Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-05-10
4 SPEECH DELAYED N the
MAKING
(BY G. G. BRoWN.)

| ferences held In Columbia, and, on
both occasions. was hindered by cir.
cumstarces beyond my control The
ideas ] had In my head last month
and upon which 1t would have been
my pleasure to speak, are possibly
not yet too stale for use. and hence
l am spreading them out In the col.
umns OF The Ploughman. | am not
posing as critic, but as friend OF
the people OF whom | write.
THE NEGRO AND INTEGRITY OF
CHARACTER
| The American Negro Is far ahead
of the people from whom he sprung
His bondage in the years gone was
like the light affiiction which work
eth for US more and more exceedingly
an eternal weight Of Tory" However
he is not yet ont of the woods by
long jump Be he takes a place
alongside of the foremost orders OF
men. he must have integrity of char
acter He must know how to trust
himself. to trust others, and to be
trusted This is a combination OF
virtues which thousands of white men
co not possess.
How character Is formed and
strengthened is one Of the problems
which all Of us cen discuss, but not
many of us can solve Neither relig
ion nor education seems to make
man all that he should be. while
there have been many men OF marked
integrity who had neither religion nor
education. How to form the highest
character is problem for universal
man. and the Negro must take his
place among the most diligent stu
dents Of the great subject. Character
Is what q man is, and reputation lie
what he is supposed to be- Until the
Negro has a character. and believes
In the integrity Of his own people who
have acquired the same. his efforts
along all civic and moral lines will be
greatly tampered and in great meas
ure powerless What can l do to
obtain integrity Of character" is the
question which should burn itself into
the brain Of the American Negro.
And. mark you. this character Is not
merely that which will influence other
men to trust him. but which will
make him strong In the consciousness
that he can trust himself, and ts never
afraid to have all his motives looked
into The secret and clandestine
methods Of the Negro have done
much to generate the distrust under
which he suffers.
THE NEGRO MAN AND THE
CHURCH.
The progress, growth and multiple
cation of negro churches Is one Of tie
marvels of the day. They build well.
and many Of them really seem
to build better than they know. and
above what they are supposed to be
able to do. But the fact remains that
the negro man, as distinct from the
negro woman, has largely cut loose
from the church. and his non.attend-
ance thereupon Is becoming more and
more marked. I'll venture that
census Of the attendance taken In
almost any town, Sunday after Sun
day, will reveal ten women to one
man sitting under the sound Of the
gospel. Why Is this? and where are
the men? A negro man In Beaufort,
, when quizzed him about this matter,
said he stayed away from church be-
cause the calls for money were too
frequent. He preferred to dishonor
God by staying away from the place
of worship on the Sabbath rather
the jeopardize the dime he carried
in his pocket. This is the excuse-it
Is not a reason-of but one man.
What would the masses Of men have
to say? cannot guess. ] only know
that the neglect Of worship by the
negro men is one OF the sore evils OF
the day. 1t is disease affecting the
churches, and the pastors who are not
out in search Of remedy are neglect
ing one OF the highest pastoral func-
tons. The cry among the white
church is that the men are not
doing for the support Of the church
what they should do. but We have not
vet come to the evil day when our
audiences show ten women to one
man.
ABUSE OF THE SABBATH.
| No man has a saving knowledge OF
God who wilfully and wantonly abuses
the Sabbath day. The great reform
that will awake the negroes to right
eousness ia one that will teach them
the evil Of eating. sleeping, loafing
and drinking on the Sabbath day.
True, it is a day of rest. and God will
not hold him guilty who observes the
day as such. The six days Of hard
labor may incline one to rest his tired
limbs when Sunday comes; but the
man robs God who takes the whole
day for himself, and gives no part OF
1t to the worship and service of his
Creator. Nothing that man gives
to God can excuse him from giving
himself-a part of his thought and
] devotion-and hence a part OF his
time. To err in a matter like this Is
to err vitality and fundamentally
against the best interests Of the I'M
mortal soul.
THE 1MPRov1DENcE OF THE
| NEGRO.
The average negro needs broader
horizon and wider range Of vision.
He rarely ever looks beyond today.
and too often not beyond the next
meal. The result IL wasteful i'm
providence and a consequent poverty.
Very few negroes are trying to save
few dollars for the purchase Of a
home or a piece Of land. II he can
60 to bed contented and filled tonight,
he takes but little thought Of tomor-
row and ito needs. This shortsighted.
ness IL bringing many to q miserable