The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1912-09-12

LUIS Ioom ne muSl .clean, SpOtleSSly,
for at another given signal, he ana
his room NUT stand scrutinizing In
spection from a 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 SER
mon and to rare choir and orchestra
music, thence to Sunday school, thence
to dinner and then a quiet Sabbath
rest for a while. Once more the belt
calls. There is three o'clock prayer
meeting. A band concert, given by a
band that has ELECTED applause well
nigh the country over lasts until
supper. d
In the evening comes the real treat.
There is the brilliant and invigorating
chapel talk by Booker T. Washington.
and there rs the address by some dis
tinguished person Of whom the STU
dent has heard much, but whom 1e
mad never dreamed Of seeing His
day thus closes, having been filled with
inspiration which no class room could
give. Above all, unawares he has
been receiving just the sort of training
which the present day is demanding.
He has had his lessen in punctualtty.
In decency Of appearance, In table
manners, in keeping clean SUI round
tngs, in placing a value upon time,
even upon the day Of rest. And final
ly he has not only been temporarily
inspired but has had drilled into him
the religious habit, the habit Of churca
going, of prayer service and Worship
on the Sabbath day. Multiply this bv
several hundred days and you get cul-
ture, religion, character, in a word you
get man; not perfect of course, but
tending towards the standard the
world is now daily erecting for the
educated Negro.
Learning to handle a napkin, to
dress properly, to clean a room. are
IN themselves culture and education.
but they do mot comprehend all that
the man in the world has to know
What are these activities Of thu stu
dent himself? Where does tho STU
dent with special ability find an out
let? Suppose he can sing, speak
draw, play on a piano, play on a
str1nged instrument. Suppose he is
an athlete, plays football, baseball and
the like, must all this talent be i'm
pressed into trade and into the roll
tine of regular duties. Not so Not
only is the student encouraged in the
direction in which he has gifts, but in
many instances he receives pay for SO
using his talent Many penniless boys
and girls have earned a. large Fart of
their board, paid for. lear: :ng their
trades and gotten their academic
training through talent of this kind.
For the student who can speak, de-
claim, write essays, debate or VINO
washes to acquire skill in any Of
these directions there are open to him
ten different literary societies. These
societies stress different points il gen.
eral literary culture so that che NAV
elect to enter the one which stands
for the sort of thing he can do or
wishes to do. If, for example, a stu
dent is interested in agriculture, there
ms the Natural History DEBATING Club
Whlch while it debates. like other lit
erary societies, places stress Cd ayr
cultural discussions. There is the
Careful Builders Club for the young-
er boys, who are just starting. which
stresses good manly conduct; Liberty
Debating Club, emphasizing pure de-
bate. On the girls side there are the
Phyllis Wheatley, the Acme Club, The
Little Women and the Temperance
Society, some laying stress on read
ing, others on discussion and others on
general social Improvement.
merry time it is when these clubs
CLASH in debate; when Liberty debates
Natural History, and the Acme girls,
who furnish the entertainment, sit
pack and applaud; or when the small
boys, Careful Builders, with Little
Women as their sympathizers, cross
swords in argument with the Stokes
Ministers Union sort Of grown
mems club-being the club to which
the Bible workers in Phelps Hall be-
long.