The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-11-16
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON,
Sketch Of the Negro Who Dined a,
the White House.

Slllcator OF His people. slS un allthor
:.lld c,s Il pl,hlic speaker has attracted
wide attention and made him n hero
;lmong his people and gained for him
the admiration of his fellow citizens,
and if he We're less we'll balanced he
might Nlarr been unable to carry his
honolS gracefully. But he is modest
and unohtruSivc. and i'm all respects n
fine example of the Srlf-madc man.
He wc,s born ut Halls Falls. Va.
about 1888. He WAS q slave until
freed by the emancipation procl;,na-
tlun clnh never knew who wsls his IA
thrr. He WAS named Booker Talla-
ftrrn. probably because there were
many prominent people in the common
wealth by that nL:lhnc. hut the name
Washington he took after he became
free. He makes no denial of these hi
ogl:lphical points slnd rather likes to
dwell upon them. lie speaks of the
people of his race as negroes and not
;s "culore,l people" ami sets them a
good exsunEple for industry and ambi-
ton. coupled With motlrSty.
WaShington'S life story reads like a
romance. But there are few cheerful
chapters in it until one reaches the
STORY of tile young man. The child
WIS lrlffrtetl ahout fin tlrudgrry and
want. AS the property of THE Madi-
son family he probably had more COM
fort lin the III ig@rr quarters" tl,glm in
the lmolhouSr to which dis mother
took him in West Virginia. There as
Il mere cllill he worked in the salt fur
narrS and then in the mines. While
working in tho mines and furnaces the
child lllh Il chance to get II few months
of school every year. hut he secured
work With Il New England woman and
had an opportunity to attend night
school. and then at odd times 'hc-
tween jobs he worked and studied
until 1871. when lr started for IIamp-
tom school, of which hr had heard
much. Out of the Sc a month which
THE woman had paid him for his scrv-
ices his savings We're small, and when
he reached Richmond on his WAY to
Hampton he had to go to work to get
money enough to make himself ,,rc-
Scntablc ut the institution But he be-
came the star pupil of the place. and
WAS graduated with honors. although
HE worked his way through. After
spending II little while i'm his old home
and teaching school he returned to
Hampton us a teacher. and then start
cd the institution at T'uSkrgcc, Ala,
which will always be a notable monnl-
mcnt to his energy and helpful work
in the interest Of his race
The college was started i'm 1881 i'm a
Slranty The idea of Il higher school
for THE blacks i'm that part of the
country caused amusement in many
Southern circles, and the majority Of
white citizens who grvc the thing amy
thought believed THAT the scheme of
the young negro enthusiasts would he
forgotten i'm Il short time. But today
the TuSkrgcc college has forty six
buildings on the 2,3OO nrres of land,
and 100 pupils. representing twenly
seven states. are being taught in the
institution A new hospital building, n
carritlge library dis under way and a
new dormitOly, the Gift of John d..
Rockefeller, will soon become q part
of the institution. Illc students re-
ccive instruction mot only in the meli-
mary school branches, hut in twenty
eight industries, each pupil selecting
the one for which he is best fitted or
towards which he has the greatest i'll
clinati0n. I'm his book, Cup From Slav-
cry" Mr.. Washington says: "From the
very beginning of Tuskrgce WAS de-
tcrninch to have the students do not
only the agricultural and domestic
work, but to have them erect their
own buildings This plan has been
carried out to the present day, and MS
the institution grows the list of negro
mechanics increases"
Washington had seen the people Of
his race work in "hrHdlrss' way and
was determined to better their condi.
ton in that respect "My place was, "
he said. mot to teach them to work
to make the forces of nAturc-air,
steam, water and electricity assist
them i'm their Labor" Washington set
his people a good example as a work
man and as Il practical exponent Of
tho principles which he taught. His
daughter I'OrtiA, who is now a Still
dent at Wellesley college, learned the
.lrrSsnlaking trade While ut the TuSkc-
yr, institution. and his eldest son, who
lis now Is years old, has been working
at the brick maSOn'S trade several
years without curtailing his regular
v no thinks himself "clIt OUT to be Il
physician. The boy goes to school at
VnSkcgcr. but also works in-1hc office
Oc physician, and hopes to rise from
office boy TO the position Of ''rral
doctor" The older boy, Baker ITALIA
frrro, has ambition in the direction Of
an architects Office, and Mr.. Washing
ton takes pride in showing a letter in
wl;it il the little fellow writes: 81 like
my work so much that want to work