# The Remarkable Uplift of a Slave Boy's Ideal

## Frederick Douglass' Struggle to Rise to Fame and Honor

"Oh, Douglass, thou hast passed beyond the shore,

But still thy voice is ringing o'er the gale!

Thou'st taught thy race how high her hopes may soar,

And bade her seek the heights, nor faint, nor fail.

She will not fail; she heeds thy stirring cry;

She knows thy guardian spirit will be nigh,

And, rising from beneath the chast'ning rod,

She stretches out her bleeding hands to God."—Paul Lawrence Dunbar.

By Marguerite Brooks.

Born a slave, with the feelings and possibilities of a man, but with no rights above the beast of the field, Fred Douglass, who raised himself from this condition to that of one of the most honored citizens of the United States, a high officer in the national government, a writer, orator, and thinker, famed on both sides of the Atlantic, is one of the most inspiring examples of man's power over circumstances.

Without any knowledge of his father, whom he had never seen; with but dim recollections of his slave mother, from whom he had been separated at birth, and who, to get an occasional stolen glimpse of her child, was obliged, after the day was done, to walk twelve miles from the plantation on which she labored, and to return in time to begin work in the early dawn of the next morning, the little slave boy lived, for a time, with a number of other negro children on the plantation of his master.

Under the brutal discipline of the "Aunt Katy," who had charge of the slaves who were still too young to labor in the fields, he early began to realize the hardships of his lot, and to rebel against the state of bondage into which he had been born.

Often hungry, and clothed, in hottest summer and coldest winter alike, in a coarse torn linen shirt, scarcely reaching to the knees, without a bed to lie on or a blanket to cover him, his only protection, no matter how cold the night, was an old corn-bag, into which he thrust himself, leaving his feet exposed at one end, and his head at the other.

When about seven years old, he was transferred to new owners in Baltimore, where his kind-hearted mistress, who did not know that in doing so she was breaking the law, taught him the alpha-

His Birthplace.

bet. He thus got possession of the key which was to unlock his bonds, and, young as he was, he knew it. It did not matter that his master, when he learned what had been done, forbade his wife to give the boy further instructions. He had already tasted of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The prohibition was useless.

Frederick Douglass.

With infinite pains and patience, and by stealth, he enlarged upon his knowledge of the alphabet. An old copy of "Webster's Spelling Book," cast aside by his young master, was his greatest treasure. With the aid of a few good natured white boys, who sometimes played with him in the streets, he quickly mastered its contents. Then he cast about for further means to satisfy his mental craving. How difficult it was for the poor, despised slave to do this, we learn from his ownavitic words: "I have gathered," he says, "scattered pages of the Bible from

the filthy street gutters, and washed and dried them, that, in moments of leisure, I might get a word or two of wisdom from them."

Think of that, boys and girls, young men and young women of the twentieth century, with your day schools and evening schools, libraries, colleges, and universities—picking reading material from the gutter and mastering it by stealth! Yet this boy grew up to be the friend and co-worker of Garrison and Phillips, the eloquent spokesman of his race, the honored guest of distinguished peers and commoners of England, one of the noblest examples of a self-made man that the world has ever seen.

Under equal hardships he learned to write. The boy's wits, sharpened instead of blunted by repression, saw opportunities where more favored children could see none. He gave himself his first writing lesson in his master's shipyard, by copying from the various pieces of timber the letters with which they had been marked by the carpenters, to show the different parts of the ship for which they were intended. He copied from posters on fences, from old copy books, from anything and everything he could get hold of. He practiced his new art on pavements and rails, and entered into contests in letter writing with white boys, in order to add to his knowledge. "With playmates for my teachers," he says, "fences and pavements for my copy books, and chalk for my pen and ink, I learned to write."

While being "broken in" to field labor under the lash of the overseer, chained and imprisoned for the crime of attempting to escape from slavery, the spirit of the youth never quailed. He believed in himself, in his God-given powers, and he was determined to use them in freeing himself and his race.

How well he succeeded in the stupendous task to which he set himself while yet groping in the black night of bondage, with no human power outside of his own indomitable will to help him, his life-work attests in language more enduring than "storied urn" or written history. A roll call of the world's great moral heroes would be incomplete without the name of the slave-born Douglass, the son of Maryland, who eighty-four years ago, came on the stage of life to play the leading role of the Moses of his race in one of the saddest, and, at the same time, most glorious eras of American history.

Topics of the Day From Far and Near

To Test Senate on Colored Nomination

Bishop Alexander Walters, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, president of the Negro Democratic League, the largest organization of its kind among colored people in the country, to-day addressed an open letter to President Wilson, urging the President to put to the test the assertions that the Senate will not confirm a negro to an important Federal office. He called at the White House and presented the letter in person.

Bishop Walters, long a stanch friend and admirer of the President, and relied upon hitherto by the White House for advice as to the sentiments of negroes in the country, recently saw President Wilson about the Recordership of Deeds of the District of Columbia, a post always held by a negro heretofore, and was told that the President could not give the place to a colored man, because of the bitter fight that would ensue in the Senate. This was so disappointing to Bishop Walters that he now expresses the hope that the President "will not hesitate to make the nomination of a colored man to the office of Recorder of Deeds or to one of equal importance, where Senatorial confirmation is required, for we desire to know whether it is to be the policy of the Democratic party to accord to negroes the same rights and recognition granted to other citizens of the nation. Or, in other words, can the Democratic party afford to ignore a half-million voters on account of their color?"

In his letter to the President, Bishop
Walters says:

The Bishop's Letter.

"Open letter to President Wilson.

"White House, Washington, D. C.

"Honored Sir: In this open letter I desire to thank you most heartily, for audiences granted and favors given me since your election as President of the United States; and further, I thank the heads of the departments for appointments and promotions made in their several bureaus. There is a sentiment abroad that it is not the policy of the national Democratic party to appoint and confirm negroes to prominent offices.

In the light of the following letter
and the nominations of Mr. Patterson,
Judge Terrell, and Mr. Curtis, it is hard
to believe that your Excellency shares
in this opposition:

"No. 98 W. State Street, Trenton, N. J.
October 16, 1912.

"My Dear Bishop Walters:

"I hope that it seems superfluous to
those who know me, but to those who
do not know me perhaps it is not neces-
sary for me to assure my colored fellow-
citizens of my earnest wish to see justice
done them in every matter, and not
mere grudging justice, but justice ex-
ecuted with liberality and cordial good
feeling. Every guarantee of our law,
every people of our Constitution com-
mand this, and our sympathies should
also make it easy.

"The colored people of the United States have made extraordinary progress toward self-support and usefulness, and ought to be encouraged in every possible way. My sympathy with them is of long standing, and I want to assure them through you that, should I become President of the United States, they may count upon me for absolute fair dealing and for everything by which I could assist in advancing the interests of their race in the United States.

"Cordially and sincerely yours,

"WOODROW WILSON."

"Certainly the most hostile negro sentiment of some who occupy high places in the Democratic party cannot be considered as expressing the attitude of the party towards us. If Democracy means anything at all it must mean the sharing in the Government of every honest, intelligent tax-paying citizen, without regard to creed or color.

"Sure, this is eminently true at a time when every man of every race in our beloved country is expected to serve the colors in case of a crisis, and is needed to insure 'preparedness' for our national defense. It does appear to me that it should be the aim of the national Government to inspire and intensify the warmest patriotism rather than discourage and repress the love and zeal of all citizens.

"To be officially informed that negroes
cannot be confirmed in high Federal
positions, such as they have held under
former Administrations, no matter how
worthy, is, to say the least, discourag-
ing. We have waited long and patiently
to know what our political status under
the Democratic rule is to be in all parts
of this country. In certain parts of the
Southland a property qualification was
demanded, and we met that, but to no

avail; then the educational test was
required, and when our illiteracy was
decreased seventy per cent., and when
we had met the educational qualifica-
tion, we were bidden to stand aside and
wait a little longer, instead of being
encouraged to register and vote. In
many places where we presented our-
selves for enrollment we were ruthlessly
turned down. It is well to understand
that the Democratic party cannot have
the support of the negro vote in the
North, East, and West while it denies
the ballot to the members of our race in
the South; for a national party to take
such a position is unfair, unreasonable,
and untenable.

Office Is a Test Case.

"Owing to the character of opposition
in certain quarters to a negro being
appointed Recorder of Deeds, it has
become a test case, and we are not now
contending so much for the office as we
are for the principle involved, namely,
the right of negroes to be nominated
and confirmed in important offices.

"We do hope, Mr. President, that you will not hesitate to make the nomination of a colored man to the office of the Recorder of Deeds, or to one of equal importance where Senatorial confirmation is required. For we desire to know whether it is to be the policy of the Democratic party to accord to negroes the same rights and recognition granted to other citizens of the nation, or, in other words, can the Democratic party afford to ignore a half-million voters, on account of their color, who are constantly increasing in numbers.

"Most respectfully yours,

"ALEXANDER WALTERS."

Bishop Walters, while at the White
House said that the negroes have
waited long and patiently to know
what their political status is to be under
Democratic rule, "and we trust that the
President will send to the Senate the
nomination of a colored man to an im-
portant office so that the test can finally
be made and we may understand fully
how we stand."

Wilson's Sincerity Not Questioned.

The bishop declared he had every
confidence in the sincerity of the Presi-
dent's letter of three and a half years
ago, and that all he wanted was for the
President to permit the matter of
antagonism of the negro to go to the
point that the colored man could

MARCH, 1916

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

171

definitely ascertain what his status is to
be.

"We have long known that there are
a few Democrats in the South who do
not wish any of our people to hold office,
but we do not believe that this senti-
ment is strong enough in the Senate to
prevail against the broad-minded men
of the party there," said Bishop Wal-
ters. "The only way we can actually
determine how strongly this feeling
against us is in the Senate is for the
President to make a nomination and let
the fight come. If a majority of the
Democrats there do not want to have
anything to do with us, we will prefer
to know it."—The *Evening Post*.

## Urban League Gets Appointment.

The National League on Urban Con-
ditions among Negroes announces that
its effort to secure the appointment of a
colored placement secretary at the Man-
hattan Trade School has met with
success. Miss Naomi B. Spencer, for-
mer Big Sister worker of the League,
has been appointed to this position and
began her work last week. Miss Spen-
cer's office will be located at the Man-
hattan Trade School, 23rd Street near
Third Avenue.

It has often been said that employers
do not object to giving work to colored
girls, but that the white employees
frequently refuse to work by the side
of the colored girls. Furthermore, it
has been claimed that the colored girls,
although trained to some extent, work
more slowly and turn out a smaller
product for the usual time engaged in
work.

But the most serious aspect of
the situation, so far as the colored girls
are concerned, is the fact that many of
these girls who start out to learn trades
lose their ambition before the courses
of study are completed and, therefore,
apply for positions not sufficiently pre-
pared for the job or do not enter the
vocations for which they began prep-
aration.

The results of these unfavorable con-
ditions is seen in the fact that only
21 per cent. of the colored women in
New York City engaged in gainful
occupations are working in skilled and
semi-skilled trades; while 75 per cent.
of the white women engaged in gainful
occupations are working in skilled and
semi-skilled trades. Furthermore, those
colored women who are trained find
great difficulty in securing continuous
employment, and if successful in secur-
ing reasonable permanent positions,
they do not get advancement commen-
surate with the ability they display.

Miss Spencer will interview employ-
ers of girls and women in shops and

factories and advise with the colored
girls in the trade schools, individually
and in groups, for the purpose of enlarg-
ing their view of the industrial field.
By this personal touch with the girls,
it is hoped that she will develop in
them greater ambition and determina-
tion to meet the conditions as they are
and to persevere until they become more
proficient and are considered by their
employers indispensable and by their
associates in their work desirable com-
panions in labor.

## "Birth of a Nation" Sued.

"The Birth of a Nation" came in for
litigation recently, when the Southern
Amusement Company began in the
Supreme Court a suit to collect $500,-
000 from its sponsor, the Epoch Produc-
ing Corporation, alleging that the film
has gathered in more than half a mil-
lion dollars during its stay in New York
at the Liberty Theatre.

According to the complaint, filed by
Attorney Max D. Josephson, the South-
ern Amusement Company contends
that prior to May 10, 1906, Thomas
Dixon, Jr., conceived the idea of "The
Clansman" and on that date turned
over the producing and dramatic rights
to the present plaintiff.

The plaintiff declares by virtue of
this sale it became the sole owner of
the dramatic rights, but despite that
fact on March 3, 1915, the defendant
caused "The Birth of a Nation" to be
prepared from the book, and presented
it in picture form.

The immediate success achieved by
the film is a matter of theatrical history.
But it is also a fact, states the plaintiff,
that while over $500,000 was taken in
at the Liberty Theatre, the plaintiff did
not receive a cent of the money.

Judgment is demanded for that
amount on the theory that the plaintiff,
as per its claim, being the sole owner of
the dramatic rights, all moneys received
from "The Birth of a Nation" should
be treated as accruing for its benefit.

An affidavit of service, accompanying the complaint, shows it was served on Max D. Banzhaf, the treasurer of the Epoch Producing Corporation.

## Carter Adkins Forges Ahead.

The rapid rise and the crowning suc-
cess of Carter Adkins in the business
world of to-day makes Durham, N. C.,
appear not the least among our Ameri-
can towns for the accomplishment of
their citizens. It was here at Durham,
thirty-three years ago, born of humble
parentage, that Mr. Carter Adkins saw
the light of day.

He grew and waxed strong under the
Southern skies, amid the singing birds

and sweet blooming flowers, during the
tender years of his boyhood days. It
was here upon the farm where nature
first taught him in her school. Mind
and soul alert, he observed the laws and
ways of nature, the times of sowing and
reaping, planting and harvesting. He
showed a wonderful mind of adaptation
and mastry in learning the trade of
masonry under the tutelage of his
father.

The son and father went from
village to village, from town to town,
building chimneys and the like for the
people. It was not long before they
were widely known in many sections of
the South, for their thoroughness and
ability to do very competent work.

Yet, this did not satisfy the thirst
of a broader outlook and a more exalted
attainment, which was so deeply rooted
in the substrata of his nature. It was
not long before Mr. Adkins had come
to himself after tireless nights of medita-
tions, wondering what the world was
like, yet realizing its keen competition
in every sphere of activity. With a
resolution to win in the world of affairs,
he soon severed himself from the narrow
and confined channels of his early tradi-
tions. He was now willing to venture
upon untrodden paths and brave every
obstacle that would come upon the road
leading to his success and lofty attain-
ment.

For this he was well fortified, in that,
as a boy, he learned the value of
economy, thrift, and clean habits, as
well as to regard the rights of others.
These traits, which were the outstanding
qualifications for any lines of business,
took root and became the nucleus
of his very existence. It was not long
afterward before Mr. Adkins reached
the North. His first landing place was
at 25 Kearney Avenue, Jersey City, in
1909.

He resorted to his former trade
as a helper and it was about a year when
he opened business of his own at his
present address. Mr. Adkins did not
only have an eye to business, but a
head and a hand. He started in a small
way and he soon started to reap the
result of his tireless and well-focussed
energy, with well rooted plans his
business expanded so until he was able
to establish a fine mercantile business.
It was not long after meeting with
fortune on every hand, which was due
to his skill, persistency, and business
tact, that he delved into real estate and
insurance. Mr. Adkins's rapid rise on
the broad road of progress as a com-
mission merchant has reflected great
credit upon himself as well as his race.
The race would do well to inspire its
youth to exemplify the Adkins's calibre
of true worth.

# Anti-Lynching Movement in Southern Colleges

## Statistics Showing Increase in Crime

### Action by University Commission On Race Questions.

Statement Addressed to College Men of South, Issued by Body Which Has Just Closed Session at Trinity College and the University of North Carolina—Crime Shown to Be Spreading by Figures of Last Year—A Contagious Social Disease.

The University Commission on Southern Race Questions at its closing session here yesterday, issued a statement on the subject of lynching, addressed primarily to the college men of the South. The Commission, whose sessions have been held at Trinity College and the University of North Carolina, is composed of eleven college professors, representing as many Southern States. The statement is as follows:

"An open letter from the University Commission on Southern Race Questions to the college men of the South on lynching:

"This letter is not written to convince you that lynching is a crime, for you know it already. Its object is to urge you to show others, whenever opportunity presents itself, that lynching does more than rob its victims of their constitutional rights and of their lives; it simultaneously lynches law and justice and civilization, and outrages all the finer human sentiments and feelings. The wrong that it does to the wretched victim is almost as nothing compared to the injury it does to the lynchers themselves, to the community, and to society at large.

"Lynching is a contagious social disease, and as such is of deep concern to every American citizen and to every lover of civilization. It is of special concern to you, and you can do much to abolish it. Vice and crime know that their best, though unconscious and unwilling, allies are lukewarmness and timidity on the part of educated 'good citizens.' Wrong is weaker than right, and must yield whenever right is persistent and determined.

"It is, of course, no argument in favor of lynching, nor can we derive any legitimate satisfaction from the facts that it is not confined to any one section of our country and that the victims are not always black. One of the bad features of lynching is that it quickly becomes a habit, and, like all bad habits, deepens and widens rapidly. Formerly lynching

were mainly incited by rape and murder, but the habit has spread until now such outrages are committed for much less serious crimes.

The records of lynching for 1914, compiled by three different agencies, give the total number for the year as 52, 54, and 74. The authority for these figures being Tuskegee Institute, the Chicago Tribune and the Crisis, respectively. The conflicting reports cannot be harmonized but to avoid any possibility of exaggeration we may employ the most conservative of these for analysis. It reveals the facts: Number lynched, colored, male 46; female, 3; white, male, 3; female, 0; total, 52. Crimes charged against victims: Murder, 13; robbery and murder, 6; robbery and attempted murder, 1; suspected of murder, 1; rape, 6; attempted rape, 1; killing an officer, 5; pounding officer, 1; murderous assault, 3; alleged murderous assault, 1; accused of wounding a person, 1; killing person in quarrel, 4; beating child to death, 1; trying to force way into woman's room, 1; stealing shoes, 1; stealing mules, 1; setting fire to barn, 2; assisting a man to escape who had wounded another, 1; being found under a house, 1.

"The three women were lynched for the following reasons: One, seventeen years old, for killing a man who, it was reported, had raped her; another was accused of beating a child to death; the third was accused of helping her husband set fire to a barn. In the last both husband and wife were lynched in the presence of their four-year-old child.

"It should be especially noted that of the 52 persons lynched, only seven—two white and five colored or 13 per cent.—were charged with the crime against womanhood. This shows clearly how far and how quickly the habit has spread beyond the bounds set by those who first resorted to lynching as a remedy.

"According to States, the lynchings were distributed as follows: Alabama, 2; Arkansas, 1; Florida, 4; Georgia, 2; Louisiana, 12; Mississippi, 12; Missouri, 1; New Mexico, 1; North Dakota, 1; North Carolina, 1; Oklahoma, 3; Oregon, 1; South Carolina, 4; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 6.

"The same agency which reported 52 lynchings for 1914, makes the following report for 1915: Number lynched: Colored, male, 52; female, 3. White, male, 14; female, 0. Total, 68. This

is an increase of 16, or 30 per cent. over the total number in 1914.

"According to States, the lynchings for 1915 were distributed as follows: Alabama, 9; Arkansas, 5; Florida, 5; Georgia, 18; Illinois, 1; Kentucky, 5; Louisiana, 2; Mississippi, 9; Missouri, 2; Ohio, 1; Oklahoma, 3; South Carolina 1; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 5.

"It is worthy of note that in at least four cases it later was discovered that the victims of the mob were innocent of the crimes of which they were accused.

"These are the terrible facts. Is there no remedy? Have we not sufficient legal intelligence and machinery to take care of every case of crime committed? Must we fall back on the methods of the jungle? Civilization rests on obedience to law, which means the substitution of reason and deliberation for impulse, instinct, and passions. It is easy and tempting to obey the latter, but to be governed by the former, requires self-control which comes from the interposition of thought between impulse and action. Herein lies the college man's opportunity to serve his fellows; to interpose deliberation between their impulses and actions, and in that way to control both.

"Society has a right to expect college men to help in moulding opinion and shaping conduct in matters of this sort: it is their privilege and duty to cooperate with others in leading crusades against crime and mob rule and for law and civilization. The college man belongs in the front rank of those fighting for moral and social progress. For this reason, the University Commission makes its first appeal to you, and urges you strongly to cooperate with the press, the pulpit, the bar, officers of the law, and all other agencies striving to eliminate this great evil, by speaking out boldly when speech is needed, and letting your influence be felt against it in decided, unmistakable measure and manner.

"W. S. SUTTON, Texas.

"JOSIAH MORSE, South Carolina.

"W. L. KENNON, Mississippi.

"W. O. SCROGGS, Louisiana.

"JAS. D. HOSKINS, Tennessee.

"R. J. H. DELOACH, Georgia.

"W. M. HUNTLEY, Virginia.

"E. C. BRANSON, North Carolina.

"JAS. M. FARR, Florida.

"J. Y. THOMAS, Arkansas.

"J. J. DOSTER, Alabama."

# "Copescas" Brings Colored Man to Front in New Role

James Weldon Johnson Made English Version of Libretto

By R. G. Doggett.

A certain distinguished author, when asked to write upon the "Possibilities of the Negro," wrote the following interesting paragraph:

"When the average American rushes to his telephone there is nothing in the look of the transmitter to tell him that it is part product of a Negro brain; when the whiz of the engine weaves cloth, drags trains and does other deeds of magic, it does not tell the public that the oil which smooths its turning is the composition of a black man. If the medical student reads in Da Costa of the skilled surgeon who recently sewed up a hole in a living man's heart, he will not read that the surgeon was colored; the wanderer amid the beauties of the Luxemburg is not apt to know from the dark hues of the "Raising of Lazarus" the still darker hues of its painter, and it was a Texas girl who naively remarked "I used to read Dunbar a good deal until I found out he was a nigger."

And so I may add concerning the translation of "Goyescas" that all the New York papers gave James Weldon Johnson credit for his splendid work, but not one of them let the public know he was a Negro.

*Scene.* — James Weldon Johnson's study in his city house, on February 20, 1916. It is an attractive room, furnished with quiet luxury. At the right is a large doorway, flanked by portieres and showing the hall and balustrade of the stairs beyond. At the right are two large windows, looking upon the street. The house opposite can be seen. In the angle at the back, where the two walls meet, is a table with magazines and books. Between the windows is a large table-desk, with a chair back of a telephone on it, and, the surface is strewn with papers, letters, memoranda, et cetera.

Near the window stands an official-looking letter-file and a small safe. The rest of the wall space is occupied with book-cases filled with works of the best authors. Above are busts of distinguished Negroes, etchings, etc.

*Mr. Doggett.*—How did it happen that the opera "Goyescas" was given to you to translate?

*Mr. Johnson.*—The impression made by some of my lyrics for the music of my brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, and Harry T. Burleigh, together with the

fact that it was known that I was familiar with the Spanish language, brought me the opportunity to do the work.

*Mr. Doggett.*—How did you gain your knowledge of Spanish?

*Mr. Johnson.*—I have spoken some Spanish from my earliest boyhood. Later in life I studied the language carefully; but, of course, my ability to speak Spanish with fluency I gained during the eight years I spent in South and Central America in the United States Consular Service.

*Mr. Doggett.*—Did you find the work of making the English version of "Goyescas" difficult?

*Mr. Johnson.*—Quite difficult. You see it was not like translating prose, a task which would require only one operation, but it was really a triple task. Not only was it necessary to convert the sense of the original Spanish text into English, but it was necessary to turn the English into verse; moreover, the stress and accents of the English words had to fall exactly where they did in the Spanish, because my contract called for me to make a singable translation. I do not need to say that the turning of Spanish prose into English prose is easy for anyone with a knowledge of both languages; the turning of Spanish verse into English verse is far from easy; and when it is also required that the stress and accents of the English verse shall correspond exactly to the stress and accents of the Spanish verse, you have a task which no one would be contradicted in calling difficult.

There was even a fourth operation added to the task of making a singable translation. Care had to be taken that on certain notes only words containing certain vowels should fall. For example: it would bring down curses of the artist upon the head of the librettist to give a tenor the word "but" or "did" or "gay" or "green" on a high C. So the English words had to be arranged in such an order that high notes and open vowels always fell together.

*Mr. Doggett.*—How long were you in making the translation?

*Mr. Johnson.*—That is hard to answer. On some days I would work steadily for twelve or fourteen hours. On other days I would work, perhaps, only an hour or two. Days passed on which I did not touch the work. Altogether I was about six weeks completing it.

*Mr. Doggett.*—What were your impressions on the opening night at the Metropolitan Opera House?

*Mr. Johnson.*—I have attended a great many performances at the Metropolitan, but as you must know, none made the same impression on me as the first performance of "Goyescas." It was with mixed feelings of pride and awe that I watched the vast audience, during the intermission after the first act, turning the leaves of an English libretto which was my work, in order to gain a clear understanding of what was being presented upon the greatest operatic stage in the world.

*Mr. Doggett.*—Do you feel that your work will have any racial effect?

*Mr. Johnson.*—Oh, I have no idea it will solve the Negro problem, but I am sure it will open a little wider the doors of opportunity for the race in the musical and literary world. I feel that what I have been able to do will make it easier for some other colored man to do even greater work.

*Mr. Doggett.*—Do you consider color a handicap in music and literature here in New York City?

*Mr. Johnson.*—Yes and no. Color is a handicap to the intrepretor, to the performer. I do not believe that a colored actor, were he the equal of Edwin Booth, would at present be given free opportunity on the New York stage. On the other hand, color is no handicap to the creative artist. If a colored man writes a great play or a great opera or a great book, his chances for getting it before the public and gaining recognition and success are as good as a white man's chances.

As to interpreters and performers, I believe the first great opportunity will come at the top, namely, the grand opera stage. The day will surely come, and, perhaps, it is not far off, when the dark-hued characters in such operas as "Otello," "Aida," "Salambo" and "La Africaine" will be portrayed by great colored singers, both in Europe and upon our own American stage. It is simply a question of colored artists with the requisite talent being willing to undergo the long, hard work which is necessary to reach the highest proficiency in their art, and of their ability to put up a tenacious fight against obstacles. It is our fault, as a race, to be content to run along on mere talent. It is common for one of us with a good natural voice and a little training to pose as a great singer.

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MARCH, 1916

Talent is only the foundation. It takes talent plus long years of hard study and work to make an artist. I mention singers because good natural voices are our greatest racial talent.

*Mr. Doggett.*—Then you think there is a chance at the top for really great colored singers?

*Mr. Johnson.*—I do. And not only for singers, but authors, composers and creative artists of all kinds. There is very little prejudice in art, and the higher you go, the less there is.

*Mr. Doggett.*—Have you any word of advice to offer to colored aspiring artists?

*Mr. Johnson.*—None that I feel would be worth your space and their time.

*Mr. Doggett.*—It may interest many of my readers to learn a few facts concerning your life and work, so may I ask you to please give me the name of your parents.

*Mr. Johnson.*—James and Helen (Dil-littl Johnson.

*Mr. Doggett.*—When and where were you born Mr. Johnson?

*Mr. Johnson.*—Jacksonville, Fla., June 17, 1871.

*Mr. Doggett.*—What school and college did you attend?

*Mr. Johnson.*—Public school of Jacksonville, Fla., Atlanta University, and Columbia University, New York.

The following are the facts of Mr. Johnson's life as given in "Who's Who in the Colored Race."

Married Grace Elizabeth Nail, of New York, Feb. 3, 1910. Began work as principal of the Colored Public High School, Jacksonville, 1894, continuing to 1901. Admitted to the Florida bar 1899, removed to New York 1901; collaborated with my brother, J. Rosamond Johnson, in writing light operas for the New York stage. Co-author "Humpty Dumpty," "In Newport;" first was produced at the New Amsterdam Theatre, 1904; the other at the Liberty Theatre, 1906, in New York. Have collaborated on many musical plays and written words for a number of classic and simi-classic and popular songs. Author of the "Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, 1912;" contributed poems to the Century, Independent and other magazines; now contributing editor to the New York Age; was United States Consul to Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, 1906-9; Nicaragua, 1909-12; to the Azores 1912-13; member of the American Society of Authors and Composers, Sigma Phi, 32nd degree Mason.

Mr. Johnson's translation of this new Spanish opera is masterly in every particular. Often in a few words he creates a picture which a Scott would require a page to express.

The following tributes were paid to the success of "Goyescas," the new Spanish opera by Granados and Periquet, the English translation of which was made by James Weldon Johnson:

From the New York Tribune.

The most interesting parts, musically, are the choruses and the dances in the second tableau. Here the composer is at home; here, forgetting opera and all its trappings, he writes for the crowd and for the dance; writes in the idiom of the crowd, freely, spontaneously.

Before Rosario's farewell there is much pretty music, music which at times hovers close on the borders of drama.

From the New York Press.

Whether the music of "Goyescas" is essentially Spanish cannot be discussed at this time. The score is made up in large measure of characteristic dance rhythms, yet there are distinct remind-

ers of composers from various northern lands. It is melodious music.

From the New York Sun.

One thing must not be forgotten. Mr. Granados's music is unceasingly melodious. The Spanish rhythms are not all; there is also Spanish melody, which is captivating and which has the advantage of being fresh and unworn in the opera house. His orchestration is good. It is rich and sonorous without being loud. It does not aim at too many special effects and it is never cheap. The intermezzo between the first and second scenes is charming.

From the New York Times.

Mr. Granados has a rich and unconventional harmonic feeling, though he does not follow those who are most conspicuous in the exploitation of "modern" harmony. His harmonic scheme is elaborate, and gives a peculiar distinction, warmth and brilliancy to his style. This music has a haunting power.

From Left to Right—Fernando Periquet, Librettist; Jules Speck, Stage Manager; Enriques Granados, Composer; Gaetano Bavagnoli, Conductor; Guilio Setti, Chorus Director. In the Panels—Left, James Weldon Johnson, Translator; right, Anna Fitziu, Prima Donna.

### Extracts from New York Newspaper Reviews of "Goyescas"

# "Pride of Race" a Blast of Dramatic Dynamite

## First Play That Gives a Square Deal to the Negro

By Colgate Baker.

For the first time the Negro has been given a square deal in American drama —that is, he is considered as one of the members of the human family. When Deegan Folk, the one-sixteenth Negro, renounces his position as a white man and gives everything that he holds dear in the world to devote his life to his little throw-back coffee-colored son, who has been violently repudiated by its white mother, in "the Pride of Race," at Maxine Elliott's Theatre, he does a mighty big thing for the cause of the colored man.

Perhaps it would be more correct to say that it is Robert C. Hilliard, and not Deegan Folk, who has performed this service for the colored race, because, although Michael Landman is credited with the authorship of this wonderful play, and he was assisted in writing it by his brother, Isaac Landman, a Jewish rabbi, Mr. Hilliard not only suggested that a play be written based on Wallace Irwin's story, but dictated the actual writing of the script.

### Wouldn't Be Discouraged.

Besides that, Mr. Hilliard produced the play in the face of many discouragements, after his partners in the enterprise dropped out, and acted the stellar role with such virility and artistic finish that it is generally admitted to be the supreme acting achievement in his illustrious career.

"Courage" has been Mr. Hilliard's middle name ever since he made his first appearance on the stage, January 18, 1886, at the Criterion Theatre, Brooklyn, in "False Shame." He has been cast for heroes ever since, so it is not surprising to see him taking the sole responsibility for the production of one of the most daring and sensational dramas ever staged in an American theatre.

We have so little big drama on the native stage that when we do get some there are always a great many people who are awfully shocked. Anything out of the conventional gives these timid souls a start and, with their nerves a-tingle and their thinking faculties dazed, they loudly protest against the disturbance of their mental equilibrium and are prone to raise the cry of "unpleasantness," without stopping to consider whether there is any real basis for the charge.

This kind of superficial criticism has done much harm to the cause of drama.

In the case of "The Pride of Race," there is no ground for any such complaint. The whole treatment of the birth episode is reverent and in irreproachable moral and artistic taste. The scene in the second act, in which the family physician receives the confession of blood taint from the father and advises him, is also handled with rare delicacy and propriety. As to the quality of the drama involved, there can be no question; it has that mighty grip which will not be denied; it works up to a climax which is the biggest explosion of dramatic dynamite a Broadway stage has seen in many a year. Moreover, it is a play of rare ethical justice, inspiring in its absolute humanity, and one that is calculated to do a power of good.

When rightly considered, "The Pride of Race" has a very definite message which, while emphasizing that miscegnation is a crime against both the white and black races, says there is more good in the colored brother than we have credited him with, and he should be treated as a real human being and allowed to work out his own destiny in his own way.

### He Helped It Grow.

I found that Mr. Hilliard concurred with me in the construction I put upon the meaning of this astonishing play, when I called at his beautiful home in Central Park West. Over coffee and the choicest of Havanas we discussed the matter. The distinguished actor-manager has been so busy with the work of production he had no time to consider the play as yet in a detached manner. For the past six months he has watched this drama grow from the mere germ of an idea in his brain to a full-fledged play. Then came the labor of production, with its manifold troubles and difficulties, and finally the crowning triumph of the opening night at Maxine Elliott's Theatre. His charming wife has been quite as much interested in the play as he has; in fact, she has virtually collaborated with him in the work of producing.

"I read Wallace Irving's story about Deegan Folk last spring," Mr. Hilliard told me, "and it came to my mind that there was a strong play in it, so I made a scenario myself of the kind of a drama I thought could be written around the story and gave it to Mr. Michael Landman and his brother to work on.

"After some months they brought me a completed script and I invited them

down to my country home at Nantucket to talk the play over. However, after I had read the first script, I found that the laws of hospitality forbade me to talk to the authors about their play while they were my guests; so I waited until the visit was over and we were on our way back to New York, and then I told them that the best thing to do with that script was to throw it out of the window of the Pullman car and write a new play, which was promptly done, following my original scenario more closely.

"When the work was well under way I had the authors down at my Nantucket place again and worked together with them until it was completed. There is not a line or a piece of business in the play which I did not personally give my approval to, and I was particularly careful not to allow anything that could be offensive, to creep into the script. Moreover, I defy anyone to point to one indecent line in the play to-day or to one bit of stage business to which even the most hypersensitive person can properly take offense at.

### Vital Issues Necessary.

"I have been a champion of clean drama all my life. No one can say I have ever compromised with my principles in this respect, but I do believe that our drama should deal with the vital issues of life, and I fail to understand how we are going to have any great drama if it does not do so.

"After 'The Pride of Race' was finished, David Belasco read it and he immediately informed me that he thought it a great play and wished to produce it. Mr. Belasco and I soon came to terms and all that remained was to sign the contracts which our attorneys had been instructed to prepare, when suddenly Mr. Belasco notified me he had reconsidered the matter and had decided not to produce the play.

"Meanwhile Cohan & Harris had become interested in it and preparations for the production were going forward. Both George M. Cohan and Sam Forest, his stage director, took an active part in these preparations. Mr. Cohan was most sympathetic and helpful, and my relations with him and Mr. Forrest were very congenial, but later, for purely personal reasons, Cohan & Harris withdrew and I was obliged to go ahead all alone, but I never faltered and my faith in the play has been fully justified,

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THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

MARCH, 1916

although I admit it took some courage
to do it.

Negroes Approve the Play.

"I do not profess that I produced 'the Pride of Race' for any altruistic reasons. First of all, I am an actor, and every actor worthy of the name yearns to play a big role such as Deegan Folk. Secondly, I am a lover of real drama on vital themes, and 'The Pride of Race' is that kind of a play. But I am glad nevertheless that it happens to be a play which does teach a lesson, and is likely to do some good.

"Just to illustrate what I mean, here
is a letter from Harry S. Cummings,
one of the leading men of the Negro
race, a City Councilman of Baltimore,
Md. In this letter to me he says:

"I feel it my duty to express to
you my sincere appreciation for
the courage, the fairness, and the
sense of justice that inspired the
play. You are to be congratulated
that in this city (in which I was
born), with its peculiar sentiment,
that your play was so well received.
It did my heart good to see the
hearty response to your frank and
manly statement after the last act.
It means much to me—more than
I can express. It meant that,
little by little, there is a growing
sentiment towards fairness and
justice, which I understand is the
real object of your play. You can't
see how much you have served my
people and the cause of justice and
fair play by being here this week.
I can't express to you, for language
fails me, the admiration I have for
you for so doing. In my humble
and crude way, I can only express
my thanks and appreciation for the
service you have rendered the cause
in this city. The bread you have
cast upon the waters will be seen
and gathered after many days."

Treats Negro Humanly.

"It is a fact that this play is the only
one which has ever dealt with the
Negro fairly, as a real human being;
but there is no attempt to glorify him.
Quite to the contrary.

"The whole key to the subject lies
in the speech of Deegan, at the bedside
of his wife, after she has repudiated
their colored baby:

" 'Pride of race! After all, what is
race in the eyes of God, the Creator?
Whatever our race, man is but man—
nothing more. We are all human be-
ings, of different shapes and shades.
White or black, are we not all equally
precious to God in the scheme of
things?'"

"Of course," continued Mr. Hilliard,
"our sympathies are with the white
wife, who has been imposed upon, and
the tragedy of her situation grips our
hearts. She must repudiate her hus-
band and her baby. She does it with
the full approval of every one in the
audience, but we must not miss the
touch of nobility in the blood-tainted
father, whose life has been equally
wrecked, but who has the choice of
doing right or doing wrong at the cost
of his position in the world, and who
sacrifices himself for his baby and says,
'I'll pay my penance.'

Splendid Acting Part.

"I think that Deegan Folk is one of the greatest acting roles I have ever played. It may not present the variety that my part in 'A Fool There Was' did, but it requires more finesse and characterization. The man is human all the way through. People say 'he should not have married the girl,' but if he had refused to marry her, he would not have been human. He was told by his father that the chances of his blood taint ever affecting his offspring was one in a million, and in view of these odds there is no human being who would not have acted as he did when desperately in love, so you cannot condemn the man for his decision, although it produced a tragedy.

"The Pride of the Race' is a play which calls for deep thought, and its emotional appeal is such that it is difficult to do the necessary thinking about it until after you have seen it and have had time for sober reflection. But I find that the more people think about it, the better they like it.

"As to its power, there is no question. I feel the audiences follow me with a concentration which is almost uncanny. And I have played some tense situations in my day in melodrama, too."

"Do you remember 'Sporting Life',
Mr. Hilliard?"

Broke Hand In Play.

"Do I remember? I shall never forget it. One of the greatest melodramas ever written. I shall carry its scars to the grave," he said, showing a lump on the back of his hand, which he broke in the fight scene when he swung his right to the point of Bill Elmer's jaw one night in Chicago. "That accident cost me $100,000. You know I had a half interest in the production and had to sell it and quit after I broke my hand.

"The manner in which I acquired
that half interest was rather remark-
able; it shows what a big element luck
is in life. I had left the cast of 'Sport-

ing Life' because the management had
insulted some officers of the United
States Navy who attended the perform-
ance one night, and I was playing in
vaudeville. One evening the late John
W. Gates came to my dressing room and
paid a social visit, in the course of which
he questioned me about my leaving
'Sporting Life.' I told him about the
incident and said that I would not go
back in the cast unless I could control
the management of the company. He
asked me how that could be done, and
I said by buying a half interest for
$10,000.

"Why don't you do it?" Mr. Gates
asked.

Gave Him the Money.

"I replied that I could not raise ten thousand cents much less dollars, and he took out his checkbook and wrote a check for $10,000 and handed it to me saying:

"Here you are; pay it back when
you choose to."

"I paid Mr. Gates back his $10,000 in
two months and made $35,000 for my-
self before I broke my hand."

"How about luck and 'The Pride of
Race?'"

"Say, honestly, this play looks so
good it does not even need any luck,"
Mr. Hilliard replied, convincingly.—
New York Review.

*The dialogue of the principal scene in
"Pride of Race" will be printed in the
April Colored American Review.*

Dean Pickens' Cloquent Lecture
on Abraham Lincoln

By "Phil" Walthall.

Salem Church was crowded to its
utmost capacity Sunday, February 20,
young and old braving the inclement
weather to go and hear William Piek-
ens, peer of platform orators of his
race, excel even himself in declaiming
the master analysis of the love and
achievements of Abraham Lincoln. The
audience was enthralled, thrilled by an
unconquerable charm, seeming as if it
were transported into some other state
of existence, as this eloquent speaker,
in glowing words, told them the un-
varnished tale of the race.

William Pickens, Dean of Morgan
College of Baltimore, Maryland, is a
man of inspiring personality, extra-
ordinary gifts, and unflinching courage.
How he held the listeners spell-bound.
They laughed. Now they held their
breath. They were amused while he,
with his "heart on his lips" and "soul
within his eyes," rendered the highest
tribute ever paid the Great Emancipa-
tor.

# Howard P. Drew a Leader in the Sporting World

## Runner Highly Praised by New York's Foremost Newspapers.

Roy Morse.

Everybody likes a winner. That's always true, but it's particularly so in the case of the stocky colored lad who came back to his own in that wonderful sprint race at the winter athletic carnival of the Millrose Athletic Association on Wednesday night. Howard P. Drew, who demonstrated so thoroughly that the "Jefferies theory" does not apply in track athletics, is a national figure in the world of sport. Perhaps it's because we Americans "root" for the under dog that Drew has always been popular with those who follow athletics. The triumphs that Drew has scored have not come easily to him. All through his athletic career he has supported a family. When he attended night school at Springfield High the great sprinter was sometimes a bell hop by day. He ran an elevator in a hotel at other times, and later on he worked as a baggage smasher in the Union Station at Springfield. When Drew went west to attend the University of California, some jealous souls out on the coast sought to investigate the methods by which he made his living. This was done ever so quietly, but thoroughly. The investigarors bumped into a stone wall when they dug up the fact that Drew toiled at different jobs on the average of seven hours a day, outside of his college work.

One of the most trying tests of the athlete is that of a great disappoint-

ment—Drew had his great disappointment—one that can proably never be retrieved—and he stood the test in a manner that bore credit to himself and his race. He went to Stockholm with the American Olympic team in 1912 an almost sure winner of at least one Olympic title. He so outclassed his American rivals at the 100-meter distance in the tryouts that he toyed with them, winning as he pleased.

Then came the preliminary heats at Stockholm, and the Springfield lad found the foreigners just as easy. He took the fastest men in Europe out in his preliminary heat and beat them so badly in the first sixty yards of the

hold him on his toes and Drew, who outclassed them all, had to sit on the sidelines and watch the others run for the honor of being the fastest on earth.

A fellow who can swallow a pill like that without letting out even a little "bleat" has the spirit of real sportsmanship in his make-up. The boys who pay their little fifty cents to watch the athletes perform appreciate all this, and that's the reason why they almost tore the rafters down in Madison Square Garden when Drew regained his laurels in one of the finest sprint races ever run in Gotham's old amphitheatre of sport.—New York Globe.

Much credit is due the sturdy colored runner, who, in order to gain academic and athletic knowledge has had to forego many of the pleasures of youth. To pay his way through college, Drew worked his way across the country as a Pullman porter to attend the University of Southern California, and, in order to prove his superiority as a sprinter, he worked his way back East to participate in the Millrose sports.
—The New York Times,

Leon Williams.

Business Manager of J. Leubrie Hill's "Darktown Follies"

straight dash that that distance found him yards ahead, and he eased down for the rest of the distance. It was just the same in the semi-final. Drew was a block in front when he swept through the tape, but here the sprinter's bane laid Drew low. As he hit the tape a muscle in his leg "pulled," and the prize that was to have been his, with possibly a new world's record to boot, went glimmering.

And yet not a man heard Drew utter the first word of complalnt. He went out on the field on the day of the final warm up, hoping against hope that he might be able to go through. But it was no use. The muscle would not

Howard P. Drew.

Wonderful Success of Alme. C. J. Walker

Remarkable Business Triumph of a Colored Woman

Madam C. J. Walker stands in a sphere unique when we consider the business woman of to-day. The many handicaps, restrictions and traditions that confront women, especially colored women, served only to strengthen her moral fibre to will and do. Yet, regardless of being at times impeded by the débris of old traditions she has sped forward upon the broadening road of progress with astonishing rapidity.

Her initial step of putting a hair preparation of her own make upon the market about eight years ago, in her main office at Denver, Colorado, met with wonderful success.

Yet, it is to be considered that it was her clear foresight, persistency, and business generalship that induced her to enter larger fields of activity. She moved to and established her main office at Pittsburgh, Pa. It was here that Madam Walker realized the result of her long hours of toil and focused every energy she had so energetically put into her business. Her trade grew to an extent which warranted her in the assurance that to accommodate such success she should have a sufficiently equipped factory in order to supply the demands. Having this end in view she located at Indianapolis, Ind., which city gave her a more central location for the site of her factory.

In the Fall of 1910, she incorporated her business under the firm name of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, of which she is the sole owner.

Growth, development, and expansion seemed to be the pulse of her enterprise at Indianapolis. The factory was located in the rear of her beautiful residence, 640 Northwest St., Indianapolis, but in less than two years the rapid growth of trade compelled her to purchase additional space at 644 Northwest Street for extensions, and now Madam Walker is in search of further accommodations for her vast and growing business.

From the date of its incorporation, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company grew in leaps, and now her goods and representatives are found in every State, and in every city of any size in the Union. The bulk of her business is in the Central, Southern and Southwestern States. Madam Walker was not content to have her goods known only in America, but early in the year of 1913 visited Panama, Cuba, and other places in the West Indies.

As a result she has a large foreign trade, making it necessary to employ an interpreter to handle her foreign mail.

It is readily conceded that this enterprise, owned and controlled by Madam Walker, is the largest and the most far-reaching of its kind in the world, and from an income of a few hundreds of dollars per month in the year 1910, she has now an income of may thousands a month. Madam Walker is also the owner of some very valuable real estate, stocks and bonds, having rental property in Chicago, New York Los Angeles, Savannah, Ga., Bishop Court at Flushing, L. I., Gary, Ind., and several strictly modern houses in Indianapolis, Ind., rented by two white and colored tenants.

The offices of the Madam Walker Manufacturing Company are supplied with the latest modern equipment, experienced bookkeepers, stenographers and shipping clerks. She has a forelady in the factory who has charge of a large force of workers, and besides she has an attorney to look after the legal side of her affairs. Madam C. J. Walker left her business in charge of her daughter, Mrs. Lelia W. Robinson, at Pittsburgh, when she undertook the Indianapolis establishment. Mrs. Robinson proved her true worth in business tact and skill as well as her ability to carry out plans laid by her resourceful mother. It was Mrs. Lelia W. Robinson who proved the maxim that towering genius detests a beaten path. She, like her mother, had no predecessor in the business of this kind on such a large scale. It was her clear vision and ability to adjust herself to new conditions and new fields of labor, as well as to seize opportunities when they presented themselves that directed her attention to the East and the Great Metropolis, New York City. Mrs. Lelia W. Robinson has qualities that stand for greatness. It is her liberality of mind and her magnanimous spirit that have won for her the admiration of many. Yet, while her mother, with tireless energy, was establishing agencies in all parts of the South, it was she who established the Walker goods in the East, and has been a boon to our race in many and varied respects. Her magnificent home and well-equipped parlors at 108 and 110 West 136th Street, New York City, will readily convince anyone that she has a rare and unique taste in the realm of the beautiful and the sublime. She gives her mother full credit for her success.

These parlors, from their exterior and interior, are marvelous beyond description. The two houses, 108 and 110, have been built into one house. The facing, which is of red brick with marble trimmings, French windows and two entrances, is impressive as well as captivating to the passerby, whetting the interest at once, and quickly leading to an eager desire to enter. A mild tone and sweet taste of color is expressed when one enters. This is shown in the dainty landing inside of the long French doors, and a blue velvet runner guides your steps down into the shop. The parquet floors and metal ceilings are the truest expression of sanitation, as well as beauty, grandeur and richness. The office is at your right, roped in with blue velvet rope through marble white posts.

It is in this place that one forgets the harshness of life and is taken into the realm of beauty, art and culture.

These two women, mother and daughter, have done, in the age of their day and generation, work that will be a light of everlasting good to beckon their sisters onward and upward. Their success as business women has moved back the clouds of prejudice, and lessened the narrow conception as well as the insignificant regard men hold for women in the business and professional world of to-day. The calibre of these two women will sway the sceptre in the business work for many years to come. Even when they are dead and their bodies have crumbled to dust their work will continue to live as an unperishable good—ennobling, uplifting, inspiring both men and women to a higher goal of success and lofty attainment.

It is well for the woman of to-day who is contemplating business, to take note of some of the outstanding qualities that led these two noble women of industry to renowned success. The first and most essential quality of any woman is to feel keenly her sense of responsibility and to fill her position with dignity and exactness. A realization of the value of time, her own and that of others, promptness in keeping engagements, a purely business point of view in regarding system, the alertness of mind, tact, skill, courage, confidence in self and in others from a strictly business point of view. The what, the how, and the why of the reasons that these two women succeeded can easily be traced back to these well trained and cultivated qualities.

MARCH, 1916

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

183

## Clanrod Jones' Career

The brilliant success and the rapid rise of Mr. Clanrod Jones is marvellous indeed. The beauty and the grandeur of his wonderful strides and splendid career in the business world is largely due to his early training beneath the Southern sunny skies. It was at Danville, Va., about twenty-seven years ago, during the beautiful month of May, that Mr. Clanrod Jones was born of humble parents. He grew rapidly in the wholesome atmosphere of parental affections, and in the tender graces of a mother's love, kind and courteous friends. Yet, with an open heart and head and willing hands, he could see clearly beyond his immediate surroundings. This was due largely to his keen sense of observation of the things around him—birds and beasts, nature and man. He had learned early in his everyday habits the value of time, economy and thrift. This gave him the assurance to take a decided step forward into a world of keen competition, when he reached the age of accountability. As he grew upon the farm playing around the barnyard in his bare feet, coming in contact with boys older and more experienced in the world about them than himself, he had chosen a career he desired. He thought and planned carefully. He concentrated all of his energies and bent every nerve fibre to carry out his long-felt project. While he was hammering at a buzzing car he was dissecting, he was asked about his early education. "I graduated from the common country school at Alma Grove, Va., when I was about fifteen years old," he said with his eyes sparkling and a beaming smile upon his map as he reflected upon the sweet memories of the past.

In the meantime it seemed that something went wrong with one of his students while he was diligently working at a job. Thoughtlessly he uttered "I don't care."

At that moment Mr. Jones turned towards the student with a stern look upon his face and gave a timely lecture to the young man for making such a remark. Then Mr. Jones was asked to what attribute of character he attributed his success. "Care and thoroughness I consider the most essential features of my business. When I was growing upon the farm, my father used to say 'the man that never cared would never amount to anything,' and whenever I would say that I didn't care in the presence of my father, I would carry around with me for about a week a big mouth full of fist," responded Mr. Jones. When Mr. Jones first anchored

upon our Northern shores, he confronted many a difficulty. Yet, he struggled onward and upward, step by step, until he was given a chance as a demonstrator for the Auto Exchange Company, 211 West 58th Street, New York City. During the two years he was there he made good. His aptitude and skill as a mechanic won for him the admiration of the Company and many others who knew him. His initiative step in establishing the Harlem River Automobile School was taken February 1, 1913. The motive that truly inspired him was indeed altruistic. He realized that the automobile business was the business of the hour which offered unlimited scope and opportunity for the colored youth. From this time onward the school has been producing telling results. The seeds of tireless energy, unceasing pluck and devotion have resulted into fruit double fold. The magnitude of this worthy and timely establishment has been felt throughout Harlem and elsewhere. In the three years of its history it has turned out over three hundred students.

They have all been very successful in securing good positions throughout New York City and the nearby towns. He receives many letters from his students, expressing their gratitude, esteem, and hearty appreciation for the success they have met with the public, due to the thorough course they received at his school. Here is a letter from one of the graduates:

Mr. Clanrod Jones,
The Harlem River Auto School,
2165 Madison Ave., N. Y. C.

My dear Sir:

I am truly mindful of the past association and profitable experience at your school. I thank you so much in aiding in securing for me this position. I find that your method of instruction, especially in its detail form, has been invaluable to me in my line of work. I care to be remembered to all concerned.

H. D. ADDERELY.

Mr. Adderely is working for F. D. Homan, 211 West 58th Street, New York City. Another student from his school has met with overwhelming success. This young man is driving for Mr. Oppenheim, the largest wholesale butcher in the State of New York. Mr. Jones again was asked how was it that his students were so successful in holding their positions. "They know the business well before they are turned out to the public. They are kept for two weeks learning the various parts of the machinery of the car before they turn a wheel," he said emphatically.

Mr. Edward Jones, a brother of Mr. Clanrod Jones, has been an essential figure in carrying out the well-established principals of the school. Mr. Frank Norman, 427 South Allegheny Avenue, Charlestown, W. Va., started out in business with Mr. Jones. He has been a great asset to the business.

184

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

MARCH, 1916

Mme. Crawford's Rise

Mme. Crawford, one of New York's well-known business women of Harlem, the Alexandria of the modern world, has many features of note. While sitting in the office of the Colored-American Review, "the Mecca" where some of the most prominent business men meet, a discussion arose, "What Negro Business Woman is Foremost in the Public's Eye?" This resulted to quite a discussion, after which honors, of course, were thrusted upon me to investigate the various business enterprises of "our famous city," Harlem.

This was indeed a task, yet, praise-
worthy in its general scope so far as to
find out who is who in the keen competi-
tion of our every-day life. Soon after-
wards, I found myself in the quaint,
costly equipped establishment of Mme.
Crawford, 454 Lenox Avenue. On
entering, a neatly clad colored miss
greeted and received me with all the
skill, business tact, courtesies and graces
that mean so much to customers in the
business world. When I asked to see
Mme. Crawford she said: "She is out at
present; won't you wait?" this reply
with a semi-smile which flushed her
face. Then I asked where I might find
her at this hour. "At her private resi-
dence, 103 West 136th Street," she
replied. I went to her home and was
politely told that Mme. Crawford
could be found at another one of her
establishments at 119 West 135th Street.
I soon found myself confronting the

woman who has proven herself
worthy of the most serious com-
ment relative to her vast and
far-reaching achievement in
our great metropolis.

When I asked the Mme. for
an interview relative to the his-
tory of her life and business
career—she modestly rebelled
at the idea. But, after a few
moments of deliberation, she
finally consented. In the mean-
time customers were in the
store and the two neatly
dressed colored girls were in
charge, and as she was just
collecting herself for this inter-
view, with an eagle's eye and
flash quick as lightning, she
was to the front to handle that
part of the business which
needed her most. Returning
with an apology, she soon be-
gan to tell me the inmost
secrets relative to her small
beginning and rapid rise in her
present sphere of activity.
Her story was truly inspiring.
"I was born in Charlott-
ville, Va.," she said. "I received

a common school education such as the
Southern schools offered at that time,
but I didn't care to teach. I was thrown
upon my own resources very early in
life. I have, don't you know, as a girl
sewed at the low price of twenty-five
cents a day!" she drew her breath and
vigorously took up the subject again
"When I reached the age of accounta-
bility," she said, "I went to Chicago
and there I received private instruc-
tions; from there I came to New York
and entered the school of dermatology.
I stuck to this and completed my
course. In short, I have been in the
hair-dressing business for about fifteen
years. It is indeed a growing and
timely business for colored girls to take
up, as the white people prefer and eater
to competent colored hair dressers.
I had many white customers when I
lived and had my hair-dressing parlor
down in 59th Street. and yet I have
always had a desire to enter upon a
business of a broader and a larger scale
than this, so about two years ago I
entered upon this enterprise of mer-
chandise."

I asked Mme. Crawford in the realm
of business qualifications which trait
she deemed was most essential to her
success. She smiled and then said:
"My aunt calls me a miser—but I am
not. Yet, I believe in economy; when
I say economy, I mean economy in
the broadest sense—the ability to
save your earnings and invest them
to your profit, as far as you are able."
What Mme. Crawford has accomplished

in the last few years in her line of
drygoods and serving the public sat-
isfactorily in its many demands, truly
makes her a woman of rare ability.
Her establishment at 454 Lenox Avenue
is well equipped with a stock of goods
valued at $3,000. In this store you will
find Miss Edna Jackson, Miss Harnetha
Witherspoon, a Southern school teacher,
and Amelia Lawrence, and Mrs. Blanche
Lover. Mrs. Lydia Millington and
Miss Lucy Mosley are in charge of the
establishment which Mme. Crawford
has just recently purchased from Mme.
Allen, 119 West 135th Street. This
store is richly stocked with about $1,500
worth of goods, besides she is the owner
of a costly and well furnished home at
103 West 136th Street, New York City.
She belongs to many uplift movements.
She is a member of the Southern
League, and also a member of the Met-
ropolitan Baptist Church. Her scope
of activity has been felt for good in
various avenues of her social and public
life. She sees a great future for the
young women of her race in the line of
various enterprises which are offer-
ing them golden opportunities of un-
limited scope. I am sure that it will
not be a far day before Mme. Crawford
will be giving employment to scores of
our young women, when her highest
ideals are realized in the business world.

A. Merral Willis.

MAJOR A. WHITE

BENNETT W. ELLISON

Telephone, John 3961

Safety First. Insurance
Guarantees It. Insure
To-Day. To-Morrow
May Be Too Late

WHITE & ELLISON

Agents

63 Maiden Lane 91 William St.
New York

American Eagle Fire Insurance Co.

Patriotic Assurance Co., Ltd.

City of New York Insurance Co.

County Fire Insurance Co.

MARCH, 1916

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

185

PHOTO STUDIO

WALTER BAKER
PHOTOGRAPHER

LENOX AVE., COR. 133rd ST., NEW YORK
Over Drug Store

TAILORS

Phone 1257 Morningside

LUCIUS C. JONES
TAILOR

431 LENOX AVENUE

Formely with N. Tarasca & Co., New York

LADIES' AND GENTS'

Shoe and Hat Cleaning Parlor

Clothes Cleaned and Pressed

J. W. CRUMP, Prop.

107 WEST 135TH STREET

J. H. EDWARDS

113 WEST 138RD STREET

Custom Tailor

Ladies' and Gents' Suits Made to Order. Cleaning,
Pressing and Dyeing. Your Patronage Solicited. Having
had wide experience in first-class tailoring houses I am in a
position to satisfy the general public.

TELEPHONE HARLEM 3668

The Harlem Tailoring Co.

73 W. 131ST STREET, NEW YORK CITY

Special Sales Days Monday and
Thursday of Each Week

SUITS SPONGED, STEAMED
AND PRESSED, 25c.

WE GUARANTEE SATISFACTION
TO ALL OR MONEY REFUNDED

Promoted by Harlem Colored Business Men

Dress Making Dept., Mme. Davis, Mgr.
Tailoring Dept., Davis & Booker, Mgrs.

French Dry Cleaning and Dyeing Est. 1912

L. BRUCE CLAY
TAILOR

Cleaning, Pressing and Repairing

100-2 WEST 139th STREET NEW YORK
'Phone, 2070 Audubon

DRESSMAKERS

MRS. LAURA L. LANDRUM
Dress Making

Advanced and Primary Teaching

Lessons, 25c. Up. Classes, 3.30 to 5.30 P.M.
52 W. 139TH STREET (Apt. 2), NEW YORK

MME. MAMIE HILL
Modest

FASHIONABLE DRESS MAKER

Prices Reasonable
Remodeling a Specialty

Workmanship Unexcellcd
Satisfaction Guaranteed

LENOX AVE.

(Victoria
Apartments)

NEW YORK CITY

MARKETS

SMITHFIELD MARKET

Virginia Hams, Fancy Poultry
and Game in Season

Fresh Eggs, Turkeys, Chickens, Ducks and Geese
517 LENOX AVENUE NEW YORK

Tel. Audubon 1243

T. H. BANKS, Mgr.

T. H. BANKS & CO.

Wholesale and Retail Poultry Dealers
HOTEL AND RESTAURANT SUPPLIES
565 LENOX AVE. NEW YORK CITY

Bet. 138th and 139th Sts.
Branch: 25 W. 133rd St. Tel. 6038 Harlem

REAL ESTATE

Suburban Realty & Leasing Co.
Houses and Lots for sale and to lease, in city
and suburbs. Lots for sale in Passaic, N. J.
These lots are a great bargain; from $100
upward; $10.00 down and $5.00 per month
until paid for. When paid for we will give you
a loan to build if desired. Come and see me.
THOMAS TUCKER, 28 E. 134TH STREET

RESTAURANTS

Have You Tried

BANKS?

OUR FRIED CHICKEN

Can't Be Surpassed Anywhere

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE

We Cook To Keep Customers

BANKS'S Eating House

T. H. BANKS, Proprietor

25 W. 133rd St. New York City

When You Want a First Class
Meal, Southern Style, Go To The
RICHMOND DINING ROOM

MISS R. N. SHEPARD, 139 W. 131st ST.
Our Pastry a Specialty

Telephone, 229 Harlem.

EDDIE GREGORY

Business Men's Lunch

2234 FIFTH AVENUE. (Grosskopf's Cafe)

GROCERIES

We Lead Others Follow

WEST INDIAN
PRODUCTS CO.

47 WEST 135TH STREET

Grocers, Wholesale and Retail
Dealers in West Indian Products

OUR SUPPLY NEVER RUNS OUT

PROFESSIONAL

Phone Morningside 9388

DR. WILLIAM VEAL

Surgeon Dentist

Office Hours 9 A. M. to 9 P. M.

2307 SEVENTH AVENUE

NEW YORK CITY

AUTOMOBILES

AUTOS TO HIRE

H. J. BRANSON

Dealer in Second Hand Cars

163 WEST 132ND STREET, NEW YORK

Garage Phone 7771 Morningside

Home Phone 2612 Morningside

LAFAYETTE Auto School

Instructions in Driving and
Repairing Guaranteed

Cars For Hire

All Occasions

211 W. 134TH ST. Phone 7252 Morningside

BOOKS

YOUNG'S Book Exchange

Colored Authors and Books
on Race Problems a Specialty

135 WEST 135TH STREET, NEW YORK

BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

before his death wrote his own story
of his complete life from the cradle to
the grave. People want the authentic
book. *Price, $1.25.* We pay the
express. Outfit and large picture free
for 15 cents postage. *Act quickly.*

MULLIKIN-JENKINS

Publishers
WASHINGTON, D. C.

TONSORIAL

'Phone 5973 Bedford

J. R. LYTLE
BARBER SHOP

First Class Work Done Well-known Sol Shiver Foreman
All Leading Colored Papers for Sale

1820 DEAN ST.

BROOKLYN, N. Y.

EDWARD W. P. GASKINS

Barber and Hair Dresser

1703 BERGEN ST.

BROOKLYN, N.Y.

Barber of National Reputation

186

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

MARCH, 1916

### TONSORIAL

E. C. PALMER'S
ANTISEPTIC SHAVING PARLOR
Removed From 1051 Fulton Street to
1004 FULTON STREET

Opposite Downing Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
SHAVING AND HAIR CUTTING

A fine brand of Cigars and Tobacco always on Hand
Special attention given to Ladies' and Children's hair cutting

### FURNITURE

JAS. OFFUTT
Upholstering

All Kinds of Furniture Repairing Neatly Done
MATTRESSES MADE OVER
All Orders Promptly Attended to

30 WEST 135TH STREET NEW YORK

### MISCELLANEOUS

Patronize the place where your money goes farthest

THE VARIETY Bargain Store
J. R. LOCKLEY, Prop., 5 W. 134th St., N. Y.

Notions, Dry Goods, Furnishings, Fancy Goods, Toilet Articles, Hair Goods, Stationery, Cigars and Tobacco, Glassware, Crockery-ware, Agateware, Hardware, and hundreds of other articles too numerous to mention.

THE MATCHLESS HAIR NETS, 3 for 10c.

Telephone, 1427 Harlem.

W. C. WALL'S

Moving Vans and Express. Autos for
Long-Distance Moving.

1 EAST 131ST STREET, NEW YORK

Telephone, Harlem 599

VAUGHAN'S Bargain Shop
Ladies' and Gents' Furnishings

Toilet Articles and Notions

42 WEST 135th ST., NEW YORK

### LAUNDRY

One Kind of Work—the Best Only

Telephone Connection

LINCOLN
HAND LAUNDRY

513 LENOX AVENUE

Bet. 135th and 136th Sts.

### BOOTS AND SHOES

Fashionable Shoes to Order at Moderate Prices

ANDREW BONO
SUPERIOR SHOE MAKER

Proper Repairing by Hand or Electricity

Specialty in Rubber Heels and All Kinds of Rubber Soles
Laces and Shoe Polish for Sale

2092 MADISON AVE., NEW YORK

Bet. 131st and 132nd Sts.

If Not Contented, Let Me Know. Will Satisfy You.

Phone, Morningside 1610

SALES AND EXCHANGES

A. G. THOMPSON
REAL ESTATE AND INSURANCE

City and Suburban Houses on Easy Terms. Small Payments Down, Balance as Rent

Near Seventh Ave. 178 WEST 135th STREET NEW YORK

TABB'S QUICK LUNCH

A CLEAN AND UP-TO-DATE PLACE TO DINE

Largest Bill of Varieties in New York

OUR SPECIALTY—GOOD COFFEE AND SOUTHERN COOKING. TABLES FOR LADIES. NEVER CLOSED

TABB & LANEY, Props. 566 LENOX AVENUE NEW YORK

Telephone Harlem 3298

QUALITY FIRST

IDEAL WINE AND LIQUOR STORE

Is an IDEAL Place to Get IDEAL Goods at an IDEAL Price. BIG CHIEF

Near 132nd Street 450 LENOX AVENUE NEW YORK

GEIGER & BRAVERMAN FURNITURE CO.

HIGH GRADE FURNITURE

AT

MODERATE PRICES

49 WEST 23rd STREET (Near Sixth Ave.)

'Phone, 6477 Gramercy

'Phone 4711 Prospect

J. D. MATTHEWS, Harness Maker

782 FULTON STREET, Corner Adelphi Street, BROOKLYN

Whips, Curry Combs, Surcingles, Blankets, Oils, Mane Combs, Brushes
Sweat Collers, Axle Grease, Etc., Always on Hand at Reasonable Prices.
REPAIRING NEATLY DONE. Work Called For and Delivered

Office and Show Room Open Evenings Until 10 P. M. Phone 3668 Harlem

Estimates Made and Sales Negotiated on Real Estate or Personal Property
Business Bought and Sold or Exchanged. Goods Bought and Sold for Clients

DAVIS & DAVIS

SELLING AND PURCHASING AGENTS

73 WEST 131st STREET

WE ARE AGENTS FOR GENERAL MERCHANDISE

If You Are in Need of
COAL AND WOOD, BED CLOTHING, FOOD, TOILET ARTICLES, HOUSEHOLD
NOVELTIES, OR ANY ARTICLE MANUFACTURED

Call or Write Us and Our Prompt Attention Will Be Given You
AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE

Directory for Furnished Rooms with All Improvements. Lodgers Recommended After Investigation

It is to your credit to be a regular reader of The Colored American
Review. It aims to become the pride of the race.

MARCH, 1916

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

## Portraits of Your Favorite Celebrities Free

SEEING THE GREAT NEED throughout the country of first-class portraits of celebrated national and universal characters, men and women who have "made good" and distinguished themselves in the eyes of the world, and shall always be "BELOVED OF THE RACE," we have spent time and much money in collecting what is recognized and regarded as the largest and finest collection of "FAMOUS NEGROES," both past and present, in America and abroad. This collection may be yours Free. All well-regulated families in America should adorn the walls of their homes with their favorites in this collection. Why? Because they are encouraging indeed to the older folks, and worth their weight in gold as an inspiration to your children. They teach them that what has been done by others can be done with greater success by themselves if they will only study and prepare for the effort. Each portrait has a short biography of the life work of the subject.

These Beautiful Half-Tone Portraits, Size 12 x 14, Ready For Framing Are Worth $1.00. They Are FREE To You.

One With Every Yearly Subscription. Over 100 Celebrities In This Collection and the Following Are Now off the Press and at Your Disposal.

<table><tbody><tr><td>Frederick Douglass</td><td>Statesman</td></tr><tr><td>Booker T. Washington</td><td>Educator</td></tr><tr><td>Robert Russa Moton</td><td>Educator</td></tr><tr><td>Henry Tanner</td><td>Artist</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Laurence Dunbar</td><td>Poet</td></tr><tr><td>Alexander Dumas</td><td>Author</td></tr><tr><td>Kelly Miller</td><td>Philosopher and Author</td></tr><tr><td>Mathews Henson</td><td>Explorer</td></tr><tr><td>J. Rosamond Johnson</td><td>Composer</td></tr><tr><td>James W. Johnson</td><td>Ex-U. S. Consul and Author</td></tr><tr><td>George Walker</td><td>Actor and Composer</td></tr><tr><td>Hon. Harry Boss</td><td>Lawyer and Legislator</td></tr><tr><td>Bert Williams</td><td>Comedian</td></tr><tr><td>Anita Bush</td><td>Actress</td></tr><tr><td>Ernest Hogan</td><td>Comedian</td></tr><tr><td>Bob Cole</td><td>Actor and Comedian</td></tr><tr><td>Coleridge Taylor</td><td>Musician and Composer</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><tbody><tr><td>Harry T. Burleigh</td><td>Singer and Composer</td></tr><tr><td>William Stanley Braithwaite</td><td>Poet and Critic</td></tr><tr><td>Aida Walker</td><td>Actress and Dancer</td></tr><tr><td>Howard P. Drew</td><td>Athlete, Runner</td></tr><tr><td>Mme. Jones (Black Patti)</td><td>Singer</td></tr><tr><td>Mme. C. J. Walker</td><td>Hair Culturist, Lecturer</td></tr><tr><td>Rev. W. W. Brown</td><td>Eminent Baptist Divine</td></tr><tr><td>Rev. Clayton Powell</td><td>Eminent Baptist Divine</td></tr><tr><td>James Reese Europe</td><td>Musician and Composer</td></tr><tr><td>W. E. B. Du Bois</td><td>Educator and Author</td></tr><tr><td>Sam Lucas</td><td>The Original Uncle Tom</td></tr><tr><td>Phillis Wheatley</td><td>Famous Poet</td></tr><tr><td>Major Taylor</td><td>Champion Bicycle Rider</td></tr><tr><td>Hon. James Curtis</td><td>Lawyer, Minister to Liberia</td></tr><tr><td>Hon. Wm. H. Lewis</td><td>Ex-U. S. Ass't. Dist. Attorney</td></tr><tr><td>All the present Bishops of the A. M. E. Z.</td><td>Church</td></tr><tr><td>All the present Bishops of the A. M. E.</td><td>Church</td></tr></tbody></table>

If you wish this full collection send in your subscription to-day. Then get busy among your friends and we will send you any one of these portraits you select for every new subscriber sent in by you.

No Time Like The Present, So "Do It Now."

The Colored American Review

2305 SEVENTH AVENUE

NEW YORK

190

THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW

MARCH, 1916

Phone Harlem 3008

NORMAN B. STERRETT, Jr.

Undertaker and Embalmer

OPEN DAY AND NIGHT. Special Attention to All Orders. Large Funeral Parlors
OFFICE: 56 WEST 133RD STREET
NEW YORK

Phone 5450 Harlem

OLDEST AFRO-AMERICAN BROKER IN NEW YORK

Fire Insurance a Specialty

J. M. GREEN

Real Estate and Insurance

17 WEST 135th STREET, NEW YORK

Renting and Collecting Mortgage Loans
UNITED STATES PENSION AGENT

Management of Estates Solicited

Legal Papers Drawn
NOTARY PUBLIC

PROF. PASTOR PENALVER

Ex-pres. of the New York Amsterdam M. A.

Solo Violinist and Orchestra Leader

68 West 131st Street, New York City

Furnishes First Class Music
For All Occasions

Instructor in Violin, Guitar
Mandolin, Cello, Banjorine and Banjo

EATS

THAT ARE WORTH WHILE

Splendid Service and Your Money's Worth

THE MECCA FOR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

DOCK'S LUNCH ROOM

107 West 133rd Street

Phone Harlem 5589-5590

Open "ALL NIGHT LONG"

LINCOLN CUT RATE DRUG STORE

75 WEST 135th STREET

Opposite The Lincoln Theatre

Our Wares Are As Good As the Best

Our Prices Are Much Cheaper Than the Rest

A TRIAL WILL CONVINCE YOU

PHILIP A. PAYTON JR. COMPANY

Real Estate and Insurance

Desirable Apartments for Desirable Tenants. Homes in City and Suburbs
for Sale on Very Easy Terms

TELEPHONE CONNECTION

67 WEST 134th STREET

NEW YORK

Telephone, 111 Harlem

COLUMBUS STORAGE HOUSE, Inc.

MOVING, PACKING AND SHIPPING

Separate Rooms for the Storage of Furniture, Pianos and Works of Art

Near Lenox Ave.

62-64 WEST 134th STREET

NEW YORK

No better place to Advertise than in The Colored American Review.
Try it and be convinced. It reaches the right people.

Free Portraits.

It is easy to obtain free portraits of
celebrities. For full particulars as to
how to do it, see page 187.

Ways Have Changed.

'Tis said that Shakespeare in his time
(And he was not alone)

Would never write by electric light,
Or use the telephone.

The motor car so popular,
(Or so I've heard tell)

Was quite ignored by George the Third
And George the Fourth as well.

Napoleon was also one,

Despite his great renown,

Whose photograph or lithograph
Was never shown in town.

The famous Cardinal Richelieu—
And rich and great was he—

Did quite disdain a railroad train,
As proved by history.

George Washington was in his day,
A man who traveled far,

Yet never slept or even stepped
Within a Pullman car.

Columbus, though he sailed the seas,
Exploring far and wide,

Would never dream of using steam
Up to the day he died.

But, nowadays we've changed our ways
And use these things galore,

And all concour we much prefer
These days to those of yore.

We'd rather be alive and—here,
Than George, or Bill or Nap,

And as for them, being dead—ahem!
They do not care a rap.

CHARLES L. TOMPKINS.

["192", "THE COLORED AMERICAN REVIEW", "MARCH, 1916", "Elite Amusement Corporation's", "LAFAYETTE THEATRE", "2227 SEVENTH AVE., Bet. 131st & 132nd Sts. 'Phone, Morn. 1811", "Under the Management of EUGENE ELMORE (\"Frenchy\")", "NOW PLAYING MATINEE DAILY", "THE BEN-ED AMUSEMENT COMPANY PRESENTS", "J. Leubrie Hill's Famous\n“Darktown Follies\n—of 1916”", "Book by Alex Rogers\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t