The colored American., 1903-02-14


Sheats had had electric lights put in
the Circuit Courtroom, and had filled
every available space with benches and
chairs. Mr. Washington was to speak
at $50 O'Clock, so at ten minutes to
eight we drove up to the Courthouse,
and the corridors and stairs leading
TO the Courtroom were so crowded
that the Sheriff had to force way for
us to get through the crowd to the
Courtroom. There were nearly two
thousand people in the room, and
crowds were on the stairs and IN the
Railways and the local newspapers
said about six hundred people were
.urned away, because there could not
get within hearing distance of the
speaker. There were nearly as many
ladies present as men, and more than
half of those present were white. Mr..
Sheats introduced Mr.. Washington, and
said that if he were asked to name
the greatest white man in America.
and the one who had done the most for
humanity he would be unable to do so,
but that if he were called upon to
name the greatest Negro America has
produced, and the Negro who has done
most for humanity, irrespective of
color, he would name Booker T. Wash
ington; and the hearty applause, from
UOIn DIc1Ch anu "IIItO, Will HI1IS1 ills
statement was received, and the up
roarious welcome gwen Mr.. Washing
ton, when he arose to speak was all
that his most ardent admirer could
expect. l have heard Mr.. Washington
speak on several occasions, but as
listened to him On last Thursday night,
and saw how he swayed his audience,
and how completely he had them under
his control, l realized that l had never
fully appreciated his greatness. While
| have admired him for years, and We
have been friends since January 1898,
l have criticised him severely at times,
and / wish all of his critics could
have been with me in Gainesville and
heard his speech, and had seen with
what a mastery hand he handled those
Negro-hating Crackers" and heard
them applauding when he scored them
for their misdeeds, and l am sure that
none of them would ever again accuse
him CT being a good niger" which,
in my opinion, is the meaneSt thing a
Negro can be called; for there is no
human being for whom | have more
contempt, than a good niger" When
he finished speaking he could truly
have used Caesars famous message:
'Vini, vidi, vici," in acquainting his
friends with the result of his trip to
Tdln6SN1IlG. he SPOKE anu
thirty-five minutes, and when he finish
ed the applause was deafening. / wish
all the Negroes and whites in the
South could have heard the manly de-
fense he made for his race, and the
touching appeal he made to the whites,
to be fair and patient with the black
man. Enemies may criticise and news
papers may miSquOte him, but / am
positive that Gainesville will be a
II COL AMERICAN
better town for the Negroes to live in,
and that the relations VIII be more
cCrdia between the two races, as a re-
sut of Mr.. WashingtOnS speech; and
it is my honest opinion that the result
is the same wherever Mr.. Washing
ton speaks. On Friday morning, sew
eral prominent white citizens of
Gainesville, urged Mr.. Washington to
sfeak again tLat night, from the band
stand in the Court House Square, so
that more people could hear him. He
thanked them very kindly but declin-
ed to remain, and we left for Jackson
vile at 1: 80 p. m. One of the most
remarkable things about the whole
affair is, that Mr.. Sheats who invited
Mr.. Washington to Gainesville to
speak, has been all of his life one of
the most unreconStructed rebels in the
state, and supposed to be a Negro
hateF of the dppOeSt dVe but Mr. We