The broad ax., 1918-12-21
THE NEGRO and BUSINESS
ADDRESS BY DR. M. A. MAJORS BEFORE THE
BETHEL LITERARY SOCIETY,
SUNDAY, DEC. Is

much heathenism in our traits.
We love mystery, attracted by
what we do not understand, a mu-
sically inclined people are carried off
by sound, queer doings, the largest
portion of which is sham, hypocrisy,
and ignorance.
God can not be more glorious,
Christ can not be less than a Saviour
and sin-pardoning God. And / be-
seech you brethren that you should
let the radicalism of truth strike
down every false system no matter
where it is propagated that submerg-
es every sane, earthly interest, that
impedes our earthplane development
arrests our intellectual, moral and
economic progress, binding us ever
to the insidious wrong that is insult
ing and hurtful to our very race life.
While is no better than black.
We've 90 to get Loop commerce in
our system. We cannot command the
respect of mankind if we do not
foster the principle of high financial
leadership. We've got to put our
race feelings of inferiority in the
discard. A few Chinese in Chicago
are able to lease thirty buildings in
: the loop, and carry on lucrative
trade. A few japanese have leased
some of the best business property in
the loop where they successfully car
ry on trade. There are no Cinnamon
or japanese to trade. with them
either. Here in Chicago we have
One Hundred Thousand of our own
people and do not operate a boot
black shop in the loop. Why? If /
were to tell you why we do not oper-
ate anything of consequence in Chi
cago, or anywhere where every OPP
portunity bristles with appreciation,
would say that possibly because we
are not necessary people. The world
may have gotten along very well
without US. We could do anything,
we could operate two such stores as
the Fair with one hundred thousand
people, who have to follow the paths
of civilized beings using, wearing and
eating everything.
We've been too easily lulled to rest
by false doctrines that provided no
substance. We are to be onurished
by the proper food, containing the
essentials of the body, as we'll as the
bread of life.
If / were commissioned to search
out the causes of our racial poverty
which so very pronounced, / would
find as the first reason the ease by
which we can be defrauded out of
our wages, our time, our possessions,
and our money.
Agents, pedlers, merchants, these
comprise the business world, they get
our earnings. We are easily persuad-
ed to spend our last cent, a little
barney or jolly by a white person as
to uor wealth and progress, and what
you have, and oh! how easy we fall
for that kind of stuff.
l have been trying to draw you a
picture of our racial condition, our
satisfaction, our happy and sunny
disposition, our composure and ap-
parent contentment of our being boy
cotted even in large corporations and
business where we spend most of our
money.
Do you believe the Gas Co. would
do athriving business among the
Polak, Italians, Swedes and Lithuan-
ians if they did not employ their
race? Do you think The Chicago
City r. R. would do a thriving bust
ness if it did not employ their race?
Do you believe the Metropolitan In
surance Co. would do a thriving bust
ness among them if it failed to en-
ploy their race?
None of these organizations could |
be as great without the Negro and |
yet a Negro member of any of these
corporation. and not a single Negro