The age-herald., 1898-12-17

 courses of instruction have been filled In; the patronage and resources have been largely increased, until even the legislative department of the state of Alabama feo9g-
 nized the worth of the work and of the great opportunities here afforded. From one small frame house the institution has grown until 1t includes the inc group Of dormitories, recitation rooms, lecture halls and workshops which have so surprised and | delighted us today. A thousand students, l I am told, are here cared for by nearly hundred teachers, altogether forming with | the preparatory department,ea symmetrleal | scholastic community, which has been well called a model for the industrial colored | schools of the south. Certain it is thai | pupil bent on fitting himself or herself for | mechanical work can here have the widest | choice of usefulness and domestic occupa- | tons.
 One thing like about this institution is | that it's policy has been generous and pro- gressiye; it is not so self-centered or 5in- | terested in its own pursuits and ambitions as to ignore what is going on in the rest l or the country or make it difficult for out siders to share the local advantages. I allude especially to the spirit in which the annual conferences have been here held by leading colored citizens and educators with the intention of improving the condition of their less fortunate brothers and sisters. Here, we can see, is an immense field and one which not too soon or too care l fully be utilized. The conferences have grown in popularity and are well calculated not only to encourage colored men and l colored women in their individual efforts, | but to cultivate end promote an amicable | relationship between the two races-a prob l lem whose solution was never more needed | than at the present time. Patience, mod | eration, self-control, knowledge, character will surely win you victories and realize the best aspirations of the colored people. No country, epoch, or race has a. mo- nopoly upon knowledge. Some have asier but not necessarily better opportunities for | self-deyelopment. What a few can obtain free most have to pay for, perhaps by hard | physical labor, mental struggle, and self | denial. But in this great country all can
 have the opportunity for bettering them- l selves, provided they exercise intelligence l and perseverance and their motives and | conduct are worthy. Nowhere are such fa- | cilities for universal education found as in | the United States They are accessible to l every boy and girl white or black.
 Integrity and industry are the best pos-
 | sessions which any man can have, and
 | every man can have them. Nobody can l give them to him, and thank God nobody
 take them from him. He cannot ac- | quire them by inheritance; he cannot buy l them or beg them borrow them. They | belong to the individual and are his unques- | toned property He alone can part with | them They are good thing to have and
 keep. They make happy homes; they | | have won the greatest triumphs for man. | kind. No man who has them ever gets into | the police court or before the grand jury or | in the workhouse or the chain gang. They l give both moral and material power. They | will bring you a comfortable living make I you respect yourself and command the re- | spect of your fellows. They are indispensa-
 l ble to success. They are invincible The
 merchant requires the clerk whom hes ern- | ploys to have integrity and industry The
 I rot nad
 man seeking employment possesses them. | Every avenue of human endeavor welcomes l them. They are the only keys to open with | certainty the doors of opportunity to strug-
 tghng manhood. Employment waits on them; | capital requires them; citizenship is not l good without them. If you do not already | have them, get them EfsE Speeches were made by other distinguish l ed members of the party. among them one | by President Cunningham He said: kxj This presence, on this occasion under l these circumstances is an epoch in Ameri-- | can history It is demonstration of what | has been, and an omen of what may be l The president of the United Stafes ana his l cabinet, escorted by the general assembly 1 of Alabama. under the leadership of the states chief executive, to this beautiful lit- | tie city, characterized by its refinement, culture and beauty, is of no particular mo- ment. But when we are all here, for the time being, the guests of the citizens of TuSkegee, and as part of the functions of | the day, visit, inspect and participate in | these exercises presided over by a dis | tinguished educator of the colored race I | say that it Is an epoch-making era This is | more particularly true when we remember l that the president and his escort differ in l political faith and opinion, and when we | also remember that---this is one of the strongholds of old-time chiyalry opinion 1 and prejudices. and whose hospitable eiti- | zens have given us such old-time south ern welcome. I say it is important from | a national standpoint, because the north | has learned to let us alone, and the south l in it's own way is learning to solve the problem Were it otherwise this meeting would be impossible. But in the light of a | broad and generous humanity, and under | the inspiration of a national patriotism, l both sections of our common country are | fast overcoming their prejudices, and all, under the guidance of Almighty God. are meeting our grave domestic difficulties with mutual sympathy and mutual effort
 l saThere can never be, and ought not to l be. social equality. There are difficulties l in the way that are natural, not acquired. l Neither legislation DOT power of wealth, l nor the prejudices of section, nor political examination can force 1t. We are not here | today in that capacity. We are here to be present when the chief magistrate of the l United States speaks words of good cheer and advice to the teachers and pupils of
 | this institution. To help elevate the hum I ble and poor of any race is a great and | honorable duty. I am glad to know that
 | the taxpayers of Alabama are contribut-
 i ing to this institution. The president has