Omaha daily bee., 1917-05-12
Howard University
BIZ Frederic j. Haskin

Washington, May 9.-Howard university, To-
Gated in the suburbs OF this city and the only uni
versty for colored people supported by the United
States government has recently become CEN
ter OF patriotic effort Three hundred of its stu
dents want to enter the army and they have
started movement to obtain training as officers.
Secretary of War Baker has promised that il they
can organize large enough unit he will provide
training camp for them. Accordingly the How
ard students have sent emissares to Atlanta uni
versity, Fisk university in Nashville, Taladega
university in Alabama, Lincoln university in Penn
sylvania and Wilberforce university in Ohio TO
obtain recruits from these other colored colleges
for the proposed training camp.
This patriotic movement at Howard will doubt
less receive great impulse in June, when the IF
tieth commencement Of the university will be held,
and over 1000 of its alumni will gather in Wash
ington. This alumni gathering will include some
OF the best negro brains in the United States; it
will be an epitome OF half century OF negro prog
ress
Just one form of that progress is shown in the
fact that twenty-five years ago, when the pres
ent president of the Alumni association, Shelby
]. Davidson of Washington, was attending the
university, nearly all of the students worked their
way through. Now majority Of them have their
expenses paid by their parents, for there is a
considerable body OF wealth in the country owned
by negroes, and among the alumni of Howard
university there are not few substantial BUSH
ness men worth between $4,000 to 100000. w.
S. Hagan, for example, sold his plantations in the
south for $4,000 recently and went to Philadel-
phia, which has become a gathering place for
well-to-do negroes w. II. c. Brown, real es-
tate dealer and lawyer OF Washington, is also a
negro of considerable property The man who is
generally considered the wealthiest Of the Howard
alumni is A. c. Darlington, who lives in Colon
canal zone, and is large planter and trader
These Howard alumni include number of
-. 1t
slons, in politics and in literature. George H.
White of Philadelphia, who was the last negro to
serve in congress, is one of these. DR.. Marcus
C. Wheatlands of Newport is graduate of the
Howard university medical department. He is
an expert in the use of the X-ray and has made
considerable fortune OF his practice Nearly all
of his patients are white
The assistant corporation counsel of Phiadel-
phia, John c. Asbury; Harry w. Furniss, for
merly United States minister to Brazil; George
Frazier Miller, theological writer Kelly Miller,
professor of mathematics in Howard university
and a graduate of Johns Hopkins, are among the
other distinguished alumni OF Howard. There
have been 1000 graduates during the fifty years
OF the colleges existence, and they undoubtedly
show high average of achievement and service
to their race.
Howard university probably offers as great
variety of training as any college of. its size in
thC SuuHtly. IT'S OlHCldlS TcdHZc that Tue negroes
need doctors, lawyers and preachers OF their own
race and for that reason schools in all of these
professions are maintained. They also realize that
the colored people must live largely by industrial
pursuits and they have an industrial school as
well as department of arts and sciences. The
method at Howard is to study the individual and
fit him for the highest sphere of service that his
abilities will justify. A man may here learn to
be a carpenter or theologst. Or better yet, he
may study brickmaking in the morning and the
classics in the afternoon, thus acquiring what he
can of culture, while at the same time learning to
make living
One of the most striking things about Howard
university is the loyalty it inspires in its students
From third to fourth of the alumni return for
the reunions and some of them come from as far
away as Texas. The alumni established the chair
Of mathematics, paid the salary of the professor
for the first year and induced congress to make
an appropriation for its maintenance. The Alumni
association raised $4,000 toward building GYM
nasum and is going to raise some more this year.
So keen is the competition among these loyal
graduates to serve that regular system of rota-
ton has to be observed in granting the honors of
the Alumni association. Probably no alma mater
in the United States is more loyalty served than
Howard.