his interest in us by acts rather than by mere words, and that if I thought his visit to Tuskegee would permanently help the race and the institution he would most gladly give up one day of his administration to visit Tuskegee.

The morning of December 16 came, and at eight o’clock the President, Mrs. McKinley, with members of his cabinet, their families, besides distinguished generals, including General Shafter, General Joseph Wheeler, General Lawton and others, arrived on special trains from Atlanta. Invitations had been extended to Gov. Joseph F. Johnston, of Alabama, and his staff. These were also present. The Alabama Legislature was also invited, and it adjourned and came to Tuskegee in a body. In all more than six thousand visitors came. The morning was spent in an inspection of the grounds and in witnessing a parade of all the work of the school, religious, academic and industrial, represented on floats. This over, we went to the large chapel, where the President, members of his cabinet, the Governor, and others spoke. A few extracts from the addresses of the President, Secretary of the Navy Long and Postmaster General Smith, in commendation of Tuskegee’s work, may be of interest. The President said:

“Teachers and Pupils of Tuskegee: To meet you under such pleasant auspices and to have the opportunity of a personal observation of your work is indeed most gratifying. The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute is ideal in its conception, and has already a large and growing reputation in the country and is not unknown abroad. I congratulate all who are associated in this undertaking for the good work which it is doing in the education of its students to lead lives of honor and usefulness, thus exalting the race for which it was established.

“Nowhere, I think, could a more delightful location have been chosen for this unique educational experiment, which has attracted the attention and won the support even of conservative philanthropists in all sections of the country.

“To speak of Tuskegee without paying special tribute to Booker T. Washington’s genius and perseverance would be impossible. The inception of this noble enterprise was his, and he deserves high credit for it. His was the enthusiasm and enterprise which made its steady progress possible and established in the institution its present high standard of accomplishment. He has won a worthy reputation as one of the great leaders of his race, widely known and much respected at home and abroad as an accomplished educator, a great orator and a true philanthropist.

“What steady and gratifying advances have been made here during the past fifteen years a personal inspection of the material equipment strikingly proves. The fundamental plan of the original undertaking has been steadily followed; but new features have been added; gaps in the course of instruction have been filled in; the patronage and resources have been largely increased until even the legislative department of the State of Alabama recognized the worth of the work and of the great opportunities here afforded. From one small frame house the institution has grown until it includes the fine group of dormitories, recitation rooms, lecture halls and work shops which have so surprised and delighted us to-day. A thousand students, I am told, are here cared for by nearly a hundred teachers, altogether forming with the preparatory department a symmetrical scholastic community which has been well called a model for the industrial colored schools of the South. Certain it is that a pupil bent on fitting himself or herself for mechanical work can have the widest choice of useful and domestic occupations.

“One thing I like about this institution is that its policy has been generous and progressive; it has not been so self-centered or interested in its own pursuits and ambitions as to ignore what is going on in the rest of the country or make it difficult for outsiders to share the local advantages. I allude especially to the spirit in which the annual conferences have been held by leading colored citizens and educators, with the intention of improving the condition of their less fortunate brothers and sisters. Here, we can see, is an immense field and one which cannot too soon or too carefully be utilized. The conferences have grown in popularity, and are well calculated not only to encourage colored men and colored women in their individual efforts, but to cultivate and promote an amicable relationship between the two races—a problem whose solution was never more needed than at the present time. Patience, moderation, self-control, knowledge, character, will surely win you victories and realize the best aspirations of your people. An evidence of the soundness of the purpose of this institution is that those in charge of its management evidently do not believe in attempting the unattainable, and their instruction in self-reliance and practical industry is most valuable.

“In the day and night schools many branches can be taught at a small expense, which will give the man and the woman who have mastered them immediate employment and secure their success afterwards, provided they abide by the principles of industry, morality and religion here inculcated. In common with the Hampton Institute, in Virginia, the Tuskegee Institute has been and is to-day of inestimable value in sowing the seeds of good citizenship. Institutions of their standing and worthy patronage form a steadier and more powerful agency for the good of all concerned than any yet proposed or suggested. The practical is here associated with the academic, which encourages both learning and industry. Here you learn to master yourselves, find the best adaptation of your faculties, with advantages for advanced learning to meet the high duties of life. No country, epoch or race has a monopoly upon knowledge. Some have easier but not necessarily better opportunities for self-development. What a few can obtain free most have to pay for, perhaps by hard physical labor, mental struggle and self-denial. But in this great country all can have the opportunity for bettering themselves, provided they exercise intelligence and perseverance, and their motives and conduct are worthy. Nowhere are such facilities for universal education found as in the United States. They are accessible to every boy and girl, white and black.

“Integrity and industry are the best possessions which any man can have, and every man can have them. Nobody can give them to him or take them from him. He cannot acquire them by inheritance; he cannot buy them or beg them or borrow them. They belong to the individual and are his unquestioned property. He alone can part with them. They are a good thing to have and keep. They make happy homes; they achieve success in every walk of life; they have won the greatest triumphs for mankind. No man who has them ever gets into the police court or before the grand jury or in the workhouse or the chain gang. They give one moral and material power. They will bring you a comfortable living, make you respect yourself and command the respect of your fellows. They are indispensable to success. They are invincible. The merchant requires the clerk whom he employs to have them. The railroad corporation inquires whether the man seeking employment possesses them. Every avenue of human endeavor welcomes them. They are the only keys to open with certainty the door of opportunity to struggling manhood. Employment waits on them; capital requires them. Citizenship is not good without them. If you do not already have them, get them.

“To the pupils here assembled I extend my especial congratulations that the facilities for advancing afforded to them are so numerous and so inviting. Those who are here for the time being have the reputation of the institution in charge and should, therefore, be all the more careful to guard it worthily. Others who have gone before you have made great sacrifices to reach the present results. What you do will affect not only those who come after you here, but many men and women whom you may never meet. The results of your training and work here will eventually be felt, either directly or indirectly, in nearly every part of the country.

“Most of you are young, and youth is the time best fitted for development both of the body and mind. Whatever you do, do with all your might, with will and purpose, not of the selfish kind, but looking to benefit your race and your country. In comparing the past with the present you should be especially grateful that it has been your good fortune to come within the influences of such an institution as that of Tuskegee and that you are under the guidance of such a strong leader. I thank him most cordially for the pleasure of visiting this institution, and I bring to all here associated my good will and the best wishes of your countrymen, wishing you the realization of success in whatever undertakings that may hereafter engage you.”

Secretary Long said:

“Mr. President and Students:

“I cannot make a speech to you to-day. My heart is too full, full of hope, admiration and pride for my countrymen of both sections and both colors. I am filled with gratitude and admiration for your work, and from this time forward, I shall have absolute confidence in your progress and in the solution of the problem in which you are engaged.

“The problem, I say, has been solved. A picture has been presented to-day which should be put upon canvas with the pictures of Washington and Lincoln, and transmitted to future time and generations; a picture which the press of the country should spread broadcast over the land, a most dramatic picture, and that picture is this: The President of the United States standing on this platform; on one side, the Governor of Alabama, on the other, completing the trinity, a representative of a race only a few years ago in bondage, the colored president of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute.

“God bless the President under whose majesty such a scene as that is presented to the American people. God bless the State of Alabama which is showing that it can deal with this problem for itself. God bless the orator, philanthropist and disciple of the Great Master,—who if he were on earth would be doing the same work,—Booker T. Washington.”

Postmaster General Smith closed as follows:

“We have witnessed many spectacles within the last few days. We have seen the magnificent grandeur and the magnificent achievements of one of the great metropolitan cities of the South. We have seen heroes of the war pass by in procession.

We have seen floral parades. But I am sure my colleagues will agree with me in saying that we have witnessed no spectacle more impressive and more encouraging, more inspiring for our future than that which we have witnessed here this morning.

“I have thought as I sat here this morning of two men, two great men, two great educators. One of them was the founder and creator of the Hampton Institute, in Virginia, and the other is the real creator and founder and pre-eminent head of this great industrial institution of the South. General Armstrong did a work which cannot be measured by the breadth of his philanthropy, the greatness of his unselfishness and the extent of his power in educating a people. We have for years mourned his lamented death. His memory will be preserved among that of the great benefactors of our people and our government. In the future, though long may that time be distant so far as relates to the head of this institution, in the distant future, we shall be ready to erect in the capitol of the nation, among the heroes of our country, among those who have contributed to its upbuilding and to its salvation, we shall be ready to erect a monument to these two great philanthropists and leaders of this people, General Armstrong and Booker T. Washington.”

I cannot close this chapter without adding a reference to the great pleasure and satisfaction given by the part the white and colored citizens of the town of Tuskegee took in this recognition of the school. A few years before this I had gone to Tuskegee unknown and entirely without means, but no white people, in any part of America, could have acted more cordially and co-operated more heartily with our school than did the white people of Tuskegee upon this occasion. They organized various committees, composed of both men and women, to help us in giving the President the proper reception. The town, from one end to the other, was decorated with the National colors, to say nothing of many beautiful arches and other forms of decorations. One of the many newspaper correspondents who accompanied the President remarked to me that he had never seen in any town of the size such generous and appropriate decorations.

What the President and his party thought of this visit to the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute can be best told by the following letter, received from the Secretary to the President:

“Executive Mansion,

Washington, Dec. 23, 1899.

“Dear Sir:—By this mail I take pleasure in sending you engrossed copies of the souvenir of the visit of the President to your institution. These sheets bear the autographs of the President and the members of the Cabinet who accompanied him on the trip. Let me take this opportunity of congratulating you most heartily and sincerely upon the great success of the exercises provided for and entertainment furnished us under your auspices during our visit to Tuskegee. Every feature of the program was perfectly executed and was viewed or participated in with the heartiest satisfaction by every visitor present. The unique exhibition which you gave of your pupils engaged in their industrial vocations was not only artistic but thoroughly impressive. The tribute paid by the President and his Cabinet to your work was none too high and forms a most encouraging augury, I think, for the future prosperity of your institution. I cannot close without assuring you that the modesty shown by yourself in the exercises was most favorably commented upon by all the members of our party.

“With best wishes for the continued advance of your most useful and patriotic undertaking, kind personal regards, and the compliments of the season, believe me, always,

Very sincerely yours,
John Addison Porter,
Secretary to the President.”

“To Pres. Booker T. Washington,
Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute,
Tuskegee, Ala.”

The impression which this visit of the President, Members of his Cabinet, and other distinguished visitors made upon the teachers and students of the Tuskegee Institute, cannot be overestimated. It inspired the teachers and students with new life and hope, not only in the work of the present, but in that of the future. It did more. It inspired the older members of the community, black and white, with new and higher purposes in the hard battle of life. It made us all feel, as we had never felt before, that we were in a higher and nobler sense citizens of the great Republic, and that the President of the United States was our President, “in soberness and truth,” as much as he was of the people of larger and more pretentious communities than ours.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE TUSKEGEE NEGRO CONFERENCE.

About the first of January, 1892, I sent out invitations to about 75 of the common, hard-working farmers, as well as to mechanics, ministers and teachers, asking them to assemble at Tuskegee on the 23d of February and spend the day in talking over their present condition, their helps and their hindrances, and to see if it were possible to suggest any means by which the rank and file of the people might be able to benefit themselves. I quote a portion of the printed invitation which was sent out to those invited to attend the Conference:

“In the Conference, two ends will be kept in view: First, to find out the actual industrial, moral and educational condition of the masses. Second, to get as much light as possible on what is the most effective way for the young men and women whom the Tuskegee Institute, and other institutions, are educating to use their education in helping the masses of the colored people to lift themselves up.

“In this connection, it may be said in general, that a very large majority of the colored people in the Black Belt, cotton district, are in debt for supplies secured through the ‘mortgage system,’ rent the land on which they live and dwell in one-room log cabins. The schools are in session in the country districts not often longer than three months and are taught in most cases in churches or log cabins with almost no apparatus or school furniture.

“The poverty and ignorance of the Negro, which show themselves by his being compelled to ‘mortgage his crop,’ go in debt for the food and clothes on which to live from day to day, are not only a terrible drawback to the Negro himself but a severe drain on the resources of the white man. Say what we will, the fact remains, that in the presence of the poverty and ignorance of the millions of Negroes in the Black Belt the material, moral and educational interests of both races are making but slow headway.”

In answer to this invitation we were surprised to find that nearly 400 men and women of all kinds and conditions came. In my opening address I impressed upon them the fact that we wanted to spend the first part of the day in having them state plainly and simply just what their conditions were. I told them that we wanted no exaggeration and did not want any cut and dried or prepared speeches, we simply wanted each person to speak in a plain, simple manner, very much as he would if he were about his own fireside speaking to the members of his own family. I also insisted that we confine our discussion to such matters as we ourselves could remedy rather than in spending the time in complaining or fault-finding about those things which we could not directly reach. At the first meeting of this Negro Conference we also adopted the plan of having these common people speak themselves and refused to allow people who were far above them in education and surroundings to take up the time in merely giving advice to these representatives of the masses.

Very early in the history of these Conferences I found that it meant a great deal more to the people to have one individual who had succeeded in getting out of debt, ceasing to mortgage his crop and who had bought a home and who was living well, occupy the time in telling the remainder of his fellows how he had succeeded than in having some one who was entirely out of the atmosphere of the average farmer occupy the time in merely lecturing to them.

In the morning of the first day of the Conference we had as many representatives from various parts as we had time in which to tell of the industrial condition existing in their immediate community. We did not let them generalize or tell what they thought ought to be or was existing in somebody’s else community, we held each person down to a statement of the facts regarding his own individual community. For example, we had them state what proportion of the people in their community owned land, what proportion lived in one-room cabins, how many were in debt and the number that mortgaged their crops, and what rate of interest they were paying on their indebtedness. Under this head we also discussed the number of acres of land that each individual was cultivating and whether or not the crop was diversified or merely confined to the growing of cotton. We also got hold of facts from the representatives of these people concerning their educational progress; that is, we had them state whether or not a school-house existed, what kind of teacher

they had and what proportion of the children were attending school. We did not stop with these matters; we took up the moral and religious condition of the communities, had them state to what extent, for example, people had been sent to jail from their communities; how many were habitual drinkers; what kind of minister they had; whether or not he was able to lead the people in morality as well as in spiritual affairs.

After we had got hold of facts which enabled us to judge of the actual state of affairs existing, we spent the afternoon of the first day in hearing from the lips of these same people in what way, in their opinion, the present condition of things could be improved, and it was most interesting as well as surprising to see how clearly these people saw into their present condition, and how intelligently they discussed their weak points as well their strong points. It was generally agreed that the mortgage system, the habit of buying on credit and paying large rates of interest, was at the bottom of much of the evil existing among the people, and the fact that so large a proportion of them live on rented land also had much to do with keeping them down. The condition of the schools was discussed with equal frankness and means were suggested for prolonging the school term and building school-houses. Almost without exception they agreed that the fact that so large a proportion of the people live in one-room cabins, where there was almost no opportunity for privacy or separation of the sexes, was largely responsible for the moral condition of many communities.

When I asked how many in the audience owned their homes only twenty-three hands went up.

Aside from the colored people who were present at the Conference who reside in the “Black Belt,” there were many prominent white and colored men from various parts of the country, especially representatives of the various religious organizations engaged in educational work in the South, and officers and teachers from several of the larger institutions working in the South. There were correspondents present representing such papers as the New York Independent, Evening Post, New York Weekly Witness, New York Tribune, Christian Union, Boston Evening Transcript, Christian Register, The Congregationalist, Chicago Inter-Ocean, Chicago Advance, and many others.

At the conclusion of the first Conference the following set of declarations was adopted as showing the concensus of opinion of those composing the Conference:

“We, some of the representatives of the colored people, living in the Black Belt, the heart of the South, thinking it might prove of interest and value to our friends throughout the country, as well as beneficial to ourselves, have met together in Conference to present facts and express opinions as to our Industrial, Moral and Educational condition, and to exchange views as to how our own efforts and the kindly helpfulness of our friends may best contribute to our elevation.

“First. Set at liberty with no inheritance but our bodies, without training in self-dependence, and thrown at once into commercial, civil and political relations with our former owners, we consider it a matter of great thankfulness that our condition is as good as it is, and that so large a degree of harmony exists between us and our white neighbors.

“Second. Industrially considered, most of our people are dependent upon agriculture. The majority of them live on rented lands, mortgage their crops for the food on which to live from year to year, and usually at the beginning of each year are more or less in debt for the supplies of the previous year.

“Third. Not only is our own material progress hindered by the mortgage system, but also that of our white friends. It is a system that tempts us to buy much that we would do without if cash was required and it tends to lead those who advance the provisions and lend the money, to extravagant prices and ruinous rates of interest.

“Fourth. In a moral and religious sense, while we admit there is much laxness in morals and superstition in religion, yet we feel that much progress has been made, that there is a growing public sentiment in favor of purity, and that the people are fast coming to make their religion less of superstition and emotion and more of a matter of daily living.

“Fifth. As to our educational condition, it is to be noted that our country schools are in session on an average only three and a half months each year; the Gulf States are as yet unable to provide school-houses and as a result the schools are held almost out of doors or at best in such rude quarters as the poverty of the people is able to provide; the teachers are poorly paid and often very poorly fitted for their work, as a result of which both parents and pupils take but little interest in the schools, often but few children attending, and these with great irregularity.

“Sixth. That in view of our general condition, we would suggest the following remedies: (1) That as far as possible we aim to raise at home our own meat and bread; (2) that as fast as possible we buy land, even though a very few acres at a time; (3) that a larger number of our young people be taught trades, and that they be urged to prepare themselves to enter as largely as possible all the various avocations of life; (4) that we especially try to broaden the field of labor for our women; (5) that we make every sacrifice and practice every form of economy that we may purchase land and free ourselves from our burdensome habit of living in debt; (6) that we urge our ministers and teachers to give more attention to the material condition and home life of the people; (7) that we urge that our people do not depend entirely upon the State to provide school-houses and lengthen the time of the schools, but that they take hold of the matter themselves where the State leaves off, and by supplementing the public funds from their own pockets and by building school-houses, bring about the desired results; (8) that we urge patrons to give earnest attention to the mental and moral fitness of those who teach their schools; (9) that we urge the doing away with all sectarian prejudice in the management of the schools.

“Seventh. As the judgment of this Conference we would further declare: That we put on record our deep sense of gratitude to the good people of all sections for their assistance and that we are glad to recognize a growing interest on the part of the best white people of the South in the education of the Negro.

“Eighth. That we appreciate the spirit of friendliness and fairness shown us by the Southern white people in matters of business in all lines of material development.

“Ninth. That we believe our generous friends of the country can best aid in our elevation by continuing to give their help where it will result in producing strong Christian leaders who will live among the masses as object lessons, showing them how to direct their own efforts towards the general uplifting of the people.

“Tenth. That we believe we can become prosperous, intelligent and independent where we are, and discourage any efforts at wholesale emigration, recognizing that our home is to be in the South, and we urge that all strive in every way to cultivate the good feeling and friendship of those about us in all that relates to our mutual elevation.”

At the present writing eight of these Conferences have been held. I shall not occupy space in describing in detail each one of these annual Conferences except to say that each Conference has grown in numbers, interest and value to the people. Very often as many as two thousand representatives assemble at these meetings, which are usually held in the latter part of February. Representatives now come from not only most all parts of Alabama but from practically all of the Southern States. Similar Conferences have also been organized in other states, notably Texas, South Carolina and North Carolina. Aside from these state Conferences, local Conferences which meet as a rule monthly and bring together the people in each community or county are now in existence in many parts of the South, and the people find these meetings a great means of helping themselves forward. One of our teachers at the present time gives the greater part of the year to the work of organizing and stimulating these local Conferences in various parts of the South. The people look forward eagerly each year to the assembling of the large or central Negro Conference at Tuskegee and they are always anxious to give their reports. The spirit of hopefulness and encouragement which now characterizes these Conferences, as compared with the rather depressed and hopeless feeling existing when the first Conference met, is most interesting. Many communities in the Conference held in recent years have been able to report that the people are ceasing to mortgage their crops, are buying land, building houses with two or three rooms, and their school terms in many cases have been extended from three to six and eight months, and that the moral atmosphere of the community has been cleansed and improved. These Conferences have served to make the people aware of their own inherent strength; to let them feel and understand how much they can do toward improving their own condition when once they make up their minds to make the effort, and the results from every point of view are most gratifying.

In order to show something of the spirit and interest that characterizes these Conferences I give verbatim extracts from a few addresses delivered at a recent Conference by some of these Black Belt Negroes. “This Conference is doing untold good,” said a very intelligent farmer and preacher of about fifty years of age who has attended all the Conferences. “Since I went back home from the first one and told the people about it they have gone to work and bought over two thousand acres of land. Much of it has already been paid for. I thank God on my knees for these Conferences. They are giving us homes.” Another man who could not come himself to a recent Conference sent a letter saying that seven of his neighbors had bought themselves homes. One woman reported that she had raised four hundred pounds of pork and had also raised corn enough to enable her to live without mortgaging her crop. Over one hundred in all reported that they had paid for homes. Another man said, “We are not what we ought to be, we are sadly lacking but we are one hundred per cent. better than we were twenty years ago and we are going to be better than we are.” Another remarked with a great deal of emphasis, “It makes a man more truthful when he owns land, and I know when he gives his word

he cannot run away. To own property is to own character.” Another farmer from Macon County said: “The nigger race ain’t such a bugaboo as you think. The trouble with our people is we don’t understand ourselves; we don’t have self-reliance and self-government. Eight years ago I didn’t have even a meat skin, now I have got eighty acres of land and five mules, all paid for. You must be a man. Say sink or swim, I’m coming on top; if you don’t you won’t amount to anything. Some of our race is so shiftless that if their own mother should rise from the grave after twenty years, and come into the house and say, ‘Son, give me a cup of coffee, I’ve been walking all night,’ he couldn’t do it. You make a mortgage and then you get everything you want, not everything you need. I had a start once before, and I got a couple of old horses and a buggy and I rid around too much and I got down. Then I promised the Lord if he would forgive me and help me to start again I would do better. Now I work from Monday to Saturday. A heap of our people don’t like that part of the Bible which says ‘six days thou shalt work.’ When a colored man dies the merchant makes more than on any other day, because you have all got to dress up, hire buggies, and ride around and go to the funeral. I don’t want anybody’s foot on my neck. I don’t go and say, ‘Mas’r Joe, please sir, I wants a little flour or I wants a little coffee for my old lady,’ but when I want anything I just go and get it. You must not sit down and trust God; if you do you’ll starve. Get up and go to work and trust God and you’ll get rich.”

Then Father Mitchell, who is a colored minister, said: “Now, keep quiet; we’s gettin’ along slowly. I wish our neighborhood was like dat brother’s as jest spoke. You give me a good lick for a young man, Mr. President; but, sir, if we had twenty men like you we’d get happy ’fore we enter heaven. We make a heap of corn and potatoes.” “How about morals?” asked some one. “Well, now, I’ll tell you about dat. I’d thank my Redeemer to send me some morals down to my neighborhood. I am putting up a big Baptist Church down on the Sam road, an’ I hope I’ll be able to do my people some good.”

At the time of the organization of the Annual Negro Farmers’ Conference, it was decided to make a special effort to secure the attendance of the representatives of the various educational, religious and philanthropic institutions in the South for the elevation of the Negro. This attempt was quite successful, so much so that in addition to the regular delegates at the Negro Conference quite a large number of educators and others began assembling to witness the proceedings of the Negro Conference. During the session of the Conference it was determined to organize what is known as the “Worker’s Conference,” composed of educators, etc., interested in the elevation of the Negro. It was decided to ask the members of the Worker’s Conference to be present and witness the proceedings of the regular Negro Conference in order that they might get information at first hand as to the condition and needs of the colored people. The following day the Worker’s Conference was called and based its proceedings in a large measure upon the lessons learned the previous day at the Farmers’ Conference. The Worker’s Conference has now been in existence many years and is a very important and far-reaching institution; in fact, it is the only organization that brings together annually the various officers and teachers connected with the large religious and educational enterprises in the South. We have had regularly present at the Worker’s Conference representatives from such institutions as the Hampton Institute, Atlanta University, Clark University, Atlanta Baptist College, Gammon Theological Seminary, Spelman Seminary, Morris Brown College, Fisk University, Central Tennessee College, Straight University, Talladega College, Tougaloo University, Lincoln University, Selma University, and many others which I have not space to mention; in fact, I think every educational institution of any importance for the Negro has been represented at one or more of these Worker’s Conferences. Besides these, we often have present the secretaries of the various religious organizations doing work in the South.

The subjects discussed in these Worker’s Conferences are of a wide range. At the last Conference the time was occupied in a discussion of how the various educational institutions in the South could serve to bring about more satisfactory relations between the two races in the South. The discussion was free, open and most helpful. In fact, it is well understood that in all of these gatherings at Tuskegee there is the utmost frankness and liberality allowed as to opinion and discussion. The Worker’s Conferences are growing in numbers and interest and have now become a permanent part of the educational machinery of the South.

CHAPTER XVIII.

A VACATION IN EUROPE.

During this same year I received an invitation which surprised me somewhat. It was an invitation from the secretary of the Birmingham, Alabama, Lyceum, a white literary organization, composed of the best and most cultured people in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, inviting me to address the Lyceum. I accepted this invitation to deliver an address before the organization on the 30th of March. There was some adverse criticism and some protests through the newspapers, and otherwise, on the part of a certain element of white people in Birmingham; in fact, some effort was made to prevent white ladies from attending, but I was surprised and gratified when I appeared before the audience to find the room filled with representatives of the best ladies and gentlemen of Birmingham, and I have never spoken before any organization where my words were more heartily and more kindly received than was true on this occasion. I give one or two short extracts from Birmingham newspapers which indicate how my address was received. This was the first time that I had ever received an invitation to address a white literary organization in the South, although during the winter of the same year I had delivered an address before the National Farmer’s Association, which met at Fort Worth, Texas.

Immediately after the public meeting held in Boston in the Hollis Street Theatre, some friends of mine in Boston noted that I seemed to be rather worn out as a result of nearly eighteen years of continuous work, without any vacation during the winter or summer. Without our knowledge, they quietly started a movement to raise a certain sum of money to be used in sending Mrs. Washington and myself to Europe, where we could rest for two or three months. This plan was a very great surprise to us, and it seemed difficult for us to make up our minds to leave the school for so long a time, but these friends insisted that we owed it to the work and to ourselves to take the vacation. The result was that we sailed for Europe on the 10th of May and remained abroad until the 5th of August. We had a very pleasant and delightful trip across the ocean and made many friends on the voyage. I was called upon to speak on the steamer going and had a large and interesting audience. After a voyage of ten days we landed at Antwerp, Belgium, and remained there a short while. We then took a trip through the country in company with some New York friends, whose acquaintance we made on the voyage. In Holland we traveled on the canal boats, which gave us an opportunity of seeing the inner life of the country people, and also the agricultural life of the people.

I was especially anxious to study the agricultural and dairy systems, with a view to utilizing the information in our work at Tuskegee. The thorough cultivation of the soil, for which this country is noted, made a deep impression upon me. There are few other countries, if any in the world, where the soil is so thoroughly cultivated as in Holland. The dairy interests there present an interesting and valuable field for study. While in Holland we visited The Hague, where the International Peace Congress was in session, and were shown many courtesies by the American members of the Peace Conference. After remaining for some time in Holland we returned to Antwerp and spent some time there, and afterwards proceeded to Brussels, where we had a pleasant stay. From Brussels we went to Paris, where we remained nearly six weeks. In Paris we received much kind attention from General Horace Porter, the American Ambassador, and his wife, as well as from other American and French people. Soon after reaching Paris I received an invitation to deliver an address before the American University Club, an organization composed mainly of American college men residing in Paris. The American Ambassador, Gen. Horace Porter, presided at this meeting, and in addition to myself the speakers were Ex-president Benjamin Harrison and Archbishop Ireland. I was also invited to deliver an address the following Sunday in the American chapel, which I did. Mrs. Washington and I attended a reception given by the American Ambassador, where we met many prominent people.

I went to Europe mainly for the purpose of securing complete rest, and notwithstanding the many engagements which constantly pressed themselves upon me, I succeeded in getting a great deal of needed strength, especially was this true in Paris. From Paris we went to London and arrived there just in the midst of the social season. We had many letters of introduction from friends in America to influential people in England, and our stay in England was occupied mainly in a continual round of social engagements.

Soon after reaching London, friends insisted that I should deliver an address to the public on the race problem in the South. The American Ambassador, Hon. Joseph H. Choate, was especially anxious that I consent to do this. A meeting was arranged to take place in Essex Hall. In connection with this meeting Rev. Brooke Herford, D. D., whom I had formerly known in Boston, gave Mrs. Washington and myself a reception. The meeting was largely attended, and Mr. Choate, the American Ambassador, presided. The substance of what Mr. Choate and myself said at this meeting was widely circulated in England and telegraphed to the American press. This meeting was attended by such well-known people as Hon. James Bryce, who also spoke, and many high officials and members of titled families in England. After this meeting I received many invitations to speak at other gatherings, but as far as possible excused myself from doing so, in order that I might secure the rest for which I went to Europe. I did, however, consent to speak at a meeting at the Crystal Palace, which was presided over by the Duke of Westminster, said to be the richest man in the world. This meeting was also largely attended. We attended, among many other social functions, receptions given by the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, by Mr. and Mrs. T. Fischer Unwin, Mrs. Unwin being the daughter of the late Richard Cobden. Lady Henry Somerset was very kind in her attention to us.

While in London the following editorial appeared in the Daily Chronicle:

“The presence in London of Mr. Booker T. Washington, at whose address the other evening the American Ambassador presided, calls for a generous recognition of the remarkable work being done in the United States for the Negro by this gifted member of the Negro race. What Frederick Douglass was to an older generation that Mr. Washington is to the present. At the recent visit of President McKinley to the South, Mr. Washington occupied a place of honor alongside the President, and was almost as heartily acclaimed. When one recalls the tremendous ‘color’ feeling in America, such a fact is exceedingly striking. The great work which Mr. Washington has done has been an educational work. Orator as he is, it is not so much his power of speech as the building up of the remarkable industrial institute at Tuskegee, in Alabama, which has given this Negro leader his deserved fame. The Civil War left the Negro legally and nominally free, and the legislation after the war was over made him legally and nominally a citizen. But we know that the Negro has been in fact in a very different position from that which he occupied on paper. He has been insulted by degrading legislation, he has been in many states virtually deprived of his vote, and in not a few cases an election dispute has afforded the dominant white man an excuse for slaughter of the blacks. The Negro has retaliated in his barbarous way. Though religious in the most emotional form, he is often non-moral, and there can be no doubt that he has committed many grave offenses against social order.

“Mr. Washington, though an enthusiastic advocate of the claims of his race, is by no means blind to the faults which render so many Negroes almost unfit for American citizenship. He saw long ago, what so many American politicians who gave the suffrage to the colored population did not see—that the most important service which could be rendered to the blacks was to make useful artisans and workmen of them. As a result of his meditation on the condition of the colored people, Mr. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in the Black Belt of Alabama, stumped the Union for funds, interested in his great undertaking all the best minds of the Northern States, and has had the satisfaction of seeing this institution grow to its present status of the largest and most important training centre of the black race in the world. Here, where both sexes are welcomed on terms of equality, the Negro is taken in hand, given the rudiments of education, taught a useful trade, taught also, if he proves capable, the higher branches of modern culture, subjected to high intellectual and ethical influences, and made a man of in the true sense of the word. No better work is being done in America at the present hour than in this remarkable institution in Alabama.

“That the American conscience is being roused to its duty to the Negroes is evident from the recent important conference at which two leading speakers were an ex-Governor of Georgia and a Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The horrible burnings and improvised hangings by white mobs, who took the law into their hands, have awakened the people of the North, and it is very properly asked whether those who permit such brutalities in their own borders are fit to assume control of black and yellow races in the Pacific. Ex-Governor Northen, of Georgia, took the North to task for having been more responsible for the spread of slavery than the South, and he defended, but without much success, the Southern whites against the attacks made on them. The Bishop, it is gratifying to find, took the strong ground of the Declaration of Independence, and asserted the equal right of black and white to the common rights which the law and the Constitution allow. But the important principle which emerges clearly from the long discussion that took place at this conference is that a laissez faire policy is impossible in the case of the Negro. You cannot ‘emancipate’ him alone. He must be educated, his character must be formed, he must be made a useful and self-reliant being. This is precisely what is being done at the Tuskegee Institute, and therefore, its founder is solving, as far as one man can, one of the chief American problems of the time. And what a problem! The practical humanising and elevation from barbarism of dusky millions on whose own future the future of the United States largely depends.”

Perhaps the most interesting and restful part of our visit to England was the time that we spent as the guest of various English people in their country homes. In order for one to appreciate what English life really is he should have an opportunity to get into the daily life of an English gentleman in his country residence.

We visited Bristol, where we were given a reception by the Women’s Liberty Club, and also Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. In Birmingham we spent several days as the guests of Mr. Joseph Sturge, who kindly gave us a reception, at which we met many of the prominent citizens of Birmingham. Of course we visited a great many places of historical interest and had an opportunity of looking into the methods of education in England. We were specially interested in the work of the large polytechnic institutes and the agricultural colleges, from which we got a great deal of valuable information.

While in Europe I wrote a series of letters for the American Negro press, which was widely published and commented upon.

During our stay in London I took special pains to inquire into the opportunities for our people to better their condition by emigrating to Africa, and convinced myself that there was little, if any, hope of our people being able to better their condition by returning to Africa, largely because Africa is almost completely divided up among various European nations, leaving almost no hope for self-government in any part of Africa, except in the little republic of Liberia, which is notably unhealthy and undesirable from almost every point of view. I found out that in many cases the Negroes are treated by Europeans in Africa almost as badly as they have ever been treated in the South. The letter which I wrote from London on this subject was very widely copied and commented upon by the American press.

While I was in Europe cases of lynching of our people were especially frequent in the South and in order to assist in checking this injustice perpetrated upon the race, I addressed the following letter to the Southern people, which was widely published throughout the country and seemed to do much good. It was heartily commented upon editorially in the Southern press:

“Several times during the last few months, while our country has been shocked because of the lynching of Negro citizens in several states, I was asked by many, and was tempted to say something upon the subject through the press. At the time of these lynchings I kept silent, because I did not believe that the public mind was in a condition to listen to a discussion of the subject in the calm judicial manner that it would be later, when there should be no undue feeling or excitement. In the discussion of this or any other matter, little good is accomplished unless we are perfectly frank. There is no white man of the South who has more sincere love for it than I have, and nothing could tempt me to write or speak that which I did not think was for the permanent good of all the people of the South. Whenever adverse criticism is made upon the South I feel it as keenly as any member of the white race can feel it. It is, therefore, my interest in everything which appertains to the South that prompts me to write as I do now. While it is true that there are cases of lynchings and outrage in the Northern and Western States, candor compels us to admit that by far the most of the cases of lynchings take place in our Southern States, and that most of the persons lynched are Negroes.

“With all the earnestness of my heart, I want to appeal, not to the President of the United States, Mr. McKinley; not to the people of New York nor of the New England States, but to the citizens of our Southern States, to assist in creating a public sentiment such as will make human life here just as safe and sacred as it is anywhere else in the world.

“For a number of years the South has appealed to the North and to Federal authorities, through the public press, from the public platform, and most eloquently through the late Henry W. Grady, to leave the whole matter of the rights and protection of the Negro to the South, declaring that it would see to it that the Negro would be made secure in his citizenship. During the last half dozen years the whole country, from the President down, has been inclined more than ever to pursue this policy, leaving the whole matter of the destiny of the Negro to the Negro himself and to the Southern white people among whom the great bulk of the Negroes live.

“By the present policy of non-interference, on the part of the North and the Federal Government, the South is given a sacred trust. How will she execute this trust? The world is waiting and watching to see. The question must be answered largely by the protection the South gives to the life of the Negro and the provisions that are made for the development of the Negro in the organic laws of the state. I fear that but few people in the South realize to what extent the habit of lynching, or the taking of life without due process of law, has taken hold of us, and to what extent it is hurting us, not only in the eyes of the world, but in our own moral and material growth.

“Lynching was instituted some years ago, with the idea of punishing and checking outrage upon women. Let us examine the cold facts and see where it has already led us, and where it is likely further to carry us, if we do not rid ourselves of the habit. Many good people in the South, and also out of the South, have gotten the idea that lynching is resorted to for one crime only. I have the facts from an authoritative source. During last year 127 persons were lynched in the United States. Of this number, 118 were executed in the South and 9 in the North and West. Of the total number lynched, 102 were Negroes, 23 were whites and 2, Indians. Now, let everyone interested in the South, his country and the cause of humanity, note this fact-that only 24 of the entire number were charged in any way with the crime of rape; that is, 24 out of 127 cases of lynching. Sixty-one of the remaining cases were for murder, 13 being for suspected murder, 6 for theft, etc. During one week last spring, when I kept a careful record, 13 Negroes were lynched in three of our Southern States and not one was even charged with rape. All of these 13 were accused of murder or house-burning, but in neither case were the men allowed to go before a court so that their innocence or guilt might be proven.

“When we get to the point where four-fifths of the people lynched in our country in one year are for some crime other than rape, we can no longer plead and explain that we lynch for one crime alone.

“Let us take another year, that of 1892, for example. During this year (1892) 241 persons were lynched in the whole United States, 36 of this number were lynched in Northern and Western States, and 205 in our Southern States. Of the 241 lynched in the whole country, 160 were Negroes and five of these were women. The facts show that out of the 241 lynched in the entire country in 1892, but 57 were even charged with rape, even attempted rape, leaving in that year alone 184 persons who were lynched for other causes than that of rape.

“If it were necessary, I could produce figures for other years. Within a period of six years about 900 persons have been lynched in our Southern States. This is but a few hundred short of the total number of soldiers who lost their lives in Cuba during the Spanish-American war. If we could realize still more fully how far this unfortunate habit is leading us on, note the classes of crime, during a few months, which the local papers and Associated Press say that lynching has been inflicted for—they include ‘murder,’ ‘rioting,’ ‘incendiarism,’ ‘robbery,’ ‘larceny,’ ‘self-defense,’ ‘insulting women,’ ‘alleged stock poisoning,’ ‘malpractice,’ ‘alleged barn-burning,’ ‘suspected robbery,’ ‘race prejudice,’ ‘attempted murder,’ ‘horse stealing,’ and ‘mistaken identity,’ etc.

“The practice has grown until we are now at the point where not only blacks are lynched in the South, but white men as well. Not only this but within the last six years, at least a half dozen colored women have been lynched. And there are a few cases where Negroes have lynched members of their own race. What is to be the end of this? Besides this, every lynching drives hundreds of Negroes from the farming districts of the South, where their services are of great value to the country, into the already over-crowded cities.

“I know that some will argue that the crime of lynching Negroes is not confined to the South. This is true, and no one can excuse such a crime as the shooting of innocent black men in Illinois, who were guilty of no crime except that of seeking labor, but my words just now are to the South, where my home is and a part of which I am. Let other sections act as they will; I want to see our beautiful Southland free from this terrible evil of lynching. Lynching does not stop crime. In the immediate section of the South where a colored man recently committed the most terrible crime ever charged against a member of his race, but a few weeks previous to this, five colored men had been lynched for supposed incendiarism. If lynching was a cure for crime, surely the lynching of five would have prevented another Negro from committing a most heinous crime a few weeks later.

“We might as well face the facts bravely and wisely. Since the beginning of the world crime has been committed in all civilized and uncivilized countries, and a certain amount of crime will always be committed, both in the North and in the South, but I believe that the crime of rape can be stopped. In proportion to the numbers and intelligence of the population of the South, there exists little more crime than in several other sections of the country, but because of the lynching habit we are constantly advertising ourselves to the world as a lawless people. We cannot disregard the teachings of the civilized world for eighteen hundred years, that the only way to punish crime is by law. When we leave this dictum chaos begins.

“I am not pleading for the Negro alone. Lynching injures, hardens and blunts the moral sensibilities of the young and tender manhood of the South. Never shall I forget the remark by a little nine-year-old white boy, with blue eyes and flaxen hair. The little fellow said to his mother after he had returned from a lynching: ‘I have seen a man hanged; now I wish I could see one burned.’ Rather than hear such a remark from one of my little boys, I would prefer seeing him laid in his grave. This is not all; every community guilty of lynching, says in so many words to the governor, to the legislature, to the sheriff, to the jury, and to the judge, I have no faith in you and no respect for you. We have no respect for the law which we helped to make.

“In the South, at the present time, there is less excuse for not permitting the law to take its course, where a Negro is to be tried, than anywhere else in the world, for almost without exception the governors, the sheriffs, the judges, the juries and the lawyers are all white men, and they can be trusted, as a rule, to do their duty; otherwise it is needless to tax the people to support these officers. If our present laws are not sufficient to properly punish crime, let the laws be changed, but that the punishment may be by lawfully constituted authority is the plea I make. The history of the world proves that where law is most strictly enforced is the least crime; where people take the administration of the law into their own hands is the most crime.

“But there is another side. The white man in the South has not only a serious duty and responsibility, but the Negro has a duty and responsibility in this matter. In speaking of my own people I want to be equally frank, but I speak with the greatest kindness. There is too much crime among us. The figures for a given period show that in the United States 30 per cent. of the crime committed is by Negroes, while we constitute only about 12 per cent. of the entire population. This proportion holds good, not only in the South, but also in the Northern States and cities.

“No race that is so largely ignorant and so lately out of slavery could, perhaps, show a better record, but we must face these plain facts. He is most kind to the Negro who tells him of his faults as well as of his virtues. A large amount of the crime among us grows out of the idleness of our young men and women. It is for this reason that I have tried to insist upon some industry being taught in connection with their course of literary training. The time has come when every parent, every teacher and minister of the gospel, should teach with unusual emphasis morality and obedience to the law. At the fireside, in the school room, in the Sunday-school, from the pulpit and the Negro press, there should be such a sentiment created regarding the committing of crime against women, that no such crime shall be charged against any member of the race. Let it be understood for all time that no one guilty of rape can find sympathy or shelter with us, and that none will be more active in bringing to justice, through the proper authorities, those guilty of crime. Let the criminal and vicious element of the race have at all times our most severe condemnation. Let a strict line be drawn between the virtuous and the criminal. I condemn with all the indignation of my soul the beast in human form guilty of assaulting a woman. Let us all be alike in this particular.

“We should not as a race become discouraged. We are making progress. No race has ever gotten upon its feet without discouragements and struggles.

“I should be a great hypocrite and a coward if I did not add that which my daily experience teaches me is true, viz.: that the Negro has among many of the Southern whites as good friends as he has anywhere in the world. These friends have not forsaken us. They will not do so; neither will our friends in the North. If we make ourselves intelligent, industrious, economical and virtuous, of value to the community in which we live, we can and will work out our own salvation right here in the South. In every community, by means of organized effort, we should seek in a manly and honorable way the confidence, the co-operation, the sympathy of the best white people in the South and in our respective communities. With the best white people and the best black people standing together, in favor of law and order and justice, I believe that the safety and happiness of both races will be made secure.”