The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-27
Declares President Roosevelt
in an Address.
CORNERSTONE LAYING
Of Building for the ColOred
Y. NJ. C. A.
He COmmends the Work of the
Association.


of President Roosevelt at the laying of
the cornerstone of the new home for
the colored Young Mems Christian as
sociation. made the event a most nota-
BILE one among the colored people of the
District of Columbia.
The president was the principal
speaker of the occasion. He appeared
at the site of the proposed 100000
building at Twelfth street between S.
and T. streets within few minutes of
the time set for the beginning of the
ceremonies. Twenty-Five thousand dol
lars of the money for the construction
of the building was given by John D.
Rockefeller the remainder of the cost
among the cOlored people in the dis
trict. The contractor has promised to
construct the buildings as nearly as
possible with colored labor.
The president spoke as follows:
The Y. NJ. C. A. has worked among
colored men for less than thirty years.
For number of reasons, for some
time after the work was begun very
little progres was made; indeed at first
curiously enough, the churches tended
to antagonfze the Y. NJ. c. A. But dur
Ing the last twenty years the Y. NJ. G.
A work among our cOlored fellow-citi-
zens has proceeded rapidly, and these
are the very twenty years in which the
colored race in America has made most
progress. The religious people, those
standing highest in the colored
churches, now appreciate, as they failed
to appreciate a quarter of a century
ago, that innocent sports and amuse-
ments should be encouraged and that
the poorest lesson to be taught to any
men of any race is that pleasure and
vice are synonymous terms.
It is noteworthy that of the 10000
colored men attending the colored col
leges of this country, half are active
members Of the Y. NJ. c. A. This
speaks well for the spirit of these COL
leges and gives us hope and encour-
agement for the character of the lead
ers of the colored race in the future.
Hundreds of young colored men are
every year being lured away from the
habit of decent living because they are
not supplied with the chance to go
where innocent and healthy amuse-
ments are provided in surroundings
that encourage education and morality.
There is possibly nothing needed worse
in all our cities and towns than we'll
organized Young Mems Christian asso-
Citations which shall stand for character
building in the three fold way in which
the Y. NJ. G. A. endeavors to do it's
work. 1t pays far better to support the
secretary of the 7. NJ. c. A. in a COM
munity than to pay the salary of
policeman.
As for the white man let him re-
member in this, as in all other mat
ters that to do justice to the colored
man is demanded not only by the in
terest of the colored man but by the
interest of the white man also. Soon
er or later in this community every
class of citizens will feel the effect of
the raising or degradation of any
other class. "All men up" is much |
safer motto than "some men down.
and it Is to the interest of every class
of any community that the members |
of every other class shall feel that in |
dustry, sobriety, good behavior. the |
Ir14A hot or-lre hafr7 7oSt
a good neighbor and a good citizen |
should receive a proper reward, so as
thereby to put a premium upon the |
development of such qualities. I am |
not speaking of social relations; I am |
speaking of equality of treatment be- |
fore the law of equality of opportun- |
fly to earn a living, of equality of op- |
portunity to earn the respect that |
should be accorded to the man who |
behaves decentIy. and is good neigh |
Dor and good citizen. There are plen- /
ty of difficult problems in this coun- |
try, plenty of problems requiring in |
finite patience, forbearance, and good |
Judgment If they are to be dealt with |
wisely and which can not by any pos
sibility receive even an approximate
ly complete solution within a short |
time. What is known as the race
problem is one of the most difficult |
and 1t exists in the north as we'll as
the south. But of one thing we can
rest assured and that is the only way
when there shall be even an approx
imately fair solution of the problem I
Is to treat each man on his merits as
q man. He should not be treated had
" because he happens to be of a Civ
en- color nor should he receive i'm
munity for misconduct because he
happens to be of a given color. Let |
US all strive, according to our ability
and as far as the conditions will per
NIT to secure to the man of one color
who behaves uprightly and honestly.
with thrift and with foresight +be
same opportunity for reward and for
living his life under the protection of
the law and without molestation hv /,
that would be his If he were
of another color.
The avenues Of employment should 4
be open to one as to the other; the
protection of the laws should he
guaranteed to one as to the other
Each should be given the right TO
prove by his life and work what his
is and should be judged ac-
cordingly Each is entitled to the re
ward which he legitimately earns ff
he behaves well; each should be
tiality If he behaves i'll. The same
fair treatment should be accorded |,
both and every effort made to give
equal opportunity to those of equal J.
capacity and character.
It is the duty of the white man to
see that exact Justice is meted out to
the colored man; the same Justice
that he would receive if he were not
colored: and upon the colored man is
Imposed the duty to make himself /
useful citizen, to so behave az to win /
the respect of his white neighbors
The performance of duty should be
the test applied to white man and Il
mMl@~aI /