Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-01-16

| valuable timber well suited for building
houses. boats ships, cabinet work and
4 all other various operations in carpentry.
! The palm tree of which there two or
three varieties. is found everywhere, yield
ing its oil useful for many purposes. its
palm wine and its fibers for making hats.
| baskets and other articles. The camwood
and other most valuable dye woods are also
found in abundance. and have been export
| ed in large quantities. OF the grains In
| dian corn or maize grows very well in Lii
IBERIA, and rice by easy cultivation gives
nowhere in the world richer return for
the labor bestowed upon it. Among the
esculent roots that are grown in great
perfection there are the sweet potato, yam
and cassada. OF vegetables there are pro-
duced in profusion and with little labor the
choicest qualities of lima beans and several
other varieties, peas, cabbageS, tomatoes,
cucumbers, pumpkins, squashes. beets, car
rots, radishes and good variety of melons.
Nor has nature been less bountiful in her
gift of delicious fruits. which include the
orange, lemon lime, pineapple. guava. ba-
mana, mango. cocoanut. tamarind, pome-
granate, cacao and many others. In no
other part of the world does the orange tree
thrive better. and most of these fruits grow
wild in the forests, but are greatly i'm
proved by cultivation. The principal do
| mesticated animals are beeves, sheep, goats.
swine. geese, turkeys, ducks and hens; the
forests abound in game for the hunter, ana
the adjoining seas and the rivers swarm with
excellent varieties of food fishes. Although
there are common reports of most valuable
mineral deposits in Liberia-gold, silver,
iron, etc.-these reports have not yet been
verified by scientific investigation. Iron
and coal are said to have been found in
considerable quantities on or near the sur
face of the earth. The productions which
have been or may be made articles OF COM
| merce profitable for export are coffee, cot
ton, sugar, ginger, rice, pepper, ground
nuts. indigo, arrow root, India rubber, dye
woods and palm oil. All reports OF intela-
gent observers extending through a long
series of years agree substantially upon the
favorable representations of the country
which we have given above, and the ques.
ton is naturally asked, why has there not
been greater progress since Its first settle
ment by American negroes, seVenty-elsht
years ago?
As to Development.
rBefore criticising the Liberians too harsh
ly for not having realized the earlier san
gl1ine expectations of their friends, We
should reflect that 1t is now conceded that
the development of a race requires a much
longer period of time than was supposed by
the founders of this society. If We look
a. our own country, we find that the pro-
gress of the negro race since its emancipa-
ton, aided as it has been by the persona!
contact and intelligent and consecrated
services of thousands of the best men and
women and hundreds of millions OF dollars
of the white race, falls far below the eX-
peotations of its friends at the close OF the
civil war in 1865.
I'm his recent testimony before the con-
gressonal industrial commission, President
Frisseu of the famous Hampton colored
school quoted his predecessor Gen Arm
sirong. as expressing the opinion that tax
ing the negro population as whole IN tne
United States since the close OF me clvii
war one-third of it had refrigerated, one
third had remained stationary ana one
third had progressed. We can at least
make as favorable statement of the aver
age progress of the Liberians.
That a large majority of the Leading
coIored people of the United States at pres
ent look askance upon any scheme OF col
oEization or even emigration Is very eNl-
dent, and it is equally patent mat THESE
leaders of the race are not pure negroes
ard in many of hem the blood and inner
tied predictions of the white race largely
predominate. The motto emblaZoned upon
their banner is, Let down your buckets
where you are Excellent as we may con-
cede this motto to be in general, neVerlhe.
less we venture to assert that 1t is not OF
universal application nor a panacea Tor an
the Ills that constitute most veXed ana
serious race problem in this country.
That this recently promulgated motto
for the race does not admit of universal az
plication has been clearly demonstrated IN
the past history of the world. Suca was
not the divine direction to the chlldren OF
Israel in the midst of their Egyptian sur
roundings, and such was not the motto Oh
the brave and hardy men who left the ma
terial wealth and comforts of the old Worlu
to found in an American wilderness na-
ton which now stands foremost in inteiil-
pence wealth power and all that goes TO
make the most advanced Christian civiiiza-
ton"
Report of the Treasurer.
The report of the treasurer showed the
receipts of the society for the past year to
have been as follows: Donations received,
500: annuities 81, S4S.7S; interest on securi-
ties 81, 691 %: rents from societyS building.
s13l99l: loans paid, So, 100: loan from
Bank of Washington, $1,000, and passage
money refunded. s., making total of s23,-
1895. The balance on hand January /,
1889, was 81, 49l.31. The disbursements dur
ing the year amounted to S25,274.74 leaving
balance on hand January l. 1900 of 1852
The assets of the society, including the
lot and building of the society. estimated
al Ss3,975, were stated to be SS1, 9S1 So
The auditing committee reported that 1t
had examined the accounts of the treas
urer and had found them to be correct.
A letter from ex-Mayor Ferdinand La
trobe of Baltimore, who is much interested
in the work of the society, was read prom
ing it all success.
The board of directors then adjourned.
when they participated as members of the
society in its annual meeting, Mr.. Wilson
being appointed secretary, and he and Rev.
DR.. Sunderland being appointed commit
tee to nominate officers Of the society for
the ensuing year.
The Officers Elected.
Inc committee nominated li1e lOilO"llS,
and they were unanimously elected, after
which a recess was taken to enjoy the
hospitality of Mr.. Norris at lunch:
Prcsident-Rev. julius E Grammer, DID,
Maryland.
Vice presidents-Mr. Samuel A. Grocer,
Pennsylvania; Mr. Robert Arlington, Eng
land; Rev Bishop r. s. Foster, D. D., Mas
sachusetts; Mr.. Samuel X. Wilson, New
Jersey. Rev Samuel f. Appleton. DID,
Pennsylvania; Rev. Bishop II. NJ. Turner,
DID, Georgia. Rev. William E Schenck,
DID, Pennsylvania: Richard w. Thomp-
son. Indiana; Rev Bishop II. w. Warren,
DID, Colorado; Mr.. Henry G. Marquand,
New York; Rev. George d. Boardman, ID.
D., Pennsylvania; Rev. Bishop E. G. An
drews, DID, New York; Professor Ed
ward W. Blyden, LII, D., Liberia;
Judge Alexander B. Hagner. District of
Columbia: Rev. ]. Aspinwall Hodge, ID,
Pennsylvania: Rev. Leighton Parks, Massa-
chusetts: Rev. Edward w. Appleton. DID.
Pennsylvania: Rev. William A. Bartlett.
DID, New York; Mr.. Osmun Latrobe. |
Maryland; Ri. Rev. Thos. U. Dudley, DID. |
Kentucky: Mr.. ]. c. Bancroft Davis Dis
trict of Columbia; Mr.. John I. Morgan. |
Alabama; Mr.. Robert b. Davidson. Penn |