The Washington bee., 1910-10-08
DR.. WASHINGTON
SEES LONDON.
Mr.. John Burns Acts as Guide-What
Impressed Him.

Impressed Him.
(From the Daily Chronicle, London,
England)
1T was the happiest and most inter
esting day have ever spent IN my
life"
In these words DR.. Booker T
Washington described his experiences
in the company of Mr.. John Burns
yesterday. The mission which has
brought Mr. Washington to Europe
is one in which the President of the
Local Government Board can afford
him valuable assistance, SO far as
London is concerned The condition
Of the people, problems of housing,
wages and hours of work come within
the scope of his inquiry, and it was
with alacrity that Mr.. Washington
accepted the invitation to meet Mr.
Burns at the offices of the Local Gov
ernment Board.
Il was gratifed to receive Mr..
Burns invitation" said Mr. Washing
ton to a Daily Chronicle representa-
tive, because, in the first place, l was
intensely interested in the man. | had
read about him, but he is a bigger man
than | thought He is big in his sim
plIcity. He took me to the place
where he worked as lad for a dollar
Ia week, Prices Candle Factory 1t
is a big jump from that to President
of the Local Government Board at
S25,OO year, and sometimes, when a
man rises from the class he was born
into, and gets into a high and impor-
tant position, there is feeling of jeal-
.ousy amongst the people he lived and
worked amongst in his days of strug
gle.
4 was intensely interested to note,
however, that nothing of that feeling
was shown wherever we went. We
got to the candle factory just as the
men were leaving for the day, and
several of them cheered him, and call
ed out, 'HullO, Johnnie / was glad
to see that, and Mr.. Burns was pleas
ed; it showed a good spirit"
Battersea Park was visited, and Mr..
Washington was much impressed with
the rural charm of that great pleas
Iaunce in the heart of London. Then
he saw some of the poorer parts Of
Battersea, and also some model dwell
ings of the County Council.
Il wanted to see some of the work
OF housing reform, in which | under
stand Mr. Burns has been a leader"
said Mr.. Washington. What I saw
was a revelation to me- | saw how
the people were living in the poorer
quarters, and how they lived under
the new conditions. The change is
marvellous. 1t is not only a change
in the kind of houses the people live
in, but in the lives of the people. You
can see 1t in their faces, in their gen
eral appearance. They seem a differ
ent class of people altogether; it is a
wonderful instance of the effect of
environment upon the lives of people.
| could hardly have believed that
housing reform could accomplish so
much"
Before making his instructive trip
with the President of the Local Gov
ernment Board, Mr. Washington visit
ed the Thames Police Court in COM
pany with DR.. Park and Mr.. ]. Har-
ris, secretary of the Anti-Slavery and
/ AbOrigines Protection Society. Here
again he learned much that was useful
and interesting. Most of the prisoners
were seafaring men, and the charges
against them were those of the usual,
drunk and disorderly" kind.
What impressed me most" he said
was the leniency Of the magistrate.
He was much more lenient than any
Judge would have been either in the
North or in the Southern States in
dealing with the same cases of of
fences. In great many cases he sim
! ply gave the offenders a little lecture
and told them not to come before him
again, or he would have to be more
severe. In America they would have
been fined or imprisoned"
In the evening Mr.. Washington
dined with the Haytian Minister. To-
day he will make another trip of in
vestigation, and will leave for Scotland
in the evening.