The Denver star., 1914-08-08

kesee Institute. Taladega College and
ethsar schools ars located one can trav-
Ell rs miles without getting of land
owned by Negroes. and In this state.
the Alabama Penny Savings Bank. the
Oldest Negro bank in the world. II To-
Gated.
About fifteen years ago =. teacher
in the public schools Of Athens. Ca,
resigned her position and applied for
a school located in the Northern part
of Clarke Co., about five miles from
the city. She secured the position
and set to work to build up a Negro
community. Soon a beautiful two
room school house was erected and
painted; night school was opened for
tho men and boys, farmers conferences
were held, men and boys were organ
lied into land-buying clubs. corn
clubs, painting clubs, etc. Today in
tnat settlement. where Is years ago
only farms were owned by Negroes.
2s7 farms are owned and controlled
byour people. and numbers of one
and two room cabins have been sup
planted by four, five and even eight
room dwellings. One young man
from that community is now student
at Hampton institute.
Ten years ago there were about q
dozen Negro Industrial Insurance Com
panies operating in Georgia. Hoping
to put the Negro companies out of
commission and get their business for
white companies. an enactment was
passed requiring all companies to de-
posit $4,000 with the state treasury
for the protection of policy-holders.
1t was expected that this would sound
the death knell to Negro Insurance
in Georgia. But this served as a step
ping stone to something better. Hern-
dons Company met the requirement,
bought in the other Negro companies
and today. Atlanta has even an old
line life insurance company-the only
Negro company OF its kind in this
country.
Some months ago. colored woman
in the employ of wealthy white fam
lily. developed q contagious disease.
Her employees sought to get her into
the city Hospital for treatment, but
while there were plenty OF vacant
rooms, they were in the white ward,
the ward for colored people was
crowded: hence this sick woman had
to be returned to the premises of her
employer, and thus the health of this
family was endangered
After having made several unsuc-
cessful efforts to have the patient
treated elsewhere, this wealthy en-
ployer exposed, through newspapers.
the folly and cruelty OF a city, chris
tian by profession. failing to provide
for proper treatment of a contagious
disease because the skin under which
1t appears happens to be black. He
demanded in self defense that the evil
be remedied. The local newspaper
took up the matter, subscriptions were
taken, and there Is now a $4,000 hos
pital in which the Negro citizens Of
that community are treated.
And finally, l have been led to the
conclusion that In the south, the Ne
gro II found at his worst and at his
best. There are millions Of our peo-
pie In the sluuns of cities sad In rural
districts who hAvo made practically
NO advancement in civilization during
the past fifty years. They are today
in the same condition they were in
when the Emancipation Proclamation
was issued. They have remained In
ignorance largely because of the ad-
verse conditions under which they
eke out an existence. is this ele-
ment that commits a large per cent.
Of the crime in the south, 1t Is this
element that makes Jim Crow" cars
on Saturdays the frontier of torment,
this is the element that makes the
self-respecting Negro wish sometimes
that he was not Negro.
But right over against this class OF
our people there stands another that
is as noble as this one is ignoble. as
thrifty as this Is prodigal. as law-abfd.
ing as this is criminal and as good
citizen, as this Is undesirable. 1t is
serious mistake to suppose that
when you have seen the tough Ne
gro" you have seen the south. The
best is still just ahead. In point of
and great leaders, to see the
south you must see such men as w.
H. Crogman, Booker T. Washington.
and ]. W. e. Bowen. II It is the Negro
business you desire to see in the south
you must see such establishments as
the Standard Life Insurance Co. Of
Atlanta. the Herndon barber shop with
twenty-fOur chairs-said to be the fin
est In the world. the Amos Drug Co..
the Rucker and Odd Fellows Buildings
and the Morton Theatre. And even
in politics a few of our people appear
to good advantage. In Chattanooga,
Tenn. had the pleasure Of dining
with Mr. H. Tyree. who is alderman
from the fourth ward OF that city.
Knoxville. Tenn. also has as alder
man q prominent Negro physician. And
thus we shall find in every walk Of
life that over against the worthless
is set the thrifty and cultured and
against the criminal is set the HON
est and selfrespecting. After all
that may be said OF the south, both
pro and con, the fact still remains
that no one can make a tour OF Dixie