The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-31
BOOKtR'S WORDS
TO n. c, NEGROES
Train Yourselves to be Good
Workmen His Keynote.
THREE THOUSAND LISTEN
EDUCATIONAL Day Of Negro fair-..Sig Process.
sion and Reviewed. Numb:r of
Prominent White Folks
Went Out,

Booker T. Washington, of Tuskegee,
was the browning feature of the negro
fair yesterday, educational day He spoke
in Exhibition Hall to a crowd OF nearly
three thousand people, of whom some $50
OF 200 were white folks. Among these
latter were several of the ministers o.,
i the city. leading educators, lawyers, ply
slcians, business men. and number CT
ladies'
The well known negro spoke for an hour
and a quarter, amid hearty, almost tu
multuous applause from his colored
hearers, who packed the western end Of
the hall usually devoted to the exhibits
Of farm machinery and buggies and car
riages. The entire space in front of the
speakers stand, which was at the north
ern side of the building, was packed clear
through the southern doors, and on both
sides every available space was occupied.
The speech was an intensely practical
one, appealing directly TO the common
sense of his hearers. The language IVES
clear, simple and direct The man spoke
feed his fund of humor annie, ana
his anecdotes apt and we'll told.
He arrived in the city by the early
train yesterday morning, and was enter
tanned by Ed. Johnson, of this city. AZ
about 1870 he was escorted TO the
grounds by the chief marshal and aides
OF the Fair. the officers of the associa-
ton, and long procession composed OF
college students, school children, and Sc
cieties. headed by the New Bern Band.
Arrived at the grounds, Booker Wash
ington reviewed the parade and then all
went into the hall, where the program
OF the day was proceeded with. There
were several speakers to precede the ora
tor OF the day, and it was nearly two
O'Clock before Booker T. Washington arose
the platform.
He is light in color, nearly as light as
the quadroon, wears no beard OF any
kind, hair cropped close, has the broad
fat nose OF the African, a large pron,,-
nent mouth. with lips not as thick as
the usual negro type, head and face large
and massive. For the rest he is rather
below medium height. but heavily and
strongly built Altogether the general as
pect of the man is that of strength rather
than intellectually.
The keynote of his whole address was:
The negro must be trained to make
good workman.
In the course of his opening remarks,
the speaker said. talking of the great
question of solving the negro problem,
that ne remembered some years ago wner
600 negroes sailed from Savannah, Ga,
TO settle in Liberia. Here. thought some,
las - pI1t rpxNt
that on that very morning before break
fast 600 more negroes were born QaugE-
ter and applause). Then it had been sug-
gested that a certain territory be Sc;
apart for the negroes. The trouble auc
that was that they would have to build
wall around that territory to keep the
negroes in, and five walls to keep the
white race out. The white man had al
ways gone where the negro was. They
were content in Africa, but the white
man went there, and there was a negro
problem. He had been asked to go to
South Africa and look into the condltlo
oil the negro race there. The white maY
has gene there and Immediately there
was a negro problem.
A friend mad said to him short time
ago that the negro race would be Absorb.
gradually by the white race. But he had
noticed that wherever there was a drop
Of negro blood in a man he was a negro
1t took one hundred per cent OF Anglo
Saxon blood to make a white man, bit
one per cent Of negro blood makes black
man. So the black race would seem t.
be the stronger of the two.
Then others had said that medical sta
tistics showed that the negro race was
gradually passing away, and that after
a lapse of time there would be no negro
problem to solve. But historical facts,
with their story of rapid increase, make
any such solution as that impossible. The
black was not going to just lie down arc
die politely, and so end all the trouble
and dispute.
No, we might just as we'll face tic
facts as they are and make up our
minds to the inevitable fact that tho
two races were going to stay here side