Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-20

marks. and everybody here tells me that
he practices what he breaches. Every
body knows him and respects him. He
has occupied the pulpit of the colored
Presbyterian church in this city for more
than thirty years. He was born in an
adjoining county, educated in the common
schools. and was prepared for the minis
try at Howard University at Washington.
He is unpretentiouS. Woodworking,
plain spoken shepherd of flock of some
800 souls. and has wide influence in this
community.
Progress of the Negro.
The colored people of this city are inn
proving slowly. in material. moral
and intellectual sense continued Rev.
Mr.. Johnson. They have better schools.
better teachers and longer terms than
formerly. and the schools are better at
tended by the cOlored children than they
used to be- But we ought to have a law
that will compel parents to send their
children to school and truant officers to
see that the law is obeyed. There has
been a great improvement in the city
schools during the last five or six years.
and in some parts of the country where
the condition of the schools depends en-
trely upon local influences and the eff
ficienCy of the school superintendent and
interest taken in them by the school
boards. Where the white people want
good SCHOOLS Tor the cOiOreQ people tDey
are generally provided
The material progress of the colored
people in this city and vicinity is fairly
good. Wages have improved; more of our
working men are saving their money and
buying homes with it. More of them are
opening accounts in the savings banks
and patronizing the building and loan
associations to secure help to build cabins.
When colored man gets his lot paid
for he doesn't find any trouble in borrow
ing enough money 10 build house. The
ma jority of the mechanics in COlumbi
are colored the carpenters. masons.
bricklayers and such trades. but they
do not work much in the factories. Sew
eral colOred men in this city are well-to-
do and have considerable property.
The country people are improving
quite as rapidly. and those who are thrift
ty and industrious and do not waste their
money have no trouble III buying little
farms on liberal terms and they are able
to pay for them out OF their crops In IN
stallments If YOU will look up the fig
ures i'm the census | think you will find
that the number of negroes operating
farms in South Carolina is increasing ev
cry year-both the owners and the crop
pers. those who work land on shares.
DO the colored people take any share
in politics."
NO. they don't bother much about poll
tics; they have been compelled To keep
out and from some aspects their DIS
do not waste so much time as formerly
in attending political meetings, running
for office. discussing politics and working
on committees. They are not distracted
that way any more and are able to give
all their time to their own business. which.
of course. is good thing for colorcd as
well as for white people"
What is your solution of the colorcd
problem" I asked.
Industrial Education.
Il believe that industrial education is
the only way to advance the colored
people of this country. They must be
taught to be good farmers and good me-
chanics and to save their money and buy
homes and land and make other invest
ments They must show those qualities
which command respect for those who
possess them. whether they be white or
black. and then, when they are worthy
of il. they will have right to ask for
political recognition and official houors
an. will exercise the influence to which
they are entitled. | don't see any differ
g nc" between the races in those respects.
and I believe that the white people
ami the world at large will give
every colored man all the credit he
is entitled to and all the respect and
honOrs he deserves when he earns
them But long a negro drifts
and Ioafs and remains in ignorant idle
confidence of community or to exercise
an influence or to receive better treatment
than he deserves. When he settles down
and does his duty toward the world. and
adds his share to the wealth of the com
munity and pays his share of the taxes
and sets good example to his fellow
men. then he has right to be consulted
That's what | am preaching to my people
to make themselves worthy of respect
and confidence and then they will get
ii. and nn1 lie fore.
"A coored boy or Il colored girl has
every chance Of getting an industrial edu-
cation in South Carolina There are eX-
celent schools here in this town and in
other parts of the state which Will teach
them trades and agriculture and enough
book learning to answer their purposes
Some of these schools are supported by
the colored people themselves One of
the best is dependent entirely upon tuition
fees: others receive financial assistance
from the state and from the north. They
do not give so complete an education as
Tuskegee and Hampton. but any boy who
wants To learn how to make the best use
of his time and his abilities and how to
be a useful honest citizen learn /,
in one of those schools. at a nominal eX-
pense. by working for his board
Few Negro Paupers.
Brother Johnson's views are ndorsed by
several other prominent colored men here
with whom have had the opportunity of
speaking and his advice is being ac-
cepted by thousands of young members
of his race. The coored industrial
schools to which he refers are doing Il
great deal of good for the Improvement
of the coming generation by fitting both
the young men and the young women
to make better use of their abilities and to
get larger reward for their labors. The
official statistics confirm what he says
about the material improvement of the
repro noDula ton They Show that there.