Huntsville gazette., 1885-08-29
The Almighty Dollar.
Fred Douglass Idea OF the true road
To Advancement.

To Advancement.
Fred Douglass, in his oration at Roches-
ter on Emancipation day spoke AZ FOL
lows.
We have so long heard. 10 our pupits and
elsewhere, of the Sin of laying mp treasures
on earth and the difficulty Of getting into
heaven with riches, that we make virtue Of
living on earth without riches. That is
clearly case where the letter killeth
For the destruction of the poor Is their
poverty. So far from being sin to &C.
cumulate property, it is the plain duty of
Of every man to lay up something for the
future with which to meet the accidents Of
life. Not to do this is the real sin. am
for making the best of both worlds aud
making the best of this world first, because
it comes first. And the man who does not
make use of the opportunities afforded him
for making himself comfortable and happy
| in this world gives US no reason to believe
| that he will make use of favorable con-
| ditions for making himself happy in any
other world. The ant provides for Win.
| ter, and IL wise !; the birds build their nests
and collect food their for young. Even the
dog will bury his bone to provide for a
| future meal and why may not man do the
| same If a man has dollar q day for his
labor, every dollar he saves places him
| day In advance OF his immediate wants. II
| he saves ten dollars he has ten days ahead.
| and if S100 in advance of mis- wants he
mas one hundred days. and should &C
| cident or illness overtake him, has some
thing to supply him until he Is able to re-
sumo work. Ia the matter of the improv-
idence of the colored people / am spe ak
| ing of the general rate. That to this gen
| eral rule there are noble exceptions | am
happy to admit, but they are not SO
| numerous as they ought to
be, nor as they must be if We
lowmen and to b. tree and happy peo-
pie. !
| l admit that these remarks do not souno
| much like celebration address. which is
| US nally Mandatory OF our merits as class
rather than a criticism of our defects. My
apology is that my life long hearts desire
and labor has benn to build up our loag
oppressed aud poverty stricken people,
( and know full we'll that We cannot be
built up rs people until We learn the
lesson of prudence which / have been en-
deavoring to enforce. To colored people
and to white people l present two views
and both are just. To coiored people l
say, Consider your opportunities and the
immense distance you are In the rear OF
your white fellow-citizens. and strive to
| decrease that distance and diminish that
disparity so terribly unfavorable to you.
You have done we'll, but you can do better
To the white people | say, Measure not the
colored man from the heights you have
attained, but rather from the depths from
which he has come-those depths into
| which you plunged him ana held him for
two centuries Consider what he has
way Of Improvement. and the terrible odds
against which we have to contend in the
battle of life.
| Viewed thus, am not ashamed of my
cause nor my countreymen. I affir N that
| the colored people, upon a fair considera-
ton of all the circumstances, have made
and are making commendable progress in
all the elements Of civilization. Take the
emanci pated class of the South. Consider
we'll their former condit on aud the man-
of their emancipation In all history, and
| under the whole heavens. there was never
class Of people emancipated under con-
ditions 80 unfavorable to success
as was this clsss. The whole cur
rent of ther surroundings was and is
against item. In view of the circumstances.
the marvel is. not that they have not lived
we'll, but that they have lived at all. So
unpropitions were the conditions under
which the Negro was emancipated that
predictions were confidently made at the
time, both inside and outside of the Ameri-
can Senate. that the Negro would soon die
out and confess that there were facts
connected with the situation which made
this prediction appear reas
enable In many who lndulged in this
gloomy prophecy the wish may have been
father to thethought. But whatever may
have been the feeling in the matter, the
prediction has been wonderfully and over
whelmingiy contradicted by the facts In
stead of dying out the census returus show
that the Negro of the South is increasing
10 per cent more rapidly than is the old
master class
I am sometimes charged with attaching
too much Importance to money as an agent
in the elevation of the colored people, and
with having acquired considerable property
myself. am not ashamed of this charge,
even were the latter part Of it true. 1t is a
compliment, not disgrace. and wish it
were better deserved both by myself and
others. / can better charge those who
bring it with caring too little for money