The Washington bee., 1892-05-07
Continued from first pdge.)
THE BETHEL LITERARY.

tenure of office, they appeared to rest
cOntented with that life of mastery in
activity wherein they drew their salaries
with taultleSs regularity and worked
just as much as they had to,-and no
more.
The election of 1884 wrought change
in this condition of affairs. The repub-
lican party under whose prOtectOrate
these positions had been obtained had
been defeated, and the probability of a
"clean sweep" of the cOlored citizen
from all participation in the govern
mental service was the ominouS shadow
that confronted us. "What to do" was
the question of the hour. Viewed alone
in the light Of selfish individuality it
appeared matter of small moment for
each individual here and there to get
employment for himself, but there were
those who took broader and deeper
view of the situation. The spectacle of
a few hundred colOred citizens in a COM
munity occupying positions of trust and
responsibility i'll the government ser
vice, and diScharging the duties of
those positions with intelligence, indus
try and fidelity, had surely done some
thing to raise the general standard of
the reputation of the race. and to lose
this vantage ground all at once was a
step too far backward to be ignored or
passed over lightly. What was to be
done to cOunteract this effect? 1t was
readily seen that nothing more certain
ly commands the respectful cOnsidera-
tiOn of all classes than does the demon
StratiOn of success in legitimate bust
ness enterprises, and So the men of
thought and action among us discussed
the project of some large business ell
terpriSe, hoping that its successful man.
agement mightSer the double purpose
of revealing both to the white citizens
and to our own selves the power and
capacity that we had yet unused.
This discussion resulted in the Organi-
ZatiOn Of the
INDUSTRIAL BUILDING AND SAVINGS
COMPANY,
within less than sixty days after the in
auguratiOn of President Cleveland.
The enterprise was indOrSed and sup
ported by many of our foremost citi- |
zenS, who took an active part in its Or
ganiZatiOn, such men as the late DR.. A. |
L. Augusta, Hon. JnO. F. Cook, Hon. |
Frederick Douglass, who was the first |
president Of the association. DrS. JnO. |
R. Francis, c. b. PurviS and F. J.
Shadd, ReVS. VIM. Waring and j. A.
Handy. Mr.. Lewis II. Douglass, Prof.
Geo. W. Cook, Col. NJ. NJ. Holland. |
Messrs. J. w. Cromwell, j. G. Hutch
ems, A. f. Hilyer and many others.
Among so large number of men
equally unacquainted with the require
ments of such business enterprise and
yet, for the most part, equally eager to
push forward their personal views in its
it is not strange that a
wide diversity of opinions disclosed it.
self nor that diSSentiOnS arose.
The early records of the company
show that Of the persons who helped to
it, very many came out almost
al the beginning, and because the ma
iOrity disagreed with them as to some
special feature of its management.
Hon. Frederick Douglass was sue
ceeded III the presidency by Rev. VIM. !
Waring, the latter in turn by Mr.. j. G.
HutchenS and then the present incum-
bent, Prof. w. s. Montgomery. Mr..
Lewis II. Douglass was the first secre-
.ary and business manager of the COM
Dany, and was succeeded by Mr.. HOl-
and. DR.. J. r. Francis, Mr.. w. II.
A. WOrmley and Mr., Jno. A. Pierre
we're III turn the tEeaSurerS Of ia sa,saz, 7
- ~ ss1'' o1' of1o @e01If@
pany.
From its organization in May, 1885,
down to the annual election of officers
i'll 1887, the fate of the association
seemed to hang tTemblingly between
success and failure. 1t was difficult to
secure the regular attendance of the
officers at the meetings of the company,
difficult to awaken among the people |
anything like a general interest III its
support, and StiIlmO difficult to create
any widespread confidence in the man
agement and ultimate success of the en- ,
terpriSe. People were quicker to Criti- |
else than to help, and SHppOu was often |
withheld even when tacit UdmiSSiOn 0f |
confidence was given. These early Strug- |
gleS disclosed the real strength of pur-
pose among some of the men who faith |
cred this enterprise from the beginning, |
and with those lnen failure seemed an |
impOSSibility.
The election of officers in 1887 was |
held under new circumstances of hope |
and encouragement. The management |
of the affairs of the company was put |
in the hands of Il gentleman whose un- |
tagging industry and energetic eXecu-
tive ability soon placed the association |
in position to command success. BY
a sort of push and pluck that knew no |
barrier and admitted no defeat, he |
brought the building association before |
the eye of the public in a manner that |
seemed to snatch success from the jaws |
of defeat.
From monthly collections amounting
to three or four hundred dollars, the |
receipts We're rapidly brought up to |
twice that amount, ard then increased |
to an average of more than
ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH. |
Within the past few years the asso-
citation has shown steady, substantial |
growth both in public favor and con- |
fidence, in its business influence, and in |
the facilities at hand for placing its |
benefits within the reach Of its members. |
The growth of an enterprise like this |
can be accurately determined by the |
ratio Of increase from time to time in |
its gross receipts and net gains, and its |
usefulness may be measured by the Op-
pOrtunitieS it affords to others to better |
their condition in life. During the first |
year of our organization the receipts
averaged about one hundred dollars a |
month; during the second year, the re-
ceipts averaged upwards Of four hun
dred dollars a month, and since that |
time the receipts have shown steady |
increase.
NOW NEARLY $4,000 A |
YEAR.
For the five months ending April 80, |
of this year, receipts have Jeen $9,13S. |
the receipts for April alone being 81, ,7O8. |
This money is loaned out to members |