The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-14
Urged to Save Money


 ''I am glad to see that the colored peo- pie have two banking institutions in the city of Birmingham. This is most praise- worthy and important It is not only necessary that our people have instilled into them proper methods of labor but equally important that they be taught through the church and the school 70 save a large proportion of what they earn. And let me add here that it will pay every white man and every white lady who employs colored labor to en- courage them to save part of what they earn. The colored people for the most part who do rot render satisfactory ser vice as laborers is the class that have nothing and want nothing. The class of colored people who cannot be depended upon as laborers for the most part are those who want such a little that they can supply these wants by working two or three days in the week. and when they have gotten enough money to supply their few wants. whether it is drink of whis- ky or a chew of tobacco, then they stop work and say what the dickens Is the use of working any longer. On the other hand, the colored man who owns house and wants to add another room to that house, who owns one dwelling and wants to buy another dwelling, or the colored woman who has s100 in the bank and wants to put s2o0 in the bank, is the in- divdaul who will work steadily for six or seven days in the week.
 Through education the wants of the negro must be multiplied if we expect him to become more satisfactory as a laborer Wherever people have little eductaior they do not give satisfaction as laborers because ignorance means that the indi- v.dual has few wants to be satisfied and these wants can be satisfied by working two or three days in the week and ther the individual ceases to work.
 "A gentleman residing in Birmingham who has mining interests in Mexico told me few days ago that the negro in Br- mingham IS a laborer was worth from three to four times as much as the Mex ican as a laborer. This meant that the negro in Birmingham had by contact witt the white man, through the influence oi the church. the Sunday school, and tn, day school had been educated to some ex. tent. had his wants increased above tho wants of the Mexican, consequently tho negro in Birmingham was more satisfac tory as a laborer than the Mexican. IT proportion as the coored people are edu cated everywhere. I repeat that they vii become more satisfactory as laborers. School Buildings
 "I am glad to see that you are erecting new school buildings for the housing o tlle cOOreu cnldren Tn thls city, ana am sure that our people appreciate every thing that is done for them in this re gard. To my own race in this county however, want to suggest that it is mos important that a large proportion of tho colored children be put into the public schools. I find that during the past schoo year while 8S per cent of the white chil dren in the county attended public schools, only 9 per cent of the coloret children in the county attended any pub liz school. This means ignorance ant ignorance means crime and crime mean. not only inefficiency but It means in thu last analysis heavy load for the com munlty and the state to carry. It ]. cheaper to educate than 1t is to punish. 'The main point which l want to urge upon my colored hearers is this: Begin ming from tonight, l want to urge thai every member of our race begin to save @ larger proportion of what he earns Too much in the past we have squandered our earnings, it has been thrown away for things which we could have done without. In many cdses we have worked hard all the week and then in few min utes on Saturday night the last dollar has