Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-01
IN NEW ORLEANS.
THE ATTENDANCE OF coLOREo
CHILDREN At THE SCHOOLS.
Exceedingly Anxious to Learn Up to .
Certain Point-Ehects Of Education
Upon tho Colored LabOring
Mana Problem
New Orleans Cor. Chicago Times


number of colorsd girls and boys whom he
sees going to and from their schools The
schools for colorei children are very largely
attended in New Orleans, and, as a rule, the
pupils are said to bs 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 told,
exhibit any desire to climb the hill of knowl-
edge much higher. They are exceedingly
anxions to learn-up to q certain point; but
when that point Il reached they consider
themselves fully educated" and, with rare
exceptions, are not ambitious to explore the
mysteries Of science or wrsstle with the class
les. But some Of thsss exceptions are really
notable. At the Leland university, an in
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 80 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 Latin
am told that he Is familiar with q wide
range of classical literature, aud that he will
devote the remainder Of his life to the teaoh-
ing of the dead languages.
Very few, indeed Of the rising colored gen.
tlemen in this city are growing up In abso-
lutte illiteracy. The coiored youth who can
not read the daily newspaper, or write . let
ter to his girl" finds himself target for
the ridicule Of his associates. The desire
to escape the reproach 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 than a thirst Tor 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
munitv. 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 wers born in slavery
and whose heads nave not been turned BY
-book larnin'"-ars 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 devouring ambition to shine in the world
of society and of letters. The col ored female
who is educated" !" on the contrary, is prone to
look upon household service as somewhat
beneath her, and only accepts 1t as dernier
resort She is not anxious to excel in the
art Of cookery. or to gain a reputation as
waiter or q chambsrmaid. She demands
special consideration from hsr employer
upon the score Of her attainmsnts and sc-
complishmsnts, and her object in life l. -
aIya ahr,l 81
rise in the social scale, and to become the
head Of her own establishment Her ambi-
tion is very laudable, to be sure, and all that,
but 1t is exceedingly inconvenient to those
who are dependent upon her for their daily
rations
And 50 with the young colored men who
are graduates from the primary schools.
They do not care to be coachmen, or bar
bers, or whitewashers, or teamsteIs, or por-
tiers, and only accept such employment un-
der the pressure of dire necessity, and until
they can do something better. They wish to
b letter-carriers, or policemen, or bank
cashiers, or palace-car dignitarisA This
is a laudable ambition, but highly
inconvenient to the naughty Caucasian who
sonagss In the capacity Of tsam-
ster, for instance, or . Whitewater.
@We like to sss the colorsd men getting
along" said former stakeholder to me
. day or two ago after he had been enumsr-
ating some Of the shortcomings Of the 1edu-
Gated niggers" when engaged in humble en-
ployments. ave like to see them acquiring
knowledge and accommodating property, and
displaying an ambition to rise In life. We
keep up their schools and help their churches
and Try to encourage them in all their efforts
to better their condition But, really, In 80
doing, we seem to be destroying the sources
of supply for many departments Of labor,
and more especially of female labor The
problem which is thus being raised really
promises to be serious one, both for the
colored people and for the whites"