The Washington bee., 1910-07-16
PAST AND PRESENT.

PAST AND PRESENT.
The prominence attained. home
and abroad, by the colored schools
III the District of Columbia when
under Cook and Montgomery has.
under their successor. passed into
oblivion. The schools when under
the gentlemen named kept the
white schools, so to speak. on
terms of friendship. The monthly
reports from both white and col
Ored schools were read at the
school board meeting and printed
IN The Bee and other papers, and
1t was a matter of pride and con
graduation that in such school es-
senIals as per cent. Of attendance.
reduction in cases of tardiness.
and corporal punishment, the
cOlored schools made better
showing than the whites. In
the special studies of music
and drawing, the coIored schools
far outclassed the whites. In
the matter of drawing. Prof.
Hunster revolutionized the entire
school methods of exhibits when
he departed from the one room
show" and utilized an entire
(Sumner) building by placing on
exhibition work from pupils in the
first grade to the High School.
inclusive. The pace was too fast.
for the whites, and he has main
tanned 1t. The specimens of GEN
eral school work by the pupils, to-
gether with large Photographic
copies of the then prominent
school buildings, to wit: Sumner.
Lincoln and John F. Cook. with
the teachers, pupils, etc. of each
massed in front of the building.
aggregatIng about two thousand
persons; also, a magnificent auto
graph album. containing the
names of teachers and the then
COlored school trustees, were
among the valuable things sent
from the colOred school,, to the |
Worlds Fair In London. The ex-
hIbIt attracted such general atten- !
ton that request was made and |
granted by the school board |
for their permanent retention in
London. The cost for payment of
the photographs was, as in cases
OF procuring pianos for school
buildings, procured by the chill
dren giving concerts in their
school room and charging 10 cents
admission.
The nucleus of the present
school library was obtained
through a concert given by the
pupils at the Sumner Building
the admission fee being Il book
by which means several hundred
books were secured, and the libra
ry was located and remained for
years in that building. The col
ored schools have the distinguish
ed honor of being the first in the
District to have the personal pres
ence of a President of the United
States at a graduation exercise.
President Hayes attended and pre-
sented at Sumner Building the /
certificates to the graduates of the /
High School. President Arthur
did like honor to the graduates of
the Normal School at Lincoln
Hall, now Academy. President
Arthur was so pleased with his
reception by the large audience
and the ladylike department of
the graduating class that he not /
only cOmplimented the Principal. {
Miss Briggs but remained so
long that it was past ten o'clock {
before he left to keep a similar en-
for the white schools at !
he Congregational Church Pres [
dent Cleveland was the last. but | |
not the least of the Nations Ex-
'cutlveS to attest by their pres G
nee encouragement to the negro
chOol children. Mr.. Cleveland
vas present at the Joint closing eX-
rcises Of the Normal and High IN
chools, held at the Metropolitan t
hurch. and remained throughout t
he entire evening. This NAV. like t
GPtlOn of the HpadmaCtar's 20 n
ort. be ancient history. but is re "
,Oduced to show that the colored "