The colored American., 1899-12-02

preaching them in the right wsy-not
the hesitation Of the coward or trIm-
mer. He is polished in manner, clear
In speech, and never forgets that TO a
large degree, be Is taken as standard
OF the possibilities of his race, and bears
himself at all times with dignity that
is Incoming TO his position. He is
equally al home among the SIMPLE fare
mers of the black belt of Alabama and
ith the dukes and lords of Europe
h He has reached the point where he no
longer seeks bonoIs they are thrust
upon him, and thus proves his primer
pie; "Get something that some one
wants, and he will come TO you, re-
garGless Of the color I your skin or the
texture of your hair " He sands up
manfully for the good people of the
South, and be condemns the bad ones;
he praises the growing spirit OF thrift
and enterprise of his section, and he
denounces her lawlessness He pleads
for an educated ballot as q means Of
placing a Premium upon inteIliger ce
in both races, but insists that the pres
ent law shall remain un il there is as
snTance that qualified suffrage will
apply 10 black and white alike. He
asks that the young Negro take hold Of
the common things Of life from which
white men are growing rich and dIgni-
" them by doing them in an uncom
mon way He Gays TO hem, get
bank account and properly, and no
ballot box keeper viii turn away from
the polls the man who owns half thf
block in which the polling place is 10
Gated. He says there is not grain Of
prejudice IN the American dollar, and
ellis you that independence Is a M th
and "claims" to recognition will re
main empty claims until you demon
strate your capacity to do something
more than talk-Own somelhiUg-make
aOn Onethirg-manage something, and
make yourselves the indispensable fac
tors In the upbuilding OF community.
Develop an employing class ard be able
to mske the politician who wants your
influence hunt you up and tell you
what he will do for your people Elm
stead of haunting him for the price ofa
pair OF shoes, until driven away as
mendicant. He believes in underpin-
ming our racial struc ure with reliable
wage earning class, who ill stand like
army. backing up the learned and pro-
fessIcn al leaders. Hec intends that We
must be true to ourselves, and organize
cur cspi' al. our labor, and our inteili-
gence-nOt for offence, but fer defence
and advancement as a people, We
must cease to be represented in tn
worlds market by cipher. We must
oegin at the bottom as the
white man has done and then
work upward-nOt The reverse. We
must hold on to all we have in the ay
Of employ ment, al d fiud new ones
The man who makes place for him
self is more secure in it than he is one
into which somebody has showed him.
We must cave ourselves as the Jew
has done into the business an patriot
ic Interests OF the communities in which
we live rhs man who owns q large
block OF stock in railroad line VIII
not be forced Into a Jim Crow" car,
and the OWL er of the ground upon
Fhich big trust building stands, can
always de in the elevator. These are
the h0mely truths, The eDUnciatiOn OF
which has made Booker L. Was hingtOn
The accepted leader OF thought, political
morals al d social ethics among the
Negroes of America-if not Of the
world. He is listened to because he
has done something tangible. When
his critics speak, they deal In what
Sh akespeaTe so pert nsiniy terms
" ords, words, words" and it is an
open secret that the most violent of MIR.
Washington's critics are those who
have never heard him speak, nor have
they read in full single speech delIv-
ere d by him. They too often Judge
him by what somebody told them they
heard he had said. When Mr.. WASH
ington Is asked by what warrant be
speaks for IaCe of 10, OOO 600 souls, no
word need he utter; be may simply
point as do now, to that miniature
city of Tuskegee-his monument of
thirty years Of struggle I'd triumph.
He can tread her 2267 acres Of land,
and gaze upon her AZ buildings erected
by Negro hands. He may grasp the
hands of 1854 students from % states,
and from Jamaica, Porto Rico, Cuba,
Africa, and England, and show deeds
in fee to $500. 900 worth of property.
This Is the real Booker L. Washing
ton. In The language OF the Washing
ton Post of this morning:
There is the model for the black
and white alike. He has learned the
saoFat oF pcyuar opd prCp,of;On Ho ;u