The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1912-08-09
The Call for the Skill
full Negro.

\
stand scrutinizing inspection from
corps Of teachers and workers sent
around for that purpose. There must
be no dust in the room, no waste
paper or sOiled clothing must be
found lying around. And above all,
his own clothing must be not fine
and expensive, but free from grease
spots and with buttons on where
they ought to be. Then there is the
call to prayer-meeting, the march to
church to listen to sermon and to
rare choir and orchestra, thence to
Sunday-school, thence to dinner and
then a quiet Sabbath rest for a while
Once more the bell calls. There is
three o'clock prayer-meeting. A band
concert, given by band that has
elected applause we'll nigh the coun-
try over, lasts until supper.
In the evening comes the real
treat, There is the brilliant and in
MIGRATING chapel talk by BookerLT
Washington, and there is the ad-
dress by some distinguished person
of whom the student has heard much,
but whom he had never dreamed of
seeing. His day thus closes, having
been filled with inspiration which no
classroom could give. Above all, un-
awares, he has been receiving just
the sort of training which the pres
ent day is demanding. He has had
his lesson in punctuality, in decency
of appearance, in table manners, in
keeping clean surroungings, in plac-
ing value upon time, even upon the
day of rest And finally he has not
only been temporarily inspired, but
has had drilled into him the reli-
glOus habit, the habit of church-go-
ing, of prayer service and worship
Oh the Sabbath day. Multiply this
day by several hundred days and you
get culture, religion, character, in a
word, you get man; not perfect of
course, but tending towards the
tandard the world is now daily erect
ing for the educated Negro.
Learning to handle napkin, to
dress properly, to clean room, are
in themselves culture and education,
hut they do not comprehend all that
the man in the world has to know.
What are these activities of the stu
dent himself? Where does the stu
dent with special ability find an out
let? Suppose we can sing, speak,
draw, play on a piano, play on a
stringed instrument. Suppose he is
an athlete, plays foot ball baseball
and the like, must all this talent be
impressed into a trade and into the
routine of regular duties? Not so.
Not only is the student encouraged in
the direction in which he has gifts,
bnt in many instances he receives
pay for so using his talent. Many
penniless boys and girls have earned
a large part Of their board paid for
| learning their trades and gotten
their academic training through ia
lent of this kind. For the student
who can speak, declaim, write es-
says, debate, or who wishes to ac-
uuire skill in any of these directions
there are open to him ten different
literary societies. These societies
stress different points in general lit
erary culture so that one may elect
to enter the one which stands for the
sort of thing he can do or wishes to
do. If, for example, a student is in
terested in agriculture, there is the
Natural History Debating Club,
(which, while in debate like other
literary societies, places stress on
agricultural discussions. There is
the Careful Builders Club for the
younger boys who are Just starting,
which stresses good manly conduct;
Liberty Debating Club, emphasizing
pure debate. On the girls side
there are the Phillis Wheatley, the
Acme Club, the Little Woman and
the Temperance Society, some laying
stress on reading, others on discus.
sion and others on general social i'm
provements,
A merry time it is when these
clubs clash in debate; when Liberty
debates Natural History, and the
/ Acme girls, who furnish the enter.
tainment, sit back and applaud: or
when the small boys, Careful Build
ers, with Little Women as their
sympathizors, cross swords in argu.
nent with the Stokes Ministers
/ Union, sort Of grown mems club
being the club to which the Bible
workers in Phelps Hall belong.
Andrew Carnegie classed the music
of Tuskegee Institute choir as the
most beautiful in the world. This
music is furnished by those students
who have talent to sing. They are
taught music, trained to sing and
then paid so much per month to dc
this singing. So it is again with the
Institute band and the Institute or
chestra. Boys with but faint idea
of music but anxious to learn to
play on some instrument are furnish
ed the instrument, given instruction