The Topeka state journal., 1905-02-24
BROTHER GARDNER
he CoIored Race. Is Going Ahead Too
Fast.


MY frens." said Brother Gardner at
the meeting Of the Lime Kiln club the
other evening, Il has on two. or three
occashuns durin' de past var had sun
thin to say to you on de subject OF
gitin' ahead too fast, and am gwins
to speak of il agin. / wouldn't be doin'
my duty if I didn't. I don't want any
OF you to git de ideah dat don't want
de Guild man TO git along and injoy
hisself. What trubbles me am de fack
dat he is gittin' along altogether too
fast. It's de way he's plungin' dat
makes me fear fur his future
Il didn't dun throw out no words of
caution to you befo' Christmas. I made
up my mind to sit back and watch for
n mont er two, and I was hopeful dat
at least half O. you would display a
leetle common sense on de Occashun. To
say dat was disappointed don't half
express it. 1t was de cap-sheaf of a
var Of wild extravaganza. It was not
only so wild members of dis club, but
wild de Guild people in gineral all ober
de land.
when Christmas come not one-third
of de winter was gone. Oar was more
coal and wood to buy-more clothes and
shoes fur de chillen- Heah on my right
hand sits Brudder Samuel Shin, one of
de Oldest members of dis club. He was
month behind on his rent, and he
hadn't half ton Of coal in de house,
and de toes of his three chill en- was be-
ginnin' to peep frew der shoes. Brud-
QtI Su1n was alrnln dc munlncenI
wages Of seben dollars week, and
common sense would have told him to
go slow and lay out his money fur COM
nonsense things.
But re speerit was on him and he
plunged He managed to rake together
70 teen dollars. and he went and bought
his wife a gold watch. She hadn't a
decent pair of stockings to her feet
when she sot down TO eat her Christmas
breakfast and dar wasn't 'nuff of de
breakfast to go round No doubt she
was ttcxled to death as she thought
how she would swell around wild dat
watch, and no doubt Brudder Shin's
heart palpitated ticklin' away. but what
of de consequence Ten days later he
was ober to any cabin L. borrow Il DOL
lar TO buy bacon and meal. and most
of de time since Christmas his family
has bin libin' on one meal a day.
Look at de case of Brudder Fren-
Eied Finance White. He ar ingaiged
TO cull'd girl. and fur three months
money. I knowed he was and think
in it was to git married on, I Datted
him on the back. and wished we had
mo members like him On de day
Finance takes all his savins and buys
diamond ring fur dat gal O. his, and
shes wearin' it around now as she
peelS 'taters and fries onions in fam
'ly at TO dollars a week.
DE heart o Brudder Finance beat
high fur a few days, and den dat gal
told him to take a back seat. She had
found a Guild man who looked more
like Booker Washington. He axed fur
de ring, but he didn't git it, and he
had to pawn some Of his clothes to tide
him over. Brudder Finance was a fool
to begin wild and an ass to end up on,
and mebbe de lesson am one to do him
a bit of good.
de odder night Brudder Euclid
Green appeared at my cabin wild tears
in his eyes and his chin wobblin' and
told me dat his wife was sick his chill
dren hungry and de butcher threat |
enin' to sue him fur a bill. What he |
wanted was two dollars to help him |
out er de hole As I sot and looked 1
at him remembered dat on Christ
pie and had claret on de table. He /
blowed in 'leven dollars to help his /
wife cut swell and git to be leader /
Of de social swim in de fo'th ward
''No doubt he was happy as he sot |
dar at de head of de table and carved |
away at an old goose and imagined |
his wife leadin' de procession but you !
see dar was an after-clap to it. Dat !
old goose was eaten up and digested, !
and he hadn't money huff to buy
cheap bread. I watched his tears as
dey fell down and hit his shoes, and |
den I took him by de arm and led |
him out to de gate and gin him de
boot.
I'VE have a brudder named Con-
stantinople Scott He am a new mem |
ber. and de first time I looked at his |
back I made up my mind dat he had |
sense about him. 1 noticed dat he !