Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1911-09-22
NOTES Of NEGRO
BUSINESS lEAGUE
!. REPORTED ~ OLD HICKORY
- ~ TIE DALLAS EXPRESS.

!. REPORTED ~ OLD HICKORY
m THE DALLAS EXPRESS.
~ his address to The Negro Bust
..ss League, DR.. Washington said:
@The peculiar value Of this league,
Aowaver. II not in the size Of the ma
.,ona, organization nor in the number
n local leagues, but in the work and
,nsuence of the league In turning the
..tentiou OF members Of our race to
ne rich opportunity that Is right about
.bem In their own communities for in
dustrial and business growth. The
-alue of this league consists mainly
d the new spirit that 1t has put into
tha race-a spirit that turns the I'm
nossible to the possible, from that
wh,ch Is artificial and unstable to that
mich is natural and enduring.
"The National Negro Business
League, too, is unlike many other
examinations in the fact that it is
not a secret organization; it has no
.rips and passwords. and offers no
s,ck and death benefits. Nor is this
IN any sense political organization.
Yet me add, too, that the Business
League is not In opposition to any
ether organization that is meant to
help our race, but stands ready to
help and cooperate with all other
worthy organizations"
The foregoing paragraph sets forth
the reason for the existence and the
peculiar value Of the league. It can
he seen that as source of race in
spiration and confidence 1t has no
equal among organizations today.
And the reason Is plain: A Negro
Is inspired a great deal more by the
success of Negro than he is by the
success and achievements of the white
man. To the latter every avenue under
the sun is open. To the former nine
tenths of the galnful occupations are
closed. A white man or any man 9TH
er than Negro, may prepare himself
for position as bank cashier, book
keeper, commercial salesman or ex-
pert machinist and positions await his
acceptance. The Negro must go q
step further: after preparation comes
creation. He must create his bank.
his store or machine shop. The other
man has only to go out and conquer
worlds already existing, the Negro
can't do any conquerlng until he has
called worlds into existence. For this
reason l always feel like dofi1ng my
old hat to the man who has made
good in regions where his presence
not alone his success genuine
surprise. We like to hear or read the
story of Negroes who have stolen
the keys of sleeping destiny and made
the prophets le." To this class be-
long the men who told their story at
the Business League. Here follows
the stories of a few of them:
]. T. Walton of San Antonio. Tex,
read a paper on Personal Expert
ences as Contractor and Builder"
: which showed the wonderful work he
was doing on behalf of himself and
the colored race in the city of San
Antonio; that he was teaching them
to own their own homes. He said
that to date he had built 1876 homes
for colored people, and he himself
built thirty-three. all within three
years, and that he has In construction
eight more, to be completed August
LIST. That in the last three years he
has, with his assistants, built STA
0sS07 worth of homes for the colored
people, ranging in price from $325.00
to 100000, and that he has paid out
In those years $24,656.12 for labor, all
OF which was colored, with the excep-
ton Of timers, but he soon expected
to have colored timers. He said that
the bell-boys and BARRIERS were saw
Ing their money and buying lots and
starting homes, believing that the time
to marry was when they had their lot
and house started. Mr.. Walton gave
a concrete example of what the col
ored man can do, # energetic and has
faith in himself. ="
Mr.. Walton is his own architect
seIf-taught-and draws his plans and
specifications himself. He gives en-
ployment to twenty-five young men
who have studied their trades in
school. The men who are teaching
the boys and girls of the race how to
40, and the men who give them some
thing to do, are together making good
IN the matter Of race uplift. Among
the people for whom Mr.. Walton has
built homes are the parents of Monk
Gibson, the boy who was hanged for
the murder Of family some years
ago. No.
Mr.. Spencer Patterson Of st. Denis,
Miss. spoke on TRUCK Farming as a
Business Investment" and has I
truck farm Of 700 acres which he
rents, as 1t Is cheaper to rent than to
own. though he has land of his own.
ne raises peas, strawberries, toma-
toes, cabbage and corn, and gets a
good price for his products. In his
town they have a local business
league, composed of fifty men and
women; about thirty of the men have
farms. and the balance follow the pro-
LESSONS. At one time they were earn.
ing $3.50 day, btu through cooper
s.ion some Of them are worth from
$4,000 to $4,000.
y, Mr. Geo. Goadland Of Bloomington,
Ill., recounted the story OF his sue
cess IN Manufacturing Sanitary Oils
and Mops."
MS product goes by the very sug-