The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-21
A FAMOUS COLoRED MAN.
hooker It. Washington Given n
Mighty Ovation.


Mighty Ovation.
The time for listening to the address of
Booker r. Washington had now arrived
and as he arose the convention gave him
a mighty ovation, extending him the Chau-
tauqua salute The cheering lasted for
some minutes and during the entire time
Mr.. Washington spoke he was constantly
interrupted with applause. Mr.. Washing
ton was little diffident about appearing
before such body for fear his numerous
stories would not suit the strict religious
tone of the gathering But in this he was
mistaken and the audience greatly enjoyed
his humorous Illustrations as we'll as the
solid meat of his address.
Booker L. Washington. in his afternoon
address, spoke on the subject, The Negro
IN RELATION to our Christian Civilization
He said in part: THE whole South recog-
nizes the value and far-reachng effect of the
educational and religious work being done
by the church which you represent, and my
race is especially grateful to you for your
efforts in lifting it up. OF all the agencies
in the South for the elevating and strength
enlng of my race, we count Knoxville Col
at Norfolk, Va, and elsewhere among the
In large measure the negro race in this
country is in the position of a sick man.
This being true, it does but little good TO
bemoan the cause of his sickness and why
he remains so; but the sensible thing to do
is to find out the actual condition of the
patient and apply the remedy; and in doing
this it must be borne in mind that it is with
dH ignorant race nlucn as WIN Il Cnllu. III
Graves at first the superficial, the gew-Saws
of life, the shadow, rather than the sub
stance. In this you must be patient with
TT must be borne in mind that in the gulf
States, where the bulk of our people live,
50 per cent. of them are in the rural dis
cept by special effort. In these plantation
districts three-fourths of them live on
rented land, mortgage their crops and dwell
in small one-room cabins, at the same time
trying to pay an interest on their indebted
ness that ranges between 10 and 40 per cent.
Il was in a county in Alabama not long
ago where no public school for black chill
dren had been in session longer than three
months; the State dad not own a single
schoolhOuse, blackboard nor piece of
crayon. No colored teacher in this county
had been paid more than SIG a month for his
I work: In this county each colored child ia
education for one year. Think OF 1t, thirty
one cents in that county tor the education
for one year of black child, and compare
it with the 500 a year which each child re-
ceiVeS for his education in this part OF the
North. And yet, my friends, crime in that
county in Alabama is just as truly an arrow
aimed at the heart of the Republic as crime
committed in your own streets; a vote in
that county is as potent for veal or woe
as one cast for the Governor of your State.
ION many of these plantations as many as
six, eight, and even ten persons, of all ages.
sexes and conditions are often found living
in one room. The effect of all this cannot
produce a very high state Of morality or
Christianity. Out Of this industrial, educa-
tonal and moral condition grow crime COM
mitted by black men and white men, IN
other. words, the degradation of both races.
PLEA FOR WHITE MAN, TOO.
"Those of you who understand American
slavery and it's effects will agree with me
that, after all, slavery wrought as much
permanent injury upon the Southern white
man as upon the black man, and those of
you who understand conditions as they eX-
list in the South to-day will further agree
with me when 1 suggest that so long as the
rank and file of our people are ignorant and
in poverty so long will this condition be
made the pretext or the foundation for the
Southern white mans dragging himself
down for his snufing out, it were, his
own moral life. You must remember, my
friends, that | do not plead FOR the negro
alone.
Heretofore there has not been enough con-
nection between the Negroes educated brain
and his opportunity for earning his daily
living. There are too many educated men
and women of our race who do not have the
opportunity of using the education which
they have secured. We must study more
and more conditions, and give our people
that kind of education which they can find
daily use for. With this foundation we Will
ZOon get to the point where we Will rise
to higher and better things OF life. The
negro in the South has not only had TO Sc
cure education. but he has had to educate
the white people by whom he was sur
rounded to the point where they viii be-
lieve in his education. All through the
South we are gradually growing to the
point where, more and more, the white peo-
pie see the value of making the colored
people intelligent citizens.
lone good Christian home occupied by
cOlored family, placed in every community
in the South, will go further IN the solution
of the race problem than all the laws Con-
gress has ever passed looking toward It's
solution.
I'm preparing the way for these Christian
homes the educational work which you are
doing in the. South is Of the greatest value.
exist between the races in the South VIII
not disappear just in proportion as the ne
gro develops along industrial, educational
and religious lines. The negro VINO mas 30 g
in bank, owns a comfortable home and
is Industrious and educated, Is not likely to
be lynched or driven from the community.
The negro who is the largest taxpayer IN his
county will have the respect of most OF
the white people in his county.
I'm all these matters, North and South,
we must take high ground. propose that
the negro take his place upon the nigh ana
in all things and that he invite the white
man everywhere to step up and occupy this
position with him; and if the white man all
through this country does not accept the in
vitation we will prove that this is a white
mans problem rather than negros prob
lem.
1.-THE work which you are carrying on in
the South must go on in church, IN schooi
room, until every man covered with black
skin shall grow to that point in industry,
property, intelligence and moral RESPONSE
bilty, where no man in all our land VIII
be tempted to degrade himself by with
holding from his black brother any oppor-
tunity which he himself would possess.
Until that time comes, my friends, the work
of your magnificent Christian organization
will not be completed. There never was
time in the history of the negro race when
we needed your help in larger measure
than we need it to-day in the South"