Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-03

Migrants. In reply to his questions num-
Der of reports were received from different
educational institutions on this subject.
Thought Has Changed.
DR.. Pollard of Selma, who had already
reported, supplemented his former state
ment with the thought that in the early
educational work among the negroes the
idea in the race was to get an education
so that 1t would not be necessary to work
but that in recent years the entire thought
had changed and that the idea now was to
get an education in order that work could
be found. Such institutions as Tuskegee
had sounded the keynote, and that note
had spread marvelously, so that the race
was rapidly learning to glory in work and
to be only DESTROYS Of an education in or
der to know how to do the work efficiently.
It was reported from Fisk University that
none of its graduates had ever been con-
victed of crime. Mr.. Gilbert Of Payne
College said that $40 students had been
graduated from his college and that the
first criminal among them was yet to ap-
pear. He said that in the south there were
shown by statistics to be 1871 criminals to
100000 of population. as against 1913 in
New England and 800 in the west Crime,
he argued, does not increase as education
increases Talladega College reported that
1t had never heard of a graduate of the
college being arrested. The same report
was made from Atlanta University and
Spellman Seminary.
An interesting report was received from
q lady connected with the colored settle
ments in New York. She said that there
were doubtless many negro Migrants, but
not near as many as was generally SUD-
posed In the colored districts in New
York hundreds of colored men could be
seen during the day. but large proportion
of these men were not idle, but were hard
workers, the point being that their work
waQ al h0nrS or pi0
Scope Of the Discussion.
This will give some idea Of the scope of
the discussion, although many other
thoughts were brought out Gambling as q
root Of vagrancy was discussed, the need
to make the homes more attractive in Or
der to keep the boys at home was argued
and a plan in force in one community was
described by which the adults in an entire
village had entered into a solemn covenant
by which they agreed to stand for every
thing tending toward the best life of the
children and to allow nothing detrimental
to them.
Too much emphasis cannot be placed in
any description OF this conferehce on the
earnestness that pervaded the whole gath
ering, because earnestness in acknowledge
ing problems and endeavoring to find soli-
tons seems to me to be the marked and
ruling spirit of Tuskegee and Of all the
meetings held at Tuskegee. That this ear
nestness is having its effect and that it
pervades every colored man who comes
here as a student or as visitor 20 one of
these conferences was brought character
isticaily to light by an incidental state
ment made by Mr.. Washington today. He
said that In all the time that these con-
ferences had been drawing thousands Of
colored men to Tuskegee and during The
twenty years that the commencement ex-
ercises at the institute had seen the gather
ing Of double the number that met at the
conferences he had never seen drunken
man ON the grounds Of the institute and
had rarely seen colored man smoking on
the grounds So far as this conference Is
concerned, know that his statement is
true, and It shows an earnest respect for
the institute and for what It stands. q