The Columbus journal., 1909-05-12


After he had Gained their fears that the college
might not be open after all the president left
them ard set out to get, and get quickly some
OF the thlngS That were most needed. The people
who lived near the college responded literally
The president returned with jug of molasses
and IA loaves of bread. and went back to get lit
tie stove which was the first contribution that
was offered him in the first house he went TO-
This stove. round. barrel-shaped galvanized iron
affalr, Is Still preserved, and treasured though
it is no longer used. They built a fire, for the
evening was chill. and seated on the floor the
college president, his wife and the students ate
their bread and molasses and were undiscouraged
That was the beginning-the first lesson that
President Lovinggood, who since has become the
Booker Washington of the southwest-had in the
great art of begging. Every college president
from the biggest universities down to the hum
blest has to be an accomplished beggar. The
more money he can get for his college the bigger
man he is in the educational world and the better
fitted to head a university. By what he has &C
complished since Lovinggood has shown that he
possesses in truly remarkable degree this great
est OF all the necessary arts-One that stands
higher than any in the curriculum-the art of
begging.
When the college president and his pupils got
up the next morning they found that during the
night some yandals had amused themselves by
breaking bottles of ink against the walls of
the building and defacing them. Windows had
been broken and the whole place looked even
more desolate than it had at first. But Loving
good was undaunted He set about getting at
once the things he needed most. He begged
pennies and nickels and dimes from the negro
population Of Austin. He organized one social
after another to get the furniture that was re-
CURED The second evening there was chair
social" People desiring TO attend had to bring
a chair as a ticket of admission. The college
got 81 chairs in this way. ssheet and pillow
case entertainment" dish social" laundry
equipment fair" and lot of other entertainments
TO get the supplies they needed followed with the
shortest of intervals between. Temporary rooms
for dining hall and kitchen were prepared Aged
colored washerwOmen came with bedding and
made beds ready for students with their own
hands
Saturday after Saturday" says President Low
inggoOd. these women came each with their
small earnings tied in a little piece Of cloth, di-
Nided them with the school. knelt with me and
prayed for the school and went their way Week
after week an aged colored laborer. Richard
Woods. came and gave Of his meager earnings.
He still comes, and his gifts have amounted al
ready to more than $3.50"
Such is the history of the beginning of the
Samuel Huston college at Austin. Tex.-a school
for negro youths. To-day 5l7 students live and
study in group of handsome buildings. Eleven
years ago there was neither school nor scholars
only the land and the foundation walls. Loving
goods ability and indomitable courage have
wrought the change. 1t is history Of hardship.
He has done even more than to build up a college.
His successful solution CT the race problem in the
center of a cotton section larger than New Eng
land. where the coored population is more than
million, is printed on every letter and every bit