The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-04
COLLEGE SOCIETIES.
HELD THEIR ANNIVERSARY EXER-
CIsES LAST NIGHT.

phian. for MeR, Held Anniversary
at NiEht-Dr. l.. b. Palmer on "The
Necessity of a Sound Body,
The exercises of the Georgia State
College yesterday were those of the
literary societies. There are three So
cieties at the college, the Phillis
wheatley Society, for girls, and the
Philosophian and Phi Kappa for boys.
The Phillis wheatley held its exer-
cises in the afternoon at o'clock. The
society is named in shonor of Phillis
Wheatly, the negro poetess, who lived
in the middle of the eighteenth CEN
tury. She was an African girl who
was brought to Boston in 1861 at the
age of six and sold to a Mr.. and Mrs.
Wheatley. She early showed signs of
superior intelligence and her master
and mistress determined to educate her.
In less than year she had mastered
the English language so that she could
speak it correctly. Before she was
twenty she had shown such genius
that she had attracted some of the
leading literary people of Boston, and
though black and a slave. she had a
hearty welcome into the parlors of
some of the wealthiest and most cult
ured people of Boston.
Several editions of her books were
published in America and Eng
land. She was given her free
dom and Travelled abroad, where she
was received with great honor. Gen.
George Washington wrote very COM
plimentary letter to her upon the re-
ceipt of a poem which she had writ
ten, concerning him.
Phillis Wheatley died at a very early
age, but not before she had attained
great fame. Her name is highly es-
termed by the colored people, and
throughout the country there are lit
erary societies named in her honor.
The following exercises were held by
this society;
Invocation, Rev. p. H. Travis.
Music Glee Club.
Essay. Biography of Phillis Wheat
ley" Bertha d. Williams.
Instrumental duet, Mittie Milledge
and Hattie Riley.
Vocal duet, Anna NJ. Howard and
Sarah Moody.
keC1IatlOn, Nettle Harris.
Solo, Anna T. Hayward.
Recitation, Anna NJ. Howard.
Essay, Dignity of Labor" A. M.
White.
Duet. THE Voice of Flowers" Hat
tie Riley and Louise Bennett.
Announcement.
Quartette, THE Hunters Call" Lii
Ian Owens. Essie Monroe, Eugene
Harrison and c. c. Strickland.
Benedction, Rev. p. H. Travis.
At night the young mems societies
held their anniversary exercises. The
following program was excellently rem
dered:
Invocation.
Quartettc, The Merry Foresters."
Diana Danials, Lillian Nj. Wright, w.
NJ Gordon and w. NJ. Dunn.
Grafton, Home Discipline" H. Alex.
Houston.
Grafton, Worth Makes, the Man."
Jas. p. Sherman
Essay, "Earnestness as an Element
of Success Henrietta j. Pope.
Piano Solo. Essie Monroe.
Grafton Astronomy as a Factor in
Education, Alexander S. Taylor
Essay, "Punctuality" Clara E.
Rogers.
Chorus, Hail to Thee, Liberty"
College Choir,
Annual Address, l.. B. Palmer, NJ
d.
Quartette. Good Night, Gertrude
Mcintosh, Iona Coston, John B. Wat
son. +. A. Judkins
The address by DIR. Palmer was a
we'll prepared and learned talk upon
Some Observations upon the Health
and Mortality of Negroes" Re was
one of the first teachers in the Georgia
State College at it's opening in 1891.
After speaking of his work as a
teacher in the school for five years he
said THE wise general is the one who
known Well the weak points
in his own forces. and who
uses every means in his power
&c strengthen these points. We
as people must calmly and dispas-
sionately study our faults and short
eomings.
Seen through the mists of oppres-
sion our progress has been great
greater by far than that of any nation
under similar conditions, but let us
not lie supinely upon our laurels and
trust God for the rest. There are con-
diticns influencing our daily life that
probably by our very ignorance of
them threaten the progress and indeed
the existence of the race itself. OF
some of these conditions l shall speak
tonight"
k1e then told OF the necessity of haV-
ing sound body.
Not even a sound mind" he said.
can take the place of a sound body.
but that the two must go together.
Egypt, Ba bylon, Rome and many other
prot nntions fell because they abused
their bodies" AS a basis of his talk on
hesiO health he took the reports of the
Atlanta Board OF Health for 1901.
I'm Atlanta there are $4,000 people,
$4,000 white. $4,000 colored. There were
during the year of 1901, 2,241 death, of
which 914 were whites, and 1927 col
ored, or lila whites per thousand,
and 23.15 colored per thousand The
chief causes of deaths are
Consumption. SO whites, 1876 colored:
lung diseases, LAT whites, 314 colored.
In Nashville there were deaths from
consumption, 50 whites, 21S colored.
The same conditions obtain in most
cities. What is the cause of this ex-
cess of negro mortality?
First. Poverty. with it's attendants
of exposure and crime and INSULT
cheney of food, fuel and clothes.
Second. Bad hygiene in the homes.
Third. Personal habits of a great
many Of the race that is intemperance
and immortality
No one but a. physician can realize
the great havoc wrought annually
among us by these twin evils.
You will find laid down in the text
books on medicine, whiskey as one of
the predisposing causes of almost every
chronic disease. Bright's disease, con-
sumption. cirrhosis of the liver, heart
disease spinal diseases, brain diseases,
stomach diseases. all in a vast number