The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-02-18

that IN insisted upon Is that the kitch
en- shall be made one of the cleanes
and most attractive places In tht
home, that the dinlng-room shall be
made sweet and inving with thu
help of flowers and In every othel
possible way. The same spirit exists
regarding sewing. laundering and
aud general housekeeping. I am SURE
that all the young men honor the
girl who Is specializing In cooking OF
Laundering as much ~ the one who
Is preparing to be music-teacher.
Ths need of this kind Of training can
be appreciated from . conversation
which I heard some years sgo be.
tween u colored principal Of q school
and three of his assistant teachers.
Everything inside and around the
schoolhouse was miserably dirty and
dilapidated. The new principal OF the
school determined to bring about .
change and asked one Of the lady
teachers TO take charge Of o squad OF
pupils and show them how to sweep
the floor. She fatty refused, remark
ing II am q literary teacher" He
asked another to take charge Of the
|'dusting She too refused, saying that
she too wasa "literary teacher" The
man assistant was asked to take charge
OF the cleaning Of the yard and the
white washing OF the fences and the
outside Of the schoolhouse, but he re-
marked that he had been employed
to teach hetoric and English litera-
tnre.
Throughout the history Of this
change In the ideas Of the col0red peo-
pie, Il was Interesting TO watch their
mental processes during the different
stages OF this development. As I have
int!mated, soon after the freedom OF
the race, merely to intimate TO the ev-
erage negro father that bis son was
not to be q lawyer, minister, member
Of the legislature. or congressman was
to insult him. 1t was hard In the ear
lier years to induce any one to see
thai any race must lay the foundation
for what the world calls the higher
positions by mastering first the more
fundamental and common things Of
life. But, a. have stated, It was In.
teresting to note how they gradually
began to reason things out for them
selves. One old colored farmer told
me bis story which will illustrte the
case Of many. He had three sons; the
oldest was sent to purely literary
college, where he remained several
years aud graduated, but he did not
return to bis fathers farm. When the
second son grew old enough, he wss
sent to Q purely literary institution.
and after his education he too failed
to return to the farm. The old man
had been hoping that at least one Of
these sons would return and use bis
education In showing his parents how
to raise fifty bushels Of corn where on
ly twenty-five grew before, aud with
less labor. He had hoped that one
would return and help him put the
old farmhouse In comfortable and
convenient condition. When his third
son grew old enough, the old man had
reasoned the matter out and was fully
decided that his third son must be
sent to Q school where he would not
only study literature and science, but
the application Of the science to the
raising of corn, peas, and stock-some-
thing that would make his boy i'm
bibe such q love for the old farm that
be would not want to leave It, but
would be glad to return TO Il TO show
bis parents how to improve the plant
and animal growth upon 1t.
In the earlier years Of the Tuskegee
Institute q large proportion Of the
southern white people had the idea
that every negro who was educated
would become q minister, or teacher,
or dude that an educated negro
meant as q rule o higher hat, o big
valking-cane, kid gl,Ves and patent
leather shoes, with no benefit TO &C
crue TO the negro himself or to the
southern white man. Not long ago !
met o southern white man who once
such ideas. Just before I
met him his wife had been sick near
unto death. During all the anxious
days Of her sickness she:was carefully
and inteiigently nursed by black
girl who some months before had
graduated at the Tuskegee Institute
nurse-training school. This white
mGn GUILD not have spoken In more
hiEh terms of commendation of the
education given at Harvard, or the
University Of Virginia, than he did Of
the Tuskegee Institute. Near Mont
gomery. Alabama, is another southern
white man who Q few years ago did
NOT have much, II any, interest or
faitn In the education OF the negro.
This white man has large dairy. In
some way few years ago graduate
from our dairy-school secured employ
ment under this white man. will
not describe In detail the success OF
this dairyman except TO say that the
man who once had little faith In the
education Of nv race now keeps
stabGing order with the head Of our
agriculture department to the effect
that he must have the fir-t choice
from every class that gradustes from
the department Of dairying.