The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-02-09

d.. honest men and true women: II Is not
of such as these | speak. but OF anothe!
c.aSs entirely. class whose degradation
may be attributed in great part-strange
as it may seem at first-to our old-trne
;ns,itution-slavery Many will ask, what
has slavery to do with white man !!
Much-with the white man of the noun
,ains Having nothing on which to live,
MS ancestors mad either to work OF stea! !:
Out the negro did the work on the rich
mans piace-both in the field ano the
aouse-and the white worker came IN
ne to regard all work Of that KIND as
adjunct to slavery and as such, de-
aiding TO him and his family. !;
freedom and equality with him became
reverted terms: the idea that with them
went a certain line of conduct-honor,
honesty. decency-was lost 10 hinl. aio
they grew to mean simply immunity from
all mental work. and that is still the idea
of the white man of the mountains to-day.
His wife or his daughter may not enter
your kitchen except as an equal. TO snare
your table and your privileges. but ehe
may be guilty of all sorts OF dissraceiui
misdemeanors with impunity.
And yet these people have their fine
roints; they are polite, kird-hearteo. ara
l,ospitabie to a dtgTce; they Will lenu
YOU helping hand if you are In trouble
YOU and their houses are always open
tc the wandering needy visitor.
In many instances each generation
gees them sink lower. In many. others
:cslization that honest work Is not de-
grading, is slowly taking hold; but even
these are handicapped by fearful igno-
rance of how to do any work acceptaoly.
together with a lack of both the means
OF learning and the knowledge that there
ere better ways. A woman OF their class
who had gotten out from 1t and reached
higher plane, said one day: y feel SO
sorry for them. they can't do no better
for they amt got nobody TO measure
themselves with.
was struck with the fact that this
iIliterate woman who. could neither read
nor write, had gotten to the bottom OF
the matter, and it brought forclbiy 70
nv mind that sentence of St Paui s.
But they measuring themselves oS
themselves. and comparing themselves
among themselves. are not wise. May
We not therefore give them something
by which to measure themselves in time !.
II Is almost useless task to attempt
to change the condition of things with
those who are grown, but we still nave
cur chance with the little ones. and
through them our only chance with their
elders
For nv part, while there are many
things that I hear of others doing that
/ cannot do. yet l have eyes and l see,
and | have ears and l hear, and the cry
eff the children comes rolling up to me
day and night: I'VE are your oppor-
tunitv; you can mould us: you can lead
Us up from evil to good; we are those
who are to replace the ones whose chance
for betterment is lost: lose us and you
lose a generation. perhaps many gene
rations, for we wander-in our effort to
live Plead for us with all your might i.
we have but one childhood, and that IS
now no childhood, but a hideous tmlta-
ton of the vices Of our elders; we VIII
have but one youth and that Will be but
the more pronounced repetition OF our
childhood. Plead. We say, plead. and let
not your courage fail in the face Of dis
couragement 1t is our liberty that we
are asking at your hands-lberty from
the hands OF sin and death-that the sins
of our fathers may not be visited upon
us; our fathers and your fathers-of
commission on the part of ours. OF omis-
sion on the part of yours. We are not
asking social preferment, we are simply
asking for our chance to grow up honest
and true, to become good citizens, with
the knowledge of how to make an non
orable living by the sweat of our broWs.
Ne are not here of our own Will, we did
not choose voluntarily this degradation
in which we are sunk: give US our
chance, and we will show you how much