The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-05-11
THE BOOK ABOUT
GEN. ARMSTRONG


4 dav page & co. Washington: VIM,
Banantyne & Sons)
II has been claimed that Gen. arm
strong did more TO bring about the
Transformation of the negro and the In
dian into useful American citizens than
any other one man. Mrs. Talbot's book
describes her fathers methods, his en-
deavors and his success. His monu-
ment is Hampton institute, which has
been a more potent factor than many
imagine in bringing the north and SOUTH
into friendlier relations than those pre-
yailing at the close Of the war. THIS
week at the anniversary exercises OF
the institute the proceedings were par
ticipated in by Gov. Montague of Vir-
ginia ard Bishop Lawrence of Massa-
chusetts, members of the Virginia CO.
operative educational commission and
prominent New England educators.
Mrs. Talbots story of her fathers
life is not only an entertaining narra-
tive. but a source of announcement or
high endeavor In founding Hampton
Institute General Armstrong had high
ideals and well defined plans. He lived
to see his ideals attained and his plans
For twenty years, from 1870
to 1880, he had a practically continuous
struggle; he encountered innumerable
obstacles cheerfully, almost gaily, and
he never despaired. Unlike many an
other fighter he never had his times OF
depression when the fight hardly seem
ed worth waging. While ais an educator
General Armstrong held high rank,
it is as builder of character that ne
will be long remembered. Booker I.
Washington, principal of Tuskegee In
stitute, was a student at Hampton In
stitute in it's earlier years, and, as Mrs.
Talbot says. received the baptism OF
General Armstrong; spirit, and has
since his graduation carried on SINH
lar work He has written for Mrs. Tai
bots book his estimate Of General Arm
strong's task, which is worth quoting.
He says:
"As I have often heard him explain
his theory of industrial education-both
to me personally and to the school
when 7 was a student at Hampton. /
think I might state his objects briefly
as follows:
4lEirst He YVES anxious to give the
coIcred people an idea of the dignity,
the beauty and civilizing power of in
telligent labor with the hands. He was
of the fact that he was deal
ing with a race that had little necessity
to labor in its native land before conn
ing to America, and after coming to
this country was forced to labor for $50
years under circumstances that We're
not calculated to make the race fond of
hard work.
second. 1T was his object to teach
the negro to lift labor out of drudgery
and toll by putting thought and skill
into it.
Third. He saw that through the
medium of industrial education he could
bring the two races in the south into
closer relations with each other He
knew that in other matters there We're
differences which it would take years
to change, but he knew that industrial
Iy the interests of the two races were
Identical in the south, and that as soon
as he could prove to a southern white
man that an educated skilled negro
workman was of more value to the COM
than an ignorant, Sn1IlleSS one,
the southern white man would take an
interest in the education OF the black
boy.
Fourth. Through the industrial sys-
tenn at the Hampton Institute it was
his object to give the students an OPP
portunity to work out a portion of their
boarding expenses. In this way he
meant to prevent. the school becoming
a hotffouse for producing students with
no power of self-heIp or independence.
I have often heard him say that the
mere effort which the student put forth
through the industries at Hampton to
help himself was of the greatest value
to the student, whether the labor itself
was of much value or not. In a word,
he meant to use the industries as a
means of building characterize teach
that all forms of labor were honorable
and all forms of idleness a Disgrace
In closing his estimate. Prof. Wash
ington remarks: TT is seldom in my
opinion that one individual has had the
opportunity through a single idea to
revolutionize the educational thought
and activity of so large a proportion
of the world as has been true of the
founder of Hampton