The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-12-20

rounded by more than sixty negroes,
at least more than twenty of them
men, and that without a thought OF
treaehery.S
reached home as stated above in
the night. and IL was Saturday night
at that, and when morning came my
yard was fun of negroes, just as anx-
lous TO see me as they could have
been had they been my own children.
and while 1 acted candidly with them
and told them they were no longer
my slaves and they were free to leave
and go where they pleased, without a
dissenting voice, every one said they
would remain ON the plantation and
were as ready to obey my orders as
they had ever been.
This was the condition all over the
south after the war, and but for the
outside meddling of fanatics who
knew nothing of the warm and true
friendship existing between the south
ern master and the southern slave,
there never would have developed the
gulf that now exists between the two
races in this beautiful southland OF
ours.
1t matters not now who was the
cause of this arrangement; we as
two peoples, whites and blacks, are
here together and must of necessity
so remain, and the whites as the rul-
ing and controlling race should do all
they can to make good citizens out of
our black neighbors.
Negroes have many good qualities
as any man who has ever lived among
them and has treated them fairly can
agree to. AS a race all win agree
that they are first-class laborers. My
idea is that our principal efforts in
dealing with this race should be along
lines tending to make them self-sup-
PORTING and our schools should, at
least all the large ones, have manual
training as one of the leading branch
es. believe this would ultimately re-
duce the number of the idle and VIC
iOus in our community.
Manual Training.
A few weeks ago l spent one day
in inspecting the schools of Columbus,
Ga. and I was most favorably i'm
pressed with the great manual train
ing or industrial school, as 1t is call
(while going through the grand
building and looking at the bright
school boys in their overalls work
ing at their benches, many of them do
ing work that when finished they
would not be ashamed of help revert
ing back to the plans of the Pensa-
cola High School evolved by that
true friend of the public schools and
many other advancements Of Pensa-
cola, Hon A. v. Clubbs vwho was for
a number of years chairman of cur
be ard of public. instruction.
The plans for the said Pensacola
High School building if completed lin
accord with the original plans, would
make an ideal building for inaugural
ing an industrial department allied
with and connected with the High
School. School, No. 2. on East Greg
Dry street, could also be converted
into a good primary Industrial school,
The present trend-of thought turns to
lines leading to the practical or best
side and as educators it would be
well for us to look closely into these
matters, and while myself am not
willing to lower the standard of the
academic work done in our schools,
still could we rot, as is done in Co
lum5us, Ca, add this industrial feat
ure TO our larger schools by adding
an ehour per daY<to the school day,
md in the main fSbuiahfns orr high
school. Saturday half-holiday could