The colored American., 1899-12-02


preaching them in the right wsy-no
the hesitation Of the coward or trim
mer. He is polished in manner, clea
in speech, and never forgets that to .
large degree, be Is taken as STANDARD
OF the possibilities of his race, and bear
himself at all times with dignity tina
is becoming to his position. He il
equally at home among the simple far
mers Of the black belt of Alabama anC
ith the dukes and lords Of Europe
He has reached the point where he NJ
longer seeks honofs-they are thrust
upon him, and thus proves his primer
pie; "Get something that some ont
wants, and he will come to you, re
gardless Of the color I your skin or the
texture of your hair p" He sands W
manfully for the good people of the
South, and he condemns the bad ones;
he praises the growing spirit OF thrift
and enterprise of his section, and he
denounces her Iawlessness He pleads
for an educated ballot az means OF
placing a premium upon intelliger ce
in both races, but insists that the pres
ent law shall remain un il there is as
surance 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 dung them In an uncom'
mon way. He Gays to lhem, get a
bank account and properly, and no
ballot box keeper will turn away from
the polin the man who owns half the
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 M tn
and "claims" to recognition will re
main empty claims until you demon
strate your capacity to do something
more than taik-Own nsomeihiug-m make
somethirg-msnage something, and
make yourselves the Indispensable fac
tors in the upbuilding OF a community.
Develop an employing class az d be able
to mske the politician who wants your
influence hunt you up and tell you
what he will do for your pe1ple-in-
stead of haunting him for the price of a
pair OF shoes, until driven away as
mendicant. He believes in underpin.
ming our racial struc: ure with reliable
wage earning class, who will stand like
army. backing up the learned and pro-
fessIcnal leaders. Hec Intends that We
must be true TO ourselves, and organize
cur CAPT al, our labor, and our inleIli-
gence-not for offence, but fer defence
and advancement as q people. We
must cease to be represented in the
worlds market by a cipher. We must
begin 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 way
Of employment, 81 find 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 o: the communities in which
we live Ths man who owns a large
block OF stock in a railroad line VIII
not be forced Tito a Jim Crow" car,
and the OWL er of the ground upon
which big trust building stands, can
always de in the elevator. These az
the homely truths, The enunciation OF
which has made Booker L. Washington
The accepted leader Of Thought, political
m & rails 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
so pert neinly terms
W ords, words, words" and it is an
open sc cret that the most violent of MI
Wasbington's critics are those who
have never heard him speak, nor have
they read in full single speech dellv-
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 he
speaks for lace of 10, OG0, 900 souls, no
word need he utter; be may simply
point as l do now, to that miniature
city of Tuskegee-his monument Of
.hirty years Of struggle al d triumph.
He can tread her 2267 acres Of land,
and gaze upon her AZ buildings ere oted |
~ Negro hands. He may grasp the
hands of 1854 students from 90 states,
and from Jamaica, Porto Rico, Cuba,
AFRICA, and England, and show deeds
n fee to $500 900 worth of property.
This ls the real Booker T. Washing
on. In The language of the Washing
on Post Of this morning:
"Tbere is the model for the black
md white alike. He has learned the
ecret Of power and promotion. He is