The Afro-American. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1892-1899, 1895-11-02
I'm DEFENSE OF THE
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES.
NJ. Pratt Takes Up the cudgel and
Goes for Their Detractcrs Some
body Gets Hit,

| timore have Very recently been treated
-or, raj her, maltreated-tO the spec
| tacle Of few pt OCCASIONAL men of our
city decrying the possibilities of it's
young men in general and tour grad
uatesn of the High School in particu-
| lar.
These lonely reformers and pseudo
| benefactors of the race, for want of
| lucrative employment in their chosen
professions, hold forth as latter-day
oracles i'll literaries and lyceums, ex-
pounding the woeful degeneracy and
| inadaptability Of ''our graduates, :"
and bemoaning their total lack Of YER
satility i'll (mis) applying "Latin,
Greek and mathematics" to washing,
ironing and kalsomining f"
lit is altogether uncertain whether
thew cOvet the unenviable reputation
of NH. MAX Nortan, the apostle of de-
generacy and their sect, or whether
they are striving for honor and rever-
ence Az disco, er rs and prOgenitors Of
.new and startling things" Indeed,
III analvze heir motives would be an
exhaustible talk to one gifted with the
acumen and insight of that wonderful
dissecter. George Eliot.
But What has occasioned this adj
VERSE comment in reference to 'Our
graduates''? The bulk Of the criticism
IL directed AGAINST their very laudable
desire Of serving the race III the capa-
citv of te-chers. Why this desire is
made thu occasion for such inordinate
display of wrath and rhetoric is rather
pulling to most people,
MOI long ago the writer was told by
u member of One of our best attended
Sunday Iiteraries that he was thor
oughly disgus ed and mortified at the
w4y u certain lie. rned (?) member Of
the "BAR" [Of course, this was his ere
Dental fOr being wise in all things
under amd above the SUM-, discOurSed,
or rather ranted about the dismal
failure Of our gradua es. He said
fre WAS forced 10 conclude with HAM
let that seemingly "sOme of Natures
iourneymen made some men"
If this most honorable gentleman Of
the legal profession had spent that en-
forced and abundant leisure, which,
ill his particular case, the profession
guarantees it'll visiting The schools
during slime of our severe winter
months, and inquiring into the work
tour graduates" are really dong, his
fund Of knowledge would have been
considerably increased, while 1.-THE
people, (that pet phrase Of our com
plimentary oratOrs) would have been
Spared the persecution OF indulging
his tongue
lit HI i fact to be appreciated that
our teachers beside doing conscien-
tionsly the work for which they are
especially e' gagged, very often spend
their hours after Schoo1 on missions of
4,,,. and al q fU
securing clothes for destitute chill
dren.
Many of the parents of their pupils
Are unable lib provide sufficient raj
ment to cover heir bodies in eX-
tremelv cold weather, and oftentimes
thew are sent to school because it is
warmer and more comfortable for the
little ones there than at home.
hi have seen them when the blasts Of
winter wrre ia their fury, sent to
school half barefooted, with thin
COATS, a make-shift hat anything that
would barely conceal their nakedness.
Yet our critical friends and advisers
made no effort to assist those worthy
0f help, and when approached or So
Iicited To rive their mite III aid Of
charity their faces remained as calm
and serene as Loeb Katrlne when
Fitz James bugle woke it's echoes,
and turned complacently toward
heaven, unheeding the sympathetic
appeals for aid.
They seemed to be watching with
eInltant 10y the departure OF some
rich Old client for the Promised Land,
of whose property they had been made
sole administrators, much in the attl-
tnaa af TOm MoOre's saints
"With their pockets on earth, and
their noses in heaven"
But to conclude, it is to be hoped
that our young men in general and
tour graduates" in particular, will
survive these attacks of men POSSIBLY
pettifogies) whose sole business it is to
visit the stariOn-houses about O'Clock
every morning on missions OF inter
ested'' beneyolence, seeking to ind, IN
true knight Grant style, some conyen-
tiDnal prOselyte to the evils Of human
nature, from whom. for professional
services rendered, they may extract
watch, long since gold, or a ''reaP di-
almond pin.
LII III also To be hoped that seeking
position as teacher is quite as honor
able as seeking a political ottice-a
magistrate-ship, deputy-sherift-ship,
deputy register ship, a secretary
ship, any kind Of ship for which the
people furnish the motive power, ano
saves the recipient the necessity OF
rowing.
Right here it is pertinent to observe
Bishop Turner's remark that every
thing proposed and practised for the
betterment Of our race has to be
fought by a class of men in our ranks.
HARRY T.. PRATT.