The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-05


 up the grade. behind them the nine coaches of the Ogden Special
 Waiting at the platform where the train finally came to stop was War ren Logan. the treasurer Of the insti- tute. The first man to alight from the car was Robert C.. Ogden. He was at once greeted warmly by the treasurer. Behind him In single file came the other members of the party. Andrew Carnegie. in Scotch plaid; Secretary William H. Taft with rotund figure. wearing a tall shiny hat; President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard Univer- sity; Lyman Abbott. preacher and edi- tor. these and others followed. until the entire ninety seven who came on the trip from New York had debarked.
 Washington Makes Speech.
 At the chapel where the exercises had been carried on. the audience filled the seating capacity of the building to It's full extent. The address of well come from Booker Washington had been postponed until evening. but other speakers on the program had already spoken and after the demonstration at their arrival. the exercises were con- tinued after an interruption lasting only a few minutes.
 A few minutes after the arrival of the visitors, Dr. Washington. who had until that time acted as chairman of the exercises. in a neat speech intro- duced MT. ogden and surrendered the gavel into his hands. The President of Trustees, after the prolonged ap- plause which greeted his assumption of the chairmanship introduced Secretary Taft, whose speech was the feature of the first days session.
 The speech of the Secretary was based upon the 18th, 14th and 18th amendments to the Consultation. and the opportunities offered py them to the negroes. He took the stand that the existence of two races in the South Is an actual condition. problem which must be solved.
 The negroes are here in this coun- try" he said. 'and are bound to con- tinue to be a part of this country. It is our duty and our interest to see that he has the opportunity to become useful citizen in place of a drone. and drag on the country" He stated that the reward of industry of the negro will come through his business and in- dustrial improvement. and concluded with an eulogy on the work done by Booker Washington.
 MT. Tafts speech in part follows:
 Speech of Secretary Taft.
 Ladies and Gentlemen: This great seat of useful learning was founded twenty-five years ago to elevate race. No topic would be appropriate on such an occasion as this which did not relate to its welfare and future. Care should be taken in discussing the issues which the subjects l propose suggest, lest one may uselessly stir up seriously affected the welfare of the whole South. I shall hope to avoid this as much as possible. dealing only with ing to place the blame for the evils that have had to be met.
 The thirteenth amendment, which abolishes slavery, needs but little dis of freedom, but 1t left four or five mill lion of people, not per cent of whom could read or write, and all of whom had been dependent upon others for In the world. Enactment and enforce ment of this amendment was. of course, essential to the progress of the negro. South a system of servitude for debt has been creeping into vogue, but the decision of your own able and upright Judge Jones of the Federal Court and of the highest tribual of this country that peonage may be reached and sup pressed by the enforcement of Federal penal statutes. has made its continu- ance an impossibility.
 The Fourteenth Amendment secured to the negro the equal protection of the laws of the State in which he lived and due process of law in any deprivation S State law. This is the amendment which, second to his emancipation. has become the most important in his deyel- opment.
 In PrimevsI Mans Condition.
 With the lack of providence and with little understanding of the rights of property, we find the negro after his emancipation in much the condition elevation that the premeval man was. The many movements to confer on the negro the higher academic and lit erary education which were inaugu- adapted to securing the proper founda- ton for the upbuilding of the race. The homlier virtues must be instilled in people before they are ready to receive scientific education. or can make the best use of 1t. The opportunity of the negro lay first In the skill of his hands n tiller a90tS of tSe sn soil and, second. in his capacity to save from his earnings suf- ficient to enable him to accumulate capital to buy land and establish his forts he would encounter little If any opposition from the Southern whites.
 When the struggle of the negro for ing on. there. was grown to manhood leader of his people, who saw more clearly than the rest of his race that the negro could be one of the greatest 
 South If only he could be led into hab- its of industry and saving. If Hamp- ton school had never done anything but graduate Booker T. Washington, it would have justified its. existence. He saw clearly that the only hope of his race was economic independence. and he projected in his mind the estab- lishment of an institution in which there should be combined in proper proportion the mental education and the education of the hand.
 Booker T. Washington with the three thousand graduates of this institution they ay afs have spId iesrned here 'I among Is his people in all parts of the South glo- riously vindicates his marvellous fore sight He has put himself in posi- evangel and enforce the truths he ut
 Outlook Not Hopeless.
 It now Is the habit of many con races in the southern States, to shake their heads anu say that the negro problem Is far. far from solution and the future in this respect Is dark. Plans have, been suggested of a mi country where they would live by themse elves and grow up by themselves and lave a rociety hy themselves, and create a nation by themselyes. sTeh negro has no desire to go and the men of the South would seriously ob ject to his going. It makes no differ ence how the negro came. here. it and objectionable the amalgamation of the two races may be; 1t makes no difference how impossible r. may be for them to come t' -Hther socially: as a part of our people. and are bo"rd to cont ue to be a part of our peo- pie.