The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-15
CLEVELAND ON THE NEGRO
Continued from First Page.]

ity Of the race, and they make no false pretense in regard to it. That this does not grow out of hatred of the negro is very plain. It seems to me that there is abundant sentiment and abundant behavior among the southern whites to- ward the negro to make us doubt the justice of charging this denial of social equality to prejudice, as we usually un- derstand the word. Perhaps it is born of something so much deeper and more imperious than prejudice as to amount to racial interest. Whatever it is, let us remember that it has condoned the negro's share in the humiliation and spoilation of the white men of the south during the saturnalia of reconstruction days, and has allowed kindly feeling for the negro to survive the time when the south was deluged by perilous flood of indiscriminate, unintelligent and blighting negro suffrage. What ever it is, let us try to be tolerant and considerate of the feelings and even the prejudice or racial instinct of our white fellow countrymen of the south, who in the solution of the negro problem must, amid their own surroundings, bear the heat of the day and stagger under the weight of the white mans burden.
 There are, however, other considera- tions related to this feature of the ne- gro question which may be regarded as more in keeping with the objects and purposes of this occasion. As friends of the negro, fully believing in the pos sibility of his improvement and ad- vancement and sincerely and confident ly laboring to that end, it is folly for us to ignore the importance of the un- grudging cooperation on the part of the white people of the south in this work. Labor as we will, those who do the lifting of the weight must be those who stand next to it. This co-opera- tion cannot be forced; nor can it be gained by gratuitously running counter to firmly fixed and tenaciously held southern ideas, or even prejudices. We are not brought to the point of doing or overlooking evil that good may come when we proceed upon the theory that before reaching the stage where we may be directly and practically con- fronted with the question of the negros full enjoyment of civic advantages, or even of all his political privileges, there are immediately before us and around us questions demanding our immediate care, and that in dealing effectively with these we can confidently rely upon i the encouragement and assistance of every thoughtful and patriotic citizen of the land-wherever he may live and whatever may be his ideas or predilec- tions concerning the more remote phases of the negro problem. These questions that are so immediately pressing have to do with the practical education of the negro and especially l with fitting him to compete with his white neighbors in gaining decent, re- spectable and remunerative livelihood. Booker Washington, in speaking of the conditions and needs of his race, has wisely said:
 "It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshad- ow our opportunities
 "In summing up the whole matter, | there is one thing of which we can be absolutely and unreservedly certain. 1 When we aid Tuskegee Institute and agencies like it. striving for the mental and manual education of the negro at the south, we are in every point of view rendering him the best possible service. | Whatever may be his ultimate destiny, we are thus helping to fit him for filling his place and bearing it's responsibili- ties. We are sowing well in the soil at the bottom of life the seeds of the black mans development and useful tness. These seeds will not die, but will sprout and grow; and if it be within 1 the wise purpose of God the hardened surface of no untoward sentiment or prejudice can prevent the bursting forth of the blade and plant of the ne- gro's appointed opportunity into the bright sunlight of cloudless day" At the conclusion of his address MT ICleveand introduced Edgar G. Murphy who made a short address.
 pr. Lyman Abbott, who followed said that the south deserved great credit fot taking up, as it had, an untried prop-
 lem, in helping the negro to help him. self.
 And the north" he said, "has given her scant credit. The south has giver the negro schools that the north has refused him, and done many other
 things towards his future that the north never thought of"
 Dr. Abbott next spoke of the grea'
 work of Booker T. Washington, anc
 praised him in the highest terms de claring that he had done as much fol the white race as for the colored. His work had really brought about tht sunion of the north and south in th'
 work that he had taken up as his lift
 task.
 Quoting a remark made by Henr
 Ward Beecher to the effect that W should make the negro worthy first an
 then give him suffrage Dr. Abbott said
 "We made the error of giving him sui
 frage first and the unfortunate negr
 has had to suffer ever since. What tn negro wants is education. Its his sal ! vation. It all depends upon educatio
 whether the negro will be shackle
 our feet or wings to our body
 W. H. Baldwin. jr, treasurer ot tn
 Tuskegee institute announced tha
 since the meeting had begun he ha ! received two telegrams, one announcin I a gift of $1O,000 from lady in Ohio, an
 the other a gift of $1, from lady an | gentleman in the south. He said tha
 $56, 900 had been needed to pay the in
 debtedness of the institute and tha
 taking the gifts into consideration ther
 was still a sum of $45OO0 needed fo
 which he made an urgent plea, as we
 as eor a further endowment sum.