Morning journal and courier., 1885-02-18

Freedmen-Unmet Needs That We,
TrammeI the Race.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
ATLANTA, Ga, Feb. 9.
1t was Saturday, the off-day here at At
lanta university. A rainy Saturday at that
was browsing around in the rooms of Stone
Hall, the main recitation building here, and
took notion to go up into the unfinished
garret.
All was deserted save in the remotest cor
ner, whence proceeded tones as of two boys
in conversation. Always on the qui vive fol-
glimpses into new phases of negro student
life, gravitated toward the place whence
the voices proceeded, and stumbled in upor
a most novel and interesting scene. The
room was Led up as photograph gallery
in which the amateur proprietors, two young
negro lads, were essaying to learn untaught
the art of photographing. The boys were
brothers, as I afterwards learned, one being
fourteen and the other seventeen years old
though both were small for their age. They
were standing beside a bench, upon which
was pentograph, collection of pencil
sketches and crayon portraits, and some 9th
er artist paraphernalia; while beside them
stood two instruments second hand
almost worn-out camera, and the other a
small five dollar amateur photographing ma
chine for outdoor work.
The regular camera was mounted on a
homemade tripod. The legs were broom
handles, one of them being supplied with a
castor SO as to facilitate the movement of the
apparatus bodily. The camera was support
ed by a notched bar in such a way that it
might be adjusted to any desired angle.
All this apparatus was home made, but
showed an ingenuity which was doubtless
acquired in the carpentry branch of the in
dustrial department.
A white cloth had been pinned up on the
wall nearest a side window, and below this
was little home made furniture making up
a neat rustic scene. There were pieces of
logs gathered from the institution woodpile
There was mattress hair disposed so as to
represent grass. There was big pile of
shavings to serve as foreground for groups.
But the bright winning face of the older
boy pleased me most. He was not embar-
rassed at being discovered, but willingly told
me his story, though little thinking that
should make use of it.
''My name is Julian Gordon. This photo
graph work is only side issue with me.
have passion for drawing, especially for
pOfITdlGSt L put III my evenings at
drawing in my room and then come here
Saturdays to practice with these machines.
am taking the regular studies of the eassi-
cal course and SO don't get any other time.
have some very pleasant Saturdays up here
in this garret. Here is some of my work. !"
And he exhibited some strikingly natural
portraits of the presidential candidates dur
ing the late campaign, others of personal
friends and relatives, and few sketches on
such subjects as the victory of the Monitor.
in Hampton Roads, a cavalry battle scene,
&c. There were evidences of real talent in
the drawings.
Glow much instruction have you hada' 1
inquired.
''Never lesson," was the reply. ''I go
by my eye. I have read all the art reviews
in the library through and through, but there
is no handbook there giving directions how
to go to work. I wish I could afford to take
lessons, but I can't ] have bought this
truck with what I could manage to save up;
and I earn a little beside by enlarging photo
graphs for people. I charge $3.50 to enlarge
a portrait and find quite little work of that
kind. My brother is also inclined to study
art. He draws as well now as I did at his
age, think"
''Have you studied up photography all by
yourself also!'
''Oh, yes. can't afford to pay sixty cents
a dozen for plates very often; but l have
found way of making my supplies last
long as possible. I get four small ikenesses
On one plate"
care there any other struggling young ar
lists in the school?"
'sThere's Mack Observation-Disclosures John
son. He's very good in original sketches;
Illustrate life among the poor. There's some
IF his work down in one of the basement
rooms"
I descended to the basement and found the
olackboards of the room in question full of
fancy sketches, some amusing, some classic
as one Greek model of the discobulus and
some pastoral and scenic. Between the
drawings were some superb examples of pen
manship and scrollwork by the brother of
the chief artist I Afterwards called upon
these johnson boys at their home on Mitch
sll street and was further impressed by their
rare though untutored skill in their respec
tive departments. Mcpherson earns six dol
ars week by sketching for an illustrated
Atlanta paper called "The Cracker" which
is edited by Sam w. Small cold Sio, with
lido Ramsdell as art and business manager.
Ramsdell has patented a quick process of
making sketches from the Photographic print.
The illustrations appear to be crude, but
there is good deal of bright original read
ing matter in the paper.
Especially in the numbers issued before
the late election, which contain full col
Qml eaCl OF aOV0TGlS6ul0uUS Ill WIlCu q SCOIo
Of men coolly announce themselves as candi-
dates for certain political ''honors," and
supplicate the favor of the public.
l hold that the usefulness of a school like
Atlanta university is best illustrated by sam
pies of what it has done and is now doing,
gathered from the actual experience of stu
dents.
Atlanta university undertakes to raise up
leaders for the colored race by promoting the
heart and mind culture of the youth thrown
under its influence. Are such leaders being
created? There are so many instances at
hand that scarcely know where to begin or
which to select All, it is refreshing to turn
from the masses of ignorant shiftless freed
men, which the tourist sees in every city and
everywhere he goes and to contemplate the
sarnest, wide-awake young men and women
who are here preparing themselves-not to
be ladies and gentlemen above their fellows
but to uplift mentally and morally their
unfortunate race. 1t is a delight to me eve
~ day as I look out upon the lawn where
Turing rest hours these colored girls may be
seen playing croquet; OF before breakfast to
see them walking up and down the lawn,
book in hand, mastering the lessons of the
lay; and again to see the boys intelligently
1t work on the place paving drives, planting
prize acres" of grasses and vegetables and
learning the various processes of carpentry;
n at noon to study the two hundred inter
and listen to the table repartee, which is oft
an based upon more elevating subjects than
form the theme of discourse around college
boards at the North.
But can so little a leaven serve to leaven
The whole lumps
Look at the masses of idle negroes, look at
the fact that only small percentage of the
,olored children can go to school even if they
want to- and you will doubtless be discour-
aged.
But if yon remember that this is only one
IF three immense schools in Atlanta, and OF
scores in the South, and then inspect some
IF the student achievements in this one
school, you will begin to get broad view OF
how much good the comparatively small
number of agencies are instrumental in ac-
,olored men of this school, which reads like
4 tale from the Arabian Nights; and would
that could fguratively tell this in Gath and
publish it in the streets of Askelon, pro-
claiming it from the very house-tops!
There is a young man here named Nichol-
son who is twenty-five years of age. He has
a partner of the same age named Mathis.
These two mere boys went to work about two
years ago and organized a private school pro-