Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-01-16
wASHINGTON'S STORY
An Ote That Went to the Hearts
of His southern White
Auditors.

r -
Of the many anecdotes told the fol-
owing shows Booker T. Washington's
readiness in assimilating what he
hears and in putting it to effective use,
says the Outlook.
Once on board a train in Virginia
the talk touched in some way which l
have forgotten now the subject of the
oldtime southern servants. A man
whose dress showed him to be a cler-
gyman, and who | afterward learned
was the rector of one of the oldest and
most distinguished Episcopal churches
in the state, ssaid that he had taken
charge of the parish where he was then
located during the year previous and
had moved into the rectory which went
with the church. His predecessor had
died in office, after a long %pastorate.
When the new family came to the rec
tory to live they found there an old
colored man who had been employed
about the grounds for many years, and
hired him to remain with them and
continue at his work.
"One day last summer" the rector
said, my wife decided that she would
like a certain shrub in the garden bet
ter if it stood in another place, and the
next morning told John to dig it up and
move it.. Along in the middle of the day
she was out in the garden, and, seeing
that the shrubhad not been transplant
ed, said: John, don't forget to move
that bush there as l told YOU
"'1es, marm,' said John.
"That afternoon my wife was away
from home. When she returned, late
in the day, she saw that the plant had
not been disturbed. Annoyed at the
mans disregard of her wishes, she
called him to her and spoke to him
rather sharply:
Didn't l tell you twice to move
that shrub over there to the other side
If the %garden?'
"'Yes, marin, you certainly did,
"'And you told me you would?'
"'Yes, marin, I surely did,
What do you mean, then, by dis
tinctEy disobeying me"
my wife said the old man laid down
the hoe he had been using, and, coming
up in front of her, took off his hat and
stopped a minute before he answered,
as if he was struggling between his
sense of duty to her and his own feel
ings. When he finally looked up, she
was astonished TO see that the tears
were streaming down his face.
81 hope you'll 'scuse me, marm,' he
said, L surely hope you will; but L
can't that BUSH
"'Can't move that bush! Why? 1t
was not a large one
"The old man dropped his hat and
clasped his hands together. oh,
marm,' he said, my old missis, what's
dead now, planted that bush right
there. I can't dig it up.'"'
The bush was not moved.
Mr.. Washington was to speak thar
night in the opera house in Richmond.
Both houses of the Virginia legislature
attended in a body, as did also those of
ficials of the city government. Besides
these there were many other prom
inent white men present, SO that with
out doubt the audience was repre-
sentative of the most intelligent white
citizenship of the state. In the course
of his address Mr.. Washington made
an eloquent appeal in behalf of the peo-
pie OF his race, that no change in the
school laws of the state be made to the
detriment of the colored schools, and
told the story ofthe old negrogardener
who could not move the bush because
his dead white "missis" set it out. More
than one strong man in the audience
was brushing the tears out of his eyes
before the story was done and felt no
sensitiveness about having his neigh
Dor see him do it.,@ ~