The sun., 1900-01-06
Saturday, January 6, 1900.

SUPERINTENDENT II /. L. FRIssELL Of the
Hampton Institute, while addressing the
Industrial Commission at Washington
on Thursday gave vent to some pro-
nounced opinions about the condition Of
the negro in the South. Had mere OBJ
server uttered these opinions he would
have called down an avalanche of criti-
cism. However, Mr.. Frissell is engaged
rin regenerating and improving the negro,
Rnd Is, therefore, an authority who COM
fnands a respectful hearing. ''In many
districts of the South,n he said, 'the
,ondition ofthe negro is even worse than
THE slavery Of ante-bellum days. Wages
are small and the farmer is unable to
break away from the lien system OF
crops. Futures in crops are the only
loan securities known in the South. The
consequence is that most Of the haryests
are sold before they are reaped. Slavery,
Rhile q bad thing, was good in this, that
Ataught the negro the English language,
> pits OF industry, and some religion"
lde, the historian, in bis book on
Vest Indies, and SPENCER st. John,
work on Hayti, advance the
that the negro trace rapidly un-
to e0iHap expression, when the
Its OF civilization are removed or
kded. Hayti and San Domingo prove
TO be right, but it may be said that
16 negro in the South cannot wholly
Escape the influence and discipline Of
civilization which surrounds him and
keeps in touch with him. To which
il may be answered, that wherever the
negro is left to himself in the back
. country OF the South, remote from the
good offices of the educator and humani-
tartan, he Iapses. The tyranny OF a
vicious credit system completes his
downfall. II in our populous cities
white men educated in the public schools
despair, lose ambition and resign them.
selves to earning pittance just sufficient
TO keep the wolf from the door, is it any
wonder that the neglected negro in this
bottom-lands is content to work onlS
when he has wants that must be sup
piled and, to 60 g step further, is it sur
fising that he cones to have con
fused idea about the Nervousness o
appropriating the shoat and The
chicken, and helpiAg himself at the
wood pile? y
The white man hasy mary generations
OF civilization behind him, whereas the
emancipated negro is ply in his seconc
generation. He is p4haps doing very
we'll from this poina of view. Wha
appears plain is that he must be educated
and uplifted and helpeaat an accelerated
rate, or he will never dlose the gap be
tween himself and the white man. Mr.
Frissell says that 'as broad statemen
Of results, about one-thiSd Of the negro
race has retrograded since the war, one
third has remained where it was anc
one-third has advanced" It would hav'
been more satisfactory if the Superin
tendent of Hampton had gone more int
detail and told MS in what proportion tht
retrograded third was con. posed Of ok
slaves, and whether this Isclass entered
into the third that has Il aSwn an i'm
proyement since the war. t3ducatiou i
only part of what should pc done fo
the negro. Is it not important that b
should be redeemed from his, bondage t
the credit system, which paralyses Iii
ene1slek spd eats like canker into Iii
morals? be work being done by Tia
clear-head and tireleas president :
the Tuskegee Institute, Booker I. Wash
ington, has in part this emancipation i
view; but nevertheless the subject is on
to which the practical friend Of tn
Southern negro might find it worth hi
while TO give special study.