The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1897-08-06
A Department Devoted to the
DOings of the
Race.
THE CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES.
What is Transporting Among the COlOred
People in and Around
Brunswick.
TT. c. CALHOUN, Editor.

AS we daily pursue our accustomed
rounds through the city in search of
events, In order to chronicle them for
the people, it is our privilege to OBJ
serve among our people the drift OF
sentiment, and how they feel on the
various questions before the public
| desire, therefore, to speak of few
thIngs-I'li say evils that those who
essay to be the leaders of US may pom
DEP over, and perchance act along
more practical and decisive lines for
their own good.
There are those among US who say
openly: "The negro is no good.
Such man is a pessimist, and lives
only on the dark side of life, being
shut out from the light of the better
side by base, unseemly prejudices.
Then there are others. a little worse
than the pessimest, who say that "the
negro is degenerating--intellectually,
physically, and morally. But, how
in the name of common sense, can
any man ever hope to prove such an
assertion in the face of a superabun-
dance of axlomatic facts to the con-
trary? Why, look Only thirty
three years removed from bondage
when not one in one hundred could
read his name, now scholars of &C
knOwledged ability. Colleges all over
the land are sending forth hundreds
of negro boys and girls every year,
and not word of complaint comes
from these colleges that the negro is
growing mentally incapable of higher
training. Many of these colleges are
presided over by men lnimlcal to the
higher training of the negro, at that
Thirty-three years ago no poets ;
now, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and a
host of others are singing songs of
such surprising harmony that the
world stops to listen and says: "Ex-
cellent." Thirty-three years ago no
men of letters; now, Scarborough and
others are writing text books, received
by the best schools IN the land. Other
current writers are touching upon
every question that arises in every
phase of life. Is this intellectual de-
generation?
Thirty-three years ago only 4,OO0,
600 negroes in this country; now,
100000 averaging yearly 2l2,122.
How is that for physical degenera-
ton?
Our intellectual and physical
growth Is to large degree depen-
dent upon the moral growth. Have
we grown intellectually? Have we
grown physically? We have grown
morally.
Ex-senator Ingalls,, when he wants
to have 60 at the negro, generally
makes statistics of his own, and some
body has been deceived into using
them to thrust blow at the negro.
And for what? If anybody doesn't
want to be negro, why don't they go
and whiJewash themselves, and not
try to brand the negro as being an i'll
tellectual, physical, and moral de-
generate nothing? If any man knows
of any weakness of his people and
gets up and parades it before the
world, he simply shows his foolhardi-
ness and his incapacity to retain
any confidence which may be re-
posed in him.
If there is wrong, seek to right it,
rather than to make it greater
wrong. If there is an evil influence
at work. tending toward our absolute
degeneration and consequent exter-
mination, destroy the cause and the
effect will die. 1t cannot be done,
however, by exhumlng some old dead
theory and harping on it. 1t must be
done by practical methods. For this
is a practical age we are living In,
and there are no philosophers nova