Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-02

| flee opportunity to show our ability, after
| SO much importantly and advertisement, it
will be widely construed to mean that the
| colored people OF Washington, where the
| conditions are universally admitted to be
the most favorable for their highest de-
| Yelcpment of any place in the United
States, are yet so mentally and industrially
| deficient that they did not wake up to the
| importance of making an exhibit, or that
they had nothing to. exhibit. This will be
the inevitable verdict. 1t will be rendered
on the evidence presented, and 1t will take
years to have 1t set aside
Sentiment of the Commission.
L am sure voice the feeling of our ell
tire colored commission when I say that
we do not countenance or palliate class
determinations anywhere; in Georgia any
| more than in Washington. We simply dis
| agree with our good friends in the method
of treatment of the difficulty
! Il do not believe the exaggerated stories
! about separate exits. entrances etc. The
| cordiality with which colored people have
! been invited to take part in the exposition
| would seem to me to indicate, from a BUSH
| ness standpoint, that the exposition COM
pany, the railroads who are the largest
stockholders, and the white people of At
| lanta will develop spirit of Iiberality in
| their treatmen of colored visitors never
| before known there, and that the net result
| or the exposition will be decided gain
| TO the colored people of the whole country
| IT Will be to the interest of all the stock
holders and merchants to make the exposi-
| tion attractive for colored visitors. Near
! ly one-half the total population of Florida
Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, the
nearby states, whence must come their
| crowds, If they come. is colored. From a
! business point they cannot afford to make
1t especially unpleasant for this large ele-
ment of the population. This question Is
| being agitated all over the country. The
people are keeping a watchful eye on the
| exposition management, and it will be time
enough to refuse to buy tickets when they
| do not treat us fairly.
THE net result of every exposition ever
held Is to educate the masses, dispel ig-
norance and prejudice of every kind and
| to leave it's participants taller and broad
er and nobler men and women. So it will
| be at Atlanta, and the colored people
should be prominently in evidence.
How to Treat 1t.
1.-THE best treatment for prejudice" con-
tinued Mr.. HilXer, lis the educational
| treatment. Useless indignation and power
less resentment will not meet the case nor
help the matter in the least Action
prompted by such feelings are more likely
under present conditions to harden the
hearts of the dominant class. Woe to the
coiored people of the south when they al
upper classes of the white people! The
colored people need. and will need for
years to come. all the friends they can
muster. to help them up. They are down
slight pressure on the head-you know a
boy can keep a horse down by holding his
head down. individuals of the weaker
class must prove their equality. The bur-
den of Eroof is on them. This exposition
affords an opportunity to show to the
world to what stature the colored Ameri-
can will grow under such partly free in
situations as We have in the District of
Columbia.
COlOred Men in Washington.
II have said that the conditions for the
full. development of the colored American
are more favorable in the District of Co
lumbia than anywhere else in the United
States where there are any considerable
number of them. %
THE public schools have been practically
under their control for quarter of CEN
fury. There are about 275 colored teachers
with an army of some 12,OOO colored chill
dren sitting before them every day, and if
these children have not been taught those
trite principles which sure to make
any people strong and respected, 1t certain
ly cannot be charged to the fault of the
white people. Many colored people are en-
ployed in the departments-the great work.
shops of the city. From a recent statement
by Mr.. r. H Terrell. the well-known col
ored attorney of this city, l learn that in
1892 there were in the executive depart
ments of the government 2.4OO colored
clerks and employees. drawing an aggregate
in salaries of S1,37Ll9.9S annually, an
average of s572.iS Ever since the war,
whenever in the states any colored person
exhibited special mental endowments. he
was the one, as a rule who was appointed
to Washington. This process of selection
has assembled here some of the brightest
minds the has produced But. mind
you, l say only some because they are not
all here-I would be sorry if they were all
here
IUac Chi ctlx t,a
states in the high character of its exhibits.
l know that we have the material here.
Our exhibit should excel along intellectual
lines, along those lines where the intel
lect and skill are the most important fac
tors in producing results.
What have We to exhibit here, since this
is not commercial or manufacturing cen
ter? There is Howard University, with its
seven departments. especially its Industrial
school; Freedmen's Hospital. with full
corps of surgeons, trained nurses and am
bularce service ready to attend any emer
gency case. the public schools, with their
fine and creditable exhibits of art work,
engineering, woodwork and work in metals;
the various private and charitable indus
trial schools and kindergartens. There are
about a dozen fine large churches. several
halls, especially the Odd Fellows Hall on
NJ street. There are about 500 colored peo-
pie in business. mostly small but some of
them are creditable indeed. There are two
banks. two building associations. a life
insurance company. two steamboat COM
panes-one of them, l am told, has paid
cash for it's boat, the George Leary-all
owned and managed entirely by colored
people.
"There are about 200 colored carpenters,
$50 brick masons, 100 plasterers, 100 paint
ers, besides representatives in almost every
branch of business carried on in the Dis
trict of Columbia. Some of these mechan-
les are the equal in skill and reliability of
any white workmen. They can construct
buildings of Importance unaided by white
workmen, except in a few unimportant
points. Colored contractors and builders
have erected more than 1000 houses in
this city almost entirely with colored la
Dor. Many Of these houses are of the
higher order, notably so those of Mr.. Meri-
wether and Daniel Murray. There are six
skilful colored dentists, up to the times;
twenty-seven physicians and seventeen
lawyers. There are eighty churches, some
of them very fine and creditable. Sixteen
colored families live in residences valued
above $4,000; 100Jn homes valued at 5000;
1000, above $4,000; while the total number
owning homes exceeds 5000 and the total
value of property of the colored people
of the District Of Columbia exceeds $10,-
100000 Mr.. John F. Cook thinks these
figures are easily within the truth. The