The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-12-05
PROGRESS OF THE NEGRO.
1duoatdon And Industry Doing
Much Tor the 8aao1na


In February q svefy year ths lit&ls
town Of TnahaQsa, ii Alahama, hsh6lds
: curious spectacle. From evsry direc-
ton and every sqrt u convey
anoe, from N ox-oart 70 = Feilxqad
train, representative Of the eoiored
population of ths surrounding country
gather there 30 at4eud the Tuskegee
Negro eon1esenee. Persons q both
sexes attend, and nei4her ednea4ien NOR
wealth u necessary to secure admis-
sion.
No political purpose prompts. the
movement The subject Of discussion
n the welfare Of the negro race, and q
idesire to cooperate In the work Of ele-
waiting and expanding the lives Of their
fellows II the one common motive Of
those who attend.
In connection with the larger eonven-
tion, and contemporaneous with II, II
the workers' conference, made up Of
officers and teachers in colored schools-
Both gatherings stand for the principle
OF self-help among the colored people
Of the south.
Our readers were told some months
ago Of the various institutions devoted
to the education Of colored youth, and
of the eminently practical character
which most Of them have taken on.
Through these institutions, and
through their graduates, = wide and
elevating influence has been brought to-
bear upon the whole race. The Tus-'
kegee conferences grew out Of the Tus-
kegee institute, whose founder and
president, Booker T.. Washington. Ia
himself . graduate Of . similar school
at Hampton, in Virginia.
The conferences themselves are but
one Of many ways in which the infiu-
ence Of such men - President Wash
ington il brought to bear. The credit
system, the one-room cabin, the build
ing of schoolhouses and lengthening OF
the school term, the importance Of own
ing instead of renting . house, the uses
of . savings bank-these are among the
topics with which the conferences deal.
But the same topics are dealt with in
every community where the new spirit
has been set ct work. They are, in
fact, the things that the friends of the
race consider everywhere as the things
Of most immediate importance.
Listlessness in work, lack OF fore
sight and an indifference to waste are
always the characteristics OF slave
labor. Naturally they did not disap-
pear Immediately ~ 1slaves were
freed. Mental anu phyGe traits are
not easily eradicated, either In the In
dividual or the race; but bad habits
and thoughtlessness are gradually
yielding to the influences Of new condi-
tions and the leayen Of new ideas. The
returns Of the census show that the
negro II acquiring property. The At
lanta exposition revealed something Of
the skill and intelligence which he Is
adding to his natural capacity for phys
ical labor. .ss~4se. 's.,e .i,lss5
There II every indication that indus
trial progress is not unAccompanied
with moral progress also. Only very
gradually could the old habits OF
thought and life be shaken Oh. Pow.
erty. not necessarily inimical to moral.
ity, tended to perpetuate IN instinct
of blind submission Inconsistent with
an erect msuhood. The acquisition o:
property brings with It certain self
respect and the feeling Of responsible.
ity.
The awakening Of the blacks to the
possibilities and the duties Of their
new life i not menace to the still
dominant whites. The practical dis
appearance Of the race question from
national politics 10 hopeful sign.
Other indications are not wanting Of .
better feeling between those who were
masters and those who were slaves In
the times thst seem % much more re- .
mote than the tale Of years would in-<
dicate. Surely an increase Of intelli-
gence viii help the negro to find his ,
place in the great future at the south.
Wh&tever The solution Of the race prob
lem may Be. ignorance and immortality
cannot aid ~ IN hnding it-Youths