The Washington bee., 1907-03-16

There IS no mystery about their love
for these yearly gatherings and eager
ness to be present at them. The con-
ferences have changed life-the whole
face of the world and look Of the future
for hundreds on hundreds of the Ne
gro farmers Men who, when they first
saw Iuskegee didn't own an acre and
lived in One-rOom cabins now own large,
proft-yielding farms, have comfortable
home, are putting money in the bank
and growing in self-respect and self
reliance from one year to another. The
conference is their conference-of, for,
and by them, to quUre again Abraham
Lincoln's Gettysburg speech-and they
enjoy every minute of it. No meeting
could be freer or more informal; farmer
after farmer gets up, tells what he has
done on his farm and is planning to do,
relates any special experiences that have
come his way during the year, and re-
ports on the general condition of things
in his neighborhood. The wives of the
farmers are heard frOm-they tell about
their kitchen gardens, poultry yards, and
so on. Principal Washington, as father
of the conference, IS privileged of course.
Without his opening address the confer
ence would not be itself Except in ex-
.ceptional cases, the other school princi-
pals, the teachers, all the visitors who
do not farm for a living, just look on
and listen.
In this years opening address Prin-
cipal Washington preached the gospel
of honesty, industry, thrift, cleanliness
and all-around goodness, with his accus-
toned vigor. Here's one of the things
he said:
ANY black man who IS worth his
salt can build decent house-can raise
a respectable family-can secure all of
the work that he wishes-can educate his
children-can have freedom Of religious
worship-can secure and maintain the
respect and confidence of his neighbors,
Of both races. But we must not be sat
ished with what we have achieved in the
past We mu continue to go forward"
Here's anOt r:
More and more, as race of people,
we must learn to draw the line between
the moral and the immoral; between
the good and the bad; and we must set
the standard of life among our own peo-
pie high, and let them understand that
we feel ourselves ashamed to associate
with idlers and criminals. We must use
our influence wherever possible to get
rid Of the large idle class that hang
about the street corners and dens of
misery in our large cities.
Every year the Negro farmers, at the
close of their Conference, adopt and set
forth a series of declarations; very
practical these always are, and it's
very practical man who writes them.
The fifth declaration" this year runs
thus:
.es between the races, has been one of
anxiety to many Of us, we are cheered
and comforted by the evidences that we
frequently see around US that our friends
among the white people, cooperating
with the leaders among our people, are
determined more in the future than in
the past to prevent such outbursts. In
order to cooperate with the forces of
law and order in our several communi-
ties, we urge upon our leaders and
teachers that they earnestly seek in ev-
cry way to reduce the number of idlers
and vagrants of our race, especially in
the cities"
Yesterday, when the farmers had dis
persed to their farms, the school princi-
pals, teachers and visitors specially in
terested in school work, gathered in
Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall for
their yearly Tuskegee conference. The
report of what they did there has not
yet come to hand, but it seems quite
certain that suggestion just made-and
very earnestly urged-by Ex-Governor
Jelks of Alabama must have engaged
their attention. Principal Washington
declared war long ago against the itln-
Grant, immoral Negro teachers. The ex-
Governor tells the instructed young
white men of the South that the time
has come when, in the interest of their
own race, they must put prejudice behind
them and volunteer to teach the Negro
children in the public schools-Hartford
Courant
PROGRESS OF AFRO-AMERICANS
IN LABORING CIRCLES.
The Annual Report of the Interna-
tional Laborers' Union, with Headquar