Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-05
What the Whites Have Done.

what the Whites Have Done.
Il cannot give you the entire white
population of the west coast of Africa"
SAID Sir John Rodger in reply to an in
curry, but you can get the figures from
the government reports. l can only say
that there are about ], 500 whites under my
jurisdiction on the Gold Coast, which
stretches for $50 miles along the Gulf of
Guinea, and L presume the proportion is
the same In the other colonies. The whites
carry on the commerce, supervise the
plantations and the mines and administer
the government. They live comfortably
by adapting themselves to the conditions
OF the climate, but are not SO well lodged
as in India the Straits Settlements,
for the reason that they do not remain
so long. Everybody who goes to West
Africa expects to stay only a little while.
Two years is about the limit that a man
can stand it. | was out fourteen months
the first time. then five months and then
thirteen months, which is about as long
as it is safe for a white man to stay. We
have frequent communication with Eu-
rope. There are four lines of steamers
guese."
What have the English done for the
country?" asked
We'll, we have done a good deal for
Ashanti and the Gold Coast, as you may
judge by the fact that our expenditures
in 1909 were $5,0S0,JJ0 and in 1903 they
were So, IA. 430-all for internal improve
ments. schools and for the promotion
of agriculture and mining The estimated
expenditures for 1898 according to the
budget, will be $35G1 $50 | am over here
for the purpose of investigating your sys-
TENS of education among the colored peo-
pie, particularly industrial education and
your methods of sanitation against tropi-
cal diseases that may be of benefit to our
people. l am going to Hampton to seerthe
school there, and | hope to get to Tuske-
gee and from there will go to Cuba and
Panama. That is the main object of my
visit
Benefit of Industrial Schools.
1--WE are giving our people industrial
schools. We are teaching them how to
take better care of themselves. The
sanitary conditions of all the principal
centers of population have been improved,
but much still remains to be done in the
way of drainage. water supply and the
more effective destruction of mosquitoes.
We have hospitals. an insane asylum and
a medical research institute. We have
elementary schools and are teaching
agriculture and. the, trades. We think
that is the best way of developing the
negroes. They have a certain Legree of
mechanical skill. and ingenuity and some
of them show remarkable taste" and Sir
John showed me ring and a pin made in
quite artistic.
While we are just beginning and have
only raw material to deal with, the peo-
pie are showing a desire to improve
themselves. and they realize the advan-
tages of Improvement The real object
of our system of education is to train
the character to instill in the minds of
the negroes the principles of honesty,
truth, industry and economy. We make
the study of hygiene compulsory. be-
cause the natives are very reckless con-
corning their health. We begin with the
children and through them reach the
parents, and | am sure that the next gen.
GRAFTON will show the results of our eff
forts
Several natives have been educated in
Europe. We have several native doctors
and ministers of ability. Two members
OF the council are natives and both are
very good men. One of them, a full
blooded negro; is barrister, educated in
England; the other. who has little
white blood in his veins, is a man of high
character and is very much trusted by