The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-01-16
In NEW ORLEANS.
TIE ATTENDANCE OF COLoRED
CHILDREN AT TIE SCHOOLS.
Exceedingly Anxious to Learn Up to
Certain Point-Effeots of Education
Upon the Coiored Laboring
5Ian-A Problem.
New orleans Cor. Chicago Times. I

In passing through the streets Of New Or
leans the stranger is impressed by the large
number of celored girls and boys whom he
sees going to and from their schools The
schools for colored children are very largely
attended in New Orleans, and, as a rule, the
pupils are said to be quite proficient in the
rudimentary branches They learn to read,
write, and do sums" in arithmetic quite
readily, but very few Of them, l am toll.
exhibit any desire to climb the hill of krowl-
edge much higher They are exceedingly
anxious to learn-Cp to certain point; but
when that point is reached they consider
themselves fully educated" and, with rare
exceptions, are not ambitious to explore the
mysteries of science or wrestle with the class
les But some Of these exceptions are really
notable. At the Leland university, an III
stitutiOn in the suburbs of the city, which
has an endowment out Of the Peabody fund,
there are a number Of attendants who have
become excellent classical scholars One Of
them-an old man Of 60 and quite black
who, ten years ago could neither read nor
write English, has not only acquired good
knowledge of that tongue, but has also
become highly proficient in Greek and La in
LftLAi tbAtl t-ldt IIt - Ittisl4ll1E WIN u NHlt
range of classical literature, aud that he viii
devote the remainder Of his life to the teacL-
ing Of the dead languages.
Very few, indeed Of the rising coloreI gen
tlemen in this city are growing up in abso-
lutte illiteracy. The colored youth who can
not read the daily newspaper, or write q let
ter to his girl" finds himself a target for
the Cidicule OF his associates. The desire
to escape the rsproach Of being an ignorant
niger leads many colored boys and girls to
study their readers and their spoilers who
would otherwise neglect them, and thus a
sense Of pride rather lnan thirst for knowl-
edge induces them to put forth efforts to
keep pace with their more eager and ambi-
tious companions.
The little smattering of education which
most of the colored youth Of to-day are re-
ceiving in the city-on the plantations the
''niggers" are not so forward-doeS not in all
cases, l am told, have a tendency to increase
their immediate usefulness to the COM
munity. There is universal complaint to the
effect that few colored women under 80
make good servants. The Old and the mid
die aged-thoSe who were born in slavery
and whose heads have not been turned by
book larnin' ARE in great demand for
household work, because so | was told by a
New Orleans lady-they "know their places, :"
understand their duties, and are not consumed
by a deVOuring ambition to shine in the world
of society and of letters. The col orei female
who is educated, on the contrary is prone to
look upon household service as somewhat
beneath her, and only accepts it as dernier
resort. She is not anxious to eXcal in the
art Of cookery, or to gain reputation as a
waiter OF q chamhermaid She demands
special consideration from her employer
upon the score Of her attainments and &C
complishmentS, and her object in life is t,
make brilliant matrimonial alliance, to
rise in the social scale, and to become the
head of her own establishment Har aIa}i-
| ton is very laudable, to he sure, and all tnt
| bat it is exceedingly inconvenient to tho9,
| who are dependent upon her for their dali,
rations
And 50 with the young colOroi men Whc
| are graduates from tie primary schools.
| They do not care to Il, coachman. or lar
! bers, or whitewashers, CT teamsteIs, or nor
| tiers, and only accept suca employment III
der the pressure Of dire necessity, aud until
| they can do something letter. They wish It
| be Iettcr-carrers, or policemen or bank
cashiers, or palace-car Gj-nitaries, Til.
Is iaudable ambition, but highly
inconvonent to the naughty Caucasian win
may employ one Of these scholarly per
! sonages in the capacity Of team
| ster, for instance, or whitewasier.
| ave like to see the colorel men getting
| along" said a form0r stakeholder to IN.
d day or two ago after he had been enumer
atlng some of the shortcomings of the "eaH-
Gated ui-ygers' when engaged IN humble om
| ploymeHts. I'VE Ike to see them acquiring
| knowledge and accumulatiHg property. anu
displaying III ambition to ri~o i'll life. We
| keep up their schools and help their chGrche.
and try to encourage them in al their efforts
to better their condition But, really, in st
doing, we seem to be destroying the source,
| Of supply for many departments of labor
and more especially OF female labor. tn.
| problem which is thus being raised really
| promises to hs a serious one, both for th'
c1lored people and for the whites