The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1913-10-03
EFFORT TO SAVE
OLD LANDMARK
Home Of Frederick Douglass
Under Heavy Mortgage.
URGENT APPEAL FOR FUNDS

Mansion Which Once Sheltered the u.
iustrious Champion of Freedom For
His People Neglected and Deeayed.
Quick Action Needed to Keep the
Property From Being Sold.
Washington.-Fifty years after our
freedom and thirteen years after the
death Of the man who more than any
single person contributed by his agita-
tion to our deliverance from bondage
the old home Of the late illustrious
Frederick Douglass rests under q
heavy mortgage. The old mansion,
with its furniture. books, papers, art
treasures and curios which were gath
cred by him. is fast going to decay,
and the fifteen acres of ground sur
rounding and belonging to the home
are but tangled mesh Of weeds and
rank growth Of vines. Located at the
top Of Cedar hill, overlooking the
beautiful Potomac river and the city
Of Washington, this home Is one Of the
picturesque spots in the District Of
Columbia. The home was bequeathed
to the race to be held and preserved,
with its contents and its land. as a
memorial to that gigantic figure who
braved the mobs before the war de-
claring that his race should and must
be freed.
To those who were wont to make q
pilgrimage out to Cedar hill and con-
verse with Mr.. Douglass when living
and who knew of the natural and man
made beauty Of the old estate it's
present decay. its almost total aban-
donment to neglect, is pathetic. 1t
suggests the question. HAS the race
reverence for those who zlahored aud
suffered in order that we might be
free"
If the property were put up at sale
today it would bring a big sum. for
Washington has grown up to and
around the Douglass home. and the
street cars in twenty minutes will
take one from the home to the White
House or to the national capitol. Un-
less the heavy mortgage under which
the home rests is lifted soon the prop
erty, the books. papers. furniture and
art treasurers which were once the
pride Of Mr.. Douglass and which took
a lifetime to gather may pass into the
hands Of another race.
1t would be lasting disgrace were
this race Of 100000 beings fifty
years after the achieving Of their lib
erty. which boasts Of $700.OOO.O00
wealth. to permit this home to pass
from 1t. and the spot which ought to
be forever preserved as mecca and a
shrine to which the Negroes of the
country might 60 and honor the mem
ory of its once great owner be desc
Grated by the impious hand Of Nam
mon.
An effort is now being put forth to
raise sufficient money to pay off the
mortgage and to put the home and
grounds In rpair and make them a
monument to the name and fame Of
Mr.. Douglass and place Of reverence,
the same as the home of George Wash
ington at Mount Vernon Ia preserved
by the white people Of this country.
1t is figured out that If every Negro
but contributed 10 cents a fund would
be raised sufficient to pay of the mort
gage. restore the house to its former
beauty. endow the grounds with a
wealth of beauty and make Of it at.
ting memorial to the late Frederick
Douglass.
The property now belongs to our peo-
pie. 1t will not be theirs long, how
ever. II the mortgage is not soon lifted.
The trustees Of the home are A. Fl.
Grimke. Rev. r. J Grimke, DR.. J. e.
Moorland and Whitfield McKinlay of
Washington, Professor w. ii. Grog-
man Of Atlanta. Ga, and Rev. e. A.
Clark Of Louisville. KY. Ralph w.
Tyler Of Washington. former auditor
for the navy and now national organ
izer for the National Negro Business
league. has been placed in charge of
campaign to raise money to pay Off the
mortgage. To save his home to the
race to whom 1t was bequeathed as a
legacy is the effort being made For
100000 Of people to permit this old
home to pass into the hands of the i'm
pious would be lasting disgrace.
Those Negroes who possess race
pride. reverence and respect for the
memory and labors of Mr.. Douglass
and wish to contribute to the fund be
ing raised to save 1t may communicate
with Mr.. Tyler at 92S Il street ". W.,
Washington. Every child as well as
every adult ought to feel it his duty to
help save the old home of Frederick
Douglass. which was bequeathed to
the race he served for lifetime. A
Douglass memorial certificate will be
sent to each contributor.