The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-01-14

not even know how to make bows ana
| arrows. and clothes for themselves out OF
skins. They did not wear any clothes.
They were. brought here in slave-ships. and
| put into gangs in the rice and cotton
fields. All that has been done for them
| is to teach them to wear some sort OF
clothes, to handle q hoe, and enough Eng
flish to understand orders. You see that
| you must begin much farther back with
| those poor people than by just teaching
| them the catechism, to read and write, and
| to vote the straight ticket. Those are all
very well, but athey must come as the
Isuperstructure upon foundation teaching to
| be real men and women, as we understand
manhood and womanhood to mean"
Maria and Annabel looked doubtful, but
| ST said:
Il believe understand You've talked
this to us before. What's your present
plany'
"a number of the members of the Mis-
| sionary Board believe as do, and with
| them are several benevolent gentlemen
| who will supply the modest amount of
money l shall need to carry on my work.
l propose to devote the rest of my life to
| raising up those people,
You'd better come out West with u.s.
said Si. There are the finest oportuni-
ties in the world out there for clergymen,
and Pap has a lot of friends all over
Injianny, so that he could help you get a
start almost anywhere you'd like to locate.
You could build up fine church in few
years, and have everything very pleasant"
Otterbein Kramer shook his head.
mo. Not at all. have had very many
good offers, but refused them all. Some
of them were for well-establshed churches.
Then it was proposed that, as | preferred
| missionary work. enter the field in China
or Hindustan, but / said that | preferred
hand, and among q people who had my
deepest sympathieS."
where are you going to locate?"
Somewhere in the country over whicl
we came. Probably little nearer the
seacoast / am going to seek the most
abject and benighted community of
negroes | can fnd-the ones nearest the
conditions of the wilds of Africa. There
must be in South Carolina thousands who
were actually born in Africa. You know
the slave trade actually continued up un-
til the beginning of the war. A South
Carolina Representative actually boosted
on the floor of Congress that he had on his
plantation slaves brought directly from
Africa-'the noblest Romans of them all
he called them. The profits of the BUSH
ness were so enormous that there was no
stopping it. A negro could be bought
in Africa for from $40 to $40: and brought
over here for a few dollars more, and sold
for from $3.50 to $3.50, where Virginia and
Maryland negroes We're bringing from
81 900 to $1,000"
les, SO I've heafu. 1nen, WnaI 60
| ing to be your campaign
"Well, I'm going to build church and
sehooEhOuSe first. I've money enough for
| that. BY their side IN set up shops to
teach the negroes all the common trades.
The first step in all morality is to teach
Ia man to do with his hands some one
thing conscientiously and we'll. The pri-
mary meaning of right is straight The
best way to begin any ones character
building is by getting him to pillow a fur
row, or build a wall, or saw a board
straight. From things that he can see you
can teach him things he can not see. IL
can train q lot of good carpenters, black
smiths bricklayers, stonemasons, coopers.
ishoemakeFs. tailOrs. tanners, painters, and
skilful farmers, shall have done all the
good hope for. l shall make them real
| men, self-respecting, aud respected by ev-
penter. AT one time or another everybody
has need Of him. Nobody has much use
for tonguey, noisy politician. They only
vote for him because they dislike the 9TH
er fellow worse. 1 am going right into
the midst of my people, and live their low
shall gather them in church and Sun
day School, and teach them holiness as
well as | can. On the other days / am
going to work by their side in the shops
and the fields, teaching them BY precept
and example that there is. happiness,
y .
| in doing faithfully and well the humblest
tasks"
you mean to say that you are going
to lay off all this clerical raiment. and work
alongside of those confrabands ut what
ever they do?' asked 81. s.
II most assuredly am-at least ON week
days. In the sight of my Maker I'm not
a bit better than they. Not SO good, in
fact, fer have not used to the fullest the
talents he has given me. They think that
work is a curse. All evil inflicted upon them
by slavery. am going to teach them that
Iit is a privilege, JOY, and that idleness is
a curse and burden am going to
| teach them that work is a privilege and
| joy, BY ayailing myself of the privilege,
and taking joy in doing well whatever
my hand finds to do
/ As he spoke he warmed MP with his
theme. and his fine, clear face became.
rndiaiit with the spirit burning within
him, like lamp shining through alabas
ter. s
The girls more quickly sympathetic than