Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-10-25
A Teapot Tempest.


On Wednesday night, at the White
House, President Roosevelt entertained
at dinner Booker Washington, principal
of Tuskegee institute and the foremost,
and most helpful. man of his race In
America. The dinner was not a for
NAL one, no other guests being pres
ent Principal Washington was simply
invited by one who had long been his
personal friend to the hospitality OF
his table. So far as is known this is
the first time that a colored man mas
ever sat in the White House dining
ROOM and there is q mighty flutter1ng
in the dovecote of Washington So
ciety. Washington before the war was
a southern city and since, although
time has worked changes, its social
life has largely been under the in
fuence of the descendants of the old
slave drivers. This element considers
the act of the president a blow in the
face and is breathing out threatenings
and slaughter.
Nor is the agitation confined to the
national capital. For example, the
Memphis Scrnitar on Thursday print
ed the following refined reference to
l..
rage which has ever been perpetrated
by any citizen Of the United States was
committed by the president when he in
vited a niger to dine with him at the
White House, A little more than
month ago Czolgosz, citizen of the
United States, shot in cold blood
President Mckinley. Yet the presence
of Professor Washington at the execu-
tive mansion is 1.-The most damnable
outrage ever perpetrated by citizen of
the United States" The comment of
the Memphis Commercial-Appeal Is
similar to that of the Scimitar. 1T is
now incumbent" it says, ION those
democrats of the south who received
appointments at the hands Of President
Roosevelt to resign their offices. They
cannot afford to remain the recipients
of any favor at his hands. Certainly
there is no honor attached to his be-
nevolences of bestowals." 1t is plain to
see because he stretched his legs un-
der the same mahogany with man of
color new measure of strenuousness is
to be added to the presidents strenu.
GUS life.
Who is this man Washington whose
infamy? From all report he is man
who is most worthy to bear the name
oi Washington. He is cultured gen.
tlenan who is devoting his life to the
welfare of his fellow beings; he is an
orator and a philosopher, Of quiet
manners and the most conservative
chara cter: his views are broad and his
life spotless, and not only in the north,
but in the south the good of all classes
have listened with profit to his words
and have wished him godspeed in the
carrying on Of his great work. Out of
his energy and usefulness there has
been built up in the center Of the black
belt of Alabama an institution attended
last year by more than 1900 colored
young men and women. most Of theg.2
f-supporting, and being taught that
the building up of their manhood and
wctnanhood is the only royal road to
success and honor Tuskegee is not a
school where a smattering of Latin
and mathematics is called an educa~
ton, but one which teaches, first of
all, that labor is the foundation of all
excellence, and that the negro can
only hope to rise as he shows individ-
of this man, himself born d slave,
toward the race that kept his mother
and his people in bondage, eating the
fruit of their toll and forbidding them
knowledge and in many cases religion?
His spirit is sufficiently indicated by a
portion of the last annual report of
Tuskegee institute, wherein Principal
Washington simply says:
My feeling grows stronger each year
that perhaps in the heat OF passion; passion;
prejudices. we have not always given the
southern people due credit for the inn
curing the period that he was a slave.
The negro as slave was started on the
foundation of agriculture, mechanics anc
means limit his present education to
these. but would in all cases add academic
and religious training. do believe that
years to come, in our methods of educa-
tion, to give great attention to these run.
damental occupations. In proportion as
of these fundamental occupations. in the
same proportion does he lay the founda.
ton for the highest and most complete
development Of himself and children.
Who is the superior in the sight OF
God and man, he who wrote the above
paragraph, or he who wrote what ap-
peareQ IN Ine memphis newspaper! vi,
the deep infamy and narrowing influ-
ence Of blind, unreasoning pref.
udice! Indeed it transforms men into
beasts or worse than beasts. 1t is not
the color of the skin which makes the
man. In average development the col
ored race is inferior to the white race.
How much greater the honor then to
men like Principal Washington, who
break the barriers of Circumstance and
life themselves up, in every essential
of morality and intellectually, to
level with the proldeSt memharS