Evening star., 1925-11-08
Continued from First Page.)

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Of, had drawn it's loosely spread units
together into a definite organism
which had functioned coherently to
promote the welfare of its children.
But il was not until a few months
before Lincoln was elected that this
decisive step was taken. Even then,
although teaching was beginning to be
recognized as profession and
although the Washington teachers or
ganized THE Columbia Association"
for their own Improvement, and no
less a person than JoSeDh Henry. the
first head of the Smithsonian Insti-
tuition and the Capitals leading intel
lectual light, accepted the presidency,
the current of advance flowed but
sluggishly and often settled into con-
fused back -eddies. Music instruction
for example. after having been begun,
was stopped for lack of funds. Night
schools were started but it was years
before there were superintendents of
these classes or any but elementary
instruction. There was no instruc-
ton in drawing. Very few school
houses were built; classes were held
in Easements of churches and other
buildings unsuited for use. Appro-
priationS never went above six per
cent of the city expenditures; and
while the percentage of children In
school increased, it was only from
twenty-five per cent to flfty-two. One
result of this was the rowdyism
among boys; gangs infested many
localities that actually inspired fear.
Toward one class of her children
Washington had not even considered
she had a duty. One quarter of her
population, by this time, was of color
ed people. Part of these were slaves,
part freedmen; the proportion of the
free-colored was rapidly increasing
because the tax on slaves of the non-
resident made 1t often cheaper to free
them.
MYTH the approach of the Civil War
w Washington began to be the
great experiment station of the Aboli-
zionist element. Lincoln, when he
was a member of Congress In
1849, attempted the most valuable and
constructive work. His plan was to
remove negro slavery from the seat
of government, compensating those
who voluntarily freed their slaves, and
with sane plans for the preparation
for free industry of the manumitted
men. Before submitting the bill,
Lincoln entered with Mayor Seaton
as the representative of the better
element among the slaveholding class
But the general opposition in the Dis
trict forced the mayor to withdraw
his support, and the bill was after
ward defeated in Congress.
Although an overwhelming ma jority
Of Washingtonians were Southern
sympathizers, the Abolitionist element
in Congress took a hand in District
politics, and theirs was the whip hand.
Contributions for the colored people
from anti-slavery organizations all over
the country began to pour into Wash
ington. Moreover, some Of the free
negroes had acquired property. Since
the white people did not provide
schools for colored children, the more
advanced Of their own race attempted
to deal with the situation by opening
classes, usually in some church or
fraternal society room.
The Abolitionists ran J. Sayles
Bowen for mayor with a plank in his
platform advocating the admission Of
the free colored to the public schools.
This movement failed, but q short
time later a school to teach colored
girls was opened in Washington by the
agency of a Northern white woman,
Miss Myrtilla Minor. The founder died
in 1865, but her hold on the affections
of the coi.ed people is perpetuated in
the name of the Myrtilla Minor Nor
NAL School,
The death Of Lincoln was tragedy