The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1909-07-08

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these bad traits and not the whole
race. More and more in the future
than III the past hope that the best
element Of white people will 60 into
the Negro schools, the churches and
places Of industry and see for them
selves something of the progress that
our people are making. :. "
ITO members OF my own race
want to advise them, wherever pos
sible, to use their influence in getting
rid Of the Negro loafer, the Negro
gambler and drunkard. No influence
goes further In putting us down, in
embtttering other people against us
than the influence exerted by the
Negro who does not work. Nowhere
In the country, In my opinion, Is
the Negro seeking to thrust himself
upon the white people from social
point Of view, neither are they seek
Ing to dominate the white man in
matters of government The Negro
Is seeking an opportunity to earn an
honest living and claims the protec-
ton Of the law under which he lives
and I ind that the more l see con-
dittons in the South, the more I am
convinced that the highest and best
type Of Southern people have made
up their mind that the Negro shall
be protected in all his fundamental
rights as an American citizen. .
"A short while ago, in October last,
I made a trip through the State of
Mississippi, and in March through the
State. Of South Carolina, in order to
see something of what is being done
by our people In the way of further
ing their. citizenship. / am glad to
tell you that was very greatly pleas
ed to make note of what they are do
ing. in all the directions that make
for their /, general uplift:< -.
g. :: II kl1oW sonnet thing OF the Difficult
ties B1ld the atfngsgles tha&. rsnaaple,
|, NOT 3 only IN the South but in the
North as well, have to meet, and I
can for that reason all the more ap-
precfate the suScess which you have
been able to win. Just so far as
you succeed in building up in all Of
these Southern communities an order
ly, thrifty, progressive Negro element
you will be able to convince the rest
of the world Of your ability to make
progress as race. Your example
as orderly, progressive citizens will
be copied by other members of our
race everywhere. There are at pres
emit between eight and nine millions
or our people in the Southern States.
A very large proportion of them are
here In the State Of Virginia. To a.
very large extent you have the future
IN your own hands. If your labor Is
honest, systematic, intelligent, you
Will prosper; the people around you
will prosper and the country will
prosper. If it IS Irregular dishon-
est, you and your neighbors in spite
Of the fertility, the natural richness
of the soil will lag behind the rest of
the world. We have, repeat; a great
responsibility In this respect. At the
present time the people Of our race
have practical monopoly of the Ia
Dor Of this part of the country, but
L wish to warn you that it will not all
ways be so. If we do not learn day
by day to work intelligently. more
systematically, II we do not make
up our minds here and now that we
VIII get aS much more out of the soil
both as laborers and as farmers than
any other race Of people is able to
get, the time will come when a more
progressive race will step in and
take our places. This applies not
only to you who are working as Ia
borers or as renters on the lands Of
others, 1t applies equally to you who
are buying lands which you work
Pou must be progressive. You must
make these lands produce inst Az
much as any other race can make
them produce. If you do not do this.
the time will come when you will
loose these lands. There is nothing
more true than this. No man can
squat on land and hold it permanent
ly unless he can make it produce all
or nearly all that it ought to pro-
duce
We have some advantages, my
friends, in. living in this Southland.
We also have some disadvantages
For some time before the Civil War
and for some years afterward when
this country was disturbed by agita-
ton and by contentious Of all kinds.
we did not know exactly what we
were to occupy politically, socially,
and economically here in the South
1t was pretty hard to get our people
to settle down and do work and make
the progress that great many peo-
pie think we should have made which
we hope and believe we can make
under proper conditions. In spite Of
these difficulties We have done well
But there is no reason why the Negro