The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-11-20

When the telegram reached Kansas
City last Sunday morning announcing
the death of Booker T. Washington,
the acknowledge leader of the Negro
race, whose name is household word
wherever civilization has planted its
banner, and who was acclaimed in a
great contest waged by great maya
zine some time ago as one of the ten
greatest and most useful men living,
the sorrow and grief of the. Colored
people of this city was inexpressible.
Few knew that he was i'll and the
brief account in the press announcing
has illness was supposed to be tenn
porary breakdown from which with
rest and attention he would rapidly
recuperate. But when it was posi-
lively known that washington is
dead" men simply looked dumbly in
each others faces and asked the ques-
ton, Who will lead us now? On last
Friday, feeling a rapidly approaching
dissolution, Mr.. Washington said to|
those at his bedside: II was reared
in Alabama. My heart is there; take
me back there to die" And his faith
full secretary and the skilled ply
sicians, recognizing that it was to be
his last request, hurriedly secured a.
special sleeper and as fast as the linn
tied could carry him he was taken
back to his beloved Tuskegee; reach
ing there at 11:50 p. m. Saturday night
and passing away without a murmur,
and with smile upon his countenance
at 4:40 Sunday morning, November
IA.
The funeral was set for Wednesday
morning at 10 o'clock and all day Mon
day and Tuesday and Tuesday night
and Wednesday morning the trains
were unloading the hundreds and
thousands, both white and Colored,
who came from all sections of the
country to pay the last tribute Of re-
spect to one of the worlds really
great men. Our correspondent count
ed more than thirty special cars be-
longing to railroad magnates, presi-
dents of great corporations, multimil-
loinaires and leaders in the business
world who came to evidence their ap-
probation and friendship for our Ia
mented leader. Special trains came
from all over the South, and from
Birmingham alone came 20 coaches
filled with representative citizens;
from New York, Boston, Chicago, Min
neapolis, Denver, Kansas City, To
peka, Memphis, Nashville, Philadel-
phia, Washington, D. c., Atlanta and
hundreds of other Southern cities
came large delegations with grief and
sorrow Enthusiastically stamped upon
their countenances. Early Wednes-
day morning all was hustle and stir
on the great campus and from
o'clock in the morning until the time
for the funeral cortege to move to the
chapel all roads leading to Tuskegee
Institute were crowded with an inde-
scribable mass of vehicles, buggies, OK
carts, mule drawn vehicles, men and
women and children on horse and
mule back, hundreds of automobiles
and touring cars, while it seemed as
If the entire population of the city of
Tuskegee, ex-slaves and slave owners,
aristocrats and paupers, white and
Colored, came out in mass to attend
the obsequies of the man who had
given greater distinction to Tuskegee
than any other living man. Promptly
at 10 o'clock, with the great Tuskegee
band at the head of the line and the
thousands of students sad faced and
sorrowful, followed by the teachers,
trustees and family and thousands of
friends, moved silently to the sad
strains of music to the chapel. AL
though buiided to seat $500, nearly
1000 crowded into the building while
more than twice that number with
uncovered heads remained throughout
the brief service on the outside. The
simple service of the Episcopal
Church was read and several songs
that were especially dear to Mr.. Wash
ington were sung amid falling tears
and audible sobs by the great Tuske-
gee chorus. Thirty or forty of the
more than 5000 kilograms received