Evening star., 1909-05-26
WARDAUMN|MEET
Future of the Negro Race Text
of Speakers.
TAFT TO GIVE DIPLOMAS
President Also to Lay Library Cor.
ner Stone This Afternoon.
BANQUET TO CLOSE EXERCISES
Plans Made at Business Session to
Raise Funds for Gymnasium.
New Secretary.

| New Secretary.
| Words Of hope and encouragement for
the future of the negro race were heard
this morning by the alumni Of Howard
University. who gathered In the univer-
sity chapel for their annual meeting. The
speakers were Representative ]. Van
| Vechten Olcott OF the fifteenth New York
| congressional district and DR.. j. r. Wild
| err Of this city, himself an aumnus of
| Howard.
| The addresses were preceded by short
| business session, at which 1t was deter
| mined to raise by subscription from the
| Howard alumni $4,000 for the $4,000
| needed to erect a gymnasium at the uni
| versity. This matter is in charge Of a
committee OF fifteen alumni. of which
/ Prof ]. Kelly Miller is chairman and
! Robert a. Pelham is secretary.
| The alumni were entertained at lunch
con by the university at 1 o'clock. The
commencement week exercises will be
brought to a close tonight with an alum
! nj banquet, which will be served in Miner
Hall. This afternoon at o'clock Presf-
dent Taft will deliver the diplomas to me
graduating classes and later will lay the
| corner stone OF the new Carnegie Ii
| brary.
| This mornings session was presided
over by Prof. Miller. dean of the
| college of sciences, who is president Of
| the Alumni Association. With him on the
| platform were President Thirkield. Rep
| resentative Olcott. DR.. Wilder and Prof.
| w. v. Tunnelle of the history school.
| who was recently appointed a member Of
| the District board Of education.
Representative olcott's Address.
In introducing Representative Olcott
| Prof. Miller said he represented a con-
gressional district that contained large
| number Of colored voters, and that he had
always proven himself friend Of the
! race.
cation at the opportunity afforded him to-
| day to get into close touch with the alum
| nj of Howard University. His district, he
| said. contained $500 colored voters, many
men in the country. He was sorry to
have to say. he added, that among that
$500 there were also some Of the worst
colored people in New York.
For in my district said Mr.. Olcott.
| lis situated what is known as San Juan
HILL which is close to the gashouse dis
| trict. largely populated by Irish. 1t fire.
| quently happens that a small colored boy
and small Irish boy get into a fight.
Their older brothers and sisters take 1t
| up and soon there is what is called a race
| riot, and the police reserves have to be
| called out to quell the disturbance"
Demands Fair Chance
Continuing. Mr.. Olcott condemned the
lynching of negroes and the attitude
which obtains on the part Of certain or
ganizations in the northern and western
states against negro laborers. The edu-
Gated negro. he declared. was not affected
hxy hoe Of 70
but the one without education who
wanted to be laborer but who was pre-
vented from getting work by the organi-
zations referred to suffered keenly
through such injustice.
1.-THE field of endeaYor on the part of
| the negro is rapidly narrowing" the New
York representative declared, land l sin
cerely want to assist in the work of let
ting down the bars for the negro skillel
laborer. The alumni of Howard Univer-
sity should help In this work also.
And. in this connection, I want to say
that it is the duty of you alumni of How
ard University to keep up the loyal
alumni spirit. Good college spirit is a
great thing, and rather think the Prince
ton alumni furnish the best example Of
all in this respect Why. | knew Prince
ton man in New York who every day
walked ten blocks out of his way to have
that boys father had worked for him
at Princeton. That is the kind Of alumni
loyalty that counts"
Representative Olcott said he wanted
the alumni. faculty and students of How
ard to know that as long as he remained
in Congress Howard would have a friend
there.
Howard's "Grapevine Telegraph"
I'VE are glad to have this opportunity
to know Representative Olcott so WE'LL"
said Prof. Miller, who followed IF he
will be as good a friend to Howard as
Howard will be to him we will make a
regular Damon and Pythias affair Of 1t.
And I should like to inform Mr.. OIcott
! now that we Howard alumni have a
| grapevine telegraph system that beats
wireless, and it shall be used to inform
Howard alumni in New York that we
want Mr. Olcott to remain in Congress as
| long as he lives
The keynote Of DR.. Wilder's speech was
| the necessity of close relationship be-
tween the alumni and the university His
remarks were full Of optimism for How
ard and its alumni and for the negro race
| as whole.
He spoke of the many obstacles th:t lay
in the way of the advancement of the
race and of the superb efforts that had
| been made by negroes, particularly grad
yates of Howard, to overcome them.
wherever the graduates Of Howard
University have gone." Dr. Wilder said,
"they have reflected credit on themselves
Il
whatever communities they have joined.
| Our alumni have distinguished themselves
| in the national government they have
served in the diplomatic service; they
have become successful lawyers, physi-
cians preachers, well as successful
missionaries. The efforts Of some of them
have resulted in wealth and the accumu-
lation of property. They have made them
selves and are making themselves part
| and parcel of the national life, have at
tanned and are attaining a position in
their country from which they can never
be dislodged and which, in time, will make
| them able to command the rights and
| privileges guaranteed them by the Con-
stitution.
''Isolated socially and politically their
success has not come easily. They have
| had to work hard and intelligently for
everything they have gained, but with
increasing wealth and education, with the
growing army of skilled labor they will
soon come into their own.
Opportunities in the South.
I'm the southland. where the genius of
| the Anglo-Saxon made him absolute ruler
the negro will one day reap his reward.
| The white men of the south are shrink
| ing into a small, select class, which will
| in the end make for the advantage OF the
negro. This will not come today, nor
will 1t come tomorrow, but eventually
the negro, through force of numbers and
his increased education and ability, will
become the possessor of the fair lands