The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-15


ly at rest on that point am within
the trade winds of tho Almighty.
know that the moral and social and in
tellectual laws arc just as invariable as
the physical, and the violation of them
will bring what people call punishment
that is, the suffering from violated
law. have seen tho country thorough
ly scourged, and know it will be
scourged again until it does justice, for
the law is imperative. But if you want
to know about our peoples religious
condition l refer you to DR.. Jennifer of
the Metropolitan, which I usually at
tend, or DR.. John n. Brooks Of the Nine
teenth Street Baptist church, for here,
as in most places through the south,
believe, the Baptists are most numerous
among us. We have great many fine
people in the Catholic church, and there
are probably 10, 900 oolored Catholics in
this District In fact Baltimore, Wash
ington and New Orleans contain more
colored Catholics than all the other oit-
les in the country. The colored man,
you know, is just like any other man
when he starts in religion ''-this with
short laugh-"he takes the first that
is offered him, and all this region, all
Maryland, in fact, was Catholic mt the
start 1t is perfectly delightful to go to
that ST Augustine Catholic church and
see the perfect freedom which prevails
between white and colored It is so in
all the Catholic churches of the Dis
trict, but ST. Augustine is the colored
peoples pride, The Catholics set very
fine example to their Protestant breth
rem in that respect
So to st. Augustine went and found
it very beautiful and pleasant place
indeed 1t is on Fifteenth street, be-
tween L and M, northwest, is of brick
faced with stone, very finely finished in
side and will seat nearly 1000 persons
Father Paul Griffith, pastor in charge,
is Welsh in race and an enthusiast in
his work. The first chapel known as St
Augustine was opened for service early
i'll 1866 The cornerstone of this church
was laid on Trinity Sunday, 1874, and
Oh Trinity Sunday, 1876. the new church
was dedicated Attached is day school
for girls and little boys in charge of the
Sisters of the Holy Cross, and there Is
Sunday school with an average attend
anoe of over 500. There is another dis
tinctively colored Catholic church in
the city called St Cyprian, and its new
building will BIO dedicated Oh the 29th
Of other denominations the churches
are numerous indeed There arc 80 for
the colored Baptists, 80 for the Netho-
dists, 3 Episcopalian, 2 Congregational
and Presbyterian. making II churches
for some So, 900 people, assuming the
colored population to have grown equal
ly with that of the whites
Schools For the Colored.
Almost equally numerous in propor-
ton are the schools for the colored, and
all of the finest modern finish and we'll
equipped with the latest school appli-
anccs AT the famous Sumner high
school, at the corner Of Suxentotnth and
M streets, northwest, found Professor
6. f. L. Cook, who IS scion of the
oldest family of colored educators in
Maryland and superintendent of all the
colorcd schools of Washington and
Georgetown. 1t is quite a common mis-
take to suppose that there was no etlu-
cation here for colored people till after
the war. Here, as in many other sec
lions of the border states, there was
early in this century great popular
movement in favor of cmancipating and
the colored people, move
ment so strong that in two states the
act only lacked one vote of
passing the popular branch of the legis-
laturc. BY one set of historians the sud
den ending of this movement is attrib-
utcd TO the Nat Turner insurrection and
by another to the rapidly increasing val
ne of slaves in the cotton culture
There is no distinction in buildings,
standing or pay of teachers,
between white and colored schools. The
average attendance at the latter this
spring is almost exactly 10, 600, and that
at the white schools about twice as many
The Rabblc.
And what of the common negroes, the
rabble Of the street, the market place
and the low saloons south of the avenue?
Well they are like their kind every
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