The national forum., 1910-07-23
VANITY AIR
ea@NssaNsNee%sN
CONDUCTED BY JOHN H. WILLS.

THE SITE FOR NORMAL SCHOOL NO.
The opposition to the Balloch prop
erty as n site for the new Normal School
No. was so strong and so just that
when the committee Of the colored pas
tors of Washington called upon Com
missioner Judson on Monday morning
last they received his promise to hold
the purchase of site for that school
off until autumn.
1t is believed by many that plot of
ground owned by Howard University,
situated near the reservoir, will be next
advocated as suitable for the new Nor
ma School No. 2. This location is spo-
ken of as IAN ideal spot" for the school.
1t may be ideal from purely archf
tectural point of view, if regasded as a
landscape adornment expressing pictur-
esque possibilities susceptible OF artistic
development, For practical educational
purposes, social, moral and hygenic use
fulness it simply won't do.
| do not know if this site will be pro-
posed and hope it will not, because all
the objections to the Balloch site are
strengthened if this site is to be CON
sidered, besides the filtration plant and
the stables thereto are added objection
ables.
COLONEL ROOSEVELT.
No one will deny that the Colonel is
the most distinct figure in our social
and political life today When | say
Social" don't mean those pink tea and
high handshake affairs, but social as
dealing with the thought and life of the
people. He is II man of vigorous mind
and body; he energies every action
controls all Faculties, puts all the power
of body and will into what he does. He
is positively and distinctively an Ameri-
can, produced by purely American in.
iluences.
Europeans have long criticised us as
being too forceful, too lavish in action
and speed too horid and vivid, inclined
to boastng and lacking in that modesty
which restraints and tempers power and
its use, Colonel Roosevelt possesses so
many eXcellencies it is but natural that
he may have u fault or so. One carping
critic says that the Colonel is a tin
soldier, toy colonel, who was unwilling
to submit to military discipline for the
few days he was in the army, but has
been imposing arbitrary rule ever since
upon his own people and others. 10 an
enthusiastic admirer this might seem
harsh.
Colonel Roosevelt has been fortunately
successful in the mastery of all the
things he undertook, except, perhaps,
milking COW. Circumstances and con
ditions have overcome to an extent many
of his obstacles and he has stood large
8in the light, Having returned from the
wids Of savage Africa, where he slew
& saany strange beasts, iforsNhat purposes
I cannot guess. the Colonel is seeking
a new labor worth his power We are
told that he will go west and then south.
would suggest that he go south first
A and tell those that dwell therein, many
of whom walk in darkness, what it is
to he alive in this twentieth century;
what it means to be an American; what
"a citizen of the United States should try
to be; what law and order are what the
constitution is, and that states who send
members to the Congress OF the United
States with total vote of 1000 as an
average including the opposition in that
number are not free cOmmonwealths, but
q horde of slaves, bound in tighter,
stronger chains than ever fastened an
unwilling African.
Here is u labor for Hercules, work
that must be done If Colonel Roosevelt
will do this, and he can do it, he will
surely place a shining capstone upon that
pillar of greatness his admirers build
for him and rise above the blame of his
harshest critic.
WHAT DID THEY SAY?
About a week ago there visite Oyster
Bay the following personages: John G.
Dancg, DR.. William d, Crum, lilies B.
Jackson and Harry s. Cummings, a high
ly interesting quartet, and perhaps it
was only social visit. but it is hard to
imagine that aggregation coming togeth-
er Just to pay an afternoon call. 1t
seems they asked Mr.. Roosevelt to visit
the Colored State Fair in Richmond in
October and tell the folks something
about conditions in Africa The Colonel
on Conditions in Virginia" would be
better than the Egypt speech
EVERYTHING THEIR OWN WAY.
The average congressional vote for a
member of the House of Representatives
of the United States is about 1000 in
the Southern States and about 10000 in
the North, East and West. 'rhere's a
reason"