Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-25

was to take his place as a leader of tn
colored people in the United States. Until
the time of the Atlanta exposition. in 1894
there had appeared no probable successor
The address of Booker T. Washington at
the exposition challenged the attention of
the entire country. He was at the time
the comparatively unknown principal of n
recently established, struggling school for
colored young men and women in the mid
die of the BLACK Belt of Alabama. In
the short time which has elapsed since the
delivery Of the Atlanta address Mr.. Wash
ingtons achievements, and the very gen.
aral recognition Of his talents and ability.
have brought him so prominently before
the public that it seems quite proper to
speak of him as the best-known co!ored
man in the United States today a few
among the many causes which nave led to
this result are the comforting of n degree
upon him by Harvard University; his nota-
bic address at Boston on the occasion of
the unwilling of the Shaw monument on
Boston Common, with many other able adj
crosses all over the country; his selection
by the trustees of the John F. Slater fund
to conduct for them, with the assistance of
Mrs. Washington, a series Of meetings for
colored people in all the cities of the south,
this work to cover a period of TWO years;
his successful administration of the affairs
OF Tuskegee Institute, a great school of a
thousand pupils; his selection to be one of
the orators at the peace jubilee in Chicago
in October CT fs3S, WHARF ne spoke to an
audience of 15,GOo people in the presence
of President Mckinley, who took the occa-
sion to pay Mr. Washington most distn-
guished compliment; and last, the visit
which the President and Mrs Mckinley
made to Tuskegee in their recent journey
through the south.
Does Not Know His Age.
In view of what he his accomplished the
early life of Mr.. Washington and the op-
portunities for education which he had are
interesting. 1t is q striking commentary on
some of the conditions OF life which have
been possible IN this country that to the
very natural first question, How old is
Booker Washington" the answer must be
returned, He does not know" He was
born a slave in the state of Virginia in
either the year 1857 or 1873. So humble
was his origin, so scaGt the notice taken
of the fact that one more black boy had
been born on the place" that no special
attention was given to his birth which
would accurately fix the date. His home
for those first years, near the village of
Hale's Ford, was one of those one-room
log cabins. with uncouth chimney of clay
and wood glued upon the end, such as any
one may even yet see in all Iarts of the
south. The floor of the cabin was the
hard-trodden earth, and the walls had no
windows, a circumstance which was not of
SO very great account since the door was
rarely cIo5ed, and when it was both light
and air found free passage between the
logs of the walls where the mud chinking
had fallen out.
Freed From Slavery.
Mr.. Washington must have been about
eight years old when the war closed. 1
have herd him tell of that event in these
words: I'VE knew there had been war,
and in our cabins talked about it. One