The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-17
!. Educator, 81 the Negro.

Editor Of Tho 1inles-D ispach: 4.
K sir--1 have read with Interest your
editotial Ut February 2lJt on Edit location y.
& Of the Negro" and also the opinion OF
educators III Richmond city on the same y
7, subject. and as this 10 q question OF
great Importance to the Whole county 9f;s,
would It not BIO well to extend the 70 si I,
diiry to the taxpayers for instance
is that great body Of toilers the farmers,
Of which the writer Is al, humble repre-.
sentative, And II you will THUS Q xtend the
inquiry and give space In you rnl VA pic
4 f,tIpsri for the answer you Will p find hat
Z tharo IA d ainrse class that have stood
silently BY paying over this money each
year, and kecrlyE observant OF the resul te.
Z hoping, praying that their money nus
been judiclo,lsly Invested, and Iwhitirg
for the long deferred good effects II, 70
como. Have their HOPES been realizsnd1
Nearly forty years gone what results.
we Will sec. While there Is much on which
all can agree In the articles above mem
toned. yet the idea seemingly pervades
them all that the Wish is father to the
I thought While Mr.. Tox's article Is,
headed "Tbe Facts Speak. :" they speak
in such m inaudiblc whisper az SCARCELY
70 BIO heard. Facts are what gwo want,
facts Invested OF sentiment. We can all
ngree that tho negro is here 70 stay, ana
anything that will make him q better
citizen Is a contamination deyoutly TO pc
wished for we can agree with The Times.
Dispatch that education OF the negro.
~ or the fright sort Is as good for him
5 for the white man. but there Is n
whole heap IN that right sort" That ls
an III" that you can drive q SIX horse
wagon through. Is he getting the right
sort OF education? Is no getting educated
+ 10 work? Has he improved m ornll How
do his mnnners compare with slavery
times? Ny old nurse, whom no children
called Nanny, use to say: Child man.
ners will k'yar anybody thro' dc world. Il
All! alas! but those manners are sadly
deficient in The educated product OF to-
day. But let's come out with the main
question. Arc We making a. better citizen
= OF the negro2 Is the consensus OF opin-
ion, that the education he Is getting Is
making more useful clifton or him IN
tho community II SO, in what respect?
I'VE have mentioned his manners. How
about his moral training? Truly one OF
your writer's says the home fs the best
school for the formation Of character.
Yes there is tho place the morals should
be trained; there at his mothers knee
he should learn trnthfulness. honesty
& and that moral restraint that should
equip him for his place as a citizen, and
gall OF his other schooling. with this left
out, Is but sounding brass or a ttnklinS
cymbal." Does no get that schooling?s
Sadlyiwe must answer, no. is the edu-
Gated negro more Industrious? Just tho
reverse Is the general opinion all over
Underwater Virginia. He Is the last one to-
whom one would apply to have WORK
done. No, he Is above that: he Is educated
and he thinks his brains must now earn
him a living instead OF his muscle. The
result Is he Is an anomaly In he body
polite; the english langua ge Is cmbarrass-
4 ed in defining him, but as near as can
be expected he Is e. mixture OF nearly
everything that goes TO make up a dis
satisfied and undesirable citizen. What
doSour educators expect to evolve out OF
Z tho negro? Are you going to make q
gentleman OF him Arc y you going to
mako a professional man OF him? In
short, what arc the avenues OF life that
arc open to thu rank and nle? Is there
an opening for him as banker, broker.
merchant. lawyer. doctor. sdrurrm or, clerk,
in any Of your stores, agents for1 any
reliable company Would he be patro-
nlzed OF course there arc Isolated cases
whore he may have made a success in
some of these callings. You may make
school teacher OF him. but they can't all
he school teachers. One Of your writer's
says I'VE must judge by the finished pro-
5d1lct' Yes, say one in every 900. but how
about the other 3sa? DR.. Mitchell. one OF
your writer's, compares them to an Eng
Iish Queen 300 years ago. Does the Dostor
expect to get the same results educating
the negro as educating the Anglo Sa1ton?
This is a gratuitous insult TO the Anglo
saxon The Anglo-Saaons worked out his
own salvation. aud the negro has got to
do the same. let him begin-the home is
the place to start; by his fireside 1t him
IL @t,yy Jra, -I,ak i, ~ ~ hv
do your writer's bring lip Japan and China
81 an object lesson Of what the negro
will do. rather look at santo. Domingo
and Hayti? What Is the use in quoting
Socrates, Napoleon, Jefferson? The ex-
pertinent for forty years is being tried
right under our eyes. Why not quote the
Ablo Puryear, OF Richmond College. In his
powerful trca tment OF this question; true
to-day as when 1t was written. or clse>
quote Prof. Dabney OF tho University OF
Virginia in his able articles At the time