The broad ax., 1913-04-12

One OF the ledo1nB A4LO-A4ucAACdu Law,
strong legal fight in behalf q
in our own raee' Is there no faith
in the all powerful guiding hand Of
Provideneei Is the individual and his
needs greater than the many and their
needs'
We are met here today, for the pur-
pose. of trying to affect a COlOred
Mems Business Association. If we
are to indulge in the idea of bombast
or meaningless vagaries, if we are to
vie with one another in any effort to
see who will say the most, rather than
what we say and do, We shall accom-
plish no more good for ourselves, than
Hortensius accomplished for Rome, by
his vivid imagination and flow of
rhetoric. Let US be doors, rather than
savers. It remains only for US to have
the nerve and courage to launch an
enterprise, which must meet with the
approval of all Negro men, and which
we would pray to be as universal in
its scope as the conceived idea is
broad, and to be as far reaching in its
effect as the Battle of Hastings to the
English language.
BY our silence, shall we admit that
there are not natural fnanciers among
Us. Is it necessary that the white man
handle our dollarsl Are we disparag-
ing of our own color to organize, fOs-
ter and perpetuate a business assOeia-
tion among Colored men3 Let US here,
with heaven looking on. take this sol
emn pledge, that we will initiate this
enterprise with Gods help and with
the support, morally and financially of
our people, prosecute, yes, to the bit
ter end, if such an end awaits US.
How long viii we read with eyes that
do not see, with ears that do not hear
and with hearts that do not feel, the
pleading which come to US from our
Black brethren in the South, as in the
Easter number of the Crisis. Thou
sands and thousands OF crates of peas,
beans, eabbages, etc, are shipped every
year to the whitemen in New York,
Philadelphia and Baltimore, because
there are no Colored merchants. to
whom they may ship their eonsign-
ments. Is it possible that in this city,
which boasts of one of the largest Col
Ored populations in the United States,
should allow our brethren in the South,
against their will and fondest desire to
make shipments of their produce, to a
class of men, who do not feel as we
feel and therefore cannot sympathize
with US, only to do so with a supereil-
ious smile for the dollari Where are
our commission merehantsi Where are
our public aeeountantsi Where are
our hotel proprietorsi Yes, there are
some, know there are some, but where
are theyi Have they hidden their tai
ent under the bushel, or do they, be-
cause of the color of their skin and
the kinkiness Of their hair, withdraw
from public notieei
Bestir yourselves, o men Of my race.
1t is time that We act. 1t is time that
we put aside individualism and vain
ambition, by which the angels feel
and by which we may not hope to rise.
charge you in the words Of WoIsley
to Cromwell "hing away" If there
be petty jealousy, forget it. If there
be unmerited enmity, ask God to do
away with it. Let orr aim be in MS
ing, to raise my less fortunate brother.
Do not always let the heel Of oppres-
sion be upon the serpent's head. mas
much as my brother acquires, in 50 much
does the race acquire. Let the pros
porous brother not forget the less pros
porous brother, remembering, he was not
always thus
In this moment, let rs ask God for
the Prespieuity of selecting and SUD-
porting in this, our initiation, the best
men for the positions. Let there Be
harmony at the beginning and through