The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-04-11
An APPEAL FOR PATIENCE WITH
WISDOM.

nv N. C. Bruce, Principal Bartlett Agri.
cultural and Industrial School, Chair
man Missouri Negro Industrial Com
mission, President Missouri Negro
Farmers Bureau.
To the Editor:
Dear Sir: Through your valuable
paper / desire to call as many of our
peoples attention as will hear, to what
seems the greatest need at present
PATIENCE WITH LABOR, SAVING
and WISDOM. do this in no spirit of
criticism, but of caution. Nor have 1
the least ambition for temporary fame,
praise or notoriety, nor to appear as
any Mcsis-simply, plain, blunt man
and straight, every day American.
The present is day full of peril and
fate for our race as for the Nation.
Our races city leaders have the great
est burdens upon their shoulders In
the first place, they and their followers
are located among the halo and the most
bright shining appearances of gilded
domes, great wheels of business and the
final word in styles of all sorts, repre-
senting the so-called best Of civiliza-
ton. An easy place to get deceived by
other people g belongings. Then again
the problems of homes and housing, of
employment, of saving, or rightly spend
ing of health and sanitation, Of charac-
ter building, and the greatest of all,
that Of Christian education, all these
should increase outsiders patience,
pity and sympathy rather than their
hasty criticism of Negro city leaders.
There never was a time when there
was greater need of Cod IS grace and
wisdom among all American Negroes as
now. We have just emerged from the
worlds bloodiest war with our race s
skirts, hearts and hands all clean. AL
though, for years shut out from West
Point, Annapolis, and from all state
and national military schools, not even
permitted in but two or three states to
serve as states guards and get modi-
cum Of military training, and besides we
have suffered all sorts of disfranchise-
ment and determinations for all Of our
5ehattel free lives, yet at our country g
call, our one answer Ready, proved
less Of fake and pretense than any OF
the other specially favored millions. In
three months we were made fit to fight
and many Of our officers completed
four years West Point training in the
same three months. We went over
there, fought and helped to conquer.
Right now is our crisis-now that we
have again won it, how shall we wear
it, The right answer is: as hereto
fore,'' with modesty, with sense, com
nonsense. We all know that boasting |
and Dragging have never yet paid. Not
even great, staggering Germany could
get by and away with boasting. Too
much protesting and fault finding is not
good. We shall succeed in the only way
that ever was possible for any race or
people to succeed, by trusting IN COD
and in ourselves to get for us whatever
is rightly ours Demanding will not,
threatening will not, Dragging over our
heroic living or dead will not. We have
got to keep on acting our part, keep on
quietly going on accumulating, saving
and reach the point where we can com
mand our own races confidence and re-
spect first by having plenty not only
for a living independence, but plenty OF
courage to back up our commands. In
Justice, unfairness, maltreatment, IN
America meet their just recompense OF
reward quicker than in any other conu-
try on earth. AS race, we shouldn
worry and fret as some are beginning
to do about the evil doings OF the other
man, our hearts, brains, energies should
right now be spent in dropping our
buckets down among ourselves ana save
us to continuous worthwhile labor, econ
omy, thrift. There has already been
millions uslessly spent both OF brains,
time. strength and dollars on wild cat
schemes and wild goose chases Tor rec
ognition and to get our share OF rights
and what not. These could have peeh
more nearly gotten by us all WORKING
and saving and establishing places OF
labor and employment for some OF our
young people. Blessed are those VINO
see with their own eyes and hear Win
their own ears "A few months ago
our people were cautioned not to %
misled to waste their money sendlng
delegates to Washington, Chicago, Pnli-
adelphia, to whoop and dream up raise
hopes Of doing any good by senans
missionaries to far off France, tn1nkins
these could get even peep IN at tne
peace conference that would help Negro
conditions in America. Little heed was
paid to our warning then and it is estl.
mated that over 100000 to railroads
and to white business, out OF our peo'
pie Is pockets, and over $25, 900 from our
Missouri people alone. This - nv"
seen to have been a recent great vase,
excluding time, brains, energies. flgh.
now we all should show wisdom IN MOI
parading and exploiting too much our
returning heroes and soldiers fsc"
France More harm can be done than