES OF COLORED AMERICANS
The Colored Americans in the United States, with their advantages are
accepting the inevitable in the form of opportunities presented them,
and are as irresistibly impelled toward the ultimate goal of unified
mankind as the others.
Let us consider our Colored Americans at close range and see what they
are doing in the way of seizing opportunities, and building themselves
up to the accepted modern standards.
ECONOMIC PROGRESS
The one essential of modern life which the Colored American has not
attained to perfection, is the proposition of economy. Not saving, but
business qualifications. But he is an apt pupil and is rapidly acquiring
experience.
The reports of 1912 give the value of property owned by the Colored
people in the United States as =six hundred millions of dollars=. And
upon this they pay taxes.
A year ago, The National Negro Business League held its eleventh annual
session at Little Rock, Arkansas, with every State represented by
delegates.
The wide range of Negro business activities discussed at that annual
meeting, shows a vast stride toward improved commercial conditions, and
an adaptability to the opportunities presented. Some of these activities
were: Raising and shipping fruits and poultry; pickles and preserve
manufactories; horticulture: grain, hay, and fuel; cotton raising;
dealers in fresh and salt fish; farming and stock raising; town
building; real estate; railroad building; coal and iron business;
general and special merchandising; banking, and a multitude of other
businesses. Sixty-two banks are operated by Colored Americans, and there
is a National Negro Bankers’ Association, with W. R. Pettiford its
President, the latter gentleman being President of the Alabama Penny
Savings Bank, the second oldest Negro bank in the country. The Bankers’
Association has in process of formation, a large central Negro bank to
act for Negro banks in the same capacity as the great banks of the East
act as clearing houses for the other banks of the country.
It transpired in this connection, that the various Negro secret
societies had on hand a large amount of money for the purposes of
members’ funds and for widows. The Knights of Pythias alone, holding in
all, cash and property $1,500,000.
INTELLECTUAL PROGRESS
When it comes to mental success and adaptability, the advance of Colored
Americans is phenomenal, and shows as high an order of intelligence as
any nationality in the world. Remember they are just regaining a lost
heritage of renown.
The schools, colleges and universities number among their brightest and
most brilliant pupils numerous Colored American youths, who are an honor
to the cause of education and to their race. They have won scholarship
prizes at Cornell University, at Amherst College, Simmons College,
Columbia University, Wellesley College, Radcliffe College, Howard
University, and in numerous public schools prizes have been awarded them
against numbers of competitors.
Our Colored Americans are taking hold of the educational problem with a
vim and courage, and they are succeeding along every department of
study.
As an illustration of the thirst for knowledge, the case of Mrs. Martha
Harmon, of New York, will be agreeable: This lady is seventy years of
age, and attended night school for four years, taking an elementary
course. She never missed an evening and was late only once. The New York
Board of Education presented her with two gold medals, one for
attendance, and the other for proficiency in her studies.
The intellectual progress of the Colored Americans may be emphasized by
reference to that highly modern and civilized agent of education known
as “The Press.”
There are now more than one hundred and fifty-three organs of the
Colored Americans, edited and managed exclusively by them, and devoted
to their interests as well as to the cause of general intelligence,
improvement and higher education. These organs of the “Press” are
classified into: magazines, 3; daily papers, 3; school papers, 11;
weekly papers, 136.
Ten of these newspapers own the buildings they occupy, and fifty-four
own their own printing plants.
There is a large field here for exploitation and splendid opportunities
for the development of a high order of intellect. Only one of these
newspapers was established before the Civil War, the Christian Recorder,
of Philadelphia, which began in 1839. All the others were established
after the Civil War, one in 1865, the others after 1870—a fact which
demonstrates the ability of Colored Americans to advance in intellectual
ability when the opportunities are presented for its free exercise.
The sphere of influence of the newspapers can not be disputed, we know
how it is regarded and the enormous deference paid to that influence
among the White Americans, and the same results must obtain among the
Colored Americans.
There is room in this department of intellectual development, for many
strong and vigorous writers, who will be able to crystallize the
energies of the Colored Americans into a determined effort to maintain
their position in the onward movement of the human race toward
unification.
AUTHORS, WRITERS, POETS AND THE FINE ARTS
An investment in brains has always been regarded as the most productive
in profitable returns. It is becoming the fixed opinion, based upon ages
of experience, that the uplift of the world, the advancement of people
and their progress can be accomplished by brains only.
War and its desolations, its ravages, rapine, and cruelties, have for a
time swayed and dominated various parts of the earth, but, it must be
considered that violence is the mere handmaid to an uplift by
intellectual effort. War prepares the way for intellect and secures it
an opportunity to be made manifest without molestation.
If we refer to the “Catalogue des manuscripts Ethiopiens,” already
mentioned, we shall find a most amazing condition of intellectual
development among the ancient Ethiopians. It was this intellectual
condition that made its impress upon Egypt, and the other nations of
Europe and Asia, because the Ethiopians were not a conquering race by
force of arms, except so far as it was necessary to protect themselves
against attack.
If we turn to their descendants—our Colored Americans—we find the same
intellectual efforts resumed and progress going on in a marked degree
under favorable circumstances and highly civilized and free conditions
and environments. The same talent and genius that sculptured the
exquisite Ethiopian bronze statuary recently discovered in The Soudan,
carved the beautiful designs on Egyptian monuments, traced the
architecture of noble palaces and immortal buildings, still traceable in
ruins more than three thousand years old, and other evidences of art, is
manifesting itself at the present day among our Colored Americans and
other descendants in foreign countries.
Consider Lethierre, once president of the School of Fine Arts at Rome,
within our present generation, and view his paintings that now adorn the
walls of the Louvre in Paris.
We should not omit Edmonia Lewis, the sculptress, whose admirable works
required a residence in Rome, nor Henry Owassa Tanner, the eminent
artist, whose gems of art are represented in the fine art museums of the
world. There are numerous others but these are given to emphasize the
point of present Ethiopian intellectual ability.
Among writers were Alexander Poushkin, the celebrated Russian poet. He
was a Negro with curly hair and a black complexion, but a man of
extraordinary talent and versatility, in prose fiction, and history as
well as poetry.
Jose Maria Heredia, the greatest of Spanish-American poets, was a
Colored man, likewise the poet Placidio.
We can not forget Paul de Cassagnac, of France, editor, author and poet,
who was also a Colored man.
Dumas, the noted dramatic author and novelist, was a colored man, and a
most prolific popular author, poet, dramatist, novelist and essayist.
That great production “Camille” is familiar to all theater-goers in the
world, and when a man rises and says: “The world is mine,” he uses the
language of Dumas’ Monte Christo, a world-wide novel that has been
translated in all languages and performed on every stage.
We might go on for pages and refer to the Ethiopian intellect as
something almost dominant in the world of letters in foreign countries,
but must refer to our own Colored Americans as this work concerns them
particularly.
We can claim as our own Williams, the historian, the first Colored
American ever elected to the Ohio legislature, and at one time judge
advocate of the G. A. R. of Ohio.
Phillis Wheatley, the girl who translated the Latin “Metamorphoses of
Ovid” in Boston, which were republished in England as standard. Under
the most distressing and adverse circumstances Phillis Wheatley became a
scholar and a poetess of distinction and the associate of culture and
refinement in Boston.
Paul Laurence Dunbar may be held up to all as an example worth following
as a man, a poet, a novelist, and a journalist. At the age of twenty-one
years he published his first book, “Oak and Ivy,” and followed it with
others that commanded the attention and received the encomiums of the
literary world in the United States. His poetry appeals to the heart and
the hearth, and the intensity of thought displayed in his numerous
writings is relieved by humor and quaint philosophy. Dunbar is a
triumphant and unerring demonstration of Ethiopian intellect.
James B. Corrothers, the poet and prose writer, is another illustration
of the power of applied intellect. Corrothers will be always known for
the high order as well as humor of his writings, in the United States
and in England where his “Jim Crow” idea of Negro fun is still supreme.
Of his “The Black Cat Club,” a prominent literary and critical magazine,
says: “The Black Cat Club should be commemorated by cultivated people of
color as a second Emancipation Day.”
Charles W. Chesnutt, lawyer, writer, editor, historian and novelist,
easily stands as a standard to be looked up to by the members of his
race.
Miss Inez C. Parker, whose flights of fancy evolved from the higher
realms of thought, betray the poetic gift of her race to a singular
degree of beauty. As a poetess and writer, her destiny in aiding the
uplift of humanity and helping it toward the universal goal, is manifest
in every outpouring of her genius.
These are only a few of many, the most prominent now before the world.
There are many others coming on and they will soon appear to the
astonished eyes and ears of the people who have no thought of the great
future and destiny of the Colored Americans.
_THE OVERGROUND RAILROAD_
_A Mighty Way to Progress—The Underground Railroad a Thing of the Past_
The old folks revel in stories about the “Underground Railroad.” They
traveled over it, and we may admit that it took them to liberty. We may
even go farther than that, and say that it lifted from the shoulders of
a great race, a weight that was crushing them down, and brought them
into the land of “Opportunity.”
But all that is ancient history. What happened even yesterday is old,
and we are too busy today working to take advantage of the things
offered us today, and that will happen tomorrow, to dream about the
past.
We are all working to make things turn out to our advantage, and the
less we dwell about the past the closer we get to the golden fruit.
We are living in a practical age, and the man who does things prospers,
while the dreamer starves or gropes about at the bottom of the ladder.
All men need things; want something done for them. It is good business
policy to supply the wants and to do the things everybody wants done.
We mentioned the “Underground Railroad” as something that benefited the
race; but we have its successor in the way of transportation that is
reaping profit from that benefit.
That successor is the “Overground Railroad.” It is a system of
transportation such as the world has never seen or used.
You ask: “What is an ‘Overground Railroad?’” Everybody can answer, or
thinks he can, so he says: “Why, it is a railroad that runs over the
land and transports passengers and freight.” But the answer does not hit
the mark, for this particular Overground exercises a mightier power;
possesses a wider influence than the mere haulage of passengers and
freight.
It carries opportunity, activity, benefit, incentive, intelligence,
knowledge, and progress to every corner of this great land and into
every town, village, city, hamlet, even the cross-roads are reached.
It reaches every one of ten millions of a great race that less than two
decades ago were forbidden opportunity, and compelled to travel over the
“Underground Railroad.” Now, everything belonging to the great mass of
mankind, or to which they are entitled or may aspire, is parceled out
with lavish hand to all who wish to take. The effort is yours, the prize
awarded you.
In round numbers there are about two hundred thousand miles of railroads
in the United States, spreading out in every direction from ocean to
ocean, and from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. Many of them reach
over into Mexico and Canada.
On the trains operated by these railroads, there are thousands of
Pullman cars, drawing-room and chair-cars. All of these cars are in the
charge of Colored Americans, the sum total of their number running up
into tens of thousands. These men are the posterity, the descendants of
the passengers of the old “Underground Railroad.”
It is true philosophy that makes for education and wisdom, gives polish,
affords incentives to ambition and a leaning toward high ideals, as well
as offering opportunities—always bear in mind “Opportunity” for that is
what counts. Now imagine the bright men and women that travel on these
two hundred thousand miles of railroad. Imagine also, our ten thousand
men circulating among them; mixing with them; in daily and hourly
contact with them! Something must come of this association, and
something does come, which something is of incalculable benefit.
The passengers on the Overground Railroad are men and women from every
part of the world. They are the successful people; the experienced
people, and the leaders of thought. They have taken opportunity by the
forelock and ridden it to the finish. Otherwise they would not be able
to travel.
They are soldiers, statesmen, politicians, lawyers, clergymen,
physicians, scientists, and everything that is the highest and noblest
in the world.
Their number according to statistics, runs up into the hundreds of
millions of passengers annually. Our ten thousand in the performance of
their duties, listen to their interchange of opinions; note everything
that is worth knowing; glean opportunities, and absorb information and
wisdom.
If you have noticed any of these ten thousand off duty and on his way
home, you can not have failed to see gentlemen.
These men are really the operators of our “Overground Railroad” in the
highest sense of management. They are not mechanical, they are observing
and possess the power of mental acquisitiveness, due to their
surroundings and their contact with the passengers. They are the
opposites of the patrons and passengers, and managers of the old
“Underground Railroad,” which is switched off into the sidetrack of
forgetfulness.
The Pullman man from New York City meets his brother Pullman employee
from San Francisco, let us say, at St. Louis. Their regular stunt is
about two thousand miles each, with the care of numbers of the
passengers coming from tens of thousands of miles apart, from all over
the globe, in fact.
What is the result of this meeting? To an outsider it is something like
this:
“How are you, Sam?”
“How are you, Bill?”
“Have a New York stogie.”
“Have a San Francisco cheroot.”
That is all the outsider sees or learns. But when these men get away and
apart, they exchange notes of everything that they have learned on the
trip or has transpired on their routes. They are message bearers of
everything they have learned new from their passengers.
Multiply this one instance with thousands of similar instances. We have
every city in the world linked with every other city; every nationality
brought in contact with every other nationality; every class and
character of individual tied up with every other class of individuals,
and these men are the great deposit reservoirs of everything.
They become laden with unlimited cosmopolitan and universal knowledge
and information, charged with it as a bee is charged with honey in its
flights from bush to bush and from flower to flower.
This is not an exaggeration, on the contrary, it is of such common
knowledge that we think nothing about it. It is every-day fact that any
one can see for himself by going to any railroad depot in the country.
We said these men are the great deposit reservoirs of everything, but
unlike the most of our deposit reservoirs, they are also the sources of
distribution through innumerable channels. Their business is like the
training at a State Normal School with actual experience added in
unlimited quantities. They go out from these training schools, or rather
from this educational system belonging to every Overground Railroad and
scatter knowledge, information, and opportunity. A word, even a hint, of
what “a man told me on the run from New Orleans to Chicago,” and one or
perhaps many, find themselves boosted into opportunities they never
would have found without the operators on the Overground Railroad.
These Pullman employees are evangelists, news gatherers, and experienced
men acquainted with the ways and doings of the world. They have homes,
abiding places, wives, sweethearts, brothers, sisters, friends. They
have their clubs and meeting places, and they unload their information
and knowledge, mixed with opportunity, to ears greedy for advancement,
and opportunities for betterment.
They scatter broadcast high aspirations and incentives to progress among
the ten millions of the posterity of the patrons of the old Underground
Railroad.
Through this means the most astounding results have been
accomplished—results that have never happened any other race since the
world began.
The Israelites dwelt in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, and
waited for a Moses to come and lead them out of their unpleasant
environments. There were about six hundred thousand of them, and most of
their posterity are still dreaming of the past.
The four millions that started the Underground Railroad, have increased
to ten millions in a generation and a half, and they led themselves out
to the promised land.
Imagine ten millions of any other race in the United States with perfect
freedom of action! We might well shudder at what would happen us—happen
the country. We do not feel that way about the posterity of the
operators and passengers of the old Underground Railroad. They are
peaceable, earnest students of the ways of civilization, and they are
working upward—they are ambitious to learn and constantly devise methods
of improving their condition in the same way all true American citizens
are following. They have their homes, their children, and their
attachments in our midst, in fact, they belong to our soil, and have no
desire to depart elsewhere to spend their money. They are always ready
to shed their blood for the Stars and Stripes, and are always willing to
leap to the nation’s rescue, or to aid in promoting its welfare.
Where does the Colored race learn all these things? Not in the schools
for they are limited, and live too much in the musty past, but the
cap-sheaf of the education of the race, its maintenance as a factor in
the civilization of the earth, is in their contact with the world, their
absorption of the wisdom and experience of the world’s people, due in a
great measure to the operators of the Overground Railroad.
Through this source the great race is learning that there is no vocation
to which it may not aspire in time to come and the opportunities for
intellectual development and its benefits are multiplying rapidly.
Already there is a great sprinkling of dark skins in every avenue of
life, commerce, trade, science, and in everything that the white skin
aspires to. Look down for a moment, and compare your state with that of
the scavenger, the sewer digger, the section hand, and the grades of
labor so attractive to foreign elements that come here to scrape up
enough to return to their wallow in their various native lands. You are
far above these and you belong here and you are rising with the best.
The Story of a Rising Race Told in Pictures
[Illustration]
_PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE_
│MANUAL TRAINING
Special Collection C │HOME SCIENCE
│HOSPITAL PRACTICE
│DENTAL SURGERY
[Illustration:
PROFESSION OF DENTAL SURGERY
Students practicing in the Dental Infirmary, prior to taking their
degree. Howard University, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
ACCURACY OF MIND AND HAND
Drafting Class of young men receiving a course in mechanical drawing,
qualifying them for making working plans of machinery, vehicles,
buildings, etc. Hampton Institute.
]
[Illustration:
INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN
Developing talent and taste in the art of millinery, an industry for
women. A class at Spellman’s Seminary, Atlanta, Ga.
]
[Illustration:
UNIVERSITY GIRLS
A class of ornamental workers at Wiley University, Texas.
]
[Illustration:
LEARNING TO BE HOME MAKERS
A cooking class, canning fruit at Hampton Institute. The girls are
learning the art of becoming good housewives.
]
[Illustration:
AN ARTISTIC AND USEFUL VOCATION
A class receiving instructions in the art of dressmaking in the
training school at Hampton Institute.
]
[Illustration:
LEARNING INDUSTRY AND THRIFT
Dressmaking in the Spellman Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia. The young
women are fast becoming experts in their work.
]
[Illustration:
FUTURE HOME MAKERS
The science of poultry dressing as taught at Hampton Institute.
]
[Illustration:
A MODERN SANITARY DAIRY
Agricultural students receiving their training in milking at the dairy
farm of Hampton Institute.
]
[Illustration:
MODERN SURGERY
Dr. W. A. Warfield, Negro surgeon, operating. Freedmen’s Hospital,
Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
OPERATING ROOM—LATEST EQUIPMENT
Douglass Hospital Philadelphia, Pa.
]
[Illustration:
NURSING THE LITTLE ONES BACK TO HEALTH
Children’s Ward L., Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training
School, Philadelphia. “Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me, for
Such is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
]
[Illustration:
MINISTERING TO THE SICK
Private ward with trained nurse in attendance. Frederick Douglass
Memorial Hospital and Training School, Philadelphia, Pa.
]
[Illustration:
STUDENTS IN THE ART OF HEALING
A class of trained nurses preparing for their life’s work. Tuskegee
Institute.
]
[Illustration:
NURSES’ TRAINING SCHOOL
A class of nurses at study. Frederick Douglass Hospital, Philadelphia,
Pa.
]
You are put upon the initiative, and find out new ways of doing old
things which is what makes civilization progress, and you have the door
of opportunity invitingly open to you always. You have only to open your
eyes to see opportunity within your grasp. You are associated with the
management of the Overground Railroad.
SUCCESS THROUGH SELF HELP
The opportunities afforded by the Overground Railroad, in the way of
obtaining information, can not be overestimated. It is, practically, a
school of instruction that may be attended by any one, and who may
follow the bent of his desires afterward.
There are two classes of people who may avail themselves of the
educational process undertaken by the dissemination of information
through the medium of the Overground Railroad: The man who is aided in
his life work, and the man who must help himself. It is of the man who
must help himself, of the “self-help” man, that there is more to be said
of than the other. He represents the bone, sinew and brains of the
nation.
When a man or woman succeeds in reaching a high position through his or
her own efforts, or in attaining a point from which the work of a
lifetime begins, and in the direction of success, the pride of
attainment is justifiable.
There are many who have the strength of purpose and the will power to
utilize the forces of mind and body within them, and develop themselves
with the aid of that power.
Their examples are an illustration of a higher education that really
educates.
The man or woman who sits with folded hands waiting for someone to help
him, or for something to turn up or come his way, so that he can seize
upon it without trouble or labor, is too far gone in uselessness in the
present age to be worth trying to lift up.
We are all interdependent in this world of business, but must not
imagine that because we must live with and do business with others, that
we can depend solely upon those others. Every man must stand upon his
own ability and exertions.
The men who do this succeed through self-help, self-reliance,
self-knowledge, and self-sufficiency. The greatest men in history are
those who worked themselves up from humble surroundings and against
tremendous odds. It is always the brain that conceives the thought, and
the strong arm that executes the mandates of the thought. Where the
physical arm is not strong enough, the brain quickly conceives a method
of supplying the difficulty.
It was the boast of the philosopher Archimedes that he could move the
world if he could find a fulcrum for his lever. The modern man is so far
advanced that he finds a fulcrum for his lever, and if he does not move
the earth, he moves a large part of it.
If we take the pains to look about us, we shall find every avenue of
human endeavor occupied by self-made men. These men originated in the
most humble surroundings, but lifted themselves up through the sheer
force of their own energy of character and vital force backed by
persistence.
The history of the world has pages about the men who sprang up from
humble sources and amid the greatest difficulties. They overcame them
somehow, some say by the aid of Providence, but we know that it was
through innate courage, brains, energy and persistence.
Every man may raise himself up by his own efforts, indeed, the man who
uses another as his ladder will soon find himself leaning on a broken
reed, and amount to very little in this world of struggle and
competition.
Who knows better what a man can do than the man himself? There are
always hidden sources of strength in every man, and he alone is able to
bring them into use. Remember one point in this age of competition:
Learn how to do things, and then set about doing them of your own
accord. The man who waits to be pushed ahead seldom finds any pushers.
This is the wisdom of experience, and will =not= bear argument, so true
it is.
TRAIN YOURSELF FOR YOUR LIFE’S WORK
Physical Development—Exercise for Pleasure and Profit—Uniformity in the
Use of the Muscles—General and Special Muscle Training—Systematic
Hardening of the Body—Various Kinds of Exercises—Key to Good Health and
Mental Activity
A Strong Healthy Man Is Always Selected for the Best Positions
In all ages of the world physical development has been regarded as a
preparation for health and the successful beginning of a life work.
The ancients had a maxim to the effect that there should be a healthy
mind in a healthy body, and that there could not be a healthy mind in an
unhealthy body.
In these days when good health and a companion physical development are
so much in demand, you must train yourself for your life work in such a
way as to merit a selection for the best positions.
Here is the reason why a man is often turned aside from a position where
he might be mentally qualified. One look at him explains the reason for
his failure to be given the opportunity. He is not physically developed.
The times and the business undertaken by every man is strenuous. He must
be prepared for hardships, and will never attain any good position if he
carries that in his body or face which indicates inability to stand the
strain or liability to succumb under it.
Nobody wants a man who will work along for a shorter or longer time and
then break down and be obliged to quit altogether or for time enough to
recuperate.
This physical training is now called “Athletics,” and it must be
practiced advisedly and not at random. It is for the promotion of health
and manly vigor, just as much as bathing is for the promotion of
cleanliness and health.
ETHIOPIANS NEARLY PERFECT
Among the Colored race, there are many splendid types of athletes. In
the old days, the Ethiopian was considered a masterpiece of physical
architecture. He entered any list where muscular power was to be
exhibited and carried off the victory. In great trials of strength and
wrestling he had no superior.
As the Ethiopian was in the past, his descendants in our Colored
Americans are today. In football, baseball, rowing and in wrestling, the
Colored American has no superior in skill or prowess.
Particularly is this the case in the college-trained athlete. His
prowess has brought him fame, his skill and courage have gained for him
the respect and admiration of thousands. Not only that, but it is easily
established from ocular evidence that nearly every college athlete of
prominence has worn his honors with modesty.
There is a native muscular development in the Colored American of
healthy and good habits, which, if directed in the right channels of
athletic activities would lower many a record.
Physical training including athletics is becoming a well outlined course
in every school for colored youth. When in the hands of experienced
teachers, and developed under the direction of a department of physical
education, it will lift our Colored Americans up a few notches higher in
the scale of manhood.
There can be no question about its value as a developer of manhood and a
health producer. But never as a prize-fighting school. This of itself is
debasing in the extreme. We are growing away from the mercenary
brutality of former years, and all classes are vying with one another to
engage in a contest of development that will make for manhood.
Our schools and colleges are aware of the difference between athletics
for health and manhood and the debasing school of the prizefighter. They
are introducing it in many instances, and the course offers an
opportunity not to be ignored or lost. Young man, your physical nature
is part and parcel of your intellectual condition.
Physical exercise is as essential to the growth of the human body as
drink and food is for nourishment.
The human body is developed by muscular exertion, and its good health
and perfect growth depend upon the regular practice of some form of
motion that will bring into use all the various parts of the system.
When we say “regular practice” we mean that if it is desired to maintain
the body in a good condition for the uses and occupations of life,
exercises must be practiced every day—not once in a while, or at random.
The man or woman whose muscles are trained in line with the occupation
pursued for a livelihood, is better fitted to become perfect in that
occupation than one who does not take exercise, or not enough to keep
his usable muscles well trained. Nobody can play the piano perfectly
unless the muscles of the fingers, hand, and wrist have undergone a
severe training. It is the same with driving a nail, digging a garden,
singing a song, or anything requiring muscular exertion, the muscles put
into use must be trained, or there is no perfection in the work.
The first and most important muscle training, in fact the very essence
of physical development, is in breathing. The lungs must have oxygen to
supply the blood, and the oxygen being in the air we breathe, the more
we can put into the lungs, the better for development.
In breathing, the muscles of the chest are expanded in proportion to the
length of the breath taken. The lungs should be filled to their full
capacity, and this can only be done by taking long, deep breaths, slowly
and evenly, swelling out the chest to its widest extent.
The inspiration of the breath should be commenced slowly and continued
evenly until no more air can be inhaled. Then the respiration, or
breathing out should be slow and continuous until you feel the necessity
of taking another breath.
To breathe properly, there must not be anything to restrict the swelling
of the muscles of the chest. Any posture that will give these muscles
free action is proper. Standing, lying, arms extended, held over the
head, head thrown back or forward, are all suitable positions for deep
breathing.
One point to be always borne in mind, is to breathe deep and full
whatever work you are engaged in. In running, the breath is apt to come
in short, snappy volumes, or panting. In hard muscular work with the
arms it is customary to measure the breaths by the exertion employed in
the work. All this is not conducive to deep breathing, and it may be
overcome by a little practice. Try running and at the same time breathe
slowly and deeply and you will run faster and tire out less quickly.
Always breathe through the nostrils and never through the mouth. If you
have to open your mouth to breathe, it is either habit or because the
nostrils are clogged. In the latter case they should be cleared out to
permit drawing in a deep inhalation of air through the channel nature
intended.
The exercises for breathing should be preliminary to any other exercise
of the muscles. The reason for this: Every exercise or movement of the
body either when at work or at play, consumes or burns up a certain
amount of the tissues of the body and these used up tissues must be
replaced, or nature will very soon call a halt and refuse to permit you
to do any work or play—the body becomes used up. The waste of the body
is replaced by the oxygen taken into the lungs through breathing, and a
person may eat all sorts of nourishing foods, and take all kinds of
remedies to restore his weariness and bring him up to his work, but none
of them will be of any avail without the air drawn into the lungs by the
breath. There is where the stomach, the blood, the liver, the heart,
etc., obtain the essential element of oxygen to stimulate them into
activity.
With our breathing regulated, the next step is to begin developing the
other muscles of the body. There is at this point a good rule to follow
which is: Train every muscle of the body uniformly to acquire a general
development along every organ and muscle. This general muscular training
should be begun with the child at an early age, and be conditioned upon
his strength for their quantity of exercise. So a weak person can not
stand as much or as strong exercise as a stronger person. Every one must
be his own judge in this matter. Many noted men have brought on a fatal
illness from over exertion or over exercise at a late age when their
system was not prepared to withstand violent methods. It is said that
James G. Blaine began a course of gymnastic exercises in the belief that
he would gain strength, but it killed him. The younger a beginning is
made at gymnastics, the better it will be in after life.
One point to be remembered is: Never overstrain or attempt to harden the
body. Every shock is dangerous, and the delicate mechanism of the human
body must be handled gently until it can bear greater strains. To plunge
into violent exercises without previous training is as bad as using a
delicate and costly watch as a base ball and expect it to keep good
time.
To train all the muscles of the body uniformly as a beginning of
muscular or physical development, prepares a foundation for any special
muscle training that may be desired, and guarantees success where
failure would most undoubtedly result from the special training first.
All the muscles of the body are interdependent. One of them cannot be
trained alone without affecting another one, or drawing upon it for
material to supply the waste already spoken of. But when all are
trained, then it is easy to pass to the training of any special muscle.
To begin a general training or muscular development of the body, it
should be borne in mind that it is the muscles that hold the body up and
not the bones. Both are essential to the human construction, but the
muscles play a more important part in the bodily movements than the
bones. Few people consider that to stand or sit properly the muscles of
the body must be trained. The poise of the head, the erect position of
the shoulders, the proper holding of the arms and hands, depend upon the
training and development of the arms and shoulders. Most persons are
negligent in this respect and allow the upper part of their bodies to
hang by their bones. This is noticeable in those who are “stoop
shouldered,” a habit which becomes fixed. The first thing a soldier is
trained to do is to stand erect and hold himself up by his muscles. No
person who can not control his upper muscles will acquire any grace or
beauty of movement. The use of Indian clubs, even an ordinary chair,
would be something to grasp and swing about to train the upper muscles,
all the time breathing slowly and as deep as possible. Grasp something
tight with the hands and swing it about the head or up in the air, or
round and round and keep it up a certain length of time every day.
Throwing a ball is good for the muscles of the arm, shoulders and back
particularly. Let the muscles have free play is the rule to follow in
every variety of exercise.
The muscles of the lower limbs come next in the order of development
systematically, although they should be exercised at the same time as
the muscles of the upper portion of the body. The object of this is to
prevent over-development of any series of muscles by training all
simultaneously.
The muscles of the lower limbs include those of the hips down to the
extremity of the toes. Persons in sedentary occupations MUST exercise
these muscles under penalty of having them become feeble, flabby and
unreliable. With such persons, as age creeps on, the steps become
uncertain and “wobbly,” presenting the appearance of extreme age even
before middle age has been reached.
Those who walk much should take systematic exercise for the benefit of
the lower muscles, because the occupation requiring the use of the lower
muscles fixes them in a groove or habit not conducive to control. That
is, the muscles become set in a certain direction, whereas, it is
essential to enable them to move freely and easily in any direction.
The best exercises for standing, sitting, and walking are those directed
by the will power or energy acting directly upon all the muscles and
maintaining an equilibrium so that gradual development of the entire
body will be reached.
This is accomplished by what is known as “flexible action,” in the lines
of changing curves which distinguishes the beauty and grace of motion
from mere strength.
There are three phases in this natural development: Angular, circular
and spiral. The human form poised squarely on both feet is the spiral,
the head a convexed curve, the body a concave curve, and the legs a
convexed curve, like a wave line. To preserve this spiral line of
changing curves, the weight is always thrown against the strong side so
as to develop the weak side and maintain an equilibrium. Standing should
be principally upon the balls of the feet, and the exercise should be to
incline the body to and from the opposite curves. There should be no
slouching at the hips. In walking, stand erect, feet together, abdomen
in, chest up, and shoulders firm. Then advance the thigh and let the leg
hang free from the knee down. Straighten the leg and plant the ball of
the foot in advance with the toes straight in front, and so on
alternately with each foot, carrying the head erect with the chin drawn
well in.
To sit down let the muscles come into play and not the bones, as it is
through the muscles only that gracefulness can be acquired. To rise from
a sitting to a standing position, all the muscles should work in unison
and the body arise at once to a standing position. To kneel the same
play of the general muscles should be applied. A cow or a camel is not
very graceful when performing the act of kneeling preparatory to lying
down, but that is because they are animals and not human. The mere act
of touching the hat in salutation is graceful or awkward as the muscles
are trained. A graceful sweeping curve of the arm, a gentle bend of the
muscles of the neck, inclining to a curved bow, and the salutation is
graceful. Otherwise the motion is raw and provocative of an idea of ill
breeding.
While exercising the muscles of the body simultaneously, we are not only
acquiring grace and suppleness, but we are strengthening the various
muscles and enabling them to develop along the lines of their natural
curves. By a systematic training, the surface of the body becomes filled
or rounded out, all angularity disappears, and the various muscles work
or slide smoothly over one another and each one fits into the proper
place without a jar or wrinkle. Even the face may be trained to the
avoidance of wrinkles and seams by a trifle of exercise applied to the
muscles. The main point being to prevent any muscular habit which means
a wrinkle or a seam. Massage alone may do some good in this respect, but
the muscles of the face should be worked through the will power.
In line with exterior physical development, the interior muscles should
not be forgotten. The proper play of the interior muscles, those
belonging to the heart, the lungs, the intestines, stomach, etc., are
all more or less affected by exterior exercises tending toward physical
development. Flabbiness of exterior begets flabbiness of the interior
muscles, and this means an imperfect action which ends in inability to
resist disease, or the encroachments of age and hardening of the walls
of the arteries.
Movement is the law of nature and whatever does not or can not move is
considered dead to the scientists, or on the way to death. Every atom of
the human body is in motion toward the maintenance of life in the
muscles of every kind. The blood circulates rapidly, so rapidly that any
perfumed substance injected into the blood at a finger point, is
immediately tasted by the mouth. So with the lymph channels which convey
nourishment to the blood for distribution to all the muscles to keep
them up to their work. The billions of atoms that constitute the flesh
of the muscles and of the nerves, are in constant motion, without which,
the body would lose all energy and become inert. By exercising the
muscles constantly and uniformly, we are giving the atoms of the human
system free and full play, and enabling them to perform their functions.
We may indeed say, that exercise and physical development mean LIFE.
THE TEACHER, DOCTOR, LAWYER, CLERGYMAN—WHICH ARE YOU FITTED FOR?
There are four professions, callings or vocations, which are justly
styled “learned professions,” because they carry with them the highest
degree of intelligence, tact, and wisdom.
They are so common, however, in these modern times, that many of their
followers do not command the respect to which their calling is entitled,
and hence, the professions themselves have greatly fallen into
disrepute; particularly so when it comes to select one of them for a
life work.
Viewing the teacher, the doctor, the lawyer, and the clergyman from the
common standpoint, there is no money in the professions.
Here is where the trouble lies. To be a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, or
a clergyman for the sake of what can be made out of either, is to insult
the noblest professions in the world. They are what have kept the world
together since the beginning, and we should take our hats off to them
out of respect.
The lawyer’s duty is to protect his client’s civil rights and keep
society within the law.
The doctor preserves the health of his patients while they are about
their business, and the clergyman points out the way to a hereafter that
may mean our eternal weal or woe.
In the chapter on “Opportunities,” we show that these professions are
within the reach of any one who possesses an aptitude and has the brains
to acquire proficiency.
As to brains, let it be understood that everybody possesses sufficient
brains for any avocation in life, but they must be properly fed or
trained to be of use. Most men’s brains are of the same weight and
measurement. But some very learned men have possessed very small brains,
while men of the most magnificent proportions, but as ignorant as men
can be and feed themselves, have been known to possess brains of double
the weight of the learned.
We give the manner of training brain in another place, but assume here
that the young man who desires to enter either one of the three
professions we are treating of, must have the aptitude and the brains.
The same general remarks may be applied to the lawyer and the clergyman.
The aptitude is the trend of the mind in the direction of the profession
chosen. It must be a “first and only love,” so to speak, for the brain
is an exacting master or mistress and easily changes if not cuddled and
humored.
Back of and aiding aptitude, is the humanity demanded of every man of
either of these professions. When life hangs in the balance the doctor
is called upon to display the tenderest humanity. If a man is to be sent
to poverty through loss of his liberty or property the lawyer must
exhibit all the refinements of skill and humanity without regard to his
fees. The human soul striving to reach the eternal goal of rest, peace,
and happiness, appeals to the highest heart throbs of the clergyman. If
you can not enter into this spirit, then do not choose either of these
learned professions for you will prove a failure.
The learning required to master either of these professions can be
acquired only after the most painstaking and arduous study. To learn the
essence of things, the meaning of life and death, the movements that
produce life and death, and the symptoms that proclaim disease, come
within the purview of the doctor. How can he tell what will be the
effect of his medicine unless he knows what the disease is and what
effect upon the human body will be his medicines? He must know
intimately the thousand and one essential parts of the human body, how
they operate and their effects. If in aiming at one part he affect
another, death may ensue.
Have you a steady hand, controllable nerves, and a cool brain? You need
them all to perfection to be a surgeon and apply the knife in order to
cure suffering humanity. The surgeon must stand in the presence of a
mortal enemy with his finger pressed to the trigger of his weapon and
watch for the exact instant when he shall press it to save life.
The lawyer must possess not only an intimate acquaintance with the laws
of the land, but must have delved deep into the underlying principles
that form the foundation of all law and government. Logic, tact,
patience, and verbal skill with ready wit on all occasions, are to him
what the electric spark is to a motor. It was said by a learned judge
that many cases were lost where justice should have prevailed to win,
because of a failure to properly present the matter to the court.
It is not a loud voice, a browbeating disposition, or a pompous bearing
that bring success, it is the careful close reasoner, the quiet mole
that undermines the solid earth foundation of his opponent, and topples
it down.
The clergyman is a man of sacrifices. His own opinions go for naught
because he is not the maker of justice and right, but their exponent. He
sees beyond the faint traces of what we humans call “love,” a powerful
love that rules the world—the love of God—and he puts the two together
so that the lesser will be absorbed in the greater.
The great trouble may seem to be the variety of different sects and the
difficulty to select the right one. Man, they are all aiming in the
right direction. They point toward the sky, and bring a man’s manhood in
line with the soul, his spiritual part, and the imperishable part. There
is no room for bigotry, no room for anything but charity, and loving
kindness.
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
OR
EASY LESSONS FOR EVERY DAY LIFE
The way to success in anything is always an upward climb, the down grade
is always a flat failure.
In considering this matter, it will be well to remember and bear
constantly in mind, that it is easier to slide down hill than it is to
climb up.
We may say, therefore, that success is purely a question of exertion.
The road to and up the slope of the hill of life is roomy enough and to
spare for everybody, and there need not be any crowding. But the way is
strewn with wrecks, many submerged before beginning their journey,
others lodged in some cranny half way up, and others start up so bravely
and so rashly that they can not stop at the summit where the prize is
situated, but their momentum carries them over and down to the bottom on
the other side.
The steady, earnest worker plods along, sees that his footing is firmly
fixed before he takes a next step. He grabs at some retaining point and
never lets go of it until he has hold of another support.
When he reaches the top, he can stop and breathe, likewise flatter
himself that he has succeeded by hard work and steady perseverance.
The fact is, that unless a man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth,
that is, well provided by his ancestors with a goodly supply of this
world’s goods, there is no royal road to anything. No man can roll about
like a smooth pebble and hope to land into a mossy hollow.
When a man starts off on a voyage he generally has some definite
destination in view, some object to be attained when he reaches it.
Nobody can spend his life traveling about for the mere purpose of
keeping in motion. There is no advantage in this except to the
transportation companies.
Here is the keynote to success—character. We do not know what character
is, we know only that it accomplishes results.
Why do some men succeed and others fail, assuming that they all start
out on the same plane equally well equipped? The reason why can not be
told, it lies in the man himself, it is his character.
We are living in an age when new things are utilized; new ways of doing
business are demanded. We run to specialties more than we did in the
past. Even ten years make a difference in business methods.
If you have aspirations, are they up to the times?
Not so very long ago, one man made everything about a machine. If he had
a watch to make, he made the case, the wheels, the springs and all the
parts, and also put them together into a perfect instrument. Now, a
dozen or more men make, not the watch, but each of the several parts.
The cases are machine made by one man; another rolls the springs,
another turns the screws, another the wheels, and so on. Every thing is
done piecemeal, so to speak, and none of the workers is able to make a
perfect watch. So it is with clothing, with furniture, tin and iron
ware.
The doctor is a specialist. Something ails your eyes—you must go to an
eye specialist, the throat specialist knows nothing about the eyes. Have
you a fever? You go to a bacteriologist to find out what germ is
infecting you. Formerly you took a dose of salts and senna, or other
nauseating drug.
You have a case of collection, but your regular lawyer makes a specialty
of criminal cases and can not help you. Perhaps you have been injured in
an automobile accident and want damages from the owner, but your regular
lawyer does not know anything about damage cases, he is a corporation
lawyer, or a divorce lawyer, or a patent attorney, or takes admiralty
cases only.
A bookkeeper applies for employment. Do you know anything about cards?
This is the question. You know about playing cards, but the employer
keeps his accounts on loose cards, not in heavy books.
There is division of labor in every pursuit, and no man can become
learned in all of one thing. He may acquire a smattering, but there are
no more universal geniuses, the world of industry has become
complicated, unlimited, and special.
We see then, the futility of trying all of one thing or aspiring to
reach all of one thing. You can not succeed because you have a mere
smattering of many details, and not a perfect knowledge of any single
detail.
This however, makes the road to success much easier than in the old
days. You can become perfect in some one thing, and life is not too
short to learn it; it can be mastered.
It goes without saying, that in our intercourse with men we must put
them on an equality with us and place ourselves on an equality with
them. Are you an inferior man? Then go elsewhere for employment. “I want
skilled workmen,” says the employer. “I want a physician that will cure
me, not one to experiment upon me,” says the sick man. It is always man
to man now-a-days. No cringing, remember, and on the other hand, no
bluffing.
THE MAN OF HOPE; THE MAN OF DESPAIR; AND THE MAN OF “DON’T CARE”
Optimism, Pessimism, Indifference
The people of the earth are made up generally of three classes:
optimists, pessimists, indifferents.
The radical optimist floats in a balmy spring air on a rosy cloud,
stringing his banjo and singing lullabies to the gorgeously feathered
songsters that surround him.
The pessimist is like a fly with its wings stuck on fly paper, and
bemoans his fate as that of every other fly.
The indifferent is a devil-may-care sort of a person who does not care
whether the sun shines, or whether it rains.
The extreme optimist is too happy to be of any use on earth; the
pessimist sends us all to perdition and is afraid to walk under a ladder
lest it fall on him, while the indifferent is of no use because he does
not take any interest in the things around him. He is usually a tramp,
or a free lunch fiend. He will offer to shovel the snow from your walks
in July, and gladly offer his services as a harvest hand in January.
Apart from indifference, which is the offspring of the other two,
optimism and pessimism, though extremes, meet among men, but possess
different working machinery. One is really the aid of the other.
The earth was created in an optimistic spirit. Of that there can be no
doubt in the mind of any man who believes in creation at all. But by the
extraordinary conduct of our first parents in the Garden of Eden, this
creation by the supreme Optimist, was changed into the most radical of
pessimistic ventures—judged from the human standpoint, of course. We
hear it from the most pious divines and it is probably correct.
A large gulf was dug in the original optimism and filled with the
darkness of pessimism, where, floundering in it, man looks back to the
joys lost to him forever by another’s folly, and then forward to the
forbidding cliffs that bar his entrance to the joys to come, unless he
engage in a mighty struggle and a hand-to-hand conflict with his animal
nature. He may and must scale the cliffs.
It is quite certain that the evils said to be afflicting the people of
the earth can never be cured by optimistic fancies, no more than can the
racking pains and galling sores of the bedridden be healed by their
concealment, or by covering them with a blanket of joy.
Financially, the man pressed by dire want, fancies the earth is ready to
come to an end, whereas, the man with substantial wealth treads in a
garden of flowers. The pangs of hunger find a lodging place in the
stomach of a pessimist, while a royal good dinner is the joy of an
optimist. The man in jail looks through a darkened glass, but his jailer
sees all things bright and clear.
Optimism is a comparative virtue; pessimism a relative vice. Love is the
destroyer of pessimism, while bankruptcy withers optimism at a touch.
The contest between the two is like a perpetual game of tenpins, in
which the pins are constantly overthrown to be as constantly re-set, and
the score of the game is always a tie.
Our modern extreme optimists bewilder us with vain ideals. They flatter
themselves with high sounding words and vague and dreamy utterances that
entangle many, but which mitigate no evils, redress no wrongs, soothe no
pain, cure no wounds.
“I am so sorry,” said a gentle optimist over a man who had just been run
over by an automobile and both legs broken, and she wrung her hands in
pity.
“I am sorry five dollars worth,” said a rough old heathen pessimist in
the crowd as he passed his hat for money to relieve the poor man’s
family.
Whenever a human wrong has been righted, an enslaved nation freed, a
sinner brought to salvation, there has always been a pessimist at the
beginning of the work, while the optimist came in later and realized the
profits from the work.
There is a philosophy practiced by the optimist to be found in the lines
of a great poet:
“One truth is clear, whatever is, is right.”
A philosophy that plunges men down into a gulf of despair, without hope
of relief, without power to defend himself and his against oppression
and injustice. It is a philosophy which, carried to its ultimate
optimistic length, leads to the depths in which are sunk all those who
bear upon their banner the legend:
“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”
There is less hope for those who climb to dizzy heights of optimistic
congratulation, than for those plunged in the dark gulf of pessimistic
woe, for to the latter there shall come a new heaven and a new earth,
and former things shall pass away. But the former have forestalled their
future abiding place by a creation out of their own presumption.
Here we have it—“presumption.” This is a worse condition than the
despair of the pessimist, for the latter is constantly striving to get
out of the slough of Despond, whereas the former is so puffed up with
pride at his own achievements, that he is hidebound in the thralls of
his own goodness and perfection.
The great fear of the extremes of optimism and pessimism is the danger
of falling into indifference. When a man refuses to take advantage of
the opportunities presented him, and says: “What’s the use?” his life is
ended so far as any activity is concerned, and he is a useless member of
society.
Be neither extreme, and remember that while there is life there is hope.
The quality of optimism must be strained through the sieve of common
sense.
_THE PLEASURES OF THE FLESH, and the PLEASURES OF THE MIND_
When a hungry man is seated before an appetizing meal, his mouth waters
in anticipation and he experiences the joys of anticipated satisfaction.
Every mouthful lingers on his palate with a delicious sensation and when
his hunger is satisfied, a feeling of intense comfort steals over him.
He is at peace with the world, and forgives his enemies. Any favor you
ask, if within his power to grant, will not be refused.
It is the same with a thirsty man. A delicious invigorating drink—and
there is none preferable to water—gurgles down his parched throat and he
smacks his lips with enjoyment.
All these matters together with other pleasurable sensations are purely
physical and passing. They must be renewed to be experienced, and when
the physical nature is out of order or does not respond, we are in a
very bad condition if we have nothing else to fall back upon.
Physical enjoyments are all sensual. The nerves thrill with excitement
and the world looks good to us and mighty pleasant. A few flies to
pester us are mere details and not to be considered.
But we have another being separate and apart from the physical body;
something much finer and more elevated. A being that is of a higher
order of appreciation and more enduring.
Every man knows without being told, that is, he knows from his own
feelings and sensations, that he has a spiritual nature, a mental body,
a mind.
Now, this mental body, this mind, is far above the physical, and its
pleasures and sensations, and its delights are as far above the physical
sensations as the spirit or mind is above the flesh.
Let us follow up this idea:
We said that a hungry man enjoys eating. This is true, but all hungry
men do not eat alike. Some men bolt their food to appease hunger, and
swill their drink to quench thirst. But others enjoy their food and
while satisfying hunger and thirst, gratify their taste and enjoy
certain foods more than others. These others have what is called
“educated” appetites, which is a mental acquisition above the purely
animal sensation of satisfying hunger or thirst. It is an art to be
cultivated.
This is the point sought to be reached—education and learning.
If the pleasures of the flesh are so enjoyable, then the pleasures of
the mind are still more enjoyable, because the mind is more appreciative
besides more enduring.
The food of the mind, the drink of the mind, means all the other
pleasures of the flesh resolved into the spiritual body through
education and learning, and the more education, the more learning, the
higher the enjoyment.
A great lawyer once said: “The pleasure of learning may be likened to a
bucket in a deep well of clear, cool water. It is easy to move the
bucket about if it is kept beneath the water, but when we attempt to
raise it above the surface, then comes a tug and a hard pull.” Whence he
derived the conclusion that the deeper we plunge into the clear, cool
depths of education and learning the more pleasure there is and the
easier it is to remain there.
One of our poets says:
“Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring.”
In these modern days every man must have some sort of an education,
preferably that for the occupation or profession which he selects for
his life work.
If he goes in for a commercial business, then he must learn all about
the rules and laws governing his business or the branch of it he aspires
to learn. He must know all about the nature of the goods he purposes to
sell; the markets; the prices; the demand; the production; the
consumption, and other matters connected with the business.
If he does not learn these things he will fail in business, and if he
does not learn some of them he can not get a job in any business house.
The rule is the same in every trade and profession. The modern man is
exacting. He demands the best service, because his customers or clients
demand better goods, better qualities, and better treatment.
The time has gone by when a tradesman, for instance, could offer goods
to his customer with a “take it or leave it” air. Competition is too
keen to permit that, and prices are too liable to be cut to enable him
to say, “That’s my price,” for there are others who will say, “I will
knock off ten per cent.”
An education that does not fit in with a man’s occupation is a
relaxation, and aids him to rise in his business and profession, so that
nothing is lost by keeping up with the times, but there is everything to
be gained. This is refinement and a valuable asset. Everything that can
be learned is worth something sometime.
How to tell a fresh egg from a stale one is a matter of education, but
to give the reason why a stale egg is not so good as a fresh one is a
matter of learning.
You can distinguish one man from another by his facial differences. That
is education, but when you can tell a good man from a bad one by a study
of his characteristics, that is learning.
To learn how to do things is education, but to learn the nature of the
things you make or the reasons why involves learning.
The housewife in making bread sets the loaves of dough in a warm place
so that they will rise. This is education, and her education tells her
that if she puts the dough in a cold place the bread will not rise. If
she knew that the yeast plant requires heat to grow, and is easily
killed by cold, she is learned.
If you eat a cucumber or any green fruit in the hot summer time you are
liable to get the colic. You are educated up to that by experience,
perhaps. But if you know that nature always gives you a pain when you
eat something indigestible, as a warning to get rid of it, or not to do
so any more, you will be learned indeed, if you take a cathartic instead
of a pain killer to stop the pain or warning nature gives you.
We can not live among our fellow men without an education of some kind,
adaptable
First—to our life work whatever it may be.
Second—suitable and proper to the people with whom we associate or are
placed in contact in our daily round of business and pleasure.
We can live and get along through life without any learning, but
learning adds to education and enables us to apply what we learn.
Besides that, it puts us in a position to rise higher, the more learned
we become.
It is not intended, by these remarks, to advise any one to learn
everything there is to be learned, for the very good reason there are
too many things in these modern times for one man’s brain to hold. But
it may be taken as a truth, that a man should be learned along the line
of his trade, business, or profession, with a few enjoyments for good
measure.
It is easy to learn, in fact one thing brings another. Like some food we
eat—one mouthful makes us hungry for another. Our modern system is so
linked and connected together, that every thing that may or can be
learned is a link in the great entire chain. You begin pulling at the
educational chain and find that you can not stop. You feel impelled to
keep on taking up link after link, until before you are aware of it, you
have mastered some definite branch of learning through the force of
education.
One thing to be noted is, what one man knows another man can find out.
The only way, therefore, is to keep ahead of him and learn things he can
not find out, or will not find out until too long afterward to be of any
disadvantage to you.
_THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST_
_The Laws of Nature Determine Who Shall Live, and Who Shall Die_
The theory of the survival of the fittest is agitating the world more
than ever before. But it has changed its significant title to what is
known now as “Eugenics,” which means substantially “well born,” or good
birth.
Briefly speaking, it is claimed that it is a law of nature that the
weakest shall go to the wall, and that the strongest shall survive. In
carrying out this doctrine, the ancient nations, Sparta, for example,
put to death all the weak and decrepit children, permitting only the
strong and well-shaped physically to live.
In our day, the scientists, or rather those who claim to be scientific,
advocate the same practice in a different but equally as effective a
manner.
The doctrine of “selection,” as it is termed, has been invented to cover
up the Spartan tragedy of murdering the helpless, and by it, it is hoped
our admitted degeneracy will be stopped.
I do not apply the term “degeneracy” to the Colored people, because
degeneracy works back to a type and not away from it in the human
family. The average Colored American is too near the pure type of his
race to be in a very deep degeneracy, but the word must be applied to
the mixed races of the Aryan, Caucasian, of whom it would be vain to
find a pure type except among the Georgians of Asia.
In explaining the doctrine of the survival of the fittest, or eugenics,
to give it its modern name, it is said that those who fail in life, fail
because they are not fitted to succeed, that is they are not “fit.” This
is called a law of nature. It is purposed to overcome this law of
nature, by selecting the parents by a medical examination or other
process, and confine parentage to them exclusively.
In other words, to prevent humanity from becoming any worse than it is,
the people who are to marry and bear children shall be of the very best
and highest type, and then their children will be finely developed and
make perfect citizens and become parents to other children.
But where shall we begin and what is the type aimed to reach as the
standard? It is important to the Colored man to know the meaning of this
movement to better the race, and also to discover what race is to be the
standard of excellence.
An effort will be made to explain as clearly as possible.
Who are the strongest that shall be permitted to survive, and who are
the weakest whose death knell is sounded?
It must be borne in mind in the outset, that all this controversy is
among the Caucasian, or as it is called in other places of this book,
the “Aryan” race, or division of the human family. It has not yet
reached the Colored race, nor has it been applied to them particularly.
Hence, let the Colored man stand outside and look on with interest, and
also watch that the theory does not spread to his race.
A man who lives in the slums is unfit to live anywhere else, so it is
said. A man who has made a million by a turn in the stock market, lives
in a palace, but can only write his name to a check, and can not tell a
spade from a rake. J. Pierpont Morgan possessed boundless wealth and
tremendous power in the financial world. Walt Whitman, the humane poet,
had a small competence and no power at all except to touch the hearts of
mankind. Burns was a plowman; Bunyan a tinker; a writer of slang and
jokesmith, makes a million; Brigham Young was a prophet and a ruler,
wealthy and honored; Stevenson was in the last stages of tuberculosis;
Byron was a cripple; Johnson was a glutton, and the composer of a silly
ragtime waltz owns an automobile and keeps a valet and a chauffeur.
Which of these shall we select as the type, and how are we going to tell
whether the offspring of our selections will come up to the type?
Modern medical scientists declare in the most positive terms, that every
child is born free from infectious diseases, and at the moment of its
birth is a perfect type. That the first breath it draws fills it with
the germs of future diseases that tend to make it a weak and diseased
abortion of humanity. All its troubles come from its surroundings or
environments, which are the conditions it must meet and with which it
must struggle to live at all.
It may avoid future disease from the infecting germs it breathes at the
moment of birth, by making its environments better, purer and altering
the bad conditions under which it lives.
We know, because we can see it every day, that of two plants or animals,
that one will survive which is the fittest to endure the conditions in
which both exist. He, the man, or it, the plant, can be afforded
opportunities in the way of good food, care, and proper training, to
resist the encroachments of disease and degenerate conditions.
Hence, we may say, that the question of which man shall survive, depends
upon the conditions under which he shall struggle for survival.
There is no law of nature here, it is the law of common sense and good
government. We are surrounded by conditions best suited for strength and
survival, and the conditions which promote weakness, disease and
degeneracy are removed or beyond our reach.
In a nation of marauders or robbers, those who live by spoliation and
the sword, would be the fittest to survive, and they would be a
different type of men from those who get first place in a nation of
traders, where fierceness and strength are less called for than tenacity
of purpose and clearness of head.
When a man says he is poor, somebody says, that man is poor because he
is not fitted to gain wealth. But we say, he is not fitted to gain
wealth under the conditions of his life. Take him out of those
conditions, put opportunities in his way and he becomes “fit” because he
gains wealth. It is done every day.
One condition of society enables one kind of a man to succeed, another
condition of society enables another kind of man to succeed. And so on
all along the long line of different conditions.
The great mistake made by many so-called scientific purifiers of the
human race, is in not being able to separate man with reason from
animals or beasts without reasoning powers. There is such a thing as
intellectual progress and the betterment of the reasoning faculties, but
so long as we limit survivorship to the physical and not to the mental
powers, we are betraying man into degeneracy instead of helping him out
of it.
There is one great teacher whose lessons are to be learned and deeply
pondered. They lead to an uplift that no money, and no medical
examination, or selection, can possibly attain. He was poor and
forsaken; rejected by his own, but he was and is the type to be
attained. In establishing the highest type possible to man with
reasoning powers, he ran counter to the doctrine of the survival of the
fittest as men saw it in his day, so they crucified Him but too late to
efface the type which we must follow or fall into degeneracy.
THE VICTORY OF THE MAN WHO DARES
This is the Era of =the man who dares=.
His opportunity has blossomed out of conditions unparalleled in the
history of nations.
Too many have been plodding along in a furrow afraid to come out of the
rut. They have lived, it is true, but they have not touched success. All
animals live, but man has higher motives than mere existence.
Enterprise, business, commerce, capital, government demand a man who
dares. Many leaders have fallen beneath the spell of malignant
influence, and have dragged down into the pit with them, respect, honor,
confidence, and honesty.
An army of men who dare is needed to drag up out of the pit and into our
every day lives, the respect, honor, confidence, and honesty, groveling
in the mud at the bottom, and the nationality, color, or race makes no
difference, they are needed among all classes.
The eyes of the world are turned toward the inscription, “I will,” on
the banner of the man who dares, as he hurdles across all obstacles and
brings back to its pedestal, virtue, that has been dragged away into
disreputable haunts.
His is the initiative; to him belong the rewards of efficiency.
The man who dares to venture out into new and undeveloped fields fills
the pages of history; his name is blazoned in heavy head-lines on the
front page of every newspaper and magazine. He does not have to seek
after fame, he is sought.
The man who dares is no rash, reckless fool who rushes in where angels
fear to tread.
“I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.”
He lets “I dare” follow upon “I will,” and plunges into the tide of the
affairs of men, and at its flood, is led on to victory.
He is brave and courageous with regard to men, but is a coward with
regard to God, wherefore he fears to worship the Golden Calf; to swear,
to steal, or cheat, or swindle; to degrade his neighbor’s wife; to covet
his neighbor’s property.
Why do you fail to reach success? Why do you lag behind in a world so
stuffed with opportunities and possibilities?
Watch the man who dares.
He has no hand held out behind for bribes, nor before for alms. He
reaches out and takes, and those from whom he takes are loud in their
praise of him, because he represents a force they would fain exercise
but dare not.
The power that impels him is dynamic. It grows out of an inertia charged
with the vibration of living eternal forces—a training that fits him to
propel himself into chaos and evolve order and profit—out of an
education that shows him =how=—out of a system that changes to suit
altered conditions—out of the same mighty impulses that have fashioned
the conquerors of armies, or nations, leaders of men, the world’s
financiers, the masters of commerce, the uplifters, governors and kings
of men.
_LIFE AND ALL IT IMPLIES, ALL ITS INCIDENTS, HAPPINESS, RENOWN,
COMPENSATIONS, ARE IN THE TRAIN OF THE MAN WHO DARES. HE MAY EVEN SCALE
THE WALLS OF PARADISE TO GAIN A CROWN OF ETERNAL GLORY._
=Life and all it implies are in the train of the man who dares.= Stirred
by his energy, every one of the billions of living principles of life
that form his body, is an individual acting in unison to maintain his
physical balance, and to free his brain from the clouds and vapors of an
infected atmosphere. He is made immune to the attacks of pestilences,
and follows the universal law of ceaseless activity that keeps the
earth, the sun and the millions of suns and planets in the firmament in
their proper places. Death, disease, infection, poverty, disgrace are
nothing to the man who dares, he rises above and beyond their reach. He
builds his castle with hope and cements its walls with imperishable
faith in his own powers, and anchors it with good works. He says: “I
will not die until I have won,” and he dares to cast his hopes into one
throw of the dice—and wins, and in the winning lives. What is life to a
clod? To a blind mole? To a man who never lifts his eyes to the gleaming
stars, or raises them beyond the brittle straws that clog his feet? To
the man who dares, life is a tumult of happiness, of radiant love, of a
joyous household, a fortress of friends. His hair turns gray, his limbs
grow weak, and his eyes are dim, but around his bedside hover the deeds
he has done, his nostrils snuff in the incense of his successes, and he
dies content that he will still live in the posterity that he has dared
raise up to follow in his footsteps.
=Life and all incidents are in the train of the man who dares.=
In the great center of life, with its circumference everywhere and
nowhere, the incidents of life are few and mere matters of routine. But
they must be gained, and can not be gained except by the man who dares.
Beginning with nothing but his muscles, courage, and high hopes, the boy
who dares forces his way through rain and storm, sunshine and shadow;
quaffs to the dregs the cup of disappointment and refills it with
determination. From the lowest rung of the social or business ladder, he
mounts upward rung by rung, gaining here and there a fresh supply of
energy, until bursting forth from a chrysalis of helplessness into an
initiative, he assumes first place and dares still more to reach after
the mastery. He dares the professions and becomes a statesman or a
scientist influenced by a desire to benefit his fellowmen. In the
mercantile, manufacturing, and commercial world, his name is a synonym
of honesty and probity, fair dealing, justice and impartiality. The
hands and mouths of his less daring fellowmen never depart empty. The
train of evils that follow humanity, he knows are mere incidents in life
and he does what he can and may to alleviate them, and in their
alleviation he finds comfort and joy. “Do unto others as ye would that
others do unto you,” is the absorbing incident of life, the
concentration, amalgamation of all other incidents. “This do and thou
shalt live.”
=Happiness is in the train of the man who dares.= “As arrows are in the
hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man who
hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall
speak with the enemies in the gate.” The man who dares fill this quiver
with arrows needs no other happiness. All other kinds, varieties, and
species of happiness follow in its train. Most of our happiness is
“so-called,” that is we think it is happiness, but it becomes bitter
after a while and then sours. True happiness never ferments, never
corrupts. The man who dares would not dare take a course in the school
of dissipation, he is too much of a man and has the courage of his
convictions. There are certain things every man must do to be happy, and
the man who dares does them. He must dare to do right, to keep away from
bad company, to avoid the ungodly, and the devil and all his works are
rendered innocuous by his daring to discountenance them.
=Renown is in the train of the man who dares.= To be in every man’s
mouth, as Caesar, Napoleon, Washington, is what many claim to be renown.
But the word means far more. It means honor, glory, and peace, and these
go “to every man that worketh good.” Every act of the man who dares is
an achievement of greater or less degree, and although he may not have
an exalted reputation to the great outer world, he is enshrined in the
hearts of his friends and acquaintances. The man who dares shines bright
in the firmament of teachers who have made good by exalting others. He
leads where others may follow and succeed, and as a guide, teacher and
example, his renown is not limited to an immediate circle of people
astonished at his daring, but accumulates force as time passes, and soon
becomes a rule of conduct, a precedent to be followed as rigidly as a
mathematical proposition in Euclid. Most men are content with what they
have and never go beyond their own possessions and desires. They have
grown rich, and then it is “Let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow
we die.” This is the fool’s theory, but it is not that of the man who
dares, because he wanders off into new fields of operation, attempts new
cultures, adds something to the phases of life, and as such, becomes
renowned, whether he has a high sounding epitaph on his tombstone or
not. People do not go to cemeteries to seek for souvenirs of the man who
dares, his life and deeds are impressed upon the plastic material of
every brain within reach of his influence. There he is enshrined; there
he possesses the renown he dared seek, and, as in his other deeds of
daring, he succeeds.
=Compensations are in the train of the man who dares.= Compensation is a
higher, nobler word than wealth, riches, money, or jewels. Money is a
good thing to possess, and wealth is not to be despised, but the love of
money is the root of all evil. Have you never noticed that the harder a
man strives to get money the farther he gets away from it? This is in
pursuance of a law of nature, that in striving too hard to acquire
anything, we omit some essential that if remembered would bring it to
us. There are certain things that if we dare do them, other things will
unexpectedly come to us in the way of compensation.
Money, wealth, riches, etc., are a recompense, a remuneration, of
course, but of themselves they are mere wages for labor performed. But
when we speak of “compensation,” we allude to something of greater value
than mere dollars and cents which procure bread and meat, clothes, a
roof for our heads, and certain pleasures. But a hog has all of these in
his own way and to his own satisfaction; but the man who dares does not
belong to that branch of the animal kingdom. He is a man and claims a
man’s compensation, or so acts that the desired compensation will be
forthcoming. Think of the words of Othello and ponder a little over
their meaning:
“Good name in man and woman, dear my lord,
Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
Who steals my purse, steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.”
The Story of a Rising Race Told in Pictures
[Illustration]
_PHOTOGRAPHED FROM LIFE_
│MUSIC
Special Collection D │THE DRAMA
│SOCIAL LIFE
│PHYSICAL CULTURE
[Illustration:
BELLES OF THE BALL
Basket Ball Team, Normal School, No. 2, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
FINE SPECIMENS—PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Hampton Institute Champions of 1912, showing a strong team of the
Colored boys and their Indian fellow students.
]
[Illustration:
TRAINED ATHLETES
Tuskegee Base Ball Team skilled in the art of the great national game.
]
[Illustration:
RELIGIOUS TRAINING AND PHYSICAL CULTURE
An evidence of the remarkable advancement of members of the Young
Men’s Christian Association in the development of mind and body.
]
[Illustration:
THE “HOWARD THEATRE,” WASHINGTON, D. C.
This magnificent theatre is owned and operated by Colored citizens.
The beautiful and artistic effect of the interior is an inspiration.
]
[Illustration:
TALENTED DRAMATIC PERFORMERS
The performance of the noted Shakespearian comedy “A Midsummer Night’s
Dream.” Evidence of the dramatic art now being developed by the best
talent of the race.
]
[Illustration:
THE SOCIAL SIDE OF LIFE
The Baltimore Assembly, a social gathering of distinguished Colored
citizens.
]
[Illustration:
MASTERS OF MELODY
“The Washington Trio,” noted for harmony and rhythm in the rendering
of musical composition.
]
[Illustration:
CO-EDUCATIONAL DRILL
The March to Dinner on Anniversary Day of students at the Hampton
Normal and Agricultural Institute. The boys are lined up and the
girls march through between the ranks.
]
[Illustration:
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
Commencement Day Exercises, 1912. Howard University, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
MUSIC HATH CHARMS
Glee Club and Orchestra, Tuskegee Institute.
]
[Illustration:
THE BOYS IN UNIFORM
A splendid company of cadets who show in their appearance and
deportment the careful training received at Tuskegee Institute.
]
[Illustration:
RESULTS OF MILITARY TRAINING
Company G, Tuskegee Institute, showing a group of well disciplined
young men who have received military training as part of their
education.
]
[Illustration:
A MILITARY DRILL
The Winning Company at the M Street High School, Washington, D. C.
]
[Illustration:
PLEASURE AND WORK COMBINED
The pleasure derived by the musical ear exceeds the work and practice
required to become a skilled musician.
]
In the great game of grab after money, which is enthralling the earth at
the present time, the man who dares takes no part except to see that his
compensation is adequate to his efficiency. His abnegation of the canker
worm of gold is a strong recommendation in his favor, and brings him
much more than it does to one who bites every dollar to test its
genuineness. He becomes renowned for this disposition, and nobody turns
him down on any proposition for everybody knows that his disposition is
to dare, to venture, to try, to win, to succeed. It is the best sort of
renown to possess; it is a policy, really a dare.
He knows that everything comes to him who knows how to wait, and he
plays the waiting game in a diplomatic manner, so diplomatic, indeed,
that he wins.
=The man who dares may scale the walls of Paradise to gain a crown of
eternal glory.= Nobody can slide through St. Peter’s gate unobserved. It
requires a constant fight to reach it even, and blessed is he who gets
that far, for he is sure to enter. We have it from the Saviour Himself:
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”
There is authority, therefore, for saying that the man who dares may
scale the walls of Paradise. The fact is, that a mollycoddle cannot be
connected with the idea of taking the kingdom of heaven by force. It
requires a man who dares to accomplish that feat, and it is the man who
dares that gets there.
Let us suppose that you are a timid man and have little initiative—that
is you are a follower of somebody and can not lead in anything. You must
raise some steam and get a move on or you will never succeed. That is a
settled fact, and if you to whom this is addressed, can not raise enough
steam to start out on a dare, why then, fall out and let somebody else
take your place in the waiting line.
Suppose you wanted to make a stagger at a dare, how would you go about
it! That’s about the idea you are after. Well, in the first place, you
must make ready. You can not ride without a horse, and even if you have
a horse, he is no good to you unless you know how to ride. To learn to
ride, you must get on the horse, of course, and take your chances of
being thrown or of falling off through sheer fright.
That is nothing. A few bruises are honorable scars in the onward
struggle. Let us start you our way:
=Fix your mind on what you aim at and never lose sight of it. It is your
target.=
=Fix a straight road toward it. This will enable you to get there
sooner, and if there are competitors, you will out-distance them.=
=Make a start. You may not be entirely ready and may have to stop on the
way for repairs, but all the same—start. Some people are always making
ready and never starting, so they never get anywhere because they never
start. It is better to start, even if you have to return and begin over
again. It shows your intention to win out, and that will encourage your
backers, or find backers if you have none.=
=Don’t wander. Keep on the straight road, and don’t let counter
attractions tempt you away. Keep thinking about what you are going to do
when you arrive, and build up a strong castle.=
=Let tomorrow’s troubles take care of themselves. The saying is:
“Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” Fight the troubles that
you have in hand now, and you will gain skill to fight those of
tomorrow.=
=Attend to your own business and let other people’s alone. You can’t
take care of your own business and that of another at the same time. To
do that a man must sit on two stools at once. A difficult thing to do
and not fall between. Try this as an experiment.=
=Keep your nerve, and your eyes in front. There are always times when a
man meets some obstacle that spells failure if he lets it. Don’t let
failure appear in any shape. Cut the word out of your dictionary.=
=Make haste slowly. This is an old saying of the Romans who knew a few
things about success. Hurry, but hurry slowly. That is, be careful in
getting everything ready and then make a break for the target. A man can
act quickly and methodically, which is making haste slowly.=
=Take plenty of physical exercise. You do not have to go to a gymnasium
to get enough exercise. Take a walk for the sake of walking. You can not
make exercise work and derive any benefit from it. You must take
pleasure in it or it is work and not exercise.=
=Do not work ahead. Keep your mind up with your work. Do not think about
the hours it will take to complete it. If you do that, you will tire out
your mind and make it do extra work. Mind and body should keep
together.=
=Dare to aspire to a higher position. Study to get it. Talk with others
who have risen and find out how they got there. Don’t copy them, but try
to initiate some better way. If you are sawing boards, study how to run
the engine, and incidentally learn how to manage the whole business. It
can not harm a man doing a small work to know how to do a greater one.
He will be ready to slip into the better work when the opportunity comes
and it is sure to come.=
=Do not run behind in your work. This is a fatal deficiency. It means a
backward movement and you must keep on pressing forward. If you feel
yourself going back, study the reason. Perhaps you are bilious, eating
too much, or not enough nourishing food. Keep your body working
regularly, for your health is the most important item toward success.=
=Save your money. But do not become a miser. You must live among others
and you can not afford to be considered small or mean. But you do not
have to squander money for any reason. If you are considered mean
because you refuse to squander money, let it go at that, and some day
you will be better understood. Such things are small details not worth
noticing.=
=Keep in touch with the outside world. Read newspapers and magazines and
learn to discuss or talk over the various topics of the day, whether you
understand them or not. Somebody will give you the keynote and then you
will add to your stock of knowledge. You can not learn too much, you may
fail by not knowing enough. Please remember this, no man is turned down
because he knows too much.=
=Learn to master yourself. Don’t let anything ruffle your temper, and
think seriously before starting a fight. You may win the fight but lose
your own self-respect and gain enmity. A man can not afford to throw
away a friend. He needs all he can get.=
=Don’t be afraid to work. Take work as it comes to you. Do not select
the easiest jobs, or you will get tired of the hard ones before you
reach them. Accustom yourself to work easily, and with your whole heart
and skill.=
=Give your imagination full swing as to the uses of the work you are
doing, and imagine how you could better it. This is efficiency and leads
to invention.=
=Don’t brag about what you can do. Do it and there will not be any need
to brag. Everybody will see what sort of a man you are and give you
credit for common sense and for knowing more than you really do.=
=Surround yourself with good influences, a club, a church, or some
society where you will be in touch with other men. Nobody who dares can
afford to be a hermit, and the man who gets disheartened at the
obstacles in his way, is a fool and ought not to and will not succeed.=
=Keep away from small vices and the large ones will not trouble you.
This will make your sailing on a smooth sea, where there are no rocks or
concealed reefs to wreck you.=
There are many other things that pertain to human life in its aspects as
a road to success. But when you have done your best, do not be anxious
because you have not done more. No man can accomplish everything in one
short life, and the best we can do is all that is required of us. Look
upon every man as a fellow worker, not in a vale of tears, but as
cultivating a pleasant valley blooming with flowers. If your friend
falls down help him up, and he will help you in return. If he offends
you, do not notice it, for no man deliberately offends a friend. If
disagreement is likely to lead to trouble, turn around to your
opponent’s way of thinking. Everybody has burdens to bear; and never
forget that yours are not the only ones hard to carry. Be a man who
dares, and when life’s fitful fever is over, and you have accomplished
all you could according to your lights and your ability, let a feeling
of peace steal over you, and trust in God for the rest.
The man who desires to become a man of courage, and a man who dares, may
gain force from the words of wisdom in the wise man’s philosophy
expressed in the following essentials.
“Who so wise, and will observe these things, even they shall
understand the loving kindness of the Lord.”
—(_Psalms CV, 11–43._)
THE WISE MAN’S PHILOSOPHY
A WORLD OF KNOWLEDGE
For Progressive Colored Americans
“The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the
lips increaseth learning.”
—(_Proverbs XVI, 21_)
The Secret of Successful Work
Knowing how to work is a secret all men do not possess.
When a man is born his life work is born with him, but the work he does
remains after he is gone. Hence the necessity of doing good work for the
evil work we do remains along with the good and hangs upon it like
fetters upon a felon’s wrists.
Whether a man works with his hands or his brain he exhausts, uses up a
certain quantity of his physical body. His brain, muscles, and every
part of his body are drawn upon to help do the work in hand.
Now, a man may lessen the hardship of his work, or he may increase it by
his manner of doing it.
When any work is begun, a certain amount of vital energy is started up
and continues working until it is stopped. That energy is like the
movement of a clock pendulum—it keeps on moving back and forth as long
as it is kept wound up. When the clock runs down, the pendulum stops
because there is no stored up force to keep it in motion.
This is exactly what takes place in the body when we work. We set the
pendulum in motion and it keeps on going until the clock runs down, that
is until we drop with exhaustion.
This vital energy is an intellectual quality, and when we work our mind
keeps it active. It is the same when we make hard work of any job. The
vital energy works hard also.
Some men, sawing a stick of wood, for instance, will begin sweating over
the job before they have half sawed it through. That is, they have
already finished the job so far as their vital energy is concerned but
more vital energy must be exhausted to complete it.
Do not let your mind run ahead of your work, but keep it up even with
that work. Then you will not tire out, and after a good sleep you will
be fresh to begin another day. Work easily and steadily.
The Key to Success
Character; Education; Industry; Wealth.
These are the successive stages on the road to success, and they follow
in their regular order.
Character belongs to every man individually, and can not be copied from
another. It lies in the man; that is all anybody can tell about it.
Natural probity combined with insight into what you are doing, your
trade, business, occupation, etc., are the factors that make up
character. It is different from reputation, for a man may have a bad
reputation and still possess a good character. But he can not have a bad
character and possess a good reputation. The power to succeed in
business is character.
Education goes with character, and means more than learning or mere
knowing. It means capacity and ability to utilize what you know. This is
education.
You must not only know things but also know how to apply your knowledge,
otherwise you are as well off as if you knew nothing.
Industry means diligence in developing character and utilizing education
for all they are worth.
“The hand of the diligent maketh rich,” says Solomon, the wisest man
that ever lived. He also says, “The diligent gaineth favor.”
Wealth comes by the observance of the foregoing and certain things which
should be added. For instance:
To become industrious you must give yourself and your fellow man a fair
exchange for what you receive.
You must watch your intellectual, spiritual and worldly welfare.
Progressive Colored Americans must seek opportunity which does not come
of itself, and which has been denied them in the past.
You must make yourself, and follow high standards.
Start Right in Life
By Avoiding Foolish and Unnecessary Extravagances
Economy tells us we must learn to do without many things we would like,
and forego all unnecessary luxuries, recreations and pleasures which
call for money.
We can be happy without these things and enjoy the forgotten pleasures
of home.
Cut down on rent, table, clothes, etc.
The burden of economy falls upon the women who do the marketing, cooking
and housework.
Let the men save on personal expenses. A woman can throw out more at the
back door than a man can bring in through the front, but his billiards
or pool, cigars and drinks soon devour the pennies and dimes saved by
the wife.
Do not buy what you do not need or that you can get along without.
Do not make fun of pennies and dimes as unimportant. Instead of saying,
“It is only a penny,” say “It is a whole penny.”
Strive to learn economical buying. No one has enough money to say that
cost is of no account. Get the very best for your money. Don’t buy
blindly without inquiring the price, and always remember that a penny or
a dime in your pocket is just as much at home as in that of the
merchant.
Do not ride when you can walk. You need exercise and walking is the best
and cheapest method, much cheaper and better than the bowling alley.
Don’t buy two pounds of meat when one pound will do; nor a bushel when a
peck is sufficient.
The first fruits and vegetables of the season are expensive; wait a few
days and they will be cheaper and more mature.
_Quick Sales and Small Profits_
Our modern system of transacting business has so materially changed from
what it was a decade or so ago, that a special training is required to
make a success.
Theoretically, the difference between the cost price and the selling
price represents profit. But it often represents loss.
If goods could be delivered at your place of business at the invoice or
purchase price, the selling price might cover some profit. But
complications begin as soon as you have made a purchase.
There is transportation, insurance, demurrage, haulage, rent, light,
heat, clerk hire, taxes, and perhaps license fees, to be added to the
burden of the cost price.
With such, and so many additional charges, how can there be any profit,
if the goods are sold customers at a fair price that will attract them?
There is only one way to cover possible loss and that is in getting rid
of the goods at a small profit. If you do not, depreciation enters the
field to compete with the other troubles, and with handling, dust,
mussing, etc., you will have to put up a sign “Selling below cost,” or
“Bargain Sale.”
A quick turn is the best turn in business, and to hold on to a price
until you get a fixed profit you have determined on, is like refusing a
good job because the wages or salary is lower than you have calculated
upon getting. The opportunity slips away.
A landlord demands a certain rent for his premises and he will not come
down a dollar a month. So his property is untenanted for a long time,
and he loses in pocket although eventually he gets his price.
Make quick turns at small profits and repeat often. Nickel car fares are
making the car companies multi-millionaires.
_The Early Bird Gets the Worm_
This is a saying that contains a large load of philosophy.
There is always a worm around for an early bird to pick up for
breakfast. Of course it is very foolish for the worm to come out, but
that is the way things are in this world.
What you have to do is to play the part of the bird by getting there
first. To carry out the idea, remember that you are not the only bird
after the foolish worm.
This means hustle on your part, and that is what every business must
show—hustle.
In any event do not be the worm.
You watch the markets and take advantage of every fall in prices.
Perhaps there is a small telegram in an out of the way place in your
morning newspaper, which intimates that there is going to be a large
shipment to market of potatoes, peaches, cabbages and so on. Down you go
and put in an order at a small price and you get the product. Or, you
have a lot on hand and a glut will lower prices. Up you get and down you
go to sell out your lot at less than the market rates to those who have
not yet seen the approach of a glut.
You do not have to wait for breakfast or for anything—just travel and
hustle.
The weather report mentions a probable frost. Down you go and mark up
the product likely to be affected. Everybody—every early bird is doing
it, and it is the custom of business men to do this.
The worm picked up by the early bird is the man who says “Pooh! I don’t
believe there is going to be any glut or any frost.”
This is a mighty big country and things are coming and going all the
time. There is a big production and it is crowded to the point where
there is liable to be a frost—that is a deficiency in the market, and
then you have a glut. Keep your eyes and ears open and watch the market
reports.
OPEN A SAVINGS BANK ACCOUNT
If you ever hope to be considered a thrifty citizen, a man to be looked
up to, you must exhibit some financial standing.
You can do this by opening a savings bank account. A man who has a bank
account is never ignored, whether his account is large or small. It
means something substantial, and you feel more like holding up your head
and looking at the sun without a smoked glass.
Many people save their money, or think they do, by hiding it away in the
bottom of a trunk, burying it, or carrying it around in their pocket.
These people generally lose their money because it is as easily
accessible to others as well as to themselves.
Banks are safe institutions at the present day, but not a bank run by
private parties for their own benefit. You must not be deceived by
glowing promises of returns on your money, for they always come from
those who are scheming to get it away from you without returning it.
There are all sorts of tricky people roaming about looking for those who
have a little money saved up and who are afraid to put it into a savings
bank. Do not listen to them for you will be deceived. You can not take
up a newspaper without reading about some man or woman who has been
defrauded of the little money hoarded in a tea pot, or burned up in an
old stove, dug up from some secret hiding place under a tree, or picked
from his pocket by an enterprising thief.
Trust your money to first-class savings banks and it will be there when
you want it, and it can not be lost or stolen. The bank is responsible.
“Some banks burst.” True, but not a good bank, the shady ones always
fail when they get a good sized roll.
If you do not know enough to put your money in a safe place, you do not
deserve to have any, and you generally do not.
SAVE YOUR MONEY AND MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU
There is one open opportunity that everybody can take if he wishes to do
so, and with very little exertion on his part.
The man who makes his money earn money for him relieves his own back of
many heavy burdens.
To do this is the object and aim of every go ahead person, and there are
many men who walk our streets who have money making money for them, even
while they sleep.
All you have to do is to save your dollars instead of giving them away
for somebody else to work with—work them yourself.
It is worth knowing that when you squander, or spend unnecessarily, one
dollar, you are at the same time parting with a servant that will bring
you in profitable returns—you are killing the goose that lays golden
eggs.
Stop and think that whenever you part with one dollar you are
sacrificing two or more dollars, some say, five or ten, for the reason
that in the course of a few years, your dollar will earn you several
other dollars by being put out at interest, or in bonds that pay good
rates of interest.
It is a comforting thought to know that when you can not work, your
money is working for you every moment.
The following tables will show you just what it does:
TIME IN WHICH MONEY DOUBLES.
═════════╤════════════════╤════════════════
Per Cent │ SIMPLE INT. │ COMP. INT.
─────────┼────────────────┼────────────────
2 │50 years │35 years
2½ │40 years │28 yrs. 26 da.
3 │33 yrs. 4 mos. │23 yrs. 164 da.
3½ │28 yrs. 208 da. │20 yrs. 54 da.
4 │25 years │17 yrs. 246 da.
4½ │22 yrs. 81 da. │15 yrs. 273 da.
5 │20 years │14 yrs. 75 da.
6 │16 yrs. 8 mos. │11 yrs. 327 da.
7 │14 yrs. 104 da. │10 yrs. 89 da.
8 │12½ years │9 yrs. 2 da.
9 │11 yrs. 40 da. │8 yrs. 16 da.
10 │10 years │7 yrs. 100 da.
─────────┴────────────────┴────────────────
=A Dollar Saved Is a Dollar Earned=
A small sum saved daily for fifty years will grow at the following rate:
DAILY SAVINGS RESULT
One cent $ 950
Ten cents 9,504
Twenty cents 19,006
Thirty cents 28,512
Forty cents 38,015
Fifty cents 47,520
Sixty cents 57,024
Seventy cents 66,528
Eighty cents 76,032
Ninety cents 85,537
One Dollar 95,041
BECOME A LAND OWNER
From the material point of view, there is nothing on this earth that
leads to so much success, security, and social standing as the ownership
of land.
By owning land you become a landlord, and you gain that opportunity by
thrift and economy.
Land is the soundest investment in the world, and it has always been one
of the great objects and hopes of the people of the earth to own a small
slice of its surface.
If you own land, you acquire a sense of responsibility to the community
where it is located. You are invested with a dignity which you can not
obtain in any other way. You possess a sense of security and
independence that nothing else will give you.
All over the world it is land which is considered first security. In
this country, the courts refuse money or jewels for bail, insisting upon
land as the requirement of the bond.
The reason is because land is a fixture; means security that can not be
carried away or be lost, it is always there when it is wanted.
Buy land, therefore, if only a small portion. If you can not get forty
acres, get twenty, or ten, or one, but get some land, and you will be
surprised to find how fast your acre will become two, etc.
There are always opportunities to buy land on time, so that you do not
have to wait until you have a large sum of money, but you can pay in
small amounts on long time.
It is a good business that of real estate. You buy land, then subdivide
it, sell a part to pay for the whole, and own the rest. It is a common,
every day transaction, and is successful, but you must keep your eyes
open.
OWN YOUR OWN HOME
A man without a home may as well be a man without a country. A home is
bail for success in life. Not a mere place to live and sleep, or eat and
get your washing done, but a home of your own, what an Englishman calls
his “castle.” Yours where you are safe from intruders, and feel like a
king in his own domain.
It is easy to acquire a home, but you must begin at the beginning and do
as all others have done and will always do. Buy the beginning of a home
with what you can easily save out of your earnings or wages.
The way to do is to buy a small lot for a home, a small piece of ground
upon which you can build a little cage for yourself, your dear ones, and
for your posterity, or in anticipation of such an event. It pays. The
man who does not dream of a posterity is not a good citizen, a good
friend, nor a safe man to deal with.
You do not have to pay out a large sum of money; a small sum to begin
with will secure you a start toward a home. Paying gradually, you will
soon have the ownership of a portion of this green earth, and a spot all
your own. Then you can build when the ground is paid for. That is the
key to a home—get a lot paid for and you can always secure a building
fund.
In this way you become a real member of society, a citizen who has an
interest in the way his affairs are carried on. In addition to that, you
are deemed a solid citizen, a fixture, and when the time comes you are
the one selected to fill an opportunity of any sort within your
capacity.
DON’T BORROW MONEY FOR NEEDLESS EXPENSES
It is a common business transaction to borrow money when there are
sufficient assets to justify it. But in such cases there is a regular
rate of interest fixed by law as payment for the use of the money
borrowed. You can not risk any other than the legal rate of interest, if
you do you are taking unwarranted risks, and subjecting yourself to the
yoke of a loan shark, out of whose clutches you can never emerge without
tremendous sacrifices, often ruin.
Money borrowed to speculate with is a heavy and dangerous burden on the
borrower. When he loses, he not only has nothing to show for his folly,
but is goaded into borrowing more in the hope of making good his loss.
Once in the toils, he will not stop until ruined financially—perhaps
morally. If he wins he will still pursue the phantom fortune on borrowed
money and lose finally. Speculation is a gamble with the odds against
you.
In speculations, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”
If you have to borrow money to complete or perfect some transaction or
business deal, or to carry you through, or tide yourself over some
delay, you can always get it at the regular rate of interest, provided
you have reputation, and security. But do not mortgage your clothes,
furniture, etc., for anything but an absolutely necessary loan.
Remember always, that money borrowed and spent is a hardship to return
unless you have the wherewith in the way of business to make good.
If you worked half as hard to get money for your own pocket as you do to
repay a loan, you never would need to borrow.
ESTABLISH A REPUTATION FOR YOURSELF
To get along successfully in business, or in any other occupation, for
that matter, every man must establish a reputation for himself.
Indeed, reputation is the basis of credit; it is his first and best
capital with which to make a start in life.
Of course, the reputation meant is a good reputation, and not one that
is open to question.
A man may have a reputation as a fighter, a shrewd man, a tricky man, a
dishonest man, and so on, but these keep him back in the life struggle,
and even if he should succeed, as the wicked are often said to do, his
success will be only temporary.
It is the lasting reputation for honesty and fair dealing that brings a
man up to the standard of success.
Be true to your word, stand by your contracts even if you should lose an
advantage, for you will regain more than you lose by your reputation.
A good reputation in small things means the acquirement of a reputation
in large things. You are always gaining.
It must be borne in mind constantly, however, that a reputation is
easily lost by a false step: “At every word a reputation dies.” Hence,
having once gained a reputation for fairness, honesty, and squareness,
do not let any small advantage or chance of gain persuade you to throw
it away, for a reputation once lost will cost you years of sorrow to
regain. When you have lost the good opinion of your fellow man, you may
as well withdraw from their society for you will be an object of
suspicion ever after.
IMPROVE PRESENT OPPORTUNITIES
If you knew that by pulling up a rope hanging down a well, you would get
a rich prize, a bag of gold, or a box of diamonds, you would keep on
pulling.
Now, life is nothing but pulling at something at the end of which we
hope and expect to find something worth while.
What we pull at consists of a long string of opportunities, and if we
let go, then we lose.
The fact is, we must improve our present opportunities, for they lead to
other and better ones. Small opportunities are not to be despised for
several of them make one large one which is what you are aiming at.
“Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and
the beauteous land.”
Some people want to get rich immediately, and venture into all kinds of
speculations to get there. These are not opportunities, they spell ruin
in the end. They are the destroyers of opportunities.
An opportunity always makes good if you stick to it, but flies away from
you if you neglect it.
Opportunity says to you: “Oh, well, if you do not care for my company,
there are others who do,” and away it goes to the others, and then you
have regrets, too late perhaps, some other man has appropriated it.
It is a common saying: “Everything comes to him who waits,” but Napoleon
said: “Everything comes to him WHO KNOWS HOW to wait.” There is a vast
difference.
Do you know HOW to wait, friend? If you do then you are ready to grasp
opportunity when it comes your way.
Christ said: “Seek and ye shall find.” To this may be added the saying
of St. Paul the great Apostle who was certainly a wise man: “Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good.” Do it now, for time flies. “The
Bird of Time has but a little way to fly—and Lo! the Bird is on the
Wing.”
HOW TO MAKE USE OF VALUABLE SPARE TIME
What do men do when their work for the day is over?
We are arranging things so that a man will have eight hours’ work, eight
hours’ play and eight hours’ sleep. The sleep you must have or you can
neither work nor play. This division of time consumes the whole day.
When we speak of eight hours’ work, we mean “work,” not dawdling.
By attending to the business you have on hand you work, and the
clergymen say: “A man who labors prays.”
But what to do during the eight hours set apart for play; that is the
rub. Of course everybody should understand that by “Play” is not meant
dissipation, far from it. It means “recreation” of some sort that will
help do the work and induce sleep.
A change of occupation is often play to some, because it gives the mind
and the unused muscles a variety which is equal to rest.
A few hours of the play time devoted to improvement either of the mind
or in the business we are in, will be of great benefit and result in a
“raise.”
Few people want to die young, but the sure way to reach the end is to
work when we should play. Labor constantly undergone, for sixteen hours
every day, shortens life by about one-half. The human machine is built
for so much service, and if that service is crowded into a short space
of time, why then the machine gives out. Like any other machine it gives
out and goes to the scrap pile.
If we play all the time, why then, the machine rusts, and gives out just
the same. So if we sleep all the time, we rust and the brain gives out
by inaction.
It is wise to divide the day equally as is suggested, and do something
during sixteen hours, and sleep the other eight hours. This is
scientific, and leads to good health, long life, and, if you do not
speculate, leads to wealth, at least to a good living.
FIT YOURSELF FOR SOME TRADE OR CALLING
What do you intend to do for a living?
Plenty of time to decide that, you say for yourself or for your boy.
You deceive yourself, for there is not plenty of time. You must decide
early, and educate yourself for the trade or calling you have decided to
follow.
You must have some definite aim in life. Nobody can fix one for you. You
know best what you can do, what you would like to do, and what sort of
an education you need to do it.
Things move swiftly in these modern times, and you must decide quickly,
or fall behind in the race to the life goal.
Others are treading on your heels and you must go ahead or fail out
altogether, and the procession is so large, and so closely packed that
you can not wedge your way in again without a hard struggle.
Do you want to be a farmer? Study farming, and everything that pertains
to farm work.
Perhaps you would prefer to be a doctor. Well, then you must study for a
doctor’s profession and let farming alone. If you are built for a doctor
you can be one, but you should study yourself carefully and take advice
on the subject.
You would rather be a lawyer? The same effort to be a doctor must be
made. You can not be a lawyer just because you are bright and say funny
things sometimes.
Whatever you decide to do, whether farmer, doctor, lawyer, blacksmith,
carpenter, or merchant, be one or the other and do not try to straddle
all of them.
A Jack of All Trades is master of none, and he is not wanted in this age
of specialties. Be some one thing and be that thing for all there is in
it.
WORK FOR SUCCESS WHILE YOUNG
Youth is the time to work for success.
Old age is the winter time of life and if no provision has been made to
acquire a competence before that period, it will be an unhappy time,
perhaps a miserable existence as the result.
Success has no tomorrow, it is always today, and if the sun of today
sets upon failure, it can not be hoped that it will rise tomorrow upon
success, there being nothing to cause it to do so.
There is no greater duty to be performed by man than to lay by provision
for the future. Even the animals prepare for a rainy day, the worst
specimens are those who neglect this instinct.
It is an instinct, the instinct of self-preservation.
Experience demonstrates, in fact, it has become an axiom of science,
that after a certain age, a man is incompetent to perform his duties in
as profitable a manner as before.
Some fix the age at forty years, while others say that a man has reached
the fullness of his capacity at the age of fifty years.
It depends, of course, upon your employment, as to that. When a man’s
occupation consists of hard physical labor, he should have acquired
enough to carry him over during the rest of his life, by the time he has
reached the age of fifty years.
It is certain in business and trade circles, that a man need not look
for employment as a skilled laborer after the age of forty-five years.
The body wears out after years of toil, or years of idleness—which is
the same thing—and the mental vigor lessens materially.
For this reason, you will become worn out before attaining success,
unless you spend your time of youth in attaining it.
Opportunity for Business Life
Become a merchant, if that is your inclination, but begin in a small way
and build up. You have children, then the business will be for them when
they grow up and are able to help you.
The way is easy if you look around for the best opening. Pick out your
neighborhood and study the wants of the people. There is always a law of
demand and supply, for people want things of every description every day
and every hour.
Now what does a particular neighborhood need? That is the first thing to
learn. Next, what do they want? That is the second. Thirdly, how many
people are there needing and wanting things? There you are with the
elementary knowledge ready at hand.
Talk with a few of them and find out how they feel about a business
among them within reach and with accommodations of supply and delivery.
Then begin quietly without a splurge or plunging. Go slowly, except when
there is a sudden demand, then work quickly to supply that demand.
Generally, however, you should work up, and put yourself in a position
to be liked. You treat everybody as if you wanted to accommodate them,
and they soon realize that.
You never can tell what a small beginning will lead to. If you keep your
eyes open the future will unfold itself. In every locality in our cities
and settled country districts, the population is increasing, in many
cases by leaps and bounds. You are there and with the proper kindliness
and affability you will grow with the place, and the more the population
increases the greater will grow your business.
There you are, a business man, grown to be such by the force of
circumstances and tact with good judgment. The business will grow still
more with the help of your children.
Build Up Your Credit
By making your word as good as your bond, you are seizing an opportunity
to build up your credit, and without credit you can not hope to win in
the battle of life.
Pay your debts and meet all your obligations as promptly as you can, and
if you can not on the specified day, come out squarely and give the
reasons why.
Be frank and open with the man you owe, and while he expects you to meet
your engagements according to the express letter of your contract, he
recognizes the fact that in every business transaction there are
accidents that prevent it.
There are always modifications of contracts, because human nature makes
mistakes. The best of men do this, but they come out in a manly fashion
and admit it.
It is said that business is hard, and knows no yielding; that when a man
promises to do a thing, he MUST do it whether he can or not. This is
nonsense, business is like every other department of life, it hinges
upon humane principles.
If, however, you have not established your credit, you must do so, and
you must keep it up. You can not begin your credit by begging for delay
the very first engagement you make to pay. That is always a bad
beginning, in fact, it is no beginning at all.
Business men watch your progress, and if you have shown yourself
capable, honorable, and prompt for a reasonable time, they are always
ready to help you out in the time of adversity or bad luck.
It is policy to do this, and you may as well adopt the following idea
also: “A man may be down today and up tomorrow. If he is down today and
has credit of good repute, he will get up tomorrow through help extended
to him. Otherwise he will be left where he falls.”
Stiffen Your Backbone and Keep on Climbing
The owner of a stiff backbone is not easily put down by adverse
circumstances.
No man’s troubles overwhelm him unless he gives in to them weakly.
This is the experience of men since the world began: You must fight your
way up and never look back to slipping places, for then you will surely
stumble.
Worry is one of the symptoms of a weak backbone. Everybody should know
that small stumbles are not killing matters to mourn over or worry
about. You may have had in your own experience, many cases where your
worries and anxieties proved nothing but phantoms. You think you will
not survive until tomorrow, but you always see the sun shining the next
day whatever befalls you today.
Things always come out as a rule much better than you expect, or dared
hope.
If you have health and good friends to encourage you, why should you
worry or fret over the things of life which are always small and
insignificant?
Keep your eyes open and watch for another opportunity to wedge yourself
back in, if you should happen to be crowded out of anything.
You must not think that every avenue to opportunity is sealed up against
you because you do not find a wide open way to get in. Try a small way
first, and keep on pushing and the road will widen. That is you must not
weaken, if you do you will slide back and so be always climbing up and
sliding down the hill.
Keep in the Race, Don’t Give Up
The Holy Bible tells you, and man’s experience has always demonstrated
it, that “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”
You are fearful that you will not win. Why? Is it not because you are
looking backward instead of forward?
You have had much to contend with, let us say; very well, are you going
to lie down now that you can see daylight ahead?
We are living in the present, acquiring strength for the future, the
past is dead and should be buried. The man who looks back is useless for
present needs.
Get away from the downtrodden notion, the servant idea, and be a man
with an intelligent brain aspiring to higher things.
Every man is what he thinks himself to be, and if you have no
aspirations beyond your present occupation, then you will remain in that
occupation and nobody can pull you out of it.
On the contrary, a man who thinks he is fitted for some better
occupation than the one he is engaged in, will soon find that other
occupation; he will soon be his own master.
No man is kept out of a thing unless he wants to stay out. It is true
there are sometimes many difficulties, and in the case of our Colored
Americans, they have been appalling and discouraging. But the light is
breaking, the black clouds are disappearing, and soon, if you keep in
the race, you will find the land of sunshine and happiness.
Don’t give up the ship as long as there is a timber to float on.
Keep an Eye on the Future
It is quite true that we are living in the present but we do not stop
with today or stand still. You know that the sun will rise tomorrow and
that you will see it rise. That is, in all probability.
The sun of tomorrow and your rising are future events.
In the present you prepare for tomorrow and continue what you began on
the yesterday. Otherwise you are standing still. No man can proceed if
he must begin over again every tomorrow that comes to him in his life,
he must have done something that can not be completed except in the
future.
That gives him work to do, something at which he can make progress. You
will be of more value tomorrow than you are today because you have
advanced by experience—you have learned something, and so you will learn
something every day and every tomorrow will find an improvement in you.
Your time will be of more value, and your services command a higher
price. You must work things around so that this will happen to you.
To every young man the future holds everything dear to him, his hopes
are all centered on the future. In it he sees a home, a family, honor,
fame perhaps, wealth possibly, comforts and a peaceful old age.
He may bring all these to pass but he must carry them always in his mind
as things to be attained.
We may not know what the future has in store for us, but we can shape
events, our lives and our doings so that we will know something of the
future. When we say we do not know what the future will bring forth, we
do not mean things of our own creation because we do know that much, but
accidentals, and against those dangers we can provide by taking counsel
and making provision to defeat them.
Produce Something and Increase Your Own Value to the World
The man who is a consumer only is of little use in this world. He is out
of balance with energies and activities in the business or professional
world.
The earth, the soil, is valuable only because it PRODUCES something that
did not exist before. It creates in its way. The more it creates or
produces, the more its value. When it produces nothing it is called a
desert and is avoided for all useful purposes.
It is the same way with men; they must produce, make something, and the
more things they make or produce, the higher their value, the greater
their wage earning capacity, or income producing power.
Let the Colored American get into a business of his own; begin in a
small way, but make something for others to buy or use.
To become a producer he must enter the manufacturing and commercial
fields. He must grow up with his business of producing.
In this way he will establish an enterprise for his sons and daughters,
and he will be able to sit in comfort beneath his own vine and fig tree.
Present “Opportunity” lies in taking advantage of present conditions,
always remembering that as we progress we open up other and better
opportunities that may be temporarily closed to us.
To get the means to do this, we must educate and work. The race has made
wonderful progress in the field, the workshop, and in the professions,
but it must reach out into commercial life, for the wherewith to carry
out higher ideals.
We must cultivate the commercial instinct if we would master our own
destinies.
We are all what we make of ourselves, and can not accuse another of
spoiling the work.
STOP, LOOK, LISTEN!
At every cross road in the country there is a warning signal: “Look out
for the Locomotive.” At every railroad crossing in every large city,
there are bells rung, whistles blown, and even guards let down when a
locomotive passes.
Policemen stand at corners to warn people to look out, etc.
Why all these precautions? Simply to prevent people from endangering
their lives. Yet, there are lives lost every day from failure to heed
the warning signals, and many persons are maimed and crippled for life
from the same cause.
The impression seems to be that people do not know enough to take care
of themselves, and that they are disposed to rush into danger heedlessly
and imperil their lives.
The impression is based upon truth. People do not know how to take care
of themselves, and therefore the law exercises a sort of guardianship
over them. It is all very nice to feel that there is somebody caring for
us and shielding us from our own stupidity. That is what it
is—stupidity.
If men would only stop, look and listen, that is, keep their wits about
them, there would be fewer accidents, fewer failures in business, and
fewer failures to succeed at anything.
It is not the foolish, the ignorant, and the small child who incur risks
that are fatal, but grown men, men of intelligence and even wisdom and
sagacity who venture too far and are caught up by hidden or exposed
dangers, and lose their lives.
It is almost suicide for any man to lose his life through his own
carelessness and inattention to danger signals.
These warnings exist everywhere in every department of business, and in
every occupation. A suit for heavy damages is no consolation to the man
who throws his life away through carelessness.
BE EVERY MAN’S FRIEND
Every man with a grain of common sense prefers a friend to an enemy.
Not that a man need to have enemies, for if you make yourself a friend
to every man, every man will be your friend and you will have no
enemies.
There is much comfort and peace of mind, besides greater opportunities
for succeeding in any occupation, if you possess that charming trait
known as “friendship.”
Friendship is a valuable asset in character. There are always times
during life when you need a friend, and you can always have one ready at
hand if you are a friend to others.
We all know that a friend in need is a friend indeed, but do not bank
upon what you are to gain by being a friend and persuading others to be
your friend. That is mercenary, and not provocative of good feeling or
self-satisfaction.
It is very proper to be friendly with every one from the standpoint of
business, for then you gain friendship in a variety of pleasant ways.
There is always social intercourse to be considered. You want friends
for that; indeed, if you have none, you are in a bad way, and apt to
wander off into by-paths that are shady and disreputable. With a friend
by your side you have a guide and adviser.
_Help Your Fellow Man_
You are not put here on earth for your own sole benefit. There are
others with the same rights and privileges to enjoy the things of life
as well as yourself. This is important to remember.
Now, if you help your fellow man to maintain his rights, do you not see
that you are laying the foundation for help to maintain your own?
If you trample on any person you must expect to be trampled upon in your
turn, and then away go your rights, and trouble ensues.
If you help your friends and neighbors in their need, you are opening
the way to be a success in whatever you may undertake. Under such
circumstances, men will swear by you, and if you cannot be helped by
them—there being some things that are too deep to be aided, sorrow for
instance—you will at least have their sympathy, good will and
countenance in your undertakings.
Let all your dealings and intercourse with your fellow men be based upon
mutuality. There is a proverb which may not be inappropriate, which
says, “Molasses catches more flies than vinegar.” Of course, helping
your neighbor out of his difficulties or even sympathizing with him in
his sorrows or grief, is a sweetness to him and to you.
Every kind, every good act, has a reciprocal effect. It may not be done
out of whole heartedness, and there may be a grain of selfishness in it,
but the principle is there, and often repeated, it becomes a second
nature to act like the Good Samaritan without hope of reward.
Nevertheless there is always a reward more or less substantial.
_Take Counsel of Your Best Friends_
It is as old as the hills that “Two heads are better than one.”
It is true that every man has two feet, two hands, two eyes, two ears,
and so on, but only one head. Things do not seem to balance with only
one thing, so to complete the balance it is the height of policy to have
two heads. Why not?
But one of the two heads is that of your best friend who can advise you
when your one head is apt to go astray in some important step or
undertaking.
You may not follow the advice of your friend, but he may give you an
idea that will save you from making mistakes leading to failure.
Solomon says: “Without counsel purposes are disappointed.”
But you must take counsel of your friends; not of the ungodly, or those
who may take advantage of you to counsel you wrong for their own
purpose.
It is to be hoped that you have friends, if not make some immediately,
because you will always need them. Now, when you have a friend go to him
and counsel with him, and stick to him closer than to a brother. You
should not give all your ideas away or consult with everybody about your
affairs. You should keep close mouthed about them, but when you are in
doubt consult a friend. We repeat: consult a FRIEND, not one who calls
himself your friend, and wants to borrow money, or use you for a
purpose, but a real friend upon whom you can rely.
Such a counselor will not betray you, but will be your other head and
study your needs and help you in your troubles.
The word “friend” is a high and noble word and possesses a meaning not
common to other relations between man and man. Thus, Abraham was the
“Friend of God.”
SELECT YOUR OWN COMPANY
“A man is known by the company he keeps.”
This is a proverbial saying and it is a true one.
You have only one life to live, and you must be as careful of that life
as a man is of his gold.
Good companions help you on the upward path; evil companions drag you
down. Men possess free will, but a misuse of it brings speedy
punishment.
Opportunity meets you and asks: “Who are your companions?”
Not being able to deceive Opportunity, you tell the truth and answer:
“Oh, I go around with the boys. We stand around the street corners;
smoke cigarettes; hang around the billiard and pool rooms; play craps
occasionally, and—”
But Opportunity does not wait to hear any more, it vanishes and keeps
away from you, leaving you free to follow your own head.
It has come to be a test of quality made by every employer, to judge an
applicant by the company he keeps.
“Tell me who your companions are and I will tell you who you are.”
There is no mind reading about this, it is common sense.
In these days when there is so much vice and crime; when men have become
suspicious of their next door neighbor, a wise man is careful whom he
trusts. If you associate with an element that is suspicious you can not
complain if you are yourself suspected.
It is not necessary to go about with your hands folded in an attitude of
prayer, or pretend to be overly virtuous and honest, all you need is to
be a man, open and above board, and decent in your associations with
others.
KEEP YOUR NERVE
Most of our troubles are imaginary, nine-tenths of them never coming to
us as we expected. They are mostly matters of nerve weakness.
We start something during the day, and lay awake at night worrying for
fear it may not turn out successfully. We brood over phantoms and
scarecrows, for that is what most of our worries are.
If you have started anything right, and your conscience is at rest, why
do you worry? There is no reason for it.
Or if you have used your best judgment and made your best effort to make
your venture a success, go to rest, put your trust in God and you will
sleep.
The man who loses his nerve in the middle of a railroad or any place
where there is danger, comes to grief. The life on earth is a road full
of pitfalls and unpleasant things, many of them as dangerous as a
railroad train bearing down upon us.
If you keep your nerve, you simply get out of the way of the locomotive,
or of the runaway horse, or the automobile, and keep on living.
So it is in your every-day transactions. Keep out of the way of things
than may undo you. Step aside and let them pass by. Everything works for
good in this world, what you do not accomplish some other man does, and
it helps you because everything is along parallel lines.
Where a thing is unavoidable, or inevitable, why then it is foolish to
worry, and shows poor control of your nerves.
Put your trust in God, follow the straight path, and stiffen up your
nerves.
STUDY YOUR HEALTH
The ancients said that there can not be a healthy mind in an unhealthy
body. And they established this rule for all to follow: “Keep your body
healthy and your mind will be healthy.”
By a healthy mind is meant a calm, cool, clear, active brain that can
act up to its full capacity without faltering, or falling down at
trifles.
To have that sort of brain, you must preserve your bodily health.
One patent way to lose your bodily health is to acquire bad habits of
any kind that you know are bad for you.
You have a headache in the morning, and no appetite. It does not require
a Solomon to tell what ails you. You have been drinking, carousing,
staying up late instead of going to bed and getting your necessary
sleep.
You have eaten things that do not agree with you, and so you must see a
doctor. Besides that, you are too sick to go to work.
All you have to go upon in this world are your health and your mind. It
does not matter what you do for a living, you must keep your wits about
you all the time, and you can not do this unless you keep your health.
The mind is so closely connected with the body that what affects one
affects the other, favorably or unfavorably.
Eat proper food, something that you know by experience will agree with
you. Take your accustomed sleep, and exercise your muscles to keep your
nerves—those nerves that spread up into the brain—in full play and ready
for emergencies.
A healthy man does not worry; he is an optimist and looks at the bright
side of life. An unhealthy man is a pessimist and sees things through a
dark cloud. He ends by running down at the heels, and ceases to possess
any economical functions.
MAKING ONE HAND WASH THE OTHER
It is a good commercial and business maxim: “Make one hand wash the
other.”
There are little delicate attentions shown men to induce them to do you
a favor. It is not exactly doing to others as you would have others do
to you, but you do something for a person in the expectation that he
will do something for you. This is the origin of the saying.
Politeness, forbearance and social amenities are the rule in these days,
and it is the best policy to assume that distinction even if you do not
feel that way.
The propensity for making one hand wash the other is more apparent in
commercial and trade transactions than in any other. It is in these
occupations that the eye beholds dollars or doughnuts at the end of a
string, and a gentle pulling in the way of attention and brotherly
reciprocation will bring the dollars or doughnuts within reach.
Bears and dogs growl and get nasty whenever they feel like it regardless
of consequences, for they live in the present entirely and nothing is of
any importance to them on the morrow. They do not even know enough to
lay in a supply of provisions for a rainy day. A squirrel will do that,
but squirrels are not quarrelsome, they are friendly and gentle, they
make one paw wash the other. Watch one of them grab for a nut, get it,
and beg prettily for another.
We must provide for a rainy day, and if we are in business we must have
friends and customers to fall back upon for shelter. Waiting until the
rain sets in and then beginning, fails—it is then too late, at least for
that day, but by beginning you will perhaps be ready for the next rainy
day.
SUPERSTITION AND LUCK
More people are superstitious than are willing to admit the fact. From
bygone ages to modern times, both high and low, rich and poor, educated
and ignorant, have yielded to some curious vein of fancy that leads them
to expect “luck” or success more readily if certain whimsical conditions
are complied with. Who has not, at some time, felt the power of one or
another of the odd ideas that seem to have such a firm hold on the mind
of man? Laugh it off as we will, declare it nonsense as we know it to
be, still there is the tendency to put an unreasoning half-belief in it.
Do we not all know those who are nervous with fear if salt is spilled;
who would go without a meal rather than be one of thirteen at table; who
never begin any important work on a Friday; who are careful to take
their first sight of the new moon over their right shoulder instead of
the left; who rejoice in the finding of a four-leaved clover?
“Luck” is a plant that grows from the seed. And the seed sown is the
kind of thoughts we entertain; ideas about ourselves, about God, about
our work, and about the rest of the world.
Thoughts can be chosen. If we think ourselves weak and inferior, we
invite failure; because then the work that we do will not be our best,
and will be surpassed in value by that of others.
If we think instead, “I can do this work better than it has ever been
done before—and I will,” the seed will grow and bear fruit in results to
ourselves and others.
GOOD AND BAD LUCK
Your success in life never depends upon the turn of a card or the dice.
You can neither dream yourself into good luck, nor dream yourself out of
bad luck.
Good luck keeps company only with industrious, thrifty and honorable
people who have faith in themselves, faith in their fellow men, and
faith in God.
Even then, luck will disappear like smoke in a wind unless you can also
demonstrate that you possess wisdom, patience and courage.
What you think is good luck, may keep company with you for a short time,
but will speedily desert you if you do not make good.
The dictionary says “Luck” means “that which happens a person; chance;
accident; good fortune; success.”
In your luck you should keep away from the element of “chance” or
“accident.” Let your luck depend upon your own efforts, and take things
by the forelock and make them come your way. Things will happen you just
as you intend they shall.
There is really no such thing as bad luck, for if a thing does not
happen because of your mistakes, it is not bad luck but mistake.
Try as you may to reach a certain result, and failing, you say you had
bad luck. You merely did not know how to succeed or went too far, or
reached out for more than you could handle. That is not bad luck, it is
mismanagement. You might have succeeded if you had managed properly.
Chance must be kept out of the way or you will flounder about in a swamp
whose quicksands will engulf you sooner or later.
BE SLOW TO ANGER
The Scripture says: “He that is slow to anger is better than the
mighty.”
We are also advised not to let the sun go down on our wrath.
If we desire to succeed in any enterprise we must “possess our souls in
patience.” In Luke XVI, 19, it is explained: “In your patience possess
your souls.”
We are nowhere advised not to be angry, but to possess our souls in our
anger. That is: Never let anger get the better of our control.
In Ephesians IV, 26, it is said: “Be ye angry and sin not; let not the
sun go down upon your wrath.”
This is the key to what is known as “temper.” It is the part of a wise
man to control his temper. Not to have any temper at all is to be one
whom Col. Roosevelt calls “a mollycoddle,” and such a person is truly
weak and without any backbone.
But the anger or the temper which leads to violence is to be controlled
absolutely. Those sudden gusts of passion lead to crime as sure as the
sun rises and sets every day. And it is always personal violence, even
to the extent of murder that is the result of giving way to such an
emotion. No one ever becomes violently angry because he is not a good
man.
If a man stands up in his manhood, and despises small things, he will be
in a position to control his angry feelings no matter how much he may
feel hurt by the acts of another.
If we could get angry with ourselves because we do not improve, that
would be an anger worth cultivating. But so far as others are concerned,
let your anger be mild and never reach the point of resentment, for that
always leads to revenge which is a fatal emotion.
If others are the cause of anger to us, keep away from them, and if we
must associate with them, keep cool and bide your opportunity.
PRACTICE LOGIC, COMMON SENSE AND TACT
When a man can give a good reason for what he does he practices logic.
Not excuses for doing what he should not do, but REASONS why.
When he gives good reasons, and follows the universal practice of other
men under the same circumstances, he practices common sense.
When he does things in a quiet, unobtrusive, and agreeable manner, so
that other men are satisfied with his way, he practices tact.
These three qualities are badges of success among every nation and in
every occupation, trade, or profession.
The business and professional resourcefulness of every man is not
measured upon the quantity of his learning, or his high proficiency, but
according to his ability to apply what he knows to the matter in hand.
A man may be able to measure the stars, and yet not be able to saw a
board straight. Such a man may know much but he makes a poor carpenter.
A man should reason with himself as to the best way of doing anything,
and then do it, giving good reasons for it.
Common sense is good judgment applied to the every day things of life,
and tact is doing those things without disturbing others or by
considering their feelings with as much care as you do your own.
To use a common expression: “You have got to worm things out of the
world, but you must do it as gently as inserting a corkscrew in a
stubborn cork.”
_ENCOURAGE OTHERS_
When you encourage others to go ahead with what they are doing, with a
cheery word or a pleasant smile, you are laying up treasure for
yourself. For the man you encourage will encourage you, and heaven knows
we all need encouragement.
Many men stand on the verge of a precipice of indecision, not being able
to decide whether they should draw back or fall over.
It is not help these men want so much as it is encouragement. They are
able to help themselves but they haven’t the nerve, and you give them a
word of cheer or encouragement, and they get right with themselves and
their work.
If a man starts into business and you can trade with him, do so, and
that will encourage him to go ahead and strive to be successful.
He may be a beginner at manufacturing something for the use of others.
Tell him how his work or productions are well received, or take one
yourself and use it even if you do not want it. You encourage him to go
on, and by and by you may be in a position where you will need a little
encouragement, then he will remember you.
It is customary for the unthinking to imagine that they must do
something big or great in order to expect returns, but this is a
mistake. We show our greatness in little things, because we know that
many little things make up a great thing. The more small things we do
the greater will be the accumulation in the end.
Do not patronize any man or he will repulse your approach; you must
encourage, which is far different from patronizing. By assuming a
patronizing air you assume a superiority which is disliked.
This is an age of small things that go to make up big things, and we
must fall in with the conditions of the age in which we live and expect
to do business.
_HOW TO LEARN SELF-CONTROL_
To master the feelings the head and the heart should work together.
All of our emotions may be said to come from the heart, and the latter
is set in motion by the will power which is the head.
There are times when a man feels like “boiling over” as it is called,
but policy and good judgment warn him to keep within bounds.
It is always our sentiments or feelings and emotions that need a curbing
hand, our opinions can take care of themselves.
Where our feelings and our mind go together there is no trouble, for
then duty and inclination go together. But where our feelings are not
regulated and controlled, they become unstable and shifting. Like the
winds that blow where they list and whither no man can tell, our lack of
self-control may drive us to the most violent acts. We become the sport
of chance desires and vagrant impulses.
Control is essential because from our ill-regulated acts much injustice
and harm may be done, not only to ourselves but to others.
A man who stands above whim and caprice is a superior in strength to a
man who permits his caprices to direct him.
What we call character has its emotions and passions, its affections and
intense sympathies, but mastered and controlled into a whole of outward
justice and fairness.
The true freeman fights himself free from blind feeling and impulse; he
is a happy warrior and fights on a battlefield where his convictions and
emotions are a unit.
The Martyrs possessed such self control that burning at the stake, or
limbs torn by savage beast did not wring a note of pain from them.
“But,” you say, “that was Divine strength.” Of course, and any one who
desires the same Divine strength to aid him control his emotions, may
have it for the asking.
DON’T BE A DREAMER
Waste no Time Dreaming of the Past
You are living in the present preparing for the future. The past is dead
and you should let the past bury the past.
The man who dreams of the past and forgets his future, is like a man who
rises in the morning not of today but of yesterday. He is going backward
when his face is put in front pointing always forward.
Life is too short to be wasted in vain regrets for what has transpired
in the past. Even yesterday is ancient history and best forgotten.
We have work to do in the present to perfect or accomplish something in
the future; it is our time of grace, given us to grasp at opportunities
as they come before us.
While you are lamenting an opportunity that escaped you yesterday, a
better one comes along today and passes us unnoticed.
There is too much of this sort of sorrow experienced by the people of
the earth, but when it comes to a man with an occupation, a business man
or a young man getting ready for business, it is positively foolish and
detrimental.
We know that it has been the practice of people in all times to fret and
worry about the things of the past, for there are numerous sayings
cautioning them against it. One of them is very appropriate: “Never cry
over spilled milk.” It is gone and can not be restored.
Many persons may have what is called a “skeleton” in his closet, but it
does not do him nor his friends any good service to keep rattling its
bones continually.
If you have been very wrong in the past, repent and begin over again.
DON’T BE BASHFUL
There are many persons who stand in their own way to success by their
timidity, or bashfulness.
Such people are too self-conscious, and betray their lack of
self-confidence which is regarded as an evidence of ignorance, or at
least, inability to perform the duties they aspire to impose upon
themselves.
Every man is better acquainted with himself than anybody else, but when
he relies upon the knowledge of others as superior to his own knowledge,
he loses the respect of his fellows, and finally loses his own respect
and becomes bashful in their presence.
You should cultivate courage and exhibit symptoms of self-confidence,
for by that means you show others that you are willing to “dare” and
venture a trial of your capacity.
If you are too timid and have no confidence in yourself, you must not
expect others to take you except at your own valuation.
There is, however, such a thing as being over-confident and brazen,
which is the extreme of timidity, and becomes boastfulness.
Men have a way of studying each other and judging from their own
standpoint, and if they perceive any timidity or bashfulness, they judge
against you as incompetent. On the other hand, they quickly see beneath
the surface of boasting, and reach the same opinion.
Be self-confident, and gentlemanly about it, for so you will pull
through any opportunity, besides making hosts of friends in a business
and social way.
Look a man straight in the eye, but do not try to look him down.
DON’T BE UNDECIDED
A man who can not make up his mind to do or not to do a thing without a
great deal of wobbling first one way and then another, is as bad as an
unsafe wall in a building—everybody keeps off lest it fall and do some
damage.
When a man has first carefully considered a project, or a certain line
of action, and also taken the advice of his friends if the matter is
important, he should decide one way or the other at once.
A wobbly man is weak-kneed, and not to be depended upon for any purpose.
If you have ever had dealings with that kind of a man you will
understand how painful it is to wait for him to decide.
A man at a cross-roads hesitates and says: “Shall I go this way or
that?” He hesitates, starts, returns, starts the other way, and finally
goes the wrong way and falls into a hole.
It has passed into a proverb that, “He who hesitates is lost.”
Of course, there is reason and judgment to be observed in everything,
for things should not be done at random, but when there are common
sense, education, and good counsel to guide you, to hesitate then is to
go wrong.
It should not take a man long to decide when there is a speculation
presented him, and his decision should be obstinately against the
speculation. There are too many good opportunities to succeed in
ventures that are legitimate to touch speculation. It is in the
legitimate field of operations that indecision is so often fatal.
There is another saying applicable to this subject: “Be sure you’re
right, then go ahead.”
DON’T BE TOO BIG FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Most children must creep before they can walk. The reason is because
they are not sure of their small limbs and try them before venturing to
depend upon them.
When the child can walk he goes right ahead and walks all his life
without fear or hesitation.
It is the same in every line of business. The business man must know
just where he stands all the time, and he must begin small in order to
learn how to rely upon himself.
You are looking for something big, large, something you think
commensurate with your abilities. Well, then, let me tell you that you
will never find anything to suit you. You are inflated with your
ability, your importance, and fail to see the small things at your feet
and within your reach that if put together will aggregate the very big
thing you want.
You aim at the moon and feel bad because you do not hit it. While your
aim may be perfectly good and correct, the object may be too far off for
you to hit, or else you must work yourself within reach of it and then
you will hit it.
Small beginnings have made every great man on earth. Out of the huts and
squalid cabins of the world have issued men who have conquered the world
of arms and commerce.
You have the advantage of them from an educational point of view, and
think you must be saddled upon a fiery horse before you know whether you
can ride a steady going one.
The millionaire was not a millionaire when he started, he was an obscure
clerk in a dry goods store working for wages that you scorn. Reduce your
size to something near the right one and you will see things differently
and take what you can get cheerfully, biding your time to reach higher.
Let your hat fit your head.
DON’T GET DISCOURAGED
One of the greatest causes for failure in life is discouragement. It
seems to be an element in the life of every man to be up one day and
down the next.
When a man gets up it is possible for him to stay up by hard work and
persistence, but if he permits himself to go down below his balance he
may consider himself altogether down-and-out.
Failure does not mean that you will not succeed, because struggle as we
may we must meet failure and look it squarely in the face.
But be not afraid of it, take hold of it by the throat and compel it to
work to your advantage.
The lessons learned during the struggle toward success, and the ups and
downs of the road are valuable and stand for experience. When a driver
has gone over a hard road once, he knows the rocky portions and can
avoid them when going over it again.
It is human to make mistakes. In fact, it is a maxim: “It is human to
err.”
Knowing this to be inevitable, why repine, or be discouraged?
Follow the example of the small child who falls and picks himself up
over and over again. By and by, he can walk without falling down.
Remember this: Every dark cloud has a silver lining. You see the dark
side, but if you make your way around to the other side you will see the
sun shining.
Much of the discouragement is caused by undertaking more than we can
accomplish. If that is the case, then by leaving off a little here and
there we shall soon reduce our enterprise to a success that we can
handle.
DON’T BE PREJUDICED
We sometimes dislike a man, or hate him, which is the same thing,
because he possesses certain peculiarities of person or conduct which
are different from ours, or has ideas that are different from those we
favor.
The man may be a perfect stranger to us, and we may know nothing about
his environments or conditions under which he lives, or the reasons why
he differs from us—we hate him all the same and take the other side of
the street rather than meet him face to face.
If we were to look into ourselves we might believe that this man we
dislike, has many reasons for not liking us.
We show prejudice when we judge any man. “Judge not, lest ye be judged,”
says Christ. You are not the judge of any man’s conduct, and to judge
him entails slander, backbiting, and conspiracies to his undoing.
You throw mud at another man. Why? Is it not because you have some spots
yourself and want to draw attention away from them?
You are afraid that if you boost the other man up you will lower
yourself. Hence you unload upon him some of your objectionable qualities
to lighten your load.
Every man who does this admits that the other man is better than he, and
hopes by adding his faults to that other man, to reduce the level to
somewhere near a balance. But experience demonstrates the contrary.
Even if a man should be as bad as you say he is, it is not your business
to correct him. You can not extract the fangs of a rattlesnake by
abusing him.
Look out for your own destinies and leave the judgment of your fellow
man to the judgment seat of God, where it belongs.
DON’T BE SMALL MINDED
A broad, liberal-minded man is beloved by all, but a narrow, small
minded man is an object of dislike.
You do not have to squander money to be considered broad minded, or be
extravagant in your life and home. A man of that sort is drawing upon
his future to use up in the present, and there is no greater folly than
this.
In all your dealings with your fellow men, you must exhibit that trait
of open mindedness that will draw men to you.
If you stick at trifles and refuse to concede a point to another he will
avoid you in future dealings.
“Grab” is a good game, you say. Very well, “you shall not grab anything
belonging to me,” and everybody says the same thing. So it will come to
pass by and by that there will be nothing for you to grab.
Generosity within a man’s means is always a noble trait, and meets with
the approbation of every man. But you must be wise in your generosity
and not run into vain glory, or phariseeism—which is fancying that you
are better than other men because you squander money. Others don’t think
so, they call you “fool” behind your back.
A close-fisted, penurious man, a driver of hard bargains, is always a
small man, and everybody is on the look out for a chance to beat him at
his own game, and they generally do.
There are small men who will sell you large eggs by the pound, and small
ones by the dozen. People find that out and go somewhere else to do
their marketing.
In every hill of potatoes, there are some small ones—they did not grow
with the others, and they are also cheaper than the others. In the human
hill, the small men do not grow like the large ones, hence they are
cheaper.
Do not be a small potato, be a large one and sell for more.
DON’T WASTE TIME
Time is not a thing to be wasted, for it is given you for the purpose of
working out your destiny.
Time does not belong to you, it is a loan and sometime, perhaps before
you are ready, the loan will be called in.
It is said that “Time is Money.” This is not to be understood as meaning
dollars and cents, but as something valuable to you. A drink of water is
not cash money, but it is valuable to a thirsty man.
The proverb “Waste not, want not,” is as applicable to time as it is to
bread and meat, clothing or money.
Yet we are wasting time when we stick at trifles, embark in trivial
things, or are connected with something not worth the trouble of
exploiting.
A man who wastes his time soon acquires a reputation for being good for
little else than small things, a trifling character, and his wages or
salary is gauged upon his dawdling peculiarities.
Every man is considered as large as the things he does and no larger,
and the time he steals—yes, steals from himself, he will try to steal
from others.
It is not necessary to keep in constant motion, or always at work to
save time, but idle things, trifling matters, idle words and silly
things are a mere waste of time.
You must prepare for the time of need, the time of trouble, and
generally look ahead of you, and you can do this only by not wasting
your present time of action.
There will come a period when time shall be no more; when you will look
back and sigh over wasted moments.
Take time to be cheerful, for amusement, for pleasure, of course. Such
things are good for the soul and body, and the time is not wasted when
they are reasonable and decent.
DON’T DECEIVE YOURSELF
The man who shuts his eyes deliberately and walks toward a deep hole
into which he falls, is a fool and does not deserve sympathy or help.
But the man who deliberately deceives himself and uses false arguments
to bolster up some bad habit, or shady dealing with his fellow men, is
working dead against his conscience, and drifting down deep in the human
scale. He is an object of contempt.
You get the better of a man by some trick and say to yourself: “Oh, he
would have done the same thing to me.”
So you measure yourself by others? This is not an assertion of manhood,
it is a slavish subjection to others mentally.
When a man goes wrong, or commits a wrong act, and deceives himself into
the belief that he was right, he commits moral suicide, just the same as
if he killed himself.
There is another point of view to this question: If you could deceive
yourself and let it go at that, there might be no harm done except to
your own self-respect, but in deceiving yourself you deceive others into
the belief that you are honest and square. Whereas, you are a hypocrite.
Others will find you out very soon, and then you may as well shut up
shop, for all the business and trust you will get.
A man who is square with himself will be true to everybody else. This
makes for character, and character is all a man has on this earth; once
lost it can never be regained. You see, there are too many people on
earth to deal with. You are not the only one, and so your disappearance
will not make even a small ripple.
Be a man among other men, and be true to yourself, for so you will gain
the respect and good will of all.
DON’T HIDE YOUR FAULTS
Confession is good for the soul.
This does not mean that you are to go about and tell everybody what a
bad man you are. If you do that, they will soon begin to believe you and
keep away from you.
Where there is smoke there is always some kind of a fire.
When you are wrong, say so without hesitation. Nobody is perfect, and
all men have their faults.
In the business world every man wants to know every other man, then it
will be safe to do business with him. But you can not know another
without knowing his faults.
Concealment of one’s frailties is dangerous, and leads to harm if you
are found out, and you are always found out. You are a suspicious
character, and sometimes suspicions are “as strong as proofs of Holy
Writ.”
You chew cloves to hide the fact that you have taken a drink. Why do you
not say that you take a drink occasionally if that is the fact, and not
try to hide the odor of the drink behind cloves? Nobody is deceived, and
you get the reputation of being a steady drinker, which may be far from
the truth.
You apply for a job, and you are asked: “Do you drink?” Why not answer
bravely: “No, sir, not as a rule. I do take a drink once in a while, but
will not do so anymore.” Your probable employer says to himself: “I can
trust this man because he does not hide his faults, but confesses them
and intends to avoid them.”
It is so with other faults that will weigh against you if concealed and
found out.
DON’T BE A PESSIMIST, BE AN OPTIMIST
A pessimist is a man who has a constant grievance against somebody or
something.
He is forever standing in his own light, and thinks the whole world has
picked him out to be the scapegoat for everything that is bad.
He says: “Everybody and everything is against me and I can not succeed.
It’s no use trying.”
Before you give up to despair, friend, bear this in mind:
You say you have not the same opportunities every other man has.
You will not believe that if you stop to think a moment.
The average Colored American has ten times the opportunities his father
had, and a hundred times the opportunities his grandfather possessed.
You are one of the average Colored Americans, perhaps. Well then, your
grandfather had no opportunities at all. If he had one, he was not
permitted to grasp it. Your father had more opportunities than his
father, but opportunities were just beginning to show themselves.
You live in a far advanced age when the very air is full of
opportunities, and yet you think you have none.
The reason why you are a pessimist is because you want to be. You think
it is too much trouble to reach out and take the opportunities offered
you, sometimes even forced upon you.
Instead of being a pessimist you ought to laugh and thank God that the
bright side of life is always turned toward you, and you can see it by
merely turning your eyes in its direction.
Keep your eyes open; laugh and the world will laugh with you; weep, and
you weep alone.
DON’T BE A COWARD
It is cowardly to “dare” do a wrong thing when the right course would
take real moral courage. It is cowardly to “dare” do a foolish thing to
avoid being laughed at by “the other fellows.”
It is cowardly, and vulgar as well, for a girl to let herself be drawn
into a silly flirtation, a course that cheapens her own womanly nature
and makes her the toy of the moment, just because “the other girls do
it.”
It is cowardly for a grocer to give short weight, put sand in his sugar
or sell cheap substitutes for pure food, just because his competitors
do.
It is cowardly for a lawyer, merchant or other business man to indulge
in sharp practices because others in the same line of business have set
the example.
It is cowardly for a woman to try to dress more extravagantly than her
purse will permit, to keep pace with her neighbors. And here I am going
to say something which will cause some eyes to open wide in
astonishment—it is cowardly to deny one’s self or one’s family the
reasonable comforts of life when they can be afforded. Some do go to
this extreme just from the love of being considered “prudent.”
Don’t mind what the “other fellow” says, or thinks, in these matters
that concern only yourself and those nearest and dearest. Live so as to
make the very most and highest of the life God has given you,—and let
the tongues wag as they will.
Why bless you, if folks couldn’t talk they would die—some of them. Let
them talk and let yourself be free from care concerning what they
say,—if you know you are acting from principle. Tastes differ. Yours is
as apt to be right as your neighbor’s. Live your own life—only so it be
a brave, true, sensible one—and let the other fellow live his.
DO NOT SPEAK EVIL OF ANY ONE
When you speak evil of another you assume the position of his judge and
sentence him to punishment without a hearing.
“Judge not lest ye be judged.” That is the inhibition, which is a
command inasmuch as it contains a threat of punishment.
When you speak evil of a man, you injure him if what you speak of him is
not true and you make yourself a spreader of falsehood.
You also injure his reputation which is not in your keeping but is his
property. You steal something from him that is his own and to which he
has a right.
You blast a reputation heedlessly and without its being of any value to
you. You shut it out for life from all that it holds dear and valuable.
For what? Perhaps to gratify your lust for gossip.
You will not get off so easily as you think by ruining or attempting to
ruin another’s reputation. You weaken yourself. The man you malign has
friends that will stand by him, and they will become your enemies, not
only in business but socially, and you will soon find yourself
ostracized from respectable people and sent down to associate with other
liars like yourself.
Even if what you say should prove to be true, who constituted you the
judge? As already said, you must not judge.
One way of hurting a man is to misinterpret his acts. How do you know
what a man’s motives are in any case? Every man looks into a mirror and
sees himself, whence he interprets according to his own motives under
the same circumstances. As it is commonly put: “A man generally judges
another from himself.”
It is an unwise habit to fall into, and should be avoided lest others
see us as we see others.
DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR PARENTS OR YOUR FAMILY
Every man is judged by his home life.
What kind of a son are you? In answering this question which will be
asked to determine your character, the only answer possible to insure
favorable consideration is “a good son.”
The home life of the nation and of the race is vital. If you are a home
preserver or a home builder, your station in life is assured.
To sum up the requirements you should stand upon the platform open to
the eyes of all men as a good son, faithful brother, kind father,
helpful friend, and a good citizen. It is not difficult. Such virtues
come to be a habit if practiced faithfully.
It is easier to be all these than to be vicious, and wrong with your
parents, family, and relatives.
“Honor thy father and thy mother that the days may be long in the land
which I will give thee.”
Something of a promise, is it not? It is a promise that has been
strictly kept since the world began.
Your mother suffered for you; your father struggled for you, and you can
not repay them with ingratitude. You may be higher than they, better
educated, more of a social ornament, but you are theirs, and only the
vain, foolish and wicked would neglect them.
It does not pay to treat them with contumely and scorn because they do
not make the same fine appearance you do. There is no man or woman on
this earth of higher social value to you than your parents.
If you are a man of family, remember that you are building up a
posterity. You have fulfilled a noble mission, the greatest on earth.
They owe you something, but the indebtedness is mutual, you owe them
much.
_Do Not Drink Alcohol Or Form Other Bad Habits_
Drink is the curse of the age, and it has been truly said of it “A man
is a fool who will put that in his mouth which will steal his brains.”
The habit of drinking intoxicating liquors is not a mere personal vice,
it is public and affects every person belonging to or connected with
you.
Looked at from a business standpoint, it is a destroyer of opportunity,
and undermines the most brilliant prospects in life. It leads to moral
and physical death.
If you hope to win you must not drink intoxicating liquors, it matters
not whether you can stand them or not. They will get you finally,
besides that, nobody wants a man who drinks.
Drink brings on other habits that are destructive of character and
opportunity. A man who gambles will drink. Why? Because he knows he is
doing something he should not do, and the drink hardens his conscience.
The hardening process continues and he forms all sorts of bad habits.
The more he forms the more reckless he becomes, then it is a case of
“Good night” to everything decent and noble, or worth having.
There are few cures to bad habits. They become diseases in the course of
time, and fatal diseases, besides encouraging other diseases by reducing
the resisting power of the body.
There is a preventive to all bad habits, however, and only one—never
take your first drink of intoxicating liquor; never gamble for a first
stake; never taste the first dose of cocaine to know how it will affect
you. In other words: never begin a bad habit and it can not become your
master and crowd you out of the companionship of men.
_Do Not Be a Spendthrift_
The man who squanders his hard earned money is an enemy to himself.
By squandering money is meant expending it for something you do not need
and which is of no value, use, or merit.
“A penny saved is a penny earned” is a well known saying, also “Take
care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.”
Don’t imagine it looks big when a young man is with his companions and
throws his money right and left. Does he gain their respect? Never. They
look upon him as a fool and while they are willing to take advantage of
his “liberality,” it will always be noticed that they never reciprocate.
They are wiser than he.
It is not necessary to be a miser either, for that is the other extreme
and equally as reprehensible.
No man should live on crusts and hoard away his money for some public
administrator to find and spend in fees when he is dead.
Neither can a man waste his money and expect to have any left for the
rainy day that always comes to every mortal. Such a man says when he is
too old to earn money, and is kicked about from pillar to post without
friends or companions: “If I had only saved my money when I was young, I
might be a rich man now.” That is quite true, but you wasted your money
and you have reached the end of your chapter in life.
What do you want money for anyway? You can live on bread and water.
There is a great question in this idea. We have needs; we have rights to
be observed, to marry, to be decent, to live in healthy places, raise a
family and educate them. All these things make a man, an American
citizen, and if you throw away the money to make you these things, then
you can not become any of them. In that case you are—nothing. Do you
aspire to be a nonentity?
DON’T BE A KICKER OR A KNOCKER
If a man keeps on complaining about things in general and particular, he
will soon be thrown out of decent society.
Grievances and troubles come to every man in this world, and every man
knows it without constantly repeating it. He has his own troubles, and
does not care to be saddled with yours.
This is a good old earth if you would take off your blue spectacles and
look at it with your own eyes.
Some men are so dissatisfied with things that there is no pleasing them,
but if you attempt to take from them the things that do not satisfy or
please, they set up a roar.
When there is a wrong to be righted, some right to be protected, it is
well enough to complain, but there are numerous persons who go about
complaining all the time. When it is not one thing it is another.
These persons are given the name of “kickers,” and when they keep it up
they are deemed “chronic kickers.”
It is sometimes impossible to pass these people by, lest a really
suffering brother human be denied help. But they become known, and
should be avoided for the sake of one’s peace of mind.
The strong man will bear his troubles in silence, but the weak one
whines about them and fancies they are the worst.
If you stop to consider how this earth would get along without you, and
that it did without you a long time, perhaps you would quit kicking and
give others a rest from your complaints.
A little kicking may be useful, but too much of it lands a man outside
the reach of opportunity.
A GOOD WOMAN THE GLORY OF MAN
Man’s Best Friend and Counselor
When God created Adam, it was found that he had no helpmeet, so woman
was created to be his companion.
St. Paul says: “The woman is the glory of man,” and still farther
elaborating the idea of the helpmeet says: “Neither is the man without
the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”
That is as much as saying that the man and the woman must stand side by
side in this world as companions and helpmeets toward the glory of the
Lord.
The Holy Scripture is full of allusions to good women. Thus: “A virtuous
woman is a crown to her husband,” 2 Prov. 12, 4. “Her price is above
rubies,” Prov. 31, 10. “Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and
almsdeeds which she did.”
As the mother of the Christ, woman, in the person of the Virgin Mary,
has been put upon a high pedestal for a pattern and a model to all good
women.
Her part in the world may be well explained by the words of the orator:
“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.”
The greatest deference and respect is the due of every woman, since she
is the mother of the race, and its guardian and protector when in the
helpless period of infancy.
The most beautiful and unanswerable tribute to women is paid by King
Lemuel in the words of the prophecy that his mother taught him. It is to
be found in Proverbs 31, and includes the entire chapter of 31 verses.
EDUCATE YOUR CHILDREN
It can not be doubted that education is the father and mother of
opportunity and success in life.
You may know this from your own deficiencies, therefore, give those
belonging to you a chance at opportunity and success by educating them.
You bring helpless beings into the world; you see them growing up amid
modern surroundings that demand education, and it can not be possible
that you will permit them to become weeds in the human garden—useless
incumbrances to be thrown out upon the garbage heap.
It is the right of your children to be educated to fit some sphere in
life. They are yours, and look to you to aid them. Besides, whatever you
do to educate your children must redound to your own advantage.
Some people are jealous because their children know more than their
parents. If your mind runs that way you come within the condemnation:
“He that provideth not for those of his own household hath denied the
faith; he is the companion of the destroyer.”
Think this over and let it sink into your mind.
Your children want things you did not have when you were a child, and
therefore, if the things that were good enough for you are not good
enough for your children, they must go without. You reason like a cheese
that is full of blind mites.
We are progressing far beyond the dreams of your youth, and your
children are tied to the car of progress. You must not only let them go
along with it, but you must help them to keep up with the procession.
They are confronted by opportunities, and you dare not blind their eyes
to them. Education is the only thing that will keep their eyes wide open
to the chances of life.
THE GOLDEN RULE, OR THE PRINCIPLE OF LIVE AND LET LIVE
Life is a natural right in all men, and it is inalienable.
“The Lord is not willing that any should perish.”
Under our constitutions and laws, life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness are the inalienable rights of all men.
No man has a right, under any sort of provocation to deprive another of
his life, no more has another man any right to deprive us of life.
There is an eternal balance in this right to live, and an eternal duty
on our part to let our fellow man live. But there are indirect ways of
accomplishing another man’s death, and we are equally as guilty as if we
were to deprive him of life directly.
A mark was set upon the murderer Cain lest any one finding him should
kill him. The right to live may be extended over all men, the sinner as
well as the saint, even the murderer is marked so that his right to live
shall not be interfered with.
When a man is in the full tide of vigorous life, his impression is that
he has more right to live than the weak, decrepit and useless, but there
is no such difference—the right is conferred upon all.
We must look to it lest we so act as to deprive another of this right to
live, for though we may not actually kill, we may interfere with his
life in many ways. We wrong him in many ways; destroy his character;
interfere with his existence in business, by slander, and often “drive
another to the wall,” as it is said. But when we do that we are
interfering with that man’s right to live, for the right is attached to
everything that a man may do. I have a right to work, but you say, “Not
unless you do as I say.” This is an invasion of his right to live.
Every man orders his life to suit himself, it is his life and no one may
order it for him. The Golden Rule is here exemplified: “Do unto others
as you would have others do unto you.” It is a good and safe rule to
follow always.
DON’T GO INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH “THE DEVIL”
It may be true, as many contend, that every man has a personal devil
within him that goads him on to do the wrong things at the right time.
Any person who has that sort of a devil can easily get rid of him by the
use of a strong will and determination.
But outside of him, this “Devil” is quite an institution whose great aim
seems to be to monopolize you and everybody else. The feature he
displays is a willingness to go into partnership with you in your
undertakings.
He will make suggestions to you that sound plausible and good, and his
promises are lurid. But beware of him, he is working for himself and not
you. He is extremely selfish and will grab all the profits, leaving you
thrown out like an old shoe that is no longer fit to wear.
A suggestion of wrong, of crooked work, of something that will injure
your fellow man, that will best him, and cause him to lose money,
character, friends, or honesty, comes from this outside Devil who wants
you for a partner.
In a partnership the partners are supposed to work together for the
common interest, but with the Devil as a partner you do all the work and
he takes the pot of gold.
If you are a sterling, upright man, and insist upon being so, you may
and probably will be tempted to go into partnership with the Devil, but
knowing him, you will flaunt his honied words and stick to your
uprightness. By and by he will leave you and you will win your way and
enjoy all the profits.
In baptism you renounce the world, the flesh and the Devil. The world
ruins you, the flesh overcomes you, and the Devil gets you. This is the
usual routine, so stand by your baptismal vows, they are wise.
HONESTY THE BEST POLICY
Honesty is a question of morals. The law demands that all men shall be
honest, but the maxim says it is the “best policy” to be honest.
To succeed in business or in any affairs where others are concerned, it
behooves a man to be open and above board with every one.
The truth is, that a dishonest man is not wanted in anything where there
is responsibility, or where a loss may result through dishonesty.
If a man is honest with himself, it is probable that he will be honest
with others. In this respect, honesty is like charity: “It begins at
home, but does not end there.”
To be honest does not mean merely that a man is not to steal another
man’s money, but does mean that every man should be given his due,
whether in financial matters or in duty. The man who half does his work,
watches for the clock to hasten toward closing time, or dawdles when
haste is required, is not honest, however square he may be in money
matters.
The trouble is, we limit all our morality to money, and imagine that if
we handle money carefully and without loss to the owner, we are honest.
Even taking that broad view of the virtue, we are robbing a man when we
shirk work, do it badly, or pretend we can do a thing we can not do in a
proper manner and take his money for the doing of it.
To be honest truly, a man must be fair in everything that pertains to
his fellows. A man who will deliberately lie will cheat.
To give every man a square deal is to be honest.
Do As You Would Be Done By
It is not an easy matter to do to others what you would they should do
unto you, when they are not following this rule themselves.
When Christ enunciated the Golden Rule in the Sermon on the Mount,
Matthew 7, 12, he announced what is the law and the prophets.
“All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do ye even
so to them.”
It is good morals and also contains a masterful business proposition.
The reason is, because it is a moral precept, and men are inextricably
mixed with morals in all their transactions.
We can not be guided in our actions by what other men do, except in a
general way, but every one must be dependent upon his own energies, and
be responsible for his own acts.
If we were to do as other men do to us, sometimes, we should be apt to
cause a breach of the peace or commit a murder. That is conceded. But
the persistent observation of this rule will bring all men around in
your favor.
There is reason and common sense to be observed, however, in the
observance of every moral precept. Thus: “Whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
This is good advice coming from the Great Master, but it is not
interpreted as meaning that your cheeks shall be turned toward the
smiter as long as he chooses to strike. There comes a time when the
precept has been complied with, and then let the smiter beware, for a
defense will be made.
We know what the Savior means in all His sayings. He inculcates peace if
we have to fight for it. So it is well to be guarded in our too rigid
observance of precepts, lest we fall into the contrary condition which
would deprive us of our manhood.
“Be strong and quit yourselves like men.”
Keep in Touch With God
The wisest man that ever lived says: “Remember now thy Creator in the
days of thy youth.”
The basis of a moral life is the remembrance of thy Creator. With this
in your memory you will be able to establish a moral character; without
it you can not have a moral life.
Below the nature of every man, the foundation of his nature, the
everlasting rock upon which it is built, is God. He can not be ignored
in any act, in any transaction. You may attempt to blot Him out, or
cover Him up out of the sight of your own intelligence, but He is there
always. He is your Creator, and the more you are in touch with Him, the
more responsive you are to His promptings, the higher your moral
character.
The old Pagans had no morality because they hid God from their own
hearts and understandings, and substituted gods of wood and stone.
They really worshipped themselves, for when a man casts out God there is
nothing but himself to worship.
The fact is, when men desire to lead immoral lives, or commit violations
of law of any kind, they begin by closing their eyes to God and
forgetting their Creator, and they say: “There is no Hell.”
In these days it is impossible for a man to live without a knowledge of
his Creator. His name is everywhere and stamped upon everything. This
very knowledge makes it incumbent upon every man to keep in touch with
his Creator, for it is the common sentiment of all mankind, and can not
be ignored.
The observance of every moral precept is prompted by the Creator, who
“wills not that men shall perish, but that they shall live.”
To turn away from Him is to lose moral character, to keep in touch with
Him is to preserve it. We keep in touch with God by remembering Him.
Do Not Try to Succeed Without the Help of God
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding.” Proverbs, 3, 5.
The Lord is a mighty power of strength to you, as He is to all mankind,
and He invites you to make use of that strength. Human life is a poor
and small thing without something to make it of great importance. That
something is the Lord, and He is part of our lives, of every moment, and
we can not drive Him out of it. Why? Because He created us, and will not
permit one of His creations to be without help.
“Not a sparrow falleth” that He does not know it, and how much more are
you of interest than the sparrow? “Every hair of your head is numbered.”
Some men imagine they can get along without the help of God, but they
deceive themselves. When they are prosperous they forget Him, but when
adversity comes, they turn to Him for succor. Are they ever refused
help? Not if asked in the proper spirit. He helps you if you help
yourself, and you can not voluntarily lie in a ditch and ask God to help
you out. That would be presumption.
By making God a part of your daily lives, taking counsel from Him and
leaning upon Him for good qualities, you will be surprised at your
success. You do not have to be a bigot, or a ranter; show by your
example what you are and upon whom you lean for support.
Do not be shamed to give the Lord as the cause of your success, the
greatest men of the earth have always recognized His hand.
Believe in Him faithfully and fully.
To an Atheist who did not believe in God, Napoleon Bonaparte in the
height of his power said: “You do not believe in God? Who made the
stars?”
The More a Man Gains Wisdom the Nearer He Gets to God
St. Paul says: “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God.”
There is a glory of man and a glory of God. The former is transient, but
the latter is eternal, and is what all men should aim to see.
“All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.”
It is plain to every right thinking and reasoning man that we should
seek that which is the best. We so act in all our business affairs, and
why should we not do the same so far as our immortal souls are
concerned?
The kingdom of God is His glory, and seeking that first, all other
things will come to you.
In striving to attain to a sight of the glory of God, we are moving
upward from every point of view. Compared with that glory, the man who
seeks only the glory of man, is satisfied with tinsel instead of pure
gold.
Do not imagine that because we are far away from the kingdom and glory
of God, that it is not worth consideration. His glory is visible
everywhere. In the rising sun; the flowers and plants; the winds and the
rain; in the smallest animal, and particularly in man.
It can be cultivated, and imitated by using the intellect. The more a
man learns the nearer he gets to the glory of God, and the better he
will be prepared to finally reach it.
All men are moved and have their being in pursuance to a law of God who
created all things for His own glory. You are intended to share in that
glory, it is your heritage as a man.
Do Not Violate the Laws of Nature
To violate any law is reprehensible, and in most cases is punishable.
A man steals, and he is put in jail as a punishment for not letting
another man’s property alone. It is his and you have no right to it,
wherefore you are punished.
But when you violate a law of nature, you are inflicting an injury upon
yourself such as no wise man will do.
All men were created for a special purpose, and every man who has
reached the age of reason knows what that purpose is. It is a law of
that man’s nature which he must obey or take the consequences.
It is a law established by God, the Creator, and can not be violated
with the same impunity as the laws of man.
For instance: The legislature enacts a law forbidding you to steal. You
steal, nevertheless, and you are punished as has been said, being sent
to prison. But if you violate a law of God—or a law of nature, which is
the same thing, you do not see any prison in sight and you imagine you
are going to get off free from punishment. But wait a moment.
A man commits suicide or does other flagrant acts upon himself.
The suicide commits a murder, but if he murdered another he might have
an opportunity to repent—to make his peace with God. But by putting an
end to himself he cuts off his chance of repentance and appears before
his Creator with the blood stains indelibly fixed upon his hands. He is
a marked Cain, and he fixes his own punishment to begin immediately.
Any flagrant violation of the laws of nature are an insult to the
majesty of the Creator who made all things perfect, and fixes sure
punishment upon him who defaces His handiwork.
The Devil’s Work in the Home, in Society, in Business, in Politics, and
in Every Walk of Life
THE THIEF
Misrepresentation, Lying, Stealing—Reputation Gone—The Soul Destroyed.
THE MURDERER
Temptation, Drunkenness, Murder—The Trial in Court, the Sentence of the
Prisoner, a Life Term in the Penitentiary, or WORSE. After that ETERNAL
DARKNESS.
THE SUICIDE
Dissipation, Gambling, Speculation With Other People’s Money—ALL IS
LOST. Suicide.
THE PUBLIC PLUNDERER
Intimidation, Bulldozing, Brute Force, Vote Stealing, Ballot Box
Stuffing, Bribery, Malfeasance in Office, Embezzlement of Public
Funds—Impeachment, Political Death, Moral Debauchery, Disgrace—RUIN.
THE DESTROYER OF HOMES
Intemperance, Ignorance, Deception, Betrayal, Seduction, Adultery,
Abortion, Race Suicide, Desertion, Divorce—DEATH.
[Illustration:
DUNBAR HIGH SCHOOL, WASHINGTON, D. C.
One of the finest school buildings for colored people. Recently
erected at a cost of more than $500,000. The school is modernly
equipped, has 50 teachers and nearly 800 students.
]
PROGRESS IN EDUCATION.
Compiled from official figures recently issued by the United States
Bureau of Education.—Editor.
INTRODUCTION.
Education is the highest test of a people’s capacity and the best
measure of their progress. The ability of the Negro to become educated
according to the highest standards of the times is one of the great
marvels of the last half century. Never in the history of the world has
any people met with such overwhelming opposition against acquiring such
training as will fit them for the full duties of citizen, as have the
Freedmen in the United States; never before has a people struggled as
nobly and succeeded so well in mastering every branch of learning, as
this people, practically all of whom were illiterate at the close of the
Civil War; but of whom only thirty per cent were illiterate in 1910.
The influences through which the colored people have passed in their
quest for learning constitutes one of the most interesting pages of
American history. No historian can chronicle the heart throbs, the
ambitions and the untiring energy that they have spent, and are still
expending, in their education.
The various education processes to which the Negroes of America have
been subjected is interwoven with the history of the United States from
the year 1619, when the first slaves were landed, to the present moment.
The story of the development of the African slave, to the present
condition of the American Negro is full of interest and instruction and
worthy of much more extended scientific treatment than this chapter can
possibly comprehend.
With all the mistakes that have been made by a loose-jointed American
democracy in its treatment of the Negroes, both as slaves and as free
men, the general movement of the Negro people has been decidedly
forward. Even under slavery these people benefited by a contact with
civilization that no corresponding groups have had in any other part of
the world. They were quick to perceive that the mastery of the white man
over them lay in his education. Though crushed to the lowest level, they
never lost hope or opportunity to learn the meaning of books and
figures. Sometimes through sympathy of a master’s child, sometimes by a
kindly stranger from the North, a slave learned the alphabet and a
little arithmetic. When the Emancipation Proclamation was sounded the
eagerness and determination of the Negro to obtain an education opened
into full blossom, and the colored people consecrated themselves to the
one great task of educating their children, so that these coming men and
women might be able to live happier and better lives. It was here that
systematic efforts were undertaken to build schools for the colored and
by the colored people. How wonderful has been the result of their effort
is revealed by facts which have just been published by the United States
Bureau of Education. These figures show:
1. That $5,860,876 is spent annually by the public authorities of
Southern States in the wages of teachers in public schools for Negroes.
2. That the Federal State and land-grant schools have an annual income
of $963,611, and a total property valuation of $5,727,609.
3. That the private schools have an annual income of $3,026,460, and a
property valuation of $28,496,946.
4. That eight educational funds are devoting part or all of their income
for the improvement of Negro schools.
5. That the Negroes themselves are contributing an increasing share to
the support of their schools.
6. That Negro illiteracy is now only thirty per cent.
7. That Negro farm laborers and Negro farmers cultivate at least a
hundred million acres of land, of which forty-two and a half millions
are in farms owned or rented by Negroes.
8. That Negroes own twenty million acres of land, an area equal to that
of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
These facts are indisputable evidences of progress in the past and
afford great promise for the future.
HISTORY OF NEGRO EDUCATION.
Into the struggling life of the pioneers of America came the first
Negroes landed in this country; brought out of African savagery and sold
in Virginia as slaves; set down side by side with indentured bondmen
from England, whose lot was little better, to be taught civilization.
How soon they learned to talk the English language; to copy the kindlier
manners of their new neighbors; to fulfill the duties laid on them; to
put their mind upon their tasks; and to lose their native traits in the
happier faith of Christianity. It was all as unlike the valley of the
Congo from which they came as one could well imagine. People were
clothed instead of going naked; they could not live on uncultivated
fruits; but had to dig that they might enjoy the harvest; there were
better enterprises to undertake than to hunt for men and to fight with
other tribes on the chance of catching slaves from them or being caught
themselves; it was a condition of order and of law, of homes and
housekeeping, or community life and neighborly usages, with prizes of a
hundred kinds for good behavior and the habit of fidelity. Of course,
there was a great deal that was rough and hard; sometimes there were
cuffs and blows, curses and the driver’s lash for any lagging in the
work required; often injustice and cruelty; but in contrast with Africa,
it was a land of golden opportunity.
In the two hundred years and more that preceded the great emancipation,
the number of people of African descent grew to be about 4,000,000. The
processes of these 200 years are profoundly significant as a preparation
for the responsibilities of freedom that came so suddenly at the close
of the war. The training of the Negro during this period, and the
attitude of the thoughtful people of the country toward his training,
are deserving of treatment separate from that given to the development
of the school system as it is known today. The difference in attitude
brought on by the fear of so-called slave uprising and by the pre-Civil
War debates, divides this period rather clearly into two parts.
The first extends from the landing of the slaves in 1619, to about 1830;
the second, the pre-Civil War period, extending from about 1830 to 1860.
THE EARLY TEACHING OF SLAVES.
There is striking proof of the high estimate which the more enlightened
people of the country put upon the Negro’s character and capabilities in
the enterprises for African colonization which were made so much of in
the first half of the last century. An interesting feature of this
movement was the union of benevolent people in the South with those of
like mind in the North, and the harmony of spirit which long prevailed.
With the teachings of the Declaration of Independence dominant
everywhere, thinking people felt that slavery could not be countenanced
forever in a free country; and the practical way to deal with the
Negroes seemed to be to set them off in colonies by themselves.
Jefferson suggested that there might be such a colony in some part of
the region northwest of the Ohio or that a retreat be found for them in
the West Indies; and, later, in 1811, after the colony of Sierra Leone
had been planted by the British Government, he wrote that nothing was
more to be wished than that the United States should undertake to make
such an establishment on the coast of Africa. In 1816, the Legislature
of Virginia took action to the same end, and a year later, the American
Colonization Society was organized at the Capital of the Nation, with
Justice Bushrod Washington as president and distinguished men from all
parts of the land in the list of vice presidents. During the following
15 years, until 1832, vigorous efforts were made for the support of this
society in all the different States. State societies, county societies,
church societies and local bands, auxiliary to the national
organization, were started; in 1832, a list was printed of 231 such
auxiliaries, of which 127 were in the slave States and 104 elsewhere. In
the lists of their presidents, secretaries, and treasurers are found the
names of John Marshall and James Madison, of Virginia; Charles Carroll,
of Maryland; Charles C. Pinckney, of South Carolina; Theodore
Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey; Edward Everett, of Massachusetts; Gerrit
Smith and Arthur Tappan, of New York; Jeremiah Day and Leonard Bacon, of
Connecticut, with others of similar standing in the North and South
alike, governors, judges, ministers of the gospel, and prominent
business men. The purpose on which the country was thus united was the
building up of Liberia, the establishment in Africa of a Republic upon
the pattern of the United States, to be made up of freed slaves from
America. That shows what was thought of the Negroes at that time; how
the ablest men believed in them as equal to grave civil
responsibilities. However wild the project looks today, the very
launching of it was a significant tribute to these people.
Prior to 1830 the thoughtful people of the South were not opposed to the
education of their slaves. There was a special recognition of the need
of teaching reading as a means of becoming familiar with the Bible and
the doctrines of Christianity. It was necessary for practical reasons
that some of the slaves on a large estate should know how to read. Some
of the house servants who were depended on for the care of the masters
children, aided them in their lessons, and for this reason needed to
have some knowledge of reading, writing, and simple arithmetic. The
history of the South in early times tells of men and women, here and
there, who interested themselves particularly in the welfare of the
slaves and in teaching them to read as a prerequisite for religious
training and membership in the church. In 1695 the minister of Goose
Creek Parish, near Charleston, gathered a class of Negroes and gave them
a course of systematic instruction in Christian truth. Before 1700 the
Friends of North Carolina were especially active in similar efforts. In
1744 two young colored men, who had received a special education for the
purpose, were set over a school in Charleston which opened with some
sixty pupils and was continued for a number of years. Later the free
colored people of Charleston, who were prosperous and had ample means,
maintained their own schools; and in the early part of the nineteenth
century, when the law forbade Negroes to teach, white teachers were
employed in their schools. Particularly interesting is the story of the
Mood brothers, the eldest of whom began to teach Negro children in 1638,
and was followed by his three brothers and a brother-in-law, one after
another, till they had together given instruction to some 1,200 pupils.
Carter Goodwin Woodson’s book, The Education of the Negro, gives an
impressive array of historical illustrations. Dr. Woodson relates
briefly how more than fifty Negroes of some distinction severally
received in slavery days the beginnings of their education, usually by
the favor of some one who was personally interested in their
improvement. He estimates that in 1863 some ten per cent. of the adult
Negroes in the United States had the rudiments of education, to which he
adds the opinion that the number was much less than it had been about
1825.
It seems open to question whether there were more educated Negroes in
1825 than in 1863. Undoubtedly there were more in some cities where the
harsh measures used against them led to a flight to more favorable
abodes. But the removal, for example, of Frederick Douglass, from
Baltimore to New York, or of Daniel A. Payne from Charleston to
Gettysburg, or of the Quakers in North Carolina to a freer air in Ohio,
did not by any means eliminate them from the Negro ranks; but rather set
them in positions where their own education could go on by leaps and
bounds, and their inspiring personality become a ten-fold greater force
in promoting the educational ambition of their comrades. In 1825
education for the Negro was undoubtedly more in honor among the white
people than afterwards. The advertisements of the time show that it was
sometimes regarded as adding to the market value of a slave, so as to be
put forward to help the sale. By the middle of the century all this was
changed; the schools of free Negroes were frowned upon and teaching
slaves was under the ban; an intelligent Negro became an object of
suspicion, and it was not politic for one to be known as able to read
and write. On this account the estimate of their number was likely to be
much below what is actually was.
PRE-CIVIL-WAR PERIOD.
Although some of the early State legislatures passed laws providing for
the supervision of meetings of slaves by white men, the more stringent
laws prohibiting the assembling and teaching of Negroes were not passed
until the period between 1830 and 1935. The immediate cause of the
passage of these laws was a series of uprisings of slaves. The laws were
enacted to prevent the slaves from reading the literature of the French
and Haitian Revolutions and the writings of the abolitionists.
While these laws were a natural expression of the highly wrought
emotional excitement that prevailed after the disturbance headed by
Denmark Vesey and the more serious affair of Nat Turner, it is probable
that such laws were not rigidly enforced. It is more likely that the
effect of the law was to make the slaves value the ability to read all
the more, and to incline them in quiet ways to impart the precious gift
to their friends.
It seems likely, too, that the more liberal-minded masters and
mistresses, out in the open country over the vast regions of the South,
thought nothing whatever of such a law and paid no attention to it, in
any instructions they wished to impart to favorite servants in their
houses. As bearing on this point, some weight may be given to words
uttered about 1840, by the Hon. J. B. O’Neil, a distinguished jurist of
South Carolina, at one time Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
in his later years the chief justice of the State:
“It is in vain to say there is danger in it. The best slaves of the
State are those who can and do read the Scriptures. Again, who is it
that teaches your slaves to read? It is generally done by the children
of the owners. Who would tolerate an indictment against his son or
daughter for teaching a slave to read? Such laws look to me rather
cowardly.”
Perhaps it is not a bold conclusion that this kindly and reasonable
usage in a great many homes was one of the things that bound the slaves
so closely to their master’s families as to hold them fast in all the
vicissitudes of the war.
It may safely be concluded, therefore, that a great many more Negroes
were able to read and write in the period just preceding the Civil War
than was generally thought to be the case, either in the South or the
North. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose that the intellectual
enlightenment which was beginning to have so many expressions in the
earlier years of the century grew on and steadily became wider in its
quiet pervasiveness, notwithstanding the many adverse conditions with
which it had to contend.
If the estimate is correct that some ten per cent. of the adult Negroes
at the time of the war had the rudiments of education, or if even only
five per cent. of the Freedmen had this knowledge, the task of the hour
for the teachers was quite different from what has usually been
supposed. To bring the chance for an education to a people of whom five
out of every hundred have the habit of learning is another thing from
dealing with those who have none of them taken even the first steps. It
is all the difference between taking them at the lowest stage and
meeting them after they have mastered the earlier lessons. It must have
meant very much to the teachers if there were a few of their pupils who
were above the primary grade. This goes far to explain the demand that
came so soon for secondary schools and those of a more advanced grade.
There were some of the pupils whose education had begun long before
these teachers saw them; had begun in their old slave environment and
with their own parents or some fellow slave, or perhaps their master’s
children, for teachers, and so they were the more ready for new
privileges.
It may well be supposed that these men and women of greater
intelligence, as soon as opportunities began to open, were especially
ambitious for the superior education of their children and that the
pupils of most promise in all the schools were largely drawn from their
ranks. This is the ready explanation of the swift development of these
schools and of the necessity for classes above the primary grade. Here,
too, is the explanation of certain unlooked for manifestations of a
scholarly spirit and intellectual aptitude that early surprised the
teachers. Actually their pupils, many of them, had a good deal more back
of them than they ever imagined. They were of parentage that was by no
means to be despised. They had been tenderly watched over from infancy
and received a careful training in manners and behavior. As servants in
their master’s house they had been daily observers of the life going on
there; breathing its atmosphere of elevation; seeing the able men and
cultivated women that were entertained at its table; listening often to
superior conversation, and catching many a strong impression to stay
with them.
The colored men who escaped into the Union lines were of a different
type. They were hungry, ragged, ignorant, confused by their wretched
plight and begging for protection. The first necessity was food,
shelter, clothing; in some cases immediate medical attendance; and the
pitiable creatures were to be counted by hundreds and thousands. The
appeal that went up to the people of the North, was not altogether
unlike that which has come from the stricken and homeless sufferers in
the European war. And the response at that time was similar to the
generous relief provided for the people of Belgium, Serbia and Poland.
But in one respect the need of the these Negroes was peculiar. They were
escaped slaves, and it was decided that they were not to be returned to
slavery; so it was a question, not merely of present relief; but of how
they could be provided for permanently. Something had to be done that
they might be prepared to take care of themselves eventually and make an
honest living. In the new life of independence they were entering they
had everything to learn; therefore they had to be taught. In a word,
those who were dealing with them had about the same problem to handle
that the old Virginia settlers had when the first cargo of Negroes was
landed there from Africa. These sorry creatures must be taught to
behave; to mind what they were about; to work and do their work well; to
use good English and to play the part of men. It was the teacher’s job
and a hard job for any who were bold enough to try it.
But the teachers were forthcoming; hundreds of them; cultivated, and
high-minded. They could see no way to make these fugitive slaves into
decent, law-abiding, industrious people, but to give them a new
character, a changed life. They must be led into an intelligent religion
that should govern the whole round of their conduct. And for this they
must be brought to the Bible. Therefore they must learn how to read it
at the very start. And so they went to teaching grown up men and women
their letters. Perhaps it looks odd to us; but there was good sense in
it. This was the way of opening the Bible to these groping men; the way
of leading them to an intelligent acquaintance with Jesus Christ, the
hope of lost men always and everywhere.
It was a noble service. There were aspects of sublimity about it; and
any who are disposed to belittle it or to speak lightly of the results
that flowed from it show that they do not understand the tremendous
interests at stake in that critical hour of the Nation’s life; that hour
of destiny, too, for these many thousand Negroes “scattered abroad as
sheep having no shepherd” and faint-hearted for a friendly voice and
some word of encouragement.
While such efforts were made to teach the Negroes to read, those engaged
in this work did not by any means stop here; they set about every sort
of teaching that might be of practical use. They did their best to
improve the habits of the people; influencing them to be cleanly and
orderly; calling them to promptness and regularity in their attendance
on appointed exercises; giving the men work to do of various kinds and
looking out to see that it was done properly; showing the women how to
cook their food so as not to spoil it, how to mend and make garments and
to be good housekeepers. The Boston Educational Commission in 1862 laid
it down as a foremost object to bring about the “industrial improvement”
of the Negroes, and it was in the very make-up of these thrifty New
England men and women, and those from other parts of the North, to be a
vital force in behalf of general efficiency wherever they took up a work
like this.
EDUCATION AS A SOLDIER.
The training which the Negroes received during the Civil War as soldiers
should not be overlooked. It represents his first opportunity for real
manhood training in an effective way. The training of the military camp
is no less important than the training of the school-room in the
development of good habits and manners.
With the beginning of 1863, immediately after the Emancipation
Proclamation, a call was made for Negroes to enlist in the United States
Army, to which there came a ready response. Before the end of that year
there were 100,000 former slaves in the military service, about half of
whom bore arms in the ranks; and by the close of the war the number of
Negro troops had risen to 186,000.
It has been usual to speak of this enlistment in its bearings on the
progress of the war. General Grant set a high estimate upon his Negro
troops, as some of his dispatches show, and President Lincoln said:
“By arming them we have added a powerful ally. They will make good
soldiers, and taking them from the enemy weakens him in the same
proportion as they strengthen us.”
But there is another point of view, the influence of this military life
on the men who enlisted. Taken as they were at that time, especially
those who were in the camps or floating about the country, without
settled abodes or regular occupation, what could have happened more to
their advantage than to be summoned to the orderly habits and rigid
discipline of a soldier’s life. It put the Freedmen into a far more
effective school than it was possible to provide for them in the former
way.
In some of the regiments there were commanding officers of so fine a
mold that is was an inspiration to noble manhood to be under their
orders. When Governor Andrews of Massachusetts was choosing officers for
the two colored regiments that went from that State, he set it before
him to find men “of acknowledged military ability and experience, of the
highest social position if possible, and who believed in the capacity of
colored men to make good soldiers.” Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson,
of the first colored regiment mustered into service, was a man of this
order, as his illustrious life has amply shown. Colonel Robert Gould
Shaw, of the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth, not only proved his own
greatness, but his aptitude in making heroes of the men who charged with
him to their death in the storming of Fort Wagner. Another of these
commanders of Negro soldiers was General Samuel Chapman Armstrong, who
went from his honorable military service to the still larger civil
service of building up the famous industrial school at Hampton. And yet
another was Major Horace Bumstead, who was afterward president of
Atlanta University. The colonels, majors, captains and lieutenants of
the colored troops as a whole were men of no ordinary character. They
were of the sort who do not flinch from taking their stand on the side
of an unpopular cause, so it be right, and they put their best endeavor
into the training of the troops over whom they were in command. It was
an educational opportunity of no trifling significance. Two years or
more of daily drill in such a school had in it the making of manhood.
Soon after the Civil War began, several societies were formed to aid in
the care and education of the Freedmen. With the progress of the war the
operations of the societies were constantly changing to meet new
demands. They began at Fortress Monroe and Hilton Head in 1861, and took
up work in other places, as one by one they were opened, and necessity
appeared for the service they might render. As the field widened,
supplies in larger quantity were required; more money had to be raised
and a greater number of agents and teachers sent down to the several
centers of activity. The teachers at the beginning were mostly men, as
was befitting the rough duties undertaken; but it was not long before
conditions were such as to invite the ministries of women and the force
was largely made up of them. The work of looking after the refugees
yielded in time to efforts of many kinds in behalf of the communities.
Attention was turned to the young people and children, and schools were
opened and maintained particularly for their benefit. Preaching and
Sunday school work were also made very prominent. Thus a certain
stability and promise of continuance began to be seen.
While the war lasted, these movements were carried on and maintained by
voluntary organizations in the North, though uniformly with the approval
and cooperation of the military forces. But on March 3, 1865, about a
month before the surrender of General Lee, the United States Congress
passed an act establishing the Freedmen’s Bureau in the War Department:
“A bureau of refugees, freedmen, and abandoned lands, to which should be
committed the supervision and management of all abandoned lands and the
control of all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen.” This brought
the Government into formal participation in these endeavors, with the
certainty of adequate financial resources. The bureau was organized with
a general superintendent, a general inspector, and a superintendent of
schools in each district. “In entering on the work a few schools were
found in charge of tax commissioners, a few maintained by the Negroes
themselves; but by far the greater number were under the care of the
Northern societies. General supervision was at once instituted over all
schools; reports were made at stated intervals; unused Government
buildings were thrown open for schools houses, and transportation and
subsistence for a time were furnished to the teachers.” This cooperation
was definitely approved by Congress in the following year, July 16,
1866, and provision for maintenance extended to two years from that
date. Half a million dollars was set aside for school expenses. Then
grading and systematizing followed, and the societies were stimulated to
greater endeavor. The efficiency of the bureau continued to 1870, when
the last congressional appropriations for this object were expended and
its influence became little more than nominal.
At first, and for some years after the close of the war, the teaching in
colored schools was mostly elementary. It was so from the nature of the
situation. There was no call for any other than the simplest lessons;
and after the Negroes had all been made free it was most essential that
a chance should be given them everywhere to acquire some education as a
qualification for citizenship. So the task of the Freedmen’s Bureau,
joining with the other agencies already in the field, was to set up
these elementary schools in all places where there were Freedmen to
attend them. These schools were made public in the largest sense and
free to all who cared to attend them. And out of them grew the present
public school system for Negroes in the South. It was at this point that
denominationalism entered into the education of the Negro. In discussing
this phase of Negro Education, it is noteworthy that one of the first
denominational schools established, was by the colored people themselves
in the founding of Wilberforce University.
CHURCH SCHOOLS AFTER THE WAR.
_White church boards._—With these developments under the leadership of
the bureau, the people who had maintained the previous operations began
to turn their minds to schools of a higher grade; and at this point
appear indications of denominational purpose. During the war,
considerations of patriotism and humanity were dominant, and churches of
every name united in the efforts undertaken; but, with the return of
peace, missionary enterprise took into view the churches that were to
grow up among the Freedmen, and shaped itself more or less in their
behalf. This was most natural in those churches whose affiliations in
the South had been strongest before the war—the Baptist, Methodist and
Presbyterian churches. For the sake of these churches that were to be,
they took measures to build up schools of higher learning at carefully
chosen centers, which they hoped might become favorite resorts for
scholars, rallying points for religious organization and institutions of
Christian culture and enlightenment for all the region around.
The Baptists instituted Shaw University at Raleigh, in 1865, Roger
Williams at Nashville and Morehouse at Atlanta, in 1867, Leland at New
Orleans, in 1869, and Benedict at Columbia, in 1871; and the Free
Baptists established Storer at Harper’s Ferry in 1867. The Methodist
Episcopal Church instituted Walden at Nashville, in 1865, Rust at Holly
Springs, in 1866, Morgan at Baltimore, in 1867, Haven Academy at
Waynesboro, in 1868, Claflin at Orangeburg, in 1869, and Clark at
Atlanta, in 1870. The Presbyterians already had their important school
in Pennsylvania, called Ashmun Institute, now Lincoln University,
founded in 1854; to which was added Biddle University, in 1867. The
Episcopal Church instituted St. Augustine’s at Raleigh, in 1867. The
Congregational Church, through the American Missionary was one of the
earliest denominations to enter the field of Negro education
systematically. In 1865, it had Avery Institute at Charleston, Ballard
Normal at Macon, and Washburn at Beaufort, N. C.; in 1866, Trinity at
Athens, Ala., Gregory at Wilmington, N. C., and Fisk University at
Nashville; in 1867, Talladega College in Alabama, Emerson at Mobile,
Storrs at Atlanta, and Beach at Savannah; in 1868, Hampton Institute in
Virginia, Knox at Athens, Ga., Burwell at Selma, Ala., since removed to
Florence, and the Ely Normal, now a public school in Louisville; in
1869, Straight University at New Orleans, Tougaloo in Mississippi, Le
Moyne at Memphis, and Lincoln at Marion, Ala.; in 1870, Dorchester
Academy at McIntosh, and the Albany Normal in Georgia.
The United States Government in 1867 chartered Howard University “for
the education of youth in the liberal arts and sciences,” with special
provision for the higher education of negroes, but designed for all who
might wish to study there, with no race discriminations.
Several notable schools were started in this early period by
representatives of the Society of Friends; in 1862 Miss Towne and Miss
Murray opened the Penn School on Helena Island, in the neighborhood of
Hilton Head; in 1865 Cornelia Hancock, of Philadelphia, opened the Laing
School at Mount Pleasant, in the vicinity of Charleston, and carried it
on until 1869, when it passed into the charge of Abby D. Munro, of
Bristol, R. I., who continued it for upwards of forty years; in 1868
Martha Schofield, of Pennsylvania, founded the industrial school at
Aiken, which bears her name and was under her management till very
recently, when she resigned on account of the infirmities of age. In
1864, Calvin and Alida Clark, with the support of the Society of Friends
in Indiana, started a work for colored orphans in Helena; and then, in
1869, the education want having become paramount, removed some ten miles
to a farm in the country and established there the Southland College.
The growth of educational forces throughout the field is shown by the
continual establishment of new schools as well as by the increasing
effectiveness of the older ones. Several churches that have not been
referred to have had an important share in the movement. The Reformed
Presbyterians had their workers among the Negro refugees at Beaufort,
Fernandina, Washington, and Natchez during the war, and between 1864 and
1866 they maintained a school at Natchez with an enrollment of some 300
pupils; but in 1874 they undertook a more permanent work in Selma, Ala.,
with the planting of Knox Academy, which has kept to high educational
standards and exerted a most important influence. The United
Presbyterians, likewise, had a school in Nashville in 1863, which was
carried on in a quiet way till 1875, when Knoxville College was started
to do normal work, and forthwith took its position as a central station
from which a whole group of schools was directed, several in east
Tennessee, others in North Carolina and Virginia, and a number of rural
schools in Wilcox County, Ala. In 1878 a school was opened at
Franklinton, N. C., which was maintained by the “American Christian
Convention” and in 1890 was chartered as the Franklinton Christian
College. The Southern Presbyterians, in 1876, established Stillman
Institute at Tuscaloosa for the education of Negroes for the Christian
ministry. The Southern Methodist Episcopal Church in 1884 founded Paine
College at Augusta, Ga. Thus the several bodies of Christian people each
had its own organized activities in behalf of the colored people.
_Negro church boards._—Meanwhile, as these people became better
educated, their churches grew in numbers and strength, and the
conviction began to find expression that they ought to have schools
under their own management. The African Methodist Church had already had
Wilberforce in Ohio, founded in 1817, and Western in Kansas, founded in
1864; but they felt that the time had come for other institutions, which
should be planted at important centers of power in the South. So, in
1880, this church secured ground in Columbia, S. C., began to build as
soon as they were able, and in 1881 opened Allen University; then steps
were taken to establish another school in Atlanta, and in 1885 Morris
Brown was opened to students; now they have schools at Waco, Tex.;
Jackson, Miss.; Selma, Ala., and elsewhere. At about the same time the
Zion Methodist Church moved for the establishment of Livingstone
College, which was incorporated in 1879, and began work on its present
site at Salisbury in 1882; this church now has other smaller schools
also. The Colored Methodist Church which is closely affiliated with the
Southern Methodist Church, projected Lane College, at Jackson,
Tennessee, in 1878 and in 1882, a building was erected and the school
opened; this body now has other schools at Birmingham, Ala.; Holly
Springs, Miss.; and Tyler, Tex. The Colored Baptists have shown similar
enterprise, often in cooperation with the Home Mission Society of the
Northern Baptists, but particularly through their own conventions.
PUBLIC PROVISION FOR NEGRO EDUCATION.
_Public Elementary Schools_:—The existence of the large number of
private schools for colored people is largely explained by the
inadequacy of the public schools. The inequality in the public schools
for white and colored children is apparent to every one who visits the
South. The Report on Negro Education recently published by the Bureau of
Education, presents these inequalities in terms of salaries spent. The
report shows that in fifteen Southern States and the District of
Columbia, $42,510,703 is spent annually in teachers’ salaries. Of this
sum $36,649,827 was for teaching 3,552,431 white children and only
$5,860,876 for teaching 1,852,181 colored children. In other words the
number of white children is less than twice the number of colored
children, but the amount of money spent for their education is over six
times that spent for the colored children. The average or per capita
annual expenditure for the education of the white child is $10.32, while
that for the colored child is only $2.89.
In addition to the sums appropriated for the maintenance of the common
schools the South in 1912–13 appropriated $6,429,991 for higher schools
for white people and only $336,970 for similar schools for colored
people.
The amount expended in teachers’ salaries in the Southern States and the
average for each child of school age are shown in the following table:
───────────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────
STATE │ AMOUNT OF TEACHERS’ │ AVERAGE PER CHILD
│ SALARIES │
───────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────┼─────────────┬─────────────
│ WHITE │ COLORED │ WHITE │ COLORED
───────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────
Alabama │ $2,523,550│ $372,177│ $9.41│ $1.78
Arkansas │ 2,587,462│ 455,938│ 12.95│ 4.59
Delaware │ 357,071│ 47,415│ 12.61│ 7.68
Florida │ 1,022,745│ 167,381│ 11.50│ 2.64
Georgia │ 2,884,580│ 483,622│ 9.58│ 1.76
Kentucky │ 3,389,354│ 401,208│ 8.13│ 8.53
Louisiana │ 2,807,103│ 211,376│ 13.73│ 1.31
Maryland │ 2,567,021│ 282,519│ 13.79│ 6.88
Mississippi │ 1,284,910│ 340,459│ 10.60│ 2.26
North Carolina │ 1,715,994│ 340,856│ 5.27│ 2.02
Oklahoma │ 3,232,706│ 283,385│ 14.21│ 9.96
South Carolina │ 1,454,098│ 305,080│ 10.00│ 1.44
Tennessee │ 1,938,487│ 298,772│ 8.27│ 4.83
Texas │ 4,892,836│ 904,335│ 10.08│ 5.74
Virginia │ 2,767,365│ 421,381│ 9.64│ 2.74
───────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────
These figures explain the efforts of the colored people to enlist the
sympathy and support of the North and their willingness to contribute
out of their poverty to the establishment of schools.
_Public High Schools._—There are only 65 public high schools for negroes
in the Southern States. Of these, 47 maintain four-year courses and 18
have three-year courses. In addition, there are about 200 public schools
which enroll a few pupils above the elementary grades. Practically all
the four-year high schools are in the large cities of the border States.
Over half are in Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia; 16 are in
Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia. South Carolina and Florida have only 2
each; North Carolina and Louisiana have no public high schools for
negroes. North Carolina, however, provides three well-managed State
normal schools offering secondary work. The city high schools of
Washington, D. C., and St. Louis, Mo., are unusual in extent of plant,
ranging in value from $200,000 to $450,000.
The following table presents the more important facts for the Public
High Schools:
PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AND NORMAL SCHOOLS.
───────────────┬────────────┬───────┬───────────┬─────────┬────────────
│ │ Years │ │ High │
STATE AND NAME │ Location. │ in │ │ School │ Value of
OF SCHOOL. │City or Town│Course.│Attendance.│Teachers.│ Plant.
───────────────┼────────────┼───────┼───────────┼─────────┼────────────
_United States,│ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _8,707_│ _484_│_$3,172,250_
_Alabama, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _541_│ _19_│ _21,500_
Birmingham │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Birmingham │ 4│ 387│ 9│ 2,000
Huntsville │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Huntsville │ 4│ 36│ 2│ 4,500
Owen Academy│Mobile │ 3│ 86│ 5│ 10,000
Tuscambia │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Tuscambia │ 3│ 32│ 3│ 5,000
_Arkansas, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _253_│ _22_│ _105,000_
Langston │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Hot Springs │ 4│ 39│ 4│ 20,000
Merrill High│ │ │ │ │
School │Pine Bluff │ 4│ 25│ 3│ 18,000
Helena │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Helena │ 3│ 29│ 3│ 7,000
Gibbs High │ │ │ │ │
School │Little Rock │ 4│ 100│ 8│ 40,000
Lincoln │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Fort Smith │ 3│ 60│ 4│ 20,000
_Delaware, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _60_│ _11_│ _33,800_
Howard High │ │ │ │ │
School │Wilmington │ 4│ 60│ 11│ 33,800
_District of │ │ │ │ │
Columbia, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _1,375_│ _96_│ _985,000_
Armstrong │ │ │ │ │
Manual │ │ │ │ │
Training │ │ │ │ │
School │Washington │ 4│ 259│ 33│ 240,000
Dunbar High │ │ │ │ │
School │ „ │ 4│ 731│ 48│ 500,000
Myrtilla │ │ │ │ │
Minor │ │ │ │ │
Normal │ │ │ │ │
School │ „ │ [1]2│ 115│ 15│ 245,000
_Florida, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _78_│ _6_│ _190,000_
Stanton High│ │ │ │ │
School │Jacksonville│ 4│ 44│ 3│ 175,000
Lincoln High│ │ │ │ │
and Graded│ │ │ │ │
School │Tallahassee │ 3│ 34│ 3│ 15,000
_Georgia, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _40_│ _5_│ _15,000_
Athens High │ │ │ │ │
and │ │ │ │ │
Industrial│ │ │ │ │
School │Athens │ 3│ 40│ 5│ 15,000
_Kentucky, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _779_│ _44_│ _209,000_
Louisville │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
Normal │ │ │ │ │
School │Louisville │ [1]2│ 27│ 2│ 10,000
State Street│ │ │ │ │
High │Bowling │ │ │ │
School │ Green │ 4│ 42│ 4│ 10,000
Lincoln High│ │ │ │ │
School │Paducah │ 4│ 39│ 4│ 22,000
Central High│ │ │ │ │
School │Louisville │ 4│ 402│ 16│ 41,000
Earlington │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Earlington │ 3│ 10│ 1│ 15,000
Douglass │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Henderson │ 4│ 25│ 3│ 40,000
Clinton │ │ │ │ │
Street │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Frankfort │ 4│ 24│ 3│ 15,000
Russell High│ │ │ │ │
School │Lexington │ 4│ 93│ 4│ 18,000
Western High│ │ │ │ │
School │Owensboro │ 4│ 77│ 4│ 23,000
„ „ „ │Paris │ 4│ 40│ 3│ 15,000
_Maryland, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _781_│ _42_│ _80,000_
Baltimore │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
Normal │ │ │ │ │
School │Baltimore │ [1]2│ 112│ 8│ 15,000
Baltimore │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │ „ │ 4│ 669│ 34│ 65,000
_Mississippi, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _49_│ _3_│ _14,000_
Colored High│ │ │ │ │
School │Yazoo │ 3│ 49│ 3│ 14,000
_Missouri, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _910_│ _49_│ _430,500_
Sumner High │ │ │ │ │
School │St. Louis │ 4│ 595│ 34│ 330,500
Lincoln High│ │ │ │ │
School │Kansas City │ 4│ 315│ 15│ 100,000
_Oklahoma, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _368_│ _27_│ _166,750_
Dunbar High │ │ │ │ │
School │Tulsa │ 4│ 40│ 5│ 6,000
Douglass │ │ │ │ │
High │Oklahoma │ │ │ │
School │ City │ 4│ 80│ 7│ 63,750
Boley City │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Boley │ 4│ 25│ 2│ 15,000
Manual │ │ │ │ │
Training │ │ │ │ │
School │Muskogee │ 4│ 138│ 8│ 70,000
Faver High │ │ │ │ │
School │Guthrie │ 4│ 85│ 5│ 12,000
_South │ │ │ │ │
Carolina, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _138_│ _6_│ _15,000_
Howard High │ │ │ │ │
School │Columbia │ 3│ 138│ 6│ 15,300
_Texas, total_ │ │ │ _1,212_│ _63_│ _370,300_
Anderson │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Austin │ 4│ 82│ 5│ 28,000
Colored High│ │ │ │ │
School │Fort Worth │ 4│ 133│ 6│ 68,000
A. J. Moore │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Waco │ 4│ 69│ 5│ 14,800
Gibbons High│ │ │ │ │
School │Paris │ 4│ 100│ 3│ 27,500
Charlton │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Beaumont │ 3│ 108│ 3│ 10,000
Central High│ │ │ │ │
School │Marshall │ 4│ 142│ 6│ 10,000
Anderson │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Dennison │ 3│ 28│ 2│ 14,000
Lincoln High│ │ │ │ │
School │Palestine │ 4│ 69│ 2│ 8,000
Dallas │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Dallas │ 4│ 243│ 12│ 60,000
Douglass │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │San Antonio │ 4│ 85│ 9│ 49,500
Central High│ │ │ │ │
School │Galveston │ 4│ 89│ 6│ 54,000
Temple │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Temple │ 4│ 38│ 2│ 15,000
Frederick │ │ │ │ │
Douglass │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Sherman │ 3│ 26│ 2│ 11,500
_Tennessee, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _650_│ _25_│ _117,000_
Austin High │ │ │ │ │
School │Knoxville │ 3│ 116│ 7│ 12,000
Kortrecht │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Memphis │ 3│ 232│ 5│ 35,000
Howard High │ │ │ │ │
School │Chattanooga │ 4│ 80│ 5│ 30,000
Rural High │ │ │ │ │
School │Hyde Park │ 3│ 26│ 2│ 20,000
Pearl High │ │ │ │ │
School │Nashville │ 3│ 196│ 6│ 20,000
_Virginia, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _1,070_│ _38_│ _163,500_
Armstrong │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Richmond │ 4│ 439│ 17│ 40,000
Jackson High│ │ │ │ │
School │Lynchburg │ 3│ 110│ 4│ 14,000
Peabody High│ │ │ │ │
School │Petersburg │ 3│ 147│ 4│ 30,000
Colored │ │ │ │ │
Public │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Norfolk │ 4│ 257│ 8│ 41,500
Mount Herman│ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Portsmouth │ 4│ 57│ 2│ 13,000
Danville │ │ │ │ │
Colored │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Danville │ 2│ 60│ 3│ 25,000
_West Virginia,│ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _150_│ _16_│ _265,600_
Water Street│ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Clarksburg │ 4│ 20│ 2│ 26,750
Douglass │ │ │ │ │
High │ │ │ │ │
School │Huntingdon │ 4│ 35│ 4│ 62,700
Sumner High │ │ │ │ │
School │Parkersburg │ 4│ 28│ 4│ 88,000
Lincoln High│ │ │ │ │
School │Wheeling │ 4│ 21│ 2│ 45,850
Garnett High│ │ │ │ │
School │Charleston │ 4│ 46│ 4│ 42,300
_Northern │ │ │ │ │
States │ │ │ │ │
(separate │ │ │ │ │
schools), │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ │ _253_│ _12_│ _70,000_
Sumner High │ │ │ │ │
School │ │ │ │ │
(Missouri)│Kansas City │ 4│ 253│ 12│ 70,000
───────────────┴────────────┴───────┴───────────┴─────────┴────────────
Footnote 1:
Above High School grade.
_County Training Schools._—The organization of the “county training
school,” is a comparatively new but promising movement. There are 27
schools of this type in the various Southern States. These schools have
in most cases done work through the ninth grade, and in some cases
through the tenth grade, including in the last two years some elementary
teacher training. In addition much industrial work has been included in
the curriculum, the aim being to make these schools articulate as nearly
as possible with the life of the people in the rural communities and the
type of work their graduates will be called upon to do.
They are supported partly by private funds and partly by public funds.
The State Fund provides about $15,000 a year for these schools, while
about $35,000 is provided by the Counties. The following table presents
the more important facts for these schools:
COUNTY TRAINING SCHOOLS.
─────────────┬──────────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬──────────
Counties │ │ │ │ │
Maintaining │ │ │ │ │
Training │ │ │ │ │ Value of
Schools. │City or Town. │Attendance.│Teachers.│ Income. │ Plant.
─────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
_United │ │ │ │ │
States, │ │ │ │ │
total_ │ │ _5,906_│ _139_│_$51,501_│_$145,570_
_Alabama_ │ │ _694_│ _19_│ _6,650_│ _20,900_
Coosa │Cottage Grove │ 189│ 4│ 1,650│ 11,000
Lowndes │Charity │ 150│ 5│ 1,250│ 4,700
Mobile │Plateau │ 241│ 6│ 2,500│ 1,500
Pickens │Carrollton │ 114│ 4│ 1,250│ 3,700
_Arkansas_ │ │ _1,242_│ _25_│ _10,957_│ _27,500_
Chicot │Dermott │ 245│ 4│ 1,804│ 5,000
Hempstead │Hope │ 300│ 8│ 2,662│ 9,000
Lee │Marianna │ 350│ 6│ 3,740│ 10,000
Ouachita │Camden │ 347│ 7│ 2,751│ 3,500
_Georgia_ │ │ _365_│ _9_│ _3,725_│ _10,500_
Ben Hill │Queensland │ 185│ 4│ 1,725│ 3,000
Washington│Sandersville │ 180│ 5│ 2,000│ 7,500
_Kentucky_ │ │ _70_│ _3_│ _2,000_│ _3,500_
Bourbon │Little Rock │ 70│ 3│ 2,000│ 3,500
_Louisiana_ │ │ _254_│ _7_│ _3,030_│ _8,600_
Calcasieu │West Lake │ 118│ 4│ 1,680│ 4,600
Morehouse │Bastrop │ 136│ 3│ 1,350│ 4,000
_North │ │ │ │ │
Carolina_ │ │ _995_│ _26_│ _8,690_│ _36,650_
Johnson │Smithfield │ 308│ 7│ 1,690│ 6,500
Martin │Parmelee │ 150│ 4│ 1,500│ 6,500
Pamlico │Stonewall │ 135│ 5│ 1,580│ 5,000
Sampson │Clinton │ 242│ 5│ 1,870│ 4,500
Wake │Method │ 160│ 5│ 2,050│ 14,150
_South │ │ │ │ │
Carolina_ │ │ _291_│ _6_│ _1,998_│ _5,500_
Clarendon │Manning │ 291│ 6│ 1,998│ 5,500
_Tennessee_ │ │ _1,173_│ _20_│ _6,025_│ _14,040_
Fayette │Somerville │ 275│ 5│ 1,340│ 4,540
Haywood │Brownsville │ 423│ 8│ 2,405│ 2,500
Shelby │Lucy, R. F. D.│ 475│ 7│ 2,280│ 7,000
_Texas_ │ │ _208_│ _6_│ _2,511_│ _4,080_
Travis │Manor │ 208│ 6│ 2,511│ 4,080
_Virginia_ │ │ _614_│ _18_│ _5,915_│ _14,300_
Albemarle │Charlottsville│ 75│ 4│ 1,100│ 3,500
Caroline │Bowling Green │ 212│ 4│ 2,080│ 4,300
Nottaway │Blackstone │ 166│ 6│ 1,455│ 3,500
York │Lackey │ 161│ 4│ 1,280│ 3,000
─────────────┴──────────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴──────────
[Illustration:
AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE, BATON ROUGE, LA.
The land-grant school for Louisiana. Formerly Southern University at
New Orleans. Several large brick buildings have been erected. The
school now has 23 teachers, 300 pupils and property valued at nearly
$100,000.
]
[Illustration:
AGRICULTURAL BUILDING, A. AND M. COLLEGE, TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
One of the best buildings in colored schools devoted entirely to
teaching agriculture. The school has 35 teachers, about 350 pupils
and property valued at $135,000.
]
_Land-Grant Schools_:—The third type of schools supported by public
funds is the Land-Grant Schools. The purpose for which the land-grant
institutions receive Federal appropriations are clearly outlined in the
following extracts from the various congressional acts granting public
lands and making appropriations for their support:
Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862.—An act donating public lands to the
several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the
benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts.—The leading object shall
be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and
including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are
related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the
legislatures of the State may respectively prescribe, in order to
promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in
the several pursuits and professions in life.
Morrill Act of 1890.—An act to apply a portion of the proceeds of the
public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges
for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts. To be applied only
to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic arts, the English language,
and the various branches of mathematical, physical, natural, and
economic science, with special reference to their applications in the
industries of life, and to the facilities for such instruction.
_Provided_, That in any State in which there has been one college
established in pursuance of the act of July second, eighteen hundred and
sixty-two, and also in which an educational institution of like
character has been established, or may be hereafter established, and is
now aided by such State from its own revenue, for the education of
colored students in agriculture and the mechanic arts, however named or
styled, or whether or not it has received money heretofore under the act
to which this act is an amendment, the legislature of such State may
propose and report to the Secretary of the Interior a just and adequate
division of the fund to be received under this act between one college
for white students and one institution for colored students established
as aforesaid which shall be divided into two parts and paid accordingly,
and thereupon such institution for colored students shall be entitled to
the benefits of this act and subject to its provisions, as much as it
would have been if it had been included under the act of eighteen
hundred and sixty-two, and the fulfillment of the foregoing provisions
shall be taken as a compliance with the provision in reference to
separate colleges for white and colored students.
[Illustration:
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. MECHANICAL BUILDING.
]
[Illustration:
FARM BUILDINGS. EXPERIMENTAL PLOTS.
AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C.
One of the best Land-grant schools in the South. It has 25 teachers,
about 200 young men students and property valued at $130,000.
]
Nelson Amendment of 1907.—An act making appropriations for the
Department of Agriculture.—That said colleges may use a portion of this
money for providing courses for the special preparation of instructors
for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic arts.
Rulings and instructions relative to the acts of Congress of August 30,
1890, and March 4, 1907, in aid of colleges of agriculture and mechanic
arts.—“To be applied only to instruction in agriculture, the mechanic
arts, the English language, and the various branches of mathematical,
physical, natural, and economic science, with special reference to their
applications in the industries of life, and to the facilities for such
instruction” and “for providing courses for the special preparation of
instructors for teaching the elements of agriculture and the mechanic
arts.” It is held that this language authorizes the purchase from this
money of apparatus, machinery, text-books, reference books, stock, and
material used in instruction, or for the purposes of illustration in
connection with any of the branches enumerated, and the payment of
salaries of instructors in said branches only; but in case of machinery
(such as boilers, engines, pumps, etc.) and farm stock, which are made
to serve for both instructional and other purposes, the Federal funds
may be charged with only an equitable portion of the cost of said
machinery and stock.
The acts prohibit the expenditure of any portion of these funds for the
purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings
under any pretense whatever, and the salaries of purely administrative
officers, such as treasurers, presidents, secretaries.
In accordance with these acts, 17 institutions for Negroes in the
Southern States are receiving Federal funds. The principal facts for
sixteen of these institutions are shown in the table herewith. Hampton
Institute is classified with the independent institutions because its
financial support is very largely from private sources. The total annual
income for the current expenses of the sixteen institutions is $544,520.
Of this amount $263,074 is received from State appropriations and
$2,598.51 from the Federal acts. Including the Federal grant to Hampton
Institute, the total of Federal appropriations is $286,817. The value of
property in the sixteen institutions is $2,576,142.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
TENNESSEE AGRICULTURAL, AND INDUSTRIAL STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, NASHVILLE,
TENN.
The land-grant school for the State. It was founded in 1912, has 32
teachers, 1200 students and property valued at $250,000.
]
[Illustration:
VIRGINIA NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, PETERSBURG, VA.
The largest school building in the United States for colored students.
The institution is owned and supported by the State. It has
twenty-five teachers and 600 students. The property is valued at
approximately $250,000.
]
The principal facts concerning these schools, by States, are as follows:
───────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────
│ │ │ │ VALUE OF
STATE │ ATTENDANCE │ TEACHERS │ INCOME │ PROPERTY
───────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────
Total │ 4,875│ 400│ $544,520│ $2,576,142
═══════════════════╪════════════╪════════════╪════════════╪════════════
Alabama │ 264│ 27│ 29,209│ 182,500
Arkansas │ 170│ 12│ 24,003│ 141,456
Delaware │ 71│ 8│ 13,159│ 42,150
Florida │ 345│ 34│ 34,168│ 131,421
Georgia │ 390│ 21│ 25,369│ 68,449
Kentucky │ 234│ 19│ 22,327│ 156,700
Louisiana │ 160│ 23│ 31,384│ 95,250
Maryland │ 123│ 12│ 15,528│ 44,950
Mississippi │ 484│ 24│ 47,774│ 258,500
Missouri │ 264│ 33│ 42,162│ 226,375
North Carolina │ 150│ 26│ 32,518│ 129,700
Oklahoma │ 408│ 28│ 46,400│ 153,827
South Carolina │ 726│ 33│ 44,216│ 397,300
Tennessee │ 300│ 25│ 39,819│ 193,915
Texas │ 552│ 46│ 49,985│ 237,200
West Virginia │ 234│ 29│ 46,499│ 216,449
───────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────
_State Schools_:—In addition to the land-grant schools there are eleven
State schools. Four of these institutions are in Northern States. The
following table gives the important facts concerning this group.
───────────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────
│ │ │ │ VALUE OF
STATE │ ATTENDANCE │ TEACHERS │ INCOME │ PROPERTY
───────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────
Total │ 2,638│ 188│ $246,834│ $1,394,547
═══════════════════╪════════════╪════════════╪════════════╪════════════
Alabama │ 714│ 31│ 21,500│ 70,000
Kansas │ 82│ 14│ 15,830│ 131,395
„ │ 106│ 26│ 38,148│ 195,300
Maryland │ 50│ 8│ 8,053│ 33,500
New Jersey │ 93│ 18│ 27,755│ 99,159
North Carolina │ 249│ 8│ 6,074│ 45,000
„ │ 227│ 7│ 5,544│ 38,700
„ │ 165│ 10│ 5,258│ 51,700
Ohio │ 231│ 29│ 77,000│ 436,893
Virginia │ 573│ 25│ 27,898│ 233,900
West Virginia │ 148│ 12│ 13,774│ 59,000
───────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────
_Federal Schools_:—The one institution classed as Federal is Howard
University at Washington, D. C. It is the only institution supported by
direct annual appropriations from Congress. It is generally considered
the best institution for colored people in college and professional
training. It has an attendance of 1,401 pupils, 106 teachers, an annual
income of $172,257 and property valued at $1,756,920.
SCHOOLS MAINTAINED BY PRIVATE AGENCIES.
It is said that the deficiencies in the public expenditure for the
education of colored people largely explain the active campaign for
private and higher schools since the Civil War. These schools not only
represent the effort of the colored people and their friends to provide
higher training for their children, but also to make up for the
inadequacy of the elementary public schools.
According to the recent report of the Bureau of Education, there are 625
private schools for colored people in the United States. These schools
have property valued at $28,500,000, an annual income of $3,027,000,
4,600 teachers and an attendance of approximately 100,000.
[Illustration:
HOWARD UNIVERSITY, WASHINGTON, D. C.
The leading institution in the country for the higher and professional
training of the Negro. In quality of work it ranks favorably with
the best New England Colleges. It was founded in 1867, largely
through the efforts of General O. O. Howard. It has 106 teachers,
1400 students and property valued at nearly $2,000,000.
]
The three great factors which have entered into the development of the
educational possibilities of the colored people are the North, the South
and the Negro himself.
Though the Northern States are not so immediately concerned in the
education of the Negro race as the South and the Negroes themselves, the
northern point of view and northern philanthropy have been just as
important and are just as essential to continued development as the
other two elements. In many respects the remoteness of the northern
friends to Negro education gave them freedom from the traditional
prejudices and the frequent irritations to which those nearby were
subjected. Problems are rarely settled without the aid of those who are
not party to the differences. Evidence is now gradually accumulating
that the southern people are realizing that the northern teachers have
rendered a valuable service not only to the Negroes but also to the
South. The following testimony was given as early as 1885, by Bishop
Haywood of the Southern Methodist Church in speaking of President Ware,
the founder of Atlanta University:
“Very small encouragement do workers in this field get from us of the
white race in the Southern States, although, next to the Negro race, we
are of all men on earth most concerned in the success of your work, and
most concerned because we have most at stake.”
The total annual contribution of the North for the current expenses of
the private schools aggregate $2,500,000. Of this fully a million and a
half is given by the white churches for their denominational schools,
and another $1,000,000 is contributed by individual donors and churches
for the maintenance of the independent institutions. Property valuations
in the private institutions founded by northern gifts now amount to
$24,000,000.
[Illustration:
ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GEORGIA.
One of the best schools of higher education. A number of notable
colored men are graduates of this institution. It was founded in
1867 by the American Missionary Association (Congregational), but it
now has an independent board of trustees. It has 35 teachers, nearly
600 students and property valued at $405,000.
]
Without the institutions thus erected and maintained, the industrial and
agricultural education of the colored people would be almost entirely
confined to the very limited facilities of the public schools, and the
inadequate work of the land-grant institutions. Teacher training would
be almost negligible, secondary courses would be conspicuously
inadequate and no college work would be offered. Upon the North
therefore, and the Negroes must rest the responsibility of providing
higher training. While constant effort should be made to induce public
authorities to provide for every phase of education, any plan to
diminish private support should be adopted only after careful
consideration of the local situation. The per capita public school
expenditures for white children of the Southern States is four and five
times that for the Negroes. All the available facts indicate that the
financial aid of the North would be needed for some decades to come.
Essential as northern philanthropy has been to the education of the
Negro, the greatest contribution of the North has been the teachers,
sons and daughters of the best families, who have been willing to work
in colored schools, and to show their colored pupils by precept and
example that education is not only head knowledge, but the formation of
habits that guarantee such fundamental virtues as cleanliness,
thoroughness, perseverance, honesty, and the essential elements of
family life.
The work of the Northern teachers is no less important than that of the
northern soldier. While the one emancipated the Negro from slavery, the
other laid the foundation for the greater emancipation from ignorance.
In the conduct and management of colored schools, it is to be expected
that the South should stress contact with the white neighborhood and
conformity to the community standards. The concern of the Negro is
naturally the preservation of his self-respect and the increase of
opportunities for employment and influence. The concern of the North is
the maintenance of such school activities as will produce manhood and
womanhood of good physique, discerning minds and sound morals. In
accordance with this purpose, northern people have erected schools of
all types for the Negroes, including industrial, agricultural and
collegiate institutions. No greater loss could befall the Negro schools
than the elimination of northern philanthropy and northern teachers.
The two types of institutions which are largely supported by northern
philanthropy are designated as independent schools, and schools under
white denominational boards. Many of these schools also receive large
sums from their colored patrons. The following table gives the important
facts concerning the independent schools in the several States. The
names of the larger institutions of this group are given in the table at
the end of this Chapter.
[Illustration:
DINING HALL. BIRDSEYE VIEW OF GROUNDS.
]
[Illustration:
STUDENTS AT WORK ON NEW BUILDING. JOHN A. ANDREW HOSPITAL.
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA.
One of the best known schools in the world. Considered by many as the
greatest achievement of the Negro race. It was founded in 1880, by
Booker T. Washington. It has nearly 200 teachers, 1400 students and
property valued at approximately $4,000,000.
]
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
By independent schools is meant such as are not connected with any
public or denominational agency; but are under the direction and control
of a general board of trustees. These trustee boards are usually
composed of colored men, northern men and southern men. As a rule they
are self-perpetuating—that is—the trustees themselves elect new members
of the board to fill vacancies such as may occur through death or
resignation.
In number and income the independent schools form the most important
group of schools. They are non-sectarian in character, and draw support
and pupils from all sources and classes of the people. The leading facts
concerning this group of schools, according to the recent report of the
Bureau of Education are as follows:
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 118│ 14,851│1,144│ 249│ 895│$1,099,724│$12,369,441
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 23│ 4,887│ 331│ 23│ 308│ 369,544│ 4,279,566
Arkansas │ 2│ 70│ 2│ │ 2│ 1,100│ 3,700
Delaware │ 2│ 22│ 4│ │ 4│ 5,250│ 18,600
Florida │ 3│ 234│ 24│ │ 24│ 19,158│ 85,875
Georgia │ 21│ 2,654│ 97│ 29│ 68│ 2,888│ 493,673
Kentucky │ 3│ 177│ 19│ 8│ 11│ 20,351│ 529,698
Louisiana │ 7│ 671│ 34│ │ 34│ 10,831│ 118,037
Maryland │ 3│ 38│ 3│ │ 3│ 1,385│ 2,750
Mississippi│ 4│ 858│ 58│ │ 58│ 33,618│ 314,220
Missouri │ 1│ 19│ 6│ │ 6│ 2,837│ 38,500
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 9│ 597│ 55│ │ 55│ 18,389│ 120,000
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 11│ 1,012│ 84│ 3│ 82│ 51,235│ 416,205
Tennessee │ 3│ 1,061│ 78│ 33│ 45│ 103,305│ 733,058
Texas │ 4│ 363│ 23│ │ 23│ 10,364│ 42,000
Virginia │ 11│ 1,685│ 256│ 147│ 109│ 321,660│ 4,414,459
Northern │ │ │ │ │ │ │
States │ 11│ 472│ 70│ 6│ 64│ 57,309│ 759,100
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
UTICA INSTITUTE, UTICA, MISSISSIPPI.
The upper figure shows building in which the school began, the lower,
the present main building. The school was founded in 1903 by W. H.
Holtzclaw, the present principal. It now has buildings valued at
almost $100,000. There are 27 teachers and over 300 pupils. The
annual income is about $20,000 and the property is valued at over
$160,000.
]
The number of pupils in attendance was 14,851, of whom 12,273 were
elementary, 1,841 secondary, and 737 were collegiate and professional.
The secondary courses are offered in twenty of the larger institutions.
The collegiate and professional students are in Meharry Medical College,
Fisk University and Atlanta University. Of the total attendance reported
above, the 72 smaller schools have 4,404 pupils, of whom only 66 are
secondary.
The number of teachers and workers in all independent schools was 1,144,
of whom 249 were white and 895 were colored; 521 male, 623 female; 558
academic, 222 industrial, 49 agricultural, 315 other workers. The ratio
of teachers and workers to pupils indicates that these institutions are
fairly well managed. About a fourth of the teachers in the larger
schools are white. The smaller schools are practically all taught by
colored workers. On the basis of sex, the workers in the larger
institutions are about equally divided.
[Illustration:
HAMPTON INSTITUTE, HAMPTON, VIRGINIA.
Students at drill. The institution is one of the most widely known
schools in the United States, and the pioneer school in industrial
education. It has 210 teachers, 762 pupils, and income of almost
$300,000 annually, and property valued at approximately $4,250,000.
]
[Illustration:
GEORGE W. HUBBARD HOSPITAL, OF MEHARRY MEDICAL SCHOOL, NASHVILLE,
TENN.
One of the best hospitals in Nashville. It is well equipped and has an
able staff of physicians. The property value is approximately
$75,000.
]
The schools of this group which have received most liberal support are
Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, and Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee,
Alabama. The large support and remarkable growth of these two schools is
due largely to the growing popularity of individual education and also
to the personalities of General Armstrong, who founded Hampton, and Dr.
Booker T. Washington, who founded Tuskegee. The independent institutions
of college grade that have attained a national reputation are Fisk
University, Nashville. Tennessee, and Atlanta University, Atlanta,
Georgia. The one independent professional institution of nation-wide
reputation is Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. A number of
smaller schools, mostly of the industrial type, have attained noteworthy
success. Among these might be mentioned the Daytona School for Girls,
Daytona, Florida; Calhoun Colored School, Calhoun, Alabama; Penn School,
St. Helena, Island, South Carolina; Snow Hill Institute, Snow Hill,
Alabama; Utica Institute, Utica Mississippi, and Okolona Industrial
Institute, Okolona, Mississippi. There are numerous other institutions
that are doing most successful work. The existence of such institutions
becomes doubly significant when the personality of their founders and
the opposition they met with are considered. The influence of General
Armstrong and his attitude toward education are being more and more felt
in the whole educational system of the country. The story of Dr.
Washington, who found at Tuskegee a log cabin and left there an
industrial town is well described in his illuminating book, “Up from
Slavery.” The names of Bumstead and Ware at Atlanta University, and of
Gravath at Fisk, are well known. One of the leading lawyers of New York
City is the son of the late President Gravath of Fisk. The growth of
such institutions as Utica Institute, Snow Hill, Okolona Institute and
Daytona School proves the capacity of young colored men and women to
acquire training in school and also to acquire the more important
qualities of leadership and determination to overcome difficulties. It
is said that when William H. Holtzclaw reached Utica, Mississippi, the
banks of the town refused to accept his money for deposit, because he
was colored. In the thirteen years he has lived there he has succeeded
in winning the friendship of the people, the credit of all the banks,
and he has built an institution which has an income of nearly $20,000 a
year, and property valued at over $160,000. The stories of Miss Bethune,
at Daytona, Wallace A. Battle, at Okolona, and W. J. Edwards, at Snow
Hill, are no less interesting and inspiring.
[Illustration:
MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE, NASHVILLE, TENN.
One of the best medical schools in the country, and one of the two
medical schools maintained largely for colored pupils. It was
founded in 1876 through gifts from the five Meharry Brothers. It has
thirty teachers, five hundred pupils and a property valuation of
$175,000.
]
The names of the more important schools and the States in which they are
located are given below:
SCHOOLS MAINTAINED BY INDEPENDENT BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Alabama: Beloit Industrial Missionary Association School, Selma; Calhoun
Colored School, Calhoun; Corona Normal Industrial Institute, Corona;
Centerville Industrial School, Centerville; Kowaliga Academic and
Industrial Institute, Kowaliga; Montgomery Industrial School for Girls,
Montgomery; Mount Meigs Colored Institute, Montgomery; Peoples’ Village
School, Montgomery; Snow Hill Normal and Industrial Institute, Snow
Hill; Street Manual Training School, Richmond; Tuskegee Institute,
Tuskegee.
Florida: Daytona Industrial Educational School, Daytona; Robert
Hungerford School, Eatonville.
Georgia: Albany Bible and Manual Training Institute, Albany; Atlanta
University, Atlanta; Forsyth Normal and Industrial Institute, Forsyth;
Helena B. Cobb Home and School, Barnesville; Model and Training School,
Athens; Sparta Agricultural and Industrial Institute, Sparta.
Kentucky: Lincoln Institute of Kentucky, Lincoln Ridge.
Louisiana: Gaudet Industrial Home and School, Orleans; Sabine Normal and
Industrial School, Sabine.
Mississippi: Okolona Industrial School, Okolona; Piney Woods Country
Life School, Braxton; Prentiss Industrial School, Prentiss; Utica Normal
and Industrial Institute, Utica.
Missouri: Bartlett Agricultural and Industrial School, Macon.
North Carolina: Laurinburg Normal and Industrial Institute, Laurinburg;
National Training School, Durham; Palmer Memorial Institute, Sedalia.
South Carolina: Maysville Institute, Maysville; Penn School, St. Helena
Island; Port Royal Agricultural School, Beaufort; Voorhees Industrial
Institute, Denmark.
Tennessee: Fisk University, Nashville; Meharry Medical College,
Nashville.
Texas: Farmers’ Improvement Agricultural College, Ladonia; Houston
Industrial and Training School, Huntsville.
Virginia: Franklin Normal and Industrial Institute, Franklin;
Fredericksburg Normal and Industrial School, Fredericksburg; Hampton
Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton; Manassas Industrial School,
Manassas, Prince William.
Northern States: Berean Manual Training School, Philadelphia; Cincinnati
Industrial School, Cincinnati; Downingtown Industrial and Agricultural
School, Downingtown, Pa.; Avery Collegiate Training School, Pittsburgh,
Pa.
[Illustration:
JUBILEE HALL, FISK UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.
Fisk is the second largest arts college for colored people in the
world: was founded in 1866 by the American Missionary Association;
and was recently called a “great National University” by the United
States Commissioner of Education. The famous Jubilee Singers of this
school rescued the Plantation Melodies of the colored people from
loss, and raised money for the erection of the building above. The
institution has 45 teachers, 500 pupils, and property valued at
nearly $550,000.
]
WHITE CHURCH BOARDS MAINTAINING COLORED SCHOOLS.
The extent and character of the educational work done by the white
churches are emphatic evidence that these churches have recognized the
great opportunity for service in behalf of a struggling people. They
have given their money to build and maintain the schools, they have sent
their sons and daughters to teach in them, and they have rendered a
service to humanity that is destined to receive recognition.
The following table presents the more important facts concerning the
schools under white denominational boards:
WHITE CHURCH BOARDS MAINTAINING SCHOOLS FOR COLORED PEOPLE.
────────────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
Denominational │ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
Boards │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
────────────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
────────────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 354│ 51,529│2,562│1,069│1,493│$1,546,303│$13,822,451
════════════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Baptist: │ │ │ │ │ │ │
American │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Home │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missions │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Society │ 24│ 5,536│ 419│ 139│ 280│ 304,861│ 3,870,744
Women’s │ │ │ │ │ │ │
American │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Baptist │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Home │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Mission │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Society │ 1│ 125│ 14│ 11│ 3│ 7,746│ 16,500
Catholic Board │ │ │ │ │ │ │
of Missions │ 112│ 13,507│ 404│ 384│ 20│ 146,821│ 491,000
Christian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Woman’s Board │ │ │ │ │ │ │
of Missions │ 5│ 440│ 37│ 15│ 22│ 29,910│ 184,602
Congregational │ │ │ │ │ │ │
American │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missionary │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Association │ 29│ 6,922│ 383│ 212│ 171│ 235,764│ 1,733,589
Friends Society │ │ │ │ │ │ │
and other │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Friends │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Agencies │ 8│ 1,642│ 96│ 12│ 84│ 63,868│ 915,900
Lutheran Board │ │ │ │ │ │ │
for Colored │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missions │ 9│ 1,147│ 26│ 13│ 13│ 18,319│ 72,000
Methodist: │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Freedman’s │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Aid │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Society │ 18│ 5,059│ 266│ 65│ 201│ 230,160│ 2,605,687
Women’s Home│ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missionary│ │ │ │ │ │ │
Society │ 12│ 808│ 71│ 41│ 30│ 42,975│ 309,500
Presbyterian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Board of │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missions for │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Freedmen │ 85│ 8,915│ 423│ 84│ 339│ 200,124│ 628,743
Protestant │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Boards, │ │ │ │ │ │ │
American │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Institute, and│ │ │ │ │ │ │
the Domestic │ │ │ │ │ │ │
and Foreign │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missionary │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Society │ 24│ 2,988│ 176│ 12│ 164│ 118,526│ 2,151,321
United │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Presbyterian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church Boards │ │ │ │ │ │ │
of Freedman’s │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Missions │ 15│ 2,870│ 166│ 44│ 122│ 88,512│ 455,600
Nine small │ │ │ │ │ │ │
church boards │ 12│ 1,570│ 81│ 37│ 44│ 58,717│ 387,265
────────────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total number of schools under the direction of white church boards
is 354. The annual income for current expenses of these schools is one
and a half million ($1,546,303). The value of property is almost
fourteen millions ($13,822,421.)
[Illustration:
LECTURE HALL. KINGSLEY HALL DORMITORY.
]
[Illustration:
DINING HALL. PRESIDENT’S HOME.
VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.
Some of the handsome buildings in colored schools. All of granite.
Founded in 1899 through the union of Wayland Seminary and Richmond
Theological School. It is owned by the American Baptist Home Mission
Society. Teachers, 16; attendance, 275; value of property $500,000.
]
The attendance on these institutions was 51,529, of whom 43,605 were
elementary, 7,188 were secondary, and 736 were collegiate. The number of
teachers and workers was 2,562, of whom 1,069 were white and 1,493, or
58 per cent. were colored. On the basis of sex, 714 are men and 1,848,
or 70 per cent. are women. Classification according to character of work
shows that 1,916, or 74 per cent. of the teachers are academic, 339
industrial, 31 agricultural, and 276 administrative. Comparison with
other groups of schools indicates that those under white boards still
retain a considerable fraction of white teachers, that the number of
women teachers is rather larger than in other groups, and finally that
the proportion of academic instructors is higher than in any group
except those under the colored boards.
There are ten denominational groups which own and maintain a number of
institutions for the education of colored people. Nine other
denominations are supporting one or two schools each. Very few of the
churches represented by either the larger or smaller of these boards
have any considerable proportion of Negroes in their membership. There
are other denominations, notably the Unitarians, who have contributed
liberally to colored schools without any thought either of increasing
their church membership or their control over these schools. The primary
purpose of practically all of these organizations has been the education
of the Negroes in America, and their preparation for life in a
democracy.
In this connection, it is interesting to note the religious preference
of the Negroes in the United States as compiled by the United States
census of 1904. According to this census there were 3,685,097 Negroes in
the various denominations. Of these 2,354,789 were enrolled by Baptists,
1,182,131 belonging to various branches of Methodism, and the remaining
148,177, hardly 4 per cent of the total, were distributed among the
Catholic, Presbyterian, Christian, and Congregational denominations.
The larger denominations maintain central offices and one or more
traveling secretaries whose duties include both the supervision of the
schools and the appeal for funds to the supporting churches. This
personal supervision, together with regular reports of both financial
and educational activities, has developed economy and honesty in the use
of funds and thoroughness in the school work.
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING. GIRLS DORMITORY.
]
[Illustration:
SHAW UNIVERSITY, RALEIGH, N. C.
One of the leading schools for colored people. Founded in 1865 by the
American Baptist Home Mission Society. It has 30 teachers, 250
students and property valued at nearly $400,000.
]
_The American Baptist Home Mission Society._—The American Baptist Home
Mission Society owns or supervises 24 educational institutions. All of
these are large and important schools. These schools are effectively
managed, and their general average of educational efficiency is very
high. The following table shows the distribution of these schools by
States:
AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 24│ 5,536│ 419│ 139│ 280│ $304,861│ $3,870,744
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 1│ 268│ 21│ 1│ 20│ 9,479│ 83,000
Arkansas │ 1│ 313│ 18│ │ 18│ 15,109│ 90,000
Florida │ 1│ 404│ 18│ │ 18│ 8,070│ 80,158
Georgia │ 5│ 1,287│ 106│ 50│ 56│ 81,573│ 621,624
Kentucky │ 1│ 130│ 15│ 1│ 14│ 11,308│ 60,000
Louisiana │ 2│ 572│ 26│ 10│ 16│ 16,356│ 462,000
Mississippi│ 1│ 310│ 16│ │ 16│ 1,591│ 100,000
Missouri │ 1│ 66│ 11│ │ 11│ 4,486│ 20,000
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 3│ 419│ 46│ 14│ 32│ 41,051│ 433,251
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 507│ 30│ 18│ 12│ 21,384│ 635,744
Tennessee │ 2│ 242│ 31│ │ 31│ 9,942│ 117,500
Texas │ 1│ 371│ 22│ 12│ 10│ 19,247│ 314,935
Virginia │ 3│ 537│ 36│ 21│ 15│ 37,684│ 630,354
West │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Virginia │ 1│ 110│ 23│ 12│ 11│ 17,581│ 222,178
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The annual income for current expense of the 24 schools is $304,861, of
which $150,637 is received from the board. On the basis of income five
of the schools have incomes between $1,500 and $5,000; ten between
$5,000 and $15,000; six between $15,000 and $30,000; and twenty have
incomes of over $30,000. The total property is valued at $3,870,744, of
which about three and a third millions are in plant and almost half a
million is in endowment. According to property, only one school has a
valuation under $10,000; three schools have valuations between $10,000
and $25,000; four between $25,000 and $50,000; seven between $50,000 and
$150,000; three between $150,000 and $250,000, and six over $250,000.
The attendance of these schools was 5,504, of whom 3,186 were
elementary, 2,068 secondary, and 250 collegiate. All the schools
maintain elementary classes, and all but two have secondary pupils.
Seven of the institutions are offering instruction in college subjects.
Two of the seven, however, had neither the equipment nor teachers to
maintain college work. The number of teachers is 419, of whom 139 are
white and 280, or 66 per cent. are colored; 148 are men and 271, or 65
per cent., are women; and 295, or 70 per cent., are academic teachers.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
BENEDICT COLLEGE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.
One of the leading colleges for colored people in the South. It was
founded in 1871, by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. It
has 30 teachers, over 700 pupils, an endowment of $140,000.00, and
property valued at $635,744.
]
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY, NASHVILLE, TENN.
The school is located on a high bluff, overlooking the Tennessee
River. It was founded in 1867, by the American Baptist Home Mission
Society. It has twenty teachers, one hundred and fifty students and
a property valuation of $100,000.
]
These percentages for the color, sex, and work of the teachers indicate
that the Baptist Society is following an average course in the selection
of its workers, and the arrangement of the school program. The high
grade of colored officers and teachers now in charge of some of the
Baptist Society schools indicates that the transfer from white to
colored management has usually been made with considerable care. Of the
419 teachers and workers, only 42 are offering industrial courses and
seven are teaching agriculture or gardening. For a people eighty per
cent. rural, this proportion of agricultural teachers is evidently not
adequate.
[Illustration:
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, ATLANTA, GA.
One of the leading Baptist Colleges. It is owned and controlled by the
American Baptist Home Mission Society. It was founded in 1867, and
now has 20 teachers, about 300 students and property valued at
$185,000.
]
The history of the work of the American Baptist Home Mission Society in
the south begins with the following resolution passed by its executive
committee in 1862:
_Resolved_, That we recommend the society to take immediate steps to
supply with Christian instruction by means of missionaries and teachers,
the emancipated slaves—whether in the District of Columbia or in other
places held by our forces—and also to inaugurate a system of operations
for carrying the Gospel alike to free and bond throughout the whole
southern section of our country, so fast and so far as the progress of
our arms and the restoration of law and order shall open the way.
From that day to the present time the society has worked unceasingly for
the education and religious development of the colored people. Some
measure of the remarkable success achieved in these fifty years of
service is given in the educational institutions described in this
report. The efforts of the society have doubtless been strengthened by
the consciousness of a certain responsibility for the colored Baptists,
who constitute such a large proportion of the membership of all colored
churches.
Most of the schools are well known. They number among their graduates
some of the ablest leaders of the colored race. The most widely known
schools are: Morehouse College and Spelman Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia;
Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina; Virginia Union University, and
Hartshorn Memorial College, Richmond, Virginia; Jackson College,
Jackson, Mississippi; Arkansas Baptist College, Little Rock, Arkansas;
Roger Williams University, Nashville, Tennessee; Storer College,
Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia; and Selma University, Selma, Alabama.
The names of the men and women who gave many years of faithful service
would constitute a list too long to be entered here. Two of those whose
wisdom has directed the policies in recent years should be mentioned.
Dr. H. L. Morehouse belongs to the past as well as to the present. He
began as secretary of the society in 1879, and has continued until the
present time. Dr. George Sale was superintendent of education for
several years until his death in 1912. His influence on the educational
methods of the institutions under his direction was a valuable
contribution to the education of the colored people.
[Illustration:
MOREHOUSE HALL, GIRLS DORMITORY.
]
[Illustration:
GIRLS HALL, MAIN BUILDING, SPELLMAN SEMINARY, ATLANTA, GA.
A splendid girls school. The campus is among the most beautiful to be
found anywhere. There are 51 teachers, about 600 students and the
property is valued at $400,000.
]
_The Woman’s Baptist Home Mission Society._—The Woman’s Baptist Home
Mission Society owns and maintains Mather Academy, contributes liberally
to the support of Spelman Seminary and Hartshorn College, and provides
some aid for other schools. So far as the facts could be ascertained,
the officers of the society supervise its contributions with
considerable thoroughness, and it is to be desired that their activities
in Negro education could be increased, especially in the education of
colored girls.
[Illustration:
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, BISHOP COLLEGE, MARSHALL, TEXAS.
Founded in 1881 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society and now
owned and supported by that body. It is the leading Baptist school
of Texas. There are 22 teachers, 375 students and property valued at
$315,000.
]
[Illustration:
ARKANSAS BAPTIST COLLEGE, LITTLE ROCK, ARK.
The leading Baptist school of Arkansas. It has 18 teachers, over 300
pupils, an annual income of approximately $15,000, and property
valued at over $90,000.
]
_Roman Catholic Board._—In recent years the work of the Roman Catholic
Church in developing schools and churches for colored people has been
very marked. The various orders of the church now own 112 schools of
which seven are rated by the Bureau of Education as large institutions.
While most of the colored schools are small they are rendering a needed
aid to the meagre public schools in the places in which they are
located. The following table is a summary of these schools:
CATHOLIC BOARD OF MISSIONS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 112│ 13,507│ 404│ $146,821│ $491,000
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 9│ 885│ 25│ 13,064│ 25,000
Arkansas │ 3│ 253│ 13│ 4,230│
Delaware │ 1│ 80│ 18│ 23,000│ 75,000
Florida │ 7│ 663│ 17│ 3,330│
Georgia │ 7│ 1,170│ 23│ 4,840│
Kentucky │ 6│ 506│ 10│ 2,510│
Louisiana │ 25│ 3,142│ 83│ 18,304│
Maryland │ 4│ 888│ 20│ 5,650│
Mississippi │ 13│ 1,440│ 42│ 8,952│ 56,000
North Carolina │ 6│ 407│ 12│ 2,700│
Oklahoma │ 2│ 65│ 4│ 750│
South Carolina │ 3│ 366│ 10│ 2,500│
Tennessee │ 2│ 281│ 9│ 4,350│
Texas │ 6│ 617│ 17│ 3,640│
Virginia │ 7│ 847│ 52│ 31,075│ 335,000
Northern States │ 9│ 1,387│ 38│ 15,094│
District of Columbia│ 2│ 510│ 11│ 2,882│
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
So far as they could be determined, the annual income for current
expenses is about $150,000. The value of the property of the seven
larger schools is about $500,000, of which $335,000 is in the two
schools at Belmeed, Va. The total attendance is 13,507, of whom 13,443
are elementary and only 64 secondary. The number of teachers is 404, of
whom the majority are white sisters of various Catholic orders. The
proportion of teachers of simple industry is small and the number
teaching gardening and agriculture is negligible.
The two largest Catholic schools are located at Rock Castle, Virginia.
Both of these schools receive the greater part of their support from
Mother Catherine Drexel, of Philadelphia and her family. These schools
are the St. Emma Industrial and Agricultural College and the St. Francis
de Sales Institute. The literary works of these schools is low; but the
industrial work is of high order. Other large Catholic schools are: St.
Joseph’s Catholic School, Montgomery, Alabama; St. Joseph’s Industrial
School, Newcastle, Delaware; Holy Ghost Catholic School, Jackson,
Mississippi; St. Joseph’s Parish School, Meridian, Mississippi, and St.
Mary’s Commercial College, Vicksburg, Mississippi.
[Illustration:
BIRDSEYE VIEW OF SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE, EDWARDS, MISS.
The leading school of the Christian denomination. It was founded in
1875, and is owned and supported by the Christian Woman’s Board of
Missions. It has 18 teachers, nearly 200 pupils, an annual income of
$21,000, and property valued at $160,090.
]
_The Christian Church._—The Christian Church began work among the
colored people as soon as the Civil War was ended. The official body of
the denomination is called The Christian Woman’s Board of Missions. The
church had no organized plan until 1872, when a group of philanthropists
formed a stock company to start a school in Mississippi. About 1890 the
American Christian Missionary Society took over the property and work of
the stock company. In 1900 all the property was finally transferred to
the Woman’s Board. Through the efforts of this board the annual
contributions have increased from $3,000 to $10,000, and four schools
have been added to the one in Mississippi. A summary of the schools of
this church is given herewith:
CHRISTIAN WOMAN’S BOARD OF MISSIONS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 5│ 440│ 37│ $29,910│ $184,602
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Alabama │ 1│ 93│ 6│ 2,512│ 8,875
Mississippi │ 1│ 196│ 18│ 21,006│ 160,491
Tennessee │ 1│ 61│ 4│ 1,730│ 3,750
Texas │ 1│ 14│ 3│ 1,712│ 3,000
Virginia │ 1│ 76│ 6│ 2,950│ 8,485
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The Christian Woman’s Board maintains five schools, of which two are
rated as “larger or more important.” The total income for current
expenses is $29,910, of which $21,000 is for the Southern Christian
Institute in Mississippi. The value of property is $184,602, of which
$160,492 is also in the plant of the Southern Institute. The total
income for current expenses is $29,910, of which $21,000 is for the
Southern Christian Institute in Mississippi. The value of property is
$184,602, of which $160,492 is also in the plant of the Southern
Institute. The total attendance is 440, of whom 409 are elementary and
31 secondary. The number of teachers is 37, of whom 15 are white and 22
colored; 14 are men and 23 are women.
The general management of these schools is economical and the
educational work is effective. This simplicity of organization and the
genuine interest of the teachers are noteworthy. The other important
school of this denomination is The Alabama Christian Institute, Lowndes
County, Alabama.
_Congregational Board._—No church denomination has made a greater
contribution of the Negro than the Congregational church through the
American Missionary Association.
The American Missionary Association owns and supervises 29 schools for
Negroes in the Southern States. The Association also owns property in
other schools and makes contributions to their work. As the management
of these affiliated institutions has been transferred to independent
boards of trustees, they are classified under other groups. Credit must
here be given to this association, however, not only for such splendid
affiliated institutions as Fisk University and Atlanta University; but
also for a number of others now maintained independently.
No denominational schools surpass those of this group in educational
standards or administrative efficiency. It is probable that no church
board has equaled this association in the thoroughness of its
self-examination. The following quotation from the 1914 report outlines
several policies to which every church board should give serious
consideration:
In the realm of educational policy we record a most important change of
tendency, which it is better to state positively, as _a movement toward
concentration in order to greater efficiency_. This has involved the
discontinuance or radical limitation of five of our smaller schools,
including some of long history and rich service. * * * The time had come
when the socialized Christian conscience demanded such improved methods
in missionary service as it requires—often by law—of educators,
landlords, employers of labor and congregations of men anywhere. It has
cost $1,000 for instance, literally to stop rat holes in mission
buildings, and thus to save New Orleans and Porto Rico from danger from
bubonic plague. We had to do better what we did at all, and our
resources were insufficient. We simply had to close institutions. * * *
While these peremptory conditions have closed some of the schools
nearest to the masses of the people, we are glad to record as the chief
technical gain of the year, that the colleges have been made more
available and useful to the masses. Their curricula have been broadened,
and the conditions of entrance made more democratic and in harmony with
those of the great middle western State universities. This is
immediately manifest in the increased number of high-school pupils, and
will affect the colleges tomorrow.
As to educational plant, last year’s survey touched upon the demand of
the socialized conscience for better housing conditions in missionary
institutions. Our response is in the fact that no year has ever spent so
much for sanitation, that more fire escapes have been erected, and more
bathtubs installed than any previous year. * * * As a class, they are
more nearly fire-proof, they have more steel in their structure, more
scientifically determined allowance of light and air, and more beauty
than any previous group. * * * If the Lord’s work is attempted at all it
shall be done under somewhat decent conditions. Nor do we feel that it
is a substitution of the physical for the spiritual. To live up to
plumbing is itself a training of character, health is a prerequisite of
thought, and beauty an inalienable right of the spirit.
A summary of the schools is given below:
AMERICAN MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 29│ 6,992│ 383│ 212│ 171│ $235,764│ $1,733,589
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 6│ 1,714│ 89│ 57│ 32│ 63,553│ 546,769
Florida │ 1│ 225│ 12│ │ 12│ 3,343│ 49,300
Georgia │ 6│ 1,459│ 68│ 32│ 36│ 33,583│ 133,900
Kentucky │ 1│ 170│ 10│ 7│ 3│ 5,559│ 39,000
Louisiana │ 1│ 578│ 30│ 17│ 13│ 20,885│ 150,000
Mississippi│ 4│ 843│ 47│ 38│ 9│ 32,489│ 172,400
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 5│ 826│ 52│ 16│ 36│ 30,000│ 394,920
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 2│ 484│ 21│ 17│ 4│ 13,626│ 53,900
Tennessee │ 1│ 285│ 21│ 14│ 7│ 12,537│ 54,000
Texas │ 1│ 223│ 20│ 14│ 6│ 12,792│ 103,500
Virginia │ 1│ 115│ 13│ │ 13│ 788│ 35,900
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total income for the current expenses of these institutions is
$235,461, of which $129,429 is from the association. This includes the
income from the Daniel Hand Fund, which is administered by the
association. On the basis of income 5 of the schools are under $2,500, 7
have incomes between $2,500 and $5,000, 13 between $5,000 and $15,000, 3
between $15,000 and $30,000, and one has an income of over $30,000. The
total property is valued at $1,733,589, of which about one and a third
million is in plant and a third of a million in endowment. With the
Daniel Hand Fund of almost two million dollars, the property of the
American Missionary Association for work among Negroes aggregates over
three and a half millions. According to property, four schools have a
valuation under $10,000, ten schools have valuations between $10,000 and
$25,000, nine schools between $25,000 and $50,000, five schools between
$50,000 and $250,000, and two have a valuation over $250,000.
The attendance on these schools was 6,922, of whom 5,448 were
elementary, 1,380 secondary, and 94 collegiate. All the schools have
elementary classes, all but three have secondary, and four offer
instruction in college subjects. The number of teachers is 383, of whom
212 are white and 171, or 45 per cent. colored; 92 are men and 291, or
76 per cent. are women; and 270, or 70 per cent., are academic teachers.
[Illustration:
GIRLS’ DORMITORY, TOUGALOO COLLEGE, TOUGALOO, MISS.
One of the most picturesque institutions in America, being located in
a magnificent grove. It was founded by the American Missionary
Association in 1869. There are thirty-one teachers and five hundred
students. The property is valued at $150,000.
]
Though the colored membership of the Congregational Church is almost
negligible as compared with that of the Baptist and Methodist Churches,
the American Missionary Association was probably the first to undertake
educational work in behalf of the Negroes. In 1861 Rev. L. I. Lockwood,
commissioned by the Association, wrote from Fortress Monroe:
“I ask especial interest in your prayers that I may be endowed with
wisdom for these peculiar and momentous responsibilities. Parents and
children are delighted with the idea of learning to read.”
The history of the American Missionary Association is a story of the
patient and persevering efforts of hundreds of faithful men and women
who have given themselves and their means for a people struggling upward
from slavery.
The administration of the affairs of the association has always been in
the care of strong men of broad education. Some of them were statesmen
in power and vision. Dr. Beard, the honorary secretary, and secretaries
Ryder and Douglass, are worthy successors of these able men.
The most far reaching work of the association was, perhaps, the founding
of Fisk University, Atlanta University and Talladega College. The names
of these institutions are inseparably connected with the higher
education of the Negro. Fisk and Atlanta are now independent
institutions; but the spirit of their founders still lives in them and
the policies of the American Missionary Association are still
maintained.
The names of the American Missionary Association schools and the States
in which they are located are given below:
Alabama: Burrel Normal School; Cotton Valley School; Emerson Institute;
Lincoln Normal School; Talladega College; Trinity College.
Florida: Fessenden Academy.
Georgia: Albany Normal School; Allen Normal School; Ballard Normal
School; Beach Institute; Dorchester Academy; Knox Institute.
Kentucky: Chandler Normal School.
Louisiana: Straight University.
Mississippi: Girls’ Industrial School of Mississippi; Mount Bayou
Institute; Mount Hermon Seminary; Tougaloo University.
North Carolina: Gregory Normal School; J. K. Brick Agricultural,
Industrial and Normal School; Lincoln Academy; Peabody Academy; Washburn
Academy.
South Carolina: Avery Institute; Brewer Normal Institute.
Tennessee: Le Moyne Institute.
Texas: Tillotson College.
Virginia: Gloucester High and Industrial School.
_Friends Educational Boards._—The various societies of Friends maintain
six schools rated as “larger and more important” and two smaller
schools. All of these schools are owned and managed by independent
boards composed largely of Friends. The names and locations of the six
more important schools are as follows: Schofield Normal and Industrial
School and Laing School, in South Carolina; Cheyney Institute, in
Pennsylvania; Christiansburg Industrial Institute, in Virginia; High
Point Normal School, in North Carolina; and Southland College, in
Arkansas. The educational work and administrative management of these
institutions compare favorably with those of other church schools. In
proportion to their numbers no religious group has surpassed the Friends
either in financial contributions or personal endeavor for the education
of the Negroes. While none of these schools are of college grade, all of
them are doing excellent work. Cheyney Institute, Christiansburg
Institute and High Point Normal are presided over by colored men who
rank high in educational circles.
A summary of the schools maintained by Friends is given herewith:
FRIENDS SOCIETIES AND OTHER FRIENDS’ AGENCIES.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 8│ 1,642│ 96│ 12│ 84│ $63,868│ $915,900
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Arkansas │ 1│ 352│ 16│ 6│ 10│ 4,115│ 79,400
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 408│ 14│ │ 14│ 12,366│ 39,000
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 2│ 408│ 31│ 4│ 27│ 8,551│ 180,000
Virginia │ 1│ 225│ 13│ │ 13│ 8,798│ 157,500
Northern │ │ │ │ │ │ │
States │ 3│ 249│ 22│ 2│ 20│ 30,038│ 460,000
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total income for current expenses is $63,868, and the value of
property is $915,000, of which $378,900 is in plants and $537,000 in
endowment. The attendance is 1,642, of whom 1,444 are elementary and 198
secondary. The teachers are 96 in number; 9 are white and 84 are
colored; 19 are men and 67 women; and 57 are academic teachers. Only two
of the schools are managed by white officers. The proportion of
industrial teachers is fairly adequate. Instruction in gardening and
agriculture is, however, not sufficiently emphasized to meet the needs
of a rural people.
_Lutheran Board of Education._—The Lutheran Board of Colored Missions
owns and maintains two large schools and seven smaller schools. Luther
College is located at Greensboro, N. C. While the name would indicate
college grade, full college courses have not yet been provided. Luther
College at New Orleans is also to be developed as a training school for
colored leaders of the Lutheran faith. All of the smaller schools are
located in Louisiana.
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, PHILANDER SMITH COLLEGE, LITTLE ROCK, ARK.
Founded in 1883 by a donation from Philander Smith of Illinois. It is
owned by the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the M. E. Church. It has 15
teachers, nearly 450 students and property valued at $75,000.
]
[Illustration:
RUST COLLEGE, HOLLY SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI.
One of the leading Methodist schools. It was founded in 1866 by the
Freedmen’s Aid Society of the M. E. Church. It has 19 teachers, 336
students and property valued at $115,000.
]
The total income for current expenses of these schools is $72,000. The
attendance is 1,147, practically all of elementary grade. The total
number of teachers is 26, of whom 13 are white and 13 colored; 21 are
men and 5 are women. Some effort is made to teach secondary and
theological subjects at the Greensboro school. The teachers devote
practically all their time to academic instruction. There seems to be
little effort to give instruction in gardening or simple industry.
The Lutheran work for Negroes was begun as early as 1879, and the board
has expended considerable money and effort in the development of the
schools.
_Methodist Episcopal Church._—The Freedmen’s Aid Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church owns and supervises 18 educational
institutions for Negroes in the United States. All of these schools are
rendering valuable educational service to their communities and all
deserve the support and interest of the church. In addition to these
institutions, credit must be given to this society for the organization
of Meharry Medical College, now managed by an independent board of
trustees and classified with that group.
A tabular view of the work of the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church is given herewith:
FREEDMEN’S AID SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 18│ 5,059│ 266│ 65│ 201│ $230,160│ $2,605,687
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 1│ 190│ 11│ │ 11│ 5,657│ 42,500
Arkansas │ 1│ 439│ 15│ │ 15│ 9,226│ 72,300
Florida │ 1│ 408│ 14│ 3│ 11│ 9,387│ 101,578
Georgia │ 2│ 382│ 23│ 9│ 14│ 43,714│ 859,200
Louisiana │ 2│ 645│ 28│ 9│ 19│ 16,133│ 219,000
Maryland │ 1│ 81│ 11│ 7│ 4│ 16,419│ 96,874
Mississippi│ 2│ 504│ 23│ 5│ 18│ 21,850│ 146,200
Missouri │ 1│ 73│ 12│ 2│ 10│ 8,520│ 59,000
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 312│ 12│ │ 12│ 6,000│ 49,000
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 814│ 27│ 6│ 21│ 39,547│ 362,035
Tennessee │ 2│ 365│ 42│ 24│ 18│ 25,084│ 274,000
Texas │ 2│ 761│ 43│ │ 43│ 25,223│ 293,000
Virginia │ 1│ 85│ 5│ │ 5│ 3,400│ 35,500
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The annual income for current expenses of the 18 schools is $230,160, of
which $105,835 is from the society. All of the schools have an annual
income of $2,500 or over; two have incomes between $2,500 and $5,000; 12
between $5,000 and $15,000; three between $15,000 and $30,000; and one
has an income of over $30,000. The total property valuation is
$2,605,687, of which $1,824,778 is in the school plant and $742,874 in
endowment. All of the schools have a property valuation in excess of
$25,000, four have valuations between $25,000 and $50,000; five between
$50,000 and $100,000; three between $100,000 and $150,000; three between
$150,000 and $250,000; and three have valuations over $250,000.
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, GAMMON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ATLANTA, GA.
The leading theological school for colored people. It is beautifully
located and well endowed. It was founded in 1882, through a gift
from Mr. Gammon, and is now under the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the
M. E. Church. It has 6 teachers, 78 pupils and endowment of
$420,000.
]
The attendance on these schools is 5,059, of whom 3,263 are elementary,
1,600 secondary, and 196 collegiate. All but 2 of the schools have
elementary pupils, all are maintaining secondary classes, and 8 are
offering instruction in college subjects. The number of teachers is 266,
of whom 65 are white and 201, or 75 per cent. are colored; 109 are men
and 157, or 59 per cent., are women; and 191, or 72 per cent., are
academic teachers.
[Illustration:
CHRISMAN HALL, CLARK UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GA.
One of the leading schools of the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. It was founded in 1870. It has 17
teachers, 304 students, and property valued at nearly $300,000.
]
The schools of the Freedmen’s Aid Society rank high in educational
efficiency. Some of them are well known colleges for colored people.
Claflin University, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Wiley University,
Marshall, Texas; Rust College, Holly Springs, Mississippi; Walden
University, Nashville, Tennessee; Morgan College, Baltimore, Maryland;
Morristown Normal and Industrial College, Morristown, Tennessee;
Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas; Bennett College,
Greensboro, North Carolina; Samuel Houston College, Austin, Texas, and
New Orleans University, New Orleans, Louisiana. Of these Wiley
University, Walden University, Philander Smith College, Samuel Houston
College and Bennett College are ably managed by colored presidents.
Other institutions under this board are: Central Alabama Institute,
Mason City, Alabama; Cookman Institute, Jacksonville, Florida; Gilbert
Industrial Institute, Baldwin, Louisiana; Haven Institute, Meridian,
Mississippi; George R. Smith College, Sedalia, Missouri, and Virginia
Collegiate and Industrial Institute, Lynchburg, Virginia. In addition to
these credit must be given to this society for the organization of
Meharry Medical College, now managed by an independent board of
trustees; for the maintenance and support of Gammon Theological
Seminary, the best training school for colored ministers, and of the
Sarah Goodridge Nurse Training School and Hospital at New Orleans,
Louisiana. Princess Anne Academy which receives a portion of land-grant
funds through the Federal Government is also supervised by the society.
The proportion of academic teachers is about the same as that in most of
the denominational schools. The emphasis on the literary courses is
marked. It is evidently unfortunate that this large denomination with 18
educational institutions should provide only three gardening teachers
for the education of a people so largely rural. The percentage of men in
the teaching force is above the average of church schools. This is
probably explained by the fact that the proportion of colored teachers
in these institutions is also above the average. The substitution of
colored for white teachers in these institutions in the Freedmen’s Aid
schools has evidently proceeded with considerable rapidity. The
indications are that the change has been too rapid for the good of the
schools. While democracy in education requires the recognition of the
colored teachers, it is equally true that these schools need not only
the financial aid of white people; but also their personal influence.
The Freedmen’s Aid Society was organized in 1866 “for the purpose of
aiding the recently emancipated slaves and their children in securing
the benefits of a good common school education, and such other
educational preparation as was necessary to provide Christian ministers,
physicians, school teachers, and industrial leaders for the race.” The
colored members of the various branches of Methodism are next to the
colored Baptists in number. The number of colored members in the
Northern Methodist Church represented by the Freedmen’s Aid Society and
the Woman’s Missionary Society is about 350,000. These members
contribute about a fourth of the total sums collected by the Freedmen’s
Aid Society for the education of colored people.
[Illustration:
GIRLS’ DORMITORY. ELIZA DEE HOME. BOYS’ DORMITORY.
SAMUEL HOUSTON COLLEGE, AUSTIN, TEXAS.
Founded in 1900 by the late President, J. S. Lovinggood. Now under the
Freedmen’s Aid Society of the M. E. Church. It has 17 teachers,
about 400 pupils, an income of $15,000, and property valued at
$100,000.
]
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, WILEY COLLEGE, MARSHALL, TEXAS.
The institution was founded in 1873 by the Freedmen’s Aid Society of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has thirty teachers, four hundred
students and a property valuation of $200,000.
]
Of the many notable persons who have rendered valuable service to this
society, only two or three of those who are now in the service can be
mentioned here. Reference is made in the school sketches to the long
years given by the presidents of Meharry Medical College, Claflin
University, and Morristown Normal and Industrial College. To these
should be added the name of Bishop W. P. Thirkield, whose wisdom and
energy in the various important positions entrusted to him have
contributed greatly not only to the work of this society, but also to
the general welfare of the colored people.
The executive officers of the society at present, are two corresponding
secretaries and a school inspector. These three officers supervise the
schools and appeal to the white and colored churches for funds to
support the institutions.
[Illustration:
MORGAN COLLEGE, BALTIMORE, MD.
Owned and supported by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has eleven
teachers and one hundred students. The total value of the college is
$100,000.
]
The purpose of the Freedmen’s Aid Society to continue its splendid work
of education is revealed in the report of the commission recently
appointed by the Society to study the schools, which among other things,
said:
[Illustration:
GEORGE R. SMITH COLLEGE, SEDALIA, MO.
]
“We are persuaded that in spite of the better rural schools now being
provided for the Negroes, in spite of some growth in normal school and
high school accommodations, the work of the Freedmen’s Aid Society is
still an urgent need of the South. So far from sounding any retreat, we
of the church should make a great advance, provide a large endowment,
give more adequate facilities, pay better salaries, and, in general,
strengthen the institutions we have established. They are needed to
train a Christian leadership for the colored race, and while they can
touch but a few out of the negro millions, they can do, as they have
already done, great things through these selected leaders.”
_Woman’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church._—The
Woman’s Home Missionary Society owns and maintains 12 home schools for
girls. Eight of them are connected with the various educational
institutions of the Freedmen’s Aid Society. These homes usually provide
home training for the girls at the larger schools of the Freedmen’s Aid
Society. All of these homes are well managed. They are in charge of the
best type of northern women and colored women, who have manifested
unusual devotion and efficiency in their work. The important facts for
these schools by States, are given below:
WOMAN’S HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 12│ 1,572│ 71│ 41│ 30│ $42,975│ $309,500
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Arkansas │ 1│ 119│ 3│ 1│ 2│ 2,257│ 14,300
Florida │ 1│ 224│ 13│ 4│ 9│ 6,281│ 73,000
Georgia │ 2│ 259│ 11│ 7│ 4│ 7,220│ 15,000
Louisiana │ 1│ 175│ 6│ 4│ 2│ 3,171│ 45,000
Mississippi│ 1│ 55│ 4│ 3│ 1│ 4,895│ 32,000
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 2│ 380│ 13│ 10│ 3│ 7,488│ 33,000
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 279│ 12│ 7│ 5│ 5,373│ 75,500
Tennessee │ 1│ 31│ 2│ 2│ │ 2,595│ 8,700
Texas │ 2│ 50│ 7│ 3│ 4│ 3,695│ 13,000
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, LINCOLN, PENNSYLVANIA.
One of the oldest colleges for colored people. Founded in 1854 by Rev.
John Dickey, of Oxford, Pa. It is one of the most liberally endowed
institutions, and has an able faculty. There are 14 teachers, about
225 students, and property valued at approximately $1,100,000.
]
The total income for the current expenses of all the homes is $54,975,
of which $38,502 is received from the Missionary Society. The value of
all the property is $287,000. The total attendance is 1,572 girls, of
whom 808 are in the homes not connected with the Freedmen’s Aid Society.
The teachers and workers are 71 women, of whom 41 are white and 30
colored; 18 are academic and 42 are industrial teachers.
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, BIDDLE UNIVERSITY, CHARLOTTE, N. C.
An institution maintained exclusively for colored young men. It was
founded in 1867, by the Presbyterian Board of Missions for Freedmen.
It has sixteen teachers, over two hundred students and property
valued at nearly $300,000.
]
The names and locations of these homes are as follows: Adeline Smith
Home, Little Rock, Alabama; Boylan Home, Jacksonville, Florida; Thayer
Home, Atlanta, Georgia; Haven and Speedwell Home, Savannah, Georgia;
Peck Home, New Orleans, Louisiana; Rust Home, Holly Springs,
Mississippi; Kent Home, Greensboro, North Carolina; Allen Industrial
Home and School, Asheville, North Carolina; Browning Industrial Home,
Camden, South Carolina; New Jersey Home, Morristown, Tennessee; Eliza
Dee Home, Austin, Texas, and King Industrial Home, Marshall, Texas.
The society began its work in 1881, when Thayer Home was built at Clark
University, Atlanta, Georgia. The society is divided into “bureaus”
consisting of a secretary and assistants who are white volunteer
workers. “Each bureau has the responsibility in its own field of
executing the plans and applying the funds as ordered by the general
board of managers.” The central office is at Cincinnati, Ohio.
_Presbyterian Board._—The Board of Missions for Freedmen of the
Presbyterian Church owns and supervises 85 schools for colored people.
Of these 32 are large important institutions. Through wise
administration and fairly adequate equipment, they are meeting the needs
of their communities or working successfully in that direction. Five of
them are seminaries for colored girls. The educational work and general
administration of these seminaries are excellent. They are among the
best schools for colored people in the South. Two are boarding schools
for young colored men, the others are boarding and day schools for boys
and girls.
A summary table of these schools follows:
BOARD OF MISSIONS FOR FREEDMEN OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 85│ 8,915│ 423│ 84│ 339│ $200,124│ $2,151,321
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 3│ 391│ 25│ 13│ 12│ 10,116│ 55,000
Arkansas │ 8│ 774│ 28│ │ 28│ 5,911│ 40,350
Florida │ 3│ 247│ 9│ │ 9│ 1,150│ 4,000
Georgia │ 11│ 1,787│ 67│ │ 67│ 20,192│ 91,444
Kentucky │ 2│ 98│ 9│ │ 9│ 3,000│ 11,050
Mississippi│ 1│ 199│ 14│ 14│ │ 6,517│ 71,000
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 15│ 1,879│ 93│ 15│ 78│ 47,346│ 478,665
Oklahoma │ 1│ 93│ 6│ │ 6│ 1,976│ 8,000
South │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 19│ 1,808│ 75│ 7│ 68│ 22,907│ 158,050
Tennessee │ 8│ 607│ 34│ │ 34│ 10,052│ 87,950
Texas │ 1│ 115│ 13│ 13│ │ 10,979│ 60,000
Virginia │ 12│ 701│ 36│ 10│ 26│ 11,915│ 44,400
Northern │ │ │ │ │ │ │
States │ 1│ 216│ 14│ 12│ 2│ 48,063│ 1,041,412
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total income for current expenses of the schools under the
Freedmen’s Board, including Lincoln University, was $200,124. Of this
$176,946 was spent in the 32 larger schools and $23,178 in the 53
smaller schools. According to income, 17 schools were under $2,500; 4
between $2,500 and $5,000; 9 between $5,000 and $15,000, and one between
$15,000 and $30,000. Lincoln University has an income of $48,000.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
HAINES SCHOOL, AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
One of the best private High Schools in the South for Negroes. Founded
in 1886, by Miss Lucy Laney, a young colored woman of marked
ability. It has 25 teachers, about 900 pupils, an income of $9,000,
and property valued at $75,000.
]
The total value of property of the 31 schools directly under the board
was $1,109,909, of which $1,038,729 was in the property of the larger
schools and $71,180 in the property of the smaller schools. The
inclusion of Lincoln University, would bring the property of the larger
Presbyterian schools up to $2,151,321. On the basis of property
valuation 14 schools were below $2,500; 5 between $10,000 and $25,000; 3
between $25,000 and $50,000; 8 between $50,000 and $100,000 and one over
$30,000.
The attendance of all the schools under this board, including Lincoln
University, was 8,915, of whom 7,833 were elementary pupils, 930
secondary, and 152 in college studies. Lincoln University had 130
students reported as of collegiate grade and Biddle University 22 in
college subjects. The teachers and workers in these institutions are 423
in number of whom 84 are white and 339, or 80 per cent. are colored; 115
are men and 308, or 70 per cent., are women; and 373, or 88 per cent.,
are academic.
These percentages indicate that the schools under the Freedmen’s board
have an usual proportion of colored teachers. As the secretary recently
reported, “an overwhelming number of their workers belong to the colored
race. There are only six white men in our employ.” White workers are now
limited to the five girls’ seminaries and one other school. These
comments do not refer to Lincoln University, whose teachers are with two
exceptions white men.
The Presbyterian Church began work among Negroes as early as 1864. Two
committees, with headquarters at Indianapolis and Philadelphia, were
combined by the general assembly at Pittsburgh in 1865. In 1870 a
committee doing similar work in New York was consolidated with the
Pittsburgh committee. In 1882 this committee was incorporated under the
present name of the board. The woman’s department of the board was
organized in 1884. Through this department the women of the church
rendered valuable aid to the schools.
The name and locations of the larger Presbyterian schools are given
below:
[Illustration:
SCOTIA SEMINARY, CONCORD, N. C.
A splendid girls’ school. Founded in 1866. Owned and supported by the
Board of Missions for Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church. Teachers,
20; Attendance, 300; Property, $65,000.
]
Barber Memorial Seminary, Anniston, Alabama; Miller Memorial School,
Birmingham, Alabama; Arkadelphia Academy, Arkadelphia, Arkansas; Cotton
Plant Academy, Cotton Plant, Arkansas; Boggs Academy, Keyesville,
Georgia; Gillespie Normal Academy, Cordele, Georgia; Haines Institute,
Augusta, Georgia; Hodge Academy, Washington, Georgia; McClelland
Academy, Newman, Georgia; Seldon Normal and Industrial School,
Brunswick, Georgia; Union Point Normal and Industrial School, Union
Point, Georgia; Bowling Green Academy, Bowling Green, Kentucky; Free
Memorial Institute, Camp Nelson, Kentucky; Mary Holmes Seminary, West
Point, Mississippi; Albion Academy, Franklinton, North Carolina; Biddle
University, Charlotte, North Carolina; Mary Potter Memorial School,
Oxford, North Carolina; Scotia Seminary, Concord, North Carolina; Alice
Lee Elliott Memorial School, Valliant, Oklahoma; Andrew Robertson
Institute, Aiken, South Carolina; Brainerd Institute, Chester, South
Carolina; Coulter Memorial School, Cheram, South Carolina; Goodwill
Parochial School, Mayeville, South Carolina; Harbison College, Irmo,
South Carolina; Kendall Institute, Sumter, South Carolina; Mayers
Industrial School, Knoxville, Tennessee; Newton Normal School,
Chattanooga, Tennessee; Swift Memorial School; Mary Allen Seminary,
Crockett, Texas; Danville High and Industrial School, Danville,
Virginia; Ingleside Seminary, Burkville, Virginia; Lincoln University,
Lincoln, Pennsylvania.
_Protestant Episcopal Boards._—The Domestic and Foreign Missionary
Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church has general supervision of
all of the Episcopal schools. The American Church Institute for Negroes,
a subordinate organization to the society, was incorporated in 1906, for
the purpose of assisting in the religious education of Negroes. Its
first secretary was the Rev. Samuel H. Bishop, whose faithful service
was ended by death in 1914. The Rev. Robert W. Patton, the secretary of
the Fourth Provincial Synod, now gives partial time to the raising of
funds and the supervision of the eight schools receiving aid from the
institute. These schools are as follows:
St. Augustine’s School, Raleigh, N. C.
St. Paul’s Industrial School, Lawrenceville, Va.
Bishop Payne Divinity School, Petersburg, Va.
St. Athanasius’ School, Brunswick, Ga.
Vicksburg School, Vicksburg, Miss.
St. Mark’s School, Birmingham, Ala.
St. Mary’s School, Columbia, S. C.
Fort Valley School, Fort Valley, Ga.
The church, through the Missionary Society, appropriates about $50,000
annually for the education of Negroes in the United States. These gifts
are made on the suggestion and advice of the bishops of the various
dioceses. Appropriations for the larger institutions are sent directly
to their treasurers. The small parochial schools are aided through the
bishops of their diocese. These are frequently only little groups of
children taught in the church. A state summary of the Episcopal schools
follows:
AMERICAN CHURCH INSTITUTE AND THE EPISCOPAL BOARD OF MISSIONS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 24│ 2,988│ 176│ $118,526│ $628,743
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 1│ 192│ 7│ 4,485│ 22,000
Florida │ 3│ 193│ 8│ 1,835│ 3,500
Georgia │ 5│ 685│ 38│ 18,204│ 66,500
Mississippi │ 1│ 121│ 5│ 2,514│ 5,000
North Carolina │ 5│ 640│ 39│ 30,069│ 211,500
South Carolina │ 4│ 607│ 15│ 3,976│ 12,000
Tennessee │ 1│ 32│ 4│ 1,182│ 4,000
Texas │ 1│ 73│ 4│ 2,500│ 25,000
Virginia │ 2│ 445│ 56│ 53,761│ 279,243
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The Episcopal Board of Missions and the American Church Institute give
aid to 24 schools, of which 10 are large institutions. On the basis of
income one of the large schools has an income under $2,500, five have
incomes between $2,500 and $5,000, two between $5,000 and $15,000, and
two over $15,000. These four are St. Augustine’s School in North
Carolina; Fort Valley School, in Georgia; St. Paul’s School, and Bishop
Payne Divinity School in Virginia.
The total income of these schools is $118,536, of which $109,181 is for
the ten “larger” institutions and $9,345 is for the fourteen “less
important” schools. The total value of property is $628,734, of which
$604,543 is the property of the larger institutions, and $24,200 is the
property of the smaller schools. The larger institutions have an
endowment of $106,835.
The total attendance comprises 2,988 pupils, of which 2,720 are
elementary and 268 secondary. The fifteen students at Bishop Payne
Divinity School are preparing for the Episcopal ministry. About a
thousand of the pupils reported were in attendance at the “smaller”
schools. The total number of teachers and workers is 176, of whom 12 are
white and 164 are colored; 58 are men and 118, or 67 per cent., are
women; and 118, or 68 per cent., are teachers of academic subjects.
[Illustration:
VIEW OF ENTRANCE.
]
[Illustration:
CAMPUS AND RECITATION HALL, KNOXVILLE COLLEGE, KNOXVILLE, TENN.
The leading school of the United Presbyterian Church. It was founded
in 1875, by the Board of Freedmen’s Missions of that church. It has
30 teachers, 350 students and property valued at $175,000.
]
The proportion of colored workers is very large. Only St. Augustine’s
and Bishop Payne Divinity School have any white officers or teachers. In
addition to the scholars under the American Church Institute, the St.
Michael’s School at Charlotte, North Carolina and the St. Phillip’s
School, San Antonio, Texas, are among the important schools.
_United Presbyterian Church._—The Board of Freedmen’s Missions of the
United Presbyterian Church owns and maintains 15 schools for Negroes in
the United States, of these eleven are rated as “more important,” and
four as “less important.” While eleven schools are regarded as
“important,” or essential parts of the educational activities of their
community, the average income per school is only about six or seven
thousand dollars a year. Knoxville College, with an income of $25,470,
is the central institution of the system. The colored teachers of all
these schools are largely prepared at Knoxville. The good work of this
institution is seen in the high type of graduates who are employed in
the smaller schools.
BOARD OF MISSIONS OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
───────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
───────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 15│ 2,870│ 166│ 44│ 122│ $88,512│ $455,600
═══════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Alabama │ 6│ 1,022│ 58│ │ 58│ 20,648│ 753,650
North │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Carolina │ 1│ 375│ 18│ │ 18│ 8,500│ 50,400
Tennessee │ 5│ 635│ 50│ 24│ 26│ 33,820│ 196,950
Virginia │ 3│ 838│ 40│ 20│ 20│ 25,544│ 134,600
───────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total annual income for current expenses is $88,512, and the value
of property is $455,600. The attendance is 2,870, of whom 2,470 are
elementary, 370 secondary, and 30 collegiate. All the schools have
elementary pupils, and seven schools maintain secondary classes. Only
Knoxville College offers instruction of college grade. The total number
of teachers is 166, of whom 44 are white and 122, or 73 per cent., are
colored; 46 are men, and 120, or 72 per cent., women; and 108, or 65 per
cent., are teachers of academic subjects.
The proportion of colored teachers is large; but, in view of the
location and type of these schools, it is probable that the present
division is necessary. Any increase in the proportion of colored
teachers should be seriously questioned. It is suggested that the
experience of other church boards should be consulted on this problem.
The percentage of women teachers is above the average. The emphasis on
industrial courses is somewhat more marked than in other church schools.
The provision for instruction in gardening and agriculture is by no
means sufficient, however, for the rural masses of the communities in
which those schools are located.
[Illustration:
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.
The leading Methodist school of the State. It was founded in 1889 by
the Freedmen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Church. It has 12
teachers, 312 pupils, an annual income of $6,000, and property
valued at approximately $45,000.
]
Much of the success of the colored schools of the United Presbyterian
Church is due to the ability and faithfulness of Dr. Witherspoon, whose
long service forms a notable contribution to religious and educational
work. In 1915 the Board of Freedmen’s Missions published the Fifty-fifth
Annual Report of its activities. The time and consideration which this
board of conscientious business men and ministers devote to the
management of the affairs of the school under their care are....
In educational work and administration the United Presbyterian
institutions compare favorably with the best church schools. While the
majority of them are not large, they are managed with economy and their
activities are conducted with considerable regard for thoroughness. With
the exception of two or three in eastern Tennessee, they are all well
located. The six schools in Alabama are all in Wilcox County, forming a
county system of private schools. The influence of these schools has
transformed the conditions in the county. The unusual development of
these schools in this one county is probably due to the interest and
ability of a Scotchman, member of the United Presbyterian Church, who
settled in the county soon after the Civil War.
_Miscellaneous Denominational Schools under White Boards._—There are a
number of miscellaneous denominational schools maintained by white
boards. These boards are not discussed separately, because there are so
few schools under each board as is indicated in the table below.
Many of the schools of this group represent churches with considerable
wealth. Of special interest are the two institutions maintained by white
church boards of the South. Paine College of Augusta, is maintained by
the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This institution is the largest of
the group. The other school owned by the South is Stillman Institute,
maintained by the Presbyterian Church South. Both of these schools are
taught by Southern white people who are genuinely interested in the
colored. It is especially significant in this connection to mention the
fact that it is the announced purpose of the Methodist Church to make
Paine College an institution of higher education in every sense of that
term. Stillman Institute, at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is also of importance
as it touches of point of most vital concern to the development of the
race, the development of trained ministers. While the institution has
not reached its highest point of development, there is every hope that
it too will eventually be a higher institution for the training of
ministers.
[Illustration:
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING.
]
[Illustration:
PAINE COLLEGE, AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.
Founded in 1884 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South. One of the
few private institutions for Negroes owned and taught by Southern
white people. It has 20 teachers, over 200 pupils, an income of
about $25,000, and property valued at $125,000.
]
The figures for schools under these miscellaneous boards are herewith
presented:
MISCELLANEOUS DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS—WHITE BOARDS.
─────────────────┬───────┬──────────┬─────────────────┬──────────┬───────────
│Number │ │ │Income for│
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │ Value of
States │Schools│Attendance│ Teachers │ Expenses │ Property
─────────────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┬─────┬─────┼──────────┼───────────
│ │ │Total│White│Negr.│ │
─────────────────┼───────┼──────────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼──────────┼───────────
Total │ 12│ 1,570│ 81│ 37│ 44│ $58,717│ $387,265
═════════════════╪═══════╪══════════╪═════╪═════╪═════╪══════════╪═══════════
Christian Advent │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 60│ 3│ │ 3│ 1,500│ 2,500
Christian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Alliance │ 1│ 71│ 9│ 9│ │ 1,476│ 33,900
Christian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Convention │ │ │ │ │ │ │
(miscellaneous)│ 3│ 194│ 12│ │ 12│ 4,187│ 75,000
Methodist │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church South │ 1│ 202│ 19│ 6│ 13│ 23,050│ 125,000
Presbyterian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church South │ 1│ 51│ 5│ 5│ │ 7,300│ 51,000
Reformed │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 95│ 2│ │ 2│ 300│ 2,000
Reformed │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Presbyterian │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 705│ 17│ 7│ 10│ 7,300│ 52,500
7th Day Adventist│ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 2│ 136│ 11│ 10│ 1│ 12,404│ 42,765
Universalist │ │ │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 56│ 3│ │ 3│ 1,200│ 3,500
─────────────────┴───────┴──────────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴──────────┴───────────
The total number of schools under these boards is twelve. Of these, six
are rated by the United States Bureau of Education as large or important
institutions. The total income of the 12 schools is $58,717, of which
the largest sum provided by any one denomination is $23,050, the income
of Paine College, Augusta, Georgia, supported by the Methodist Episcopal
Church South; the total number of teachers is 81, of whom 37 are white,
and 44 are colored; the value of property is $387,265, of which $125,000
is for Paine College.
Of the six large schools under these boards Paine College and Stillman
Institute have been mentioned, Stillman being maintained by the
Presbyterian Church South. The other four are: Boydton Institute,
Boydton, Virginia, maintained by the Christian Alliance; Franklinton
Christian College, Franklinton, North Carolina, maintained by the
Christian Church; Knox Institute, Selma, Alabama, maintained by the
Reformed Presbyterian Church, and Oakwood Manual Training School,
Huntsville, Alabama, maintained by the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
COLORED CHURCH BOARDS MAINTAINING SCHOOLS.
[Illustration:
WALKER BAPTIST INSTITUTE, AUGUSTA, GA.
Founded in 1888 by the Baptist Association. Now owned and supervised
by the American Baptist Home Mission Society. It has 13 teachers,
about 200 pupils, an income of $7,000, and property valued at
$30,000.
]
[Illustration:
MAIN BUILDING, LANE COLLEGE, JACKSON, TENN.
One of the best buildings in Negro schools. The institution was
founded in 1879 by the Tennessee Conference of the C. M. E. Church.
It has 15 teachers, about 250 pupils and property valued at $90,000.
]
In the foregoing pages facts and figures have been given for all of the
schools under white hoards, together with the names of the more
important schools. It is apparent from these facts that the interest of
the more fortunate members of the white race in the education of the
Negro has by no means passed. The works of the colored boards, however,
while they have not the money and the training such as have been brought
to the schools under white boards, is the best proof of race progress.
Indeed the establishment of the large number of schools by the colored
people is one of the most noteworthy achievements of the race. As is to
be expected, practically all of these schools are supported through the
various religious denominations. The works of these boards is convincing
evidence of the determination of the colored people to help themselves.
The liberality with which they contribute to the maintenance of these
schools is both wonderful and inspiring. This is especially significant
when it is remembered the colored are taxed for educational purposes
just as any other people. While authentic statistics are not available
to show what proportion of the taxes paid by them are returned in the
form of public school facilities, it is quite generally believed that
they receive an unequal share. In the face of this condition, their
willingness to establish schools for themselves, that they, optimism,
resolution and courage. These are among the best signs of race power,
and prove the capacity of the colored people to progress, even in the
face of opposition. The following table shows the number of schools,
teachers, students, amount of income and value of property of the
schools under the different colored denominations:
NEGRO CHURCH BOARDS MAINTAINING SCHOOLS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │Current │ Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses│ Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼────────┼──────────
Total │ 153│ 17,299│ 828│$380,933│$2,305,054
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪════════╪══════════
Baptist Local │ │ │ │ │
Conventions │ 110│ 11,250│ 474│ 181,914│ 821,295
African Methodist │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal │ 17│ 3,212│ 187│ 129,778│ 800,609
African Methodist │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal Zion │ 11│ 1,207│ 77│ 37,600│ 316,950
Colored Methodist │ │ │ │ │
Episcopal │ 9│ 1,313│ 72│ 25,991│ 328,200
Five Small Church │ │ │ │ │
Boards │ 6│ 317│ 18│ 5,650│ 38,000
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴────────┴──────────
From this table it will be seen that there are 153 institutions
supported entirely by colored people; that they have over 17,000
students, 828 teachers, an annual income of $380,933, and property
valued nearly $2,500,000. These figures represent conservative
compilations by the United States Bureau of Education. Significant as
these facts are, however, they do not represent the sum total of the
conditions which the Negroes make for the maintenance of schools. They
contribute large sums annually to schools under white denominations, and
to independent schools.
_Colored Baptist Schools._—It is to be expected that the Baptist
denomination with its large membership should lead in the support of
schools.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
ALLEN UNIVERSITY, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA.
One of the leading institutions under colored management. It was
founded in 1880 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church of South
Carolina. It has 20 teachers, 450 pupils, an income of $16,000, and
property valued at nearly $100,000.
]
Though there are several national organizations of Negro Baptists, none
of them seem to own or maintain any educational institution. The schools
are owned and directed by State or local organizations or by independent
boards of trustees selected from the membership of Baptist churches. The
origin of the national and State associations was suggested in the
discussion of the white Baptist Boards. The local Baptist associations
are composed of churches located in one or more counties.
The following table presents the important facts for these schools by
States:
BAPTIST LOCAL CONVENTIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 110│ 11,250│ 474│ $181,914│ $821,295
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 14│ 1,613│ 51│ 14,087│ 53,300
Arkansas │ 7│ 606│ 27│ 10,926│ 40,350
District of Columbia│ 1│ 71│ 11│ 8,981│ 42,500
Florida │ 3│ 382│ 12│ 5,096│ 35,000
Georgia │ 12│ 951│ 47│ 14,224│ 52,400
Kentucky │ 2│ 18│ 2│ 1,500│ 8,200
Louisiana │ 16│ 2,228│ 62│ 21,551│ 75,300
Maryland │ 2│ 76│ 5│ │
Mississippi │ 12│ 1,837│ 58│ 19,751│ 81,590
North Carolina │ 15│ 809│ 39│ 15,640│ 60,300
South Carolina │ 9│ 1,202│ 52│ 15,192│ 96,000
Tennessee │ 1│ 77│ 5│ 1,000│ 5,000
Texas │ 7│ 788│ 56│ 28,140│ 167,725
Virginia │ 9│ 642│ 47│ 25,826│ 103,630
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The various associations of Negro Baptists own and maintain 110 schools,
of which 31 are rated as “larger or more important” by the Bureau of
Education. Some of the 31 schools are classified as “more important” on
the basis of quality of work rather than on size of plant.
The total annual income for current expenses is $181,914, of which
$99,040, is for the 31 larger schools, and $82,874 for the 79 smaller
schools. The value of property is $821,295, of which $539,545 is in the
smaller schools. According to these figures, the average income of the
larger schools is only about $3,200, and the average income of the
smaller schools is about $1,000, and the average value of plant about
$3,600.
[Illustration:
WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY, WILBERFORCE, OHIO.
One of the oldest institutions for colored people. It was founded in
1847 by the Ohio Conference of the African Methodist Church, and has
always been under colored management. It has in the University
proper and in the Combined Normal and Industrial Department an
attendance of over 400, 50 teachers, an annual income of $100,000,
and property valued at almost $600,000.
]
The total attendance is 11,250 pupils, of whom 10,324 are elementary and
926 secondary. The number of teachers is 474, of whom 159 are male and
315 female. There are only 20 teachers of industrial courses and two
teachers of agriculture. The 79 smaller schools have only four
industrial teachers.
[Illustration:
MORRIS BROWN UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GA.
One of the leading schools owned and supported entirely by Negroes. It
was founded in 1881, by the Georgia Conference of the Afri-Methodist
Episcopal Church. There are 30 teachers, over 500 students and
property valued at $150,000.
]
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
LIVINGSTONE COLLEGE, SALISBURY, N. C.
One of the leading colleges in the South for colored people. It was
founded in 1882 by a group of ministers representing the African
Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. It is entirely under colored
management. It has an attendance of 200 pupils, 20 teachers, an
annual income of approximately $20,000, and property valued at
$207,000.
]
Livingstone Colored Normal and Industrial Institute, Livingstone,
Alabama; Union Springs Normal School, Union Springs, Alabama;
Consolidated White River Academy, Brinkley, Arkansas; Immanuel
Industrial Institute, Almyra, Arkansas; South East Baptist Industrial
Academy, Dermott, Arkansas; National Training School for Women and
Girls, Washington, D. C.; Florida Institute, Live Oak, Florida; Cabin
Creek High School, Griffin, Georgia; Central City College, Macon,
Georgia; Rome High and Industrial School, Rome Georgia; Howe Institute,
New Iberia, Louisiana; Israel Academy, Belle Alliance, Louisiana;
Mansfield Academy, Mansfield, Louisiana; Baptist Industrial High School;
Natchez College, Natchez, Mississippi; Sardis Industrial College,
Sardis, Mississippi; Rich Square Academy, Rich Square, North Carolina;
Bettis Academy, Trenton, South Carolina; Friendship Normal and
Industrial College, Roche Hill, South Carolina; Morris College, Sumter,
South Carolina; Seneca Institute, Seneca, South Carolina; Nelson-Mary
Academy, Jefferson City, Tennessee; Central Texas College, Waco, Texas;
East Texas Academy, Tyler, Texas; Fort Worth Industrial and Mechanical
College, Fort Worth, Texas; Guadaloupe College, Seginn, Texas; Houston
College, Houston, Texas; Corey Memorial Institute, Portsmouth, Virginia;
Pittsylvania Normal, Industrial and College Institute, Gretna, Virginia;
Rappahannock Industrial Academy, Ozeana, Virginia; Virginia Theological
Seminary and College, Lynchburg, Virginia.
[Illustration:
SHORTER COLLEGE, ARGENTA, ARKANSAS.
Founded in 1886; owned and controlled by the Arkansas Conference of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Teachers, 15; Students, 225;
Value of property, $35,000.
]
_African Methodist Episcopal Church._—Next to the Baptist denomination
the African Methodist Episcopal Church has been most active among
colored denominations in the establishment of schools for its members.
The following table presents the facts for the A. M. E. schools:
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 17│ 3,212│ 187│ $129,778│ $800,609
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 1│ 265│ 13│ 6,500│ 35,600
Arkansas │ 1│ 219│ 14│ 8,416│ 29,622
Florida │ 2│ 343│ 17│ 18,901│ 44,500
Georgia │ 3│ 710│ 41│ 17,448│ 180,300
Kentucky │ 1│ 33│ 3│ 1,500│ 7,000
Louisiana │ 1│ 142│ 6│ 1,500│ 10,150
Mississippi │ 2│ 282│ 15│ 8,450│ 47,000
North Carolina │ 1│ 176│ 12│ 9,046│ 61,500
South Carolina │ 2│ 462│ 21│ 16,902│ 82,500
Tennessee │ 1│ 101│ 11│ 4,737│ 48,400
Texas │ 1│ 286│ 15│ 8,064│ 97,000
Northern States │ 1│ 193│ 19│ 28,314│ 157,037
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The various conferences of the African Methodist Episcopal Church own
and maintain 17 schools, of which 13 are rated in this report as “larger
or more important,” by the Bureau of Education. The total income for
current expenses is $128,778, and the total value of property is
$800,609. On the basis of income four of the larger schools have incomes
under $5,000, six between $5,000 and $15,000, and three between $15,000
and $30,000. According to property, three schools have a valuation under
$25,000, five between $25,000 and $50,000, three between $50,000 and
$100,000, and two between $150,000 and $250,000.
The total attendance is 3,212 pupils, of whom 2,096 are elementary,
1,028 secondary, and 88 collegiate. Three institutions offer college
courses. The number of teachers is 187, or whom 98 are men and 89 women.
As an indication of the progress of the colored people, the extent of
these educational facilities and the character of the organization are
exceedingly satisfactory.
The 13 larger schools of the A. M. E. Church are: Payne University,
Selma, Alabama; Shorter College, Argenta, Arkansas; Edward Waters
College, Tallahassee, Florida; Morris Brown University, Atlanta,
Georgia; Payne Institute, Cuthbert, Georgia; Central Park Normal and
Industrial Institute, Savannah, Georgia; Lampton Literary and Industrial
College, Alexandria, Louisiana; Campbell College, Jackson, Mississippi;
Kittrell College, Kittrell, North Carolina; Allen University, Columbia
South Carolina; Turner Normal School, Shelbyville, Tennessee; Paul Quinn
College, Waco Texas; Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio.
_African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church._—The African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church has been very active and effective in the
establishment and management of schools. Much credit is due Dr. S. G.
Atkins, the former educational secretary, through whose tact and ability
a number of these schools greatly increased in the value of their work.
The leading facts are given below:
AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 11│ 1,207│ 77│ $37,600│ $316,950
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 1│ 137│ 8│ 4,074│ 25,450
Arkansas │ 1│ 77│ 6│ 1,047│ 6,200
Kentucky │ 1│ 44│ 6│ 2,282│ 12,600
North Carolina │ 4│ 464│ 32│ 22,518│ 219,450
South Carolina │ 2│ 422│ 17│ 3,640│ 29,000
Tennessee │ 1│ 18│ 2│ 500│ 5,500
Virginia │ 1│ 45│ 7│ 3,000│ 18,750
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The conferences of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church own and
maintain 11 schools, of which nine are rated as “larger or more
important.” The total income for current expenses is $37,600, and the
value of property is $316,950. Livingstone College in North Carolina
represents over half of the total of income and property.
The total attendance is 1,207, of whom 923 are elementary, 267 secondary
and 17 college subjects. The teachers are 77 in number, of whom 36 are
men and 41 women.
The general standards of educational work have been good. This is
especially true of the smaller schools.
Lomax Hannon High School, Greenville, Alabama; Walter Institute, Warren,
Arkansas; Atkinson College, Madisonville, Kentucky; Edenton’s Normal and
Industrial College, Edenton, North Carolina; Eastern North Carolina
Industrial Academy, Newbern, North Carolina; Livingstone College,
Salisbury, North Carolina; Lancaster Normal and Industrial College,
Lancaster, South Carolina; Clinton College, Rock Hill, South Carolina;
Dinwiddie Agricultural and Industrial School, Dinwiddie, Virginia.
_Colored Methodist Episcopal Church._—The general board of education of
the African Methodist Episcopal Church has only recently been organized.
Its functions with regard to the schools are advisory. The secretary is,
however, doing much to improve the methods of administration and the
standards of educational work. His point of view is well stated in the
following quotation from his annual report:
The strongest plea for help is first-class work. Our schools must run on
business principles and not on sentiment. We must arrange the
classification and standards of our schools so that they will be each
what its name indicates—not professing to do what we do not do. A good
grammar school is greater than a poor high school; a good academy more
desirable than a sorry college; a well-conducted college is preferable
to a sham university. We must meet present-day needs and demands if we
expect to get money.
A very important fact with regard to this denomination and its schools
is the relation to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. The Colored
Methodist Episcopal Church was founded through the missionary interest
of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church in the former slave States.
Through this interest, the Methodist Episcopal Church maintains Payne
College, at Augusta, Ga., and contributes annual sums to several of the
African Methodist Episcopal schools. In the cooperation now being
developed, the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church has been ably
represented by Dr. John M. Moore, the secretary of the mission
department, and Dr. Anderson, the secretary of education.
COLORED METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 9│ 1,313│ 72│ $25,991│ $328,200
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Alabama │ 2│ 300│ 17│ 3,954│ 60,400
Georgia │ 2│ 148│ 7│ 2,300│ 8,500
Louisiana │ 1│ 164│ 7│ 2,400│ 12,000
Mississippi │ 1│ 242│ 12│ 3,672│ 87,000
Oklahoma │ 1│ 131│ 4│ 1,300│ 1,300
Tennessee │ 1│ 218│ 15│ 8,600│ 89,000
Texas │ 1│ 110│ 10│ 3,765│ 70,000
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
The conferences of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church own and
maintain nine schools, of which six are rated as “larger or more
important” and three as “smaller or less important.” The total income
for current expenses is $25,991, and the value of property is $328,200.
Lane College in Tennessee is the only institution with an income of over
$5,000. Three schools have property valuations of over $50,000.
The total attendance is 1,313 pupils, of whom 1,030 are elementary, 267
secondary, and 10 collegiate. The number of teachers is 72, of whom 32
are men and 40 are women.
The nine larger C. M. E. schools are: Miles Memorial College,
Birmingham, Alabama; Holsey Academy, Cordele, Georgia; Homer College,
Homer, Louisiana; Mississippi Industrial College, Holly Springs,
Mississippi; Lane College, Jackson, Tennessee; Texas College, Tyler,
Texas.
_Miscellaneous denominations._—In addition to the educational
institutions of the colored churches mentioned, five other denominations
are attempting some educational work. Only one of these maintained more
than one school, The Free Will Baptist Church, which maintains Kinston
College, Kinston, North Carolina, is the only denomination in the group
that supports a school classed as large or important by the Bureau of
Education. The following table presents the facts for these schools:
MISCELLANEOUS DENOMINATIONS SCHOOLS—NEGRO BOARDS.
────────────────────┬────────┬───────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────
│ │ │ │ Income │
│ Number │ │ │ for │
│ of │ Counted │ │ Current │Value of
States │Schools │Attendance │Teachers │Expenses │Property
────────────────────┼────────┼───────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────
Total │ 6│ 317│ 18│ $5,650│ $38,000
════════════════════╪════════╪═══════════╪═════════╪═════════╪═════════
Free Will Baptist │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 60│ 4│ 1,700│ 15,000
Methodist Episcopal │ │ │ │ │
local conventions │ 2│ 22│ 4│ 450│ 6,000
Afro-American │ │ │ │ │
Presbyterian │ │ │ │ │
Church │ 1│ 25│ 2│ 1,500│ 7,000
Church of Christ │ │ │ │ │
Sanctified │ 1│ 130│ 6│ 1,500│ 10,000
Colored Local │ │ │ │ │
Seventh Day │ │ │ │ │
Adventist Church │ 1│ 80│ 2│ 500│
────────────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────
OTHER AGENCIES INTERESTED IN NEGRO EDUCATION.
In addition to the public, independent and denominational agencies
maintaining colored schools, there are certain funds and associations
that are deserving of consideration. There are educational funds,
religious organizations and educational associations.
The funds and associations interested in the education of Negroes in the
United States differ widely in purpose and resources. Some are rendering
a remarkable educational service not only to the Negroes; but also to
the South and the whole Nation. A number of the agencies are devoting
only a part of their resources to Negro education. A few are of
comparatively little importance. The work of the more important agencies
is discussed herewith.
_General Education Board._—Because of the large sums controlled by this
board and its wide influence upon the education of the country as a
whole, it is important to outline its attitude toward Negro education.
The report just issued by the Bureau of Education describes the attitude
and works of the General Education Board in establishing some of the
more recent movements in the improvement of the colored schools and
communities. Among the more important of these are State supervisors of
Negro rural schools, cooperation with other agencies, home-makers clubs
for girls and farm demonstration works. Most of these movements have
been carried on either directly or indirectly with the schools. In
describing these more recent movements in Negro education, the report
says:
“The guiding principal of the General Education Board in all its efforts
in behalf of Negro education is cooperation, first of all with public
authorities and second, with agencies that are thoroughly constructive
in purpose. The secretaries are men of ability and foresight. The work
and influence of Dr. Wallace Buttrick have been especially notable. The
policies of the board are based upon a study both of educational
facilities and community needs.”
Its activities have included the improvement of country life through
farm demonstration agents and boys’ and girls’ clubs in such projects as
the cultivation and canning of vegetables; encouraging secondary schools
to adapt their program to the needs of democratic society; and aiding
colleges and universities to increase their efficiency and broaden their
curriculum so as to provide adequate emphasis on modern problems. These
undertakings have been conducted with statesmanship and a real regard
for the welfare of democracy. While the sum spent on educational efforts
in behalf of Negroes forms but a comparatively small part of the total
appropriations made by the board, the activities encouraged or
maintained have been effective in the development of cooperation with
the public school authorities, and in the improvement of both private
and public schools for Negroes.
Perhaps the most important form of cooperation on the part of the
General Education Board in behalf of Negro education, is with the State
departments of public instruction in the appointment and support of
State supervisors of Negro schools. Ten Southern States have made such
appointments. These supervisors are capable of Southern white men who
are devoting their energy with much success to the advancement of Negro
schools. Their efforts have already resulted in small but significant
increases in public appropriations, a better attitude toward Negro
education, and greater cooperation between public and private
institutions.
Another important contribution of the General Education Board has been
correlation of effort with private funds, church boards, and individual
institutions. The Jeanes fund has received financial aid and
encouragement in the excellent work of placing industrial supervisors
and teachers in many counties throughout the Southern States. The Slater
fund has been similarly assisted in the development of the county
training schools. In the study of Negro education, the agents of the
Phelps-Stokes fund not only had access to the board’s valuable records,
but were enabled to call upon the board’s representatives for
information and counsel. Church boards of education and individual
schools have received substantial appropriations from the board and
valuable suggestions on educational method from its educational experts.
Homemakers’ clubs have been formed in a number of Southern States. These
clubs are composed of colored girls who are taught the essentials of
rural homemaking, including the cultivation of a garden and the canning
of fruits and vegetables. The movement has been very successful in the
inculcation of sound ideas of sanitation, thrift and morality. Hundreds
of clubs have been formed under the general direction of the State
supervisors, and the more immediate care of the Jeanes fund county
teachers. Under the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act some Federal funds
are also being spent for this purpose.
The farm demonstration movement is undoubtedly the most important
educational effort which the General Education Board has encouraged for
the improvement of white and colored people. While the influence of the
movement has been primarily among white farmers, its future
possibilities for the colored people are so significant that a
description of the plan must be included herein. The purpose of the
movement is the increase of the productivity of the soil. The plan was
originated by Dr. Seaman A. Knapp about 1903, in order to enable the
farmers of Texas to combat the ravages of the bollweevil. The
fundamental element in the plan is Dr. Knapp’s principle that the most
effective way of teaching good farming is to prevail upon one farmer in
every neighborhood to cultivate an acre of his land according to
scientific methods of agriculture. The effect of such a plan has been
that the farmer with the demonstration acre extends the plan to the
remainder of his farm and the neighboring farms soon follow his example.
It has been shown that such an experimental plan is much more effective
than the distribution of printed matter or even explanations by
traveling lecturers.
When the remarkable possibilities of this simple method had been
demonstrated, the General Education Board entered into cooperation with
the United States Department of Agriculture to extend the movement
throughout the Southern States and especially in the section suffering
from the bollweevil. As a result of this cooperation, begun in 1906, the
board made increasing appropriations each year until the sum for
1913–1914 had become $252,000. In that year the Federal Government also
appropriated $375,000, and the States and counties gave approximately
$400,000. In 1915, further cooperation was prohibited by Congress, but
in recognition of the value of the work, the Federal appropriation was
considerably increased.
The economic and educational significance of the farm demonstration
movement is now gradually being understood. Committees have lifted
themselves out of poverty. Schools and churches and roads have been
built. The general average of community welfare has been elevated in
many rural districts. Schoolmen have been impressed with the value of
actual demonstration in instruction and school methods are requiring
that pupils shall “learn to do by doing.”
_Carnegie Foundation._—The interest of Mr. Carnegie in Negro education
is well known. His gifts have been large and significant. The activities
of the Carnegie Foundation, however, have been such that little
systematic study could be devoted to Negro education. Many educational
leaders have expressed the hope that the perplexing problems of
educating the 10,000,000 Negroes may receive the counsel and aid of the
Carnegie Foundation. Many schools, however, have received large gifts
from the Foundation, and from Mr. Carnegie. Several schools have
splendid libraries as the result of these gifts.
_John F. Slater Fund._—One of the most widely known funds devoted
exclusively to Negro education, is the John F. Slater Fund. The work
made possible through this gift, is one of the notable achievements in
the education of Negroes in the United States. The fund, amounting to
$1,000,000, was given in 1882, by John F. Slater of Connecticut, for the
purpose of “uplifting the lately emancipated population of the Southern
States and their prosperity.” In recognition of the public spirit of the
donor, the United States Congress gave him a vote of thanks and a medal.
At the time of the final distribution of the Peabody Fund in 1914, the
Peabody trustees voted to transfer a sum amounting to about $350,000 to
the John F. Slater Fund, “the income to be used for improving the rural
schools for the Negro race.” The total amount of the Slater Fund is now
about $1,750,000.
In 1915–16 the Slater Fund appropriated $67,250 for Negro schools
located in 13 Southern States. Of this amount $25,425 was given to
supplement the work of institutions owned by State or county
authorities. The total number of schools receiving aid in 1915 was 68,
of which 17 are county training schools, and 19 others are owned by
city, county, or State. Approximately $3,000 has been given to aid
summer schools for teachers.
The general purpose of the appropriations made by the trustees of the
Slater Fund, has been the encouragement of industrial courses. The
number of schools receiving aid has varied from year to year. The
following statement indicates the number of schools and the amounts
appropriated in different periods:
Time. Number of Schools. Amount.
1882–83 12 $16,250
1883–84 18 17,106
1884–85 29 36,764
1889–90 37 42,910
1894–95 16 42,400
1900–1901 11 43,330
1904–5 27 53,550
1909–10 40 69,750
1914–15 68 69,250
The variation in the number of schools reflects the different policies
of the fund as well as the changes in the amount of money to be
distributed. The present policy is that of increasing cooperation with
public school authorities in all efforts to improve and increase the
supply of public school teachers. Dr. Dillard, the director of the
Slater Fund and the executive officer of the Jeanes fund, has been very
successful in arousing the interest of public authorities in Negro
schools. Realizing that the majority of elementary school teachers
receive their education in their own or neighboring county, he is
directing as much as possible of the Slater Fund to the improvement of
public schools centrally located in the counties, so that courses of
training for teachers may be established. The usual conditions observed
in the organization of these schools are: first, that the property shall
belong to the State or county; second, that an appropriation of at least
$7.50 shall be made annually by the county for the maintenance; third,
that at least eight grades of instruction shall be provided, including
some industrial work and simple instruction in teaching methods. In
1912, there were three schools of this character. In 1915, the number
had increased to 17. With the aid of the General Education Board and
other agencies, it is probable that before the close of 1917, there will
be over 40 county training schools for Negroes in the Southern States.
_Anna T. Jeanes Fund._—The origin of the Jeanes Fund is so significant
of the spirit and purpose of its present policy, that space must here be
taken to relate some of the incidents connected with that event. In
1906, Dr. Frissell appealed to Miss Anna T. Jeanes for a contribution to
the work of Hampton. Miss Jeanes was an elderly Quaker lady of
Philadelphia. As Dr. Frissell described the hardships of the teachers in
rural schools, she said: “Thee interests me,” and proceeded to write a
check to aid the work of small rural schools. Dr. Frissell, expecting to
receive not more than a hundred dollars looked at the check and saw, to
his great surprise, that it was for $10,000. He said: “Well, you
certainly are interested. Would you like to have Booker Washington call
on you to explain the need of small schools in Alabama.” Miss Jeanes
replied that she would and soon afterwards she gave another ten thousand
to Dr. Washington. At the suggestion of Mr. George Foster Peabody, then
the Treasurer of the General Education Board, she gave $200,000 more to
be used according to plans to be determined upon by Dr. Frissell and Dr.
Washington.
When she was convinced of the successful use of this gift, she said to
Dr. Frissell: “I am going to show thee my will.” Reading it, he saw that
she had bequeathed practically all her estate for the improvement of
little county schools for Negro children. The will also provided that
the funds were to be administered by a trustee board to be appointed by
Dr. Frissell and Dr. Washington. Dr. Frissell assured her that it could
be done, and asked whom would she like to have on the board. She
replied: “Andrew Carnegie.” Plans for forming the board were immediately
decided upon. Mr. Carnegie, Dr. Washington and Dr. Frissell organized a
board of trustees, which consisted of five southern white men, five
northern white men and five Negroes. Mr. Taft, then President of the
United States, became a member of the board, and Dr. Dillard of Virginia
was elected as the executive officer.
When the arrangements were complete, Miss Jeanes consented to see a few
of the members of the board. This meeting was dramatic in its
simplicity. There were present Mr. George Foster Peabody, President
Taft, Dr. Dillard, Dr. Frissell, and Dr. Washington. Miss Jeanes was
very feeble, her arm, swollen with pain, was supported by pillows. When
she had signed away her estate of $1,000,000 she said to Dr. Frissell
and to Dr. Washington in turn: “Dost thee remember when thee came and I
gave thee $10,000 for the little country schools? And then I gave thee
$200,000 more. And now I am giving all for these little schools. This is
a great privilege. I am just a poor woman, and I gave it not to save my
soul from hell; but because I wanted to.”
The trustee board in charge of this fund is composed of five southern
men, five northern men, and five men of the colored race. In 1915, the
trustees expended $34,475 for the improvement of Negro rural schools in
Southern States. Practically all of this money is used to pay the
expenses of county supervisors and industrial teachers These are usually
young colored women who visit the public schools of the counties for the
purpose of aiding and encouraging the schools in all phases of their
work. The more important service of these traveling teachers, working
under the direction of the county superintendent, is to introduce into
the small country schools simple home industries; to give talks and
lessons on sanitation, personal cleanliness, etc.; to encourage the
improvement of schoolhouses and school grounds; and to conduct gardening
clubs and other kinds of clubs for the betterment of the school and the
neighborhood.
The teachers are appointed by the county superintendent and their work
is supervised by that officer. Effort is made by the representatives of
the Jeanes Fund to have the country authorities and the colored people
undertake as much as possible of the salary and expenses of these
teachers. In 1913, the counties contributed from public funds for this
purpose, $3,400; in 1914, $6,255; in 1915, $12,183, and in 1916,
$17,913. In 1915–16 Jeanes-Fund teachers were maintained in 164 counties
distributed through 16 Southern States. It is to be hoped that all of
these States will follow the example of Maryland in its provision of
State aid, so that every county with a considerable number of Negroes
may have county industrial teachers.
_Phelps-Stokes Fund._—The endowment of the Phelps-Stokes Fund is
approximately $1,000,000. Over half of the income has been spent to
maintain several projects pertaining to Negro education. The more
important of these are:
1. Cooperation with the United States Bureau of Education in preparing a
comprehensive report on Negro education.
2. The establishment of fellowships at the University of Virginia and
the University of Georgia. Twelve thousand five hundred dollars is given
each of these universities for the permanent endowment of a research
fellowship on the following conditions:
The university shall appoint annually a fellow in sociology for the
study of the Negro. He shall pursue advanced studies under the direction
of the department of sociology, economics, education, or history, as may
be determined in each case by the president. The fellowship shall yield
$500, and shall, after four years, be restricted to graduate students.
Each fellow shall prepare a paper or thesis embodying the result of his
investigations, which shall be published by the university with
assistance from the income of the fund.
3. The establishment of a fund at the Peabody College for teachers,
Nashville, Tenn., in accordance with the following vote:
Voted, that $10,000 be given to the Peabody College for Teachers to
establish a fund for the visitation of Negro schools and colleges, the
income to be used to enable the teachers, administrative officers, and
students of the Peabody College to come into direct and helpful contact
with the actual work of representative institutions of Negro education.
4. Assistance to the Southern University Race Commission by an annual
appropriation for traveling expenses.
5. Appropriations for constructive movements, such as the teaching of
home and school gardening, the educational use of school dormitory and
dining room, the installation of adequate financial and school records,
and the dissemination of advice on the construction and care of
buildings and grounds.
_Rosenwald Fund._—In 1914, Julius Rosenwald, of Chicago, announced
through Tuskegee Institute that he would give money to assist in the
erection of rural school buildings for Negroes in the South. According
to the terms of the announcement, Mr. Rosenwald agreed to give any rural
community a sum not exceeding $300 for the erection of a school building
for Negroes, provided the people of the community should raise from
public funds or from their own resources a sum equal to that given by
him. It was further specified that total sums in each case must be
sufficient to erect and furnish one school building.
Up to June 30, 1916, Mr. Rosenwald has given $44,718 toward promoting
rural schoolhouse building. To meet Mr. Rosenwald’s contributions the
Negroes in the communities where these schoolhouses were erected have
contributed $61,951; from the public funds of the States, $21,525 has
been appropriated; and white citizens have given $8,820. Through Mr.
Rosenwald’s benefactions 142 rural schoolhouses for Negroes have been
erected, as follows: In Alabama, 107; North Carolina, 11; Georgia, 8;
Arkansas, 6; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 5; Mississippi, 2, and
Virginia, 2.
_Daniel Hand Fund._—This Fund is administered by the American Missionary
Association 287 Fourth Avenue, New York City. Daniel Hand was born in
Madison, Conn., July 16, 1801. When 16 years of age he went to Augusta,
Ga., under the direction of his second brother residing there, whom he
succeeded in business. Mr. Hand remained in some part of the Southern
Confederacy during the entire war. His partner, Mr. Geo. W. Williams,
who was conducting a branch of the business at Charleston, S. C.,
protected the capital of Mr. Hand, from the confiscation seriously
threatened, in view of his being a northern man of undisguised
anti-slavery sentiments. After the war, when Mr. Hand came north, Mr.
Williams adjusted the business, made up the account, and paid over to
Mr. Hand his portion of the long-invested capital and its accumulations.
Bereaved of wife and children for many years, his benevolent impulses
led Mr. Hand to form plans to use his large wealth for the benefit of
his fellowmen.
The total amount of the endowment of the Daniel Hand Fund is
approximately $1,500,000, and the income in 1915 was $69,000. This
income is spent under the direction of the officers of the American
Missionary Association for the maintenance of educational work in the
schools of that association.
In 1888 Daniel Hand, of Guilford, Conn., gave $1,000,000 as a permanent
fund, “the income of which shall be used for the purpose of educating
needy and indigent people of African decent, residing, or who may
hereafter reside, in the recent slave States of the United States,
sometimes called the Southern States.” When Mr. Hand died, in 1891, he
left the residue of his fortune, amounting to $500,000, to be added to
his original gift.
_Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa._—The total endowment of the
Stewart Missionary Foundation is $110,000. The income is used to provide
classroom instruction on missions at Gammon Theological Seminary; to
issue a monthly journal, “The Foundation,” devoted to the awakening of
an interest in missions; and to maintain a lecturer who travels among
Negro schools lecturing on missions.
This Fund was given in 1894 by the Rev. W. F. Stewart and his wife, to
establish missionary training in Gammon Theological Seminary. Mr.
Stewart had been a missionary in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he
was eager to arouse a strong interest in missions among Negro youth.
_Miner Fund._—The Miner Fund has property valued at $40,000, and the
annual income is about $2,100. This income is used for the aid of the
Manassas Industrial Institute for Colored Youth of Virginia, and for the
Colored Social Settlement of Washington, D. C.
The fund is named after Miss Myrtilla Miner, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who in
1851 established a normal school for colored girls of Washington. In
1862, she incorporated the school as “Institution for the Education of
Colored Youth.” The first property purchased by the institution was in
the square now occupied by the British embassy. Later this lot was sold
and another purchased, on which a new normal school was erected. In 1879
the District of Columbia leased this property from the trustees of the
fund, and maintained the institution as a part of the public school
system. About 1900 the trustees purchased another building in which they
maintained a day nursery and a kindergarten. This work was later taken
over by the public authorities. The combined annual income from both
properties amounted at one time to $4,000.
In 1915, the city school board purchased a site and erected a
magnificent new building to house the normal school. This building was
named “The Myrtilla Miner Normal School.” After the removal of the
public school from the building owned by the Miner Fund, it was
necessary to sell the building and invest the money in other forms of
real estate at a reduced income.
_Cushing Fund._—The total amount of the Cushing Fund is $33,500 and the
income varies from $1,200 to $1,500 annually. This income is distributed
by the executive officer among 28 schools for colored people.
The fund was bequeathed for the education of colored people in
accordance with the will of Miss Emeline Cushing, of Boston, who died in
1895. The will designated Mr. Archibald Grimke and two others as
trustees and executors. Mr. Grimke is now the sole survivor and
administers the fund.
_The Association for Negro Youth._—This Association was organized at
Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1913. The plan has been to admit only
institutions maintaining work of college grade. So far 10 institutions
have been admitted to membership. The following quotation indicates the
embarrassment of the association in its effort to be just to the
colleges within and without the organization:
One of the most important topics of the several sessions was that of
admission of additional colleges into the association. The consensus of
opinion prevailed that the association needed more careful detailed
information about the colleges, both within and without the
organization, and the executive committee was authorized to make a
careful study of all colleges both within and without the association
that some standards for grading of membership might be established.
The general purpose of the association is indicated by the following
list of topics discussed at the four annual meetings, 1913 to 1916:
1. College entrance requirements.
2. The requirements for a college degree.
3. The reception of students dismissed from other colleges.
4. How far should we allow students to specialize in professional work
during their college course?
5. Foreign languages as requirements for college entrance.
6. Uniformity in the exchange of records.
7. What should be done with deficiencies of college students in English,
spelling, composition and penmanship?
8. The control of athletics and place of physical education in the
curriculum.
9. What should be done on the matter of our students who go North to
work during the summers, and who thereby do not return to their home
communities for several years, thus getting out of touch with the life
of their home communities, in which places many of them are needed after
they finish school?
10. How far are we preparing teachers for the public schools and the
high schools? What is our part in the forward rural school movement?
11. How far are our efforts for religious education giving our students
training for religious leadership?
It is evident that the association is rapidly broadening the scope of
its interest from the formal topics of the earlier meetings to the vital
problems outlined in the questions discussed at the last meeting.
_The National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools._—This
association was organized in 1904. Annual meetings have been held each
year. State associations have been formed in almost all the Southern
States. Teachers representing 21 States were present at the last annual
meeting of the national association. These meetings are having a
wholesome effect in the development of higher ideals, better methods,
and cooperation among teachers in all efforts to adapt education to
community needs.
The twelfth annual session of the National Association of Teachers in
Colored Schools was held in Cincinnati, July 29, to August 1, 1915.
Among the subjects discussed were “The need of a graduate school for
Negroes,” “College athletics,” “Standardizing of Negro schools,”
“Harmonizing conflicting views of Negro education,” and “National
education.” The 1916 meeting of the association will be held in
Nashville. In connection with the meeting of the National Association of
Teachers in Colored Schools the Annual Conference of the Presidents of
Land-Grant Colleges took up “Its mission,” “Its responsibility,” “Its
opportunity,” and “Its relation to the public school system.” Other
subjects were “The problem of dormitory life,” and “Preparation of
teachers of agriculture.” Another organization which met with the
national association was the Council of College Presidents.
HOSPITALS AND NURSE TRAINING SCHOOLS.
The changed conditions of modern life have occasioned a wholly new order
of things for the care of the sick and disabled; and well equipped
hospitals with training schools for nurses are now numerous, where they
were almost unknown fifty years ago. This has led to the institution of
hospitals for the colored people. These have been very necessary for the
colored people, and also for the colored physicians and surgeons. There
are now several thousand of these physicians and surgeons who have
received diplomas in the regular medical schools and are practicing
their profession among their own people. These, however, are not usually
admitted to practice in the general hospitals of the Southern States,
which is a serious hindrance to their progress in knowledge and skill,
as well as a great embarrassment in the care of their patients. There
has been a growing demand also for colored nurses with the training that
can be acquired only in hospitals. Thus for more reasons than one,
hospitals designed particularly for the colored people have become
necessary.
The first of these was founded at Hampton, Va., in 1891, by Miss Alice
M. Bacon, who was at that time connected with Hampton Institute, though
her hospital was independent and bore the name of “Dixie.” In the same
year the “MacVicar Hospital,” was established as a feature of Spelman
Seminary in Atlanta, and the “Provident Hospital” was instituted in
Chicago. Three years later, in 1894, the “Freedmen’s Hospital” was
started in Washington and the “Lamar Hospital” in Augusta, Ga. Then, in
1895, came the “Frederick Douglass” in Philadelphia; in 1896, the “Sarah
Goodrich” in New Orleans; and in 1897, the “Hospital and Training School
for Nurses” in Charleston. Others have followed, one by one, in other
important centres; Charlotte, Richmond, Columbia, Savannah,
Jacksonville, Nashville, Knoxville, Louisville, Raleigh, Tuskegee,
Durham, Atlanta and elsewhere. In all of these hospitals the training
school for nurses is a conspicuous feature, and the nurses who receive
this training show very great efficiency, finding employment largely
among the white people, who frequently prefer them to white nurses with
similar training. Some of these institutions have been built up by the
sheer enterprise of individual colored physicians. A notable example of
this is “St. Luke’s Hospital” at Columbia, founded and maintained in the
face of many discouragements by Dr. Matilda A. Evans, who received her
education at Schofield Institute, Oberlin College, and the Woman’s
Medical College of Pennsylvania. Hospitals of this type are held in high
esteem by the communities in which they are located, and are centers of
beneficence for the country around.
THE THREE IMPORTANT TYPES OF EDUCATION.
In the development of Negro education the various types or kinds of
education have received much discussion and the conflicting claims of
certain type of education have been ably presented by their advocates.
Space does not admit of a full discussion of the conflict which has
raged between the so-called “higher education” and the so called
“industrial education.” The most notable colored men who have taken
sides on this question during the past 25 years have been Dean Kelly
Miller and Dr. W. E. Dubois as advocate of the higher education and Dr.
Booker T. Washington, and Dr. R. R. Moton, as advocate of industrial
education. The result of the various discussions has been that the whole
nation has been convinced that there is, and can be no real conflict
between higher education for the Negro and industrial education. The
conviction is now very general that the Negro needs and should have
every type of instruction. The type of education most needed for the
full development are college education, professional education and
industrial education.
_College Education._—No type of education has meant more to the colored
people than college education. There are however very few institutions
of college grade among colored schools. Many institutions are called
colleges, but they have not been able to do real college work. According
to the recent report of the Bureau of Education, only 33 of the private
and State schools for colored people are doing work of college grade.
These institutions are classified into three groups. The following table
presents the facts for these institutions:
──────────────────────────┬──────────────┬───────┬─────────────┬───────
Characterization and Name │ │College│ │ Other
of College. │ Support. │Pupils.│Professional.│Pupils.
──────────────────────────┼──────────────┼───────┼─────────────┼───────
_All Colleges_ │ │ 1,952│ 1,093│ 10,089
“_Colleges_” │ │ 722│ 972│ 717
Fisk University │Independent │ 188│ │ 317
Howard University │Federal │ 534│ 467│ 400
Meharry Medical School │Independent │ │ 505│
“_Secondary and College_” │ │ 675│ 22│ 4,789
Atlanta University │Independent │ 44│ │ 542
Benedict College │Baptist │ 45│ │ 462
Bishop College │ „ │ 42│ │ 329
Claflin College │Methodist │ 26│ │ 788
│United │ │ │
Knoxville College │ Presbyterian│ 30│ │ 207
Lincoln University │Presbyterian │ 130│ │ 86
Morehouse College │Baptist │ 49│ │ 246
Morgan College │Methodist │ 26│ │ 55
Shaw University │Baptist │ 24│ 22│ 175
Talladega College │Congregational│ 45│ │ 516
Tougaloo University │ „ │ 20│ │ 424
Wilberforce University │A. M. E. │ 65│ │ 128
Wilberforce C. N. & I. │ │ │ │
Department │State │ 40│ │ 191
Wiley College │Methodist │ 38│ │ 346
Virginia Union University │Baptist │ 51│ │ 204
“_College Subjects_” │ │ 246│ │ 4,583
Arkansas Baptist College │Baptist │ 13│ │ 300
Biddle University │Presbyterian │ 22│ │ 185
Clark University │Methodist │ 32│ │ 272
Florida A. & M. College │Land-grant │ 12│ │ 333
Lane College │C. M. E. │ 10│ │ 208
Livingston College │A. M. E. Z. │ 17│ │ 174
Morris Brown University │A. M. E. │ 10│ │ 498
New Orleans College │Methodist │ 9│ │ 423
Paine College │M. E. South │ 14│ │ 188
Paul Quinn College │A. M. E. │ 13│ │ 273
Philander Smith College │Methodist │ 39│ │ 400
Rust College │ „ │ 16│ │ 320
Sam Houston College │ „ │ 18│ │ 359
Straight University │Congregational│ 11│ │ 567
Tillotson College │ „ │ 18│ │ 215
──────────────────────────┴──────────────┴───────┴─────────────┴───────
Of the 12762 pupils in total attendance on these institutions, only
1,643 are studying college subjects, and 995 are in professional
classes. The remaining 10,125 pupils are in elementary and secondary
grades.
In reply to a questionnaire sent to all the Northern colleges, 66
reported a total of 430 Negro students of college grade. Of these 309
were in college proper, 86 were in medical courses, including dental and
pharmaceutical; 10 were in theological schools; 18 in law; and 7 in
veterinary medicine. It is probable that the total number of students in
northern institutions is at least 500.
Only three institutions, Howard University, Fisk University, and Meharry
Medical College, have a student body, a teaching force and equipment and
an income sufficient to warrant the characterization of “college.”
Nearly half of the college students and practically all of the
professional students are in these institutions.
_Professional Education._—The standards of professional training are so
involved with the development of colleges that for some time to come the
professional training of colored people must be carried on largely in
connection with college and secondary work. The scarcity of good
teachers, the great need for increased library and laboratory
facilities, and the small enrollments in all institutions of higher
learning for colored people, render the chances of the development of
strong professional schools better where they are affiliated with
schools of collegiate or university grade.
At present, less than ten institutions for colored people offer
professional courses with teaching force and equipment separate from
their academic departments. The majority of these are affiliated with
colleges. Howard University has a medical, a law, and a theological
department, with considerable equipment and a full quota of students in
each department. Meharry Medical College has a large student body and a
valuable plant. The theological department of Lincoln University,
Lincoln, Pa., is fairly well equipped; but the number of pupils is
small. Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga., is a well endowed
institution owned by the Methodist Episcopal denomination. The teaching
force and equipment are adequate, but the number of students is not
large. Bishop Payne Divinity School of the Protestant Episcopal
denomination, Petersburg, Va., has a scholarly faculty, but a small
number of students. Tuskegee Institute maintains a department for the
instruction of rural ministers. The instruction is effective and
practical. Talladega College provides a separate building for the
Theological Seminary, and its teaching force is separate; but the number
of students is small. Payne Theological Seminary, of Wilberforce
University, is incorporated independently and its work is done by its
own teachers and its own building.
Virginia Union University, Richmond, Va., and Morehouse College,
Atlanta, Ga., do not have a separate plant for their theological
departments; but the instruction is effective and the number of students
is fair. Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C., maintains a preparatory
medical course, and offers instruction to ministerial students. Other
institutions maintaining theological departments are Livingstone
College, Salisbury, N. C.; Biddle University, Charlotte, N. C.; Paine
College, Augusta, Ga.; and Stillman Institute, Tuscaloosa, Ala. The
following table gives the names, together with the number of teachers
and pupils in the theological schools:
───────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────────────
THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS. │ Teachers. │ Students.
───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────
Gammon Theological Seminary │ 6│ 78
Tuskegee Institute │ 3│ 77
Howard University │ 4│ 73
Lincoln University │ 6│ 54
Wilberforce University │ 4│ 30
Virginia Union University │ 6│ 24
Stillman Institute │ 2│ 21
Morehouse College │ 2│ 18
Bishop Payne Divinity School │ 4│ 15
Livingstone College │ 3│ 14
Talladega College │ 2│ 10
Shaw University │ 2│ 10
Paine College │ 2│ 9
Biddle University │ 2│ 8
───────────────────────────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────────────
Total │ 40│ 441
───────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────────────
The one law school of note is at Howard University. It has a separate
building, a three-story structure, located near the District Courthouse.
Applicants for admission must be graduates of a recognized high school
or college. The regular course for the degree of LL. B. covers a period
of three years.
The attendance was 106, of whom 104 were male, and 2 female. There were
8 teachers, 5 white and 3 colored; all are men.
The medical profession offers the largest opportunity for the ambitious
young colored man. The number of colored physicians, according to the
United States Census of 1910, was 3,077; colored dentists were 478 in
number. Each group is increasing rapidly. The following table gives the
number of medical students in the different colleges.
────────────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬────────────────
│ Total. │Medical. │ Dental. │Pharmaceutical.
────────────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────────────
All Schools │ 878│ 431│ 287│ 160
Howard University │ 288│ 100│ 116│ 72
Meharry Medical College │ 482│ 291│ 137│ 54
Shaw University │ 22│ 9│ │ 13
Northern Colleges │ 86│ 31│ 34│ 21
────────────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴─────────┴────────────────
_Industrial Education._—The phrase “industrial education” as applied to
colored schools is very misleading. While the effective industrial
schools are making a genuine effort to develop industrial skill, this
fundamental purpose is much broader than vocational efficiency or the
resulting comfort and culture. The underlying principle of these schools
is the adaptation of educational activities, whether industrial or
literary, to the needs of the pupil and the community. Leaders in these
schools believe that education should include not only the head but the
hand and the heart. These broad purposes were strikingly expressed by
Gen. Armstrong, the founder of Hampton Institute, in his school reports
as early as 1870. The following quotations from these reports illustrate
the principles which guided him in the organization of his work:
The past of our colored population has been such that an institution
devoted especially to them must provide a training more than usually
comprehensive, must include both sexes and a variety of occupation, must
produce moral as well as mental strength, and while making its students
first-rate mechanical laborers, must also make them first-rate men and
women.
Through Dr. H. B. Frissell, his successor as principal of Hampton
Institute, and through the late Dr. Booker T. Washington, his pupil,
Gen. Armstrong’s idea of education for life has been worthily advocated
and extended, until now his thoughts are the common property of all
progressive leaders of education.
In discussing industrial education, Dr. Thomas Jesse Jones of the Bureau
of Education, has eloquently said:
“Industrial education in the comprehensive sense is the very essence of
democracy in education. Civilized society has long been democratic in
the advocacy of education for all the people, regardless of race, color,
and previous condition. In curriculum and method, however, the schools
of the land have continued to be both aristocratic and arbitrary.
Subjects introduced in the middle ages to meet the needs of the
aristocracy of that time have been retained for their cultural value.
Democracy in the content of education demands that the curriculum shall
impart culture through knowledge and practice related to the farm, the
shop, the office, and, above all, the home.”
According to figures recently published by the Bureau of Education there
are 61 public and private institutions which offer some industrial
training to their pupils, and 174 with manual training and household
arts courses. Of the former group, 29 are maintained by State and
Federal funds. The 16 agricultural and mechanical schools largely
supported by appropriations from the National Government are fairly well
equipped to teach the more important trades and to train girls in
household arts. Only a few of them, however, teach the trades
effectively, and practically all subordinate the industrial training to
the literary instruction. The 13 State institutions are schools of
elementary and secondary grade, with some teacher-training courses and
some facilities for manual training. Six of them are located in Northern
States. In addition to these State institutions, well-managed manual
training schools are maintained by the cities of Washington, D. C.;
Charleston, S. C., and Columbus, Ga.
The private institutions are divided into two groups: Hampton Institute
and Tuskegee Institute, with their large plants, constitute the first
group. They occupy a unique position, not only for their influence among
the schools for colored people, but also for the part they play in
determining the educational policies of the country.
A number of effective movements for the extension of industrial
education have been organized within the past ten years. These movements
are the result of the cooperation of the Jeanes Fund, the Slater Fund,
and the General Education Board with the State and county departments of
education. Through this cooperation, State supervisors of colored
schools have been appointed in ten Southern States and county industrial
teachers are maintained in 131 counties of these and other States. These
agencies have organized home-makers’ clubs, encouraged the introduction
of industrial courses into the schools, and assisted in arousing public
opinion favorable to industrial education.
No discussion of industrial education is complete without reference to
the late Dr. Booker T. Washington, who in this field attained world-wide
fame and brought more to the cause of all education, than any other
individual of this generation. His life history and the wonderful story
of Tuskegee, which he founded, are too well known to be given in detail.
But his influence was not limited to Tuskegee. He did more than any
other individual in teaching the world “that democracy’s plan for the
solution of the race problem in the Southland is not primarily in the
philanthropies and wisdom of Northern people; nor is it in the desires
and struggles of the colored people; nor yet in the first hand knowledge
and daily contacts of the Southern white people. Democracy’s plan is in
the combination of the best thought and the deepest sympathy and the
most abiding faith of these three groups working with mutual faith in
one another.”
No more appropriate ending can be found to this section on industrial
education or the entire chapter on Negro education, than the beautiful
poem of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, written as a tribute to Dr. Washington:
The word is writ that he who runs may read,
What is the passing breath of earthly fame?
But to snatch glory from the hands of blame—
That is to be, to live, to strive indeed.
A poor Virginia Cabin gave the seed.
And from its dark and lowly door there came
A peer of princes in the world’s acclaim,
A master spirit for the Nation’s need.
Strong, silent, purposeful beyond his kind,
The mark of rugged force on brow and lip,
Straight on he goes, nor turns to look behind
Where hot the hounds come baying at his hip,
With one idea foremost in his mind,
Like the keen prow of some on-forging ship.
[Illustration:
Y. M. C. A. BUILDING, KANSAS CITY, MO.
]
THE TRAINING OF CHILDREN
The Child an Imitator
Imitation is the basis of all education; it is instruction through
action. Especially so is this in the case of young children. The tiny
infant lying so snugly within his mother’s arms, knows nothing of the
“why and wherefore” of this world. It is content, and as long as its
physical wants are looked after, it matters not. Toward the ending of
the first year it begins to take notice, and we see the fond mother
teaching her darling to shake bye-bye, play pat-a-cake, and to throw a
kiss from his tiny fingers. All these gestures are mere imitations of
what he sees. He hasn’t the slightest idea of the meaning of it all.
Later the infant will imitate the noise of the “bow-wow,” the “moo-cow”
and he will do his best to “mew” like a cat. These, too, are imitations
of what he hears and are of importance in its development.
An interesting story is told of a young mother who took great pains to
teach her first little one to lisp “Da-Da” at the approach of its
father. The mother succeeded admirably and the fond father never got
tired of hearing his little one utter this new name of his. What was
their utter dismay when one day a despicable looking tramp came to the
door and the little one insisted in holding out its arms to him and
fondly calling him “Da-Da.” We can easily see that the early knowledge
of a child is an imitation of what he sees and hears and you, watchful
mother, must always keep the watchwords, “what he sees” and “what he
hears” ever before you, and let it be the keynote of all early training.
It is always interesting to watch children at play; more so when they
are playing “house” or some other amusement relative to home life. Have
you not noticed how the little girl will assume the manner and actions
of her own mother? Supposedly, the “dolly” has been taken suddenly ill
and the doctor has been sent for. It is a most critical case and the
little boy who is playing doctor will knit and pucker up his brow and
will imitate the solemnity and dignity of the professional man most
vividly. He even tries to make his voice lower and gruffer in tone, so
as to make the “doctor” more real. Yes, children in their play are prime
representatives of realities and are often good teachers in some
respects, for they are not only good imitators but good observers.
CHILD’S FUTURE MOLDED BY EXAMPLE
Everything to a child is a model of manner, of gesture, of speech, of
habit, of character. Let these models be of the highest type. If we
would have fine characters we must necessarily present before children
fine models. The model the child constantly has in his mind’s eye is the
mother. She it is through the example she provides who sets the standard
for the child’s future. The child comes into the world with its plastic
mind open to all impressions and these it receives and retains by
outside forces. It is a very poor plan to take children to a theatre.
They cannot help but hear and see things which will cause them often to
imitate, and which may result in disaster.
A true story is told of a boy, ten years old, who was taken by his
mother to see a show. During the play the audience was treated to an
exciting domestic quarrel on the stage. One of the characters, a young
boy, was supposed to protect his mother by shooting an intruder. The boy
was applauded by the audience, which plainly showed they considered him
a hero. Henry, for this was the boy’s name who was witnessing the play,
was carried away with all that he saw and decided that he, too, would
deal likewise to anyone who would harm his mother. Some weeks later a
peddler came to his mother’s house and insisted that she buy some of his
wares. She told him she didn’t care for any, but the peddler’s voice was
rather loud and he seemed very persistent. Henry, hearing it all,
thought the time had come to imitate the actor’s bravery. He turned to a
drawer, took his father’s pistol and without one moment’s reflection
shot the peddler, but, fortunately, did not kill him. This plainly shows
what imitation in the young mind can lead to.
Example is far better than precept. In the face of bad example, the best
of precepts are of little use. Can you expect a child who constantly
sees before him ignorance, coarseness and selfishness, to grow up
anything more than the reflection of these faults?
It sometimes happens that a child brought up under these circumstances
finds himself, in adult life, placed amidst other scenes. He immediately
sees the difference and compares his training to those around him. If he
is ambitious and wants to change his mode of life, he has to commence
all over again his work of imitation. He has reason with him now to help
him, yet he will at first find it uphill work; but when he succeeds, he
will be the much better man. Should a child when he reaches adult age
care not to pluck these traits from his character, he becomes at once a
rude, dangerous member to society and a grievance to those with whom he
comes in contact.
Too much care cannot be taken in teaching the children the avoidance of
sham. This must especially be insisted on in the matter of dress. Most
all of us are fond of “fine raiment,” and we cannot help but feel that
appearances play an important part in life. It must be the avoidance of
imitating of finery and the adoption of the substantial in dress, that
we must teach our children.
GLITTERING IMITATIONS A SERIOUS EVIL
In the matter of dress, girls are more influenced by its grandeur than
are boys, and the wise mother will do well to teach her daughter
simplicity in everything. Never allow her to wear imitations of precious
stones or jewelry. This is not only bad taste, but it is a bad habit to
form. Many a poor girl has fallen from grace just through the love of
glittering baubles. Teach her never to rouge her cheeks or use
cosmetics. If Nature has not given her a perfect complexion, she can
never get it by imitation. “You can’t cheat Nature,” but you can aid it.
Have her imitate God’s creatures by copying cleanliness, simple eating
and regular habits. She may not get a faultless complexion—few people
have this gift—but she can get that soft texture of skin, that buoyancy
of spirit, that brightness of eye with the soul showing through. Let
these be her models and the imitation will be of real worth.
GUIDANCE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
While the imitation of dress and the lighter vanities of life are more
indulged in by the girl, the boy also is a decided imitator in other
weaknesses. A boy will imitate any quality which he thinks manly. Would
that the points they imitate deserved this name, but most of the things
they copy are those which will sooner or later, make slaves of them. How
early we see the tiny tot of three or four years placing a piece of
stick or anything which resembles a cigar, between his lips. Watch him
puff at it; see him imitate the strut of a man. This sometimes appears
comical, and the child is often prevailed upon to show how clever he is.
Alas, this is only the first attempt to imitate the manly arts, and if
not guided in the right direction his imitations may become a tragedy
instead of a comedy.
By imitation of acts the character becomes slowly and imperceptibly, but
at length decidedly formed. Do not think, mother, that because your
child is young it cannot judge. In this you are greatly mistaken.
Children are very clever judges and especially do they see through any
inconsistency. They hear you say: “You mustn’t do thus and so.” What do
you think is in their childish minds when they discover you doing it?
Children do not appreciate the motto which the preacher gave to his
congregation: “Do as I say, not as I do.” No, indeed, they follow the
example. The precept is forgotten.
The habits, which are our constant companions and followers through
life, are based on imitation. If good habits are to be formed, childhood
is the time to plant them. You cannot begin too early. The little tot
who sees her mother throw down her belongings cannot be expected to take
care of her playthings, nor, as she grows up, to be neat and tidy. Order
is Heaven’s first law and the successful mother will start with having a
place for everything and have everything in its place.
GOOD MANNERS AND SOCIAL ETIQUETTE
The demeanor of a child is also a vast reflector of home training. You
cannot always teach morals by imitation, but you can the custom of
manners and social etiquette. In the primitive appetites of eating and
drinking, imitation is a very strong force. How easily a little child
will imitate the smacking of lips after some article of diet especially
enjoyed. How easily he comes to use his knife in conveying food to his
mouth, if he has seen this performance. How anxious he is to rush from
the table as soon as he has finished eating. These, and many other
breaches of good manners, I am sorry to say, come as a result of seeing
others do likewise.
It is our duty to read up on all manners and customs of etiquette. The
mother must acquaint herself with all its details; then your child will
be a credit as well as a joy to his parents.
One of the best illustrations of the power of imitation is in the way
the deaf are taught. The natural way of speaking any language is by
hearing; by trying to imitate the sounds which are made. In the case of
the deaf, they learn their expression of thought through imitation
entirely, the lips and gestures of the hands and fingers being the only
source of communication.
We have learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So
long as this imitation is of sterling value, let us all become
flatterers. Let us flatter Love, which lightens labor. Let us flatter
Care by crowning and beautifying its rugged and repellant features. Let
us all endeavor to flatter the serenity of Life by being constantly on
the outlook for the foes without and the foes within—the “little foxes
that seek to destroy the vines.”
GIVE YOUR BOYS AND GIRLS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP THEIR TRUE NATURES
The child must be encouraged to unfold. Its thoughts, its ideas, its
method of carrying out its ideas, its instincts and intuitions, in a
word, its genius must be brought forward, never suppressed. If the ideas
are wild, the play rough, the instincts perverse and the child is
unruly, the mother must seek ways to direct them.
How can you judge the workings of that mind and soul? You must study
your little one’s motives, in order to pass a sentence on the act he has
committed. If your boy is noisy, rough, pugnacious, you may lay it to a
surplus of nervous energy that has no proper outlet.
He is ungovernable perhaps, neither you nor his father nor the teacher
at school can manage him. What are you going to do? His father whips
him, but the youth is India rubber—he rebounds. The rod has not reached
his inner consciousness. The teacher keeps him in after school, and on
being freed, he rushes into a fight. You, his mother, are distracted,
for although he seems to listen to you, he pays little heed to your
commands.
DIRECT YOUR CHILD’S ENERGY
What are you going to do with such a child? Send him to a reform school,
and ruin his life? Beat him until all the buoyancy has gone out of his
nature? Keep him in after school until he becomes irritable and nervous?
No, indeed! The best thing to do with a lively and unrestrained child is
to set his energies in a safe and sane channel. Teach him field sports,
open up for him the delights of the manual training room. Give him a
hammer, a few nails, a bit of lumber, a paste pot, some cardboard. Boys
love to work with their hands, so let your boy make things. He will like
to build stools and coat racks, boxes, broom-holders, anything that is
useful. That is one of the great secrets of bringing up a boy, make him
useful. He likes the little sense of power, the natural feeling of pride
that comes from a knowledge that he is of some consequence, that his
work counts. The boy who is taught to do something well, will not long
be unmanageable.
KEEPING THE BOY BUSY
Supposing the boy is not to be directed at once into the enchanting
field of handcraft; supposing his mother has allowed him to run wild a
little too long or has not noticed that he was evincing signs of
lawlessness until the neighbors or teachers send home uncomplimentary
reports, what’s to be done? Try another tactic. See if you cannot
interest him in outdoor sports to a point where he reaches self-respect.
Baseball will do, a bat and a ball may help him to rouse the best that
is in your lad. Then let him help his father with chores, let him drive
the team to town, or sell a load of produce—nothing brings out a boy’s
incipient manhood like the thought that he is helping his “dad,” that he
can be depended upon, and held responsible for something really worth
while.
I know a fine boy of twelve, the son of a store-keeper in a small
Georgia town, who is raising hens. He has forty flourishing Wyandottes,
a couple of dozen Leghorns and as many Buff Cochins. He has built a
substantial hen house, and fenced in a part of the yard. Friends and
relatives became interested in his enterprise and gave him suggestions,
the benefit of their experience, until now he is a thriving chicken
farmer. Last summer, he sold on an average of five dozen eggs a day. We
were among his customers, and we paid him thirty cents a dozen, his
regular price, which means that the twelve-year-old made $1.50 a day, or
$10.50 a week. Besides earning a little money he was having a lot of
fun.
He had enough on his mind to keep him out of trouble, and enough on his
hands to work off the physical force that otherwise might have gone to
waste, making him an undesirable citizen.
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE BOY
If your boy is mischievous, can you not make a merchant or a farmer or a
gardener out of him? It need not be his vocation. Let it be his
avocation, his hobby. Don’t shut him in, don’t keep him down; encourage
him to come out along life’s highway and show the world the sort of
stuff he’s made of.
A very noble-minded woman of my acquaintance is suffering from the
effects of having been constantly restrained when she was a child. She
is in consequence, diffident, lacking in self-confidence, liable to
become the victim of a strong-willed person’s whim. She says that, as a
girl, all her natural instincts were put to scorn. Full of abounding
life, she loved to leap down the stairs, throw herself into her mother’s
arms, shout with laughter, sing at the top of her voice as she went
about her tasks. This was looked upon with horror by her sedate and
cautious parent. “Don’t run down the stairs,” her mother would say.
“Don’t laugh so loud!” “Don’t shout like that!” Don’t, don’t, don’t,
until the poor girl did not really know what she might do with impunity.
She was constantly being humiliated before visitors, and the joy in life
that might have been cultivated and utilized, nay, even glorified, was
driven quite out of her soul. Yet her mother was an excellent woman, who
meant to do just the right thing by that little girl of hers. She had
her own idea of what a young girl should be. This gay, hilarious
creature was not just what the mother desired. She had hopes of bringing
up a dignified, gentle, lady-like, delicate, feminine daughter rather
than a hoyden. What might not that mother have done had she but
understood the glorious material God had lent her to work with a little
while!
If she had only realized that the quality she was stamping out was a
radiant, winged, rare, inspired and inspiring touch of nature springing
out of a fullness of life, a superabundance of health, she might have
made her child a queen among women, a leader, a creature admired and
adored.
THE SOUL NEEDS SPACE TO DEVELOP
Instead, she accomplished not the dainty, refined model she set her
unwise hands to, but an anomaly, an unwieldy statue with the helmeted
head of Athene and the dancing body of Terpsichore. The mother can do
much for her child, but she cannot put her soul into the other body. The
child’s soul is its own. Inspirations and energies can be directed, that
is all. The soul must grow; it must develop, and for this it must have a
wide space. Do not bind the growth with a too compelling hand. Let
cooperation, not coercion, be the stimulus between you.
The whole world is yours and your child’s, dear mother, therefore do not
cramp his mental or spiritual gymnastics. There are a thousand outlets,
a hundred thousand modes of expression. Find your child’s height and
depth; sound him, measure his capacity for learning, pleasure, pain,
work, and let him grow in beauty, wisdom and peace ever unfolding into
the Infinite.
DEVELOPING MORAL CHARACTER
The whole field of our obligation both positive and negative; that is,
the “I oughts” and the “I ought nots”; what we ought to do and what we
ought to avoid; our duty toward ourselves, our duty toward mankind and
our duty toward God, come to us through what we term moral or ethical
science. A mental construction having as its basis purity and duty. When
the moral nature is cultivated and developed it controls every action of
man, radiating from the individual to society and from society back
again to the individual.
We study moral science in order that we may conduct ourselves properly
in all relations of life; that we may be inwardly pure and outwardly
moral; that we may be harmonious in our mental construction and in our
relations with the world. It is true that we may attain some degree of
morality without giving it especial study, just as we may live in the
world and perform the ordinary work of life without scholastic learning.
There is a natural desire for knowledge—we seek a rational account of
things. Moral science endeavors to give us this rational account of
moral conduct which we find everywhere in some form, to correct and
improve it, to elevate and purify our moral ideals.
HOME THE PLACE FOR STUDY
We know of no more appropriate place for the practical beginning of this
most important duty than in the home. The influence of the parents’
character upon the children cannot be estimated. Everything that we come
in contact with has a certain influence upon us. A man took a political
paper only to laugh at it, but he read the same theories over and over
until at length they became truths to him. As the constant dropping of
water will wear away the stone, so will constant association have an
everlasting influence upon the character. It may be changed—either
elevated or degraded—but it never can be destroyed.
Every child is born with a natural temperament or disposition, which is
the product of two elementary factors. (1) Inheritance—those qualities
which are transmitted by nature from one’s ancestors and (2) maternal
impression—the impression made upon the plastic brain of the foetus. The
first comes from generations of ancestry, whereas the last is entirely
dependent upon the mother; the influence of what she sees, what she
hears and what she thinks. These qualities combine for good or for bad,
to influence the life of the child.
Fortunate indeed is the child who is well born, but doubly fortunate is
he who may also be well trained.
IMPRESSIONS MADE BY THE EYE
The home is the true soil for the cultivation of virtue. Mere
cultivation of intellect has little influence upon character. Most of
the principles of character are implanted in the home and not in the
school. Children are more apt to learn through the eye than through the
ear. That which is seen makes a much deeper impression on the mind than
that which is read or heard, and that which they see they will
unconsciously imitate.
Notice the little mannerisms of your children. It may be a way of
walking, or a twist of the mouth or an accent. How easily you can detect
the origin! Therefore it behooves parents to place before their children
examples of character that as nearly as possible approach perfection.
Whatever benefit there is derived from the schools, the examples set in
the home are of far greater influence in forming the character of our
future men and women.
THE HOME THE SOCIAL CENTER
The home is the center of social and national character and from that
source issues the habits, principles and maxims that govern public as
well as private life. Examples of conduct even in apparently trivial
matters are of great importance, inasmuch as they are to become
interwoven with the lives of others and contribute to the formation of
the character for better or for worse.
We have first certain implanted principles of involuntary action. They
are the appetites which are tendencies toward things for bodily life and
continuance; the desires which are tendencies toward things necessary
for mental life and development, and the affections which are tendencies
toward social life and welfare.
The appetites are cravings produced by recurring wants and needs
necessary to the body and are seven in number: hunger, thirst, sex,
sleep, rest, exercise and air—all of which are necessary for our animal
existence. The appetites play a strong part even in our social and moral
life, and they may be lifted up to a higher plane of moral action or
they may be drawn down to a mere brute impulse. Every gift of the body
and soul can be moralized for good.
APPETITE AS A FACTOR IN CHARACTER
The higher moral attainment rests in and arises out of the physical
nature. The intellect and the moral structure can be no greater than the
foundation will allow. The appetites are attended by an uneasy sensation
which incites action. There is no moral quality in the appetites
themselves, as can be seen in the brute, but in man with his higher
gifts they become important factors of his moral character. They not
only impel him to action, but bring him into relationship with the
material world and with his fellowmen.
The pleasures accompanying the appetite are legitimate and useful in
their proper indulgence, and are necessary to life and existence. The
child, naturally born, will soon display the uneasiness naturally
attendant upon the appetites and it is the duty of the mothers to supply
the needs in a careful, intelligent manner. A child may be so bodily
impoverished that he will become a moral degenerate, so we would impress
the greatest importance upon the bodily care of the child.
STORY OF THE TWO BROTHERS
The case is recalled of a young mother who had two sons, the younger of
whom was a healthy, rosy little lad, while the elder was thin and
delicate. The healthy boy ate heartily of all that was served him, while
the delicate boy only ate choice bits of food and constantly indulged in
sweets. The mother praised the healthy boy and showed her disappointment
that the elder was not like his brother. Suddenly the family noticed the
thin boy was getting stouter and they all told him how pleased they
were, and the mother was beginning to feel very happy when to her dismay
she discovered that he had padded himself. Her heart was touched with
pity when she thought of the pathos in his little mind that prompted him
to resort to such measures. The boy was acting a falsehood in order to
meet his mother’s approval. This may have all been prevented had the
mother sought to ascertain the cause of the poor appetite and supplied
the remedy. Had she taken the time to explain to him food values and the
necessity of fresh air and exercise, seeing that he availed himself of
them, this desire to deceive would probably never have arisen.
The appetite of sex bears the same relation to the continuance of the
species as the other appetites bear to the well-being of the body. The
family based first on natural love is essential to the existence and
development of man. Afterward paternal and maternal love are added and
then come all the wider affections toward mankind.
APPETITE MAY BE ACQUIRED
We not only have the natural appetites but the acquired appetites, which
are related to desires but in their action they are like original
appetites. Artificial appetites may be inherited. This is especially
true in the case of the children of the drunkard, opium taker and
tobacco user. This is probably due to the effect upon the nervous
system, and it is, as a rule, for the effect upon the nervous system
that these things are taken. Or, they may be acquired by the
individual’s deficiency of self-control and a natural inclination on his
part to act the braggadocio or abandon, deluding himself that he is
acting manly, and endeavoring to create a like impression upon others.
THE PERIOD OF “COLTISHNESS”
This disposition is always more or less present in children, and
particularly so in youth. It would appear in the minds of a great many
there is the necessity of a period of coltishness through which we all
must pass, and during which there would seem no help for us but a free
rein and copious mother-tears. As the world is growing wiser and better,
and as we all are coming to recognize this improvement of conditions,
these fatuous delusions are losing ground and now instead of it
appearing “big” to the child or youth to do those “smart” things, he is
beginning to realize that his standing in the community and the respect
which he wishes to command, must be governed wholly by the qualities of
manliness and gentility of which he is possessed.
It is a failing on our part individually to look upon our own as good
and all others as bad, where there is a difference, and however
comforting this may be to us, we must face the question squarely—that
there is just about as much bad in one as there is in the other. The
scales may not always balance in such a comparison, but usually they
will very nearly do so. The virtues which are possessed by different
individuals may not always be the same, but they always make up for the
more or less patent deficiencies.
For instance, our attention was once called to a very lovable young man,
weak in character and somewhat dissipated, who was so sympathetic that
he would show the deepest solicitude for the poor and helpless child,
the dumb brute in its sufferings, or the poor wounded bird. Had the
character of this young man been properly trained in the days of his
childhood, no thought would have been given by him to those things
resulting in dissipation, but that natural energy of young manhood would
otherwise have found vent, and have been a great good and a great
blessing.
SUBJUGATION OF THE APPETITE
The appetites are not to be eradicated but to be restrained and kept in
subjection to their proper ends. The desires are in many ways analogous
to the appetites, hence the common expression we “hunger” and “thirst”
for knowledge, or power, or any of the so-called six original
desires—knowledge, society, love, power, superiority and possession. All
proper desires end in their proper objects and seek nothing more. We may
seek knowledge whereby we may control and elevate the natural qualities
we possess and make safe our influence upon others: or again we may seek
knowledge out of vanity for the means of display.
Social life is the chief sphere of our activities and improvements,
without which the moral nature could not be developed. But then we may
desire society for purely selfish motives, as the child may seek a
playmate merely that he may himself be amused, not that he may give
pleasure to the other child. The disposition to be loved and esteemed
appears very early in childhood. It is considered a mark of bad
character to be careless of the regard of others. A moralist once said:
“A young man is not far from ruin when he can say without blushing, ‘I
don’t care what others think of me’,” and on the other extreme esteem
may be craved to such an extent that it may lead to hypocrisy and
deceit.
PROPER APPLICATION OF OUR DESIRES
So on through the whole list of desires both natural and acquired, we
have the benefits of their proper application and the sorrows and
discomforts of their abuses. “Place even the highest-minded philosopher
in the midst of daily discomfort, immorality and vileness, and he will
insensibly gravitate toward brutality. How much more susceptible is the
impressionable and helpless child amid such surroundings! It is not
possible to rear a kindly nature, sensitive to evil, pure in mind and
heart, amidst coarseness, discomfort and impurity.”
It is said that “the highest of our joys are found in the affections,”
but because the appetites and desires seem primarily intended for the
existence of our nature it does not follow that they are selfish. We
would never know that we needed to take food were it not for the
implanted appetite. We would never know that we needed to seek knowledge
were it not for implanted desires, nor would we ever be led to deeds of
love and sympathy were it not for the implanted affections.
SOWING SEEDS OF KINDLINESS
Good and friendly conduct may meet with an unworthy and ungrateful
return, but the absence of gratitude on the part of the receiver cannot
destroy the self-approbation which compensates the giver, and we can
scatter the seeds of courtesy and kindliness around us at so little
expense. Some of them will inevitably fall on good ground and grow up
into benevolence in the minds of others, and all of them will bear
fruits of happiness in the bosom whence they sprang.
Bentham says that “a man becomes rich in his own stock of pleasures in
proportion to the amount he distributes to others. Kind words cost no
more than unkind words. Kind words produce kind actions, not only on the
part of him to whom they are addressed, but on the part of him by whom
they are employed; and this not incidentally only, but habitually, in
virtue of the principle of association. It may indeed happen that the
effort of beneficence may not benefit those for whom it was intended,
but when wisely directed it must benefit the person from whom it
emanates.”
A well-known author tells a story of a little girl, a great favorite
with every one who knew her. “Why does everybody love you so much?” She
answered, “I think it is because I love everybody so much.” This little
story is capable of a very wide application; for our happiness as human
beings, generally speaking, will be found to be very much in proportion
to the number of things we love, and the number of things that love us.
The greatest worldly success, however honestly achieved, will contribute
comparatively little to happiness unless it be accompanied by a lively
benevolence toward every human being.
RESENTMENT AGAINST INJUSTICE
Then we have with the kindly affections the defensive
affection—resentment, the spontaneous uprising of our natures against
harm and injury. It meets impending danger in an instant—not only
personal danger, but is present in our relations with others; as the
mother repels harm from her child. The resentment against wrong and
injustice should be taught as a righteous and noble attainment, but the
abuses are equally dangerous.
The mother will do well to explain to the child the different qualities
of this attainment. That quality which will protect him from wrong and
injury and which is excited by cruelty and injustice on the one side,
and on the other side the abuses which are passion and peevishness.
Teach him that the giving away to sudden fits of anger stamps him as
being ill-bred and peevishness is a sign of weak character; both of
which are diseases that if not cured will tend to destroy the moral
structure.
There is more virtue in one sunbeam than a whole hemisphere of clouds
and gloom. Therefore, look on the bright side of things. Cultivate what
is warm and genial—not the cold and repulsive, the dark and morose.
Don’t neglect your duty; live down prejudice.
THE JOYS OF CHEERFULNESS
Cheerfulness! How sweet in infancy, how lovely in youth, how saintly in
age! There are a few noble natures whose very presence carries sunshine
with them wherever they go; a sunshine which means pity for the poor,
sympathy for the suffering, help for the unfortunate, and benignity
toward all. How such a face enlivens every other face it meets, and
carries into every one vivacity, joy and gladness.
At the same time, life will always be to a large extent what we make it.
Each mind makes its own little world. The cheerful mind makes it
pleasant, the discontented mind makes it miserable. “My mind to me a
kingdom is,” applies alike to the peasant and the monarch. Life is, for
the most part, but the mirror of our own individual selves.
PRINCIPLE AND CONSCIENCE
The true character acts rightly, whether in secret or in the sight of
others. That boy was well trained who, when asked why he did not pocket
some pears, for nobody was there to see, replied: “Yes, there was; I was
there to see myself; and I don’t intend ever to see myself do a
dishonest thing.” This is a simple but not inappropriate illustration of
principle, or conscience, dominating in the character, and exercising a
noble protectorate over it; not merely a passive influence, but an
active power regulating life.
Such a principle goes on molding the character hourly and daily, growing
with a force that operates every moment. Without this dominating
influence, character has no protection, but is constantly liable to fall
away before temptation; and every such temptation succumbed to, every
act of meanness or dishonesty, however slight, causes self-degradation.
It matters not whether the act be successful or not, discovered or
concealed; the culprit is no longer the same, but another person; and he
is pursued by a secret uneasiness, by self-reproach, or the workings of
what we call conscience, which is the inevitable doom of the guilty.
WILL DISTINGUISHED FROM CONSCIENCE
We have within us that controlling element or power known as the will
which should be distinguished from mere impulse, and which gives us the
ability of passing upon and determining suggestions made to our mind and
of allowing or disapproving the thought or possible impulse which gives
them use. Will is distinguished from conscience in that it marks the
determination and lends the force which makes conscience potent, drawing
us nearer to the perfection which self-denial and self-control create
and, let us hope, to the end—
“That God which ever lives and loves,
One God, one law, one element,
And one far-off divine event,
To which the whole creation moves.”
“The great end of training,” says a great writer, “is liberty; and the
sooner you can get a child to be a law unto himself, the sooner you will
make a man of him. I will respect human liberty in the smallest child
even more scrupulously than in a grown man; for the latter can defend it
against me, while the child cannot. Never will I insult the child so far
as to regard him as material to be cast into a mold, to emerge with the
stamp given by my will.”
DUTY BEGINS IN THE HOME
Duty embraces our whole existence. It begins in the home where there is
duty which children owe to their parents on the one hand, and duty which
parents owe to their children on the other. There are in like manner,
the respective duties of husband and wife, of employer and employee;
while outside the home there are the duties which men and women owe to
each other as friends and neighbors.
May it be borne in mind that the first seven years of training, in a
child’s life, is of such importance as to leave its impress on the
character throughout all the coming years. Lyman Abbott says: “Training
is the production of habit. Actions oft repeated become a habit; habit
long continued becomes a second nature.”
If gentleness and kindliness born of love is given to the child, at the
same time forgetting not that kind firmness which guides the child’s
life aright; demanding and exacting an immediate and implicit obedience
to your instructions and directions, using whatever patience and
firmness may be necessary to compel such obedience—then has the parent,
and only then, accomplished that beginning and foundation of character
building which will send their children forth to bless the world, and
crown you with glory.
REVERENCE AND RESPECT
“Life is the wonder of wonders.” We can neither create it nor can we
comprehend its mystery. From the sun worshiper of the East to the red
man of the West, from the philosopher to the child there is in him that
natural inclination to bow with reverence to that all majestic, all
powerful source of this which we call life. “The greatest harm one may
do in life is to destroy it.”
The child has a natural tendency toward destruction, which we often see
illustrated in the youth whose chief pleasure is obtained by pulling up
the wild flowers and shrubs. He says, “they do not suffer.” Possibly
not, but they have been a means used to decorate and beautify the earth.
To destroy them for amusement is an insult to the great Creator, and is
also hardening his own heart. He will not long be satisfied to trample
upon the rose or crush the lily, but will want to torture living things
that will cry out with pain. When he has robbed the bird’s nest,
mutilated the toad and tied the tin can to the dog’s tail, he will then
turn to his fellowman to satiate his cultivated taste for cruelty. The
attack upon the flowers was only the preliminary act to destroy his
sympathy, love and pity. He has forgotten the law, “Thou shalt not
kill.”
EVIL EFFECTS OF BAD EXAMPLE, ETC.
To spoil another’s life is almost as grave an act as to take it from
him. Each one of us in a way holds the health and happiness of others in
his keeping, and by bad example, ill-treatment or injustice may make
life to some one so undesirable that death would be a pleasure. Many
children have been made nervous wrecks by the mockery and cruel tricks
of their companions, and many parents and teachers have had their health
and happiness seriously impaired by disobedience and disregard. Life is
forever imperiled by the wickedness, ignorance and thoughtlessness of
those who, in their childhood, failed to receive the instructions due
them by those who were responsible for their future being.
As a counterpart to this disposition of destruction we have in our
nature a gentle, sympathetic tendency which will respect life and
development and will guide us to its protection and care from the
dropping of the seed to the harvest. Pity must be aroused when we see
life endangered, not only at the misfortune of humanity, but even the
wounded bird or the flower crushed by the storm should bring a
responsive heart-throb.
Teach the child to straighten the broken flower and to replant and
gently press the soil around the uprooted shrub. Notice the pleasure he
will experience when the flower revives and the shrub takes root. How
much greater will be his pleasure to minister to some living thing. Help
him dress the broken wing of the bird and warm the chilled kitten; with
what eagerness he will work only that they may recover.
LOVE, HONOR AND REVERENCE
He has then learned to join to pity those activities which constitute
mercy. It will then be an easy matter for him to care for the sick and
infirm, to see for the blind, to hear for the deaf and to walk for the
lame. Let them lift the burden from the shoulders of the aged who have
“blazed the trail” and made possible our present benefits. To them all
love, honor and reverence is due. It is said, “old men for counsel,
young men for action.” Necessarily, the old engineer who has been going
over the road for many years knows more of the dangerous grades and
uncertain curves than the strong young man who is to take the throttle
from the trembling hand, and who will be assured of success if he has
learned the lesson of wisdom in respecting the counsel of the aged.
It is a mistaken idea to shield children from all knowledge of misery
and suffering. It is not those who are blinded to suffering who
experience the greatest amount of joy in life, but the acme of joy comes
to those who have relieved some suffering. It is not always possible to
do great acts of charity, but it is an easy matter to give the kind word
or smile that may turn the tide which will convince some one that life
is worth while. It has been our experience that children may be taught
the elementary principles of nursing to a very great advantage. The
knowledge of diet and hygiene enables them not only to care for others,
but is applicable to their own bodily needs. The quiet step, the gentle
voice, the self-control necessary to the care of the sick, and the
respect due the physician and patient, are all good lessons in his early
moral and mental training.
CHINESE RESPECT FOR PARENTS AND AGED
We must confess that the Chinese hold a higher regard for their parents
and the aged than we do. They look upon the Western custom of the son’s
coming of age and going out into the world without regard to his
parents, or they for him in many cases, as behavior fit for the brute
and not fit for human beings. With them, as the parents are held
responsible for the conduct of the child, so the child is responsible
for the credit of the parents.
All children cannot be clever or highly intellectual, but they may all
be well trained and unselfish. A child should be taught in a mannerly
fashion and not in accordance with a story told of a mother who was
taking her well-beloved child, Tommy, to a Christmas-tree entertainment
given in a public hall. At the door of the hall she said: “Tommy, mind
your manners; smile and look pleasant, or when I get you out again I
will break every bone in your body.” As the mother is rude to her child,
in like degree she may expect rudeness from the child. A child has a
right to civility as well as the adult. General Garfield said: “I never
pass a ragged boy in the street without feeling that one day I might owe
him a salute.”
RESPECT IN THE SCHOOL ROOM
There is no surer way to teach a child to respect himself than to
respect him. Trebonius, a great schoolmaster, upon entering the
school-room was wont to lift his hat and say: “I uncover to the future
senators, counsellors, wise teachers, and other great men that may come
forth from this school.” There is no place where the respect of children
is more potent than in the school-room. The teacher who so respects
them, will in return receive that reverence and love which will make
labor pleasure instead of toil.
There is no greater indication of rudeness and ill-training than too
great familiarity with any one, more especially to those in higher
official positions. A young man was asked why, as he had a preference
for the army, he did not seek to become an officer. He replied: “I would
not like to have to salute a superior officer.” A young man of this
description would not be of value in any profession or to society. It is
not the individual that we salute, but the commission of the superior
officer. Every rank in life has its distinctive dignity, so we should
insist upon that respect due our position, at the same time not
forgetting the respect due others in both private and public life.
LOVE AND REVERENCE FOR ONE’S COUNTRY
We cannot impress too early on the child’s mind the love and reverence
he owes to his country. The superior merits of her institutions should
always be present in such teachings so that the child always would
recognize the best under the flag which stands for his welfare and
protection. Regardless of the respective merits of different
governments, let none be greater than his own so that the child will
learn always to defend and maintain the honor and dignity of his
country.
The essential condition to be aimed at in home life should be that as
the child grows up there be no question of fear, and that if the parents
are to do the most for their children and are going to get the greatest
amount of pleasure and comfort for themselves from them, there must be a
spirit of perfect respect and kindly comradeship. Parents and children,
to use the common but most expressive phrase, should in the best sense
of the term be companions.
The laws of this and every civilized land teach respect for the property
of others, the justice, not the penalty which commands due respect. But
respect for the opinions and views of others—this is a virtue that needs
be inoculated in your children’s minds early. It is closely connected
with charity. In teaching this form of respect impress upon them the
great difference in people. No two persons see or think exactly alike.
The world would be monotonous were all of its people the same in thought
and expression. It is always well to remember that, “it takes all kinds
of people to make a world.” Respect for parents, for strangers, for the
aged, should be instilled in the mind of every child. Explain to them
that, “respect for others’ views is the surest way of winning them to
your own.” Reverence for things sacred always helps to brighten the way.
The reverence with which a little child kneels at his mother’s side is a
beautiful sight. Respect for the mother’s teachings and reverence in the
worship of God through her implicit faith in a higher power. Reverence
and respect go hand in hand. “As ye measure to others, so in like manner
shall it be measured to you again.”
DUTIES OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS
CHILDREN SHOULD SHARE IN DUTIES
Let the children share in the duties of the home. Even while very young
there are many steps that a child may save the mother. Let them do the
little things, such as bringing mother’s work basket or having something
ready for father’s comfort when he comes home from the day’s work and
care. Gradually, as they grow, let the tasks gently shift over to the
young shoulders. It results by so doing in the mother always finding
time to be the companion of her husband and children—and that they will
appreciate.
The prospective and nursing mother should receive especial
consideration. It should be known and recognized that her requirements
for wholesome food, and above all wholesome surroundings, are necessary
for the normal development of her child and for her own physical safety.
How can she,—perhaps already a mother of several children, have the
needed rest and time to read or walk in the fresh air, unless the family
co-operate with her? It is so easy for the husband to direct the
children at these times and at all times, as to the care the mother is
deserving. We know a gentleman who, as a judge, has never had his
opinion on legal questions reversed, would commonly, after dinner, when
there was no help in the house, lead his wife to an easy chair,
affectionately express his and the family’s appreciation of the fine
dinner that they had all enjoyed and turning to their son, would say:
“Come, son, we must wash the dishes; we would not be very appreciative
were we to permit mother to work longer today.” Some would say that such
work is not in keeping with his august position. Be that as it may, one
fact remains: He has taught his children to care for their mother in
such a way that there will never arise any questions as to her position
or her rights.
COURTESIES DUE THE MOTHER
In this same manner the children can be taught that mother will remain
happier and younger if she is given the assurance of their love and
thoughtfulness by the occasional remembrance of a desirable gift, a
book, or a pretty bouquet of flowers. They may be wild flowers, gathered
by your own hands. So much the better. The little gifts of labor are so
much the sweeter. Then there is mother’s birthday to be remembered by
little offerings of love from the family. They do not remind her of
advancing years, but count each year a pearl; each pearl a prize. On her
wedding anniversary the husband brings to his sweetheart wife some gift
as a lover’s token. So as time passes, each year the vows of their youth
are renewed and the bonds between them sustained.
The most practical appreciation of love and worth that a woman may show
her husband—the provider of her family—is the careful consideration of
the best interest of the family. Eventually the man who receives such
sympathy and help will find his life being purified and strengthened.
MOTHER SHOULD BE CONFIDED IN
There is not much that can be achieved in the world without knowing
conditions and requirements. So it is with the home. The family cannot
enjoy the sympathy of the mother without giving her their confidence.
The husband who confides his financial affairs to the wife will seldom
fail. Let her know the amount and source of his income; let her feel
that she is his partner and that a portion of his income is hers, and
there will be little danger of financial failure or domestic
unhappiness.
A mother’s success with her family depends upon how much she lives in
their lives and experiences; the interest she takes in each day’s
effort. Even though she cannot go with them she can enjoy their feelings
and live them all over again with them in the home. The habit of telling
mother everything which has happened during the day is not only a great
safeguard to the children, but the mother may live over her childhood
days of dolls and toys, and may enlighten her mind by reading and
studying with her bright boy and girl; may even dream the sweet love
dreams all over again as with a gentle hand and sympathetic heart she
guides her children to a life of safety and happiness.
THE DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE TO EACH OTHER
The mother’s rights are real and comprehensive. They are something not
to be disputed. Hers are the greatest in the family. These rights her
children may not in early youth be able to fully realize, but these she
must teach to them simply and must insist upon. She has rights, very
clearly defined, to be accorded by her husband, and if he hesitates she
is most unfortunate and he is most unworthy. Her dues from him are the
greatest of all. They are the greatest in the world. If she has borne
him children she has done for him the utmost that one human being can do
for another. She has, literally, given him herself. Well has it been
said that a man’s duty to a faithful wife can never end while life
lasts. “When she consented to be his helpmate and to virtually transform
every organ in her body that his lineage may not die out, that he may
have children, healthy, happy and able, she has done more for him than
he can ever repay in a lifetime of service. She has taken the chance
gladly and risked her life for him.” Under what more tremendous
obligation could she place him? She has established a right which covers
all things.
These greatest rights—those of the mother from the husband—are so
numerous, so all-comprehending, that they cannot be given in detail.
They imply simply that he should look upon her as a part of himself and
show it instinctively and as a matter of course. She has the right to
claim from him that he should always be to her as he was before
marriage, save that the relationship is closer and more familiar. What
proportion of husbands remember this? How often does there come a time
after marriage when the husband forgets that they are one? How often
does he show unmistakably that he thinks his family is a drag upon him,
that he is bearing a burden, that he deserves especial credit for
bearing it and that what he pays out for family expenses he is “giving?”
There would be short work were he to assume such an attitude toward his
partner in a business venture, yet he is, literally, in partnership with
his wife in the greatest business this life affords and that she put in
by far the greater part of the capital in the beginning!
AS TO FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS
If there be anything a wife has a right to be fiercely sensitive about
it is absolutely necessary money, according to the standard of living
which may have been adopted. What wonder that she should feel grief and
resentment when this money is doled out to her as if it were a “gift,”
and not infrequently with grudgingness and reluctance and captious
words! It is no “gift.” It is no concession. Except when beyond the
ordinary requirements of living, within the limit of his means, no man
ever “gave” his wife anything. He is simply meeting a wise obligation he
has assumed and the manner in which he meets it may be said to afford a
fair estimate of the standard of the man. This applies equally to the
man of business affairs, to the farmer or to the workman.
To say just how the wife and mother shall assert this right in the
matter of money is difficult to say. She should not have to assert it.
It is a delicate matter and must ever be between the two, but is
referred to here at some length because it is the cause of so much
needless unhappiness—this heedless disregard for one of the mother’s
rights.
REGARD, PROTECTION AND CONSIDERATION
This matter of being placed under no personal obligation, even implied,
is, however, but a specific illustration of one of the rights of a good
wife. Her rights are first in all directions. Her rights include the
utmost limit of protection and consideration and regard from all about
her, and they are granted readily in the household where affection and
intelligence prevail. She should not be the one to think of her
rights—the good mother rarely is—but those about her—the husband first
and all the time—should be the ones to see to it that they are guarded
with all jealousy and fairly thrust upon her if she neglects to take
them.
It is the mother’s right that what she is doing every day should be
appreciated and that she should be assisted in every manner possible.
She can never be fully repaid, for hers is the one position requiring
constant care and sacrifice, but her burden can be made as easy as
possible, and that will more than satisfy her. A wonderful creature is
the mother.
MOTHER THE HIGHEST TYPE OF HUMANITY
A broader right of the mother,—and this is one which she may with all
propriety assert herself, as she is beginning to do wherever the best
and highest thought prevails—is that she is looked upon by the world as
being the highest type in example and in fruition of all humanity. She
is the extreme of what God has made in human beings of the one who is
carrying out, better and better with each age, the wonderful scheme of
creation and evolution. She is no longer the mere beaten bearer of her
species. She is the keynote; she is the producer and hers is the first
guiding hand.
THE FUTURE OF THE CHILD, THE FUTURE OF THE RACE
The future of the child is the future of the race. What the future of
the child shall be depends altogether upon the men and women of the
present. What thus becomes our vast responsibility is plain to see. It
rests, not upon parents alone, but upon the whole community.
There is no greater problem before thinking and aspiring humanity and,
certainly, no finer one than that of making the growing generation what
it should be and there is, as assuredly, none which appeals to us with
such overwhelming force, both with regard to our own welfare and the
welfare of those who fill our hearts and in whom our hopes are centered.
It is one involved alike in the parental instinct and that of
patriotism. Our children must be so reared as to develop into good sons
and daughters and good citizens as well. The keynote of all progress and
advancement in the good of the world is centered here. Each generation
should excel the one preceding it, and can be made to do so if the
parents of today and the communities of today are not neglectful. Always
today must be determined the nature of tomorrow. Parents and governments
have a glorious responsibility bestowed upon them. They determine what
all coming history shall be, what shall be the future of any nation and
the degree of the world’s happiness.
HOME LIFE A JOYFUL OCCUPATION
In developing the intelligence of the children the home may be made a
place of delightful occupation while they are becoming wiser. Every home
should be equipped with a little working library of reference books,
always accessible, including a Bible, a dictionary, an atlas and a good
encyclopedia, if possible. Then there is something to do with. Nothing
delights a child or a group of children more and nothing is more
profitable to them, than a search for information on some doubtful or
disputed point. Rightly used, these times of search, with the father or
mother as a guide and assistant, are of infinite value in developing a
spirit of investigation and, not only that, but one of comradeship
between parent and child. They are chums together in a common study,
looking for “the why and wherefore of things.”
The parent, however, as the head of the class, should endeavor to be
competent to lead. In fact, it is only by keeping abreast of what is
finest in the world’s advance can one become a companion really good
enough for one’s children. What a maker of all that is worth having the
home is in a thousand ways!
NEED OF CARE AND WATCHFULNESS
No, the work of rearing children as they should be reared is not so
difficult, if there be care and watchfulness enough. Therein lies the
need. Wishing lovingly and earnestly to do a thing is one matter;
knowing how to do it is quite another. Constant, unfailing study and
“thinking out” of things by a parent is a necessity. There are no two
children in the world whose needs are just alike.
THE WAY TO PERFECT HEALTH
The Human Body and How it is Made—How to Take Care of Yourself—Rules for
a Long and Happy Life—General Information
If the question were generally asked, “What is the most important factor
in the happiness of mankind?” spiritual matters not to be considered in
the query, it is safe to say that a tremendous majority of all the
intelligent people of the world would reply, “Health.”
Indeed, almost all the other conditions of real importance in life
depend more or less on health, and with health as a possession almost
all misfortunes can be overcome or borne with patience. Wealth, for
instance, is of very little consequence in comparison with health.
Without the latter there can be little real enjoyment of the former.
Without wealth, however, health can assure true happiness, and it is,
indeed, one of the most serviceable factors in enabling one to add
wealth to his possessions.
With these facts clearly recognized as they are, it is not strange that
intelligent men and women more and more give their attention to the
welfare of their bodies. In the most highly civilized countries the
advance of scientific surgery and discoveries in medicine are hailed
with the greatest applause. In such countries the subjects of sanitation
and hygiene are given the closest attention, not only by students and
scientists, but by every thoughtful individual. It is being recognized
that there is no great and impressive mystery about our physical natures
by virtue of which we escape responsibility for guarding our own health
in every reasonable way. The thing to do is to keep well if we possibly
can, and when we fail, give the best attention possible to repairing the
damage.
The one who should neglect the well-known principles of hygiene, because
of faith that a good doctor could cure any resulting sickness, would be
no less than a fool. The one who gets wet on a stormy day, fails to
change his clothes, neglects the cold which follows, contracts pneumonia
and dies, is not “removed by an all-wise Providence,” as so many
resolutions of sympathy declare, but by his own folly. It is unjust to
blame a wise and beneficent Power for such results. The household that
suffers from typhoid, when drinking well-water drained from its own
cesspool, needs sympathy, indeed, not only for the sickness but for the
stupidity that placed the well and the infection side by side.
Thus it is that, in arranging the order of subjects in this book of
practical information for everyone, it was readily decided to discuss
this subject with considerable detail. Household recipes and suggestions
appeal specially to women; stock, farm and orchard come within the
province of men; but health, hygiene and the kindred subjects command
attention with equal force, from man and woman and child.
Anyone who adopts the policy of “getting all the money he can, and
keeping all he can get,” is certain to make himself obnoxious to all
about him, and in the end to become very miserable as an embittered,
soured and friendless man, a failure in life, however wealthy he may
become. But the one who chooses the policy of getting all the health he
can and keeping all he gets, will have a very different tale to tell.
Regular habits, careful living, sunny disposition, a clear head, a
bright eye, a sound mind and a sound body give one a cheerful outlook on
the world, enable one to use all his energies to the best advantage,
guarantee that he will have real friends, assure happiness, and make of
one a genuine success in life, whether with or without the prosperity
that is very likely to accompany such qualities.
And what does it involve, this intelligent effort to acquire and retain
good health in these bodies of ours?
We have here at our disposal a marvelous and complicated machine,
perfect in design, and imperfect only through some inherited fault or
weakness of our ancestors. Most of its processes are automatic, though
some are deliberate, or voluntary. The automatic processes themselves
may fail to operate, however, through some carelessness of our own in
details that we must attend to of our own will. When the voluntary
processes are continued with great regularity, they become so habitual
that they may be considered almost automatic themselves, and in this
state of affairs the whole machine is operating to the best advantage,
and will receive no injury except from some outside cause.
This wonderful machine must breathe—an involuntary or automatic
action—but it must have pure and wholesome air, day and night, which is
to be made sure only by our own care and voluntary action. It must be
well nourished by proper food, obtained, selected and prepared by our
own voluntary effort, but the food then is assimilated into our strength
and support by the automatic and involuntary processes of digestion. So
it is through a long list of details which might be named, that the
machine of our body is kept in running order—in health, as we say—by a
combination of voluntary and involuntary processes, the latter depending
on the former in high degree for their success. All of these details are
simple enough in themselves when studied a little.
In normal and wholesome surroundings, such as, fortunately, most people
in this country enjoy, it is an easy matter to avert disease by proper
care, and to bring the system into such condition that in the event of
sickness the ailment can be thrown off readily by proper attention.
Carelessness of habits not only makes the individual more liable to the
outbreak of disease, but weakens the power to combat the disease after
it has once gained a hold.
This chapter is not primarily a medical work in the general use of that
term. That is to say, it does not go into the scientific and technical
details of physiology, nor yet the description and treatment of every
disease, simple or otherwise. Until all persons are educated in disease
and medicine, the very best advice that can be given in the event of
serious illness is—Call a competent, progressive, educated physician as
promptly as possible, and yield absolute obedience to his instructions
and treatment. But these instructions will include details of nursing
and diet, general care of the health, and other things which are of
great importance in assisting the work of the doctor. He will welcome
the evidence of knowledge of such things which can be gained from this
practical book. Furthermore, for an intelligent understanding of the
human body, how to keep it in health, and how to treat its simple
ailments, and the emergencies of all sorts that demand quick attention,
this department of the present work is confidently offered to the
reader.
THE HUMAN BODY AND ITS CONSTRUCTION
Let us now look briefly at the construction of the human body and the
duties which its various parts are intended to perform, after which we
will take note of the methods of preserving health in general, and the
diseases and injuries which must be guarded against.
First, some explanations of the terms used in these connections: We
divide all nature into three classes of objects, those belonging to the
Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms, and all things belong in one or
another of these. They are also divided into organic and inorganic
bodies. The first are those having organs by which they grow, such as
animals and plants. Inorganic bodies are those which are without life of
their own, such as air, water, stone and the like. All inorganic bodies
are included in the mineral kingdom. Those organic bodies which have no
power to feel are included in the vegetable kingdom, and those which
have the power to feel form the animal kingdom. There are things in
nature which are so close to this dividing line that even scientists
disagree as to whether they belong to the vegetable or animal kingdom.
The parts of an organized body, such as the mouth or the foot of an
animal, the root or the leaf of a plant, are called the organs, and the
work which an organ is intended to perform is called its function. The
material out of which any organ is composed is called tissue, and in the
human body, for instance, at least six different kinds of tissue are
found, forming the various organs. We will speak of the various solids
and fluids of the body by name, only in connection with their ailments
and their care hereafter. The tissues themselves are composed of fifteen
of the sixty-five chemical elements, or simple substances, known to
exist in nature.
The various organs of similar structure and common purpose found in the
human body, when taken together, are called a system.
These are the Osseous System, the Muscular System, the Digestive System,
the Circulatory System, the Respiratory System and the Nervous System.
The Osseous System means the skeleton, which gives shape to the body and
supports it, enables us to move and extend our limbs, and protects the
delicate organs from injury. The Muscular System is the flesh of the
body, forming a pad or covering around the bones, and thus also serving
as a protection, in addition to producing at will the motions of our
limbs and the controllable organs. The Digestive System is composed of
those organs which receive, transmit and dispose of our food, separating
the waste matter from the useful, and giving the latter to our
nourishment and strength. The mouth, the stomach, the intestines, and
various other organs are included in this service.
The Circulatory System includes the heart, the arteries, the veins and
the capillaries, those organs which transmit and purify the blood,
building up all other organs by this essential fluid which is life. The
Respiratory System is that which transmits the air and makes use of it
in the body for purifying the blood, thus including the lungs, and the
passages and valves which lead thither. The Nervous System is that part
of the organism by which the different parts of the body are controlled
and caused to work together, and through which mind and body are
connected. The brain, the spinal cord, the nerves and the ganglia of the
nerves are the organs of the Nervous System. They have been compared
most appropriately to an intricate telegraph system, of which the brain
is the head office or directing intelligence, the spinal cord is the
main line, the nerves are the wires running to every station, and the
ganglia are the stations themselves.
In addition to these general systems which have been named we must take
note also of the skin, which covers the whole exterior of the body; the
mucous membrane, which covers the open cavities and lines the organs;
the urinary organs, which separate and discharge the liquid waste of the
body and thus are akin to the digestive system; and the organs of
generation and reproduction by which the race is perpetuated.
PROPER FOOD AND ITS IMPORTANCE
To keep all of these various tissues and organs in health, as has been
suggested heretofore, we must be properly nourished by the most suitable
food. It is of prime importance, therefore, to know the true value of
foods in order that we may select wisely. To a higher degree than is
commonly realized, our physical welfare depends on this matter. We are
not speaking here of food for the sick, but of food for the well, not of
special delicacies, but of the every-day food of the average household
the practical subject for the practical man, woman or child. Let us see
what we may learn from the researches of the wisest students who have
considered the subject. It is not necessary here to go into the chemical
analysis which has proved the following facts, for facts they are. They
may be accepted absolutely as safe guides, with the assurance that only
benefit can result.
The popular division of foods into animal and vegetable is neither
scientific nor satisfactory. Not that it is a matter of indifference
whether man lives on a purely animal or purely vegetable diet or on one
derived from both kingdoms, but the differences depend not on the source
whence the foods are obtained, but on the proportions in which the
various food elements are combined, and on the digestibility and other
special properties of the foods selected. The materials supplied in the
form of food, and digested and absorbed by the body, are partly employed
for building up growing organs and making good the wear and tear—the
loss of substances—which they are constantly undergoing, and partly as
fuel for the production of heat and of energy.
Speaking roughly, raw meat of ordinary quality consists of water
seventy-five per cent, albumen and nitrogenous matters twenty per cent,
and fat five per cent. Although meat becomes more tender by keeping, it
is more wholesome while fresh, and freshness should not be sacrificed
for a tenderness really due to the beginning of decomposition. The flesh
of mature cattle, that is, four or five years old, is more nutritious
than that of younger ones. It is a matter of experience that beef and
mutton are more easily digested than veal and pork. Veal broth, however,
contains more nutritious matter than mutton broth or beef tea. Poultry
and wild birds, if young, yield a tender and digestible meat. Fish vary
much in their digestibility, salmon, for instance, being utterly unfit
for weak stomachs. Crabs and lobsters are notoriously indigestible.
Milk is the sole nourishment provided by nature for the young of man and
beast, and contains all food stuffs in the best proportions for the
infant’s needs. But milk alone is not adapted to the adult. Supplemented
by other food, however, it is invaluable and not appreciated as it ought
to be. Cheese is highly nutritious, but not very digestible. Eggs
resemble milk in composition, except that they contain less water. The
nearer raw the more digestible they are, and the yolk is more so than
the white, which, when hard boiled, is the most indigestible form of
albumen known. The addition of eggs to baked puddings is of questionable
utility, and next to a raw egg, well beaten, in milk or water or in soup
or beef tea, not too hot, a light boiled custard is the best form for
invalids.
From the earliest ages the grains or cereals have formed a portion of
man’s diet. Wheat has always been the most esteemed, and some varieties
of it may be grown in every climate except the very hottest and coldest.
Barley, rye and oats may be grown much farther north, but are less
digestible. Oatmeal cannot be made into bread, rye bread is rapidly
being displaced by wheat, and barley has almost entirely fallen into
disuse, except for the purposes of the brewer and distiller. In the
tropics rice is the chief cereal. It consists almost entirely of starch,
and is thus unfit for bread making. Our own corn, which we inherit from
the Indians and have immensely improved, is of all the cereals the
nearest approach to a perfect food.
Among roots the potato holds the most prominent place. Potatoes are
wholesome only when the starch granules, which compose them, are
healthy, as shown by their swelling out during boiling, bursting their
covering, and converting themselves into a floury mass, easily broken
up. They contain from twenty to twenty-five per cent of nutriment, but
this is almost entirely starch, and as a food in combination with meat,
cheese or other vegetables, they are not equal to rice. Parsnips, beets
and carrots are wholesome and nutritious, and should be used much more
than they are. Turnips are not so valuable. Cabbages and their kindred
have but little food value, although the salts they contain are
excellent in the preservation of health. As regards green vegetables in
general the importance of having them fresh is not sufficiently
realized. When they have been cut some days changes occur just as truly
as in animal food, and the freshness should be carefully watched, except
with those specially adapted for storing.
Salads are useful in maintaining the health, although many of them are
very indigestible, those of radishes, celery and cucumbers among the
list. Fruits are prized chiefly for their taste. Grapes alone, among
fresh fruits, contain any large proportion of food stuff. As an aid to
digestion, however, they all are properly highly prized. Fruits should
be fully ripe, but without any trace of decomposition.
Stimulants and condiments of high seasoning have little food value of
their own, but they have value as aids to digestion when used
moderately, and in making simpler foods more palatable. Alcoholic
liquors, whether mild or strong, hardly need to be considered here. It
is to be gravely doubted if such beverages are ever necessary or of
value in the diet, and in this place we are not considering them from
any other point of view.
It is equally difficult to speak positively and generally in reference
to tea and coffee. It is safe to say, however, that many people drink
these tempting beverages to excess, with harm resulting to themselves
from it. Tea and coffee alike act as exciters of the nerve centers,
accelerating and strengthening the heart’s action and respiration,
causing wakefulness, and increasing the secretion of the kidneys and
skin. Tea and coffee are far superior to alcohol in enabling man to
resist the depressing influence of fatigue and exposure to cold, and are
admirably adapted to the needs of soldiers on the march or men on
outdoor night duty. Cocoa, chocolate and their preparations contain some
active elements similar to those of tea and coffee, but the proportion
of nutritive material is so much greater that they are to be looked on
rather as food than drink.
The considerable use of ice and iced drinks is to be avoided. Small
quantities are of service in relieving thirst and vomiting, and in
cooling the body when exposed to great heat. But since ice causes the
mucous membrane of the stomach to become temporarily pale and bloodless,
it checks or altogether suspends the flow of the gastric juice. Thus
iced drinks at meals interfere seriously with digestion. Observe also
that there is no truth in the popular notion that frozen water or ice is
always pure. Water is not purified by freezing, and may be even more
polluted than it was before.
CLOTHING AND ITS RELATION TO HEALTH
Having considered thus briefly the matter of food and its relation to
health, the question of clothing and personal hygiene now rises for
attention. Besides serving for covering and adornment and guarding the
body from injury, the use of clothing is to help in preserving the
proper animal heat in spite of external changes. In health the normal
temperature of the body, ninety-eight to ninety-nine degrees Fahrenheit,
is invariable. In order that this temperature shall be maintained with
the least strain on the vitality, the clothing should be such that heat
is not readily conducted to or from the body.
Cotton and linen keep off the direct rays of the sun and favor the loss
of heat from the body, but being bad absorbers of moisture they are apt
to interfere with evaporation from the skin, and cause dangerous chills.
Linen and cotton are good conductors of heat, especially the former, and
do not readily absorb moisture. Silk and wool are bad conductors. Wool
has also a remarkable power of so completely absorbing moisture that it
feels dry when cotton or linen would be wet and cold. Its value as a
non-conductor, retaining internal heat and excluding external heat, is
shown by the fact that we wrap ice in blankets to keep it from melting,
and cover teapots with woolen “cosies” to keep them from getting cold.
These qualities together render it the most perfect material for
clothing under all conceivable circumstances.
The young and the old, the rheumatic, all persons liable to colds or
weak in lungs, or who have suffered from kidney diseases, those who are
exposed to great heat or cold or are engaged in laborious exercises,
ought to wear woolen next to the skin and, indeed, everyone would be
better for doing so. Rheumatic persons and those liable to cold feet
will find it a great luxury to sleep in blankets in winter instead of
sheets, and young children who are apt to get uncovered at night should
wear flannel night-gowns next the skin in the winter and over cotton
ones in the summer.
The color of clothing is a matter of little importance in the shade, but
in the sun the best reflectors are coolest, such as white and light
grays, while blue and black are the worst, absorbing the most heat. Dark
colors also absorb odors more than light colors do. Indeed, for
every-day use light-colored garments of whatever material, provided it
can be washed, are to be recommended, though dark colors are too often
preferred because they do not show the dirt. What woman would like to
wear a cotton waist and skirt six months without washing? Yet it would
not be half so dirty as the more absorbent dark woolen dress that she
would wear as long without a scruple.
Beds and bedding are likewise elements of importance in the general
health, although not always sufficiently considered. Soft, and
especially feather, beds are weakening. The harder a bed, consistent
with comfort, the better. Good hair mattresses are the most wholesome.
Coverings should be light, porous enough to carry off the evaporations
from the body, and yet bad conductors of heat. Most blankets are too
heavy, and thick cotton counterpanes are heavy without being warm.
Flannel night-dresses are much preferred to cotton at all times, both
for comfort and for health. Warmer in winter, they obviate the chill of
the cold sheets; while in summer they prevent the more dangerous chill
when in the early morning hours the external temperature falls, when the
production of internal heat in the body is at its lowest ebb and the
skin perhaps bathed in perspiration—a chill which otherwise can be
avoided only by an unnecessary amount of bed clothes.
THE BATH AND ITS IMPORTANCE
The dirt of the skin and underclothing consists of the sweat and greasy
matters exuded from the pores, together with the cast-off surface of the
skin itself, which is continually scaling away. The importance of
frequent bathing will be better appreciated when we remember what are
the functions of the skin, and the amount of solid and fluid matter
excreted thereby. The quantity varies greatly according to the
temperature and moisture of the air, the work done, and the fluids
drunk, but is probably never less than five pounds or half a gallon
daily, and with hard labor and a high temperature this amount may be
multiplied many times. From one to two per cent of this consists of
fatty salts, without taking into account the skin scales.
A good cistern, spring or well of wholesome water is a positive
necessity on every farm. A bath-tub and its frequent use are quite as
essential to the welfare of the farmer.
In the cities, where soot and dense coal smoke soil linen and mulch the
lungs and air passages, there is necessarily a greater regard for
cleanliness on the part of the inhabitants than may be observed in the
country, where the agencies which oppose cleanliness are of an entirely
different composition and productive of different results.
The farmer during the summer season is lightly clad—a straw or hickory
hat, a strong shirt, a pair of overalls, socks and heavy shoes
constituting his bodily protection. The absence of underwear—sometimes
socks—is excused upon the ground that the lighter the harness the less
energy is diverted from the performance of work.
Clothed as he is, the farmer when working in the fields or engaged in
any farm work, soon not only gets his clothing soiled, but the pores of
his skin fill with particles of dust and this retards their normal and
vitally necessary functions. No vocation in life makes frequent bathing
unnecessary. Farmers and miners, perhaps more than any other class of
laborers, who are continually in contact with the earth, need the
elevating influence, physical and spiritual, of a daily bath.
From a moral and hygienic standpoint the matter of cleanliness, which is
next to godliness, is of great importance, and it is fine evidence of
intellectual progress and spiritual growth when men use more water and
soap at the end of the day’s work.
For purposes of cleanliness a bath without soap and friction is
perfectly useless, and warm water is more effectual than cold. The shock
of a cold plunge or sponge bath, however, has a powerful invigorating
influence on the nervous system, and helps it guard against the risks of
catching cold. The purpose of health and cleanliness alike will be best
served by the daily bath with cold water and once a week with warm.
Speaking of cold baths, we may take note of a popular error as to what
this means. The temperature of the body is always a little under one
hundred degrees F. If, then, in summer, a bath at sixty degrees F., or
forty degrees below that of the body, is considered cold and gives the
desired amount of shock, it will do the same in winter, and to insist on
plunging into water still colder than that is, to say the least
unreasonable. The cold bath, then, is one at forty degrees below the
temperature of the blood, and is the same in January as in July. To
bathe in water from which the ice is broken, as some do, is a result of
misunderstanding or folly, and may be followed by dangerous
consequences.
It is dangerous to bathe after a full meal, and also when fasting. An
hour or two after breakfast is a good time, but if one wishes to bathe
earlier, a bit of food should be taken first. Again it is dangerous to
bathe when exhausted by fatigue, but the glow of moderate exercise is a
decided advantage. A light refreshment and a short run or brisk walk are
the best preparations for a swim, which should not be prolonged until
fatigue and chill are felt, and should be followed by a rub-down, speedy
dressing and a quick walk home.
When the resisting and rallying power and the circulation generally are
weak, as shown by shivering, coldness of the extremities, and sense of
exhaustion, river or sea bathing should be given up. So, too, persons
whose lungs and hearts are weak, and above all those who have any actual
diseases of those organs, should not attempt it. There is a general
tendency among those who enjoy outdoor bathing to stay in the water too
long. Boys in summer remain for hours at lake or river side, most of the
time in the water. This is an exceedingly weakening practice. Half an
hour is ample for all the benefit that can be derived from such a swim,
and a longer time in the water is apt to be distinctly injurious.
HOT WEATHER BATH SUGGESTIONS
A good health preservative, especially in summer and in warm climates,
is to sponge the body with water which contains a small amount of
ammonia or other alkali. The ammonia combines with the oil or grease
thrown out by the perspiration, forming a soap which is easily removed
from the skin with warm water, leaving the pores open and thus promoting
health and comfort.
SLEEP AND ITS VALUE
No general rule can be laid down as to the number of hours which should
be passed in sleep, since the need of sleep varies with age,
temperament, and the way in which the waking hours have been employed.
The infant slumbers away the greater part of its time. Young children
should sleep from six to seven in the evening, until morning, and for
the first three or four years of their life should also rest in the
middle of the day. Up to their fourteenth or fifteenth year the hour of
retiring should not be later than nine o’clock, while adults require
from seven to nine hours. Some can do with two or three hours less than
this, but they are so few that they offer no examples for us to follow.
Insufficient sleep is one of the crying evils of the day. The want of
proper rest of the nervous system produces a lamentable condition, a
deterioration in both body and mind. This sleepless habit is begun even
in childhood, when the boy or girl goes to school at six or seven years
of age. Sleep is persistently put off up to manhood and womanhood.
Persons who are not engaged in any severe work, whether bodily or
mental, require less sleep than those who are working hard. Muscular
fatigue of itself induces sleep, and the man who labors thus awakes
refreshed. But brain work too often causes wakefulness, although sleep
is even more necessary for the repair of brain than of muscular tissue.
In such cases the attention should be forcibly withdrawn from study for
some time before retiring to rest, and turned to some light reading,
conversation or rest before going to bed. A short brisk walk out of
doors just before bed time may aid the student in inducing sleep. Drugs
should be avoided.
After a heavy supper, either sleep or digestion must suffer, but the
person who goes to bed hungry will not have sound and refreshing sleep.
If one works after supper, through a long evening, he should eat a light
lunch of some sort an hour or two before bed time.
Ordinarily persons do best to retire at ten or eleven, and the habits of
society which require later hours are to be regretted. Brain work,
however, after midnight is most exhausting, and though sometimes
brilliant, would probably be better still if diverted to earlier hours.
Whatever be the explanation, it is an undoubted fact that day and night
cannot be properly exchanged. About one or two o’clock in the morning
the heart’s action sinks, and nature points to the necessity for rest.
Sleep in the day time does not compensate for the loss of that at proper
time, and slumbers prolonged to a late hour do not refresh the mind or
body as does sleep between the hours of eleven and six or seven, the
normal period for rest.
Old persons require, as a rule, less sleep than those of middle age,
just as they require less food, because their nutritive processes are
less active than when they were younger, and perhaps because their
mental efforts also are less forced and attended by less exertion and
more deliberation. Women, generally speaking, require more sleep than
men, at least under like circumstances, apparently because in their case
the same efforts involve greater fatigue.
VENTILATION OF BEDROOMS
Rooms which are to be slept in after having been occupied during a whole
evening must be thoroughly ventilated before the occupant prepares for
bed. Doors and windows must be thrown open for several minutes, the gas
or lamp put out, and the air completely changed, no matter how cold it
may be outside. This is the only way to obtain refreshing sleep. On
going to bed the usual ventilating arrangements should then be followed,
but the great point is to change the air thoroughly first.
REGULARITY OF HABITS
The importance of regularity and punctuality in every circumstance of
daily life is not sufficiently realized. The more often and regularly
any act is performed the more automatic it tends to become, and the less
effort, whether mental or physical, attends its performance. This is a
matter of daily experience and observation, and is true not only of
mental work and manual or mechanical exercises, but of the organic
functions of the body. Quite apart from the harm done by too frequent
eating or too prolonged periods between meals or want of rest, the brain
finds itself ready for sleep, the stomach for digestion and the bowels
for action at the same hour every day, when these acts are performed
with unbroken punctuality, and the strain upon the system to adjust
itself to new conditions is therefore reduced to a minimum.
_GENERAL HEALTH CONDITIONS_
_Guard Your Water Supply—How Diseases Are Classified—How to Prevent
Contagion—Care of the Sick Room—Disinfection, Its Importance and Its
Methods—Period of Isolation or Quarantine—Duty of All Households Where
Sickness Has Invaded, to Guard Others Against Its Spread._
Man cannot preserve his health entirely by his own caution as to his
food and personal habits. His surroundings enter into the matter at all
times. By this is meant the house in which he lives, its situation and
conditions, as well as the community itself. Fortunately, in this
country we have not yet become so overcrowded as to forbid ordinary care
in the matters of drainage, light, ventilation and other requisites.
Americans should congratulate themselves that their ample country and
general prosperity enable them to regulate their food, their habits and
the conditions around them in high degree. At the same time the fact
that these things are so generally within our control places upon us the
obligation to do what we can for the community to maintain the general
health.
Let us note now, briefly, some points of primary importance in the
conditions that assure general health. Air, warmth and light must be
provided for the dwelling. In cities we cannot always choose, but in
smaller communities and in the country we can in large degree control
such things for ourselves. Some things require only to be suggested to
be clearly understood. A house should stand where the character of the
soil and the contour of the surface will provide the best drainage.
Hollows should be avoided. When a house is built on a hillside the
ground should not be dug out so that a cliff rises immediately behind.
Trees may afford valuable shelter, not only from cold winds, but from
fogs. But it is not generally wise to have them close around a dwelling,
at least in large numbers, since they impede the free circulation of the
surrounding air, and retain dampness beneath their shade. In the country
a house may be sheltered from cold winds on the side from which they
prevail, by trees. Exposure of each side of a house in succession to the
rays of the sun helps to keep the outer walls dry, to warm it in winter
and to aid ventilation in the summer. The north wall may be made with
advantage a dead wall, and ventilating pipes and soil pipes may be
carried up through it, but chimneys carried up through a north wall,
being warmed with difficulty and apt to smoke, should not project but be
built inside the house. Attics with slanting ceilings and dormer windows
are cold in winter and hot in summer.
Once occupied, the most important thing in the house is fresh air. The
most common impurity in the atmosphere of rooms is carbonic acid gas,
which is thrown off by the lungs of the occupants, and must be disposed
of by ventilation in order that health shall be assured. The lamps or
gas lights used in the room likewise give off carbonic acid, which is
formed at the expense of the oxygen of the air, the vital element, which
we require to breathe. Crowded rooms, or any rooms improperly
ventilated, become tainted in this manner, and the headaches and
faintness which we experience under such circumstances are direct and
natural results of carbonic acid poisoning. School rooms are
particularly trying upon pupils and teachers, unless their ventilation
is especially guarded. It is considered that the proper degree of purity
in the air of a room can be maintained only by introducing at least
2,500 cubic feet of pure air per hour for each person, this being a
virtual minimum. In mines it has been noticed that the men require not
less than 6,000 cubic feet per hour, and that when the quantity falls to
4,000 cubic feet there is a serious falling off in the work done.
Manifestly the better and tighter the building the more need there is
for special means of ventilation.
In the days when open fireplaces were almost the only means of heating
houses they were of great value in aiding ventilation. Nowadays our
stoves, radiators and furnaces do not help us in this matter, and we
must take additional pains to see that ventilation is provided in some
other way. Of course the simplest and most perfect method is to permit
the free passage of the wind through open doors and windows. Every room
should have its air thus completely renewed at least once a day. The
mere renewal is done in a few minutes, but a longer time is required to
dislodge the organic vapors and other impurities that lurk in the
corners and behind furniture. In schools and work shops this should be
done during the intervals for meals, and in churches between services.
But in our climate it is not possible to have windows and doors open
during all the time a room is occupied, except in very warm weather. It
is seldom, however, that the window of a bedroom cannot be opened for a
few inches all night without direct benefit to the occupant of the room.
His bed, of course, must not be immediately in the draught. Curved
pipes, ventilating shafts and slides under the windows are substitutes
easy to use when windows cannot be actually opened.
GUARD YOUR WATER SUPPLY
Water supplies differ greatly in purity and composition, and are of the
utmost importance in their effect upon the general health of a
household. There is nothing which requires to be guarded more carefully.
Absolutely pure water is almost unknown. Rain water collected in open
countries is the purest, though even it takes up matters in its passage
through the air, and in towns may be strongly acid. All waters which
have been in contact with the soil dissolve out of it numerous inorganic
and organic substances. Waters are described as hard or soft, hardness
being the popular expression for the property of not easily forming a
lather with soap. It is due to the presence of salts of lime and
magnesia. Hard waters, if their hardness be not excessive, are agreeable
and wholesome for drinking, but not well adapted for laundry or bathing
purposes. They tend to harden vegetables cooked in them, and do not make
as good tea as soft water. Rain water is, of course, the softest, but as
a rule lakes yield waters also quite soft. When a good and wholesome
water cannot be obtained from springs or rivers, as in malarial
districts, and when there is reasonable ground for thinking the ordinary
sources are contaminated by epidemics, it is well to fall back on the
rainfall for drinking purposes, with special care that it is collected
in a cleanly manner.
Surface wells are always to be viewed with suspicion when they are in
the vicinity of stables and cesspools, farm yards, cemeteries and
anywhere in the towns. The filtration of the water through the soil
removes the suspended matters, so that it may be clear enough to the
eye, but it has no power to remove impurities actually dissolved. The
eye cannot be trusted to judge the impurities of drinking water. Water
which appears absolutely clear may be unwholesome in the extreme, and
water with sediment floating in it may be in no way unwholesome. Nothing
but an analysis of the water can settle this with absolute certainty.
Deep wells and artesian wells which penetrate the surface strata are
likely to be safe. Marsh waters carry malaria and should never be drunk
without boiling. Indeed suspicious water of all sorts may be made safe
by boiling, although it is not sufficient always merely to bring it to a
boil. Thirty minutes above the boiling point is a safe rule to follow.
Typhoid, diphtheria, dysentery, cholera, diarrhea and other dangerous
diseases are caused by impure water, either by suspended mineral matters
acting as irritants, by suspended vegetable and animal matters, or by
dissolved animal impurities. Sewer gases dissolved in water, in addition
to these diseases, cause sore throats, boils and other ailments.
It must not be forgotten that water closets, stable yards, manure piles,
decaying kitchen slops and all sorts of filth are responsible for many
of the most serious diseases, either by draining into the well and so
contaminating the water supply, or by direct breeding of disease germs
carried as dust and inhaled. Health is one of the rewards for household
cleanliness of the most careful kind.
HOW DISEASES ARE CLASSIFIED
In one sense most diseases are preventable, if all the circumstances
which tend to spread them could be absolutely controlled by a single
wise authority, and if all the physiological laws would be obeyed by all
persons at all times. But as this happy condition is not in effect, we
have to reckon with various kinds of diseases, as well as the accidents
and injuries which come to us in health. The various diseases are
classified into general groups.
Endemic diseases are those which are constantly present in a community
because of certain unfavorable conditions, such as malaria in swampy
regions, rheumatism from bad climatic conditions, and diseases resulting
from unhealthy employments. Miasmic diseases are those due to conditions
of the soil, and comprise the various forms of intermittent fevers,
agues and the like. Infectious diseases, on the other hand, belong to
the people, and not to the place. They are communicated from one person
to another through the air, or by means of infected articles of
clothing, etc., and they attack the strong and healthy, no less than the
weak. Among such are smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, etc. Various
branches of infectious diseases are recognized in addition, as combining
some of the characteristics of the classes already named. For instance,
erysipelas and other blood poisons are generated with the body of the
individual who, so to speak, infects himself and may then infect others.
Typhoid, cholera and yellow fever are miasmic diseases, but they are
also capable of being carried by human intercourse, infected clothes,
polluted water, etc., within certain limits of space and time.
Hydrophobia, glanders and such diseases are communicated only by actual
contact of body. Rickets and scurvy are preventable, though not
communicable diseases, being direct results of mal-nutrition or
imperfect nourishment, and consequently are diseases of diet.
Bacteria are those minute organisms which under various names are the
active causes not only of diseases but of all putrefaction, fermentation
and like changes in dead organic matter. Like all living things they may
be killed, and on this is based the whole theory of disinfection. Some
are more hardy than others, under conditions which are frequently
supposed to be unfavorable to them. Merely to destroy an unpleasant odor
or to admit fresh air into a room does not mean to disinfect, and it is
necessary to understand this clearly in the effort to purify rooms in
the event of infection.
Contagion is communicated sometimes with the utmost ease, if the new
victim be in a receptive condition, and in the presence of any disease,
even the most simple, it is well to take every precaution. The mucous
surfaces are peculiarly ready to absorb infection of many kinds. Measles
is easily absorbed from pocket handkerchiefs, as are also scarlet fever,
whooping-cough and other diseases. By inhalation through the nostrils or
mouth, scarlet fever, measles, whooping-cough, mumps, diphtheria,
dysentery, cholera and even pneumonia and meningitis may be
communicated. By eating or drinking something which contains the germs
of cholera, typhoid, malaria, tuberculosis or consumption, diphtheria
and scarlet fever, these diseases are communicated.
HOW TO PREVENT CONTAGION
It is an undoubted fact that not enough attention is paid to isolation
in times of sickness. There is too much visiting in the sick room, too
many people share the care of the patient, the nurse mingles too freely
with other members of the family, and there is not enough care to keep
the soiled bedding, garments and refuse of the sick room absolutely
separated from that of the rest of the house. Scarlet fever is a
noteworthy instance of a disease which constantly spreads by
carelessness. Just as long as the scaling or shedding of the outer skin
continues contagion may be carried, for it is these scales which bear
it. It is nothing less than criminal, therefore, to permit the patient
who is recovering to mix with other persons, except those who have been
caring for him already. In the early stages of the disease the infection
is chiefly in the breath, and in the secretion of the nostrils. During
the disease pocket handkerchiefs should never be used, soft linen or
cotton rags being substituted and immediately burned.
Most of the same things are true as to measles, whooping-cough, mumps
and German measles, which are constantly spread by sheer carelessness
because people do not realize the obligation resting upon them to guard
others from contact with disease. These ailments are highly infectious
before they are certainly recognized, and for that reason it is not
possible always to isolate cases in time, but at least after the fact is
clearly understood there should be no further carelessness.
Another prevalent disease in which carelessness is responsible for much
of its spreading is tuberculosis, phthisis, or consumption, as it is
more familiarly known. It is not possible yet to isolate every person
suffering with this insidious disease, nor is that suggested. But at
least it may be urged that every such sufferer shall thoughtfully guard
in every way in his power against communicating it to his own neighbors
and family. The bacilli, or bacteria, of consumption swarm in the
spittle of the patient, and are diffused by the wind as dust as soon as
they are dried. To guard against infection from this cause, spittoons
should be used, which can be absolutely disinfected, or cloths which can
be promptly burned.
Smallpox is perhaps the most infectious of diseases. Yet in vaccination
we have a means of protection which we have not in any other. As long as
a large unvaccinated population exists, however, we shall have epidemics
from time to time. Before the introduction of vaccination nearly
everyone had smallpox, just as now almost all persons have measles at
some time or other. The heaviest mortality occurred within the first
five or ten years of life, the deaths in later periods being very few,
since the population had mostly been rendered immune by having had it
already.
Measles is a well-defined disease, intensely infectious, occurring but
once in a lifetime. It is very rarely fatal, nearly all the deaths
credited to it being really due to bronchitis and inflammation of the
lungs, the results of neglect and exposure to cold. No age is exempt.
The only reason why it is looked on as a disease of childhood is that
being in the highest degree infectious from the beginning, when its
nature is not suspected, few children in the schools can hope to escape
it, but if by chance they do, they are just as susceptible to it in
afterlife.
Whooping-cough is a highly infectious disease, occurring but once in a
lifetime, but at any age, though most frequently in childhood. The
frequent belief that children suffering from whooping-cough should be as
much as possible in the open air is an entirely mistaken one, as it
leads not only to continuing the disease longer, but to danger of
bronchitis and pneumonia. As in diphtheria and scarlet fever the mucus
is the chief vehicle of contagion, and pocket handkerchiefs should be
forbidden, pieces of soft rag being substituted and burned as soon as
used.
Typhoid or enteric fever is slow and uncertain in its onset, a full
month in duration, and the return of health is usually tedious. It is
like diphtheria, directly a result of unsanitary conditions. Danger of
direct infection from the patient is slight, but the poison remains in
the evacuations from the bowels and is propagated by them. By this means
a reservoir or river has been known to infect a whole town. Broken or
defective drains, the entrance of sewer gas into houses, wells polluted
by cesspool drainage, and milk diluted with infected water, are among
the principal means of spreading the disease. It is an absolute rule
that all bedding which becomes soiled should be destroyed, and the
refuse of the sick room should be instantly disinfected and removed from
the dwelling.
CARE OF THE SICK ROOM
Although it is quite possible that few may be able to follow every
instruction or precaution advised to guard against the spread of
diseases, we may at least outline the conditions to be aimed at and
secured as nearly as possible. In spite of the additional labor that it
makes, the ideal place for a sick room in a private house is as far from
the ground as possible. To be of any service at all isolation must be
real and complete. A room should be selected in the topmost story, the
door kept closed, a fire, large or small, according to the weather, kept
burning, and the windows open as much as possible. Even in the winter
this can be done without danger under most circumstances by lowering the
upper sash and breaking the draught by a blind or a screen. The
staircase and hall windows should be kept open day and night. The other
inmates of the house should keep their own rooms thoroughly ventilated.
The persons nursing the patient should on no account mix with other
members of the family, or if that cannot be helped they should take off
their dresses in the sick room, and after washing their hands and faces,
put on other dresses kept hanging outside the room, or in an adjoining
apartment.
All dishes used in the room should be washed separately, and not with
others in the kitchen. The room itself, except in case of measles and
whooping-cough, the poison of which does not retain its vitality for any
length of time, should be as scantily furnished as possible, containing
nothing which can retain infection. All woolen carpets, curtains and bed
hangings should be removed, and only wooden or cane-bottomed chairs
kept. There should be no sofa, and iron bedsteads are better than wood.
A straw mattress of little value, which may be destroyed afterwards, is
better than a hair one, which can be disinfected, but feather beds and
such coverings should be absolutely forbidden.
In scarlet fever, diphtheria, smallpox and typhoid, all soiled clothing
and bedding should be immediately put into an earthenware vessel,
containing a solution of corrosive sublimate (one drachm to a gallon of
water) and left to soak for some hours before being washed. On being
taken from this disinfecting solution they must, even at risk of
spoiling flannels, be thrown into boiling water and boiled for some
minutes before soaping and washing. No infected clothes should, under
any circumstances, be sent out of the house, unless all of these
precautions are absolutely guarded.
In cases of typhoid and scarlet fever the vessel which receives the
passages from the bowels should have in it a solution of corrosive
sublimate or of carbolic acid. The contents then should be stirred with
a poker before being poured into the water closet, and the same
disinfectant should be sprinkled liberally into the closet.
After the peeling in scarlet fever or the shedding of scabs in smallpox
has set in, the patient should take, at intervals of three or four days,
hot baths with soft soap, the hair, previously cut short, being well
scrubbed with the same. In scarlet fever and diphtheria the mouth and
throat should be frequently sprayed, washed out or gargled with a pretty
strong solution of permanganate of potash or a weak one of chlorinated
soda.
DISINFECTION, ITS IMPORTANCE AND ITS METHODS
There are few subjects on which greater ignorance exists, not only among
the public but among medical men as well, than on that of disinfectants.
The word is used vaguely to mean deodorants, which destroy bad odors;
antiseptics, which prevent the spread of injury by putrefaction in a
wound; and germicides, which actually destroy the bacteria or microbes
which produce contagion in a disease. In some cases one of these may
serve the function of another, but that is merely incidental. Deodorants
may be such simple things as perfumery, tobacco smoke or camphor, and
they serve very useful purposes in masking bad smells, but they are
entirely useless in preventing disease.
Permanganate of potash, or “Condy’s fluid,” as the druggists call it, is
a powerful antiseptic, instantly destroying the matter that is beginning
to putrefy by what is really a burning process. It sweetens the foul
discharges from wounds and bad throats, but is nearly powerless to
destroy the living germs of disease.
The disinfectants of most practical value, which are at the same time
germicides, are carbolic acid, chloride of zinc, sulphurous acid,
chlorine and corrosive sublimate. Carbolic acid, when strong enough, is
fairly satisfactory. Five per cent solutions (one part in twenty) stop
the activity of bacteria, but do not actually destroy their vitality.
Solutions twice as strong do, but water will not dissolve so much, and
the odor that remains is an objection to their use for disinfecting
linen. Chloride of zinc is far more powerful. If too strong a mixture is
used it may injure cloth, so that this wants to be guarded against.
Sulphurous acid (the fumes of burning sulphur) is a most convenient
disinfectant. Shut the windows down tight, leave all the clothing in its
place and open trunks and drawers. Put a thick layer of ashes in an old
iron pot, over which place a shovel of live coals; throw a teacup of
pulverized sulphur on the coals and run out, closing the doors in your
exit. Stay out several hours. On returning open all doors and windows,
and the odor will soon be gone, also the bugs, insects and the germs of
any disease that may be lodged in the clothing, etc.
The following instructions, published in the Hospital Gazette, were
prepared by a board of eminent physicians and surgeons for public
information, and on the general proposition of disinfection they can
hardly be surpassed: Three different preparations are recommended for
use to make the purifying of a house, where infection has been,
complete. The first is ordinary roll sulphur or brimstone, for
fumigation; the second is a copperas solution, made by dissolving
sulphate of iron (copperas) in water in the proportion of one and
one-half pints to one gallon, for soil, sewers, etc.; the third is a
zinc solution, made by dissolving sulphate of zinc and common salt
together in water in the proportion of four ounces of the sulphate and
two ounces of the salt to one gallon, for clothing, bed linen, etc.
Carbolic acid is not included in the list, for the reason that it is
very difficult to determine the quality of what is found in the stores,
and the purchaser can never be certain of securing it of proper
strength. It is expensive when of good quality, and it must be used in
comparatively large quantities to be of any use. Besides it is liable,
by its strong odor, to give a false sense of security. Nothing is
commoner than to see saucers of carbolic acid and other disinfectants in
a sick room. Considering the vitality of bacteria, and that they require
carbolic solutions of more than five per cent or several hours of
intense heat or similar heroic measures to kill them, it must be evident
that such feeble vapors as can be tolerated in the sick room are utterly
useless. Here are the instructions in full:
=In the Sick Room=, the most valuable agents are fresh air and
cleanliness. The clothing, towels, bed linens, etc., should, on removal
from the patient and before they are taken from the room, be placed in a
pail or tub of the zinc solution, boiling hot if possible. All
discharges should either be received in vessels containing the copperas
solution, or, when this is impracticable, should be immediately covered
with the solution. All vessels used about the patient should be cleansed
or rinsed with the same. Unnecessary furniture—especially that which is
stuffed—carpets and hangings should, when possible, be removed from the
room at the outset; otherwise they should remain for subsequent
fumigation, as next explained.
=Fumigation.=—Fumigation with sulphur is the method used for
disinfecting the house. For this reason the rooms to be disinfected must
be vacated. Heavy clothing, blankets, bedding and other articles which
cannot be treated with the zinc solution, should be opened and exposed
during fumigation, as next directed. Close the rooms tightly as
possible, place the sulphur in iron pans supported upon bricks placed in
wash-tubs containing a little water, set it on fire by hot coals or with
the aid of a spoonful of alcohol, and allow the room to remain closed
twenty-four hours. For a room about ten feet square at least two pounds
of sulphur should be used; for larger rooms proportionally increased
quantities.
=Premises.=—Cellars, stables, yards, gutters, privies, cesspools, water
closets, drains, sewers, etc., should be frequently and liberally
treated with the copperas solution. The copperas solution is easily
prepared by hanging a basket containing about sixty pounds of copperas,
in a barrel of water. (This would be one and one-half pounds to the
gallon, or about that. It should all be dissolved.)
=Body and Bed Clothing, Etc.=—It is best to burn all articles which have
been in contact with persons sick with contagious or infectious
diseases. Articles too valuable to be destroyed should be treated as
follows: Cotton, linen, flannels, blankets, etc., should be treated with
the boiling hot zinc solution, introduced piece by piece; secure
thorough wetting, and boil for at least half an hour. Heavy woolen
clothing, silks, furs, stuffed bed covers, beds, and other articles
which cannot be treated with the zinc solution, should be hung in the
room during the fumigation, their surfaces thoroughly exposed, and the
pockets turned inside out. Afterward they should be hung in the open
air, beaten and shaken. Pillows, beds, stuffed mattresses, upholstered
furniture, etc., should be cut open, the contents spread out and
thoroughly fumigated. Carpets are best fumigated on the floor, but
should afterward be removed to the open air and thoroughly beaten.
=Corpses.=—Corpses of those dying from infectious diseases should be
thoroughly washed with a zinc solution of double strength; should then
be wrapped in a sheet wet with zinc solution and buried at once.
Metallic, metal-lined, or air-tight coffins should be used when
possible, certainly when the body is to be transported for any
considerable distance. Of course a public funeral is out of the
question.
In addition to these disinfectants of long standing, which have been
recognized in medicine for many years, another of great value is now
coming into high favor. This is formalin, which, in its various forms,
is convenient, economical and highly effective. Under the name of
formaldehyde, one preparation of this disinfectant is widely but
improperly used as a preservative for milk, meat and some other
perishable foods. In almost every instance this is illegal, and properly
so, for the substance is a poison and even when diluted cannot fail to
be injurious. From formalin various disinfecting substances are made,
and may be had at the drug stores, some as liquids and others in tablets
to evaporate over a lamp for the general disinfection of rooms or
houses. The latter may be recommended in the highest degree as a safe,
economical and absolutely sanitary process.
Corrosive sublimate is, perhaps, the most powerful germicide known, a
solution of one part in a thousand, or a little more than a drachm to a
gallon of water, being amply sufficient for all practical purposes. It
does not injure or stain wood, varnish, paint, plaster or ordinary
fabrics, and if the ceiling be whitewashed with a genuine lime wash, and
the walls, floors, doors and furniture of the room be washed down with
the mixture, no microbes can possibly escape. It attacks metals, but
iron bedsteads are protected by the enameling.
Poisonous as corrosive sublimate is, the danger from it is easily
guarded against. The smallest dose of it known to have proved fatal,
even to a child, would require no less than a quarter of a pint of the
solution of one in a thousand parts. A mouthful of this would not cause
more than temporary discomfort, while the taste would prevent a second
being swallowed. Still, as a further safeguard it might be well to add a
little laundry bluing to give color to the mixture, and a little wood
alcohol to give it a smell. Then with a proper poison label on it surely
no one would be endangered by it.
PERIOD OF ISOLATION OR QUARANTINE
A person who has had any infectious disease and has been thoroughly
disinfected, with his clothes, may be allowed to mix freely with his
fellows, in school, for instance, after the following periods. Scarlet
fever: Not less than eight weeks from the appearance of the rash,
provided peeling has completely ceased, and there be no sore throat. Six
weeks is not enough, as there are cases of direct infection after seven
weeks when all symptoms have entirely disappeared. Measles and German
measles: In three weeks, provided all peeling and coughing have ceased.
Smallpox and chickenpox: A fortnight after the last scab has fallen off;
the hair, in case of smallpox, having been cut short and scrubbed with
carbolic soap or soft soap. Mumps: Four weeks from the attack if all
swelling has disappeared. Whooping-cough: Six weeks from recognition of
the whoop if the cough has entirely lost its spasmodic character, or
four weeks if all cough whatever has ceased. Diphtheria: In a month if
convalescence be complete, there being no trace of sore throat or
discharge from the nose, eyes, etc. Ringworm: When the whole scalp,
carefully examined in a good light, shows no stumpy broken hairs or
scaly patches.
It has been very difficult to impress upon communities and individuals
the extreme importance of strict obedience to the foregoing rules. There
is an unfortunate tendency in too many instances for households to fail
in guarding their neighbors from contact with their own members who are
convalescing from disease. Even such common and simple diseases as
whooping-cough, chickenpox, mumps and others that are considered
especially to belong to children, frequently prove fatal to those who
are susceptible to them, and it is truly wicked to permit by
carelessness such an infection to reach a school or elsewhere where
weaker children may suffer as a result.
COMMON SENSE IN THE SICK ROOM
Ventilation, Light, Temperature and Furnishings—Care of the Patient—His
Temperature and Pulse—Bed Sores—The Characteristics of Fever—Simple
Household Remedies—What to Put in a Remedy Cupboard—How to Keep the Baby
Well
To every living person air must be furnished every moment if life is to
be preserved. The vital element of the air is oxygen gas, the
life-giving medium, and this is diluted with nitrogen, because the
oxygen itself, breathed alone, would be too stimulating for our lungs.
In the delicate cells of the lungs the air we have inhaled gives up its
oxygen to the blood, thus purifying it, and receives in turn carbonic
acid gas and water, foul with waste matter, which the blood has absorbed
during its passage through the body and which we now exhale. The blood
is red when it leaves the heart, pure. It returns to the heart purple
from the impurities it has picked up, and by the oxygen is once more
changed to red.
Manifestly if this process is so important to a person in health, it
must be doubly so to one who is sick. The impurities of a sick room
consist largely of organic matter, including in many instances enormous
numbers of the disease germs themselves. If we uncover a scarlet fever
patient in the direct rays of the sun a cloud of fine dust may be seen
to rise from the body, the dust which carries the contagion itself. In
an unventilated place this is but slowly scattered or destroyed, and for
many days it retains its poisonous qualities. “The effect of rebreathing
the air cannot be overestimated,” says Martin W. Curran of Bellevue
Hospital, New York City. “We take back into our bodies that which has
been just rejected, and the blood thereupon leaves the lungs bearing,
not the invigorating oxygen, but gas and waste matter, which, at the
best, is disagreeable to the smell, injurious to the health, and may
contain the germs of disease.”
Fortunately rooms may be ventilated by means of windows in several
different ways with little risk of draught. For instance, the lower sash
of the window may be raised three or four inches, and a plain bar of
wood an inch in thickness, extending the whole breadth of the window,
may be put below the window sash, entirely filling the space. By this
means the air current enters above, between the two sashes in an
indirect line, and it is gradually diffused through the room without a
draught. Here is a simpler way of doing the same thing. Take a heavy
piece of paper or cloth, about twelve inches wide, and long enough to
reach across the window. Tack it tightly at both ends and the lower edge
to the frame, and raise the lower sash of the window a few inches. The
air entering will be diverted by the cloth. If the air is very cold it
must not be admitted at the bottom of the room, but from the top of the
window, and should be directed toward the ceiling so as to fall and mix
gradually with the warmer air of the room.
The influence of the sun’s rays upon the nervous system is very marked.
That room is the healthiest to which the sun has freest access. The sick
room should be kept looking bright and cheerful, unless the disease be
one that requires the eyes to be specially guarded from the light. The
eyes are weaker, however, in all sickness, and the bed should be turned
so that the patient does not look directly toward the bright light of
the open window.
The proper temperature for a sick room is sixty-eight degrees above
zero. In the hot days of summer when this temperature is greatly
exceeded, or the air is too dry, hang some thin muslin, soaked in ice
water, across the opening in the windows, which will moisten the air,
cool the room, and keep out many particles of floating dust. If the
floor of the sick room is carpeted and the illness is serious, cover the
carpet with sheets and sprinkle on them a weak solution of carbolic acid
at intervals. The sheets can be changed as often as necessary. The
cleanest wall is one that is painted, which can be washed and
disinfected in any way desired. Nurses consider papered walls the worst
ones, and plastered the next, but the latter can be made safe by
frequent lime washings and occasional scraping.
Have as little furniture as possible in the sick room, and all of this
of wood, metal or marble, kept clean by being wiped with a cloth wrung
out of hot water. A small, light table should be placed for the
patient’s use, from which he may reach his own glass of water. The bed
should not be placed with one of the sides against the wall, as a nurse
should be able to attend to a patient from either side.
CARE OF THE PATIENT
In all cases where the patient is too ill or forbidden to sit up in bed,
a feeding cup with a curved spout should be used. The nurse’s hand
should be passed beneath the pillow, and the head and pillow gently
raised together. Where there is extreme prostration a glass tube, bent
at a right angle, one end of which is placed in the cup containing the
food and the other in the patient’s mouth, will enable him to take
liquids with scarcely any effort.
If the patient is in a state of delirium, or unconscious, endeavor to
arouse him somewhat before giving him his food. Sometimes merely putting
the spoon in his mouth is enough, but at other times you will require to
get it well back on the tongue. In such cases, watch carefully to see
that the liquid is swallowed before attempting to give a second
spoonful.
When it comes to the convalescent patient the food is no less important
than during the time of illness. Serve it on a tray, covered with a
fresh napkin, have the dishes and spoons clean and shining, and be
careful not to slop things into the saucers. Take the tray from the room
as soon as the meal is ended, for uneaten food sometimes becomes very
obnoxious to the sick person if it remains in sight. To provide food for
the sick which is both suitable and attractive sometimes requires great
care, judgment and patience, but the effort is worth all the trouble it
costs. The aim should be to give what will be at the same time easy to
digest and of nutritive value after it is digested. In another
department of this work will be found many recipes adapted for invalids.
Medicine should be given at regular hours, and careful attention should
be paid to the directions as to the time when the doses are to be given,
as, for instance, before or after meals. The exact quantity ordered
should be given, as even a slight error may defeat the results intended.
Never give any medicine without looking at the label, being absolutely
certain that you have the right one. Never allow a bottle to stand
uncorked, for many mixtures lose their strength when exposed to the air.
TEMPERATURE AND PULSE
We follow Mr. Curran again in his clear statement of the importance of
temperature in disease. Every household should have a clinical
thermometer to use in taking the temperature of the patient in the event
of sickness. The average normal temperature in adults is from 98.4 to
98.6 degrees. There is a daily variation of sometimes 1.5 degrees, the
highest point being reached in the evening. Exercise, diet, climate and
sleep cause deviation from the standard. Almost every disease, however,
carries with it an abnormal variation in temperature. If the rising
temperature does not always show what the disease is, it does show what
it probably is not. For instance, a rapid rise of three of four degrees
above the healthy standard does not mean typhoid fever, but may mean
measles or scarlet fever, and in whooping-cough and smallpox, the
highest temperature precedes those diseases from two to four days. In
diphtheria there is this rise before anyone thinks of looking at the
throat. Increase of temperature calls for cooling remedies, external and
internal, and degrees of temperature below the standard require warming
and sustaining treatment.
An increase of temperature beginning each day a little earlier is a bad
sign; one beginning later promises well. A decrease of fever beginning
each day earlier is a good sign, but if later each day, is a bad one. A
very high temperature, say 105 degrees, is dangerous in itself, but more
so if it has come on gradually as the last of a series. A fall of
temperature below normal is far more dangerous than a much greater
corresponding rise. One degree below normal is more an indication of a
bad condition than two and one-half above normal. In convalescence if
there is no rise of temperature after eating there is no nourishment
secured from the food; if there is a sudden or high rise of more than
one degree the food was too stimulating or bulky. To be beneficial in
convalescence food must increase the temperature a quarter to half a
degree and this must almost subside when digestion is over, though
leaving a gradual improvement in the average daily temperature.
Temperature from 106 degrees upward and from 95 degrees downward is
extremely dangerous and virtually a sign of fatal ending. As the
temperature increases or decreases from normal toward these extremes, it
consequently becomes more threatening. Temperature should be taken by
placing the bulb of the clinical thermometer in the rectum or under the
tongue.
There is a close connection between the temperature and the pulse, both
of which guide the judgment in matters of health. The pulse is most
rapid at birth, and becomes constantly slower until old age, ranging
from a maximum at the beginning of 130 to 150 pulsations a minute to a
minimum at the end of life of 50 to 65 pulsations. The average pulse
through the period of adult life is from 70 to 75 beats per minute. It
is considered that every rise of temperature of one degree above normal
corresponds with an increase of ten beats of the pulse per minute.
We have already spoken of the importance of the bath in health. Baths
have their equal importance in sickness, and their direct effect upon
many diseases. All the vital organs are affected through the skin, and
by keeping it in a healthy condition the circulation of the blood, the
action of the kidneys and bowels and all the digestive processes are
promoted, many diseases warded off, and the assimilation of food aided.
In many fevers, for instance, a sponge bath with water a few degrees
cooler than the normal temperature of the body will give great comfort
and relieve and reduce the temperature materially. A warm bath with
water about at the temperature of the body, or a degree or two less,
produces no shock to the system but makes the pulse beat a little faster
and causes a little more activity of circulation.
Put bran enough in the water to make it milky, and the bath will assist
in softening the skin, when it is dried and flaky. Put in a pound of
rock salt to every four gallons of water and you will find the bath
useful in invigorating feeble constitutions.
=Thirst is Nature’s Signal= that the system needs an increased supply of
water just as truly as appetite shows need for food. It is relieved not
only by water but by barley water, toast water and similar drinks, by
small pieces of ice held in the mouth, and by drinks made from the
juices of fruit. Care must be used, however, in the employment of these
apparently harmless things, or injury may follow from taking them to
excess.
=Bed Sores= are the inflamed spots which occur on the body, often as a
result of carelessness during a long illness. They are not likely to
occur if the bedding is kept smooth and free from wrinkles and the
patient kept dry, his position varied as frequently as possible, and the
proper bathing not neglected. If such sores threaten there are several
remedies which will help to prevent them. Alcohol, brandy or glycerine
rubbed over the parts exposed to pressure, after washing in the morning
and evening, will serve to harden the place where applied. A solution of
nitrate of silver, painted on threatened but unbroken skin as soon as it
becomes red, will prevent sores. In the early stages of bed sores apply
a mixture of equal parts of rectified spirits and white of egg. Put it
on with a feather and renew as it dries till an albuminous coating is
formed. For bed sores occurring in typhoid and other fevers an excellent
prescription is composed of two parts of castor oil and one of balsam of
Peru, which are spread on pieces of lint, laid on the sore and covered
with a linseed poultice to be changed three or four times a day.
=The Characteristics of Fever= are a rising of the temperature, and, as
a rule, increased rapidly of the circulation as shown by the pulse, and
alterations in the secretions of the body, which are usually diminished.
Fever diet consists in giving the patient plenty of milk, arrowroot or
broth, composing a light, easily-digested fluid diet, every three hours,
day and night. If milk alone is used the patient can take from three to
five pints in twenty-four hours. The general treatment recommended for
fevers consists in sponging off the body of the patient under the bed
clothes with cool water three or four times a day, keeping him lightly
covered, the room well ventilated, and its temperature from sixty-eighty
to seventy degrees. He should be given plenty of cooling drinks in small
quantities from fear of overloading his stomach, but frequently repeated
even if he has to be coaxed to take them. The secretions of the kidneys
and bowels must be kept up by such medicines as are prescribed by the
physician in charge.
SIMPLE HOUSEHOLD REMEDIES, HERBS AND OTHERWISE
Those who live in the city, where a doctor can be summoned in a few
minutes, if needed, cannot realize how important it is that the farmer’s
wife should keep a supply of simple remedies on hand and know how to use
them. It is a good plan to have an herb bed in one corner of the garden,
where catnip, thoroughwort, camomile, hoarhound, pennyroyal, etc., can
be grown. These are nature’s remedies and are often just as effective
and always safer than strong drugs. Almost all kinds of herbs should be
gathered while in blossom and tied up in bunches until dry. Then put
them in bags, keeping each kind separate, and labeling them. The bags
keep them clean and the labels enable one to find them quickly. In the
springtime when one feels languid and miserable, a cup of boneset or
thoroughwort tea, taken several mornings in succession, will arouse the
sluggish liver and make quite a difference in one’s feelings.
For sprains, bruises and rheumatism steep tansy in vinegar, having it
almost boiling hot; wring woolen cloths out of it and apply, changing
often. Plantain grows almost everywhere and is very useful as a
medicine. A strong tea made of the leaves or a poultice made of them and
applied quite hot to the cheek will relieve facial neuralgia, A tea made
of the seeds and taken in tablespoonful doses every ten minutes is good
for sick stomach.
If it is desirable to preserve plant remedies make a strong decoction by
steeping in water kept just below boiling point half an hour. Strain it
and to one pint of the liquid add one gill of alcohol. Put it in bottle,
cork tightly and it will retain its virtues as long as desired.
Many fruits and vegetables possess valuable medicinal properties.
Tomatoes, either canned or fresh, are a pleasant remedy for
constipation. Blackberry cordial is an old and well-tried remedy for
diarrhea and dysentery. To prepare it get the fresh berries; mash them
with a potato masher and let them stand several hours; then strain out
the juice. To one quart of juice add one pound of granulated sugar and
one heaping teaspoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
All the spices except the nutmeg should be tied in a cheesecloth sack
before they are put in. Boil until it is a rich syrup; put it in bottles
and seal while hot.
Many housewives who have used borax in various ways have never known its
value as a medicine. It is almost the only antiseptic and disinfectant
known that is entirely safe to use. Clothes washed in borax water are
free from infection, and can be worn again without fear of contagion. A
solution of ten grains of borax to one ounce of pure soft water is an
excellent lotion for sore eyes. Apply it two or three times a day until
it strengthens and heals them. Half a teaspoonful of borax and a pinch
of salt dissolved in a cupful of water and used frequently as a gargle
will cure sore throat.
A heaping tablespoonful of table salt or two of mustard stirred into a
glass of warm water will start vomiting as soon as it reaches the
stomach, which is one of the best remedies known for poisoning. A
teacupful of very strong coffee will nullify the effects of opium,
morphine or chloroform.
WHAT TO PUT IN A REMEDY CUPBOARD
In every house there should be a remedy cupboard. We do not mean the
ordinary medicine chest with innumerable bottles huddled together, but a
well-stocked emergency cupboard, easy of access, and containing simple
remedies for the many aches and pains of humanity. Such a medicine chest
is considered by some as one of the most important pieces of furniture
in the house. It should be more like a little cupboard than a chest. It
may be made of a rather shallow box, fitted with shelves, and there
should be a door which fastens with a lock and key. The key should be
kept by the mother, so that no one can go to the chest without
permission. It should be fastened rather high up against the wall. In
this chest should be kept everything that experience has proven to be
essential in the treatment of such emergency cases as most mothers have
to deal with.
No household is conducted without an occasional accident or bruise;
burns and ugly cuts are all of frequent occurrence where there are
children. If there is a place where one can always find some soft
medicated cotton, bandages of different widths, absorbent gauze and a
bottle of some antiseptic solution, it will prevent the frantic running
about when such articles are needed and save to the sufferer many throbs
of pain. To be thoroughly satisfactory the emergency cupboard must be
kept in perfect order and systematically arranged. For instance, in one
compartment keep the every-day remedies for coughs and colds, such as
quinine and listerine, croup kettle, atomizer and a compress and flannel
bandages.
There should be prepared mustard plasters, rolls of court plaster,
salves, liniments, lotions, laudanum, pills, porous plasters, castor
oil, sulphur, salts, camphor, and in fact everything that is needed
should be found here, and in this way many times the cost of the chest
will be saved in doctors’ bills. Everything should be carefully labeled
and so arranged that things can almost be found in the dark.
HOW TO KEEP THE BABY WELL
Many young mothers are anxious to learn all they can about the
physiology and hygiene of babyhood. Hours of anxiety might be spared
them if they could only profit by the experience of those who have
raised large families.
Babies’ hands and feet frequently become cold in a room where older
people are quite comfortable. This is sometimes caused by having the
clothing too tight. Keep the temperature of the room as near seventy
degrees as possible and have it well ventilated, but do not allow the
little one to lie in a draught, or an attack of colic may be the result.
Take him out in the fresh air frequently if the weather is good, but
when the wind is blowing and the air is damp the best place for the baby
is in the nursery. It is never safe to expose him to all kinds of
weather in order to get him used to it, for it may cost his life.
Give the baby a bath every day in hot weather, never having the water
cool enough to cause him to catch his breath, nor warm enough to make
him cry. He will soon learn to enjoy it. “My baby will laugh and clap
his hands every time he is put in the water,” says one happy mother,
“and after a few minutes’ bath and a good rubbing he is ready for a
long, refreshing sleep.”
If the baby’s head becomes covered with a yellow coating rub vaseline
well into the scalp, and after it has remained four or five hours take a
fine comb and carefully comb it all off; wash thoroughly with soft water
and good toilet soap as often as may be necessary to keep the scalp
white and healthy. The vaseline loosens the scurf and makes it easy to
comb out.
Nothing is so important as the baby’s diet. Of course the mother’s milk
is the food nature intended for him, but frequently the supply is not
sufficient for his needs, and there are many cases where it is
impossible for a mother to nurse her baby. Cow’s milk is sometimes used,
but the result is seldom satisfactory. It sours so easily in warm
weather and is then really poisonous to the little one. Then we can
never be sure that the cow is healthy, and we seldom have any means of
knowing what kind of food she eats, or if the water she drinks is pure.
All these things seriously affect the child’s health. Various prepared
foods are good, but what agrees with one baby may not agree with
another, so the effects of the one chosen should be carefully watched.
It should be freshly prepared for each meal; there will then be none of
the bad effects that so often follow the use of stale food. Do not get
into the habit of offering the baby the bottle every time he cries,
regardless of the cause. He may be thirsty, and a few spoonfuls of cold
water will quiet him.
Do not feed the baby with a spoon. It is not nature’s way, and the
sucking motion of the lips and mouth is needed to mix the food with the
fluids of the mouth and keep it from getting into the stomach too fast.
Use a plain nursing-bottle with a rubber nipple, which should be taken
off after each feeding so that both bottle and rubber may be washed
thoroughly. Let them soak in hot water two or three times every day to
destroy any germs that may be left in them. Under no circumstances ever
use a bottle with a long tube of rubber. Absolute cleanliness in
everything pertaining to his food is necessary to keep the baby healthy.
Do not put anything in his mouth that needs chewing, until he has his
teeth. In fact until he is seven months old the prepared food will be
all that is necessary for him. After that he will take a little oatmeal
gruel that has been strained through a coarse wire sieve to remove the
husks, or some of the excellent preparations of wheat now on the market.
If he is constipated, the juice of stewed fruit is beneficial in small
quantities.
RULES FOR ACCIDENTS AND EMERGENCIES
Poisons and Their Treatment—Bites, Stings, Bruises, Splinters, Cuts,
Sprains and Burns—Lockjaw—Poison Ivy—How to Bring the Drowned to
Life—Suffocation—Fainting—Sunstroke—Freezing—The Eyes and How to Care
for Them—Earache and Toothache—Felons, Warts, Corns and Boils—Home
Remedies for Diphtheria—Treatment of Smallpox—Convenient
Disinfectants—Sick Room Suggestions—Fruit in Sickness—An Antidote for
Intemperance—Milk Strippings for Consumption—Stammering Cured at Home
Here are some short and simple rules for quick action in the event of
accidents:
=For Dust in the Eyes=, avoid rubbing, and dash water into them. Remove
cinders, etc., with the rounded end of a lead pencil or a small camel’s
hair brush dipped in water.
=Remove Insects from the Ear= by tepid water; never put a hard
instrument into the ear.
=If an Artery Is Cut= compress above the wound; if a vein is cut
compress below.
=If Choked= get upon all fours and cough.
=For Light Burns= dip the part in cold water; if the skin is destroyed
cover with varnish.
=Smother a Fire= with carpets, etc.; water will often spread burning oil
and increase the danger.
=Before Passing through Smoke= take a full breath and then stoop low;
but if carbonic acid gas is suspected then walk erect.
=Suck Poisoned Wounds= unless your mouth is sore. Enlarge the wound, or
better, cut out the part without delay. Hold the wounded part as long as
can be borne to a hot coal or end of a cigar.
POISONS AND THEIR TREATMENT
The treatment of poisons in general consists of the use of substances
which, by combining chemically with an injurious dose, will neutralize,
as acids with alkalies and vice versa; by solvents, which take up the
poison, as olive oil with carbolic acid; and by emetics which produce
vomiting and dislodge the poison. The stomach pump is also used, if
available, to empty the stomach, and for some poisons electricity is
used.
If the exact poison is unknown it is best to follow a general plan of
treatment. We want an emetic, an antidote and a cathartic. For the first
a draught of warm water and tickling the throat with a finger or a
feather will generally succeed. For an antidote that will neutralize the
great majority of poisons give a mixture of equal parts of calcined
magnesia, pulverized charcoal and sesquioxide of iron, mixed thoroughly.
Castor oil is the best cathartic for general use in poisoning.
Here are a few special instructions for the treatment of the more common
cases of poisoning:
For carbolic acid give olive oil or castor oil or glycerine.
For ammonia give frequently a tablespoonful of vinegar or lemon juice,
and follow this with a cathartic of castor oil.
For alcohol empty the stomach by emetics, warm salt water, repeated at
short intervals, being the best. If the head is hot, dash cool water
upon it. Keep up motion and rubbing and slapping to increase the
circulation.
For arsenic, fly poison or paris green, take milk, gruel water with
starch dissolved in it, oil and lime water. Be sure and empty the
stomach by vomiting. It may require three or four repetitions of an
emetic to dislodge the sticky paste from the walls of the stomach. Oil
and barley gruel or mucilage water should be given to protect the
stomach.
For chloroform and ether, artificial breathing must be stimulated. Lower
the head of the patient and elevate the legs. Place ammonia at the nose
to be inhaled, and slap the surface of the chest smartly with the fringe
of a towel dipped in ice water.
For sulphate of copper or blue vitriol, give an emetic of warm water or
mustard and warm water. Do not give vinegar or acids. After vomiting
give milk or white of egg and oil.
For mercury poisoning by corrosive sublimate or calomel, give promptly
the white of eggs mixed in water or milk. Empty the stomach by vomiting
and then give quantities of egg and water or milk or even flour and
water.
For opium, morphine, laudanum, paregoric or soothing syrup poisoning
cleanse the stomach thoroughly by vomiting, and then give strong coffee.
The patient must be kept in constant motion. At the same time he must be
frequently aroused by smart blows with the palm of the hand, or
switching, and whipping the body with a wet towel. When all else fails
artificial respiration should be kept up for a long time.
For phosphorus, heads of matches, etc., use a mixture of hydrated
magnesia and cold water in repeated draughts, and produce free vomiting.
The emetic is mustard, flour and water. Do not use oil, as it tends to
dissolve the phosphorus.
For strychnine, rat poison and the like give an emetic, and after this
operates administer draughts of strong coffee. Control the convulsions
by inhaling chloroform, a teaspoonful poured upon a napkin and placed
near the nostrils. Between paroxysms give chloral dissolved in water.
The patient should be allowed to go to sleep if so inclined and under
any circumstances kept perfectly quiet, for any shock brings
convulsions.
For venomous snake bites tie a bandage tightly above the point of the
bite, leave the wound to bleed, and draw from it what poison may remain
by sucking, unless you have a sore mouth. Cauterize the wound with
caustics, a hot iron or a hot coal. Give alcoholic liquors and strong
coffee freely. Dress the wound with equal parts of oil and ammonia.
For poisonous mushrooms give a brisk emetic, then epsom salts and then
large and stimulating injections to move the bowels, followed by ether
and alcoholic stimulants. The poison of mushrooms is very similar to
that of venomous snake bites.
RATTLESNAKE BITES CURED BY SWEET OIL
Few people know that sweet oil, the common olive oil of commerce, the
salad oil used on our tables, is a specific for rattlesnake bites. Use
both internally and externally. Give the patient a teaspoonful of oil
every hour while nausea lasts. Dip pieces of cotton two inches square in
the oil and lay the saturated cloth over the wound. In twenty minutes or
less bubbles and froth will begin to appear on the surface of the cloth.
Remove the square, burn it, and replace it with a fresh square until all
the swelling has subsided. Where rattlesnakes abound every household
should keep a six or eight ounce vial of the best oil ready for
emergencies. Avoid rancid or adulterated oil. No whiskey or other
stimulant is needed, and in a majority of cases the patient is much
better off without any other so-called relief than that afforded by the
oil.
Relief is accelerated if some one with mouth and lips free from sores
and cracks will suck the poison from the bite before applying the
patches of oil-saturated cloth. A few drops of oil taken in the mouth
before beginning will insure exemption from any disagreeable results.
RATTLESNAKE BITES—A FAVORITE REMEDY
A favorite remedy for a sufferer from rattlesnake bite, which proves
very effective, is as follows: Iodide of potassium four grains,
corrosive sublimate two grains, bromide five drachms. Ten drops of this
compound taken in one or two tablespoonfuls of brandy or whisky make a
dose, to be repeated at intervals if necessary.
POISON IVY, OAK AND SUMAC-REMEDIES
It is unfortunate that some of the most attractive plants that grow in
woods, ivy, oak and sumac, for instance, are poisonous in their effects.
They act differently, however, on different people, for some seem not to
be susceptible under any circumstances, while others are poisoned by
simple contact with clothing that has touched the noxious plant. The
remedies likewise do not in every case affect people with the same
degree of success.
Various remedies are used in case of poisoning from ivy. The affected
parts may be bathed with water in which hemlock twigs or oak leaves have
been steeped. Fresh lime water and wet salt are likewise recommended.
Spirits of niter will help to heal the parts when bathed freely with it.
Another suggestion is to bathe the poisoned part thoroughly with clear
hot water, and when dry paint the place freely three or four times a day
with a feather dipped in strong tincture of lobelia. A similar
application of fluid extract of gelsemium sempervirens (yellow
jessamine) is likewise very effective.
BEE AND WASP STINGS—HOW TO SOOTHE THEM
A beekeeper advises those who are around bees should have a small bottle
of tincture of myrrh. As soon as one is stung apply a little of the
tincture to the sting, when the pain and swelling cease. It will also
serve well for bites of spiders and poisonous reptiles. If an onion be
scraped and the juicy part applied to the sting of wasps or bees the
pain will be relieved quickly. Ammonia applied to a bite from a
poisonous snake, or any poisonous animal, or sting of an insect, will
give immediate relief and will go far toward completely curing the
injury. It is one of the most convenient caustics to apply to the bite
of a mad dog.
BORAX FOR INSECT BITES
Dissolve one ounce of borax in one pint of water and anoint the bites of
insects with the solution. This is good for the irritation of mosquito
bites and even for prickly heat and like summer irritations. For the
stings of bees or wasps the solution should be twice as strong.
=Another Simple Remedy.=—For bee or wasp stings bathe the part affected
with a teaspoonful of salt and soda each in a little warm water. Apply
the remedy at once after being stung. If this be used just after one is
stung there will be no swelling. If one is off in the field and is stung
take a common hog weed and rub the part vigorously therewith. It will
stop the pain and prevent swelling.
HOW TO TREAT A SPRAIN
In treating a sprain wring a folded flannel out of boiling water by
laying it in a thick towel and twisting the ends in opposite directions;
shake it to cool it a little, lay it on the painful part and cover it
with a piece of dry flannel. Change of fomentations until six have been
applied, being careful not to have them so hot as to burn the skin.
Bandage the part if possible, and in six or eight hours repeat the
application. As soon as it can be borne, rub well with extract of witch
hazel.
HOW TO TAKE SORENESS FROM A CUT MADE BY GLASS
If one should sustain a wound by stepping on a piece of glass, as
children frequently do, soreness and much pain may be avoided by smoking
the wound with slow-burning old yarn or woolen rags.
NAIL WOUNDS IN THE FOOT—HOW TO RELIEVE THE PAIN
To relieve from the suffering produced by running a nail in the foot of
a horse or a man, take peach leaves, bruise them, apply to the wound,
and confine with a bandage. They give relief almost immediately and help
to heal the wound. Renew the application twice a day if necessary, but
one application goes far to destroy the pain.
TURPENTINE FOR LOCKJAW
A simple remedy recommended for lockjaw is ordinary turpentine. Warm a
small quantity of the liquid and pour it on the wound, no matter where
the wound is, and relief will follow immediately. Nothing better can be
applied to a severe cut or bruise than cold turpentine, which is very
prompt in its action.
BRUISES, SPLINTERS, CUTS AND BURNS—SIMPLE REMEDIES
=The Best Treatment for a Bruise= is to apply soft cloths wet with hot
water, and if the contusion is very painful a little laudanum may be
added to the water.
=To Extract a Splinter= from a child’s hand, fill a wide-mouthed bottle
half full of very hot water and place its mouth under the injured spot.
If a little pressure is used the steam in a few moments will extract the
splinter.
=Before Bandaging a Cut= wash it thoroughly with some antiseptic
solution. When it is perfectly clean bring the edges together and hold
in place with warm strips of adhesive plastering. Leave a place between
them for the escape of blood, and apply a dressing of absorbent gauze.
When the wound is entirely healed the plaster may be easily removed by
moistening at first with alcohol.
=The Stinging Pain of a Superficial Burn= may be instantly allayed by
painting with flexible collodion, white of egg, or mucilage. If the skin
is broken apply a dressing of boracic acid ointment or vaseline.
BURNS AND THEIR TREATMENT
Common cooking soda, as found in every kitchen, is a convenient remedy
for burns and scalds. Moisten the injured part and then sprinkle with
dry soda so as to cover it entirely and loosely wrap it with a wet linen
cloth.
Another convenient remedy for the same kind of injury, if you have a
mucilage bottle at hand, is to brush or pour a coating of the mucilage
over the entire injured part. The chief cause for pain from burns and
scalds is their exposure to the air, and the mucilage coating will keep
the air from coming in contact with the inflamed tissue.
The following is the recommendation of an eminent physician for treating
burns from gunpowder:
“=In Burns from Gunpowder=, where the powder has been deeply imbedded in
the skin, a large poultice made of common molasses and wheat flour,
applied over the burnt surface, is the very best thing that can be used,
as it seems to draw the powder to the surface, and keeps the parts so
soft that the formation of scars does not occur. It should be removed
twice a day, and the part washed with a shaving brush and warm water
before applying the fresh poultice. The poultice should be made
sufficiently soft to admit of its being readily spread on a piece of
cotton. In cases in which the skin and muscles have been completely
filled with the burnt powder we have seen the parts heal perfectly
without leaving the slightest mark to indicate the position or nature of
the injury.”
COLD WATER FOR ORDINARY RECENT BURNS
The best treatment for ordinary recent burns at first is cold water,
which soothes and deadens the suffering. The burnt part should,
therefore, be placed in cold water, or thin cloths dipped in the cool
liquid should be applied and frequently renewed. In a short time,
however, the cold water fails to relieve and then rags dipped in carron
oil (a mixture of equal parts of linseed oil and lime water, well shaken
before using) should be substituted for the water. When the treatment
with carron oil begins, however, care should be taken to keep the rag
moist with it until the burn heals. This is the main point in the
treatment, so the authorities say. The cloth must not be removed or
changed.
TO RELIEVE A SCALDED MOUTH
To relieve a scald on the interior of the mouth from taking hot liquids,
gargle with a solution of borax, and then hold in the mouth a mucilage
of slippery elm, swallowing it slowly if the throat also has been
scalded. The slippery elm may be mixed with olive oil.
HOW TO BRING THE APPARENTLY DROWNED TO LIFE
The bringing to life of those who are apparently drowned is something
that should be understood by every person, for such emergencies may rise
at any time or place when no professional relief is at hand. There are
astonishing instances of revival after a considerable time has passed,
and it is worth while to persist in the effort most energetically and
constantly for a long time before hope is given up. The following rules
for saving the life of those who are apparently drowned are made up from
various sources, official and otherwise, and may be accepted as
thoroughly reliable.
Whatever method is adopted to produce artificial breathing, the patient
should be stripped to the waist and the clothing should be loosened
below the waist, so that there shall be no restraint on the movement of
the chest and body. Lose no time in beginning. Remove the froth and
mucus from the mouth and nostrils and the mud, too, if any has been
drawn in. Hold the body for a few seconds with the head sloping
downward, so that the water may run out of the lungs and windpipe.
The tip of the tongue must hue drawn forward and out of the mouth, as
otherwise it will fall back into the throat and impede breathing. This
is an important matter, for if it is not done successfully all that
would otherwise be gained by artificial breathing may not be
accomplished. If you are not alone the matter becomes simpler. Let a
bystander grasp the tongue with a dry handkerchief to prevent it
slipping from the fingers, or he may cover his fingers with sand for the
same purpose. If you are alone with the patient draw the tongue well out
and tie it against the lower teeth in this manner: Lay the center of a
dry strip of cloth on the tongue, which is drawn out over the teeth, and
cross it under the chin. Carry the ends around the neck and tie them at
the sides of the neck, which will keep the tongue from slipping back.
You are now ready to begin the actual restoration of life.
If the ground is sloping turn the patient upon the face, the head down
hill; step astride the hips, your face toward the head, lock your
fingers together under the abdomen, raise the body as high as you can
without lifting the forehead from the ground, give the body a smart jerk
to remove the accumulating mucus from the throat and water from the
windpipe; hold the body suspended long enough to slowly count five; then
repeat the jerks two or three times.
The patient being still upon the ground, face down, and maintaining all
the while your position astride the body, grasp the points of the
shoulders by the clothing, or, if the body be naked, thrust your fingers
into the armpits, clasping your thumbs under the points of the
shoulders, and raise the chest as high as you can without lifting the
head quite off the ground and hold it long enough to slowly count three.
Replace the patient slowly upon the ground, with the forehead upon the
bent arm, the neck straightened out, and the mouth and nose free. Place
your elbows against your knees and your hands upon the sides of his
chest over the lower ribs, and press downward and inward with increasing
force long enough to slowly count two. Then suddenly let go, grasp the
shoulders as before, and raise the chest; then press upon the ribs, etc.
These alternate movements should be repeated ten to fifteen times a
minute for an hour at least, unless breathing is restored sooner. Use
the same regularity as in natural breathing.
After breathing has commenced and not before, unless there is a house
very close, get the patient where covering may be obtained, to restore
the animal heat. Wrap in warm blankets, apply bottles of hot water, hot
bricks, etc., to aid in the restoration of heat. Warm the head nearly as
fast as the body, lest convulsions come on. Rubbing the body with warm
cloths or the hand and gently slapping the fleshy parts may assist to
restore warmth and the breathing also.
When the patient can swallow give hot coffee, tea or milk. Give spirits
sparingly, lest they produce depression. Place the patient in a warm
bed, give him plenty of fresh air and keep him quiet.
Another method which is perhaps simpler than the first and equally
effective is as follows:
The water and mucus are supposed to have been removed from the mouth,
and the tongue secured by the means above described. The patient is to
be placed on his back, with a roll made of a coat or a shawl under the
shoulders. The nurse should kneel at the head and grasp the elbows of
the patient and draw them upward until the hands are carried above the
head and kept in this position until one, two, three can be slowly
counted. This movement elevates the ribs, expands the chest and creates
a vacuum in the lungs into which the air rushes, or, in other words, the
movement produces inspiration. The elbows are then slowly carried
downward, placed by the sides and pressed inward against the chest,
thereby diminishing the size of the latter and producing expiration.
These movements should be repeated about fifteen times during each
minute for at least two hours, provided the signs of animation present
themselves.
WHEN ONE FALLS INTO THE WATER
If a person who cannot swim falls into deep water, it is still possible
in many instances for him to save his own life if he can keep his wits
about him. Remember that one always rises to the surface at once after
falling into deep water, and that the person must not raise his arms or
hands above the water unless there is something to take hold of, for the
weight thus raised will sink the head below the point of safety. Motions
of the hands under water, however, will do no harm, for in quiet water,
with the head thrown back a little, the face will float above the
surface unless heavy boots and clothing drag the person down. The slow
motion of the legs as if walking upstairs, keeping as nearly
perpendicular as possible, will help to keep one afloat until aid comes.
WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF SUFFOCATION
Suffocation from any cause may be treated in some details the same as
apparent drowning.
For suffocation from hanging, remove all the clothing from the upper
part of the body and proceed to restore breathing in the way directed
under the subject of drowning. Of course if the neck is broken there is
no hope in this.
For suffocation from gas and poisonous vapors, get the person into the
open air, relieve the lungs of the gas and restore natural breathing in
the same way as directed in case of drowning. Throw cold water upon the
face and breast and hold strong vinegar to the nostrils of the patient.
If oxygen can be obtained promptly, it should be forced into the lungs.
HOW TO REVIVE A FAINTING PERSON
In a case of fainting lay the patient on his back with his head slightly
lower than his feet. Be sure that the room is fully ventilated with
fresh air, and rub gently the palms of the hands, the wrists, the arms
and the forehead. Sprinkle a little cold water upon the face and hold to
the nose a napkin upon which spirits of camphor, ether, ammonia or
vinegar has been sprinkled.
SUNSTROKE AND HOW TO TREAT IT
In case of sunstroke get the patient into the coolest place you can,
loosen the clothes about his neck and waist, lay him down with his head
a little raised, and cool him off as promptly as possible. Cloths wrung
out in cold water, applied to the head, wrists and soles of the feet,
are the simplest applications. In severe cases of extreme prostration
from sunstroke, the patient should be immersed in cold water, and even
in an ice pack to get prompt results. After a little recovery is visible
careful nursing is the next important thing. Sunstroke is commonly a
summer disease, but the same conditions may come from overwork in
extremely hot rooms. It begins with pain in the head, or dizziness,
quickly followed by a loss of consciousness and complete prostration.
The head is often burning hot, the face dark and swollen, the breathing
labored, and the extremities are cold. If the latter detail is observed,
mustard or turpentine should be applied to the calves of the legs and
the soles of the feet, after which the hands should be chafed with
flannels or with the palms of the hands. In case of genuine sunstroke
lose no time in calling the doctor.
FREEZING AND HOW TO TREAT A CASE
In cases of severe freezing, when a person is apparently frozen to
death, great caution is needed. Keep the body in a cold place, handle it
carefully, and rub it with cold water or snow for fifteen or twenty
minutes. When the surface is red, wipe it perfectly dry and rub with
bare warm hands. The person should be then wrapped in a blanket and
breathing restored if possible as already directed. It may be necessary
to continue the treatment energetically for several hours. A little
lukewarm water, or wine, or ginger tea is recommended for the patient to
swallow as soon as possible.
THE EYES AND HOW TO CARE FOR THEM
Here are some simple and sound rules for care of the eyes, as formulated
by a recognized authority on the subject. Avoid reading and study by
poor lights. Light should come from the side of the reader, and not from
the back nor from the front. Do not read or study while suffering great
bodily fatigue or during recovery from illness. Do not read while lying
down. Do not use the eyes too long at a time for anything that requires
close application, but give them occasional periods of rest. Reading and
study should be done systematically. During study avoid the stooping
position, or whatever tends to produce congestion of the blood in the
head and face. Read with the book on a level with the eyes, or nearly
so, instead of in your lap. Select well printed books. Correct
imperfection in sight with proper glasses, not selected carelessly by
yourself or bought from an irresponsible wandering peddler, but properly
fitted by an educated optician. Avoid bad hygienic conditions and the
use of alcohol and tobacco. Take sufficient exercise in the open air.
Let physical culture keep pace with mental development, for imperfection
in eyesight is most usually observed in those who are lacking in
physical development.
STYES AND THEIR TREATMENT
A stye is a small boil which projects from the edge of the eyelid, and
is sometimes much inflamed and very painful. A poultice of linseed meal
or bread and milk will soothe it and soften it. When the stye forms a
head showing matter, pierce it with a clean, sharp needle and then apply
some mild, soothing ointment.
TO TAKE THE COLOR FROM A BLACK EYE
A black eye is usually caused by a blow and may be a very disfiguring
object. If inflamed and painful wash the eye often with very warm water,
in which is dissolved a little carbonate of soda. A repeated application
of cloths wrung out of very hot water gives relief. A poultice of
slippery elm bark mixed with milk and put on warm is also good. To
remove the discoloration of the eye bind on a poultice made of the root
of “Solomon’s seal.” It is often found sufficient to apply the scraped
root at bedtime to the closed eye and the blackness will disappear by
morning.
TO REMOVE BITS OF DIRT FROM THE EYE
To remove dirt or foreign particles from the eye take a hog’s bristle
and double it so as to form a loop. Lift the eyelid and gently insert
the loop under it. Now close the lid down upon the bristle, which may be
withdrawn gently and the dirt should come with it.
=Another Process.=—Take hold of the upper eyelid with the forefinger and
thumb of each hand, draw it gently forward and down over the lower lid,
and hold it in this position for about a minute. When at the end of this
time you allow the eyelid to resume its place, a flood of tears will
wash out the foreign substance, which will be found near the lower
eyelid.
If lime gets into the eyes, a few drops of vinegar and water will
dissolve and remove it.
Olive oil will relieve the pain caused by any hot fluid that may reach
the eye.
A particle of iron or steel may be extracted from the eye by holding
near it a powerful magnet.
=When Something Gets into Your Eye.=—An easy method of removing bits of
foreign bodies from the eye is to place a grain of flaxseed under the
lower lid and close the lids. The seed becomes quickly surrounded by a
thick adherent mucilage which entraps the foreign body and soon carries
it out from the angle of the eye.
QUICK RELIEF FOR EARACHE
To relieve earache take a small piece of cotton batting, depress it in
the center with the finger and fill up the cavity with ground black
pepper. Gather it into a ball and tie it with thread. Dip the pepper
ball into sweet oil and insert it in the ear, then putting cotton over
the ear and using a bandage or cap to keep it in place. This application
will give immediate relief and can do no injury.
=Another Remedy.=—Take a common tobacco pipe, put a wad of cotton into
the bowl and drop a few drops of chloroform into it. Cover this with
another wad of cotton, place the pipe stem to the suffering ear and blow
into the bowl. The chloroform vapor will in many cases cause the pain to
cease almost immediately.
INSECTS IN THE EAR—TO REMOVE
To destroy insects which fly or crawl into the ear, pour a spoonful of
warm olive oil into the ear and keep it there for some hours by means of
a wad of cotton batting and a bandage. Afterward it may be washed out
with warm water and a small syringe.
TOOTHACHE—A QUICK RELIEF
One of the best mixtures to relieve acute pain and toothache is made as
follows: Laudanum, one drachm; gum camphor, four drachms; oil of cloves,
one-half drachm; oil of lavender, one drachm; alcohol, one ounce;
sulphuric ether, six drachms, and chloroform, five drachms. Apply with
lint, or for toothache rub on the gums and upon the face against the
tooth.
DISAGREEABLE BREATH—HOW TO CURE
Of course if the trouble comes from the teeth by decay, it is a case for
the dentist, and if because the teeth are not properly and frequently
cleaned, the remedy is a toothbrush and a good tooth powder.
Bad breath, however, is frequently the result of low vitality or
torpidity of the excretory organs, either the skin, bowels, kidneys,
liver or lungs. Should one of these, the bowels, for instance, become
affected, the others have more work to do. The lungs then have to throw
off some of this waste matter, and the result is bad breath. If from one
of these causes, or from the stomach, or from catarrh in the nose, a
doctor should be called to treat the difficulty intelligently.
For temporary cleansing of the breath, however, the following
recommendations are good. A teaspoonful of listerine to half a glass of
water makes a wholesome and refreshing gargle and mouth wash. No harm is
done if some of it be swallowed. A teaspoonful of powdered charcoal is a
good dose to take. A teaspoonful of chlorine water in half a glass of
water makes another good mouth wash.
Of course the teeth should be brushed twice a day at all times, and the
listerine is the best of lotions for that use, particularly when used
alternately with powdered chalk to whiten the teeth. Do not use a brush
that is too stiff, and never brush so hard that you make the gums bleed.
TO STOP NOSEBLEED
A correspondent in the Scientific American declares that the best remedy
for nosebleed is in the vigorous motion of the jaws, as if in the act of
chewing. A child may be given a wad of paper or a piece of gum and
instructed to chew steadily and hard. It is the motion of the jaws that
stops the flow of blood.
HICCOUGHS—A SIMPLE CURE
A safe and convenient remedy for hiccoughs is to moisten a teaspoonful
of granulated sugar with a few drops of vinegar. The dose is easy to
take and the effect is almost immediate.
FELONS OR WHITLOWS AND THEIR TREATMENT
A felon, or whitlow, although not very large, may become not only very
painful but dangerous if neglected. The milder ones may be treated with
hot water, cloths and poultices, and if matter forms may be relieved by
a lancet. There are others, however, which, if neglected, gradually
affect the bone of the finger where they form, and these need the
attention of a surgeon as soon as they begin to be very troublesome.
As soon as the finger begins to swell wrap the part affected with cloth
soaked thoroughly with tincture of lobelia. This rarely fails to cure.
Another simple remedy is to stir one-half teaspoonful of water into one
ounce of Venice turpentine until the mixture appears like granulated
honey. Coat the finger with it and bandage. The pain should vanish in a
few hours. A poultice of linseed and slippery elm will help to draw the
felon to a head, and when a small white spot in the center of the
swelling indicates the formation of matter it should be carefully opened
with the point of a large needle. A poultice of powdered hops will help
to relieve the pain.
SIMPLE CURE FOR WARTS
Oil of cinnamon dropped on warts three or four times a day will cause
their disappearance, however hard, large, or dense they may be. The
application gives no pain and causes no suppuration.
CORNS AND CORN CURES
Corns are always the result of continued pressure, such as wearing shoes
too small or not properly fitted to the foot. At first they are merely
thickenings of the outer skin, but in time they come to be connected
with the true skin beneath, and even with the muscles. There are almost
as many corn cures advertised and recommended as there are corns, and
sometimes they all fail, but here are a few of the most approved:
Soak the corn for half an hour in a solution of soda, and after paring
it as closely as possible without pain apply a plaster of the following
ingredients: Purified ammonia, two ounces; yellow wax, two ounces, and
acetate of copper, six drachms. Melt the first two together and after
removing them from the fire add the copper acetate just before they grow
cold. Spread this ointment on a piece of soft leather or on linen and
bind it in place. If this application is kept on the corn faithfully for
two weeks there should be a certain cure.
The soft corn occurs between the toes and from the same causes, but in
consequence of the moisture which reaches it, it remains permanently
soft. It may be healed by first cutting away the thick skin from the
surface, then touching it with a drop of Friar’s balsam and keeping a
piece of fresh cotton for a cushion between the toes.
Tincture of arnica or turpentine will serve a similar purpose.
A small piece of lemon bandaged over a corn will help to relieve the
pain and enable it to be treated to good advantage.
Corn plasters made of felt, with a hole punched through the center, will
cushion the troublesome visitor so that it may be treated with the
proper remedies and the pain be relieved at the same time.
BOILS AND CARBUNCLES—HOW TO TREAT THEM
=Boils= prove that an impurity exists in the blood, and the general
health should be improved by means of careful diet and regular habits.
The bowels must be kept open and regular, and the food should be simple,
easily digested, and not heating.
Poultice the boil from the beginning with bread and linseed meal mixed
with a little glycerine or sweet oil. When fully to a head and ripened
the boil should be opened and the pus drained out. Then dress the wound
with some soothing ointment spread on soft linen.
=Carbuncles= are apt to be much more serious than ordinary boils, and
are very weakening to the system, in which they show a weakness already
to exist. They should be carefully poulticed and treated as above, but
the best advice is to call a good doctor and draw on his knowledge of
treatment at once.
THE PROPER WAY TO MAKE A MUSTARD PLASTER
The making of a mustard plaster may seem a very simple thing, yet there
are few households in which it is properly done. Care and attention must
be given the work in order to have the results satisfactory.
A plaster should never be applied cold to a patient, the shock being too
great. It should either be mixed with warm water or well heated after
mixing. Strong ground mustard should be used, a little flour added, and
the whole stirred to a smooth, thick paste with warm borax water, which
soothes and prevents too great irritation. Some nurses add a teaspoonful
of molasses or mix the mustard with the white of an egg. When prepared
spread a piece of old linen on a warm plate, cover with the mixture, lay
a second cloth over and apply at once. If allowed to remain on until the
skin is burned or blistered, bathe gently with a little borax water,
dry, and rub with vaseline.
DANGER IN DAMP SHEETS
Among the dangers which beset travelers in strange hotels and elsewhere
is the really great peril of sleeping in damp sheets. It is hard enough
to secure the proper airing of linen and clothes at home. Unless each
article is unfolded and its position changed until all the moisture has
been driven out of it, it is really not fully dried. As a matter of fact
heavy articles, such as sheets, are scarcely ever thoroughly dry, and
when delicate persons, perhaps fatigued by a journey, seek rest in a bed
made of them, they risk rheumatism and other mischief. In case of doubt
it is better to remove the sheets from the bed and sleep in the blankets
until assured that the linen is thoroughly dry.
TAR AND TURPENTINE FOR DIPHTHERIA
The vapors of tar and turpentine are of great value in the treatment of
diphtheria. The process is simple. Pour equal parts of turpentine and
tar into a tin pan or cup and set fire to the mixture. A dense resinous
smoke arises which clouds the air of the room. The patient immediately
experiences relief. The choking and rattle in the throat stop, the
patient falls into a slumber, and seems to inhale the smoke with
pleasure. The vapors dissolve the fibrous membrane which chokes up the
throat in croup and diphtheria, and it is coughed up readily. A remedy
so convenient and so easily given should be in every household for
prompt use when necessary.
Turpentine also is a convenient remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of
flannel with it and place the flannel on the throat and chest. In a very
severe case three or four drops in a lump of sugar may be taken
internally.
TO PREVENT PITTING IN SMALLPOX
By careful treatment, pitting in smallpox may be generally prevented.
One successful method is to dissolve India rubber in chloroform and then
paint the skin, where exposed, with this solution, by means of a soft
camel’s-hair brush. When the chloroform has evaporated, which it very
soon does, a thin film of India rubber is left over the face. This
relieves itching and irritation, and permits the patient to be more
comfortable in addition to preventing the pitting. Another suggestion is
to keep the whole body, face and all, covered with calamine, or native
carbonate of zinc, which must be purified and pulverized for the
purpose. It may be shaken onto the body from a common pepper box. To
assist in relieving the inflammation sprinkle an ounce of powdered
camphor between the under sheet and the pad on which it rests,
scattering powder the whole length of the bed, and freely where the back
and shoulders are lying. This gives great relief to the sufferer.
MEDICAL USES OF WHITE OF EGG
It may not be generally known that there is nothing more soothing for
either a burn or a scald than the white of an egg. It is contact with
the air which makes a burn so painful, and the egg acts as a varnish,
and excludes the air completely, and also prevents inflammation. An egg
beaten up lightly, with or without a little sugar, is a good remedy in
cases of dysentery and diarrhea; it tends by its emollient qualities to
lessen the inflammation, and by forming a transient coating for the
stomach and intestines gives those organs a chance to rest until nature
shall have assumed her healthful sway over the diseased body. Two, or at
the most three, eggs a day would be all that would be required in
ordinary cases, and since the egg is not only medicine but food, the
lighter the diet otherwise and the quieter the patient is kept the more
rapid will be the recovery.
LEMONS OF VALUE IN MANY USES
Lemons have a very wide variety of uses. For all people, either in
sickness or in health, lemonade is a safe drink. It corrects
biliousness. It is a specific or positive cure for many kinds of worm
and skin diseases. Lemon juice is the best remedy known to prevent and
cure scurvy. If the gums are rubbed daily with lemon juice it will keep
them in health. The hands and the nails are also kept clean, white and
soft by the daily use of lemon instead of soap. It also removes freckles
and prevents chilblains. Lemon used in intermittent fever is mixed with
strong, hot black tea, or coffee without sugar. Neuralgia may be
relieved by rubbing the part affected with a lemon. It is valuable also
for curing warts, and it will destroy dandruff on the head by rubbing
the roots of the hair with it.
PAINTED WALLS BEST FOR SICK ROOMS
The walls of the room used for sickly members of a family should be
painted so they can be easily washed. The painted wall is the only clean
wall. A papered wall is an abomination where there is sickness, and a
plastered wall can be made safe only by frequent whitewashing. But the
painted wall may be washed with disinfectants when necessary, and when
painted some dainty shade it is never a trial to sick eyes.
VALUE OF PLANTS IN THE SICK ROOM
It was once thought that it was injurious to the sick to have plants
growing in the room, and science never did a kinder thing than when it
proved the contrary to be true.
TO AVOID CONTAGION IN THE SICKROOM
If it is necessary to enter a sick room, particularly where there is
fever, these simple rules should be observed to avoid contagion. Never
enter fasting. At least take a few crackers or some such simple food
before going in. Do not stand between the patient and the door where the
current of air would naturally strike you. Avoid sitting on or touching
the bed clothes as much as possible, and do not inhale the patient’s
breath. The hands should always be washed in clean water before leaving
the room, in order not to carry infection by them to other people or
things you may need to touch. After visiting a fever patient change the
clothes if possible. As soon as a fever is over and the patient is
convalescent, the dress which has been used by the nurse should be
fumigated in the same manner as the bedding, as already explained.
LIME AND CHARCOAL AS DISINFECTANTS
Housekeepers are gradually being educated up to a more practical
knowledge of the laws of sanitation, and are coming to understand that
cleanliness consists in something more than scrubbing the floors and
washing the windows. Hence the following hint: A barrel each of lime and
charcoal in the cellar will tend to keep that part of the house dry and
sweet. A bowl of lime in a damp closet will dry and sweeten it. A dish
of charcoal in a closet or refrigerator will do much toward making these
places sweet. The power of charcoal to absorb odors is much greater
directly after it has been burned than when it has been exposed to the
air for a length of time. Charcoal may be purified and used again by
heating it to a red heat. The lime must be kept in a place where there
is no danger of its getting wet, and not exposed to the air.
CHLORIDE OF LIME AS A DISINFECTANT
Chloride of lime is a great purifier and disinfectant. One pound of it
mixed with three gallons of water makes a solution which may be used for
many purposes. To purify rooms, sprinkle it on the floor and even on the
bed linen. Infected clothes should be dipped in it and wrung out just
before they are washed. The lime without water may be sprinkled about
slaughter houses, sinks, water closets and wherever there are offensive
odors, and in a few days the smell will pass away. The odor of decaying
vegetables or of dead animals is soon dispersed by the lime.
HOW TO PURIFY FOUL WATER
Two ounces of permanganate of potash thrown into a cistern will purify
foul water sufficiently to make it drinkable. This is the disinfectant
known as “Condy’s solution.” It is used in destroying the odors in the
hold of vessels, and for many other disinfectant uses.
A WORD CONCERNING GOOD DIGESTION
In a recent novel one of the characters—a woman, of course—is made to
speak the following interesting sentiments about husbands: “The very
best of them don’t properly know the difference between their souls and
their stomachs, and they fancy they are wrestling with their doubts,
when really it is their dinners that are wrestling with them. Now, take
Mr. Bateson hisself; a kinder husband or better Methodist never drew
breath, yet so sure as he touches a bit of pork he begins to worry
hisself about the doctrine of election till there’s no living with him.
And then he’ll sit in the front parlor and engage in prayer for hours at
a time till I say to him, ‘Bateson,’ says I, ‘I’d be ashamed to go
troubling the Lord with such a prayer when a pinch of carbonate o’ soda
would set things straight again.’”
A PRACTICAL SPRING REMEDY
It is nourishing and helps to clear out the system, to give sulphur and
molasses every night for nine days some time during the spring. Sulphur
and cream of tartar may be given instead. This may be made into little
pills, using a little molasses to form a paste, and each pill being
rolled in sugar.
CASTOR OIL—MAKING IT EASY TO TAKE
Castor oil may be taken with ease if its taste be disguised. One way is
to put a tablespoonful of orange juice in a glass, pour the castor oil
into the center of the juice, where it will stay without mixing, and
then squeeze a few drops of lemon juice upon the top of the oil, rubbing
some of the same juice on the edge of the glass. The person who drinks
the dose without delay will find the nauseous flavor completely covered.
The French administer castor oil to children in a novel way. They pour
the oil into a pan over the fire, break an egg into it and “scramble”
them together. When it is cooked they add a little salt or sugar or some
jelly, and the sick child eats it agreeably without discovering the
disguise.
Castor oil may be beaten with the white of an egg until they are
thoroughly mixed and not difficult to take.
CREAM OF TARTAR A MILD CATHARTIC
Cream of tartar is a good laxative. Take a teaspoonful mixed with a
little sugar in a cup of warm water at night. If it does not have the
desired effect, repeat the dose in the morning. It will often work off
colds and other maladies in their incipient stage.
BOILED MILK FOR BOWEL DISEASES
Boiled milk, taken while still hot, is one of the best of foods in
almost all bowel complaints, and is very successful as a remedy. In
India, where the climate produces many such ailments, it is in constant
use for such purposes. A physician in practice there says that a pint
every four hours will check the most violent diarrhea, stomach ache,
incipient cholera or dysentery. It is soothing and healing to the whole
digestive tract. No patient will need other food during bowel troubles,
so that the same simple preparation serves at once for medicine and
nourishment.
WHEN TO EAT FRUIT AND WHY
If people ate more fruit they would take less medicine and have much
better health. There is an old saying that fruit is gold in the morning
and lead at night. As a matter of fact, it may be gold at both times,
but it should be eaten on an empty stomach, and not as a dessert, when
the appetite is satisfied and the digestion is already sufficiently
taxed. Fruit taken in the morning before the fast of the night has been
broken is very refreshing, and it serves as a stimulus to the digestive
organs. A ripe apple or an orange may be taken at this time with good
effect. Fruit to be really valuable as an article of diet should be
ripe, sound and in every way of good quality, and if possible it should
be eaten raw. Instead of eating a plate of ham and eggs and bacon for
breakfast, most people would do far better if they took some grapes,
pears or apples—fresh fruit as long as it is to be had, and after that
they can fall back on stewed prunes, figs, etc. If only fruit of some
sort formed an important item in their breakfast women would generally
feel brighter and stronger, and would have far better complexions than
is the rule at present.
FOR FEVER OR SORE THROAT PATIENTS
Put some ice in a towel and crush it until it is as fine as snow and of
an even fineness. Then squeeze on it the juice of an orange or lemon,
and sprinkle over it a little sugar. It is a very pleasant food for
persons suffering with sore throat.
WAKEFULNESS CURED BY LEMON JUICE
The wakefulness that comes from drinking too strong tea or coffee can be
conquered, says a household informant, by swallowing a dash of fresh
lemon juice from a quartered lemon, placed in readiness on the bedside
table, and taken at the time you discover that sleep will not come.
FRUIT AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR INTEMPERANCE
A writer in a European temperance journal calls attention to the value
of fruit as an antidote to the craving for liquor. He says: “In Germany,
a nation greatly in advance of other countries in matters relative to
hygiene, alcoholic disease has been successfully coped with by dieting
and natural curative agencies. I have said that the use of fresh fruit
is an antidote for drink craving, and this is true.
“The explanation is simple. Fruit may be called nature’s medicine. Every
apple, every orange, every plum and every grape is a bottle of medicine.
An orange is three parts water—distilled in nature’s laboratory—but this
water is rich in peculiar fruit acids medicinally balanced, which are
specially cooling to the thirst of the drunkard and soothing to the
diseased state of his stomach. An apple or an orange, eaten when the
desire for ‘a glass’ arises, would generally take it away, and every
victory would make less strong each recurring temptation.
“The function of fresh fruit and succulent vegetables is not so much to
provide solid nourishment as to supply the needful acids of the blood.
Once get the blood pure and every time its pure nutrient stream bathes
the several tissues of the body it will bring away some impurity and
leave behind an atom of healthy tissue, until, in time, the drunkard
shall stand up purified—in his right mind.”
HOME REMEDY FOR CONSUMPTION
Dr. B. J. Kendall, of Saratoga Springs, New York, urges the use of milk
strippings in curing consumption. He says that milk strippings taken in
large quantities immediately after milking, before the animal heat has
departed, are the most potent remedy known for building up a poor,
debilitated person who is suffering with consumption. “This was only a
theory of mine years ago,” he says, “but now I know it to be a fact, for
I have demonstrated it to be so. I wish to say it emphatically. If you
want to get well drink a quart of strippings. I do not mean any milk
from any cow, however poor milk she may give, nor do I mean to take it
in a haphazard sort of a way, cold or warmed up or just as it may best
suit your convenience; but take it regularly, at the proper time, and in
the proper manner, and have all your diet and habits regulated by proper
hygienic laws.”
STAMMERING CURED AT HOME
It is said that stammering can be cured by this plan: Go into a room
alone with a book and read aloud to yourself for two hours, keeping your
teeth tightly shut together. Do this every two or three days, or once a
week if very tiresome, always taking care to read slowly and distinctly,
moving the lips, but not the teeth. Then when conversing with others try
to speak as slowly as possible, keeping your mind made up not to
stammer. Undoubtedly your teeth and jaws will ache while you are doing
it, but the result will be good enough to pay for the discomfort.
Sixty-four pages are here added to the folios to include full-page
illustrations not before numbered, making a total of 490 pages.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 297, changed “The time and consideration which this board of
conscientious business men and ministers devote to the management
of the affairs of the school under their care are” to “The time
and consideration which this board of conscientious business men
and ministers devote to the management of the affairs of the
school under their care are....”. The sentence was not completed
in the original.
2. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
3. Archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as printed.
4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
5. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.
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