The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1911-12-07
WHATS THE MATTER WI
CHART ,ESTON.
WITH

a local correspondent asks wha'
has become of the Cog City Business
League which was launched at Simp-
= son M. e. Church, some months ago,
with such bright prospects.
!" The Advocate, too, would like to
know what has become of this or
ganiZaton. Has it gone the way of
all the other previous attempts to
organize the forceful factors of the
race for mutual helpfulness?
1t begins to look as if it had. That
leads the query, whats the matter
with Charleston?' With by far the
largest Negro population of any city
: in the state, the greatest number
d Of children attending school, the
strongest church numerically, two
Z. race papers and many other agencies
which should make for united eC-
fort, Charleston is far behind some
! of the sister cities. She is sadly
lacking in constructive unity.
(, Here business enterprise con-
Quoted by a Negro, even a saloon, is
! cup against the real thing" If, as
I. soon as it begins to display a health
full growth, it does not create evl~
Gus competition, it is extremely
. lucky. The rule is to establish a
tempt show signs Of success 1t mat
tiers not whether there is sufficient
room for the two, whether sufficient
patronage can be secured by the two
to make both paying business.
Start the opposition and take
chances on both falling
And failure is the fate of most
business attempts in this city. II
they do not fail because the patron
age which would barely support one
has been divided between two, they
are compelled to close because their
patrons exceed their credit limit, and
then transfer their accounts else
where.
In Charleston there is one Of the
best appointed and stocked Negro
drug stores in the state If it re.
ceived one half of the consideration
from the public that it's worth de-
mands, it could double the number
OF its employees, who, it might be
said In passing, have had no addi-
tons since the opening day.
Adjoining this drug store is
grocery, and that, too, is we'll
stocked, clean and offers@the most
polite attention. Yet, it, like the
drug store, has to depend largely
upon the white trade for mainte-
nance Still there are those among
us eternally complaining because
there are no openings, outside Of
domestic service for the graduates
or our schools. Their plant would
be really laughable if the situation
We're net SO to be Ditied.
w Openings indeed! How can there
be openings for Negro boys and Ne
gro girls if they are not created by
the race, if the man or men who risk
their money in business enterprises
are not supported by the race. The
white merchants are certainly not
going to employ Negro clerks, their
limit is the porter. The wav to make
these openings is plain, the trouble
IS to get most Of us to see it,
Here is where the public school
teachers and the preachers might
increase their usefulness. More fire.
quent talks from them to their schol-
ars and congregations on race build
ing by cooperation would work won
ders in this community. If they
and other forces for uplift would dis
play less selfishness, unite and give
their support to every elevating
movement, they could command
more assistance in their undertake
ings
The matter with Charleston is
that the spirit of "every man for
himself, the Good Lord for us all
and the devil take the hindmost'
prevails. Under such conditions no
business league nor any other Or
ganization for united effort, except
ing a lodge can live