The Denver star., 1916-04-29
GOOD ADVICE OF
ABLE EDUCATOR
Major Motion Delivers Address
to Alabama Teachers.
POINTS way TO SUCCESS.

| Successor Of Or. Washington At 1us.
kssss 10 Principal Speaker at An.
nuai Meeting Of the State Teachers
Association Held In Birmingham
Let Us Follow. Washington, He Says
Major Robert r. Motion of Hampton
institute, who is the principal elect of
| Tuskegee institute and successor tc
DIR. Booker T. Washington, made his
| first big Alabama address before the
| Colored State Teachers association,
part of April. Some 900 white people
| including Governor Charles Henderson.
| were present
In his address Major Motion in part
! said:
Booker L. Washington's educational
program was not merely local, but it
was national, worldwide in scope-in-
dustry, thrift, morality, decent homes,
clean bodies and minds, better meth
| DDS of farming-a kind of education
| which made universal appeal was his.
| 1t was an education that helped farm
ers to do better farming, the carpenter
| to do better carpentering and the cook
| to do better cooking.
He believed that education in the
broadcast sense should teach a farmer
| how to get more out of an acre by bet
ter methods: that carpenter was re-
ceiving useful and very necessary in
struction when taught how to build a
better and more beautiful house at less
cost. and that to instruct those who
| cook how to keep cleaner kitchen
and prepare a more appetizing meal at
less expense was. in his opinion, an
| education of the most essential sort.
| You, no doubt, have often heard
him say that handsome mule or
horse well groomed was fine to look at.
but that hungry. struggling commun-
| ity would soon tire Of looking at him
unless hitched to plow. cart or wag-
on. or unless II was doing something
| that would help humanity. And, my
friends, just SO It is with education.
| Wearing fine clothes and presenting
an attractive appearance does not
mean anything to struggling and
hungry community. unless you set to
work to perform some service for your
fellow men.
1 Booker 7. Washington was mos.
persistent in his efforts that education,
whether farmer. preacher or teacher,
should be linked In a definite way to
life, and the life of the lowly man and
woman in particular. for he wanted to
see each man and each woman live
and do better In his daily vocation.
This idea he worked out and put Into
practice in such remarkable and con-
| vincing way as to command the re-
| spect and admiration OF the entire
| world.
| The colored people OF Alabama, as
a rule. have been wise enough to fol-
low DR.. Washington's course, and as
n result the white people Of the state
are growing more interested In the
Negro schools. II the white man sees
that Negro education makes n more
industrious community, II he sees bet
ter results on his farm, in his kitchen.
better behavior on the streets in the
life and conduct OF the colored people
OF the community generally he will
not only believe in and unreservedly Y
approve Of Negro education. but he
will find some way to assist in giving
for better schools.
White people can usually find way
for anything they think is really worth
while. but they must be convinced that
II is SO worth while. and nobody can do
that better than the Negro teacher.
and no one demonstrated this more
conclusively, more effectively or more
beautifully than the man in whose
memory we are gathered tonight
We as teachers must first of all live
clean. honest, Industrious. unselfish
lives. We are now living in an era
when we are expected to practice what
we preach. Let us take firm stand
for morality and set our faces like
flint against the loating. worthless ele-
ment in any race. Let us follow DR..
Washington in teaching the members
of our race the necessity OF decent liv.
ing and the beauty and dignity OF la
Dor. for indeed we have more to fear
from the lazy shiftless. ignorant Grim.
inal than from any race prejudice in
Alabama. And let us remember that
in the solution OF the race problem a
large measure depends upon US. and
education will he one of our most
fcrceful and helpful mediums for
good.