The colored American., 1903-12-05


criticising the course of Booker T.
Washington.
If you will excuse the personal refer
ence given, want to say that am
colored merchant and have lived in
Montgomery practically all my life,
and if you wish to find out about my
business standing and character l
can refer you to any of the banks in
the city of Montgomery. I have not
only taken an interest in my business,
where l employ six colored clerks,
but l have also taken an interest in
the public affairs of the state and IN
everything that would tend to advance
the interests of the colored people. l
am now one of the bondsmen in the
case of a colored man who has appeal
ed his case to the United States Su-
preme Court because he was disfran-
chised through the operation of the
new constitution. We have sent up
to the United States Supreme Court
three cases looking towards annulling
the present constitution, and 1 have
contributed and taken an active inter
est in all three of these cases. |
states this only to have you know that
[ am interested in the political life
of our people as well as in the business
and educational life.
1 have known Mr. Washington init
mately and Of his work for practic-
ally twenty years, and there are
few things which I ought to say for
the benefit of those who perhaps do
not understand the work he has done
and is doing, as we here in Alabama
understand it.
In the first place, you who reside
in the North say that you have no
problems in that section of the coun-
try and that the only problem that
exists regarding the Negro is the one
in the Southern States. Granting
that this is true for the basis of our
argument, is it not fact, then, that
since your desire is only to help us
that we should be consulted, and is
it not a further fact that we are most
likely to know more about our condi-
tion and needs than those residing
a thousand miles away from usi If
this would seem to be true, you can
only find out about our actual condi-
tion and our actual needs by keeping
in close touch and sympathy with
the leading colored men of the South
l do not believe you can help us
very much by misrepresentation our
leading men. I feel perfectly aware
of the fact that there is a certain class
of colOred people who will never for
give Mr.. Washington for having done
something instead of spending his
time in mere talk as to what he meant
to do. The majority of our leaders
have spent their lives in mere talk,
when they died the race was little
better off than it was before. In the
case of Mr.. Washington, he has al
ready built monument in the shape
OF an institution having over a million
dollars worth of property and has sent
thousands Of educated men and wom-
EN- to help the race.
Mr.. Washington is different from
the most of the leaders of our race in
that he remains here with us in the
South. Many of the men whom we
have elevated at the risk of our lives
to positions of honor and trust have
moved out of the South as soon as
they reaped all the honors that we
could beStow upon them and now re-
side in Northern States, or in the
District of Columbia. Mr. Washing
ton remains with us and bears what
ever burdens we have to bear.
Another thing for which we feel
sure some of the so-called leaders
will not forgive Mr.. Washington was
his ability in securing the single gift
of 100000 for his institution and for
the benefit of the race. Many of us
he fol%