,,working ,,with ,,the ,,hands ,,other ,,books ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author ,,character ,,building ,,up ,,from ,,slavery ,illustration3 ,,mr4 ,,washington ,,in ,,his ,,office ,,at ,,tuskegee ,,working ,,with ,,the ,,hands ,,being ,a ,,sequel ,,to ,,up ,,from ,,slavery ,,covering ,,the ,,author',s ,,experiences ,,in ,,industrial ,,training ,,at ,,tuskegee ,by ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington ,illustrated from photographs by ,frances ,benjamin ,johnston ,illustration3 ,logo ,,new ,,york ,,doubleday1 ,,page ,,company #aijd ,copyright1 #aijd1 by ,doubleday1 ,page ,company ,published1 ,may1 #aijd ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,special ,,subscription ,,edition ,there are few subjects that are more important to the people of all sections of the country than emphasising the value of labour with the hands4 ,it has an especial interest for the people who dwell in small towns and in country districts4 ,it has an interest for the farmer1 the mechanic1 and for the woman who is engaged in domestic work1 as well as for those whose occupations are more in the direction of mental work alone4 ,how to dignify all forms of hand-labour1 and to make it attractive instead of repulsive1 is a question that vitally concerns every family4 ,it is my earnest desire that what ,i have said in the following pages may reach that class of people in our country1 especially those who are struggling with the hands to reach a higher and more useful plane of life4 ,it is my further wish that many youths who may read what ,i have said may have their ambition quickened and their courage strengthened for the battle of life4 ,for several years1 ,i have been receiving requests1 from many parts of the ,united ,states and from foreign countries as well1 for some detailed information concerning the value of industrial training and the methods employed to develop it4 ,this little volume is the result1 in part1 of an attempt to answer these queries4 ,two proved facts need emphasis here3 ,first3 ,mere hand training1 without thorough moral1 religious1 and mental education1 counts for very little4 ,the hands1 the head1 and the heart together should be so correlated that one may be made to help the others4 ,at the ,tuskegee ,institute we find constantly that we can make our industrial work assist in the academic training1 and vice versa4 ,second3 ,the effort to make an industry profitable should not be the aim of first importance4 ,the teaching should be most emphasised4 ,our policy at ,tuskegee is to make an industry pay its way if possible1 but at the same time not to sacrifice the training to mere economic gain4 ,those who undertake such an endeavour1 with the expectation to getting much money out of an industry1 will find themselves disappointed1 unless they realise that the institution must be1 all the time1 working upon new material4 ,at ,tuskegee1 for example1 when a student is trained to the point of efficiency where he can construct a first-class wagon1 we do not keep him there to build more vehicles1 but send him out into the world to exert his trained influence and capabilities in lifting others to his level2 and we begin our work with the raw material all over again4 ,i shall be more than repaid if these chapters serve the purpose of helping forward the cause of education1 even though their aid be remote and indirect4 ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington4 ,july #bb1 #aijd1 ,south ,weymouth1 ,mass4 ,,preface ,for several years ,i have been receiving requests1 from many parts of the ,united ,states1 and from foreign countries as well1 for some detailed information concerning the value of industrial training and the methods employed to develop it4 ,this little volume is the result1 in part1 of an attempt to answer these queries4 ,two proven facts need emphasis here3 ,first3 ,mere hand training1 without thorough moral1 religious1 and mental education1 counts for very little4 ,the hands1 the head1 and the heart together1 as the essential elements of educational need1 should be so correlated that one may be made to help the others4 ,at the ,tuskegee ,institute we find constantly that we can make our industrial work assist in the academic training1 and vice versa4 ,second3 ,the effort to make an industry pay its way should not be made the aim of first importance4 ,the teaching should be most emphasised4 ,our policy at ,tuskegee is to make an industry pay its way if possible1 but at the same time not to sacrifice the training to mere economic gain4 ,those who undertake such endeavour with the expectation of getting much money out of an industry1 will find themselves disappointed1 unless they realise that the institution must be1 all the time1 working upon raw material4 ,at ,tuskegee1 for example1 when a student is trained to the point of efficiency where he can construct a first-class wagon1 we do not keep him there to build more vehicles1 but send him out into the world to exert his trained influence and capabilities in lifting others to his level1 and we begin our work with the raw material all over again4 ,i shall be more than repaid if these chapters will serve the purpose of helping forward the cause of education1 even though their aid be remote and indirect4 ,,contents ,i4 ,moral ,values of ,hand ,work #c ,,ii4 ,training for ,conditions #ae ,,iii4 ,a ,battle ,against ,prejudice #ca ,,iv4 ,making ,education ,pay ,its ,way #dc ,v4 ,building ,up a ,system #ee ,,vi4 ,welding ,theory and ,practice #fg ,,vii4 ,head and ,hands ,together #hb ,,viii4 ,lessons in ,home-,making #ih ,,ix4 ,outdoor ,work for ,women #ajg ,x4 ,helping the ,mothers #aai ,,xi4 ,the ,tillers of the ,ground #ace ,,xii4 ,pleasure and ,profit of ,work in the ,soil #aea ,,xiii4 ,on the ,experimental ,farm #afc ,,xiv4 ,the ,eagerness for ,learning #agc ,,xv4 ,the ,value of ,small ,things #aha ,,xvi4 ,religious ,influences at ,tuskegee #aib ,,xvii4 ,some ,tangible ,results #bjj ,,xviii4 ,spreading the ,tuskegee ,spirit #bai ,,xix4 ,negro ,education ,not a ,failure #bca ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,mr4 ,washington in his office at ,tuskegee ,frontispiece ,,facing ,,page ,first building erected on ,school grounds #ab ,breaking up new ground with an eight-ox team #af ,cutting sugar-cane on the ,school's farm #bf ,grinding sugar-cane at the ,school's sugar-mill #cb ,the repair shop #db ,in the ,agricultural ,laboratory #df ,road-building by ,tuskegee students #ej ,building a new dormitory #ef ,digging foundation for a new building on the ,institute grounds #eh ,selecting fruit for canning #fj ,at work in the ,school's brick-yard #fb ,shoe-shop--making and repairing #ff ,mattress-making #fh ,basket-making #gj ,in the ,school's sawmill #gb ,in the machine-shop #gd ,students at work in the ,school's foundry #gf ,class in mechanical drawing #gh ,the blacksmith shop #hj ,class in outdoor geometry #hb ,students framing the roof of a large building #hd ,class in language #hf ,class in outdoor nature study #hh ,wood-turning machinery #ij ,class in outdoor arithmetic #ib ,chemical ,laboratory #id ,class in physiology #if ,dorothy ,hall1 in which most of the industries for girls are taught #ih ,learning dressmaking #ajj ,barrel furniture #ajb ,class in cooking #ajd ,an out-of-door class in laundry work #ajf ,outdoor work for girls #ajh ,home-made furniture #acj ,class in nature study #aeb ,when at ,tuskegee1 ,i find a way1 by rising early in the morning1 to spend half an hour in my garden or with the live stock #aed ,hogs as object-lessons #aef ,the ,children's ,house3 ,class in nature study #aeh ,teach the child something about real country life #afj ,cultivating a patch of cassava on the agricultural experiment plot #afd ,carnegie ,library4 ,built by ,institute students #agd ,the tailor shop #agf ,in the model dining-room #ahf ,the paint shop #aij ,institute ,chapel4 ,most imposing building on ,school grounds built by students #aid ,taking an agricultural class into the field #bjd ,a furniture and repair shop at ,snow ,hill #bbb ,a ,sewing-class at ,snow ,hill #bbd ,typesetting--printing-office #bcd ,bird's-eye view of grounds and buildings of ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 ,tuskegee1 ,alabama #bdd ,,working ,,with ,,the ,,hands ,,chapter ,i ,,moral ,,values ,,of ,,hand ,,work ,the worth of work with the hands as an uplifting power in real education was first brought home to me with striking emphasis when ,i was a student at the ,hampton ,normal and ,agricultural ,institute1 which was at that time under the direction of the late ,general ,s4 ,c4 ,armstrong4 ,but ,i recall with interest an experience1 earlier than my ,hampton training1 along similar lines of enlightenment1 which came to me when ,i was a child4 ,soon after ,i was made free by the proclamation of ,abraham ,lincoln1 there came the new opportunity to attend a public school at my home town in ,west ,virginia4 ,when the teacher said that the chief purpose of education was to enable one to speak and write the ,english language correctly1 the statement found lodgment in my mind and stayed there4 ,while at the time ,i could not put my thoughts into words clearly enough to express instinctive disagreement with my teacher1 this definition did not seem adequate1 it grated harshly upon my young ears1 and ,i had reasons for feeling that education ought to do more for a boy than merely to teach him to read and write4 ,while this scheme of education was being held up before me1 my mother was living in abject poverty1 lacking the commonest necessaries of life1 and working day and night to give me a chance to go to school for two or three months of the year4 ,and my foremost aim in going to school was to learn ways and means by which ,i might make life more endurable1 and if possible even attractive1 for my mother4 ,there were several boys of our neighbourhood who had superior school advantages1 and who1 in more than one instance1 had reached the point where they were called educated1 which meant that they could write and talk correctly4 ,but their parents were not far removed from the conditions in which my mother was living1 and ,i could not help wondering whether this kind of education alone was fitted to help me in the immediate needs of relieving the hard times at home4 ,this idea1 however1 ran counter to the current of widespread opinion among my people4 ,young as ,i was1 ,i had come to have the feeling that to be a free boy meant1 to a considerable extent1 freedom from work with the hands1 and that this new status applied especially to the educated boy4 ,just after the ,civil ,war the ,negro lad was strongly influenced by two beliefs2 one1 that freedom from slavery brought with it freedom from hard work1 the other that education of the head would bring even more sweeping emancipation from work with the hands4 ,it is fair to add that the ,negro was not directly responsible for either of these ideas1 but they warped his views nevertheless1 and held sway over the masses of the young generation4 ,i had felt and observed these things1 and further1 as a child in ,virginia1 had naturally noted that young white boys whose fathers held slaves did not often work with their hands4 ,not long after ,i had begun to think of these new conditions and their results1 viewing them as seriously as could be expected of an ignorant boy1 an event of my working life left important influences in its wake4 ,there lived a little way from my mother's cabin a woman of wealth1 who had lived many years in the ,south1 although she had been born and educated in ,vermont4 ,she had a high respect for manual labour1 showing actively her appreciation of the dignity of honest work well done1 and1 notwithstanding her own position and culture1 she was not ashamed to use her hands4 ,in the neighbourhood1 this lady was reputed to be exceedingly hard to please in the performance of any sort of work on her place1 and among the village boys she was called a hard person to get along with4 ,as ,i remember1 at least half a dozen boys had been successively chosen to live with her1 but their residence in service had been consistently short-lived4 ,i think a week was about the average period1 in spite of the widely advertised fact that the household had the redeeming reputation of always providing good things to eat4 ,in addition to pies and cakes1 which boys in a community like ours seldom saw in their own cabin homes1 the orchards around the house bore heavy yields of the finest fruits1 yet such extraordinary inducements as these could not hold the boys1 who one by one returned to the village with the same story1 that the lady of the mansion was too strict and too hard to please4 ,after a long record of these mutual disappointments1 my mother told me that my turn had come1 as the rich and exacting personage had sent to ask me to come and live with her1 with the promise of five dollars a month in wages4 ,after a long and serious talk with my mother ,i decided to make the effort to serve this woman1 although the tidings of so many failures filled me with foreboding4 ,a few days later1 with my clothes made as presentable as possible1 and with my heart thumping in fear and anxiety1 ,i reported for duty4 ,i had heard so much about ,mrs4 ,ruffner1 her wealth1 her fine house1 and her luxurious surroundings1 overshadowed by her appalling severity and exacting discipline1 that ,i trembled with a terror which ,i shall not try to describe at the thought of facing her4 ,my life had been lived in a cabin1 and ,i was now to try to toil in what looked to me like a grand mansion1 an enchanted palace filled with alarms4 ,but ,i got a grip on all the courage in my scanty stock1 and braced myself to endure the ordeal with all possible fortitude4 ,the meeting was not at all what ,i had expected4 ,mrs4 ,ruffner talked to me in the kindliest way1 and her frank and positive manner was tempered with a rehearsal of the difficulties encountered with the boys who had preceded me1 how and why they had failed to please1 and what was expected of them and of me4 ,i saw that it would be my fault if ,i failed to understand my duties1 as she explained them in detail4 ,i would be expected to keep my body clean and my clothes neat1 and cleanliness was to be the motto in all my work4 ,she said that all things could be done best by system1 and she expected it of me1 and that the exact truth at all times1 regardless of consequences1 was one of the first laws of her household--a law whose violation could never be overlooked4 ,i remember1 too1 that she placed special emphasis upon the law of promptness1 and said that excuses and explanations could never be taken in the place of results4 ,at the time1 this seemed to me a pretty stern program to live up to1 and ,i was fighting a sense of discouragement when1 toward the end of the interview1 she told me that if ,i were able to please her she would permit me to attend school at night during the winter4 ,this suggestion so stimulated my ambition that it went a long way toward clinching the decision to make the effort of my life to satisfy my employer and to break all records for length of service in her household4 ,my first task1 as ,i remember it1 was to cut the grass around the house1 and then to give the grounds a thorough cleaning up4 ,in those days there were no lawn-mowers1 and ,i had to go down on my knees and cut much of the grass with a little hand-scythe4 ,i soon found that my employer not only wished the grass cut1 but also demanded that it be trimmed smooth and even4 ,any one who has tried to mow a lawn with a dull hand-scythe or sickle can realise the difficulties which beset this labour4 ,i am not ashamed to say that ,i did not succeed in giving satisfaction the first1 or even the second or third time1 but at last ,i made the turf in that yard look as smooth and velvety as if ,i had been over it with the most improved pattern of lawn-mower4 ,with this achievement my sense of pride and satisfaction began to stir itself and to become a perceptible incentive4 ,i found1 however1 that cutting the grass was not the whole task4 ,every weed1 tuft of dead grass1 bit of paper1 or scrap of dirt of any kind must be removed1 nor did ,i succeed at the first attempt in pleasing my employer4 ,many times1 when tired and hot with trying to put this yard in order1 ,i was heartsick and discouraged and almost determined to run away and go home to my mother4 ,but ,i kept at it1 and after a few days1 as the result of my efforts under the strict oversight of my mistress1 we could take pleasure in looking upon a yard where the grass was green1 and almost perfect in its smoothness1 where the flower beds were trimly kept1 the edges of the walks clean cut1 and where there was nothing to mar the well-ordered appearance4 ,when ,i saw and realised that all this was a creation of my own hands1 my whole nature began to change4 ,i felt a self-respect1 an encouragement1 and a satisfaction that ,i had never before enjoyed or thought possible4 ,above all else1 ,i had acquired a new confidence in my ability actually to do things and to do them well4 ,and more than this1 ,i found myself1 through this experience1 getting rid of the idea which had gradually become a part of me1 that the head meant everything and the hands little in working endeavour1 and that only to labour with the mind was honourable while to toil with the hands was unworthy and even disgraceful4 ,with this vital growth of realisation there came the warm and hearty commendation of the good woman who had given me what ,i now consider my first chance to get in touch with the real things of life4 ,when ,i recall this experience1 ,i know that then and there my mind was awakened and strengthened4 ,as ,i began to reap satisfaction from the works of my hands1 ,i found myself planning over night how to gain success in the next day's efforts4 ,i would try to picture the yard as ,i meant it to look when completed1 and laid awake nights trying to decide upon the prettiest curves for the flower beds and the proper width of the walks4 ,i was soon far more absorbed in this work than in filling in my leisure time seeking mischief with the village boys4 ,i remained in this family for several years1 and the longer ,i was employed there the more satisfaction ,i got out of my work4 ,instead of fearing the woman whom the other boys had found so formidable1 ,i learned to think of her and to regard her now 7for she still lives7 as one of my greatest teachers4 ,later1 whether working in the coal mines or at the salt furnaces1 ,i learned to find the same kind of satisfaction in everything ,i did for a livelihood4 ,if while sweeping or dusting a room1 or weeding a bed of flowers or vegetables1 there remained the least imperfection1 ,i was unhappy1 and felt that ,i was guilty of dishonesty until the flaw in my work had been removed4 ,while ,i have never wished to underestimate the awakening power of purely mental training1 ,i believe that this visible1 tangible contact with nature gave me inspirations and ambitions which could not have come in any other way4 ,i favour the most thorough mental training and the highest development of mind1 but ,i want to see these linked with the common things of the universal life about our doors4 ,it was this experience in using my hands that led me1 in spite of all the difficulties in the way1 to go to the ,hampton ,institute1 where ,i had learned that pupils could have not only their minds educated1 but their hands trained4 ,when ,i entered the ,hampton ,institute few industries were taught there1 but these had to do with the fundamentals of every-day life4 ,the hand work began with the duties which lay directly in the path of the student4 ,we were taught to make our own beds1 to clean our rooms1 to take care of the recitation rooms1 and to keep the grounds in order4 ,then came lessons in raising our food on the farm and the proper methods of cooking and serving it in the school4 ,the instruction in iron and wood-work in the earlier years of the institution was mostly in making and repairing the farming implements and in helping to maintain the buildings4 ,while much of this work may seem rudimentary1 it had great educational value4 ,how well ,i remember the feeling of stimulus and satisfaction inspired by the sight of a perfectly made bed1 the pillows placed always at the right angle1 and the edges of the sheets turned over according to rules of neatness and system4 ,the work of the farm had a similar kind of influence upon my views of relative values in education4 ,i soon learned that there was a great difference between studying about things and studying the things themselves1 between book instruction and the illumination of practical experience4 ,this chain of experiences1 whose links ,i have tried to indicate1 served as a preparation for the work of training the head1 the heart1 and the hands which ,i was to undertake later at the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute in ,alabama4 ,when ,i went to ,alabama to begin this work1 ,i spent some time in visiting towns and country districts in order to learn the real conditions and needs of the people4 ,it was my ambition to make the little school which ,i was about to found a real service in enriching the life of the most lowly and unfortunate4 ,with this end in view1 ,i not only visited the schools1 churches1 and farms of the people1 but slept in their one-roomed cabins and ate at their tables their fare of corn-bread and fried pork4 ,illustration3 ,,first ,,building ,,erected ,,on ,,school ,,grounds ,often while making these visits1 both in the towns and in the plantation districts1 ,i found young men and women who had acquired considerable education1 but it seemed to be limited to memorising certain rules in grammar and arithmetic4 ,some of them had studied both the classic and modern languages1 and ,i discovered students who could solve problems in arithmetic and algebra which ,i could not master4 ,yet ,i could not escape the conviction that the more abstract these problems were1 and the further they were removed from the life the people were then living1 or were to live1 the more stress seemed to be placed upon them4 ,one of the saddest features was to find here and there instances of those who had studied what was called art or instrumental music1 in other words the elegant accomplishments1 but who were living in houses where there was no sign of beauty or system4 ,there was not the slightest indication that this art or these accomplishments had had or ever would have any influence upon the life in the homes of these people4 ,indeed1 it did not seem to have occurred to them that such things ought to have any relation to their every-day life4 ,i found young men who could wrestle successfully with the toughest problems in compound interest or banking or foreign exchange1 but who had never thought of trying to figure out why their fathers lost money on every bale of cotton raised1 and why they were continually mortgaging their crops and falling deeper into debt4 ,i talked with girls who could locate on the map accurately the ,alps and the ,andes1 but who had no idea of the proper position of the knives and forks on the dinner table4 ,i found those who remembered that bananas were grown in certain ,south and ,central ,american countries1 but to whom it had never occurred that they might be a nourishing and appetising food for their breakfast tables4 ,in a country where pigs1 chickens1 ducks1 geese1 berries1 peaches1 plums1 vegetables1 nuts1 and other wholesome foods could be produced with little effort1 school teachers were eating salt pork from ,chicago and canned chicken and tomatoes sent from ,omaha4 ,while the countryside abounded in all manner of beautiful shrubbery and fragrant flowers1 few of these ever found their way into the houses or upon the dinner tables4 ,while in many instances the people had always lived in the country1 and would continue to do so1 what few text-books ,i saw in their cabins were full of pictures and reading matter relating to city life4 ,in these text-books ,i saw pictures of great office buildings1 ships1 street-cars1 warehouses1 but not a single picture of a farm scene1 a spreading apple-tree1 a field of grass or corn1 a flock of sheep1 or a herd of cows4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,training ,,for ,,conditions ,the preliminary investigation of certain phases of the life of the people of my race led me to make a more thorough study of their needs in order that ,i might have more light on the problem of what the ,tuskegee ,institute could do to help them4 ,before beginning work at ,tuskegee ,i had felt that too often in educational missionary effort the temptation was to try to force each individual into a certain mould1 regardless of the condition and needs of the subject or of the ends sought4 ,it seemed to me a mistake to try to fit people for conditions which may have been successful in communities a thousand miles away1 or in times centuries remote1 without paying attention to the actual life and needs of those living in the shadow of the institution and for whom its educational machinery must labour4 ,in the beginning of my work1 when ,i thought it necessary to investigate at closer range the history and environment of the people around us1 it soon became evident that this data was a valuable basis for the undertaking at ,tuskegee4 ,for it was demonstrated that we were about to take a share in the burden of educating a race which had had little or no need for labour in its native land1 before being brought to ,america--a race which had never known voluntary incentives to toil4 ,the tropical climate had been generous to the inhabitant of ,africa and had supplied him without effort with the few things needful for the support of the body4 ,i had cause to recall the story of a native who went to sleep on his back in the morning under a banana tree with his mouth open1 confident that before noon a providential banana would fall into his mouth4 ,while the ,african had little occasion to work with his hands in the land of his nativity1 by the end of his period of slavery in this country he had undergone two hundred and fifty years of the severest labour4 ,therefore1 many friends of the race argued that the ,american ,negro1 of all people1 ought to be released from further hand-training1 especially while in school4 ,others said that the ,negro had been worked for centuries1 and now that the race was free there ought to be a change4 ,illustration3 ,,breaking ,,up ,,new ,,ground ,,with ,,an ,,eight-,,ox ,,team ,at ,tuskegee we replied that it was true that the race had been worked in slavery1 but the great lesson which the race needed to learn in freedom was to work4 ,we said that as a slave the ,negro was worked2 as a freeman he must learn to work4 ,there is a vast difference between working and being worked4 ,being worked means degradation2 working means civilisation4 ,this was the difference which our institution wished chiefly to emphasise4 ,we argued that during the days of slavery labour was forced out of the ,negro1 and he had acquired1 for this reason1 a dislike for work4 ,the whole machinery of slavery was not apt to beget the spirit of love of labour4 ,because these things were true we promised to try to teach our students to lift labour out of drudgery and to place it on a plane where it would become attractive1 and where it would be something to be sought rather than something to be dreaded and if possible avoided4 ,more than this1 we wanted to teach men and women to put brains into the labour of the hand1 and to show that it was possible for one with the best mental training to work with the hands without feeling that he was degraded4 ,while we were considering our plans at ,tuskegee1 many persons argued with me1 as they had done with ,general ,armstrong years before1 at ,hampton1 that all the ,negro youth needed as education was mental and religious training1 and that all else would follow of itself4 ,partly in answer to this argument1 we pointed to our people in the republic of ,hayti1 who were freed many years before emancipation came to our race in the ,southern ,states4 ,a large number of the leading citizens of ,hayti during the long period of years had been given a most thorough mental training not only in ,hayti but in ,france1 and the ,catholic ,church had surrounded the population from birth with religious influences4 ,many ,haytians had distinguished themselves in the study of philosophy and the languages1 and yet the sad fact remained that ,hayti did not prosper4 ,i wish to be entirely fair to the ,haytians4 ,hayti exports annually from sixty to eighty million pounds of coffee and several hundred million pounds of precious woods4 ,a ,french statistician says that among the sixty countries of the globe which carry on regular commerce with ,france1 ,hayti figures in the seventeenth place4 ,in amount of special duties received at the ,french ,custom ,house upon the products imported from those sixty countries1 ,hayti comes in the fourth rank4 ,it seems well to observe1 then1 that here is the foundation for the upbuilding of a rich and powerful country1 with great natural resources4 ,it seems all the more inexcusable that industrial conditions should be as unsatisfactory as they are4 ,the thoughtful and progressive men in the republics of ,hayti and ,santo ,domingo now recognise the fact that while there has always been a demand for professional men and women of the highest type of scholarship1 at the same time many of these scholars should have had such scientific and industrial education as would have brought them into direct contact with the development of the material resources of the country4 ,they now see that their country would have been advanced far beyond its present condition1 materially and morally1 if a large proportion of the brightest youths had been given skilled handicrafts and had been taught the mechanical arts and practical methods of agriculture4 ,some of them should have been educated as civil1 mining1 and sanitary engineers1 and others as architects and builders2 and most important of all1 agriculture should have been scientifically developed4 ,if such a foundation had been laid it is probable that ,hayti would now possess good public roads1 streets1 bridges1 and railroads1 and that its agricultural and mining resources would have made the country rich1 prosperous1 and contented4 ,it is a deplorable fact that one of the richest islands in natural resources in the world is compelled to import a large proportion of its food and clothing4 ,it is actually true that many of the people of ,hayti1 some of them graduates of the best universities of ,france1 content themselves with wearing clothes imported from ,europe4 ,it is also true that great quantities of canned meats and vegetables are brought from the ,united ,states1 commodities which could easily be produced at their very doors4 ,the ,haytians claim1 however1 that most of the imported food is for the use of foreigners1 as they1 themselves1 eat very little meat that is not freshly cooked4 ,the people live almost wholly upon the primitive products of undisturbed nature1 and the greater part of the harvesters and other workers are women4 ,i have been told1 upon reliable authority1 that the majority of the educated persons in the island take up the professions1 and that because there is almost no industrial development of the country1 the lawyer1 naturally1 finds himself without clients1 and he1 in common with others of the educated classes1 spends much of his time in writing poetry1 in discussing subjects in abstract science1 or embroiling his country in revolutions4 ,in recent years ,i have received most urgent appeals from both ,hayti and ,santo ,domingo for advice and assistance in the direction of educating industrial and scientific leaders4 ,the best friends of ,hayti and ,santo ,domingo now realise that tremendous mistakes have been made4 ,they see that if the people had been taught in the beginning of their freedom that all forms of idleness were disgraceful and that all forms of labour1 whether with the head or with the hand1 were honourable1 the country to-day would not be in such stress of poverty4 ,they would have fewer revolutions1 because the people would have industries to occupy their time1 their thoughts1 and their energies4 ,i ought to add that1 in such deficiencies as these1 ,hayti is perhaps not worse off than some ,south ,american republics which have made the same mistakes4 ,the situation in these countries which have overlooked the value of industrial training remind me of a story told by the late ,henry ,w4 ,grady about a country funeral in ,georgia4 ,the grave was dug in the midst of a pine forest1 but the pine coffin that held the body was brought from ,cincinnati4 ,hickory and other hard woods grew in abundance nearby1 but the wagon on which the coffin was drawn came from ,south ,bend1 ,indiana1 and the mule that drew the wagon came from ,missouri4 ,valuable minerals were close to the cemetery1 but the shovels and picks used in digging the grave came from ,pittsburg1 and their handles from ,baltimore4 ,the shoes in which the dead man was buried came from ,lynn1 ,massachusetts1 his coat and trousers from ,new ,york1 his shirt from ,lowell1 ,massachusetts1 and his collar and tie from ,philadelphia4 ,the only things supplied by the county1 with its wealth of natural resources1 was the corpse and the hole in the ground1 and ,mr4 ,grady added that the county probably would have imported both of these if it could have done so4 ,when any people1 regardless of race or geographical location1 have not been trained to habits of industry1 have not been given skill of hand in youth1 and taught to love labour1 a direct result is the breeding of a worthless idle class1 which spends a great deal of its time in trying to live by its wits4 ,if a community has been educated exclusively on books and has not been trained in habits of applied industry1 an unwholesome tendency to dodge honest productive labour is likely to develop4 ,as in the case of ,hayti1 the people acquire a fatal fondness for wasting valuable hours in discussing politics and conspiring to overthrow the government4 ,i have noted1 too1 that when the people of a community have not been taught to work intelligently with their hands1 or have not learned habits of thrift and industry1 they are likely to be fretting continually for fear that no one will be left to earn a living for them4 ,there are few more dismal and discouraging sights than the men of a community absorbed in idle gossip and political discussion4 ,i have seen more than a dozen white men in one small town take their seats under a tree or on the shady side of the street as early as eight o'clock in the morning and talk politics until noon4 ,then they would go home for dinner1 and return at one o'clock to spend the remainder of the day threshing out the same threadbare topics4 ,their greatest exertion during the whole long day would be in moving from the sunny side of the street or tree to the shady side and back again4 ,a curious trait of such parasites is that they are always wondering why times are hard1 and why there is so little money in circulation in their communities4 ,an argument handed down from ,reconstruction times was once urged by many people1 both white and coloured1 against industrial education4 ,it was to the effect that because the white ,south had from the first opposed what is popularly called higher education for the ,negro1 this must be the only kind good for him4 ,i remember that when ,i was trying to establish the ,tuskegee ,institute1 nearly all the white people who talked with me on the subject took it for granted that instruction in ,greek1 ,latin1 and modern languages would be main features in our curriculum2 and ,i heard no one oppose what it was thought our course of study would embrace4 ,in fact1 there are many white people in the ,south at the present time who do not know that the dead languages are not taught at ,tuskegee4 ,further proof of what ,i have said will be furnished by the catalogs of the schools maintained by the ,southern ,states for ,negro people1 and managed by ,southern white people2 it will be found that in almost every instance instruction in the higher branches is given with the consent and approval of white officials4 ,this was true as far back as #ahhj4 ,it is not unusual to meet even at this time ,southern white people who are as emphatic in their belief in the value of classical education as a certain element of the coloured people themselves4 ,but the bulk of opinion in the ,south had little faith in the efficacy of the higher or any other kind of education for the ,negro4 ,they were indifferent1 but did not openly oppose4 ,not all have been indifferent1 however1 for there has always been a potent element of white people in all the ,southern ,states who have stood up openly and bravely for the education of all the people1 regardless of race4 ,this element has had considerable success thus far in shaping and leading public opinion1 and ,i believe it will become more and more influential4 ,this does not mean that there is as yet an equitable division of the school funds raised by common taxation4 ,while the education which we proposed to give at the ,tuskegee ,institute was not spontaneously welcomed by the white ,south1 it was this training of the hands that furnished the first basis for anything like united and sympathetic interest and action between the two races at the ,south and the whites at the ,north and those at the ,south4 ,aside from its direct benefits to the ,negro race1 industrial education1 in providing a common ground for understanding and coperation between the ,north and ,south1 has meant more to the ,south and to the cause of education than has been realised4 ,many white people of the ,south saw in the movement to teach young ,negroes the necessity and honour of work with the hands a means of leading them gradually and sensibly into their new life of freedom1 without too sudden a transition from one extreme to the other4 ,they perceived1 too1 that the ,negroes who were master carpenters and contractors under the guidance of their owners could greatly further the development of the ,south if their children were not too suddenly removed from the atmosphere and occupations of their fathers1 but taught to use the thing in hand as a foundation for still higher growth4 ,some were far-sighted enough to see that industrial education would enable one generation to secure economic independence1 and the next1 on this foundation1 to obtain a more abstract education1 if desired4 ,the individual and community interest of the white people was directly appealed to by industrial education4 ,they perceived that intelligence1 coupled with skill1 would add wealth1 in which both races would increasingly share1 to the community and to the ,state4 ,while crude labour could be managed and made to some degree profitable under the methods of slavery1 it could not be so utilised in a state of freedom4 ,almost every white man in the ,south was directly interested in agricultural1 mechanical1 or other manual labour2 in the cooking and serving of food1 laundering and dairying1 poultry-raising1 and everything related to housekeeping in general4 ,there was no family whose interest in intelligent and skillful nursing was not now and then quickened by the presence of a trained nurse4 ,therefore there came to be growing appreciation of the fact that industrial education of the black people had a practical and vital bearing on the life of every white family in the ,south4 ,there was little opportunity for such appreciation of the results of mere literary education4 ,if a black man became a lawyer1 a doctor1 a minister1 or an ordinary teacher1 his professional duties would not ordinarily bring him in touch with the white portion of the community1 but rather confine him to his own race4 ,while professional education was not opposed by the white ,south as a whole1 it aroused little or no interest1 beyond a confused hope that it would produce a better and higher type of ,negro manhood4 ,industrial education1 however1 soon recommended itself to the white ,south1 when they saw the ,negro not only studying chemistry1 but its applications to agriculture1 cooking1 and dairying2 not merely geometry and physics1 but their application to blacksmithing1 brickmaking1 farming1 and what not4 ,a common bond at once appeared between the two races and between the ,north and the ,south4 ,illustration3 ,,cutting ,,sugar-,,cane ,,on ,,the ,,school',s ,,farm ,a class of people in the ,south also favoured industrial education because they saw that as long as the ,negro kept abreast in intelligence and skill with the same class of workmen elsewhere1 the ,south1 at present free from the grip of the trade union1 would continue free from its restrictive influences4 ,i should like to make a diversion here to call attention to the fact that official records show that within one year about one million foreigners came into the ,united ,states1 yet practically none of the immigration went into the ,southern ,states4 ,the records show that in #ahib only #b1bgh all told went into the ,states of ,alabama1 ,arkansas1 ,georgia1 ,kentucky1 ,mississippi1 ,north ,carolina1 ,south ,carolina1 ,tennessee1 and ,virginia4 ,one ship sometimes brings as many as these to ,new ,york in one trip4 ,foreigners avoid the ,south4 ,it must be frankly recognised by the people of that section that for a long period they must depend upon the black man to do for it what the foreigner is doing for the ,great ,west1 and that they cannot hope to keep pace with the progress of people in other sections if one-third of the population is ignorant and without skill4 ,if the ,south does not help the ,negro up1 it will be tying itself to a body of death4 ,if by reason of his skill and knowledge one man in ,iowa can produce as much corn in a season as four men can produce in ,alabama1 it requires little reasoning to see that ,alabama will buy most of her corn from ,iowa4 ,an instance which illustrates most interestingly the value of education that concerns itself with the common things about us1 is furnished by ,professor ,geo4 ,w4 ,carver1 the ,director of our ,agricultural ,department4 ,for some time it has been his custom to prepare articles containing information concerning the condition of local crops1 and warning the farmers against the ravages of certain diseases and insects4 ,some months ago a white landholder in ,montgomery ,county asked ,mr4 ,carver to inspect his farm4 ,while doing so1 ,mr4 ,carver discovered traces of what he thought was a valuable mineral deposit used in making a certain kind of paint4 ,the interests of the agricultural expert and the landholder at once became mutual4 ,mr4 ,carver analysed specimens of the deposits in the laboratory at ,tuskegee and sent the owner a report of the analysis1 with a statement of the commercial application and value of the mineral4 ,it is an interesting fact that two previous analyses had been made by chemists who had tabulated the constituents with greatest accuracy1 but failed to grasp any idea of value in the deposits4 ,i need not go into the details of this story1 except to say that a stock company1 composed of some of the best white people in ,alabama1 has been organised1 and is now preparing to build a factory for the purpose of putting the product on the market4 ,i hardly need add that ,mr4 ,carver has been freely consulted at every step1 and that his services have been generously recognised in the organisation of the concern4 ,now and then my advocacy of industrial education has been interpreted to mean that ,i am opposed to what is called higher or more intellectual training4 ,this distorts my real meaning4 ,all such training has its place and value in the development of a race4 ,mere training of the hand without mental and moral education would mean little for the welfare of any race4 ,all are vital factors in a harmonious plan4 ,but1 while ,i do not propose that every individual should have hand training1 ,i do say that in all my contact with men ,i have never met one who had learned a trade in youth and regretted it in manhood1 nor have ,i ever seen a father or mother who was sorry that his children had been taught trades4 ,there is still doubt in many quarters as to the ability of the ,negro1 unguided1 and unsupported1 to hew out his own path1 and put into visible1 tangible1 indisputable forms the products and signs of civilisation4 ,this doubt cannot be extinguished by mere abstract arguments1 no matter how ingeniously and convincingly advanced4 ,quietly1 patiently1 doggedly1 through summer and winter1 sunshine and shadow1 by self-sacrifice1 by foresight1 by honesty and industry1 we must re-enforce arguments with results4 ,one farm bought1 one house built1 one home neatly kept1 one man the largest tax-payer and depositor in the local bank1 one school or church maintained1 one factory running successfully1 one truck-garden profitably cultivated1 one patient cured by a ,negro doctor1 one sermon well preached1 one office well filled1 one life cleanly lived--these will tell more in our favour than all the abstract eloquence that can be summoned to plead our cause4 ,our pathway must be up through the soil1 up through swamps1 up through forests1 up through the streams and rocks2 up through commerce1 education1 and religion6 ,in my opinion we cannot begin at the top to build a race1 any more than we can begin at the top to build a house4 ,if we try to do this1 we shall reap in the end the fruits of our folly4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,a ,,battle ,,against ,,prejudice ,when the first few students began to come to ,tuskegee ,i faced these questions which were inspired by my personal knowledge of their lives and surroundings3 ,what can these young men and women find to do when they return to their homes8 ,what are the industries in which they and their parents have been supporting themselves8 ,the answers were not always to my liking1 but this was not the point at issue4 ,i had to meet a condition1 not a theory4 ,what ,i might have wanted them to be doing was one thing2 what they were actually doing was the bed-rock upon which ,i hoped to lay the foundation of the work at ,tuskegee4 ,it was known that a large majority of the students came from agricultural districts and from homes in which agriculture in some form was the mainstay of the family4 ,i had learned that nearly eighty per cent of the population of what are commonly called the ,gulf ,states are dependent upon agricultural resources1 directly or indirectly4 ,these facts made me resolve to attempt in downright earnest to see what the ,tuskegee ,institute could do for the people of my race by teaching the intelligent use of hands and brains on the farm1 not by theorising1 but by practical effort4 ,the methods in vogue for getting enough out of the soil to keep body and soul together were crude in the extreme4 ,the people themselves referred to this heart-breaking effort as making a living4 ,i wanted to teach them how to make more than a living4 ,i have little respect for the farmer who is satisfied with merely making a living4 ,it is hardly possible that agricultural life will become attractive and satisfactory to ambitious young men or women in the ,south until farming can be made as lucrative there as in other parts of the country where the farmer can be reasonably sure of being able to place something in the bank at the end of the year4 ,for the young farmer to be contented he must be able to look forward to owning the land that he cultivates1 and from which he may later derive not only all the necessities of life1 but some of the comforts and conveniences4 ,the farmer must be helped to get to the point where he can have a comfortable dwelling-house1 and in it bathtubs1 carpets1 rugs1 pictures1 books1 magazines1 a daily paper1 and a telephone4 ,he must be helped to cherish the possibility that he and his family will have time for study and investigation1 and a little time each year for travel and recreation1 and for attending lectures and concerts4 ,illustration3 ,,grinding ,,sugar-,,cane ,,at ,,the ,,school',s ,,sugar-,,mill ,but the average farmer whom ,i wanted to help through the medium of the ,tuskegee ,institute was far from this condition4 ,i found that most of the farmers in the ,gulf ,states cultivated cotton4 ,little or nothing in the form of stock or fowls1 fruits1 vegetables1 or grain was raised for food4 ,in order to get the food on which man and live stock were to live while the cotton crop was being grown1 a mortgage or lien had to be given upon the crop1 or rather upon the expected crop1 for the legal papers were usually signed months in advance of the planting of the crop4 ,cotton in the ,south has been known for years as the money crop4 ,this means that it is the one product from which cash may be expected without question as soon as the crop is harvested4 ,the result of this system has been to discourage raising anything except cotton1 for the man who holds the mortgage upon the crop discourages1 and in some cases prevents1 the farmer from giving much of his time and strength to the growing of anything except cotton1 since the money-lender is not sure that he can get his money back from any other crop4 ,the result of this has been that1 beginning in ,january1 the farmer had to go to the store or to the money-lender for practically all of his food during the year4 ,the rate of interest which the farmer had to pay on his advances was in many cases enormous4 ,the farmer usually got his advances or provisions from a storekeeper4 ,the storekeeper in turn borrowed money from the local bank4 ,the bank1 as a general thing1 borrowed from ,new ,york4 ,by the time the money reached the farmer he had to pay in not a few cases a rate of interest which ranged from #ae to #cj per cent4 ,if he failed to make his payment at the end of the year he was likely to be cleaned up--that is1 everything in sight in the way of crops or live stock was taken from him4 ,after being cleaned up he would either try to make another crop on the same rented farm--trusting to ,providence or the weather for better luck--or else move to another farm and go in search of some one else to run him1 as the local expression describes the process4 ,not a few of the farmers whom ,i met had been cleaned up half a dozen times or more4 ,in addition to having to pay the high rate of interest for food supplies and clothing advanced1 the ground rent was also to be paid4 ,by far the greater part of the land was rented4 ,this1 of course1 had a hurtful effect4 ,because the man who tilled the land did not own it1 his main object was to get all he could out of the property and return to it as little as possible4 ,the results were shown in the wretched cabins and surroundings4 ,if a fence was out of repair1 or the roof of the house leaked1 the tenant had no personal interest in keeping up the premises1 because he was always expecting to move1 and he did not want to spend money upon the property of other people4 ,instead of returning the cotton-seed to the ground to help enrich the soil1 he sold this valuable fertiliser4 ,the land1 of course1 was more impoverished each year4 ,ditching and terracing received little attention4 ,the mules with which the crops were made were rented or were being bought on time1 as a rule1 and the farmer did not have enough direct interest in them to encourage him to spend money in keeping them in prime condition4 ,besides1 the food fed to the animals was not raised on the place1 but had to be bought4 ,another serious result of the one-crop system was that the farmers handled almost no cash except in the fall4 ,to the ignorant and inexperienced men of my race this was hurtful4 ,if by any chance they were able to pay their ground rent1 and the principal and exorbitant interest charged for their advances1 and have a few dollars in cash left1 the money did not remain with them long1 for it came into their hands about ,christmas time1 when the temptation to spend it for whisky1 cheap jewelry1 cheap buggies1 and such unprofitable articles was too strong to be resisted4 ,had the same value been in the hands of the farmer in the form of corn1 vegetables1 fruit1 stock1 or fowls it would have been not only less likely to be wasted1 but it would also have been available for the farmer and his family during the whole or the greater part of the year4 ,the conditions which ,i have described had a discouraging effect upon many people who tried to get their living from the soil4 ,as numbers of them expressed it to me1 if they worked hard during the year they came out at the end in debt1 and if they did not work they found themselves in debt anyhow4 ,some went so far as to perform only sufficient work to make a show of raising enough cotton on which to get advances during the year1 with no thought of ridding themselves of debt or of coming out ahead4 ,notwithstanding these conditions1 there were instances each year of individuals who triumphed over all these difficulties and discouragements and came out with considerable money or cotton to their credit4 ,these men soon got to the point where they could begin to buy their own homes4 ,in justice to the class of men in the ,south who advance money or provisions each year to the farmers1 ,i ought to say that many of them deplore the state of affairs to which ,i have referred as much as any one1 but with them it is simply a system of lending money on uncertain security4 ,if these advances were not made1 in many instances the farmers and their families would starve4 ,the average merchant prefers to deal with the man who owns his land and can pay cash for his goods1 but the many ramifications of the mortgage system make both the farmer and the money-lender slaves to the one-crop plan4 ,if cotton fails1 or if the tenant abandons the crop before it is matured1 the money-lender is bound to lose4 ,both with the farmer and the money-lender it has been like the old story of the man hugging the bear1 each desperately anxious to find a way to get free4 ,from the first ,i was painfully conscious of the fact that ,i could do very little through the work of the ,tuskegee ,institute to help the situation1 but ,i was determined to make an effort to do what ,i could4 ,many of my own race had been reduced to discouragement and despair4 ,before the school could begin its practical help ,i spent all the time that could be spared in going about among the people1 holding meetings1 and talking with individual leaders1 to arouse their ambition1 and inspire in them hope and confidence4 ,my first effort was to try to help the masses through the medium of the thing that was nearest to them1 and in which they had the most vital and practical interest4 ,i knew that if we could teach a man's son to raise forty bushels of corn on an acre of ground which had before produced but twenty bushels1 and if he could be taught to raise this corn with less labour than before1 we should gain the confidence and sympathy of that boy's father at once4 ,in this connection ,i have often thought that missionaries in foreign countries would make greater progress if at first more emphasis were placed upon the industrial and material side than upon the purely spiritual side of education4 ,almost any heathen family would1 ,i believe1 appreciate at once the difference between a shack and a comfortable house1 while it might require years to make them appreciate the truths of the ,bible4 ,through the medium of the home the heart could be reached4 ,not long ago ,i was asked by a missionary who was going into a foreign field what1 in my opinion1 he ought to teach the people1 and how he ought to begin4 ,i asked him what the principal occupation of the people was among whom he was going1 and he replied that it was the raising of sheep4 ,i advised him1 then1 to begin his missionary work by teaching the people how to raise more sheep than they were raising and better sheep1 and said that ,i thought the people would soon decide that a man who could excel them in the raising of sheep might also excel them in the matter of religion1 and that thus the foundation for effectual mission work might be laid4 ,the first few students of our school came largely from the farming districts4 ,the earliest need at the ,tuskegee ,school was food for teachers and students4 ,i said3 ,let us raise this food1 and while doing so teach the students the latest and best methods of farming4 ,at the same time we could teach them the dignity and advantages of farm life and of work with their hands4 ,it was easy to see the reasons for doing this1 and easy to resolve to do it1 but ,i soon found that there were several stubborn and serious difficulties to be overcome4 ,the first and perhaps the hardest of these was to conquer the idea1 by no means confined to my race1 that a school was a place where one was expected to do nothing but study books2 where one was expected not to study things1 but to study about things4 ,least of all did the students feel that a school was a place where one would be taught actually to do things4 ,aside from this1 the students had a very general idea that work with the hands was in a large measure disgraceful1 and that they wanted to get an education because education was something which was meant to enable people to live without hand work4 ,in addition to the objections named1 ,i found that when ,i began to speak very gently and even cautiously to the students about the plan of teaching them to work on the farm1 two other objections manifested themselves with more or less emphasis4 ,one was that most of the students wanted to get out of the country into a town or a city1 and the other that many of them said they were anxious to prepare themselves for some kind of professional life1 and that they therefore did not need the farm work4 ,the most serious obstacle1 however1 was the argument that since they and their parents for generations back had tilled the soil1 they knew all there was to be known about farming1 and did not need to be taught any more about it while in school4 ,these objections on the part of the students were reinforced by the parents of many of them4 ,not a few of the fathers and mothers urged that because the race had been worked for two hundred and fifty years or more1 now it ought to have a chance to rest4 ,with all of my earnestness and argument ,i was unable in the earlier years of the school to convert all the parents and students to my way of thinking1 and for this reason many of the students went home of their own accord or were taken home by their parents4 ,none of these things1 however1 turned the school aside from doing the things which we were convinced the people most needed to have done for them4 ,i shall always remember the day when we decided actually to begin the teaching of farming--not out of books1 but by real and tangible work4 ,in the morning ,i explained to the young men our need of food to eat1 and the desire of the school to teach them to work with their hands4 ,i told them that we would begin with the farm1 because that was the most important need4 ,the young men were greatly surprised when the hour came to begin work to find me present with my coat off1 ready to begin digging up stumps and clearing the land4 ,as my first request was more in the form of an invitation than a command1 ,i found that only a few reported for work4 ,i soon learned1 too1 that these few were ashamed to have any one see them at work4 ,after we had put in several hours of vigorous toil ,i noticed that their interest began to grow1 because they came to realise that it was not my farm they were helping to cultivate1 but that it belonged to the school1 in which we all had a common interest4 ,the next afternoon a larger number reported for duty4 ,they were still shy about having any one see them at work1 however1 and were especially timorous at the idea of being caught in the field by the girl students4 ,gradually1 year by year1 the difficulties which ,i have enumerated began to melt away1 but not without constant effort and very trying embarrassments4 ,it soon became evident that the students had practical knowledge of only one industry1 and that was the cultivation of cotton in the manner in which it had been grown by their fathers for years4 ,another defect soon became evident1 and that was that they had little idea of caring for tools or live stock4 ,plows1 hoes1 and other farming implements were left in the field where they were last used4 ,if quitting time came when the hoe was being used in the middle of a field or at the end of a row1 the tool remained there over night4 ,where the last plowing in the fall was done1 there the plow would most likely spend the winter4 ,no better care than this was given to wagons or harness1 and mules and horses shared this impartial neglect4 ,it was the custom in the earlier days of the school--as it is now--for students and teachers to assemble in the evening for prayers4 ,after considerable ineffective effort to teach the students to put their implements away properly at night1 ,i caused a mild sensation at evening prayers by calling the names of three students who had left their implements in the field4 ,i said that these three students would be excused from the room to attend to this duty1 and that we would not proceed with the service until their return1 and that ,i felt sure they would be more benefited by prayer and song after having done their work well than by leaving it poorly done4 ,a few lessons of this kind began to work a notable betterment in the care with which the students looked after their implements1 and attended to other details of their daily round4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,repair ,,shop ,all of the broken furniture of the school is mended here ,,chapter ,,iv ,,making ,,education ,,pay ,,its ,,way ,i cannot emphasise too often the fact that my experience in building up the ,tuskegee ,institute has taught me year by year the value of hand work in the building of character4 ,i have frequently found one concrete1 definite example illustrating the difference between right and wrong worth more than hours of abstract lecturing on morality4 ,i have told girls many times that a dish is either thoroughly washed and dried or it is not4 ,if a thing is not well done1 it is poorly done4 ,furthermore1 ,i have taught our girls from the beginning of this school that a student who receives pay for properly attending to dishes1 and does her work poorly1 is guilty of two wrongs4 ,she is guilty of falsehood and guilty of receiving money for doing something which she has not done4 ,this lesson taught in the kitchen1 with the carelessly cleaned utensil in evidence as an illustration1 has a power that is hard to resist4 ,just so the implement left in the field over night has many times been made to teach the same lessons--of warning against untruth and dishonesty4 ,leaving it there was untruthful1 because the student had said by his action that he had properly performed the work of the day2 it was dishonest because the school had been robbed of a portion of the value of the implement by reason of the rain and dew falling on it and causing it to rust and depreciate in value4 ,in the beginning our methods of instruction in farming were primitive and crude1 but month by month1 and year by year1 steady growth encouraged our efforts4 ,one difficulty to which ,i have not referred was that the land on which we began work was not the richest in the world4 ,when attention was called by the students and others to the poor quality of the soil1 ,i replied that poor soil was the best in which to begin the teaching of agriculture1 because this would give us an opportunity to learn to make poor land rich4 ,i told them also that if we could teach the students how to cultivate poor land profitably they would have little difficulty in making more than a living upon fairly good or rich soil4 ,apart from the problems found on the school grounds1 our methods were at first misunderstood by school officials in high authority throughout the country1 and our aims were not appreciated by other schools established in the ,south for the education of my race4 ,i remember that after ,i had spoken for an hour at a meeting of a ,state ,teachers' ,association1 trying to explain the meaning and advantages of industrial education or hand work1 a teacher arose and asked the ,state superintendent1 who was present1 a very simple question regarding the subject4 ,the superintendent replied that he would have to refer the question to me1 as the subject was one that he had never heard discussed before4 ,it happened occasionally that students on their way to the ,tuskegee ,institute were asked if they were going to an ox-driving school1 the question implying1 ,i suppose1 that the main thing taught at ,tuskegee was ox-driving4 ,our critics1 however1 did not know that at the time we were too poor to own oxen1 and that on our little farm we had nothing in the way of draught animals except one poor blind horse which a white friend in ,tuskegee had given us4 ,during the first year the training in agriculture on the school farm consisted of about two hours of work daily for each of the young men students1 the remaining time being spent in the class rooms4 ,the outdoor period1 during the first school session1 was mostly spent in grubbing up stumps1 felling trees1 building fences1 making ditches1 and in plowing the ground preparatory to planting a little crop4 ,we had few implements with which to do this work1 and most of these were borrowed4 ,the reader will realise how hard it must have been under these conditions to make the student feel that he was acquiring new knowledge of farm life4 ,as ,i recall it now1 ,i am sure that the main thing that we were able to teach the students in those early days was that book education did not mean a divorce from work with the hands4 ,gradually we were able to secure more land for farming purposes and to cultivate what we did have to better advantage4 ,as the school grew1 we learned more about the proper fertilisation of the soil1 and how to use labor-saving machinery more effectively4 ,it was surprising to note how many of the students believed that farm labour must from its very nature be hard1 and that it was not quite the proper thing to use too much labour-saving machinery4 ,indeed1 many of the white planters in certain sections of the ,south have until recently refused to encourage the use of much agricultural machinery1 for the reason1 as they stated it1 that such assistance would spoil the ,negro farm hands4 ,for some years the ,tuskegee ,institute did not escape this charge4 ,as our department of farming grew from month to month1 ,i was not afraid to let it be known that ,i felt certain that one result of any proper system of hand training was to spoil1 or get rid of1 the ordinary farm hand4 ,if one will study the industrial development of the ,south1 he will be forced to the conclusion that one of the factors that has most retarded its progress has been and is the farm hand4 ,this individual has too long controlled the agriculture of the ,south4 ,with few exceptions1 he is ignorant and unskilled1 with little conscience4 ,he seldom owns the land which he pretends or tries to cultivate4 ,too often he is a person who has no permanent abiding place1 and if he has one it is probably a miserable one-room cabin4 ,the farm hand can be hired for from forty to sixty cents a day4 ,in fact1 ,i have known of cases where such men were hired for twenty-five cents a day and their board2 and they were very dear help even at that price4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,agricultural ,,laboratory ,i believe that most of the worn-out and wasted fields1 the poor stock1 the run-down fences1 the lost and broken farm tools and machinery1 as well as the poor crops1 are chargeable to the farm hand whom1 ,i have been warned so many times1 ,i must be careful not to spoil4 ,such a man is too ignorant to know what is going on in the world in progressive agriculture4 ,he is without skill to such an extent that he knows almost nothing about setting up and operating labour-saving machinery4 ,his conscience has not been trained1 and hence he has little idea of giving an honest day's labour for a day's pay1 and of doing unto others in matters of labour as he would have others do unto him4 ,it will be seen at a glance that such a worker in the soil as this cannot compete with the farmer of the ,northwest1 who owns the land that he cultivates1 who is intelligent1 and who uses the latest improved farm machinery4 ,one such man is worth as much to the general industrial interests of a country as three farm hands4 ,no country can be very prosperous unless the people who cultivate the soil own it and live on it4 ,i repeat1 then1 that one of my first thoughts in beginning agricultural training at the ,tuskegee ,institute was to help to replace the farm hand of the ,south with something better4 ,as an illustration of the need of new ideas in farming1 and of the effect that the long-continued cultivation of a single crop has upon the tiller1 ,i remember that some years ago ,i invited a farmer into my office and explained to him in detail how he could make thirty dollars an acre on his land if he would plant a portion of it in sweet potatoes1 whereas if he planted cotton1 as he had been doing for years1 he could make only fifteen dollars per acre in the best season4 ,as ,i explained the difference1 step by step1 he agreed with me at every point1 and when ,i came near to the end of my argument ,i began to congratulate myself that ,i had converted at least one man from the one-crop system to better methods4 ,finally1 with what ,i fear was the air of one who felt that he had won his case1 ,i asked the farmer what he was going to cultivate on his land the coming year4 ,the old fellow scratched his head1 and said that as he was getting old1 and had been growing cotton all his life1 he reckoned he would grow it to the end of his few remaining years1 although he agreed with me that he could double the product of his land by planting sweet potatoes on it4 ,soon after we had succeeded in clearing the trees and stumps from a few acres of ground1 we planted a small crop4 ,this crop1 as ,i have stated1 was not very different from others which the students had seen planted or had taken part in planting at their homes1 because the school was poor in implements and stock4 ,the main difference between our first crop and those which the students had come into contact with at their homes was that ours was to some extent a diversified crop4 ,the increasing number of students soon made it necessary to increase the acreage of land cultivated4 ,in the first few months of the ,tuskegee ,institute the students boarded in families4 ,this made it difficult to get the greatest value out of our farm products4 ,partly to overcome this1 we arranged to begin boarding the students upon the school grounds4 ,here another difficulty presented itself4 ,it was found that a student would be of little value to the farm and would gain very little in knowledge and skill if he worked only a few hours each day4 ,we discovered that1 after there had been subtracted the minutes required for him to reach his work1 get his tools1 and otherwise prepare himself1 little time would be left for getting actual results out of the soil4 ,in order to overcome this weakness in our system1 we decided to follow in some measure the plan originated by ,general ,armstrong at the ,hampton ,institute4 ,this was to have the students study in the class rooms during four days of the week1 and work on the farm two days4 ,the students1 however1 for a long while referred to these two days as lost days4 ,it was often amusing1 as well as interesting1 to note the intense faith of the students in their books4 ,the larger the book and the bigger the words it contained1 the more highly it was revered4 ,at this time there were almost no text-books which dealt with industrial subjects4 ,for this reason1 any one who wanted to give instructions in such branches had1 in a very large measure1 to blaze his way4 ,the absence of text-books on these subjects made it all the more difficult at first to combine industrial and academic teaching4 ,we partly solved the problem by having the students work two days at some industry and study four days in the school-room4 ,we found it advisable to consider not only the best system of teaching in our practical work1 but the economic values also4 ,we felt that it would be possible to teach the students the latest and best methods of performing all kinds of hand work1 and at the same time show them the dignity of such service4 ,but in addition to this we wanted the students to do such work as they could about the school1 work which otherwise would have been done by hired men not connected with the institution4 ,illustration3 ,,road-,,building ,,by ,,tuskegee ,,students ,we felt1 therefore1 that the fair thing to do would be to arrange some scheme by which the student would receive compensation for all the work of value which he did for the school4 ,this we felt was not only just1 but would emphasise another valuable element in teaching4 ,the lack of this economic emphasis ,i have always felt to be one of the weak points in manual training4 ,to enable us to meet this condition1 we decided to have the students board on the school grounds1 to charge them eight dollars per month for their board1 and then to give them credit on their board-bills for all the work they did which proved to have productive or money-saving value4 ,aside from the economic results of the work1 we knew that the mere effort on the part of the student to help himself through school by labour would prevent our making hot-house plants of our students1 and would prove worth while in character building4 ,in all cases payment for work depended upon the individual efforts of the students4 ,one of the dominating purposes kept always in mind was to give the student a chance to help himself by means of some industry4 ,in this connection1 ,i beg to say that in my judgment the whole problem of the future of my race hinges largely upon the question3 ,to what extent will the ,negro1 when given a chance1 help himself1 and make himself indispensable to the community in which he lives8 ,we soon learned that in the practical application of our scheme the average student would earn from two to three dollars a month by working two days in the week1 leaving only five or six dollars to be paid in cash4 ,some students were so much in earnest that they worked out more than half of the eight dollars4 ,this opportunity proved a godsend to most of the students1 as very few of them were able to pay the eight dollars a month in cash during nine months of the year4 ,aside from other considerations1 we began to find out that we could quickly test the worth of a student by the degree of earnestness which he evinced in helping himself through labour with his hands4 ,after a little while1 many of the students began to take great pride in telling their parents at the end of each month how much they had helped themselves through their work on the farm or in other industries4 ,this information and enthusiasm came in time to have its influence in leading the parents to appreciate the value of hand training4 ,as the school grew in size and experience1 it became apparent that we ought to find a way to help the large number of young men and women who were constantly seeking admission1 but who had no money with which to pay any portion of their expenses4 ,we became convinced that some of the most promising and worthy students were those who came from the country districts1 where they had had very few advantages of book education4 ,they had little or no money1 but they had good strong bodies1 and were not ashamed to work with their hands4 ,in reaching this class of students ,i found that my experience at the ,hampton ,institute was of great advantage4 ,we decided to start a night school for students who could not afford to go to school in the day time4 ,the number who availed themselves of this arrangement was very small at first4 ,we began by making a written contract with each student to the effect that he or she was to work during the whole of the day at some industry1 and study in the class room for two hours at night1 after the day's work was completed4 ,in order to put this plan upon a sound basis1 the following form of contract was signed3 ,,tuskegee ,,normal ,,and ,,industrial ,,institute4 7,,incorporated47 ,this agreement1 made the seventeenth day of ,october1 #aijb1 between ,james ,c4 ,black1 of the first part1 and ,booker ,t4 ,washington1 ,principal of ,the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 of the second part1 ,witnesseth1 that the said ,james ,c4 ,black has agreed faithfully1 carefully and truly to serve ,the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 in whatever capacity the said ,booker ,t4 ,washington1 ,principal1 etc41 or those deputed by him1 may designate1 from date hereof to the seventeenth day of ,october1 #aijd4 ,in consideration of service to be rendered by ,james ,c4 ,black1 the said ,booker ,t4 ,washington1 ,principal1 etc41 has agreed to allow said ,james ,c4 ,black eight dollars per month1 provided he remains until ,october #ag1 #aijd2 otherwise he has agreed to pay him at the rate of one-fifth of that sum per month for the time he may have been in the service of ,the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute2 this latter amount to include all amounts which may have been charged against said ,james ,c4 ,black4 ,it is agreed1 further1 that the amount earned shall be reserved in the hands of the said ,booker ,t4 ,washington1 ,principal1 etc41 the same to be used in paying the expenses of said ,james ,c4 ,black in the regular classes of ,the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute4 ,in case the said ,james ,c4 ,black leaves school voluntarily1 or is dismissed after the expiration of the time for which he agrees to serve1 he is to forfeit all that the school may owe him at that time4 ,it is further agreed that no part of what said ,james ,c4 ,black may earn shall be transferred to another's account1 but shall be kept for ,james ,c4 ,black's exclusive use after he shall have entered the ,day ,school4 ,it is distinctly understood that what said ,james ,c4 ,black may earn is for the purpose of paying board1 and no part can be drawn in cash4 ,in witness whereof1 we have hereunto set our hands and seals4 ,,james ,c4 ,,black 7,l4 ,s47 ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington 7,l4 ,s47 ,,witness3 ,,abram ,t4 ,,blackett ,,george ,f4 ,,may ,,chapter ,v ,,building ,,up ,a ,,system ,the system we decided to use at ,tuskegee divided the school into two classes of students3 those who worked with their hands two days in the week1 and spent four days in the class room2 and the night students1 who1 through the first year of their course1 worked all day with their hands and spent their evenings in the class rooms4 ,of course1 the student who worked ten hours each day was paid more than the one who laboured only two days in the week4 ,the night-school students were to earn1 not only their board1 but something in addition4 ,the surplus was to be used in paying their expenses in the regular day school after they had remained in the night school one or two years as they might elect4 ,the night school1 besides other opportunities1 gave the student a chance to get a start in his books and also in some trade or industry4 ,with this as a foundation1 ,i have rarely seen a student who was worth much fail to pass through the regular course4 ,the night school had not been in session many weeks before several facts began to make themselves prominent4 ,the first was the economic value of the work of the night students4 ,it was plain that these students could perform much labour for which we should otherwise have had to pay out cash to persons not connected with the institution4 ,it is true that the work at first was crude1 but it should be remembered that in the earlier years the whole school was crude4 ,all work in laying the foundation for a race is crude4 ,the economic value of hand work at the ,tuskegee ,institute can be illustrated in no better way than by data of the construction of our buildings4 ,when a friend has given us twenty-five thousand dollars for a building1 instead of having it constructed by an outside contractor1 we have had the students produce the material and do the work as far as possible1 and through this method a large proportion of the money given for the building passes into the hands of the students1 to be used in gaining an education4 ,the plan has a double value1 for1 in addition to the twenty-five thousand dollars which is diverted into channels through which a large number of students get an education1 the school receives the building for permanent use4 ,illustration3 ,,building ,a ,,new ,,dormitory ,students draw plans1 dig foundations1 make the brick1 cut timber1 which they saw and make into joists and frames4 ,the painting1 plastering1 plumbing and roofing are also done by the students under the direction of their instructors4 ,let us value the work at ,tuskegee by this test3 ,the plans for the ,slater-,armstrong ,memorial ,trades' ,building1 in its main dimensions #bhc #cae feet1 and two stories high1 were drawn by a coloured man1 our instructor in mechanical drawing4 ,eight hundred thousand bricks were required in its construction1 and every one of them was manufactured by our students while learning the trade of brick-making4 ,all the bricks were laid into the building by students who were being taught the trade of brickmasonry4 ,the plastering1 carpentry work1 painting1 and tin-roofing were done by students while learning these trades4 ,the whole number of students who received training on this building alone was #aif4 ,it is lighted by electricity1 and all the electric fixtures were put in by students who were learning electrical engineering4 ,the power to operate the machinery in this building comes from a #abe horse-power engine and a #ge horse-power boiler4 ,all this machinery was not only operated by students who were learning the trade of steam engineering1 but was installed by students under the guidance of their instructor4 ,for other examples of the amount of work that our students do in the direction of self-help1 ,i would mention the fact that they manufactured #b1iij1jjj bricks during the past twelve months2 #a1cfg garments of various kinds have been made in the tailor shop1 and #eda1hcg pieces have been laundered in the laundry division by the girls4 ,agriculture is the industry which we plan to make stand out most prominently2 and we expect more and more to base much of our other training upon this fundamental industry4 ,there are two reasons why we have not been able to send out as many students from our agricultural department as we have desired3 ,first1 agriculture was the industry most disliked by the students and their parents in the earlier years of the school4 ,it required nearly ten years to overcome this prejudice4 ,second1 nearly all of our buildings1 seventy-two in number1 have been built by the students1 and the building trades have1 of necessity1 been emphasised4 ,as soon as the building period slackens1 we shall be able to send out a larger number skilled in all the branches of agriculture4 ,i have been asked many times about the progress of the students in the night school as compared with those in the day school4 ,in reality1 there is little difference4 ,a student who studies two hours at night and works with his hands ten hours during the day1 naturally covers less ground in the text-books than the day student1 yet in real sound growth and the making of manhood1 ,i question whether the day student has much advantage over the student in the night school4 ,there is an indescribable something about work with the hands that tends to develop a student's mind4 ,the night-school students take up their studies with a degree of enthusiasm and alertness that is not equalled in the day classes4 ,i have known instances where a student seemed so dull or stupid that he made practically no progress in the study of books4 ,he was away from the books entirely for a few months and put to work at a trade2 at the end of a few months he has returned to the class room1 and it has been surprising to note how much more easily he could master the text-books than before4 ,there is something1 ,i think1 in the handling of a tool that has the same relation to close1 accurate thinking that writing with a pen has in the preparation of a manuscript4 ,nearly all persons who write much will agree1 ,i think1 that one can produce much more satisfactory work by using the pen than by dictation4 ,illustration3 ,,digging ,,foundation ,,for ,a ,,new ,,building ,,on ,,the ,,institute ,,grounds ,while speaking of the effect of careful hand training on the development of character1 it is worth while to mention an uncommonly instructive example4 ,if any one goes into a community ,north or ,south1 and asks to have pointed out to him the man of the ,negro race of the old generation1 who stands for the best things in the life of the coloured community1 in six cases out of ten1 ,i venture to say1 he will be shown a man who learned a trade during the days of slavery4 ,a few years ago1 ,james ,hale1 a ,negro1 died in ,montgomery1 ,alabama4 ,he spent the greater part of his life as a slave4 ,he left property valued at fifty thousand dollars1 and bequeathed a generous sum to be used in providing for an infirmary for the benefit of his race4 ,james ,hale could not read or write a line1 yet ,i do not believe that there is a white or black man in ,montgomery who knew ,mr4 ,hale who will not agree with me in saying that he was the first coloured citizen of ,montgomery4 ,i have seldom met a man of any race who surpassed him in sterling qualities4 ,when ,mr4 ,hale was a slave his master took great pains to have him well trained as a carpenter1 contractor and builder4 ,his master saw that the better the slave was trained in handicraft1 the more dollars he was worth4 ,in my opinion1 it was this hand-training1 despite the evil of slavery1 that largely resulted in ,mr4 ,hale's fine development4 ,if ,mr4 ,hale was all this with mere hand training1 what might he have been if his mind had also been carefully educated8 ,mr4 ,hale was simply a type of many men to be found in nearly every part of the country4 ,the average manual-training school has for its main object the imparting of culture to the student2 while the economic element is made secondary4 ,at the ,tuskegee ,institute we have always emphasised the trade or economic side of education4 ,with any ignorant and poverty-stricken race1 ,i believe that the problem of bread-winning should precede that of culture4 ,for this reason the students who have attended the night school at ,tuskegee have1 as a rule1 mastered the principles and practice of agriculture1 or have been taught a trade by means of which we felt sure they could earn a living4 ,with the question of shelter1 food and clothing settled1 there is a basis for what are considered the higher and more important things4 ,illustration3 ,,selecting ,,fruit ,,for ,,canning ,we have1 therefore1 emphasised the earning value of education rather than the finished manual training1 being careful at the same time to lay the foundations of thorough moral1 mental and religious instruction4 ,in following this method something may be lost of the accuracy and finish which could be obtained if a course in manual training preceded the industrial course1 but the fact that the student is taught the principles of house-building in building a real house1 and not a play house1 gives him a self-reliance and confidence in his ability to make a living1 that manual training alone could not give4 ,the boy in the conditions surrounding the average ,negro youth1 leaving school with manual training alone1 finds himself little better off than he was before1 so far as his immediate and pressing problem of earning a living is concerned4 ,he and those dependent upon him want at once food1 shelter1 clothing and the opportunity to live properly in a home4 ,industrial education takes into consideration the economic element in production in a way that manual training does not1 and this is of great value to a race just beginning its career4 ,while ,i am speaking of the comparative value of manual training and industrial education1 there is one other difference between them to which ,i ought to call attention4 ,the proportion of students who complete an industrial or trade course is likely to be smaller than the proportion completing a literary or manual training course4 ,for example1 a boy comes to ,tuskegee ,institute1 as has often happened1 from a district where he has been earning fifty cents a day4 ,at ,tuskegee he works at the brickmason's trade for nine months4 ,he cannot master the trade during this time1 but he gets a start in it4 ,at the end of the nine-months' session1 if he returns home1 this student finds himself in demand in the community1 at wages which range from one dollar and a half to two dollars a day4 ,unless he is a man of extraordinarily strong character1 he will be likely to yield to the temptation to remain at home1 and become a rather commonplace mason1 instead of returning and finishing his trade1 in order that he may become a master workman4 ,so far ,i have been unable to discover any remedy that will completely offset this tendency4 ,the most effective cure for it1 so far as my experience is concerned1 is an appeal to the pride of the student4 ,illustration3 ,,at ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,school',s ,,brick-,,yard ,getting a kiln ready to fire ,another question often asked me is1 how long it will take an industrial school to become self-supporting4 ,to this question ,i always reply that ,i know of no industrial school that is self-supporting1 nor do ,i believe that any school which performs its highest functions as an industrial school will become so4 ,i believe that it is the duty of all such schools to make the most of the economic element--to make each industry pay in dollars and cents just as far as is possible--but the element of teaching should be made the first consideration1 and the element of production secondary4 ,very often at the ,tuskegee ,institute it would pay the institution better to keep a boy away from the farm than to have him spend a day at work on it2 but the farm is for the boy1 and not the boy for the farm4 ,an industrial school is continually at work on raw material4 ,when a student gets to the point where he can build a first-class wagon or buggy1 he is not retained at the school to build these vehicles merely for their economic value1 but is sent out into the world to begin his life's work2 and another student is taken in his place to begin the work afresh4 ,the cost of teaching the new student and the waste of material weigh heavily against the cost of production4 ,hence1 it can easily be seen that it is an almost impossible task to make money out of an industrial school1 or to make it self-supporting4 ,the moment the idea of making it pay is placed uppermost1 the institution becomes a factory1 and not a school for training head and hand and heart4 ,one of the advantages of the night school at ,tuskegee is in the sifting-out process of the student body4 ,unless a student has real grit in him and means business1 he will not continue very long to work with his hands ten hours a day for the privilege of studying two hours at night4 ,though much of the work done by students at an industrial school like ,tuskegee does not pay1 the mere effort at self-help on the part of the student is of the greatest value in character building4 ,most races have come up through contact with the soil1 either directly or indirectly4 ,there is something about the smell of the soil--a contact with a reality that gives one a strength and development that can be gained in no other way4 ,in advocating industrial training for backward or weak races or individuals1 ,i have always kept in mind the strengthening influence of contact with a real thing1 rather than with a third-rate imitation of a thing4 ,the great lesson which the race needs to learn in freedom is to work willingly1 cheerfully and efficiently4 ,in laying special stress upon hand training for a large proportion of my race1 ,i ask no peculiar education for the ,negro1 because he is a ,negro1 but ,i would advocate the same training for the ,german1 the ,jew1 or the ,frenchman1 were he in the same relative stage of racial development as the masses of the ,negroes4 ,while insisting upon thorough and high-grade industrial education for a large proportion of my race1 ,i have always had the greatest sympathy with first-class college training and have recognised the fact that the ,negro race1 like other races1 must have thoroughly trained college men and women4 ,there is a place and a work for such1 just as there is a place and a work for those thoroughly trained with their hands4 ,i shall never forget a remark ,i once heard made by a lady of foreign birth4 ,she had recently arrived in ,america1 and by chance had landed in one of our largest ,american cities4 ,as she was a woman of considerable importance1 she received lavish social attention4 ,for weeks her life was spent in a round of fashionable dressing1 dining1 automobiling1 balls1 theaters1 art museums1 card parties1 and what not4 ,when she was quite worn out1 a friend took her to visit the ,hampton ,normal and ,agricultural ,institute4 ,there she saw students and teachers at work in the soil1 in wood1 in metal1 in leather1 at work cooking1 sewing1 laundering4 ,she saw a company of the most devoted men and women in the world giving their lives in the most unselfish manner1 that they might help to put a race on its feet4 ,it was then that she exclaimed in my presence3 ,what a relief6 ,here ,i have found a reality2 and ,i am so glad that ,i did not leave ,america before ,i saw it4 ,i think ,i was able to understand something of her feeling4 ,in the history of the ,negro race since freedom1 one of the most difficult tasks has been to teach the teachers and leaders to exercise enough patience and foresight to keep the race down to a reality1 instead of yielding to the temptations to grasp after shadows and superficialities4 ,but the race itself is learning the lesson very fast4 ,indeed1 the rank and file learn faster than some of the teachers and leaders4 ,illustration3 ,,shoe ,,shop--,,making ,,and ,,repairing ,,chapter ,,vi ,,welding ,,theory ,,and ,,practice ,broom-making has been recently included among the industries for girls at ,tuskegee4 ,hundreds of brooms were being worn out every year in sweeping the floors of more than seventy buildings2 and ,i venture to say that more brooms were used up for the same amount of floor space than at almost any other institution of the kind4 ,wherever you may go in the shops1 or halls1 you will find some one busy with a broom most of the time4 ,the litter in the carpenter shop or the mattress-making room is not allowed to accumulate until the end of the day1 but is swept up so often that visitors sometimes ask me whether there is a moment of the working day when some one is not wielding a busy broom somewhere in the institution4 ,it was this reason that inspired the home manufacture of the needed supply of brooms4 ,it had been found possible to supply most of the needs of the school by student labour1 and after establishing a summer canning factory1 which ,chaplain ,penney directs while the ,bible ,school is not in session1 making brooms seemed a natural evolution of supply and demand4 ,but investigation showed that none of the instructors knew anything about making brooms1 and that the ,experimental ,farm had not yet taken up the task of raising broom-corn4 ,these obstacles were not serious in comparison with many others which had been attacked in the industrial school4 ,a way was found to make the first sample broom1 and gradually the needed machinery was installed4 ,then the director of the ,agricultural ,department discovered that broom-corn could be raised on the farm1 and now students can be equipped to take the industrial knowledge home with them1 and also to grow the crop on their own farms4 ,this department keeps the school supplied with good brooms at small cost1 and out of a minor need grew another useful industry4 ,the lesson in this little story is that finding a way to solve the problems closest at home helps to build up the community at large4 ,it was found1 also1 that the work of the class room could be correlated even with broom-making1 and made to harmonise with the ,tuskegee theory of education of head and hands together4 ,the girls were asked to write compositions descriptive of their work in this industry1 and some of these efforts have been very creditable4 ,illustration3 ,,mattress-,,making ,all the mattresses and pillows used at the ,institute are made by the students ,i insert one of these compositions as a sample3 ,,broom-,,making ,i am a nice large broom just made ,tuesday by ,harriet ,mc,cray4 ,before ,i was made into a broom1 ,i grew over in a large farm with a great many others of my sisters4 ,one day ,i was cut down and brought up to the broom-making department1 and was carefully picked to pieces to get the best straw4 ,i was put in a machine called the winder4 ,here ,i was wound very tightly1 and then put in another machine called the press4 ,i was pressed out flat and sewed tightly4 ,out of the press ,i was carried to the clipper1 and all of my seed and long ends were cut off4 ,from the cutter ,i was carried to the threshing machine and combed out thoroughly1 and put in the barrel for sale4 ,i was sold to the school for thirty-five cents4 ,he will use me very roughly in doors1 and when ,i begin to get old1 ,i shall be used in sweeping the yards4 ,when ,i am worn completely out1 ,i shall be pulled to pieces to get my handle1 which will be used again to make a fresh1 new broom4 ,class-room work is also made a part of the training in this varied catalogue of industries in successful operation at ,tuskegee3 ,agriculture1 basketry1 blacksmithing1 bee-keeping1 brick-masonry1 plastering1 brick-making1 carpentry1 carriage trimming1 cooking1 dairying1 architectural1 free-hand and mechanical drawing1 plain sewing1 dress-making1 electrical and steam engineering1 founding1 harness-making1 house-keeping1 horticulture1 canning1 laundering1 machinery1 mattress making1 millinery1 nurses' training1 painting1 saw-milling1 shoe-making1 printing1 stock-raising1 tailoring1 tinning1 and wheelwrighting4 ,it will be seen that the school is a community unto itself1 in which buildings can be erected1 finished1 and furnished1 the table supplied the year round1 and economic independence achieved in a large measure4 ,but this work is for the benefit of the student1 not to make the school self-supporting4 ,therefore1 no one side of his education must be neglected in order that he may be for the time a more productive labourer in his department of industry4 ,it would be wronging both him and the system to keep him at the work-bench all the working hours in order that he might turn out the greatest possible number of shoes1 or window sashes1 or fruit cans in a week4 ,illustration3 ,,basket-,,making ,special effort is made to have the students use the natural products of the region as material ,for example1 if you should chance to visit the carpenter shop1 you would find a score of young men turning out the finished material for some new building in process of erection1 or at the lathes turning out the interior finishings4 ,but in a small room in one corner1 having a hard time to be heard above the din of the steam saws1 is an instructor with a class of students1 who are learning to draw up contracts for jobs in carpentry or building4 ,they are not going out with the expectation of always being carpenters at day wages4 ,they should know how to make contracts as boss carpenters1 to build houses1 or repair them1 or how to hire other men to build houses for them4 ,therefore1 they learn to draw up specifications in both legal and practical form1 so that when the occasion arises they will know how to work with intelligence4 ,their class-room work in spelling1 mathematics1 grammar1 and ,english composition comes effectively into play4 ,they find out that a carpenter has small chance of getting ahead unless he can use his head intelligently4 ,he writes out a contract1 for example1 to put up a four-room house1 on a basis of three cash payments--when he takes the job2 when the roof is on2 and when the house is turned over to the owner4 ,this contract is read aloud by the instructor1 who asks the other members of the class to criticise it4 ,one of them points out a flaw which would allow the owner to crawl out of his bargain on a technicality4 ,another is pleased to discover that the arithmetic is so faulty that the estimates of the cost of material would land the contractor in the poor-house4 ,then the student begins to see that his so-called academic teaching is as important in his calling as his skill with the plane1 the saw and the miter-box1 and that he cannot hope to become a good carpenter unless he is also a diligent scholar4 ,in the winter an instructor in the ,agricultural ,classes may teach his students to familiarise themselves1 through books1 with insect pests which infest the peach tree4 ,they are asked to give their own ideas of the borer1 or the scale1 but this information is not allowed to be packed away in the attic of memory1 to be forgotten like so much useless lumber4 ,the real examination comes in the spring1 not in written papers1 but in the school orchard4 ,the same instructor takes the class among the peach trees1 and1 with branches in their hands1 they are required to identify the borer1 and apply to the trees the remedies laid down in their books and lectures4 ,when a new building is to be erected1 the school industries join their activities in a common cause4 ,the project sets in motion1 first1 the wagons to be used in removing the excavated material4 ,the young men in the wheelwright1 blacksmithing1 and harness-making rooms see their work tested1 for they have made and equipped all the heavy farm wagons needed for this hauling4 ,along with their daily work with the hands1 the patterns and instructions had been given them on blackboards and in lectures4 ,they have trained their minds1 they have learned handicraft1 and the combined results are applied4 ,their wagons and harness are not to be sent away or put on exhibition4 ,they must stand the strain at home1 and if they are faulty it cannot be hidden4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,school',s ,,sawmill ,then come the brick-makers1 turning out #bj1jjj bricks a day in the school kilns4 ,they know whether they have made good bricks when they see them handled1 and put into the walls by the student masons4 ,in the course for brick-masonry1 there is practical demonstration the year round4 ,all the brick work on the buildings of the school is done by students1 under the supervision of the instructors4 ,plastering and repair work1 both inside and outside of the buildings1 is in charge of the ,brickmasonry ,division4 ,the theory is taught in the class room1 the practical test is always close at hand4 ,the brick-mason and plasterer has one hundred and eighteen lessons in the fundamental principles of the trade1 he is taught how to make estimates on different kinds of work1 he has a course in architectural drawing1 and he does research work in trade journals4 ,so much for theory1 but his diploma of efficient mastery of his trade is built into the walls of the ,tuskegee buildings4 ,they show whether he has learned to be a brick-mason1 or whether he has merely learned things about brick-masonry4 ,the school sawmill turns out the lumber for the building in course of erection4 ,the instruction in saw-milling includes these branches of information3 ,names of machines and their uses4 ,care of machines4 ,defects of timber trees4 ,felling timber trees and loading logs on wagon4 ,measuring lumber and wood4 ,industrial classes4 ,drawing4 ,scaling logs to find their contents in board measure4 ,grading lumber4 ,running planer and other machines4 ,care of belts4 ,saw filing and caring for saws4 ,designing and making cutters for mouldings4 ,calculating speed of pulleys4 ,arrangement of machines in a planing and saw mill1 etc4 ,theory and practice in this department are dovetailed in the finished work in the interior of such a structure as the ,carnegie ,library1 or the new ,collis ,p4 ,huntington ,memorial ,building1 where the wood work1 handsomely finished in ,southern pine1 is the product of the school saw-mill and planer1 the carpenter shops and the paint-shop4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,machine-,,shop ,three years are required to complete this course ,the equipment of the machinery1 engineering1 and foundry department and the courses of study offered are designed to give students a thorough training in their various branches4 ,the machine shop is equipped with the latest machine tools1 driven by power from an ,atlas engine4 ,all the repair work on the mechanical equipment of the school1 including steam pumps1 steam engines1 woodworking machines1 printing presses1 metal working machines1 is done in this shop4 ,about fifty different machines outside of this department1 including the complete steam laundry1 the agricultural and dairy machinery1 are in daily operation1 furnishing the best possible demonstration of the theory taught in the classes4 ,in the course for steam engineers1 the young men are able to study the working of eleven different steam engines1 seven steam pumps1 twelve steam boilers1 and a complete water-works system1 with miles of piping1 valves1 gauges1 recording apparatus1 etc4 ,the instructors lay out the courses in theory and written work1 and the mathematical studies are applied in work on blue-print drawings and free-hand sketches4 ,a foundry is in daily operation1 and here the castings used in repair work for the school are made4 ,when the ,tuskegee cotton-raising party went to ,africa1 the castings for the cotton press sent with them were made in the school foundry4 ,in the plumbing and steam-fitting division1 the tools and shop equipment are ample for training in lead and iron work1 for water and steam piping systems in buildings of various kinds4 ,the plumbing and steam fitting in nearly all the buildings of the ,institute were done by the classes of this division4 ,this work includes sinks1 bath-tubs1 steam radiators1 lavatories and sanitary closets4 ,more than eight miles of piping of various sizes1 for steam and water1 are in use on the school grounds1 with all the necessary valves1 expansion joints1 unions and fittings4 ,the tinsmithing shop turns out nearly every kind of tin work from covering a house to making a pepper-box4 ,the apprentice becomes a first-class tinsmith in two years' training4 ,more than two thousand one-gallon fruit cans were made by the students last year in addition to many other useful articles4 ,the object of the course in electrical engineering is to give the student a foundation upon which he may build along any special line he may choose later4 ,arc and incandescent lighting is in use at the school1 and there is a complete telephone service connecting most of the buildings and offices through a central station4 ,the students learn not only how to install these systems1 but to maintain them in the highest state of efficiency4 ,the dynamos and other electrical machinery of a complete powerhouse are in operation for lighting the school buildings and grounds1 so that the student finds practical work at every turn in his course4 ,illustration3 ,,students ,,at ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,school',s ,,foundry ,he has learned how to build and equip a building4 ,he is taught also how to design it in all its parts4 ,all students in the day and night schools who are in the ,mechanical ,department are required to take instruction in mechanical drawing4 ,the work of the first year is largely preparatory4 ,it begins with simple geometrical drawing1 to accustom the student to the use of instruments and to teach him accuracy and neatness4 ,this is followed by work in projection1 which finds application in scale-drawing of simple objects4 ,as soon as a fair knowledge of the instruments has been attained1 with a thorough drill in free-hand sketching1 the study of design is carried far enough to secure an understanding of the principles1 and facility and accuracy in the construction of drawing plans4 ,strictly speaking1 mechanical drawing begins with the second year of trade work1 with the study of materials and working drawings4 ,during the last quarter of the third year the student learns how to make blue1 solar1 and black prints4 ,during the fourth year several excursions are made by the class to the shops1 the buildings under construction1 the brick-yard1 etc4 ,in such excursions detailed notes must be taken and a satisfactory report submitted upon the things seen and examined4 ,the course of architectural drawing covers three years1 and aims to give thorough instruction in drawing1 building construction and design4 ,in all cases1 the general mechanical and artistic training is supplemented by the course of study in the ,academic ,department4 ,on entering the third year of the architectural course1 the student1 in addition to his regular work1 is given actual practice in office training and general superintendence4 ,the student visits also the trade shops1 and is required to attend classes in heating1 electrical lighting1 and plumbing4 ,many of the most satisfactory and imposing buildings of the school were designed in our architectural department4 ,it will be seen from the foregoing survey that the students are able to build and equip a large building from top to bottom1 inside and out1 and these object lessons of their own handiwork stand clustered over many acres1 a city in itself built by young coloured men1 most of whom were wholly ignorant of systematic mental or manual training when they asked to be admitted to ,tuskegee4 ,they maintain also what may be called the running machinery of the institution4 ,the carpenters learn wood-turning and cabinet-making4 ,they make the furniture used in the class rooms and dormitories4 ,their regular division has been so crowded in recent years that it was found necessary to organise an auxiliary division1 called the ,repair ,shop4 ,here all the school's repairs in wood work are done1 and the training has proved so valuable that it has been made a separate course of study extending over three years4 ,in the blacksmith shop is performed the ironing of carriages1 buggies1 and wagons1 of which a hundred are used by the school1 in addition to making all kinds of implements and the shoeing of horses4 ,hundreds of farm implements are repaired here4 ,the student blacksmith is not a mere labourer4 ,he is taught how to run a shop of his own4 ,he learns how to make out bills for material1 how to keep shop supplies1 and a part of his time is devoted to mechanical drawing and class room work4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,mechanical ,,drawing ,the division of wheelwrighting is fitted for work in all details of the trade4 ,the students have constantly on hand new work1 such as the building of wagons1 drays1 horse and hand carts1 wheel-barrows1 buggies and road carts4 ,a great deal of repair work must be done to keep the farm equipment in first-class shape1 and the shop is constantly patronised for this kind of work by the farmers of the town and neighbourhood4 ,the school has a standing order for farm wagons from merchants in ,tuskegee and ,montgomery4 ,these are turned out complete1 and have proved serviceable and popular4 ,all of the harness used by the school1 and a large quantity sold outside1 is made in the harness-making department4 ,all the vehicles turned out by the blacksmith and wheelwrighting divisions are finished by the students in the carriage-trimming shop4 ,the visitor1 therefore1 who wishes to inspect the ,tuskegee ,institute1 is met at the station by a carriage built by the students1 pulled by horses raised on the school farms1 whose harness was made in a school shop4 ,the driver wears a trim1 blue uniform made in the school tailor-shop1 and shoes made by student class work4 ,the visitor is assigned to a guest room in a dormitory designed1 built1 and furnished by the students4 ,his bathroom plumbing1 the steam heat in his room1 and the electric lighting were installed by students4 ,the oak furniture of his room came from the shops4 ,the young woman who takes care of his room is a student working her way through the ,institute4 ,after supper1 she will change her wearing apparel to a blue uniform dress and a neat straw hat1 all made in the school4 ,the steam laundry sends over to know if the visitor wishes some washing done1 and girl students send it back1 proud of the snowy polish of shirts and collars4 ,the visitor is asked to be a guest in the teachers' dining-hall4 ,the bill of fare may read as follows3 ,,breakfast3 ,breakfast food1 ham1 fried cakes1 bread1 syrup1 coffee1 tea1 butter1 fruit4 ,,dinner3 ,roast beef1 tomatoes1 rice1 corn-bread1 sweet potatoes1 buttermilk1 snap beans1 dessert4 ,,supper3 ,cold ham1 tea1 bread1 syrup1 butter1 milk1 fried potatoes1 coffee4 ,in looking over this program1 the guest will discover that the ham1 roast beef1 vegetables1 cornbread1 syrup1 butter1 milk1 and potatoes are products of the school farms1 raised1 cared for and produced by student labour4 ,throughout these varied fields of industrial and productive activity1 the following objects are kept constantly in view1 and their relative importance is in the order of their enumeration3 ,to teach the dignity of labour4 ,to teach the trades1 thoroughly and effectively4 ,to supply the demand for trained industrial leaders4 ,to assist the students in paying all1 or a part1 of their expenses4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,blacksmith ,,shop ,,chapter ,,vii ,,head ,,and ,,hands ,,together ,that the distinctive feature of ,tuskegee ,institute--ample provision for industrial training--has received in the public prints almost exclusive attention is not strange4 ,but it is well to remember that ,tuskegee ,institute stands for education as well as for training1 for men and women as well as for bricks and mortar4 ,of course1 the distinction involved in the words1 education and training1 is largely theoretical4 ,my experience convinces me that training to some productive trade1 be it wagon-building or farming1 educates4 ,for example1 one of our students is foreman on the large and beautifully planned ,collis ,p4 ,huntington ,memorial ,building1 now in process of construction2 that young man is notable for a simple honesty1 an unobtrusive confidence and self-reliance1 that abundantly testify to his manliness4 ,that this manliness is in large degree directly traceable to his skill and his experience in bearing industrial responsibility--in short1 to his training--is beyond peradventure4 ,indeed1 in running over the long list of students who1 for one reason or another--lack of money or lack of taste for books--have left ,tuskegee without completing the prescribed course in the ,academic ,department1 ,i have been forcibly impressed with the fact that training to productive industry directly tends to develop sound judgment and manly independence--those qualities of the mind and heart that collectively constitute the character of the educated man4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,outdoor ,,geometry ,another example of the effect of the training given at the ,tuskegee ,institute on the mind of the student occurs to me4 ,a few weeks ago it was decided to modify the ,day ,school system4 ,to make any change in a great organisation like ours requires great discriminating judgment and care4 ,the faculty discussed the change in its every phase1 and ,i finally called the students of the four upper classes together1 presented to them our plans1 and explained to them the reasons for the proposed change4 ,their response was not a negative acquiescence1 but a series of direct and searching questions4 ,they were alert and quick to see minor defects1 and to give direct and constructive criticism in regard to many details4 ,their work in the shops and on the farm had brought them into touch with real issues and real things--their daily work in constructing and equipping our buildings and in helping to build the institute had brought with it an intelligent interest in the school and an enlightened appreciation of values2 in other words1 it had taught them to think4 ,it is obvious that a man cannot build wagons or run a farm with continuous success who is unable to read1 write1 and cipher4 ,but1 far deeper than the mere commercial advantage of academic studies1 is the fact that they afford incentives to good conduct and high thinking4 ,to make a boy an efficient mechanic is good1 for it enables him to earn a living and to add his mite to the productiveness of society2 but a school must do more--must create in him abiding interests in the intellectual achievements of mankind in art and literature1 and must stimulate his spiritual nature4 ,and so ,tuskegee has always maintained an ,academic ,department1 at present housed mainly in four buildings4 ,the most important of these are ,porter ,hall1 a three-story frame building1 the first building erected after the opening of the ,institute1 though poor in appointments1 yet rich in traditions2 ,thrasher ,hall1 a handsome three-story brick building with well-equipped physical and chemical laboratories2 and the ,carnegie ,library1 a beautifully proportioned brick structure1 which is the center of ,academic interests4 ,the collection of books is well selected1 and the generosity of ,tuskegee's friends keeps it constantly growing4 ,the admirable ,collis ,p4 ,huntington ,memorial ,building will be the largest building on the grounds1 and is to be used exclusively for academic purposes4 ,illustration3 ,,students ,,framing ,,the ,,roof ,,of ,a ,,large ,,building ,on the faculty of the ,academic ,department are twenty-eight men and women of ,negro blood with degrees from ,michigan1 ,nebraska1 ,oberlin1 ,amherst1 ,cornell1 ,columbia1 and ,harvard4 ,in order to display the character of work done in the ,department1 it may be well for me to explain the course of study in some special branches4 ,the aim of the work in ,english in the preparatory classes is to bring about familiarity with the mother tongue1 and correctness and ease in its use4 ,from contact with good models of spoken or written discourse the pupil learns to appreciate and interpret thought well expressed4 ,from the careful attention given his own language1 he learns to feel the correctness or incorrectness of an expression1 without slavish reliance upon rules4 ,in other words1 in these classes language is taught as an art2 the necessary rules and definitions1 when they occur1 are treated as working principles1 and abundant practice in applying them is given4 ,in the advanced years of the course1 technical grammar is taught because at this stage the pupil has already become familiar with good usage1 and has attained a certain facility in employing the mother tongue4 ,he should now be taught more thoroughly the fundamental principles governing the correct or incorrect use of an expression1 while in the preparatory classes1 oral exercises in narration1 description and reproduction predominate4 ,the pupil is encouraged to talk simply and naturally about something he has seen or heard or read4 ,he is taught to exercise care for unity1 logical sequence of ideas1 and smoothness of transition4 ,to the narration and description of the lower grades1 argumentation and exposition are added in the advanced work1 these subjects being expanded to form the basis of a course in public speaking4 ,the pupil obtains material for themes and debates from his experience in shop and field and from literature technical to the subject4 ,the themes are submitted for correction and in due course committed1 and1 after preliminary training1 delivered at the monthly public rhetoricals of the class4 ,except for the written brief required of each disputant1 debates are extemporaneous4 ,in the preparation of a program like the following1 considerable experience and research must necessarily be involved4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,language ,a ,,middle ,,rhetorical ,,evening ,,prayer ,,service ,a ,model ,southern ,farm ,it is this noble agriculture which feeds the human race and all the humbler orders of animated nature dependent on man4 --,speech by ,,edward ,,everett 99 99 99 ,,overture ,,orchestra #a ,choosing and ,preparing the ,land ,leon ,harris #b ,the ,crops ,terry ,hart ,song1 ,old ,folks at ,home ,a ,middle ,quartette #c ,constructing the ,farm ,house ,alonzo ,fields #d ,constructing the ,chimneys and ,fireplaces ,charles ,weir ,duet ,miss ,young1 ,mr4 ,weaver #e ,care of the ,farm ,house 7a7 ,the ,dining-room and ,kitchen ,miss ,emma ,smith 7b7 ,bedrooms and ,parlour ,miss ,pearl ,rousseau ,music ,waltz ,orchestra #f ,the ,kitchen ,garden ,cornelius ,richardson #g ,the ,poultry-yard and ,contents ,miss ,stella ,pinkston ,music ,a ,middle ,brass ,quartett #h ,a ,model ,storage ,barn ,thomas ,brittain #i ,the ,farm ,machinery ,william ,lewis ,music ,march ,orchestra #aj ,the ,dairy ,herd ,mr4 ,wesley ,mc,coy #aa ,a ,model ,dairy-barn ,wm4 ,j4 ,williams ,music ,polka ,orchestra ,exercises like the foregoing not only assist the ,industrial ,department in its work with the pupil1 but offer admirable ,academic training in ,english and in practical elocution4 ,besides the discussion relative to industrial pursuits1 the pupils consider questions important to them as future citizens and men of business4 ,this phase of the ,english work trains the pupil to rigorous methods of reasoning1 and to clearness and forcefulness in public discourse4 ,literature in the preparatory classes is taught under the head of reading4 ,the physical requisites to effective expression receive due attention1 but great stress is laid upon reading as a means by which the mind is furnished with knowledge4 ,literature is taught by reading and language teachers1 the former dealing with the subject-matter for literary values1 the latter having an eye to construction4 ,the course is of twofold importance2 contact with finished style gives to the pupil a sense of what is most fitting and beautiful in expression1 thus proving an invaluable aid to his own oral and written diction4 ,the work of the ,senior class in ,english literature and composition aims to develop in the pupil power to think clearly and logically1 and ability to appreciate thought expressed by others2 to teach clearness and correctness of expression together with facility and power in the use of language2 to produce an appreciation of good books by contact with classic authors2 and to give1 by an outline study of the history of ,english literature1 a proper setting for the authors read4 ,to supplement the class-room work in literature1 a course in home reading has been arranged4 ,it is the aim of the division of ,english to make the home reading as much like play as possible1 a relaxation from sterner requirements of the curriculum1 an occupation for idle hours4 ,by persuading the most stupid pupil to read books which appeal to him1 the teacher can lead him gradually to more solid literature4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,outdoor ,,nature ,,study ,as personal achievements appeal to the undeveloped mind more strongly than the chronicles of conflicts and political changes1 the first course in history deals with biography4 ,the student is given facts in the lives of men1 ,washington1 ,jefferson1 ,adams1 and is made to feel that these men actually lived1 that they are not mere abstract influences4 ,at the very beginning their lives are studied in the light of character building4 ,after the first ideas of character building have been presented1 the next step is to awaken the power of the observation1 to quicken the imagination4 ,the elementary course in ,english history is adapted to this purpose4 ,the course in advanced ,american ,history is for developing judgment and discrimination4 ,little attention is given to the periods of discovery and of colonisation1 except to show the student how the ,american people1 as is true of all great nations1 began as cultivators of the soil4 ,the peculiar position of the ,negro in ,american ,history1 from the earliest days of the slave trade1 through the wars with ,england and the ,civil ,war1 to the present time1 is given due importance1 not by isolating it1 but by introducing it in its proper place with other events4 ,in the ,senior year1 a course is given in the ,state ,history of ,alabama1 for the benefit of those who wish to fit themselves as teachers in that ,state4 ,the object is to acquaint the ,normal student with the important facts in the settlement of ,alabama1 its entrance into the ,union1 and its present industrial and political status4 ,during the first three years1 the course in ,geography is taught with ,nature ,study4 ,in the last year1 ,geography is combined with ,history4 ,the purpose of this arrangement is obvious4 ,geography is really a broad phase of ,nature ,study4 ,questions regarding natural features1 the sun1 moon1 planets1 water-courses1 physical points1 etc41 are explained in the course in ,nature ,study4 ,hence the pupil appreciates all the more what is said about them when he comes to them again in his ,geography4 ,the same intimacy is found in the study of plant and animal life1 minerals1 and rock formation4 ,tuskegee is admirably fitted for the study of ,geography1 and every effort is made to make the teaching easily grasped4 ,the industrial shops are always open to academic teachers and students4 ,when the student takes up the subject of lumber1 for example1 he is able1 by going to the shops1 to understand the various stages through which the rough1 uncut log must pass in order to make suitable building material4 ,then1 too1 the school grounds are put to excellent use4 ,various kinds of plant-life are studied2 hills1 valleys1 small water-courses1 examples of erosion1 different kinds of soil1 are seen on every hand4 ,in connection with ,nature ,study and ,geography1 the pupils are urged to be on the alert to detect something new1 something which they have seen often1 but can afterward view in a new light because of the information obtained4 ,illustration3 ,,wood-,,turning ,,machinery ,the course in mathematics covers a period of seven years1 including ,arithmetic1 ,algebra1 ,geometry1 ,trigonometry1 and ,surveying4 ,throughout the entire course1 the aim is to give the student1 as far as possible1 a practical knowledge of the subjects embraced4 ,the pupil is required to deal in things associated with figures1 rather than with figures alone4 ,in multiples and measures1 his work is brought in close and effective touch with the trade work4 ,for example1 the carpenter must get the greatest common length of board from several different lengths without any waste3 the dressmaker must find and use the smallest number of yards of cloth that suffice for the making of dresses of different sizes4 ,mathematics is shown to be an instrument of economy4 ,in fractions1 estimates are made of the cost of bales of cotton at prevailing prices4 ,the student is often required to weigh out in each case the amounts of various articles which can be purchased for given amounts of money4 ,in compound quantities and in the various measurements1 the student does the measuring4 ,yards1 rods1 tons of coal1 and tons of hay are measured4 ,in carpeting1 he is required to carpet a room4 ,in lathing and plastering1 he must witness the work in active operation4 ,in percentage1 problems which must be solved in the daily work the student is able to get from the industrial departments4 ,for example1 if the leather for a pair of shoes costs a definite amount1 and the shoes are sold at a definite rate1 what per cent4 is gained8 ,or for what must they be sold so as to gain a certain per cent48 ,much actual outdoor work is done during the study of trigonometry1 and in surveying the student learns to lay off lots1 country roads2 to plot1 map1 etc4 ,the last term of the ,senior year is spent in mastering the elements of ,civil ,engineering1 work for which the first two terms have prepared the student4 ,the ,south is sorely in need of surveyors and men grounded in the elements of engineering2 positions of this character are easy to find1 and pay well4 ,the object of the work in ,nature ,study1 as taught in the ,academic ,department1 is to train the faculty of observation1 create an interest in and love of nature1 gain knowledge which will be of service in the future1 and to cultivate a practical interest in ,agriculture4 ,knowledge of things near at hand should be acquired first1 and later of things more distant2 a clear and definite acquaintance with home surroundings 7plants1 animals1 minerals1 natural phenomena1 and the human body7 is made the basis of the teaching as a foundation for more advanced study4 ,in the assignment of work and selection of material for study1 the special needs of special classes are kept in mind1 the work being determined by the student's power of observation and interpretation4 ,subjects for study are selected largely according to the seasons4 ,this work is conducted with reference to its correlation with ,geography1 language1 and other subjects4 ,field excursions1 collecting and preserving specimens1 and gardening of various kinds1 are prominent features of the courses in ,nature ,study4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,outdoor ,,arithmetic ,the school offers also through the ,academic ,department1 a two-years' course1 especially treating of the affairs of the farm4 ,instruction is by laboratory work1 supplemented by text-books1 lectures1 and reference readings1 which are assigned from standard volumes and periodicals4 ,the student is brought into close practical contact with his subject4 ,he studies farm implements1 traces root systems of corn and other crops1 tests germination of seeds1 determines the properties of soils and the effects of various crops and of rotation of crops upon soil fertility4 ,he tests milk1 studies butter and cheese1 and judges a variety of animals4 ,the school owns an ample supply of plows1 cultivators1 planters1 cutters1 engines1 etc4 ,it has extensive collections of agricultural plants1 seeds and products4 ,laboratories are well equipped with apparatus for the study of manures1 fertilisers1 soil bacteriology1 germination of seeds1 and judging cotton and corn4 ,the ,institute grounds and the fields and orchards of the ,experiment ,station are always available for illustrations in class work4 ,collections of seeds and woods1 cabinets of beneficial and noxious insects1 photographs1 maps1 charts1 and drawings afford valuable material for study and demonstration4 ,specimens of draft and coach horses1 ,jersey1 ,ayrshire and ,holstein cattle1 ,southdown sheep1 and ,berkshire swine1 afford material for judging4 ,in the ,dairy ,division is a complete outfit for cream separation and butter and cheese making4 ,we have1 also1 levels1 microscopes1 and an extensive list of agricultural journals1 a complete file of experiment station bulletins from all the ,states1 and an excellent assortment of standard reference books4 ,the one purpose is to acquaint the student with the facts and principles needed for the improvement of soils1 the increase of fertility1 the nature of the various crops1 the conditions governing their successful and economic production1 and with the general development of agriculture4 ,the student is also made familiar with animals1 first1 as to fitness for specific purposes2 second1 as to their care and management2 third1 as to their improvement by breeding2 and fourth1 as to the manufacture of animal products4 ,he learns the principles of orchard management1 small fruit culture1 vegetable gardening and plant propagation1 as well as the evolution of cultivated plants4 ,a sense of the beautiful is cultivated and given expression in floriculture1 to the end that more of nature's beauty shall pervade the home and its surroundings4 ,illustration3 ,,chemical ,,laboratory ,the work of each year of strictly mental education is prescribed4 ,we aim to arouse the students' interest in important educational problems1 with especial reference to the ,south1 rewarding that interest with practical suggestions2 and to train efficiently teachers who will render valuable service in school and society4 ,the courses in ,normal ,education comprise a critical study of human nature2 an outline history of ,american education2 general and special methods in teaching2 and school organisation and administration4 ,the students in these courses observe expert teaching in a primary school under the direction of the ,academic ,department4 ,senior students are not only permitted to observe1 but also to practice teaching under supervision4 ,this division of ,education is being strengthened1 and keeps steadily before it the fact that ,tuskegee is to send out teachers as well as trained artisans and industrial leaders4 ,the courses in ,chemistry and in ,physics1 more clearly than any other ,academic courses1 complement the work of the ,industrial ,department4 ,thus in the course in ,chemistry1 operations in the shops and on the farm1 involving chemical reactions1 are drawn upon as illustrative material for the first year's work4 ,the artisan1 with a knowledge of chemical matters1 grows and thinks1 and is not automatic4 ,the courses are not those in which the students are merely taught how to do1 but to do4 ,soap is taken apart and put together4 ,polishes1 lacquers1 chemical cleansers1 are not known merely as formul2 but are actually made in small quantities by students themselves1 so as to develop their power of doing things4 ,is this flour1 bran1 and baking powder1 pure8 ,is the fertiliser of high grade8 ,how shall the sick-room be disinfected8 ,how shall we destroy the cabbage-devouring worm8 ,to these and similar questions1 the division of ,chemistry seeks to enable students readily to find answers4 ,in the course in ,physics1 the principles taken up are illustrated by the actual work going on in the outside building construction1 and the farm work4 ,great stress is laid upon the bearing of ,physics on tools1 machines1 and operations of the shops4 ,inspection of the various industrial plants in the vicinity of ,tuskegee is required in order that the student may see the applications of ,physics to the processes in use4 ,throughout the courses1 a notebook is accurately kept by each student1 in which are recorded the results of his observations and experiments1 together with sketches for illustration4 ,an exercise given to one of the ,junior classes in the night school1 not long ago1 shows how the attempt is made1 even in so simple a matter as a spelling lesson1 to correlate the ,academic work with the ,industrial4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,physiology ,the theme of this lesson was ,building a ,chest1 and the teacher brought to the class a small chest in which were placed most of the tools and materials needed in its construction4 ,the teacher exhibited each article as he came to it in telling the story1 and required the student to spell the word and then write it on the blackboard as neatly as possible4 ,the synonyms and homonyms of some of the words were given1 and the student required to illustrate their difference in spelling and use4 ,the teacher proceeded as follows1 eliciting from the students the words in italics3 ,to build this article we must have ,timber1 such as ,pine1 or ,cedar1 or ,cypress1 and other ,material4 ,we also need several ,tools1 such as a ,plane to ,smooth the ,planks2 a ,chisel to cut these ,dove-tails2 and some ,glue1 with which to fasten the pieces together substantially1 as we shall not need ,nails4 ,then with these ,sprigs we put on this ,moulding1 which should be cut in a ,miter1 or we may cut it by this ,bevel1 which can be changed to a ,square4 ,we now put on these ,butts--not ,strap-,hinges--with ,screws4 ,in front must be ,bored a hole and the ,lock put on2 then the ,escutcheon over the hole as a finish2 the ,key is inserted1 and we have completed the ,chest4 ,a ,carpenter--one engaged in ,carpentry--or a ,cabinet-,maker1 builds things like this1 and we call him a ,mechanic4 ,the practical usefulness of the ,academic ,department lies in the aid which the study of physics and chemistry and mathematics and drawing offers to the blacksmith1 the carpenter1 the nurse1 and the housewife--an aid that does much to transform listlessness and drudgery into vivacity and gratifying efficiency4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,lessons ,,in ,,home-,,making ,while the men must work to get and keep the home1 the wives and daughters must1 in a great measure1 supply and guard the health1 strength1 morals1 and happiness of the family4 ,their responsibility is great in all that makes for the development of the individual and the community4 ,the home is built on an ancient foundation among the white population of this country1 especially in the rural communities4 ,the ,negro has had to learn the meaning of home since he learned the meaning of freedom4 ,all work which has to do with his uplifting must begin with his home and its surroundings4 ,illustration3 ,,dorothy ,,hall ,,in ,,which ,,most ,,of ,,the ,,industries ,,for ,,girls ,,are ,,taught ,those familiar only with the rural life of the ,north and ,west1 where1 even in poverty1 there are deep-grounded habits of thrift and comfort1 do not know what home lacks among great masses of the cabin-dwellers of the ,south4 ,nowhere is there a nobler opportunity than that which confronts the young women who are learning at ,hampton and ,tuskegee1 and other educational institutions1 what home should be4 ,the crowded one-room cabin affects the moral and physical life of the family1 it slowly destroys the right inclinations given by nature to every child1 and develops a manner of life which1 coperating with other causes1 produces mental weakness1 loss of ambition1 and a shiftless disregard of responsibilities4 ,it goes without saying that many of the young women who come to ,tuskegee need such training as will enable them to make homes that are worthy the name4 ,it is the need first at hand1 and the school tries to meet it in a practical way4 ,the most liberal courses in literature and the sciences1 if they exclude all practical training that will help a young woman to solve the problems which center around her own hearth1 will not help her to get what she needs most4 ,at ,tuskegee she is given a thorough ,english education1 she can go out from the school and obtain a teacher's position in a field where the demand is greater than the supply1 but after all her duty begins at home1 and it would be worse than folly to overlook these essentials4 ,it is interesting to note1 in this connection1 that1 after the household training system of ,tuskegee had been in operation for some time1 the need of similar education for young women whose natural advantages were infinitely greater than those of the coloured girls in the ,south1 prompted the following announcement in the advertisement of what is1 perhaps1 the most high-priced and exclusive seminary in ,massachusetts3 ,in planning a system of education for young ladies1 with the view of fitting them for the greatest usefulness in life1 the idea was conceived of supplementing the purely intellectual work by practical training in the art of home management and its related subjects4 ,it was the first school of high literary grade to introduce courses in ,domestic ,science into the regular curriculum4 ,the results were so gratifying as to lead to the equipment of ,experiment ,hall1 a special building1 fitted for the purpose of studying the principles of ,applied ,housekeeping4 ,here the girls do the actual work of cooking1 marketing1 arranging menus1 and attend to all the affairs of a well-arranged household4 ,courses are arranged also in sewing1 dressmaking1 and millinery2 they are conducted on a similar practical basis1 and equip the student with a thorough knowledge of the subject4 ,a dozen years ago1 ,i do not believe that any such announcement would have been made4 ,illustration3 ,,learning ,,dressmaking ,at ,tuskegee there is a modest dwelling of four rooms1 called the practice cottage4 ,in the shadow of the massive brick buildings which surround it1 this cottage seems to have strayed in from some one of the country roads around ,tuskegee4 ,but is has a trim and well-kept air1 such as all country homes can have1 no matter how poor and simple they may be4 ,it contains a bedroom1 sitting-room1 dining-room and kitchen4 ,these rooms are comfortably furnished for family housekeeping1 but there is nothing in them that is not within reach of any ,alabama farmer who is able to make both ends meet4 ,much of the furniture is home-made4 ,the creton-covered chairs1 divan1 and sofa are made from common barrels1 which the girls are taught to make into furniture in the upholstering department4 ,this kind of utility furniture has been so successful for ornament and comfort that a good deal of it has been ordered by visitors for their ,northern homes4 ,the floors of the cottage are covered with clean1 cheap matting and oilcloth1 and the students are taught to make pretty and serviceable mats from corn-husks4 ,whatever there is in the rooms is in good taste1 for pictures1 wall paper1 and humble adornment can be worked out in good taste without extra cost4 ,the girls of the ,senior class live in the practice cottage in turn1 four at one time1 for periods of five weeks4 ,they are able to put into practice1 under the supervision of ,mrs4 ,washington1 much that they have learned in their school life of three or four years4 ,this is not1 in reality1 an experiment station1 for the girls are thoroughly equipped to take charge of every department of the house1 and they run it themselves1 being held responsible only for results4 ,they do the sweeping1 dusting1 cooking1 washing1 and ironing1 sewing if need be1 and their own marketing4 ,the family of four is given an allowance of not more than three dollars a week for food1 which they invest at the school store and the school farm4 ,with this allowance they are expected to set the table for four1 and to run their cuisine through the week without any outside help4 ,this seems a very modest sum1 but it is in fair proportion to the average incomes of the class of people who need just such training4 ,the girls are thoroughly acquainted with the nutritive and appetising values of the foods which will be available in their home neighbourhoods4 ,distinguished visitors have been guests of the practice cottage girls1 and have enjoyed the simple meals1 skillfully prepared by the hostesses1 who make no extra preparations4 ,on their small allowance1 and with the menu prepared in advance1 they are able to entertain without flurry or embarrassment4 ,they have been taught that the truest hospitality is in making the most of what one has to do with1 and offering no apologies for the absence of luxuries one cannot afford4 ,the practice cottage is well kept1 and is an interesting picture in miniature of the essentially practical side of the school gospel of hard work with the hands as a part of a useful education4 ,illustration3 ,,barrel ,,furniture ,a thriving ,tuskegee industry ,of course1 this cottage routine is not allowed to interfere with the class work2 and while they are testing their ability to manage a modest1 clean1 attractive1 livable home1 the girls are pursuing the studies they have selected to fit them for their several lines of work after graduation4 ,in addition to the training in the ,academic ,department1 these girls are learning trades1 and1 what is more important1 how to make homes for themselves or for others4 ,in this cottage the ,senior girls round out their course by the practical application of all the theories in household economy that they have learned during the earlier years of their training4 ,the course in ,domestic ,science is perhaps worth outlining in part because it is practical1 and is designed to make the home an uplifting agency by its daily operation and influence3 ,first year3 ,making and care of fires2 care and adjustment of lamps used for cooking2 cleaning and keeping in order the tables1 closets1 sinks1 and pantries2 care of material as it comes from market2 washing kitchen and cooking dishes1 and care of baking-bowls1 dish-towels1 and dish-cloths2 cleaning painted and unpainted woodwork2 washing windows1 sweeping and dusting2 the proper use and care of utensils2 making breads without yeast2 making biscuit1 cornbread1 sweet and white potato1 graham and oatmeal bread2 muffins of each of the flours1 and combinations of rice or grits with them2 making different kinds of toast and using stale breads2 cooking vegetables in simple ways4 ,the simplest forms of cooking meats2 making plain1 brown and milk gravies and sweet sauces2 cooking cereals and serving in various ways2 also cooking fish and eggs4 ,second year3 ,care of silver1 glass1 china1 brass and nickel2 care of table linen2 laying table for different meals1 waiting1 clearing table and washing dishes2 cleaning oiled floors2 lessons on providing material for meals1 and calculating cost4 ,preparing given menus1 and estimating time required in preparation2 making yeast bread1 brown and white1 rolls1 muffins1 coffee1 spice and raisin bread4 ,soup-making1 with and without meat2 pures from beans1 peas and other vegetables1 with or without milk2 stews1 hashes1 minces4 ,cleaning and cooking chicken in various ways2 bacon3 boiled1 fried4 ,making tea1 chocolate1 coffee and cocoa4 ,the third year deals with the theory of foods1 their source1 selection and composition and economic value1 and the practice of principles involved in different methods of preparation4 ,the fourth and final year covers the study of dietaries1 including the arrangement of bills of fare for daily living1 in which the expense is limited to fifty cents for each person1 and dinners of three courses for six persons4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,cooking ,in the school laundry the young women are taught the art of washing and ironing according to improved methods4 ,two washers1 an extractor1 a mangle1 starcher1 collar and cuff ironer1 have been added to lighten the drudgery4 ,drying-rooms and ironing-rooms provided with excellent facilities afford means for thorough teaching4 ,all of the washing for teachers and students1 including bed and table linen1 is done in this department4 ,the course covers one school year4 ,it is the policy of the ,institute to give special attention to the training of girls in all matters pertaining to dress1 health1 etiquette1 physical culture and general housekeeping4 ,the girls are constantly under the strict and watchful care of the ,dean of the ,woman's ,department and the women teachers4 ,special rules governing the conduct of the girls are made known to each girl upon her arrival4 ,in addition to the general training1 they receive special practical talks from various members of the ,faculty on such matters as relate to the care of the body1 social purity1 etc4 ,the course in household training includes such instruction as3--,the location and sanitation of the home4 ,furniture3 its purchase1 arrangement1 and proper care4 ,surroundings and their advantages4 ,cleaning3 lamps1 beds1 bedrooms1 and general weekly cleaning4 ,the care of the dining-room3 serving the table and the care of linen1 silver1 pantry1 dishes1 and towels4 ,the duties and manners of the hostess4 ,the furnishing and care of the kitchen4 ,marketing1 and economy1 punctuality1 and regularity in preparation of food4 ,the sick-room3 its attractions and proper ventilation4 ,changing the patient's clothing and bedding4 ,feeding and visiting the sick4 ,yards and outhouses3 how to keep clean and how to beautify4 ,the housekeeper's personal appearance4 ,dress3 what to wear and the colors suitable4 ,the hospital and training-school for nurses were organised to provide for the physical needs of the ,tuskegee colony1 and to equip young women for efficient service among their people4 ,a beautiful two-story hospital building1 with all modern improvements1 has been finished1 with enlarged facilities for the care of patients4 ,the facilities for the training of nurses are excellent and the standard of admission high4 ,graduates from the hospital are doing good work1 many of them holding excellent positions in the hospitals1 schools and private infirmaries throughout the ,south4 ,the five ,tuskegee nurses sent to the front in the ,spanish-,american war were the only coloured female nurses employed by the ,government4 ,the course of study covers three years1 but is so arranged that students of exceptional ability are able to complete it in two4 ,illustration3 ,,an ,,out-,,of-,,door ,,class ,,in ,,laundry ,,work ,at the ,mount ,meig's ,school ,,chapter ,,ix ,,outdoor ,,work ,,for ,,women ,seven years ago ,i became impressed with the idea that there was a wider range of industrial work for our girls4 ,the idea grew upon me that it was unwise in a climate like ours in the ,south to narrow the work of our girls1 and confine them to indoor occupations4 ,if one makes a close study of economic conditions in the ,south1 he will soon be convinced that one of the weak points is the want of occupations for women4 ,this lack of opportunity grows largely out of traditional prejudice and because of lack of skill4 ,all through the period of slavery1 the idea prevailed that women1 not slaves1 should do as little work as possible with their hands4 ,there were notable exceptions1 but this was the rule4 ,most of the work inside the homes was done by the coloured women4 ,such a thing as cooking1 sewing1 and laundering1 as part of a white woman's education1 was not thought of in the days of slavery4 ,training in art1 music1 and general literature was emphasised4 ,when the coloured girl became free1 she naturally craved the same education in which she had seen the white woman specialising4 ,i have already described our trials at the ,tuskegee ,institute1 in attempting to get our girls to feel and see that they should secure the most thorough education in everything relating to the care of a home4 ,when we were able to free them of the idea that it was degrading to study and practice those household duties which are connected with one's life every day in the year1 ,i felt convinced that one other step was necessary4 ,new ,england and most of the ,middle ,states are largely engaged in manufacturing4 ,the factories1 therefore1 naturally give employment to a large number of women4 ,the ,south is not yet in any large degree manufacturing territory1 but is an agricultural section and will probably remain such for a long period4 ,this fact confirmed my belief that an industrial school should not only give training in household occupations to women1 but should go further in meeting their needs and in providing education for them in out-of-door industries4 ,illustration3 ,,outdoor ,,work ,,for ,,girls ,in making a study of this subject it became evident that the climate of every ,southern ,state was peculiarly adapted to out-of-door work for women4 ,a little later ,i had the opportunity of going to ,europe and visiting the agricultural college for women at ,swanley1 ,england4 ,there ,i found about forty women from some of the best families of ,great ,britain4 ,many of these women were graduates of high schools and colleges4 ,in the morning ,i saw them in the laboratory and class room studying botany and chemistry and mathematics as applied to agriculture and horticulture4 ,in the afternoon these same women were clad in suitable garments and at work in the field with the hoe or rake1 planting vegetable seeds1 pruning fruit trees or learning to raise poultry and bees and how to care for the dairy4 ,after ,i had seen this work and had made a close study of it1 ,i saw all the more clearly what should be done for the coloured girls of the ,south where there was so large an unemployed proportion of the population4 ,i reasoned that if this kind of hand-training is necessary for a people who have back of them the centuries of ,english wealth and culture1 it is tenfold more needful for a people who are in the condition of my race at the ,south4 ,i came home determined to begin the training of a portion of our women at ,tuskegee in the outdoor industries4 ,mrs4 ,washington1 who had made a careful study of the work in ,england1 took charge of the outdoor work at ,tuskegee4 ,at first the girls were very timid4 ,they felt ashamed to have any one see them at work in the garden or orchard4 ,the young men and some of the women were inclined to ridicule those who were bold enough to lead off4 ,not a few became discouraged and stopped4 ,there is nothing harder to overcome than an unreasonable prejudice against an occupation or a race4 ,the more unreasonable it is1 the harder it is to conquer4 ,mrs4 ,washington made a careful study of the girls and discovered the social leaders of a certain group4 ,with this knowledge in hand she called the leaders together and had several conferences with them and explained in detail just what was desired and what the plans were4 ,these leaders decided that they would be the pioneers in the outdoor work4 ,beginning in a very modest way with a few girls1 the outdoor work has grown from year to year1 until it is now a recognised part of the work of the school1 and the idea that this kind of labour is degrading has almost disappeared4 ,in order to give1 if possible1 a more practical idea of just what is taught the girls1 ,i give the entire course of study4 ,in reading this it should be borne in mind that the theory is not only given1 but in each case the girls have the training in actual work4 ,since the school year opens in the fall1 the work naturally begins with the industries relating to the fall and winter4 ,the course of study is3 ,first ,year4--,fall ,term4--,dairying4--,the home dairy is first taken up1 and a detailed knowledge of the following facts taught3 ,kinds1 use and care of utensils1 gravity1 creaming4 ,a study of stone1 wooden1 and tin churns1 ripening of cream1 churning1 working and salting butter1 preparation and marketing of same4 ,feeding and care of dairy cows4 ,poultry ,raising4--,a working knowledge is required of the economic value of poultry on the farm1 pure and mixed breeds1 plain poultry-house construction1 making of yards1 nests1 and runs4 ,horticulture4--,instruction is given as to the importance of an orchard and small fruits1 varieties best suited1 particular locality1 selection and preparation of ground1 setting1 trimming1 extermination of borers1 lice1 etc41 special stress being laid upon the quality and quantity of peaches1 pears1 apples1 plums1 figs1 grapes1 and strawberries that should be planted in a home orchard4 ,floriculture and ,landscape ,gardening4--,a study of our door-yards1 how to utilise and beautify them4 ,the kinds1 care1 and use of tools used in floriculture and landscape gardening4 ,trimming and shaping of beds and borders1 and the general care of shrubbery and flowers4 ,the gathering and saving of seed4 ,special treatment of rose bushes and shrubbery4 ,market ,gardening4--,importance of proper management of the home garden1 its value to the home1 selection and preparation of ground2 kinds1 care and use of tools1 planting1 gardening and marketing of all vegetables4 ,gathering of seeds1 drying of pumpkins1 okra1 and fruits4 ,live ,stock4--,study is limited wholly to ordinary farm animals2 the number and kind needed1 how1 when and what to feed2 characteristics and utility of the various animals4 ,winter ,term4--,dairying4-,the commercial dairy is the subject of study1 and emphasis is laid upon the following3 ,use of separators1 of which the school has two leading styles2 churns1 feeding1 and care of the dairy herd1 breeds of dairy cattle and their selection1 butter-making1 packing1 salting and preparation for market4 ,poultry ,raising4--,special study of breeding and feeding4 ,when1 how and what kind of eggs and the breed of fowls to set2 the period of incubation1 poultry book-keeping1 saving of eggs for market2 an introductory of study of young chickens4 ,floriculture and ,landscape ,gardening4--,trimming of beds and borders1 mulching1 tying1 wrapping1 and preparation of plants for the winter4 ,winter decoration of grounds1 the decorative value of native shrubbery2 a study of window plants1 their value in the home1 halls and public buildings1 their economic value1 etc4 ,market ,gardening4--,the selection of grounds and making of hotbeds1 cold frames1 etc41 planting and managing of same1 the raising of winter vegetables1 marketing4 ,spring ,term4--,dairying4--,milking2 a study of pastures1 how to destroy lice and other parasites1 the care of calves1 the utilisation of waste in the dairy2 laboratory work4 ,poultry ,raising4--,a more advanced study of young poultry2 brooders1 sanitation of the house1 runs1 and of all the apparatus2 egg-testing1 moulting and its effects upon different breeds4 ,horticulture4--,spring planting1 trimming1 budding1 grafting1 spraying1 care of grape vines2 the wire and post system of supports2 spring layering and cuttings4 ,floriculture and ,landscape ,gardening4--,renewing of beds and borders1 seed sowing1 special study of propagation by layers1 cuttings1 division of roots1 bulbs1 etc42 kinds and uses of fertilisers for this special season4 ,market ,gardening4--,preparation of ground1 what and how to plant1 special stress being laid upon the production of early vegetables for the home and market4 ,reproduction of plants by seeds and by division of numbers2 water and its office in plant economy4 ,live ,stock4--,course includes the history1 development1 characteristics1 standard points1 utility1 adaptability to climatic conditions2 lessons on judging1 care1 selection and management of the leading breeds of horses1 sheep and hogs4 ,second ,year4--,fall ,term4--,dairying4--,a more comprehensive study of milk and its constituents2 weeds and their harmful effect upon dairy products2 general sanitation of dairy barns2 the drawing of plans1 etc4 ,poultry ,raising4--,insecticides1 how to make1 when and how much to use1 diseases of fowls and their treatment4 ,a study of foods and their adaptability to different breeds1 special study of turkeys and guineas4 ,horticulture4--,root and stem grafting with active and dormant buds2 formation of trunk and top starch1 and its relation to the hardiness of fruits and shrubs1 botany of the orchard1 entomology2 book-keeping4 ,floriculture and ,landscape ,gardening4--,systematic botany1 bouquet-making--harmony of colour1 form and size of flowers2 laying out of private and public grounds1 roads1 parks1 walks1 and streets2 entomology of the flower garden4 ,market ,gardening4--,botany of the field and garden2 physical analysis of soils and the improvement of clay and sandy soils2 the depletion of plant food and its replacement by direct and indirect fertilisers2 the source of carbon1 nitrogen and oxygen4 ,draining4 ,live ,stock4--,how to hitch and unhitch horses1 the care of vehicles and harness1 how to drive1 the names of common diseases and treatment of sick animals2 swine for profit4 ,winter ,term4--,dairying4--,the weighing and recording of milk in a commercial dairy2 the ,babcock and other methods of testing milk2 composition of cheese and its value as a food4 ,poultry ,raising4--,composition of the animal body2 a special study of ducks and geese2 brooders1 ponds1 runs1 etc41 by-products and their value4 ,horticulture4--,forestry1 botany1 cryptogamic and systematic2 nut culture2 preservation of timber1 the economic value of different woods2 the relation of forests to climate1 water supply1 floods and erosion4 ,market ,gardening4--,a study of the life-history of insects1 injuries to stored grain1 peas1 beans1 meal1 flour1 dried fruits2 botany of the greenhouse1 cold frame and hotbeds2 the use of thermometers4 ,a study of markets1 library work4 ,spring ,term4--,dairying4--,cottage and ,cheddar cheese-making1 scoring of butter1 bacteriology of milk1 butter1 and cheese4 ,judging of dairy animals by the score-card method1 diseases of cows and their treatment2 analysis of food stuffs4 ,poultry ,raising4--,physical and chemical study of foods1 library work1 fancy breeds1 what and how to exhibit1 the history and development of the industry4 ,heredity and the effects of in-breeding4 ,horticulture4--,origin of new varieties by cross-fertilisation1 hybrids1 sports1 atavisms and reversion1 correlation between plants and animals1 rejuvenating by pruning1 grafting and scraping the bark1 special diseases of both trees and fruit1 and their treatment4 ,knot-growth1 blight1 gum excrescences and frost injuries2 drying1 preserving1 making fruit syrups1 etc4 ,horticulture and ,landscape ,gardening4--,special designing in cultivated flowers4 ,origin of new species2 bees and their relation to the forest and garden2 the hiving of bees and after-management4 ,a study of honey-producing plants2 the economic value of the honey4 ,market ,gardening4--,relation of crops1 geology of the garden1 agricultural chemistry1 good roads and their relation to the success and value of the farm1 mineralogy and useful birds and insects4 ,i believe that all who will make a careful study of the subject will agree with me that there is a vast unexplored field for women in the open air4 ,the ,south1 with its mild climate and other advantages1 is as well adapted to out-door labour for women as to that for men4 ,there is not only an advantage in material welfare1 but there is the advantage of a superior mental and moral growth4 ,the average woman who works in a factory becomes little more than a machine4 ,her planning and thinking is done for her4 ,not so with the woman who depends upon raising poultry1 for instance1 for a living4 ,she must plan this year for next1 this month for the next4 ,naturally there is a growth of self-reliance1 independence1 and initiative4 ,life out in the sweet1 pure1 bracing air is better from both a physical and a moral point of view than long days spent in the close atmosphere of a factory or store4 ,there is almost no financial risk to be encountered1 in the ,south1 in following the occupations which ,i have enumerated4 ,the immediate demands for the products of garden1 dairy1 poultry yard1 apiary1 orchard1 etc41 are pressing and ever present4 ,the satisfaction and sense of independence that will come to a woman who is brave enough to follow any of these outdoor occupations infinitely surpass the results of such uncertain labor as that of peddling books or cheap jewelry1 or similar employments1 and ,i believe that a larger number of our schools in the near future will see the importance of outdoor handwork for women4 ,there is considerable significance in the fact that this year more than fifty girls have taken up the study of scientific farming at the ,minnesota ,college of ,agriculture1 and have thus announced their intention to adhere to country life4 ,the college has been in existence for the past decade1 but girls have only recently been admitted4 ,the character of the instruction available to the girl students is suggestive4 ,the course presented emphasises the sciences of botany1 chemistry1 physics and geology1 requiring1 during the freshman and sophomore years at least1 two terms' work in each of them4 ,boys and girls work together throughout two-thirds of the entire course1 which includes study in language1 mathematics1 science1 civics1 and considerable technical work4 ,in the courses for girls1 cooking1 laundering and sewing are substituted for carpentry1 blacksmithing and veterinary science4 ,the girls1 too1 give more attention to household art1 home economy and domestic hygiene than to the business aspect of farming4 ,it is happily the chief purpose of the college to awaken in its entire student body a keen interest in farming1 farm life1 the farm-house and farm society4 ,both boys and girls are taught to plan farm buildings and to lay out the grounds artistically4 ,considerable attention is given to the furnishing of houses1 to literature1 music and social culture1 with the general thought of making the farm home the most attractive spot on earth4 ,the result of the new movement is being watched with keen interest by agriculturists and educators4 ,it is evident that1 should it prove successful1 the innovation will spread to other agricultural ,states4 ,its influence1 one readily apprehends1 is apt to be social as well as agricultural in character4 ,heretofore1 one great drawback to farming1 even in the ,north1 has been the difficulty of keeping the farmers' sons on the farm4 ,with trained and educated girls enthusiastically taking up the profession of farming1 the country life will take on new charms1 and the exodus of young men to cities will be materially lessened4 ,,chapter ,x ,,helping ,,the ,,mothers ,something about the ,woman's ,meeting1 organised and conducted in the town of ,tuskegee by ,mrs4 ,washington1 seems not out of place in this book4 ,it is her work1 and she has kindly supplied the following outline of the aims and results of this attempt to better the conditions and lives of the people living in this typical ,alabama community3 ,in the spring of '#ib1 the first ,negro ,conference for farmers was held at ,tuskegee4 ,the purpose of this conference was to inspire the masses of coloured people to secure homes of their own1 to help them to better ways of living1 to insist upon better educational advantages for them1 and so to raise their standards of living1 morally1 physically1 intellectually and financially4 ,sitting in that first meeting of ,negro farmers and hearing the resolutions which stood as the platform of the conference1 ,i felt that history was repeating itself4 ,in the days of ,lucretia ,mott1 and the early struggles of ,susan ,b4 ,anthony1 women had no rights that were worth mentioning1 and1 notwithstanding the fact that there were many women present at this first conference1 they had little actual place in it4 ,perhaps they did not realise that they1 too1 had a most prominent part to play in the life which their lovers1 or their sons and husbands1 were urged to seek4 ,perhaps they did not dream that they would some day have a vital part in the uplifting of our people4 ,this thought would not be stilled3 ,what can these poor farmers do with the new ideas1 new hopes1 new aspirations1 unless the women can be equally inspired and interested in conferences of their own8 ,not many days passed before there was a fixed purpose in my mind that these women in the homes represented by the farmers should be reached4 ,how to reach and help them was the question4 ,after many weary days and sleepless nights1 praying for some way to open1 the thought came that the village of ,tuskegee was a good place to begin work4 ,the country women1 tired of the monotony of their lives1 came crowding into the village every ,saturday4 ,there should be a place for them to go to be instructed for an hour or more each ,saturday4 ,like a flash the idea was caught up1 and it was not let go until such a place was secured4 ,our first conference was held in the upper story of a very dilapidated store which stands on the main street of the village4 ,the stairs were so rickety that we were often afraid to ascend them4 ,the room was used by the coloured firemen of the village1 and was a dark and dreary place1 uninviting even to me4 ,it answered our purpose for the time4 ,we had no rent to pay1 and that was one less burden for us4 ,how to get the women to the first meeting was not easily settled4 ,for fear of opposition from friends1 no mention had been made of the plan1 except to the man who let me have the room4 ,that first ,saturday ,i walked up the stairs alone1 and sat down in the room with all its utter dreariness4 ,my heart almost failed me1 and not until ,i remembered these words3 ,no man1 having put his hand to the plow and looking back1 is fit for the ,kingdom of ,god1 did ,i throw off the despondency4 ,at this moment a small boy entered the room4 ,i said to him1 ,go through the streets and say to each woman1 so that no one else will hear you1 there is a woman up those stairs who has something for you4 ,that first meeting ,i can never forget4 ,there were six women who came1 and each one as she looked at me seemed to say3 ,where is it8 ,we talked it all over1 the needs of our women1 the best ways of helping each other1 and there was begun the first woman's weekly conference1 which now numbers nearly three hundred women4 ,we now have a large1 roomy hall on the main street1 where we come together each ,saturday1 and spend two hours talking of the things which go to make better and truer lives among women and children4 ,women come long distances on foot to these meetings4 ,they soon brought with them their little girls1 whom they could not afford to leave at home1 and there arose a new question--what to do with the children8 ,a plan was hit upon1 and a room hired4 ,these girls1 now more than fifty in number1 are taught simple lessons1 and1 at the same time1 receive short practical talks on behaviour at home1 on the streets and elsewhere4 ,we also have a small library for them1 and each one is allowed to draw the books she wants1 to keep two weeks or longer4 ,we also have picture books on the table for the younger children4 ,we are now trying to get games for these children and pictures for the walls of the room4 ,a friend gives two hours of her time on ,saturday to these children1 and it delights one's heart to see the improvement in them in all directions1 especially in their quiet and becoming conduct on the streets4 ,the marked improvement among the women in the matter of dress has been frequently commented upon in the village4 ,they are doing away with the wrapping of the hair1 and substituting for it braiding or some other simple arrangement4 ,the women no longer go barefooted1 nor do they sit around the streets in a listless way4 ,there is less familiarity among the men and women in the streets1 and in many ways the women are being led into better ways of conduct1 to say nothing of home improvements and the closer union of family life4 ,we visit the homes of the women and see that the lessons are put into practice4 ,we have given out thousands of papers and picture cards1 that the cracks might be closed against the wind and rain1 and that the children of the home might have something besides the dark and cheerless logs to look at4 ,soon the women began to see the importance of these conferences1 and to do all in their power to promote their interests4 ,our talks were discussed on the farms and in neighbourhood chat4 ,their influence spread in indirect channels4 ,these talks were planned along such simple and practical lines as the following subjects suggest3 ,morals among young girls4 ,the kinds of amusements for young girls4 ,a mother's example4 ,a mother's duty to her home4 ,dresses for women and children4 ,poultry raising for women4 ,the part a woman should take in securing a home4 ,fruit canning1 etc4 ,many other subjects were suggested by the women themselves1 and afterward put in written form so that they could read them intelligently4 ,many of the talks were grouped in a little book for women who could not reach the conferences4 ,these books contain also little recipes which any woman may need in her country home1 especially when there is sickness in the family4 ,work for the masses is always more difficult than for the individual1 but it is work which must be done4 ,eighty per cent4 of our women have their homes in the country or on the plantations1 they live in the old-time log cabins1 but they have hearts1 they have aspirations for the future4 ,in pursuance of the ideas which prompted this humble crusade1 ,i have sent out leaflets which embody1 among others1 these suggestions for teachers and other workers1 which ,i have found exceedingly helpful in organising home-union meetings for mothers3 ,decide upon a definite time for holding a meeting1 and then send notice to the mothers by the school children4 ,once every three or six months have a general meeting with simple refreshments such as can be gotten in a country village4 ,now and then an experience meeting can be held to the advantage of all4 ,encourage the women to talk freely of their own plans4 ,find out by judicious visiting whether any advancement is made4 ,do not expect too much in a short time1 and1 above all1 do not be dictatorial while visiting1 or personal in meetings when you wish to deal with mistakes that you have seen in the homes visited4 ,,some ,,subjects ,,for ,,talks ,how to keep home neat and tidy4 ,how to make home attractive for husband and children4 ,amusements1 music and reading in the home circle4 ,is it necessary to teach the girls to do good by teaching them how to do housework1 cooking and sewing8 ,the relations of mothers to their children4 ,how to gain the confidence of children4 ,how to correct falsehood and theft among boys and girls4 ,is there not a share in the home for the boys8 ,how to teach boys and men to respect women generally by teaching them to respect mothers and sisters4 ,the mother's authority in selecting company for her sons and daughters4 ,when should a girl be allowed to receive company8 ,how can a mother help her to avoid mistakes as regards the young man she loves8 ,what part should a woman take with her husband in securing a home or a piece of land on which to build one8 ,what is the effect upon the face when the hair is wrapped with coloured strings8 ,why not plat it or arrange it in some other becoming way8 ,should women go barefooted8 ,love of gaudy dress for children4 ,what will the result be when they are older and cannot afford to buy the same sort8 ,manners on the street4 ,necessity of varying diet for the household4 ,economy in the house as regards food4 ,the proper duty of mothers in having the family table set with care at the proper time4 ,the importance of ventilation1 proper food1 and cleanliness of body on the moral atmosphere of the home4 ,what lessons can be drawn from ,thanksgiving ,day1 ,new ,year's and ,christmas8 ,the mother's relation to the church and the minister4 ,how the family should go to church4 ,isn't it better if all go together and sit together1 too8 ,how can boys and girls be taught the habit of giving to the church and charitable purposes8 ,how may mothers and their daughters best resist men who attempt to rob them of their honour and virtue8 ,the best way to inspire children to purity of thought1 speech1 and action1 at home and abroad8 ,in a leaflet of practical help1 for these mothers' meetings1 some of the simple teachings are put in detail form1 and these may give an idea of what we are trying to do in these directions1 and what are the common needs of the people among whom we are working4 ,under the head of ,your ,needs are the following items3 ,you need chairs in your houses4 ,get boxes4 ,cover them with bright calico1 and use them for seats until you can buy chairs4 ,you need plates1 knives and forks1 spoons and table-cloths4 ,buy them with tobacco and snuff money4 ,you need more respect for self4 ,get it by staying away from street corners1 depots1 and1 above all1 excursions4 ,you need to stay away from these excursions to keep out of bad company1 out of court1 out of jail1 and out of the disgust of every self-respecting person4 ,you need more race pride4 ,cultivate this as you would your crops4 ,it means a step forward4 ,you need a good home4 ,save all you can4 ,get your own home1 and that will bring you nearer citizenship4 ,you can supply all these needs4 ,when will you begin8 ,every moment of delay is loss4 ,,how ,,to ,,become ,,prosperous ,keep no more than one dog4 ,stay away from court4 ,buy no snuff1 whisky and tobacco4 ,raise your own pork4 ,raise your own vegetables4 ,put away thirty cents for every dollar you spend4 ,get a good supply of poultry4 ,set your hens4 ,keep your chickens until they will bring a good price4 ,go to town on ,thursday instead of ,saturday4 ,buy no more than you need4 ,stay in town no longer than necessary4 ,,my ,,daily ,,work ,i may take in washing1 but every day ,i promise myself that ,i will do certain work for my family4 ,i will set the table for every meal4 ,i will wash the dishes after every meal4 ,monday ,i will do my family washing4 ,i will put my bedclothes out to air4 ,i will clean the food closet with hot water and soap4 ,tuesday ,i will do my ironing and family patching4 ,wednesday ,i will scrub my kitchen1 and clean my yard thoroughly4 ,thursday ,i will clean and air the meal and pork boxes4 ,i will scour my pots and pans with soap and ashes4 ,friday ,i will wash my dish-cloth1 dish-towels1 and hand-towels4 ,i will sweep and dust my whole house1 and clean everything thoroughly4 ,saturday ,i will bake bread1 cake1 and do other extra cooking for ,sunday4 ,i will spend one hour in talking with my children1 that ,i may know them better4 ,sunday ,i will go to church and ,sunday ,school4 ,i will take my children with me4 ,i will stay at home during the remainder of the day4 ,i will try to read aloud a something helpful to all4 ,,questions ,i ,,will ,,pledge ,,myself ,,to ,,answer ,,at ,,the ,,end ,,of ,,the ,,year ,how many bushels of potatoes1 corn1 beans1 and peanuts have we raised this year8 ,how many hogs and cows do we keep8 ,how much poultry have we raised8 ,how many bales of cotton have we raised8 ,how much have we saved to buy a home8 ,how much have we done toward planting flowers and making our yard look pretty8 ,how many kinds of vegetables did we raise in our home garden8 ,how many times did we stay away from miscellaneous excursions when we wished to go8 ,what were our reasons for staying at home8 ,have we helped our boys and girls to stay out of bad company8 ,what paper have we taken1 and have we taken our children to church and had them sit with us8 ,the experiment of real settlement work on a plantation near ,tuskegee was begun in #ahif in a dilapidated1 unused one-room cabin in the quarters of the big house1 where resided the last scion of a family of slave-holders4 ,seventy-five families lived scattered in cabins over the two-thousand-acre plantation in easy access to their plots of land farmed on shares4 ,many of the men were paying for time bought by the owner of the plantation4 ,some had been arrested1 and on trial found guilty4 ,they had to pay either a certain sum or suffer imprisonment4 ,the owner of the plantation paid the fines1 and the men paid him for their time in labour4 ,schools were miles distant1 and the only opportunity to teach the better way of life seemed to be establishing a settlement4 ,the planter graciously granted the free use of the cabin aforesaid4 ,students from the ,institute nailed the shingles on the open roof4 ,the room was given a thorough cleaning1 and in a short time a young woman graduate1 now wife of the ,principal of ,christianburg ,institute1 ,cambria1 ,virginia1 and an undergraduate moved in with her home-made furniture--fashioned from dry-goods boxes1 and covered with pretty chintz sent by an old friend who has now passed to her reward4 ,as a ,sunday ,school had begun in one of the log houses several ,sundays previous to the opening of the settlement1 the young teacher's coming had been explained1 and all had promised to contribute all they could to her support4 ,illustration3 ,,home-,,made ,,furniture ,the first articles of food entered on the teacher's book to the credit of her patrons were two eggs1 one can of syrup1 one half-pound bacon1 one quart meal1 one can buttermilk4 ,the teacher cooked her meals on her oven in the fireplace1 did her work1 and taught school in her cabin4 ,the first day brought fifteen boys and girls4 ,ten of the fathers and mothers1 eager to learn how to read and write1 came to the night school4 ,for two years the teacher struggled4 ,her patrons helped her with larder1 and grew--measuring up to the standards of true living4 ,in spite of frequent patchings1 the teacher's cabin became almost unfit for use4 ,there came a time when umbrellas were indispensable in the cabin during a heavy downpour4 ,in #ahih a way opened for the purchase of ten acres of woodland4 ,a two-room cottage was built for the teacher on a clearing4 ,no prouder workers could be found than the teacher and her pupils in clearing the land for possible crops4 ,beginning with #aijj1 the average annual yield was as follows3 ,two bales of cotton1 forty bushels of corn1 seventy-five bushels sweet potatoes1 twenty bushels peanuts1 twenty bushels pease1 four loads shucks and fodder1 greens1 cabbage1 and other vegetable products4 ,two years ago a kitchen was added to the cottage1 and the cooking classes of the school arose to the dignity of having a real stove and other necessaries4 ,sewing1 cooking1 gardening1 and housekeeping classes have succeeded wonderfully4 ,the boys of the settlement have received first prizes from ,tuskegee ,institute ,agricultural ,fair for their products put on exhibition4 ,one of the first fruits of the settlement work has been the promotion of a boy from that school to ,tuskegee ,institute4 ,he has stood the test of four years in his classes1 industrial and academic1 and is now most promising4 ,the second step to place the work on a hopeful basis has been the purchase of ten more acres of land4 ,a two-room cottage has been built recently1 and the mother of the first settlement boy to come to the front1 and one of our pioneer workers in the venture1 has been given a chance to not only earn her living1 but to serve as a native object-lesson of neatness in her home and surroundings4 ,eight years of constant work teaching old and young how to live has resulted in better built homes on the plantation4 ,owner has replaced one-room log cabins with two-room cottages4 ,house to house visits and the object-lesson of the settlement work have told for good in the matter of cleanliness4 ,the marriage tie is respected4 ,it is the exception rather than the rule to find unmarried mothers living with their children's fathers without even a sense of shame4 ,the barefoot boys and girls1 men and women1 who first attended the settlement ,sunday ,school eight years ago1 come neatly dressed4 ,men and women who could not read or write in the beginning of the work can read their ,sunday ,school lessons and write a presentable note in a matter of business4 ,the ,mothers' ,union has brought the mothers to see the deep necessity of exerting their influence for good of home and people4 ,the penny savings bank held by the teacher represents stockholders that mean to be owners of their own homes4 ,in the night school1 the grown people1 who are employed during the day1 are taught the simple lessons which were neglected in their youth4 ,at first many of them were ashamed to admit their ignorance4 ,one young man1 whom ,mrs4 ,washington noticed during one of her visits as being particularly sullen when asked to join the class1 has turned out to be one of the most ambitious pupils4 ,at first ,i was almost afraid to speak to him1 she said1 but after ,i talked to him a little while1 he broke down quite suddenly1 and exclaimed3 ,oh1 ,mis' ,washington6 ,i'se so ashamed1 ,i don't even know my letters4 ,but it is the classes in cooking and cleaning and sewing which have been most successful1 and these are responsible more than anything else for the change in the women4 ,from the outset1 the white planters who employ most of the coloured families of the settlement have aided in the work4 ,when ,mrs4 ,washington first sent for permission to carry on some missionary work among his tenants1 he sent a boy on a mule with a fat turkey1 and a message for me to come and do anything ,i liked4 ,what seemed to be a discouragement at first was that occasionally a family moved away1 thus causing the teacher to begin all over again1 with a newcomer1 the work which had been scarce finished with the old4 ,later she came to see that those who migrated served to spread the influence into other neighbourhoods1 thus broadening the teachings far beyond her own limitations4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,tillers ,,of ,,the ,,ground ,there is held at the ,tuskegee ,institute every year a remarkable conference of ,negro workers1 mostly farmers1 who are to work out their salvation by the sweat of their brows in tilling the soil of the ,south4 ,the purpose of these gatherings is severely practical--to encourage those who have not had the advantages of training and instruction1 and to give them a chance to learn from the success of others as handicapped as they what are their own possibilities4 ,as ,i have said many times1 it is my conviction that the great body of the ,negro population must live in the future as they have done in the past1 by the cultivation of the soil1 and the most hopeful service now to be done is to enable the race to follow agriculture with intelligence and diligence4 ,i have just finished reading a little pamphlet written by ,mr4 ,george ,w4 ,carver1 ,director of the ,agricultural ,department at ,tuskegee1 giving the results of some of his experiments in raising sweet potatoes for one year4 ,this coloured man has shown in plain1 simple language1 based on scientific principles1 how he has raised two hundred and sixty-six bushels of sweet potatoes on a single acre of common land1 and made a net profit of one hundred and twenty-one dollars4 ,the average yield of sweet potatoes to the acre1 in the part of the ,south where this experiment was tried1 is thirty-seven bushels per acre4 ,this coloured man is now preparing to make this same land produce five hundred bushels of potatoes4 ,i have watched this experiment with a great deal of pleasure4 ,the deep interest shown by the neighbouring white farmers has been most gratifying4 ,i do not believe that a single white farmer who visited the field to see the unusual yield ever thought of having any prejudice or feeling against this coloured man because his education had enabled him to make a marked success of raising sweet potatoes4 ,there were1 on the other hand1 many evidences of respect for this coloured man and of gratitude for the information which he had furnished4 ,if we had a hundred such coloured men in each county in the ,south1 who could make their education felt in meeting the world's needs1 there would be no race problem4 ,but in order to get such men1 those interested in the education of the ,negro must begin to look facts and conditions in the face4 ,too great a gap has been left between the ,negro's real condition and the position for which we have tried to fit him through the medium of our text-books4 ,we have overlooked in many cases the fact that long years of experience and discipline are necessary for any race before it can get the greatest amount of good out of the text-books4 ,much that the ,negro has studied presupposes conditions that do not1 for him1 exist4 ,the weak point in the past has been that no attempt has been made to bridge the gap between the ,negro's educated brain and his opportunity for supplying the wants of an awakened mind4 ,there has been almost no thought of connecting the educated brain with the educated hand4 ,it is almost a crime to take young men from the farm1 or from farming districts1 and educate them1 as is too often done1 in everything except agriculture1 the one subject with which they should be most familiar4 ,the result is that the young man1 instead of being educated to love agriculture1 is educated out of sympathy with it2 and instead of returning to his father's farm after leaving college1 to show him how to produce more with less labour1 the young man is often tempted to go into the city or town to live by his wits4 ,the purpose of the ,tuskegee ,negro ,conference is to help the farmers who are too old1 or too bound down by their responsibilities1 to attend schools or institutes2 to do for them1 in a small way1 what ,tuskegee and other agencies seek to do for the younger generation4 ,coloured men and women make long and expensive journeys to be present1 coming from all the ,southern and several of the ,northern states4 ,they have found that their money is not wasted1 for they learn much by seeing what has been done at the school1 from the advice of experts1 but more especially by the exchange of opinions and by comparing experiences in their own field of work4 ,these meetings are not for whining or complaints4 ,their keynote is hopeful courage4 ,to look up and not down1 forward and not backward1 to be cheerful and mutually helpful1 is the golden rule of the conference4 ,it was decided from the first to confine the proceedings to matters which the race had closely within its own control1 and to positive1 aggressive effort1 rather than to mere negative criticisms and recitations of wrongs4 ,i wanted these coloured farmers and their wives to consult about the methods and means of securing homes1 of freeing themselves from debt1 of encouraging intelligent production1 of paying their taxes1 of cultivating habits of thrift1 honesty and virtue1 of building school-houses1 and securing education and high ,christian character1 of cementing the friendships between the races4 ,in these conventions1 as in other ways1 we have tried to keep alive the feeling of hope and encouragement4 ,we have seen darker days than these1 and no race that is patient1 long-suffering1 industrious1 economical1 and virtuous1 no race that is persistent in efforts that make for progress1 no race that cultivates a spirit of good-will toward all mankind1 is left without reward4 ,the ,farmers' ,conference each year adopts a declaration of principles1 which sum up its objects in such words as these3 ,our object shall be to promote the moral1 material1 and educational progress of this entire community4 ,believing1 as we do1 that we are our own worst enemies1 we pledge1 here and now1 from this time forth1 to use every effort-- ,to abolish and do away with the mortgage system just as rapidly as possible4 ,to raise our food supplies1 such as corn1 potatoes1 syrup1 pease1 hogs1 chickens1 etc41 at home rather than to go in debt for them at the store4 ,to stop throwing away our time and money on ,saturdays by standing around towns1 drinking and disgracing ourselves in many other ways4 ,to oppose1 at all times1 the excursion and camp-meeting1 and to try earnestly to secure better schools1 better teachers1 and better preachers4 ,to try to buy homes1 to urge upon all ,negroes the necessity of owning homes and farms1 and not only to own them1 but to beautify and improve them4 ,since the greater number of us are engaged in agriculture1 we urge the importance of stock and poultry raising1 the teaching of agriculture in the country schools1 the thorough cultivation of a small acreage1 rather than the poor cultivation of a large one1 attention to farm-work in winter1 and getting rid of the habit of living in one-room houses4 ,we urge more protection to life and property1 better homes for tenants1 and that home life in the country be made more attractive1 all this with the view of keeping such great numbers of our people out of the large cities4 ,in connection with the better schools and churches1 we emphasise the need of careful attention to the morals of our ministers and teachers1 and all others acting in the capacity of leaders4 ,prosperity and peace are dependent upon friendly relations between the races1 and to this end we urge a spirit of manly forbearance and mutual interest4 ,what these conferences are doing1 and what sort of people are coming to them every year1 may be gathered from some of their experiences as they have told them themselves during their visit to ,tuskegee4 ,some of the best things are said by men and women who have succeeded in working their way up from abject poverty to comfortable independence4 ,there is no better antidote for the foolish talk so often heard about the inevitable shiftlessness of the ,negro race than these short and pithy narratives of sacrifice1 struggle and achievement4 ,a ,florida man said that he had six dollars when he married4 ,he now owns two hundred acres and a home of seven rooms4 ,i did without most everything until ,i got it paid for1 he explained4 ,he has fifty-seven head of cattle1 six work horses1 and five colts1 all raised by himself4 ,is it dangerous to give the ballot to that kind of a citizen8 ,will he be apt to use it to promote extravagant taxation8 ,an ,alabama farmer said3 ,i own sixty-seven acres of land4 ,i got it by working hard and living close4 ,i did not eat at any big tables4 ,i often lived on bread and milk4 ,i have five rooms to my house4 ,i started with one1 and that was made of logs4 ,i add a room every year4 ,i was lucky in marrying a woman whose father gave her a cow4 ,i ain't got no fine clock or organ4 ,i did once own a buggy1 but it was a shabby one1 and now we ride in a wagon1 or ,i go horse-back on a horse ,i raised that is worth two hundred and fifty dollars4 ,i have seven children in school4 ,i started plowing with my pants rolled up and barefoot1 said a ,georgia man4 ,i saved five hundred dollars and bought a home in ,albany1 ,georgia4 ,i bought two hundred acres for seven dollars an acre1 and paid for it in three years4 ,i made that pay for two hundred acres more4 ,after awhile ,i bought thirteen hundred acres4 ,i live on it1 and it is all paid for4 ,i have twenty-five buildings and they all came out of my pocketbook4 ,that land is now worth twenty-five dollars an acre4 ,for a distance of four or five miles from my settlement1 there has not been a man in the chain-gang for years4 ,i work forty-seven head of mules4 ,the only way we will ever be a race is by getting homes and living a virtuous life4 ,i don't give mortgages4 ,i take mortgages on black and white4 ,i have put the first bale of cotton on the market in ,georgia every year for eight years4 ,a widow from ,alabama told her story1 which shows among other things how a dog may be useful3 ,there are three in my family1 and ,i am the boss4 ,i save about a hundred dollars a year4 ,i give no mortgages4 ,i plant everything that a farmer can plant4 ,i raise my own syrup1 meat1 pease1 corn1 and everything we need to eat4 ,i have three cows4 ,you have got to go low down to get up high4 ,i traded a little puppy with my brother for a pig4 ,from this one pig ,i raised eight pigs1 and for seven years ,i have not bought a pound of meat4 ,i am living on the strength of that little puppy yet4 ,i own forty acres1 and sometimes rent more land4 ,a coloured minister from ,alabama said that he farmed as well as preached4 ,he was a renter for seven years4 ,in nine years he paid for four hundred acres1 and now owns ten hundred and fifteen acres4 ,he raises horses1 cows1 mules1 and hogs and has fifty persons dependent upon him4 ,he owns the land where he used to live as a renter1 and lives in the house of the man from whom he rented4 ,there are few white people in his neighbourhood4 ,most of the coloured people own their own homes1 and they have lengthened the annual school term two months at their own expense4 ,this man said that1 when he first bought land1 he split rails to fence it during the day and carried them around at night1 and his wife built the fence4 ,a ,south ,carolinian1 who was never before so far from home1 said that he was a slave for twenty years4 ,i used to work six days for my master1 and ,sunday for myself1 he said4 ,god introduced ten commandments1 but our people have added another1 ',thou shalt not work ,saturdays or ,sundays1 either4' ,i stick to the ,ten ,commandments and put in six days a week1 and in that way have bought three hundred acres and paid for it4 ,i have a large house for my own family of ten1 and fourteen other buildings on the place1 six of them rented4 ,no man is a farmer excepting the man who lives on the produce of his farm4 ,a visitor from ,louisiana told how he had borrowed two hundred and fifty dollars from his father and bought twenty-five acres of land in #ahgg4 ,he used to begin work at four o'clock in the morning4 ,for a year his wife ground all their meal1 three ears at a time1 in a small hand-mill4 ,now he owns three hundred acres of sugar land1 worth a hundred dollars an acre1 and has twenty-seven white and forty-eight coloured people working for him4 ,i would like to set a big table for you1 said one of these farmers whom ,i visited at his home1 but1 professor1 you-all is teachin' us to 'conermise an' save1 an' dats what ,i'se tryin' to do4 ,when you remember how anxious the good farmers and their wives are always to set a good table for the visiting professors and revrums1 this man had a good deal of courage in departing from old customs4 ,i say to the farmers3 ,if feeding the 'brutherins' is a strain on you1 feed no more of them4 ,cut down on all expenses that can be trimmed without injury to yourself4 ,one woman from ,bullock ,county1 ,alabama1 carried away the true spirit of the conference4 ,not long ago1 one of our agents saw a deed to a valuable piece of farm land1 bought with money she had saved by selling cows4 ,she said that she had never thought of any such plan until she had visited the ,farmers' ,conference and heard others tell how they had bought land4 ,an unusual feature of this case was that the woman did not live in the town in which she had invested her money4 ,she had made herself interested enough to seek a chance to invest her earnings in the purchase of property several miles from her home settlement4 ,she said that it required a mighty sight of will-power to keep from buying fine clothes with the money1 but she was determined to get hold of some land1 and she did it without any assistance from her husband4 ,yes1 of course ,i'll be at the next ,negro ,conference1 wrote another farmer1 ,i want you to give me a chance to talk1 too4 ,i want to show ,mr4 ,washington a turnip ,i raised in my own garden1 and have been saving for the ,conference1 and ,i want to tell him how much ,i have raised and eaten out of my own garden1 and how much ,i have saved as the result of these teachings at the annual meetings4 ,another wrote recently3 ,i have to buy very little to eat1 for ,i raise with one horse all ,i want to eat1 and a little more besides4 ,last year ,i raised nine bales of cotton1 plenty of corn1 sugar cane1 pease1 and potatoes1 and many other things4 ,besides this1 my wife raised twenty hogs1 and a yard full of chickens1 geese and turkeys4 ,the only way for the farmer to get out of debt and keep out of debt is to buy a home1 raise what he eats1 and pay at once for what he gets out of the store4 ,a pilgrim from ,georgia thus expressed himself3 ,i came here to get my keg full of good news and glad tidings to carry back to ,georgia1 and ,i have got it4 ,i began working for myself when ,i was eighteen years old4 ,my father and mother died when ,i was a child4 ,i first worked for eight dollars and fifty cents a month and my board1 and cleared eighty-three dollars the first year4 ,then ,i worked on shares for a while1 then ,i bought a mule on credit1 using my money to support myself while raising a crop4 ,now ,i own fifteen hundred acres of land1 all paid for4 ,i have six rooms in my house4 ,i don't give any mortgages4 ,i have twenty-three plows1 and a bank account4 ,i haul on my drays about ten thousand bales of cotton every year for the planters in my county4 ,i have another patch of fifty acres near ,fort ,gaines on which there is a six-room house4 ,we come here to learn wisdom and knowledge1 said a man from ,macon ,county1 ,alabama4 ,i had a part of the slavery time1 and ,i've had all of the freedom time4 ,when ,i was in my eighteenth year ,i wanted to marry the worst way4 ,i did it somehow1 and then we tried every plan to get ahead in the world4 ,i worked ,sunday as well as ,monday4 ,i even hitched myself to the plow1 and my wife plowed me4 ,now ,i have got horses1 mules1 corn1 and plenty of everything to do me1 but ,i have not got any home4 ,next year when ,i come here ,i am going to own a place of my own instead of renting it4 ,scores of similar illustrations could be quoted to show that the ,negro farmer is fighting his own battles1 and that in his annual visits to ,tuskegee he preaches1 both to the students and to his fellow toilers1 the gospel of work with the hands as the pathway to freedom4 ,the kind of practical advice distributed among these farmers is illustrated in the following specimen of the leaflets issued by our ,bureau of ,nature ,study for ,schools4 ,this one on ,hints and ,suggestions for ,farmers has to do with the ever-vital question of ,mortgage ,lifting3 ,farmers all over the ,cotton ,belt are now finishing their plans for the growing of this year's crop4 ,all sorts of financial plans have been made4 ,perhaps the most common among our farmers is the credit plan or crop mortgage4 ,in this the farmer binds himself and family to make a crop1 usually cotton1 for any one who will 'advance' him what he must buy while growing the crop4 ,he agrees to pay interest1 ranging from ten to thirty-five per cent4 on the cost of the things furnished4 ,thus a pair of shoes which would sell for #a4ej in cash would cost about #b in the fall4 ,if allowed to run until the next ,fall1 it would cost him about #b4ej4 ,if allowed to run three years1 it would take #c4ae to pay for a #a4ej pair of shoes4 ,if carried the fourth year1 it would take #d1 and one year more would call for #e4 ,too many farmers are paying #e for shoes which would have cost them only #a4ej if they had managed their business properly4 ,too many times the #e shoes are never paid for1 leaving an unkindly feeling between the 'advancer' and the one 'advanced1' causing the landlord and tenant1 and very often the merchant1 to suffer4 ,yet the farmer must have clothing4 ,he must have plows1 hoes1 wagons1 etc4 ,no man who tills the soil should have to suffer for something to eat4 ,perhaps no one will question the farmer's right to make the crop mortgage4 ,he must and ought to have plenty of good1 wholesome food to make it possible for him to do his work well4 ,but for his own good1 the good of his family1 for the good of the landlord1 and the community in which he lives1 we do dispute his right to manage business as many of our farmers do4 ,he should not make a mortgage he cannot easily lift4 ,if it requires #aej to supply a farmer for a season1 at the end of that season his debt will be about #ahj--;an extra #cj1 the average value of a bale of cotton1 to do a credit business4 ,if it requires #ge to carry him1 he will owe about #ij1 costing him half a bale of cotton to do a credit business4 ,now1 do you note that the smaller the amount borrowed1 the smaller the amount of interest1 and the easier it becomes for the farmer to lift the whole thing8 ,don't load so heavily4 ,put two thousand pounds on a thousand-pound wagon and see what becomes of you1 your load1 and your wagon4 ,one man tries by main strength to lift a large load4 ,he fails and gives up in despair4 ,another man gets a long pole1 or lever1 and with the greatest ease raises and places the load where it is wanted4 ,the first uses only muscle1 while the last mixes muscle with brains4 ,could we not say the same thing of the unsuccessful and the successful mortgage lifter8 ,if you will use your head and go at that debt in the right way1 you will be surprised with what great ease you can get it out of the way4 ,well1 how can this be done1 one man asks8 ,what would you advise8 ,a wise man listens to advice4 ,if he thinks it good1 he will try to follow it4 ,the farmer who is in debt must-- ,not make bad bargains4 ,he must work all day and sometimes part of the night1 and buy only what he is compelled to have4 ,he should raise everything he eats and a little more1 and then cultivate as much cotton as he can4 ,some of the farmers buy shoddy goods at fair prices4 ,they allow the boys and girls to buy cheap jewelry4 ,they buy a sewing machine on credit for fifty or sixty dollars1 and when they get it paid for1 if they ever do1 it has cost about a hundred dollars4 ,they pay ten and fifteen dollars for a washstand and bureau when an upholstered box would do for the present4 ,the industrious farmer works from sunrise to sunset every day in the week4 ,if there is some light work he can do by putting in two or three hours during the long winter nights1 you find him at it4 ,it takes this to lift the mortgage4 ,the sensible farmer will not buy five hundred pounds of bacon if there is any way to get along with two hundred and fifty4 ,if he must buy it on credit1 he will eat butter1 drink milk1 raise and eat eggs and chickens1 kill a young beef when he can1 and dry or pickle it1 so as to supply his wants from his own produce as long as possible4 ,the farmer who wants to get out of debt will have large patches of greens1 his garden will have something growing in it the year round4 ,his table will be loaded with wild fruits1 such as blackberries1 huckleberries1 plums1 etc4 ,his potatoes will keep him from buying so much corn meal and flour on credit4 ,he plans to raise more than enough corn1 oats1 and wheat to do him another year4 ,then he makes that cotton crop count4 ,he gathers every lock of it as fast as it opens and tries to sell it for every cent it is worth4 ,he walks up like a man and pays every cent he owes when it falls due4 ,then his neighbours1 both white and coloured1 learn to respect him because he is an honest man1 he owes nobody1 his store-house1 smoke-house1 and barn are loaded with fruits1 and home-made produce4 ,he is a happy man because that mortgage is lifted4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,pleasure ,,and ,,profit ,,of ,,work ,,in ,,the ,,soil ,i have always been intensely fond of outdoor life4 ,perhaps the explanation for this lies partly in the fact that ,i was born nearly out-of-doors4 ,i have also1 from my earliest childhood1 been very fond of animals and fowls4 ,when ,i was but a child1 and a slave1 ,i had many close and interesting acquaintances with animals4 ,during my childhood days1 as a slave1 ,i did not see very much of my mother1 as she was obliged to leave her children very early in the morning to begin her day's work4 ,her early departure often made the matter of my securing breakfast uncertain4 ,this led to my first intimate acquaintance with animals4 ,in those days it was the custom upon the plantation to boil the ,indian corn that was fed to the cows and pigs4 ,at times1 when ,i had failed to get any other breakfast1 ,i used to go to the places where the cows and pigs were fed1 and share their breakfast with them1 or else go to the place where it was the custom to boil the corn1 and get my morning meal there before it was taken to the animals4 ,if ,i was not there at the exact moment of feeding1 ,i could still find enough corn scattered around the fence or the trough to satisfy me4 ,some people may think that this was a pretty bad way to get one's food1 but1 leaving out the name and the associations1 there was nothing very bad about it4 ,any one who has eaten hard boiled corn knows that it has a delicious taste4 ,i never pass a pot of boiled corn now without yielding to the temptation to eat a few grains4 ,another thing that assisted in developing my fondness for animals was my contact with the best breeds of fowls and animals when ,i was a student at the ,hampton ,institute4 ,notwithstanding that my work there was not directly connected with the stock1 the mere fact that ,i saw the best kinds of animals and fowls day after day increased my love for them1 and made me resolve that when ,i went out into the world ,i would have some as nearly like those as possible4 ,i think that ,i owe a great deal of my present strength and capacity for hard work to my love of outdoor life4 ,it is true that the amount of time that ,i can spend in the open air is now very limited4 ,taken on an average1 it is perhaps not more than an hour a day1 but ,i make the most of that hour4 ,in addition to this1 ,i get much pleasure out of looking forward to and planning for that hour4 ,illustration3 ,,class ,,in ,,nature ,,study ,i do not believe that any one who has not worked in a garden can begin to understand how much pleasure and strength of body and mind and soul can be derived from one's garden1 no matter how small it may be1 and often the smaller it is the better4 ,if the garden be ever so limited in area1 one may still have the gratifying experience of learning how much can be produced on a little plot carefully laid out1 thoroughly fertilised1 and intelligently cultivated4 ,and then1 though the garden may be small1 if the flowers and vegetables prosper1 there springs up a feeling of kinship between the man and his plants1 as he tends and watches the growth of each individual fruition from day to day4 ,every morning brings some fresh development1 born of the rain1 the dew1 and the sunshine4 ,the letter or the address you began writing the day before never grows until you return and take up the work where it was left off2 not so with the plant4 ,some change has taken place during the night1 in the appearance of bud1 or blossom1 or fruit4 ,this sense of newness1 of expectancy1 brings to me a daily inspiration whose sympathetic significance it is impossible to convey in words4 ,it is not only a pleasure to grow vegetables for one's table1 but ,i find much satisfaction1 also1 in sending selections of the best specimens to some neighbour whose garden is backward1 or to one who has not learned the art of raising the finest or the earliest varieties1 and who is therefore surprised to receive new potatoes two weeks in advance of any one else4 ,when ,i am at my home in ,tuskegee1 ,i am able1 by rising early in the morning1 to spend at least half an hour in my garden1 or with my fowls1 pigs1 or cows4 ,whenever ,i can take the time1 ,i like to hunt for the new eggs each morning myself1 and when at home ,i am selfish enough to permit no one else to make these discoveries4 ,as with the growing plants1 there is a sense of freshness and restfulness in the finding and handling of newly laid eggs that is delightful to me4 ,both the anticipation and the realisation are most pleasing4 ,i begin the day by seeing how many eggs ,i can find1 or how many little chickens are just beginning to peep through the shells4 ,speaking of little chickens coming into life reminds me that one of our students called my attention to a fact connected with the chickens owned by the school which ,i had not previously known4 ,when some of the first little chickens came out of their shells1 they began almost immediately to help others1 not so forward1 to break their way out4 ,it was delightful to me to hear that the chickens raised at the school had1 so early in life1 caught the ,tuskegee spirit of helpfulness toward others4 ,illustration3 ,courtesy of ,the ,outlook ,company ,,when ,,at ,,tuskegee ,i ,,find ,a ,,way ,,by ,,rising ,,early ,,in ,,the ,,morning ,,to ,,spend ,,half ,,an ,,hour ,,in ,,my ,,garden ,,or ,,with ,,the ,,live ,,stock ,i am deeply interested in the different kinds of fowls1 and1 aside from the large number grown by the school in its poultry house and yards1 ,i grow at my own home common chickens1 ,plymouth ,rocks1 ,buff ,cochins1 and ,brahmas1 ,peking ducks1 and fantailed pigeons4 ,the pig1 ,i think1 is my favourite animal4 ,in addition to some common-bred pigs1 ,i keep a few ,berkshires and some ,poland ,chinas2 and it is a pleasure to me to watch their development and increase from month to month4 ,practically all the pork used in my family is of my own raising4 ,i heard not long ago a story of one of our graduates which delighted me as an illustration of the real ,tuskegee spirit4 ,a man had occasion to go to the village of ,benton1 ,alabama1 in which ,mr4 ,a4 ,j4 ,wood1 one of our graduates1 had settled ten years before1 and gone into business as a general merchant4 ,in this time he has built up a good trade and has obtained for himself a reputation as one of the best and most reliable business men in the place4 ,while the visitor was there1 he happened to step to the open back door of the store1 and stood looking out into a little yard behind the building4 ,the merchant joining him there1 began to call1 ,ho1 ,boy4 ,ho1 ,boy1 and finally1 in response to this calling1 there came crawling out from beneath the store1 with much grunting1 because he was altogether too big to get comfortably from under the building1 an enormous black hog4 ,you see that hog1 the man said4 ,that's my hog4 ,i raise one like that every year as an object-lesson to the coloured farmers around here who come to the store to trade4 ,about all ,i feed him is the waste from the store4 ,when the farmers come in here1 ,i show them my hog1 and ,i tell them that if they would shut their pigs up in a pen of rails1 and have the children pick up acorns in the woods to feed them on1 they might have just such hogs as ,i do1 instead of their razor-backs running around wild in the woods4 ,perhaps ,i can't teach a school here1 the man added1 but if ,i can't do that1 ,i can at least teach the men around here how to raise hogs as ,i learned to raise them at ,tuskegee4 ,in securing the best breeds of fowls and animals at ,tuskegee1 ,i have the added satisfaction of seeing a better grade of stock being gradually introduced among the farmers who live near the school4 ,after ,i have gathered my eggs1 and have at least said ,good morning to my pigs1 cows1 and horse1 the next morning duty--no1 ,i will not say duty1 but delight--is to gather the vegetables for the family dinner4 ,no pease1 no turnips1 radishes nor salads taste so good as those which one has raised and gathered with his own hands in his own garden4 ,in comparison with these all the high-sounding dishes found in the most expensive restaurants seem flavourless4 ,one feels1 when eating his own fresh vegetables1 that he is getting near to the heart of nature2 not a second-hand stale imitation1 but the genuine thing4 ,how delightful the change1 after one has spent weeks eating in restaurants or hotels1 and has had a bill of fare pushed before his eyes three times a day1 or has heard the familiar sound for a month from a waiter's lips3 ,steak1 pork chops1 fried eggs1 and potatoes4 ,illustration3 ,courtesy of ,the ,outlook ,company ,,hogs ,,as ,,object ,,lessons ,as ,i go from bed to bed in the garden1 gathering my lettuce1 pease1 spinach1 radishes1 beets1 onions and the relishes with which to garnish the dishes1 and note the growth of each plant since the previous day1 ,i feel a nearness and kinship to the plants which makes them seem to me like members of my own family4 ,when engaged in this work1 how short the half-hour is1 how quickly each minute goes1 bringing nearer the time when ,i must go to my office4 ,when ,i do go there it is with a vigour and freshness and with a steadiness of nerve that prepares me thoroughly for what perhaps is to be a difficult and trying day--a preparation impossible1 except for the half-hour spent in my garden4 ,all through the day ,i am enabled to do more work and better work because of the delightful anticipation of another half-hour or more in my garden after the office work is done4 ,i get so much pleasure out of this that ,i frequently find myself beseeching ,mrs4 ,washington to delay the dinner hour that ,i may take advantage of the last bit of daylight for my outdoor work4 ,my own experience in outdoor life leads me to hope that the time will soon come when there will be a revolution in our methods of educating children1 especially in the schools of the smaller towns and rural districts4 ,i consider it almost a sin to take a number of children whose homes are on farms1 and whose parents earn their living by farming1 and cage them up1 as if they were so many wild beasts1 for six or seven hours during the day1 in a close room where the air is often impure4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,children',s ,,house3 ,,class ,,in ,,nature ,,study ,i have known teachers to go so far as to frost the windows in a school-room1 or have them made high up in the wall1 or keep the window curtains down1 so that the children could not even see the wonderful world without4 ,for six hours the life of these children is an artificial one4 ,the apparatus which they use is1 as a rule1 artificial1 and they are taught in an artificial manner about artificial things4 ,even to whisper about the song of a mocking-bird or the chirp of a squirrel in a near-by tree1 or to point to a stalk of corn or a wild flower1 or to speak about a cow and her calf1 or a little colt and its mother grazing in an adjoining field1 are sins for which they must be speedily and often severely punished4 ,i have seen teachers keep children caged up on a beautiful1 bright day in ,june1 when all ,nature was at her best1 making them learn--or try to learn--a lesson about hills1 or mountains1 or lakes1 or islands1 by means of a map or globe1 when the land surrounding the school-house was alive and beautiful with the images of these things4 ,i have seen a teacher work for an hour with children1 trying to impress upon them the meaning of the words lake1 island1 peninsula1 when a brook not a quarter of a mile away would have afforded the little ones an opportunity to pull off their shoes and stockings and wade through the water1 and find1 not one artificial island or lake1 on an artificial globe1 but dozens of real islands1 peninsulas1 and bays4 ,besides the delight of wading through the water1 and of being out in the pure bracing air1 they would learn by this method more about these natural divisions of the earth in five minutes than they could learn in an hour in books4 ,a reading lesson taught out on the green grass under a spreading oak tree is a lesson needing little effort to hold a boy's attention1 to say nothing of the sense of delight and relief which comes to the teacher4 ,i have seen teachers compel students to puzzle for hours over the problem of the working of the pulley1 when not a block from the school-house were workmen with pulleys in actual operation1 hoisting bricks for the walls of a new building4 ,i believe that the time is not far distant when every school in the rural districts and in the small towns will be surrounded by a garden1 and that one of the objects of the course of study will be to teach the child something about real country life1 and about country occupations4 ,i am glad to say that at the ,tuskegee ,institute we erected a school-house in and about which the little children of the town and vicinity are given a knowledge1 not only of books1 but of the real things which they will be called upon to use in their homes4 ,since ,tuskegee is surrounded by people who earn their living by agriculture1 we have near this school-house three acres of ground on which the children are taught to cultivate flowers1 shrubbery1 vegetables1 grains1 cotton1 and other crops4 ,they are also taught cooking1 laundering1 sewing1 sweeping1 and dusting1 how to set a table1 and how to make a bed--the employments of their daily lives4 ,i have referred to this building as a school-house1 but we do not call it that1 because the name is too formal4 ,we have named it ,the ,children's ,house4 ,and this principle holds true1 for children of a larger growth1 and is especially true of the training of the ,negro minister who serves the people of the smaller towns and country districts4 ,in this1 as in too many other educational fields1 the ,negro minister is trained to meet conditions which exist in ,new ,york or in ,chicago--in a word1 it is too often taken for granted that there is no difference between the work to be done by ,negro ministers among our people after only thirty-five years of freedom1 and that to be done among the white people who have had the advantages of centuries of freedom and development4 ,illustration3 ,courtesy of ,the ,outlook ,company ,,teach ,,the ,,child ,,something ,,about ,,real ,,country ,,life ,the ,negro ministers1 except those sent to the large cities1 go among an agricultural people1 a people who lead an outdoor life4 ,they are poor1 without homes or ownership in farms1 without proper knowledge of agriculture4 ,they are able to pay their minister so small and uncertain a salary that he can not live on it honestly and pay his bills promptly4 ,during the three or four years that the minister has spent in the theological class room1 scarcely a single subject that concerns the every-day life of his future people has been discussed4 ,he is taught more about the soil of the valley of the ,nile1 or of the valley of the river ,jordan1 than about the soil of the ,state in which the people of his church are to live and to work4 ,what ,i urge is that the ,negro minister should be taught something about the outdoor life of the people whom he is to lead4 ,more than that1 it would help the problem immensely if in some more practical and direct manner this minister could be taught to get the larger portion of his own living from the soil--to love outdoor work1 and to make his garden1 his farm1 and his farm-house object-lessons for his people4 ,the ,negro minister who earns a large part of his living on the farm is independent1 and can reprove and rebuke the people when they do wrong4 ,this is not true of him who is wholly dependent upon his congregation for his bread4 ,what is equally important1 an interest in agricultural production and a love for work tend to keep a minister from that idleness which may prove a source of temptation4 ,at least once a week1 when ,i am in the ,south1 ,i make it a practice to spend an hour or more among the people of ,tuskegee and vicinity--among the merchants and farmers1 white and black4 ,in these talks with the real people ,i can get at the actual needs and conditions of those for whom our institution is at work4 ,when talking to a farmer1 ,i feel that ,i am talking with a real man and not an artificial one--one who can keep me in close touch with the real things4 ,from a simple1 honest cultivator of the soil1 ,i am sure of getting first-hand1 original information4 ,i have secured more useful illustrations for addresses in a half-hour's talk with some white or coloured farmer than from hours of reading books4 ,if ,i were a minister1 ,i think ,i should make a point of spending a day in each week in close1 unconventional touch with the masses of the people4 ,a vacation employed in visiting farmers1 it seems to me1 would often prepare one as thoroughly for his winter's work as a vacation spent in visiting the cities of ,europe4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,on ,,the ,,experimental ,,farm ,the purpose most eagerly sought by the ,agricultural ,department of the ,tuskegee ,institute is to demonstrate to the farmers of ,alabama1 first of all1 that with right methods their acres can be made to yield unfailing profit1 and that they can win in the fight against the deadly mortgage system4 ,in many of the ,western and ,northwestern ,states cheese-making has led the one-crop1 wheat-growing farmers to independence4 ,the ,south has felt that this industry was beyond its reach1 and has set small store by the dairy business4 ,at ,tuskegee1 not only has it been demonstrated that cows can be made to yield from #ej to #aej per cent4 on the money invested1 but also that every farmer can1 at moderate cost1 make his own cheese1 with a good supply for the market4 ,not long ago1 the graduate of the ,institute who is directly in charge of the cheese and butter departments1 sent to my home specimens of six kinds of cheese made at the school--,tuskegee ,cream1 ,philadelphia ,cream ,cheese1 ,neufchatel1 ,cottage1 ,club-house1 and ,cheddar4 ,these were as fine grades of cheese as can be found in any other creamery4 ,to find out what corn1 grasses1 pease1 millet1 etc41 are best suited to the ,southern climate and soil is the work of several years of earnest labour4 ,at present experiments are in progress with ten varieties of corn1 with vetch1 clovers1 cassava1 sugar beet1 ,cuban sugar cane1 eight kinds of millet1 the ,persian and ,arabian beans1 and many other food and forage plants4 ,fifty-five acres of peach orchard are sowed in pease1 besides three hundred acres of corn land utilised for this second or auxiliary crop4 ,the vegetable garden covers fifty acres1 and there is hardly a day when this garden fails to help pay the table expenses of the school4 ,stock raising is carried on more extensively each year4 ,to get the best hog1 sheep1 cow1 and horse for this region of the country is the chief aim4 ,we cannot quit cotton1 but we must raise our stock and our meat4 ,the hen and the bee are great wealth-producers1 but not more than one in three hundred ,macon ,county families raise bees1 and few of them give any special care to poultry4 ,therefore the school trustees spend a large sum of money each year in teaching the practical lessons of these industries4 ,illustration3 ,,cultivating ,a ,,patch ,,of ,,cassava ,,on ,,the ,,agricultural ,,experiment ,,plot ,statistical data show that the average yield of cotton per acre throughout the ,south is #aij pounds1 an astonishingly low figure1 and1 except when high prices rule1 below the paying point4 ,every acre of cotton in the ,south can and should be made to produce #ejj pounds of lint4 ,should the cotton grower add the trifling increase of five pounds of lint an acre1 it would mean for the ,cotton ,states a total increase of #bdj1jjj bales1 based on the crop reports for #aijb1 with a value of nearly #ae1jjj1jjj1 according to the prices realised on the crop of #aijc4 ,the experimental station at ,tuskegee has appreciated the tremendous possibilities pictured by such statements as these1 and the ,director1 ,mr4 ,carver1 has demonstrated the value of scientific cultivation1 by raising nearly #ejj pounds of cotton on one acre of poor ,alabama land4 ,in addition he has taken up the problem of crossing varieties of cotton to increase the quality of the uplands staple4 ,these experiments have been promisingly successful1 and already a hybrid cotton has been grown which is vastly superior to that commonly raised in ,alabama4 ,in other words1 ,tuskegee is teaching the farmers how to raise a better grade of cotton and more of it1 without increasing the acreage planted4 ,the subject of soil improvement through natural agencies has been one of much concern to both ancient and modern agriculturists4 ,the ancient ,egyptian knew that if he let his land lie idle--rested1 as he termed it--he was able to produce a much better crop1 and that crop would be in quantity and quality1 all other things being equal1 proportionate to the length of time this land had been rested4 ,at a later period the fertilising value of the legumes 7pod-bearing plants7 was recognised4 ,but as the population of the world increased and civilisation advanced1 it became more imperative that all farming operations should be more intensive and less extensive4 ,each decade saw the progressive farmer on his journey of progress correcting many mistakes of the past4 ,he then began to see that it was quite possible and practicable to keep his ground covered with some crop2 and the soil also became richer and more fertile every year--by reason of this constant tillage--than was possible under the old method of letting the land lie fallow for a few years4 ,as science shed light upon his art1 he learned that the crop-yielding capacity of a soil was increased by rotating or changing his farm crops every year upon land not occupied by such crops the year previous4 ,for seven years ,tuskegee has made the subject of crop rotation a special study1 and submits the plan illustrated by the accompanying chart as the most simple and satisfactory4 ,this chart and data were worked out by the ,director of the ,agricultural ,department4 ,it was hoped that the experiment would shed some light on the following pertinent questions3 7a7 ,is it possible to build up the poor upland soils of ,alabama8 7b7 ,can injurious washing away of the soil by rains be overcome8 7c7 ,are not the fertilisers necessary for the production of a crop on such land far beyond the reach of the average farmer8 7d7 ,granting it can be built up and made productive1 will it not take an average life-time8 ,illustration3 ,plan of planting 7e7 ,will it pay to purchase such land8 7f7 ,state the smallest amount of such land the farmer should buy expecting to make a living off it4 ,the plan for rotation as outlined is for a farm of forty acres1 but is perfectly applicable to one of any size1 even down to a garden patch4 ,in order that our efforts might be guided with the greatest degree of intelligence1 the soil was analysed and found to be seriously deficient in three very important elements of plant food1 and in the order named3 ,nitrogen1 phosphoric acid and potash4 ,in addition to this1 it was practically devoid of humus 7vegetable matter71 and otherwise was in as bad a physical condition as chemical4 ,our first efforts were directed toward correcting the physical condition by deep plowing1 rebuilding terraces and filling in washes4 ,this being done1 we are now ready to make definite plans for planting our forty-acre farm4 ,in a farm this size we find it is wise to set aside four acres to be used as indicated3 7#a7 ,one acre for the house1 lawn1 flower garden1 nut and ornamental trees4 7#b7 ,one acre for the garden1 orchard and small fruits4 ,upon this all the vegetables of various kinds1 peaches1 pears1 plums1 figs1 strawberries1 blackberries1 grapes1 etc41 should be raised1 not simply to supply the needs of the family1 but there should be a surplus to market4 7#c7 ,one acre for the barn1 poultry house1 pigsties1 and other necessary out-buildings4 7#d7 ,one acre for a good pasture where cows1 horses1 hogs1 and stock of various kinds might be turned in from time to time4 ,the remaining thirty-six acres should be planted as follows3 ,first year1 sixteen acres of cowpease1 eight acres of cotton1 two acres of ribbon cane1 three acres of corn1 one acre of sorghum1 one acre of peanuts1 three acres of sweet potatoes1 one acre of teosinte 7a green fodder plant71 one acre of pumpkins1 cushaws1 squash1 etc4 ,the second year it will be observed that the peas change places with the cotton1 corn1 ribbon cane1 sorghum1 teosinte1 pumpkins and sweet potatoes1 except in a few instances--and these are where the soil was3 7a7 ,naturally poor1 as indicated by the acre where peanuts and cowpease follow each other the first and second years in order to better fit the land physically and chemically to produce an exhaustive crop like cotton2 7b7 ,sweet potatoes following cotton and ribbon cane4 ,here bottom land is represented1 and is1 therefore1 quite fertile4 ,the fertilisers necessary to produce a good crop of sugar cane and cotton were quite sufficient to produce a good crop of potatoes with but little additional fertiliser4 7c7 ,in this we have a different condition--that of neglected bottom soil1 deficient mainly in nitrogen4 ,here the pea is planted the first year to restore the nitrogen2 and this is followed by teosinte and sorghum in one instance and pumpkins and ribbon cane in another2 the physical condition of the soil being best suited to these particular crops4 ,with the few exceptions mentioned1 the third year is identical with the first4 ,such a system of rotation has enabled us in seven years to make a net profit of #if4bb from one acre of this land1 when in the beginning we lost #b4dj per acre4 ,in #ahig1 cowpease were planted1 using #e worth of kainite and acid phosphate per acre--mixing them together and putting in the drill4 ,the seed1 preparation of the land1 planting1 harvesting the light crop of vines1 etc41 amounted to #f4ej1 making a total of #aa4ej4 ,the crop sold for #i4aj1 leaving us #b4dj behind4 ,in #ahih1 this same acre was planted in sweet potatoes and fertilised with #e worth of kainite and acid phosphate1 the same as recommended for the pease4 ,the after-operation cost #f4 ,fifty-five bushels of marketable potatoes were harvested and sold for #fj;c per bushel1 equalling #cc1 and leaving a net balance of #bb on the acre4 ,in #ahii1 cowpease were again planted and fertilised exactly the same as in #ahig4 ,the returns were fifteen bushels of pease1 at #ee cents per bushel1 equalling #h4be2 also one and one-half tons of cured hay1 worth #bb4ej1 giving a total of #cj4ge4 ,less the cost--#aa4ej--;equals #ai4be gain4 ,in #aijj1 it was planted in sorghum cane1 fertilised with #e worth of kainite and acid phosphate1 plus fifteen one-horse wagon-loads of swamp muck and decayed forest leaves1 at a cost of #c4ge2 plus the cost of harvesting1 etc41 #d4be1 making a total of #ac4 ,seven tons of hay were harvested and sold green for #e a ton1 leaving a gain of #bb4 ,in #aija1 cowpease were planted and fertilised exactly the same as for the sorghum4 ,twenty-five bushels of pease were harvested1 worth #ac4ge2 two tons of cured hay worth #bh1 making a total of #da4ge2 less the cost1 equals #bh4ge gain4 ,in #aijb1 it was planted in garden truck--cabbage1 onions1 beets1 squash1 tomatoes1 melons1 beans1 turnips1 mustard1 kale1 kohl rabi1 rutabagas1 etc4 ,fertilised the same as for sorghum and pease1 except half of the swamp muck was replaced by stable manure4 ,the total operations cost #ba2 the entire crop sold for #fj1 leaving a gain of #ci4 ,in #aijc1 it was again planted in cowpease4 ,fertilised the same as for the garden4 ,twenty-seven bushels of pease were harvested1 worth #ad4he1 and three tons of cured hay worth #dc1 equalling #ef4he4 ,less the cost1 gives us a gain of #dc4he per acre4 ,in this same year1 a portion of this field1 subject to the same rotation1 was planted in white potatoes1 using the same amount of muck1 kainite and phosphate1 at a total cost of #i4 ,eighty bushels of potatoes were harvested and sold for #a per bushel1 equalling #hj4 ,before the potatoes were dug1 cowpease were planted between the rows and yielded #be4bb worth of peas and hay1 giving a clear profit of #if4bb per acre4 ,another acre subjected to the same treatment was planted in early corn and followed by sweet potatoes1 at a cost of #af4 ,it gave a crop as follows3 #dd4fj in corn and fodder1 one hundred and five bushels of marketable potatoes1 and #d4je worth of hay2 making in all #aaa4fe4 ,less #af4ij1 gives a profit of #id4ge4 ,it is important to note that the data for #aijc represent only one-half of the crop1 as the land is now in grain and will be harvested in time for the next crop1 or grazed1 which1 of course1 will give a net balance according to the yield of this grain or its value in grazing4 ,we think1 therefore1 that the foregoing facts answer quite conclusively all the questions in the affirmative1 and that it is wise for the ,southern farmer to purchase a home even of two acres4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,eagerness ,,for ,,learning ,necessity compels most of the coloured youth seeking education to work with their hands and pay as they go4 ,it is better thus1 even for those who do not expect to follow trades4 ,i do not believe that any young man who has worked his way through ,yale or ,harvard regrets the experience4 ,all whom ,i have met were proud of the achievement1 and considered it an important part of the training that was to make them useful and capable men4 ,many thousand letters of application for admission to the ,tuskegee ,institute are on file in my office4 ,their general trend is one of the strongest arguments for the gospel of hard work with head and hands4 ,these young men and women from nearly every state of the ,union and many foreign countries are writing me scores of letters daily1 asking for a chance to get an education4 ,with them there is no such thing as taking it for granted that they will be sent to school by somebody else4 ,they have felt the force of newly awakened ambition1 and lacking money to support themselves for three1 four or five years in school1 are eager to work for it4 ,if their parents share this ambition1 it is often the case that prayers1 and heartfelt wishes1 and hopes are all they can give their children to help them along the rough road to freedom4 ,for lack of room1 we are forced to refuse each year thousands of applicants1 earnest1 pleading candidates1 most of them1 who are willing to make any sacrifices1 to endure any burden of toil1 to get the training that is to help them and enable them to help others4 ,merely to look through these piles of letters as they have accumulated for years would require many days' labour4 ,i have chosen a few of them at random1 for they show why ,tuskegee students are in earnest from the beginning of their school work to the end1 and why they go out to earn a living1 armed with sincerity of purpose4 ,i have taken the liberty of making them easier to read by correcting the crude spelling and expression in some of them4 ,illustration3 ,,carnegie ,,library4 ,,built ,,by ,,institute ,,students ,here is one in which the writer has a fondness for imposing words without quite knowing how to handle them3 ,dear ,president3 ,i that delights in education have by recommendation conceived an idea of applying to your worthy school1 if possible1 for education1 provided ,i am qualified to enter4 ,believing that your catalogue will give me a thorough understanding of the same1 ,i will hereby ask that you send me one of your complete catalogues that ,i may prepare to enter the ensueing fall4 ,now1 sir1 you will please excuse me if ,i give you knowledge of my disposition4 ,i am full of delight in education4 ,therefore ,i will try to be one of the most pious students of the time4 ,this would also cause me to be grateful for the privileges1 especially those of labour1 for this is my first inquiry whether ,i might remain in school during vacation and work4 ,in fact1 ,i would have1 please1 sir1 a prompt and continual job in school4 ,please1 sir1 to interest yourself in my welfare in this circumstance4 ,dear ,sir3 ,wishing to enter the ,tuskegee ,institute1 ,i hereby write you for information4 ,i wish to enter night school and work in the day as an apprentice in the machine department4 ,my parents are poor and not able so assist me in going to school1 so my only chance is to work my way if there be any chance at all4 ,i am now twenty-one years old4 ,i am working with my father on a farm where ,i have been working ever since ,i have been large enough4 ,i have been going so school some1 but a very little1 while ,i were very small1 and ,i had not been in several years until this ,mr4 ---- came here1 and now ,i am working every day and going to school at night4 ,i am proud to say that he has done me good two ways by telling me of the chances afforded in the ,tuskegee ,institute for poor boys and girls to educate themselves1 and he has enthused my ambition for educating and bettering my condition4 ,please send me a catalogue of the school1 that ,i may see just how ,i must start to enter4 ,yours truly1 desiring an education4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i have heard so much and read so much of your school1 until ,i am craving to come and take a part with the leading people of my colour4 ,mr4 ,washington1 ,i've heard that a poor person who desires to make a mark in the world and haven't the means1 you would take them and let them work the first year for two hours lessons at night1 and let this help on their expenses for the next year4 ,if this is correct1 will you please write me at once1 for ,i am a poor girl1 and is so very anxious to learn some good trade1 also have good learning in books1 and ,i am too poor to go to school and pay4 ,so if you will let me in1 ,i am willing to work very hard1 indeed ,i am4 ,please send me a clear understanding of the school1 for ,i am anxious to be a great woman4 ,please write me at an early date4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i have read and heard a great deal of your school1 and ,i want to attend it this summer4 ,i would like to know whether ,i could work all of my way or not1 as my parents is not able to send me1 and ,i want to go to school1 ,i want to take a special course in sewing4 ,kind ,sir3 ,i received your immediate reply1 and ,i was truly glad to hear from you1 and to receive your circular of information and its meanings4 ,but there is a few questions of importance ,i wish to ask4 ,can ,i enter the night school at once1 or is there any limited time the school closes1 and when are the sessions8 ,now1 ,i hope ,i can enter at once1 and stay the year around1 or as long as ,i can be employed at the place1 so that ,i can pay my board and schooling1 as ,i have no parents and ,i am trying to make a start for an education4 ,i am a member of the church and a lover of the ,sunday ,school1 also ,i feel that ,i have a superior calling from on high4 ,therefore ,i wish to secure even a good ,english education4 ,may ,god provide for your success is the prayer of your humble servant4 ,kind ,sir3 ,i have thought to write you since your lecture up here in the adjoining county last fall4 ,mr4 ,washington1 ,i have a great desire for an education and it seems that ,i have many besetments in life that prohibits me from saving just the amount of money that ,i need to educate myself as ,i desire so do1 and ,i will inquire of you if your college has any way that a young man could work his tuition out4 ,if so1 please let me know just what terms ,i could enter on1 as ,i have fully made up my mind to try to educate myself1 provided any school will help me in my struggle4 ,i see the need of an education1 and ,i see that there is fields of work for a young man of my age4 ,mr4 ,washington1 if you please1 give me a chance if you can1 ,i am willing to work my way through at any position you would put me at to pay for my learning4 ,i am not too proud to do any work ,i can help to educate myself4 ,i want to join that goodly number of ,negroes that is making such success at your school4 ,please pardon such a long letter4 ,your humble questioner4 ,mr4 ,washington3 ,i would be more than glad to appreciate your school1 inasmuch as to come down and attend about two terms1 if you are not filled4 ,i am not able to pay my board in money1 and if there is any vacancy in your school where ,i can work and pay1 ,i would be more than glad4 ,please let me know immediately1 so ,i will know what to do4 ,let me know all about your charges per month4 ,please reply at once1 because ,i want to come as early as possible4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tailor ,,shop ,dear ,sir3 ,i received your kind circulars some days ago1 and ,i was more than glad to hear as ,i did4 ,i would have wrote before now1 but thinking ,i could come soon1 ,i waited4 ,though times is so hard1 of course a poor boy that has no one to help him has a hard time1 but by the help of the ,lord1 ,i am going to make a man of myself4 ,i want to come as soon as ,i can4 ,i am going to bring every one that will come with me4 ,i want to stay there and work until ,i can master a trade4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i takes great pleasure in writing to you a few lines1 and hopes this will find you well4 ,i want to complete the full course of education1 and am not exactly able to bear my expenses through4 ,i would like to know whether you will give me a position to work to pay my expenses through4 ,if you will1 it will be a great favour and consolation to me4 ,write soon1 and let me hear from you1 and please send me full particulars4 ,dear ,sir3 ,after reading and hearing so much talk of your school1 ,i made it up in my mind that ,i would like to attend your school1 as ,i have been trying to get an education for the last two years4 ,i attended school here in ,texas for six months this term1 but owing to my money running short ,i had to quit school and go to work4 ,i am a poor boy1 and ,i desire to get an education4 ,do you think that you could give me work to pay my school8 ,i want an industrial education1 and am not able to pay for it1 and ,i will do any work ,i can get to pay for my lesson4 ,i would like to attend your school1 but being poor ,i can't enter as a day student4 ,i write to know if ,i can enter as a work student4 ,i would like to enter soon enough so that ,i can work during the summer months4 ,mr4 ,washington1 ,i am anxious to get a good training4 ,being poor and fatherless1 ,i have had few advantages1 and that is why ,i have applied to you as ,i have4 ,if you will or will not receive me1 please let me know as soon as possible4 ,i received your circular and was carefully reading the terms4 ,there is some few more hints ,i would like to ask you4 ,if ,i arrive there with forty dollars1 could ,i attend the whole nine months of a school year8 ,my occupation has been for the last four years cooking4 ,before then it was farming1 but ,i can do a little laundry work also4 ,in these four years ,i have attended school two terms in public school4 ,i am very anxious for an industrial education1 so therefore ,i desire to attend your school4 ,the industrial studies ,i would like to learn are carriage-trimming and laundry work4 ,my studies are ,united ,states ,history1 ,arithmetic1 ,english1 and ,geography4 ,if you think ,i can stay the whole term on forty dollars let me know1 and ,i will be there in ,august4 ,i am twenty-two years of age4 ,please let me know whether you can furnish girls work enough to support them in school4 ,i see in the ',voice of ,missions' where you will give ministers work to support themselves4 ,is there any chance for a girl who wants an education8 ,i have read of your school1 and would like so well to come there1 but ,i live so far away1 until ,i would not be able to pay my fare from ,new ,orleans and then pay my school expenses4 ,please let me know the cheapest that ,i could enter school1 also the distance and cost from ,new ,orleans4 ,i would like to enter next season without fail4 ,please write me by return mail without fail4 ,dear ,sir3 ,during your recent lecturing tour you stopped here and ,i was determined to hear you1 and when ,i heard you ,i was fired with the ambition to go to school4 ,i tried to get an audience with you1 but owing to so many others who were as enthusiastic as ,i1 ,i could only speak a few words with you4 ,do you remember the young man who spoke to you about going to your school8 ,as ,i said before1 ,i did not have time to explain it all to you4 ,i am unable to pay my way through your school1 but ,i am more than willing to work my way through4 ,you told me that ,i could when ,i spoke to you about it4 ,dear ,sir3 ,my boy ran away from home during my absence from home in ,january4 ,after he was gone1 ,i learned from his associates that he said he was going to ,tuskegee to school4 ,please inform me whether he has made his appearance there or not4 ,dear ,sir3 ,do you think it best for me to enter as soon as possible1 or wait until the next term1 but ,i would rather enter as soon as possible4 ,but will do as you think best4 ,i have a mother and grandmother to support1 and if ,i can get an education ,i know that ,i will be better fitted to support them1 and ,i am sure that you will agree with me in the matter4 ,and if you will give me a chance1 ,i will be a man among my people some day4 ,dear ,sir3 ,i am sorry that ,i cannot be admitted4 ,in case of a vacancy1 will you notify me1 or until there is a chance could ,i come to the school in the summer8 ,i am a poor girl4 ,if ,i can't come in the summer1 ,i am going to try to earn enough money to come and stay two or three months as soon as you will let me1 even if there is no room to live at the school4 ,i will write you a few lines to ask if you please to let me enter into your band of coloured scholars4 ,that is1 ,i want to come to your school in the daytime1 or at night and work the rest of the time4 ,if there is any way fixed1 let me know whether my name can be put in your roll book4 ,i have just left school a few days ago1 and ,i want to get in as soon as possible4 ,i have been striving to come to your school going on three years1 and at last ,i have got to the point that if you will let me in ,i will be over there the first day of ,march4 ,please1 sir1 let me in1 if there is any way that can be fixed to do so4 ,i would be one of the happiest boys in the world if you say ,i could come4 ,please write me word just as soon as you read it4 ,dear ,sir3 ,having just read again a short biography of your life1 and being desirous of obtaining a better education1 ,i thought ,i would write you and perhaps gain the necessary information4 ,last year ,i completed the course in the ,high ,school here4 ,when school opened in ,september1 ,i joined the ,normal ,training ,class here and since then ,i have been training in for a second and third grade teacher4 ,i have had about eight months of piano music and two of vocal1 and one school year in the elements of elocution4 ,i am desirous of becoming a school teacher1 and realise how necessary it is to have a better education4 ,i have no support but an aged mother4 ,i had almost given up hope1 but when ,i read of others working their way through college1 ,i am resolved to try4 ,is there any possible way of earning my schooling at ,tuskegee8 ,i thought perhaps ,i could teach in the primary grades a part of the day to pay for what ,i should get4 ,or perhaps ,i could work in some other way4 ,i am willing to do any honest labour to get an education4 ,you doubtless get letters of this kind daily1 but ,i only ask that you please answer and tell me if there is any chance for a poor girl obtaining knowledge4 ,i am so anxious that ,i would willingly work during the vacations and holidays4 ,please answer this1 and if ,i cannot gain entrance at ,tuskegee1 perhaps you can tell me of some school where ,i can4 ,if your answer is favorable1 ,i will immediately begin to earn money to pay my way there1 for those of us who are in the training class receive no salary4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,value ,,of ,,small ,,things ,a lifetime of hard work has shown me the value of little things of every day4 ,we preach them at ,tuskegee1 and try to enforce them in the daily round of sixteen hundred students' lives4 ,we speak of them because they are at the bottom of character-building1 and because no person can go on year by year forgetting them1 without having his soul warped and made small and weak4 ,we want young men and women to go out1 not as slaves of their daily routine1 but masters of their circumstances4 ,but the structure must be built a brick at a time1 and no act is without its influence4 ,i am in the habit of talking to the student body when it is assembled in the chapel for the first time after the opening of the school year with a good deal of practical exhortation about the value of little things1 unimportant as some of them may seem to the new-comers at ,tuskegee4 ,they are told1 for example1 that among the resolutions which each should abide by through the term1 is to keep in close and constant touch with their homes4 ,you can do this1 ,i have said1 in no better way than by forming the habit of writing a letter home once every week4 ,i fear that this is not always done4 ,i want to see each one of you grow into the habit of writing a letter to your parents or your friends at home1 as often as you can find the time4 ,i do not mean by this that you shall get a little piece of waste paper1 snatch up a lead pencil1 and scribble a hasty note1 asking them to send you some money1 or to send you a dress1 or a hat4 ,i mean for you to select a time--the ,sabbath1 if you can find no other time--and sit down in your rooms1 or go to the library1 take plenty of time1 get good paper1 the best ink1 and write your mother and father1 your brothers and sisters1 a good1 encouraging1 well-thought-out letter4 ,it will pay you to do that1 even if you look at it from a selfish standpoint4 ,grow into the habit of doing that every week while you are students here4 ,it will keep you in touch with your homes1 and it always pays to keep under the home influence1 no matter how humble that home may be1 no matter how much poverty there may be about it1 no matter how much ignorance there may be in it--it always pays to keep in close touch with your homes4 ,i want you to do this1 not only for your own sake1 but more for the sake of your parents1 for the sake of those who are trying to keep you at this institution4 ,you can make them feel your appreciation in no better way than by writing them regularly in the manner that ,i have tried to urge you to do4 ,it will encourage them4 ,it will make them feel that it pays to make the sacrifice for you4 ,these practical talks on the value of small things are enforced by a corp of inspectors1 whose practised eyes are quick to detect the soiled collar1 the loose button1 the unpolished boot1 when the forces assemble for meals and for chapel1 and the personal appearance of every student is carefully scrutinised4 ,nothing is more humiliating to a ,tuskegee boy or girl than to be taken out of line as the body marches out of chapel4 ,it requires care and thought to make a hasty toilet after a ten-hour day on the farm or in the shops1 and be ready for supper on the stroke of the bell4 ,and a student late to meals goes without that meal unless he has a good excuse4 ,but out of such a system arises a pride in personal appearance1 and a spirit of self-respect that goes far toward making useful men and women4 ,it must be remembered1 too1 that much of the raw material which is taken in hand at ,tuskegee has not had the advantages of any system and order at home1 even in the primary qualities of personal cleanliness and neatness4 ,it sounds like the discipline of a man-of-war to say that one loose or missing button on the clothing of any one of a thousand boys is almost instantly noted and recorded1 but the students themselves are proud of the fact that it is seldom that one of them must be called out of line by an inspector4 ,they have responded to the test set for them1 and they never forget it4 ,they feel a personal sorrow that the epithet shiftless has been used to characterise their race1 and they realise that it must be lived down in small things as well as great4 ,there is a student police force at ,tuskegee1 the members of which are uniformed and allowed to carry policemen's short clubs on their night rounds4 ,a visitor1 who was on his way to my house1 to dine1 met at the gate a young man in uniform1 apparently on guard1 who saluted with his raised stick4 ,my guest expressed some surprise1 saying3 ,i did not know that you had to guard against the hostility of the ,southern white people of this region4 ,it is shocking to know that race antagonism can be so violent and unreasonable4 ,i replied3 ,i have no better friends than the white people of ,tuskegee1 and there is no need for a body guard1 ,i assure you4 ,that alarming young man was simply a student policeman who saluted you as he is required to do all teachers and visitors4 ,he is allowed to carry a stick1 not because he will ever need to use it1 but because it is a badge of his authority1 an emblem of the responsibility of his position4 ,the officers of our cadet corps carry swords for the same reasons4 ,the boy policeman and his club typify the worth of little things1 indirectly furnishing a help toward the complex structure of character4 ,the young man in uniform1 trudging on his night rounds about the school grounds1 feels himself more of a man if he is equipped for a man's work4 ,it adds to his self-respect1 and it helps him to feel that his duty is an important one4 ,the ,savings ,bank ,department of the school1 which is part of the regularly authorised banking department of the institution1 has been1 in addition to its education in business methods1 a great aid in teaching the students the value of little things4 ,early in the present year1 there were to the credit of the students in the savings fund deposits of more than #ad1jjj4 ,this was largely made up of small accounts4 ,the depositors are allowed to have checkbooks1 and to draw on their accounts checks in as small amounts as twenty-five cents4 ,as a result they do not carry their available cash around in their pockets1 but hasten to the bank with it1 and settle nearly all transactions among themselves by check4 ,this impresses on their minds the value of saving1 for the bank account is in itself a strong incentive4 ,these deposits come from various sources4 ,the work done by the students in the various industrial departments is not paid for in cash1 but its value is credited to their accounts with the school for the board1 lodging1 laundry1 etc41 furnished them4 ,their work amounted last year to a cash value of more than #ij1jjj4 ,for ready money1 however1 they must depend on what they receive from home1 which is a small proportion of the total bank deposits1 and upon what they are able to earn out of working hours4 ,many of them act as agents on commission for mail-order houses1 which supply clothing1 shoes1 underwear1 and a variety of necessaries and a few luxuries4 ,in the summer a large number of young men go from ,tuskegee to work in the ,southern ,states1 many of them in the ,alabama coal fields1 to earn money to pay the expenses of their education through the next school year4 ,they save these earnings and bring them back to deposit in the ,institute bank4 ,but these savings are not in dollars for the most part1 but in quarters1 dimes1 and even pennies4 ,in looking over the books of the bank recently1 the individual ledger accounts attracted my notice4 ,there was a whole page given the account of one girl1 whose individual deposits did not average more than ten cents4 ,there were several of three cents1 and one of two cents4 ,it seemed to me that this girl student was worth watching in after life4 ,if she was willing to walk across the grounds and back1 a round trip of perhaps half a mile1 from her dormitory or work-shop1 to make a deposit of three cents in the savings bank1 and to continue her deposits1 although she was never able to save more than a few cents at a time1 she was fast learning the value of small things1 and was already far along the path of practical usefulness4 ,illustration3 ,,in ,,the ,,model ,,dining-,,room ,one thousand students assemble three times a day in the main dining-hall4 ,they take their seats without confusion or noise4 ,a line of young men and women face each other at each table1 and over them presides a student host and a hostess4 ,the young women are seated first1 and then the young men march in4 ,but no conversation is allowed until all are seated1 and until after a simple grace is chanted by this chorus of a thousand voices4 ,the meal is something more than a necessary consumption of food4 ,the deference which a young man should always pay to woman is taught1 without demonstration1 by the manner of assembling4 ,self-restraint is taught the girls by waiting five minutes in their seats before they begin to eat and to talk4 ,their meeting at table inculcates good manners4 ,the boys are on their mettle to act like gentlemen1 and the host and hostess feel a personal responsibility for enforcing the little details of courtesy and good breeding4 ,the corps of teachers assembles for meals in another dining-room4 ,they are not needed to preserve order or enforce discipline1 as the students have that matter largely in their own hands4 ,inspectors see that their clothes have been brushed1 their faces and hands cleaned of the stains of the farm and work shops1 as the army enters the dining-hall4 ,but behaviour takes care of itself4 ,it is not long since ,i read of riotous scenes in the commons of certain ,northern universities1 in which students were guilty of throwing bread and crockery around the room4 ,this has never happened at ,tuskegee1 and this kind of disorder in our dining-hall is quite beyond my imagination4 ,once in a while1 when tired of office work1 ,i walk across the school grounds and drop into one of the dormitories to talk with the boys or girls in their rooms1 and see for myself how they are living and what they are doing to make their rooms1 not only spotlessly neat1 but livable and attractive4 ,not long ago ,i went into a room in one of the girls' halls1 which was clean but utterly cheerless4 ,she said in explanation that she had been told that1 if she could not keep the photographs and all the other bric-a-brac that finds its way into a girl's room dustless and in order1 she should store the superfluous articles away4 ,i told her that the result of this misguided endeavour was a room that looked as much like a barn as it did a home4 ,she told me how much she had spent during the term in buying chocolate to make fudge4 ,for the same outlay she could have had pretty framed prints on her walls1 and other simple adornment in good taste and without clutter4 ,that evening ,i said1 while talking to the students in chapel3 ,i was in the rooms of several girls to-day4 ,i had been in these rooms before4 ,some of the rooms are always clean and attractive4 ,you will find a number of little1 delicate1 home-like touches about them4 ,you have only to go into another room1 and you will feel as if you wanted to go out as soon as possible4 ,this latter room has possibly two or three girls in it1 and they are always full of excuses1 always explaining4 ,they can stand for five1 ten1 fifteen minutes1 and reel off excuses by the yard4 ,those girls1 unless they change1 will never get ahead very far1 ,i fear4 ,the habit of making excuses1 of giving explanations1 instead of achieving results1 grows from year to year upon one1 until finally it gets such a hold that ,i think the victim finds himself almost as well satisfied with a good1 long-drawn-out excuse1 as he does with real tangible achievement4 ,the schoolboy and girl must be taught such lessons in every moment of routine duty1 and there are no little things1 to be carelessly overlooked1 without danger that repetition will breed bad habit4 ,the student may think these things are little1 but permanent injury to character is the price paid for indifference and carelessness4 ,the price is paid in permanent injury to character4 ,every dollar received at ,tuskegee comes through hard work on the part of some one4 ,every dollar is placed with us because the donor feels that perhaps it will accomplish more good here than elsewhere4 ,it is always a question for them to choose between giving a dollar here or to some other institution4 ,the attitude of every student1 if he wishes to be honest1 must be that he has no right to ask persons to support the school if a dollar goes into the hands of an individual who is not doing his very best to earn the worth of it1 every moment of every day1 from rising bell to taps on the bugle at the boy's hall4 ,looking at education from this view-point1 every detail of the work and administration of a community of sixteen hundred people1 with their great variety of activities1 becomes vitally important1 a part toward the complete whole4 ,this doctrine of small things finds expression in an infinite number of channels4 ,one of the despised but abundant products of the ,southern farms has been the cowpea4 ,it is used extensively as a fodder plant1 and as a fertiliser by plowing it under4 ,the cowpea is also one of the most nutritious of foods1 when properly cooked1 but while it has been growing at their doors the coloured people have neglected it as a part of their diet4 ,the ,tuskegee agricultural expert investigated the cowpea4 ,he found that it was as valuable for food as the far-famed ,boston bean1 and prepared his table of analyses to prove it4 ,then he worked out no less than eighteen different appetising recipes for cooking the humble cowpea1 and made practical demonstration1 in a booth of his own making1 during one of the ,negro ,conference gatherings4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,paint ,,shop ,these recipes he had printed for distribution in a neat and attractive pamphlet1 and in this way he opened in defense of the cowpea a successful crusade1 which has had direct results4 ,it was a small thing1 but it was not too small to be overlooked in the effort to make the best of the resources close at hand4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,religious ,,influences ,,at ,,tuskegee ,in the rapid growth of the institution along academic and industrial lines1 the spiritual side of the school has not been neglected4 ,during the last fifteen years a regularly appointed chaplain1 an ordained evangelical minister1 has been connected with the school1 which is non-denominational1 but by no means non-religious4 ,it has much of the machinery of most regularly organised churches1 although1 for good reasons1 it has not seemed best1 yet1 to organise a church in connection with the institution4 ,it has1 in fact1 a much better equipment than most churches about it1 both as to its house of worship and auxiliary services4 ,first3 ,there is1 each ,sunday1 a regular preaching service1 at which teachers and students are expected to be present4 ,second3 ,every ,sunday morning1 during the months of school1 a large and enthusiastic ,christian ,endeavour ,society meets for an hour's appropriate exercises4 ,teachers and students alike belong to it1 serve on its committees1 and1 in many ways1 are very helpful to the religious side of the school4 ,the selections of scripture read or repeated and commented upon1 the prayers offered1 and the songs contributed by the students1 show that they are preparing themselves for leadership in religion as well as for usefulness in shop and class room when they leave ,tuskegee4 ,third3 ,the students are divided into thirty-six ,sunday-school classes1 each ,sunday1 to study the international lesson4 ,there is also a ,junior ,sunday-school1 composed of the children of teachers and of families near the school4 ,fourth3 ,a flourishing organisation of the ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a41 ably officered by students1 makes itself felt for good both among the young men students as well as by visits1 through committees1 to the surrounding country1 each ,sunday1 to look after sick and needy persons1 especially the aged poor4 ,fifth3 ,the young women students1 under the leadership of lady teachers1 sustain three societies among themselves1 viz43 ,the ,one ,cent ,missionary ,society1 the oldest in the institution4 ,it is auxiliary to the ,woman's ,home ,missionary ,association of ,boston1 to which it sends #e annually4 ,the ,edna ,d4 ,chaney ,missionary ,club has its own special work1 as has also the ,y4 ,w4 ,c4 ,t4 ,u4 ,recently1 there has been organised a ,y4 ,w4 ,c4 ,a4 to reach a younger class of girls4 ,each of these organisations has proved itself a potent factor for good1 not only in the school and its immediate environs1 but beyond2 for it is the policy of the ,tuskegee ,institute to spread its various influences to other towns and communities1 wherever its graduates and students find work1 in whatever capacity4 ,sixth3 ,the ,humane ,society has done much to teach the students the proper care of dumb animals4 ,seventh3 ,the ,tuskegee ,women's ,club1 a branch of the ,national ,association of ,coloured ,women1 which meets twice a month to discuss such topics as look to the betterment of the women and girls of the ,negro race in the ,united ,states4 ,another society1 more local1 is called ,mothers' ,council4 ,here the married women meet to discuss household matters4 ,one of the members of this body1 the wife of an instructor1 though herself not a teacher1 has for several years been conducting a ,sunday afternoon meeting for neglected children in one of the tenement sections of the town of ,tuskegee4 ,the room in which the meetings are held is rented for this purpose by the students of the ,bible ,school and paid for out of their weekly contributions4 ,eighth3 ,once1 daily1 at evening 7,friday and ,saturday excepted71 the whole school assembles in the spacious chapel for devotional services1 led by the ,principal or his representative1 before retiring4 ,illustration3 ,,institute ,,chapel ,,most ,,imposing ,,building ,,on ,,school ,,grounds ,,built ,,by ,,students ,ninth3 ,perhaps the most helpful religious meeting of all is the ,friday evening prayer-meeting1 where teachers and students gather1 before retiring1 as one large family1 for informal worship2 for it is the most home-like of all the services4 ,any one is at liberty to take part1 without restraint1 and at times so much interest is manifested that it often happens that two or more will be on their feet at the same time striving to get a hearing1 or will raise hymns or begin to pray1 or speak or repeat verses of ,scripture at the same time4 ,but the utmost courtesy and good nature prevail4 ,these meetings are productive of much good4 ,many of the students date their conversion from the impulse received at these ,friday evening meetings4 ,tenth3 ,the ,week of ,prayer is usually observed for two weeks1 in ,january1 every year1 with more or less spiritual profit to the whole institution4 ,the outward results from the meetings held during the present year are the hopeful and happy conversions of more than one hundred and fifty students1 from all classes1 post-graduates1 special students1 down through the preparatory grades4 ,the most of these have received1 and1 after careful and prayerful consideration1 have signed1 in duplicate1 the following pledge1 keeping one copy and returning the other to the ,chaplain3 ,,my ,,pledge4 ,i thank ,god that ,i was led by the ,spirit to accept ,christ4 ,i am glad ,i am a ,christian1 and ,i promise3 #a4 ,that1 as soon as ,i can1 ,i will join the church of my choice1 and by word and deed help to build up the kingdom of ,christ on earth4 #b4 ,that ,i will1 daily1 think of1 or read some portion of the ,bible1 and will pray1 in private each day of my life1 closing each prayer with this verse3 ,lord ,jesus1 ,i long to be perfectly whole2 ,i want ,thee forever to live in my soul2 ,break down every idol1 cast out every foe3 ,now wash me and ,i shall be whiter than snow4 --,amen4 ,name ,p4 ,o4 address ,the reclamation of many backsliders also1 as well as the spiritual awakening of the teacher's1 many of whom joined heartily in the work of soul-saving1 were gratifying and encouraging results4 ,eleventh3 ,last1 but not least1 is the wholesome influence the ,bible ,training ,school has on the entire ,institute4 ,this school is a department of the ,normal and ,industrial ,institute4 ,it was founded some years ago by a lady living in ,new ,york1 in order that poor young men and women might be enabled1 on the ,tuskegee plan1 to fit themselves for the ,christian ministry and other active religious work4 ,a night class is connected with the ,bible ,school1 to reach those who cannot attend during the day1 but who are desirous of knowing more about the ,bible4 ,the members of this class are the farmers and other labouring men who live in the neighbourhood4 ,they come twice a week for an hour and a half1 some of them walking two1 three1 four1 and five miles each way1 and show the greatest interest in the lessons4 ,most of them are pastors and members of churches in their communities4 ,the students of the ,bible ,school are expected to spend their ,sundays in religious work among the churches and mission stations in the surrounding country4 ,every ,sunday morning they may be seen1 in groups of two or more1 starting out1 after breakfast1 to their various appointments1 reaching from four to six miles into the country1 and to the jail and the churches in the town of ,tuskegee4 ,if they do not find a place of labour1 they are encouraged to begin in new fields1 and to reach people who might otherwise be neglected4 ,several have started missions1 and two1 during the history of the ,bible ,school1 have organised and built churches1 and turned them over to their respective denominational connections4 ,the ,bible students are required to make a weekly report of their outside work on the following blank3 ,,weekly ,,report ,,of ,,the ,,religious ,,work ,,done ,,in ,,tuskegee ,,and ,,vicinity1 ,,by ,,students ,,of ,,phelps ,,hall ,,bible ,,training ,,school ,work done for the week ending ,sunday night #ai #a4 ,name of student ,are you a minister ,licentiate or a ,layman8 #b4 ,what is your denomination8 #c4 ,where do you labour8 7,state whether in a church1 jail1 or almshouse1 etc47 #d4 ,sermons1 ,give3 #ast4 ,number preached #bnd4 ,scriptures read #crd4 ,the text to each #dth4 ,the subjects to each #e4 ,number of adults present8 #ast4 ,males #bnd4 ,females #crd4 ,children #f4 ,number of ,sunday ,schools attended8 ,number of children present #ast4 ,males #bnd4 ,females #crd4 ,adults #g4 ,number of prayer meetings attended8 #h4 ,number of marriages solemnised8 #i4 ,number of sick visited in their homes8 #aj4 ,number of funerals attended8 #aa4 ,number who have secured homes through your advice and help during the past week #ab4 ,does your ,s4 ,s4 use ,sunday literature1 such as books1 quarterlies1 ,s4 ,s4 papers1 etc48 ,state which ,sign here4 7,name7 7,home ,p4,o4 address7 ,please answer ,,every question1 and return to ,e4 ,j4 ,penny4 ,a volunteer prayer meeting is held daily1 just after breakfast1 in the ,bible ,school building1 under the guidance of the ,bible students4 ,this meeting is well attended by young men of all the classes1 who take turns in leading the services4 ,any one passing this building at that hour will hear songs of praise and earnest voices in prayer to ,god4 ,all these societies1 at ,christmas and ,thanksgiving1 unite in taking food and other comforts to the deserving poor and helpless4 ,all the young men and boys at ,tuskegee are assigned to groups numbering twelve to fifteen1 each group in charge of a teacher4 ,there are eighty of these small companies formed that the boys may become better acquainted with one another1 and grow in a spirit of mutual helpfulness4 ,every boy feels that he can go to the teacher who is in charge of his social unit for advice and comfort4 ,this feature of the school life is under the general direction of the ,chaplain1 and has done much to make the students feel at home4 ,discipline has been more satisfactory since the plan was adopted4 ,the young women students are organised in other ways to meet their own social and religious needs1 and to bring them into personal relations with their teachers4 ,all these forces are working more and more for good1 and the ,school is in an encouraging and healthy religious condition4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,some ,,tangible ,,results ,since the founding of the ,tuskegee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 in #ahha1 the total enrollment of young men and women who have remained long enough to be helped1 in any degree1 is about six thousand4 ,from the beginning1 the school has sought to find out the chief occupations by which our people earn their living1 and to train men and women to be of service in these callings4 ,those who go out follow the industries they have learned1 or teach in public or private schools1 teaching part of the year and farming or labouring the remainder of their time4 ,some follow house-keeping or other domestic service1 while others enter professions1 the ,government service1 or become merchants4 ,many of the teachers give instruction in agriculture1 or in the industries4 ,the professional men are largely physicians and the professional women are mostly trained nurses4 ,after diligent investigation ,i have been unable to find a dozen former students in idleness4 ,they are busy in schoolroom1 field1 shop1 home or church4 ,they are busy because they have placed themselves in demand by learning to do that which the world wants done1 and because they have learned the disgrace of idleness1 and the sweetness of labour4 ,one of the greatest embarrassments which confronts our school at the present time is our inability to supply any large proportion of the demands for our students that are coming to us constantly from the people of both races1 ,north and ,south4 ,but1 apart from their skill and training1 that which has made ,tuskegee men and women succeed is their spirit of unselfishness and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for others4 ,in many cases while building up a struggling school in a community1 they have worked for months without any fixed salary or promise of salary1 because they have learned that helping some one else is the secret of happiness4 ,because of the demand for men and women trained at ,tuskegee1 it is difficult to keep a large proportion of the students in the school until they graduate4 ,it is1 therefore1 not so easy to show the results of the work in concrete form as it would be if a larger number of the students finished4 ,but the facts obtainable prove that the school is achieving its purpose in preparing its students to do what the world wants done4 ,some years ago a young man named ,williams came to ,tuskegee from ,mobile1 ,alabama4 ,before coming1 he had nearly completed the public-school course of study at ,mobile1 and had been earning about fifty cents a day at various kinds of unskilled labour4 ,he wished to study further in the academic branches1 with the object of combining this knowledge with the trade of brick-masonry4 ,to take the full course in brick-masonry1 including mechanical drawing1 he should have remained three years4 ,he remained for six months only4 ,during this time1 he got some rough knowledge of brick-masonry and advanced somewhat in his academic studies4 ,when he returned to ,mobile1 it soon became known that he had been working at brick-masonry4 ,at once he was dubbed a full-fledged mason4 ,as there was unusual building activity in ,mobile at that time1 he found himself in great demand1 and1 instead of having to seek odd jobs1 he soon saw that1 in spite of his rather crude knowledge of the trade1 he could earn one dollar and fifty cents per day1 and have more work offered him than he could do4 ,when the three months' vacation expired1 ,williams debated whether he ought to return to ,tuskegee to finish his course or remain at home and try to purchase a home for his widowed mother4 ,hence1 seeing an opportunity to make two dollars a day at his trade1 he decided not to return4 ,as in hundreds of other cases1 the ,mobile man had unusual natural ability1 and was able to get out of his six months at ,tuskegee a mental1 spiritual1 and bodily awakening which fixed his purpose in life4 ,not only this1 but he had made such a start in his trade that by close study and observation he was able to improve from month to month in the quantity and quality of his work1 and within a few months he ceased to work for other people by the day and began to make small contracts4 ,at the present time1 ,mr4 ,williams is one of the most substantial coloured citizens of ,mobile4 ,he owns his home and is a reliable and successful contractor1 doing important work for both races4 ,in addition to being a successful brick-mason and contractor1 he owns and operates a dairy business1 and his class of patronage is not limited by any means to members of the ,negro race4 ,the value1 then1 of the work of schools1 where the trade or economic element enters in so largely as it does at ,tuskegee1 cannot be judged in any large degree by the number of students who finish the full course and receive diplomas4 ,what is true of the course in brick-masonry is true in larger or smaller measure of all the other thirty-seven industrial divisions of the school4 ,another example3 ,crawford ,d4 ,menafee came to ,tuskegee about #ahij1 and began taking the agricultural and academic courses4 ,he was older than the average student1 and entered one of the lower classes4 ,because he had no money to pay any part of his expenses1 he was given permission to enter the night school1 which meant that he was to work on the farm ten hours a day1 receiving1 meanwhile1 lessons in the principles of farming and devoting two hours at night to the academic branches4 ,he was never classed as a very bright student1 and in the purely literary studies made such slow progress1 after repeating several classes1 that he left two years before completing either the agricultural or the academic course4 ,it was noted1 however1 that1 notwithstanding inability to grasp theoretical work1 he manifested unusual enthusiasm and showed special ability in practical farm work4 ,his ability was so marked that he was asked to take a place of responsibility as assistant to one of the school's farm managers4 ,it soon became evident that he possessed extraordinary executive ability4 ,he read constantly everything of value which he could secure upon agriculture1 and soon began to show signs of considerable intellectual growth and the possession of a rarely systematic mind4 ,mr4 ,menafee was soon promoted to a higher position at ,tuskegee4 ,illustration3 ,,taking ,,an ,,agricultural ,,class ,,into ,,the ,,field ,a few years later1 there came a call for some one to introduce theoretical and practical agriculture into the ,state ,normal ,college for coloured people at ,tallahassee1 ,florida4 ,mr4 ,menafee was recommended4 ,the students had no wish to learn agriculture4 ,they were opposed to it in any form4 ,by tact and patience1 ,mr4 ,menafee gradually won the students and made them see the importance of intelligent cultivation of the soil4 ,mr4 ,menafee has now been in charge of the agricultural department of the ,florida school for three years1 and has made the study of theoretical and practical farming so effective that it is now one of the most popular branches in the school4 ,not only do the young men cultivate a large acreage each year1 but a number of girls also receive instruction in gardening1 dairying1 and poultry raising4 ,in a word1 the whole attitude of the school toward agriculture has been revolutionised1 and the department has been placed upon an effective and practical foundation4 ,there are hundreds of cases similar to those of ,mr4 ,menafee and the ,mobile brick-mason4 ,these represent a class of students who have absorbed the spirit of the school as well as its methods1 and who are doing far-reaching service1 although they are not enrolled on our list of graduates4 ,we have tried to give special attention to all forms of agricultural training at ,tuskegee1 because we believe that the ,negro1 like any other race in a similar stage of development1 is better off when owning and cultivating the soil4 ,as ,i have explained elsewhere1 the results of our agricultural work in the past have not been as manifest as they will be in the future1 for the ,institute has been compelled to give foremost place to the building trades in order to get under shelter4 ,the task of erecting nearly seventy buildings1 in which to house about seventeen hundred people1 has not been easy4 ,and yet what are some of the results of our lessons in farming8 ,not long ago ,i drove through a section of ,macon ,county1 ,alabama4 ,my drive extended a distance of perhaps eight miles1 and during this time ,i passed through or near the farms of ,a4 ,h4 ,adams1 ,thomas ,courrier1 ,frank ,mc,cay1 ,nathaniel ,harris1 ,thomas ,anderson1 ,john ,smith1 and ,dennis ,upshaw4 ,these seven men had attended the ,tuskegee ,institute for longer or shorter periods1 and each had already paid for his farm or was buying it4 ,all of these men had studied in the ,phelps ,hall ,bible ,training ,school in the morning1 and had taken the agricultural course in the afternoon4 ,when ,i visited their farms1 ,i saw them actually at work1 and it was most encouraging and interesting to note the air of cleanliness and system about their farms and homes4 ,in every case they were not confining themselves to the raising of cotton1 but had learned to diversify their crops4 ,all were active in church and ,sunday-school work1 and were using their influence to get others to buy homes4 ,the most prosperous farmer among them was ,mr4 ,upshaw4 ,he began farming with practically nothing4 ,at present he owns one hundred and fifteen acres of land1 which is cultivated by himself and family4 ,on this land is a neat1 attractive house1 a barn and outbuildings1 and a small sugar house for boiling syrup from the cane which he raises for his own use4 ,his home and farm are models for other farmers4 ,he raises not only cotton1 but corn and oats1 vegetables1 fruit1 live stock1 and fowls4 ,he has an unusually fine peach orchard4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,upshaw are leaders in the ,county ,farmers' ,institute4 ,mrs4 ,upshaw is also a member of the ,mothers' ,meeting1 which assembles regularly in the town of ,tuskegee4 ,while ,mr4 ,upshaw's present house is better than the average farmhouse in that section1 when ,i last visited this farm1 ,i found lumber on the ground to be used in erecting a new and larger house4 ,hundreds of such examples could be cited4 ,i have given these seven examples because people who know absolutely nothing about the subject often make the statement that when a ,negro gets any degree of education he will not work--especially as a farmer4 ,as a rule1 people who make these sweeping assertions against the ,negro are blinded by prejudice4 ,the judgment of any man1 black or white1 who is controlled by race prejudice is not to be trusted4 ,with one exception1 ,i did not know of the farming operations of these men before the drive referred to2 but ,i was not at all surprised at what ,i saw1 because my years of experience have brought me into unbroken contact with ,tuskegee men and women all over the ,south1 and wherever ,i have met them ,i have found that they had in some degree raised the level of life about them4 ,another branch of ,agriculture1 to which we have for a number of years given special attention1 is dairying4 ,the demand from ,southern white people for trained dairymen is much greater than we have been able to supply4 ,in #ahih1 ,l4 ,a4 ,smith finished the course of training in dairying and in the academic branches4 ,he had been able to complete his course only by working during the day and attending school at night during the greater part of his time here4 ,soon after ,smith graduated1 we had a call for a well-trained dairyman from the ,forest ,city ,creamery ,company1 ,rockford1 ,illinois4 ,smith was recommended4 ,he has been holding an important position in the creamery for five years1 and has several times been promoted with an increase of salary4 ,smith has paid for a neat and comfortable home1 and he has the confidence and respect of the entire community4 ,he looked so young and inexperienced in taking up his work that his ability was doubted1 but it did not take him long to prove that he was fully equal to the occasion4 ,the proprietor unhesitatingly said that he was one of the most proficient and valuable men in his employ1 and that he had placed him in a very important and trying position--that of making butter cultures4 ,this is a secret department in which no one except the employees operating it and the proprietor is permitted to enter4 ,mr4 ,smith also did some important chemical work in connection with a lawsuit supposed to involve the manufacture of spurious butter4 ,in ,montgomery ,county1 ,alabama1 ,mr4 ,n4 ,n4 ,scott1 a ,southern white man1 has operated for a number of years the largest and most successful dairy farm in his section4 ,mr4 ,scott has in his employ three ,tuskegee men1 with ,scott ,thomas in charge4 ,mr4 ,scott tells us that those men trained at our school are the most efficient helpers he can secure4 ,he keeps a standing order with ,mr4 ,george ,w4 ,carver1 our instructor in dairying1 to the effect that he will employ any one that ,mr4 ,carver recommends4 ,not far from ,mr4 ,scott's dairy is a smaller one owned by ,mr4 ,e4 ,j4 ,hughes1 another white man4 ,some time ago ,mr4 ,hughes secured ,luther ,m4 ,jones1 who had taken only a partial course in dairying at ,tuskegee1 to make butter and cheese for him4 ,such examples can be found in nearly every one of the ,southern ,states4 ,from the beginning1 the work of this institution has been closely related to the public school system of the ,south1 for it must be clear to all that in the last analysis we must depend upon public schools for the general education of the masses1 and it is important that the larger institutions for the education of the ,negro keep in close and sympathetic touch with the school officials of the ,southern ,states4 ,one way in which we assist the public school system of the ,south is by sending out men and women who become the teachers of teachers4 ,one of the best examples of this is the case of ,isaac ,fisher1 a young man who came to ,tuskegee a number of years ago1 and earned his board by working during the day and going to school at night4 ,two years ago ,mr4 ,fisher1 upon my recommendation1 was elected by the ,state officials of the ,state of ,arkansas to the important position of ,principal of the ,branch ,normal ,college of ,pine ,bluff1 ,arkansas1 the main institution for training coloured teachers for the public schools of that commonwealth4 ,mr4 ,fisher has associated with him a large force of teachers1 two of whom also are ,tuskegee graduates4 ,in the school are students many of whom will become not only public-school teachers in the usual sense1 but having been trained by ,mr4 ,fisher in the industries1 they will be able to introduce them gradually into their teaching4 ,there is hardly a single ,southern ,state where our men and women are not found in some of the larger schools for training teachers4 ,our students at ,tuskegee are instructed constantly in methods of building schoolhouses and prolonging the school term4 ,it is safe to say that outside the larger ,southern cities and towns in the rural district1 one will find nine-tenths of the school buildings wholly unfit for use1 and rarely is the public school session longer than five months--in most cases not more than four4 ,these conditions exist largely because of the poverty of the ,states4 ,one of the problems of our teachers is to show the people how through private effort they can build schoolhouses and extend the school term4 ,milton ,calloway left ,tuskegee three years ago4 ,in addition to taking the normal course1 he learned the trade of tinsmithing4 ,when he returned to his home at ,union ,spring1 ,bullock ,county1 ,alabama1 he secured a school some distance in the country4 ,the term was so short that ,calloway found he could not live all the year by teaching during the three or four months of the session4 ,calloway's trade came to his rescue4 ,soon after he began teaching1 he made an arrangement with a white man in the town by which he was to work in his shop on ,saturdays and during his vacation months4 ,by following this plan1 the school is gradually being built up1 the people are being taught to save their money1 improve the schoolhouse1 prolong the school term1 and buy homes4 ,moses ,p4 ,simmons1 another one of our graduates in an adjoining county1 has lengthened the term of the public school by teaching the children how to grow vegetables1 which have been disposed of for school purposes4 ,during the latest session of our ,negro ,conference in ,february1 one delegate from ,conecuh ,county1 ,alabama1 told how his people had nearly doubled the length of the school term by each family's agreeing to plant an extra half-acre which was designated as the school half-acre4 ,a number of ,tuskegee men and women have put on foot some such scheme as this4 ,i asked one of the officials of the ,tuskegee ,institute to canvass our nearest large city1 ,montgomery1 ,alabama1 in order to obtain the name of every student there who had received a diploma or certificate from ,tuskegee1 or who had remained long enough to be in any degree influenced by its teaching1 and to report to me exactly what he found after making a personal inspection4 ,here are a few of his reports3 ,perry1 ,j4 ,w41 class of #ahhi1 lives near the city4 ,is farming4 ,he controls #aej acres1 owns five head of cattle1 and teaches school six months in the year4 ,davis1 ,joseph1 who has been away from ,tuskegee three years1 ,i found at work on a four-story building in process of erection on ,commerce ,street4 ,he was getting #b4ej a day4 ,at work on the same job were ,william ,fuller at #c4fj a day1 and ,h4 ,t4 ,wheat at #b4ej4 ,last summer ,fuller received #d a day for four months1 at ,troy1 ,alabama4 ,moten1 ,pierce1 is at work as drug clerk in the drug store of ,d4 ,a4 ,c4 ,dungee1 at the corner of ,court and ,washington ,streets4 ,he graduated from ,tuskegee in #aijb4 ,while at the school he worked in the hospital1 and much of that time had charge of the drug room4 ,he is studying medicine1 and has already spent a session at ,meharry ,medical ,college1 ,nashville1 ,tennessee4 ,campbell1 ,mrs4 ,berry ,n4 7,miss ,bowen71 graduated in the class of #ahhg1 and her home has been in ,montgomery most of the time since then1 although her work at times takes her away from the city4 ,she is a trained nurse of excellent reputation and wide experience1 and has frequently been employed at ,hale's ,infirmary4 ,when ,i inquired for her she was taking care of a private case4 ,she owns two good houses on ,union ,street and on ,high ,street1 both of which ,i saw4 ,she also owns a vacant lot4 ,there were only three whose records were found to be uncertain or unsatisfactory4 ,the same kind of investigation will reveal almost similar conditions existing in a greater or less degree in other ,southern cities4 ,now let me show their life in smaller towns3 one containing between four and five thousand inhabitants4 ,some time ago ,mr4 ,bedford1 one of our trustees1 made a personal investigation in ,eufaula1 ,alabama4 ,i quote directly from ,mr4 ,bedford as to what he found3 ,sydney ,murphy graduated in #ahhg4 ,he went at once to ,eufaula4 ,for three years he taught and farmed in the country4 ,he was then made principal of the coloured public schools of the city4 ,he still holds this position1 and is now serving his thirteenth year4 ,he has a nice home in the city1 three houses that he rents1 and some vacant lots4 ,john ,jordan1 #aija1 a graduate in harness-making1 opened a shop in ,eufaula1 ,september1 #aija4 ,he reached ,eufaula with #af and a very few tools4 ,he paid #g license1 #c4ej in advance for a month's rent1 and had #e4ej for board and other expenses4 ,he curtained off a little space in his shop for a bedroom1 and with an oilstove cooked his own meals4 ,in this way he saved up #ej1 but lost it in the failure of the bank of ,eufaula4 ,he has gone right on with his business1 and now has one of the best shops in the city4 ,he has established the ,people's ,library1 which has more than #fjj volumes in it4 ,he has a reading-room and literary society over which he presides1 and is superintendent of the ,a4 ,m4 ,e4 ,sunday-school4 ,after several years at the school1 during which they worked upon the school farm1 ,frank and ,dow ,l4 ,reid left ,tuskegee at the completion of the ,b ,middle ,class4 ,frank1 the older brother1 left in the year #ahhh1 and ,dow in the year #ahia4 ,before coming to ,tuskegee1 these young men had lived upon a rented farm with their father1 but on returning home they decided to buy a farm of their own4 ,they entered into an agreement to purchase a farm of #cbj acres1 four miles from the old homestead1 and with little or no money1 but with a determination to succeed1 they began to cultivate the land4 ,they agreed to pay #e4ej per acre for the place1 and1 regardless of the fact that they had little money at the time1 they bought the farm1 paying in a few years the whole amount1 #a1gfj4 ,in addition to this farm1 the ,reid brothers1 as they are styled for miles around1 have bought another farm of #bbe acres at #aj per acre4 ,this farm is about two miles away from the place first mentioned4 ,when the final payment upon this last purchase is made in the fall1 after crops have been gathered and marketed1 a total of #d1jaj will have been made and expended for land by these young men since the younger one left ,tuskegee some twelve years ago4 ,the stock and farming implements on these farms are far superior to those seen upon most of the plantations4 ,on the farm of #cbj acres are seventeen fine horses and mules1 all large and in good condition2 there are thirty well-bred cows and fifty fine1 healthy looking hogs1 besides a large number of chickens and guineas1 which furnish plenty of eggs for the families' use4 ,the farming implements1 including plows1 mowers1 rakes1 harrows1 etc41 are of the latest patterns4 ,the four double wagons1 the single top-buggy1 the road wagon and go-cart are all in good order1 and are kept under cover when not in use4 ,we often find farmers in the ,south who1 when the crop is made1 leave the plows1 the mower1 the rake1 in fact1 all the farming implements1 standing out in the field1 exposed to wind and weather all through the winter months4 ,a visitor to the ,reid brothers' plantation will find that each piece of machinery on this plantation has a place under a shed built for the purpose1 and is kept there when not in use4 ,there are eight dwelling-houses--a four-room frame building in which the young men and their families live1 and seven log cabins in which the farmhands live with their families4 ,the first is rather old and uncomely in appearance from the outside1 but the interior is more pleasing4 ,the bedrooms are large and clean1 with sufficient windows and doors to permit of necessary ventilation during the sleeping hours4 ,the dining-room is well kept1 and the whole interior of the house presents a neat1 clean and attractive appearance4 ,this house is to be replaced by a larger one1 to be built during the winter4 ,a large cotton-gin1 with an eighty-tooth saw1 is owned and operated by these young men4 ,last year1 besides ginning the #abe bales of cotton raised upon their own plantation1 they ginned the cotton raised by nearly all the other farmers in the neighbourhood4 ,the post-office at ,dawkins was formerly about four miles from its present location1 but since the ,reid brothers settled there and the community grew so rapidly the post-office was removed to their place1 and the plantation was named ,dawkins4 ,the post-office is located in the general merchandise store of the ,reids1 and ,mr4 ,frank ,reid is postmaster4 ,there was neither a church nor a schoolhouse in the community when these young men went to ,dawkins4 ,they purchased four acres of land nearby1 and not only gave this land1 but assisted in building a comfortable church1 which has been used both as a church and a schoolhouse4 ,preaching services are held regularly in the church1 and a flourishing school is taught from seven to nine months each year4 ,last year more than one hundred boys and girls were registered4 ,mr4 ,j4 ,n4 ,calloway1 who graduated from the ,tuskegee ,institute in #ahib1 is principal of the school1 and has one assistant teacher4 ,a new two-room schoolhouse is now being built through the efforts of ,mr4 ,calloway1 and will be completed at the time of the opening of the school the latter part of next ,october4 ,i am often asked to what extent we are able to supply domestic servants directly from this institution4 ,i always answer1 ,not to any large extent1 notwithstanding the fact that women are trained here in everything relating to work in the home4 ,when a woman finishes one of our courses1 she is in demand at once at a salary three or four times as large as that paid in the average home4 ,aside from this1 we are doing a larger service by sending out over a large extent of territory strong leaders who will go into local communities and teach the lessons of home-making than we could by trying to send a cook directly into each family who applies to us4 ,the latter would be a never-ending process4 ,miss ,annie ,canty1 for example1 teaches cooking and other industries in the public schools of ,columbus1 ,georgia4 ,there is a little leaven that we hope will gradually help leaven the whole lump4 ,largely through the influence of our graduates1 cooking and other industries are being taught in many of the public schools of the ,south4 ,another young woman1 ,miss ,mary ,l4 ,mc,crary1 is doing the same thing in the ,industrial ,college for coloured people in ,oklahoma4 ,not a few of our men have become merchants1 and they are generally patronised by both races and have high commercial rating4 ,two of the best examples of this class are ,mr4 ,a4 ,j4 ,wilborn1 who is a successful merchant in the town of ,tuskegee1 and ,mr4 ,a4 ,j4 ,wood1 of ,benton1 ,alabama4 ,last ,january1 when in ,los ,angeles1 ,california1 ,i met by chance a young man who had taken a partial course in our nurse-training department4 ,i asked him if he were reflecting credit upon the ,tuskegee ,institute8 ,without a word1 he pulled out a bank-book and asked me to inspect it4 ,i found a substantial sum recorded to his credit4 ,before ,i was through with the inspection of the first bank-book1 he handed me a second which showed an amount to his credit at another bank4 ,i found that ,mrs4 ,barre1 another of our graduates1 is one of the leading trained nurses of the same city4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,spreading ,,the ,,tuskegee ,,spirit ,one of the questions most frequently asked me is1 ,to what extent are ,tuskegee graduates able to reproduce the work of the parent institution8 ,just as the ,tuskegee ,institute is an outgrowth of the ,hampton ,institute1 so other smaller schools have grown out of the ,tuskegee ,institute in various parts of the country4 ,there are at present sixteen schools of some size which have grown out of the ,tuskegee ,institute or have been organised by ,tuskegee men and women4 ,in all instances1 these schools have become large enough to be chartered under the laws of the ,state4 ,the ,vorhees ,industrial ,school at ,denmark1 ,south ,carolina1 for example1 was founded by ,elizabeth ,e4 ,wright1 class of #ahid4 ,it is now in its seventh year4 ,miss ,wright was greatly opposed at first by both the white and coloured people1 but she persevered1 and has at length overcome all opposition4 ,she has #cjj acres of land1 all paid for4 ,a large central building has been erected at a cost of #c1jjj4 ,this contains offices1 class rooms1 and a chapel that will seat #fjj4 ,this building is paid for1 and a girls' dormitory1 to cost #d1jjj1 the money for which is in the treasury1 is in process of erection4 ,the plans for both of these buildings were drawn by a ,tuskegee student4 ,a barn to cost #hjj is nearly completed1 and there are several other small buildings4 ,miss ,wright is assisted by three ,tuskegee graduates1 one as the farm superintendent1 one as treasurer and bookkeeper1 and the other as carpenter and teacher of drawing4 ,the day and boarding students number more than #cjj4 ,farming in its various branches is the principal work of the students1 but they are also taught shoemaking1 carpentry1 cooking1 sewing1 housekeeping1 and laundering1 while printing and blacksmithing are soon to be added to the course4 ,the school spent #i1jjj last year in current expenses1 building expenses1 and the purchase of land4 ,another of our graduates1 ,mr4 ,v4 ,chambliss1 has charge of the farming operations of the ,southern ,land ,improvement ,company4 ,about forty ,negro families have settled upon land controlled by this organisation1 and the number is increasing each year4 ,these families are being given the opportunity to buy their homes through their own labour and under the guidance of ,mr4 ,chambliss4 ,mr4 ,chambliss does not use the hoe himself1 for he finds it more economical to utilise his time directing the work4 ,when the world wants cotton or corn1 it cares little whether the man uses his pen or his hoe4 ,what it desires are results4 ,some men have the ability to produce fifty times as much cotton with the pen as with the hoe4 ,another example will show how our students succeed when working directly under others4 ,the letter which follows is to the point3 ,,professor ,,booker ,t4 ,,washington4 ,dear ,sir3 ,the students from your school who have been at work here during the vacation expect to return to ,tuskegee to-morrow1 and we want to say to you that these boys have demonstrated to our company the wonderful benefit of your teaching4 ,these young men have taken hold of their work in a steady and businesslike way1 and have worked uncomplainingly during the severe heat of the past summer4 ,we would like1 if it is possible1 to induce a number of your students to purchase their homes about our works in ,north ,birmingham and become regular workmen in our different shops4 ,we have a letter before us now1 written by one of your students1 ,john ,davis1 which would reflect credit on the masters of ,yale or ,harvard4 ,please accept our best wishes for the success of the grand work you have undertaken4 ,,dimmick ,,pipe ,,works ,,company1 ,birmingham1 ,alabama4 ,a conspicuous example of a ,tuskegee graduate who is using his knowledge of stock-raising in a practical way is that of ,william ,johnson ,shoals1 of ,clear ,creek1 ,indian ,territory4 ,shoals owns and operates his own stock farm1 one of the largest in the ,territory1 and has been successful from the very beginning4 ,the following letter indicates one of the ways in which we are able to assist the public-school system from time to time3 ,,ethelville1 ,,alabama1 ,june1 #aijc4 ,,professor ,b4 ,t4 ,,washington4 ,i am very anxious to afford the coloured teachers of this county the best instruction possible1 and so ,i write to ask if you cannot send us one of your teachers to conduct a ,normal ,institute1 to be held at ,carrollton1 ,june #bith to ,july #dth--a teacher whom you can recommend4 ,i am sorry to say the county has no money it can spend on this matter4 ,yours truly1 ,w4 ,h4 ,,storey1 ,county ,superintendent of ,education4 ,the following institutions have grown out of the ,tuskegee ,institute and have been chartered under the laws of their respective ,states4 ,not only have they been founded by ,tuskegee graduates1 but the officers and in many cases the entire faculty are from ,tuskegee3 ,mt4 ,meigs ,institute1 ,waugh1 ,alabama2 ,snow ,hill ,institute1 ,snow ,hill1 ,alabama2 ,vorhees ,industrial ,school1 ,denmark1 ,south ,carolina2 ,east ,tennessee ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 ,harriman1 ,tennessee2 ,robert ,hungerford ,industrial ,institute1 ,eatonville1 ,florida2 ,topeka ,educational and ,industrial ,institute1 ,topeka1 ,kansas2 ,allengreene ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 ,ruston1 ,louisiana2 ,utica ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 ,mississippi2 ,christianburg ,institute1 ,cambria1 ,virginia4 ,the story of struggle1 sacrifice and hard work connected with the founding of some of these schools is more akin to romance than to reality4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,furniture ,,and ,,repair ,,shop ,,at ,,snow ,,hill ,snow ,hill ,institute1 ,snow ,hill1 ,alabama1 by way of illustration1 was founded by ,william ,j4 ,edwards1 of the class of #ahic4 ,this school is now in its tenth year1 and was started in a one-room cabin4 ,soon after the school was established1 ,honourable ,r4 ,o4 ,simpson1 a wealthy white resident of the community1 was so impressed with its good effect upon the ,negroes of the vicinity that he gave the school forty acres of land4 ,this has been added to1 until the school now owns #afj acres1 and property to the value of #cj1jjj4 ,last year it expended #bj1jjj in its operations4 ,it has about #djj students1 #bjj of them being boarding students4 ,the following trades are taught3 ,farming1 carpentry1 wheelwrighting1 blacksmithing1 painting1 brickmaking1 printing1 sewing1 cooking1 housekeeping4 ,about twenty teachers and instructors are employed1 nearly all graduates or former students of ,tuskegee4 ,snow ,hill has sent out twenty-five graduates4 ,all are required to pass the ,state teachers' examination before graduating4 ,six of them are teachers in the ,institute4 ,the school not only has the support and the sympathy of ,mr4 ,r4 ,o4 ,simpson1 but of all the best white people in the county4 ,a little more than a year ago one of our graduates1 ,mr4 ,charles ,p4 ,adams1 established a small school at ,ruston1 ,louisiana4 ,at present the school owns twenty-five acres of land1 on which a schoolhouse costing #a1bjj has been built and paid for4 ,the school term has been extended from three to eight months1 with three teachers--all ,tuskegee graduates--and #aaj pupils4 ,in connection with the class-room work the students are taught agriculture and housekeeping4 ,all this has been done in a little more than one year with money and labour contributed by the people of both races in the community4 ,in regard to ,mr4 ,adams's work1 ,honourable ,b4 ,f4 ,thompson1 the ,mayor of ,ruston1 says1 ,professor ,adams deserves credit for what he has accomplished4 ,honourable ,s4 ,d4 ,pearce1 the representative of the parish in the ,state ,legislature1 says1 ,the school is doing fine work for the education of the coloured youth of this section of the ,state1 and ,professor ,adams is making a vigorous struggle for its advancement4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,e4 ,redwine1 ,superintendent of ,public ,instruction for the parish1 says1 ,professor ,adams is doing work in the right direction for the betterment of his race4 ,mr4 ,a4 ,j4 ,bell1 the editor of the local newspaper1 says1 ,his work in this section has been productive of incalculable good4 ,as to the work of the ,utica ,normal and ,industrial ,institute1 ,utica1 ,mississippi1 ,i will let ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,holtzclaw1 the principal1 tell in his own words3 ,illustration3 ,a ,,sewing-,,class ,,at ,,snow ,,hill ,i came here from ,snow ,hill1 ,alabama1 last ,october1 without a cent 7,i left my wife behind because of lack of means to bring her1 and ,i walked part of the way through a wild and unfrequented part of this ,state71 and started this work under a tree4 ,now we have two horses1 forty acres of land1 one cow and a calf1 a farm planted and growing1 more than #bjj students1 seven teachers1 and a building going up4 ,in all my efforts ,i have had the wise counsel and constant assistance of ,mrs4 ,holtzclaw1 without which ,i could not have made much progress4 ,harriman ,industrial ,institute1 ,harriman1 ,tennessee1 was established five years ago by ,j4 ,w4 ,oveltrea1 of the class of #ahic4 ,the school has thirty acres of land in the suburbs of ,harriman4 ,mr4 ,oveltrea and his wife are both graduates of ,tuskegee1 and they have been aided in their work by ,tuskegee graduates and students4 ,the school has four buildings and about one hundred students4 ,several trades are taught4 ,the ,robert ,hungerford ,institute1 in ,eatonville1 ,florida1 was founded by ,r4 ,c4 ,calhoun1 of the class of #ahif4 ,eatonville is about six miles from ,orlando4 ,mr4 ,calhoun had nothing to begin with but the little public school4 ,he has secured #bjj acres of land1 clear of debt1 and a year ago dedicated ,booker ,t4 ,washington ,hall1 a dormitory and class-room building1 with chapel4 ,this building1 the plans of which were drawn by a ,tuskegee graduate1 cost #c1jjj4 ,the trades taught are farming1 wheelwrighting1 painting1 carpentry1 sewing1 cooking and laundering4 ,miss ,nathalie ,lord1 one of my early teachers at ,hampton1 is a trustee of this school4 ,the school is now in its fourth year4 ,it has forty boarding students and nearly one hundred day students4 ,mrs4 ,calhoun1 who is her husband's assistant1 was a student at ,tuskegee1 as was also the man who has charge of the blacksmith and wheelwright shops4 ,nearly three years ago1 three of our graduates1 under the leadership of one of our teachers1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,n4 ,calloway1 went to ,africa under the auspices of the ,german government1 to introduce cotton-raising among the natives4 ,at the end of the second year the ,german officials were so pleased that they employed three other students4 ,at the end of the fourth year the experiment was successful to the extent that a hundred bales of cotton have been shipped from the colony of ,togo1 ,africa1 to ,berlin4 ,only a few months ago the ,german officials were kind enough to send me several pairs of hose made from cotton raised by our students4 ,since beginning this experiment1 we have received applications from both ,english and ,belgian cotton-raising companies that wish to secure ,tuskegee men to introduce cotton-raising in their ,african possessions4 ,the ,porto ,rican ,government makes an annual appropriation for the purpose of maintaining eighteen students at ,tuskegee in order that they may learn our methods4 ,the ,haytian ,government has recently arranged to send a number of young men here1 mainly with the view of their being trained in farming4 ,besides1 we have students present from the ,west ,indies1 ,africa1 and several ,south ,american countries4 ,while speaking of the ,tuskegee missionary spirit1 it is interesting to note the effect that the industrial training given by our graduates has had upon the morals and manner of living among the natives of ,africa in ,togoland4 ,missionaries have been working among these people for many years1 and very effectively1 and yet training in carpentry and cotton-raising had results that the academic and religious teaching had not accomplished4 ,when the natives are taught the ,bible1 and the heart and the head are educated1 the tendency is for them to become teachers or traders4 ,in the latter case1 their learning brings them too frequently into contact with unscrupulous ,european traders from whom they acquire habits of gambling1 cheating1 drinking1 etc4 ,in addition to this1 when they begin merchandising1 the natives find that it is to their advantage to have more than one wife1 since their wives are able to help them in selling in the markets and through the country districts4 ,the young people who went to ,africa from ,tuskegee found that this problem greatly perplexed the missionaries1 but wherever these natives were given work on the plantations1 and employed their muscles as well as their brains1 a change for the better was soon apparent4 ,it is usually true that when a native is kept employed in one place1 he will begin to build a home1 consisting of a number of huts2 he will clear a farm or plantation1 and stock it with cattle1 sheep1 pigs and fowls4 ,he will plant vegetables1 corn1 cassava1 yams1 etc4 ,this happened among the ,africans who were employed on the plantations cultivated by our graduates4 ,the wives and children of these labourers were given work on the farms1 and it has been found that few of them gamble1 steal and cheat1 as do those who wander to and fro without employment4 ,such natives as these cotton-growers are more easily reached by missionary effort1 and when they are converted to the ,christian religion1 if they remain on the farms1 they seldom fall back into paganism4 ,i have been informed that it is a general opinion among the missionaries in ,togoland that industrial education will be a main-stay in future effort1 and that such teaching will be introduced in the missionary institutions as rapidly as possible4 ,since the young men went out from ,tuskegee1 a decided change has been noticed in the sanitation and mode of living in the towns near which they are located4 ,much of this betterment has been the direct result of the lessons learned by the natives from seeing our carpenter build houses1 and observing our graduates' habits of life4 ,the natives seemed anxious to learn1 and the ,tuskegee colony received many applications from the women to have their daughters come and live with the ,american women in order that they might learn the new customs1 especially the art of sewing1 cooking1 and doing housework4 ,few of the huts had shutters or doors when our graduates first went to the colony--bedsteads were unknown2 but now many of the huts have outside shutters1 and their inmates have learned how to construct comfortable beds for themselves4 ,many who formerly bathed in streams now have bath-houses back of their huts4 ,on ,sunday1 all work on the plantations of the ,tuskegee party was suspended1 except caring for the stock and other necessary duties1 and this1 too1 had its effect on the natives1 who were inclined to accept our religious observance of the day4 ,many now dress in holiday attire on ,sunday1 and go to the nearest mission4 ,the ,tuskegee party settled about sixty miles from the coast1 where no wagons or carts were used for conveying produce or material4 ,the native men and women carried all freight in sixty-pound loads on their heads1 and were able to travel fifteen to twenty miles a day4 ,on these round trips of ten days1 the women carried their small children with them1 and during their frequent halts came into contact with the rough and demoralising element of the trading-post1 and with other degrading influences4 ,this mode of transportation seemed very unsatisfactory to the ,tuskegee young men1 who introduced carts and wagons drawn by men4 ,this allowed the women and children to remain at home and look after the farms and their household duties1 while the men made the trips to the coast4 ,young girls1 just growing into womanhood1 are no longer compelled to meet the many bad influences formerly encountered on the trips to the coast4 ,the use of farm machinery in the colony has relieved the women and girls of much drudgery4 ,they used to prepare the land with the crudest hoes and plows4 ,this is now done with improved ,american implements4 ,the ,germans have been so strongly impressed with these effects of industrial training upon the natives1 that they have decided to introduce into all the schools of that colony a system for the training of boys in hand work4 ,with the assistance of the chiefs1 improved methods of agriculture and handicraft will be spread among the tribes of that region4 ,i do not wish my readers to get the impression that all of ,tuskegee's men and women have succeeded1 because they have not4 ,a few have failed miserably1 much to our regret1 but the percentage of failures is so small that they are more than overshadowed by those who have been1 in the fullest sense of the word1 successful4 ,despite all that ,i have said1 the work has merely begun4 ,i believe we have found the way4 ,our endeavour will be to continue to pursue it faithfully1 actively1 bravely1 honestly4 ,with sufficient means1 such work as ,i have indicated could be greatly increased4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,negro ,,education ,,not ,a ,,failure ,several persons holding high official position have said recently that it does not pay1 from any point of view1 to educate the ,negro2 and that all attempts at his education have so far failed to accomplish any good results4 ,the ,southern ,states1 which out of their poverty are contributing rather liberally for the education of all the people1 as does individual and organised philanthropy throughout the country1 have a right to know whether the ,negro is responding to the efforts they have made to place him upon a higher plane of civilisation4 ,will it pay to invest further money in this direction8 ,in seeking to answer this question1 it is hardly fair to compare the progress of the ,american ,negro with that of the ,american white man1 who1 in some unexplained way1 got thousand of years ahead of the ,negro in the arts and sciences of civilisation4 ,but to get at the real facts and the real capability of the black man1 compare for a moment the ,american ,negro with the ,negro in ,africa1 or the black man with the black man4 ,in ,south ,africa alone there are five million black people who have never been brought1 through school or other agencies1 into contact with a higher civilisation in a way to have their minds or their ambitions strengthened or awakened4 ,as a result1 the industries of ,south ,africa languish and refuse to prosper for lack of labour4 ,the native black man refuses to labour because he has been neglected4 ,he has few wants and little ambition1 and these can be satisfied by labouring one or two days out of the seven4 ,in the southern part of the ,united ,states there are more than eight millions of my race who1 both by contact with the whites and by education in the home1 in school1 in church1 have had their minds awakened and strengthened--have thus had their wants increased and multiplied many times4 ,hence1 instead of a people in idleness1 we have in the ,south a people who are anxious to work because they want education for their children2 they want land and houses1 and churches1 books1 and papers4 ,in a word1 they want the highest and best in our civilisation4 ,looked at1 then1 from the most material and selfish point of view1 it has paid to awaken the ,negro's mind1 and there should be no limit placed upon the development of that mind4 ,does the ,american ,negro take advantage of opportunities to secure education8 ,practically no schoolhouse has been opened for the ,negro since the war that has not been filled4 ,often hungry and in rags1 making heroic sacrifices1 the ,negro youth has been determined to annihilate his mental darkness4 ,with all his disadvantages1 the ,negro1 according to official records1 has blotted out #ee4e per cent4 of his illiteracy since he became a free man1 while practically #ie per cent4 of the native ,africans are illiterate4 ,after years of civilisation and opportunity1 in ,spain1 #fh per cent4 of the population are illiterate2 in ,italy1 #ch per cent4 ,in the average ,south ,american country about #hj per cent4 are illiterate1 while after forty years the ,american ,negro has only #dd4e per cent4 of illiteracy to his debit4 ,i have thus compared the progress of my race1 not with the highest civilised nations1 for the reason that1 in passing judgment upon us1 the world too often forgets that1 either consciously or otherwise1 because of geographical or physical proximity to the ,american white man1 we are being compared with the very highest civilisation that exists4 ,but when compared with the most advanced and enlightened white people of the ,south1 we find #ab per cent4 of illiteracy for them and only #dd per cent4 for our race4 ,having seen that the ,american ,negro takes advantage of every opportunity to secure an education1 ,i think it will surprise some to learn to what an extent the race contributes toward its own education and works in sympathetic touch with the whites at the ,south4 ,in emphasising this fact1 ,i use the testimony of the best ,southern white men4 ,says the ,state ,superintendent of ,education of ,florida in one of his recent official reports3 ,the following figures are given to show that the education of the ,negroes of ,middle ,florida 7the ,black ,belt of ,florida7 does not cost the white people of that section one cent4 ,in those eight ,black ,belt counties1 the total cost of the ,negro schools is #ai1deg4 ,the total contributed by the ,negro in direct and indirect taxes amounted to #bc1ihd1 thus leaving a difference of #d1ebg1 which1 according to the ,superintendent1 went into the white schools4 ,in ,mississippi1 for the year ending in #ahii1 according to an eminent authority1 the ,negroes had expended on their schools about #bj per cent4 of the total school fund1 or a total of about #bej1jjj4 ,during the same year they paid toward their own education1 in poll taxes1 ,state1 county and city taxes1 and indirect taxes1 about #bhj1jjj1 or a surplus of about #cj1jjj4 ,so that1 looked at from any point of view1 it would seem that the ,negroes in that ,state are in a large measure paying for their own education4 ,illustration3 ,,typesetting--,,printing ,,office ,but with all the ,negro is doing for himself1 with all the white people in the ,south are doing for themselves1 and despite all that one race is doing to help the other1 the present opportunities for education are woefully inadequate for both races4 ,in the year #ahgg-gh the total expenditure for education in the ex-slave ,states was a beggarly #b4fa per capita for whites and only #a4ji for blacks2 on the same basis the ,u4 ,s4 ,commissioner of ,education calculates that for the year #aijj-ja1 #ce1djj1jjj was spent for the education of both races in the ,south1 of which #f1jjj1jjj went to ,negroes1 or #d4ib per capita for whites and #b4ba for blacks4 ,on the same basis1 each child in ,massachusetts costs the taxpayers for its education #bb4ce1 and each one in ,new ,york #bj4ec yearly4 ,from both a moral and religious point of view1 what measure of education the ,negro has received has been repaid1 and there has been no step backward in any ,state4 ,not a single graduate of the ,hampton ,institute or of the ,tuskegee ,institute can be found to-day in any jail or ,state penitentiary4 ,after making careful inquiry1 ,i cannot find a half-dozen cases of a man or woman who has completed a full course of education in any of our reputable institutions like ,hampton1 ,tuskegee1 ,fisk or ,atlanta1 who are in prisons4 ,the records of the ,south show that #ij per cent4 of the coloured people in prisons are without knowledge of trades1 and #fa per cent4 are illiterate4 ,this statement alone disproves the assertion that the ,negro grows in crime as education increases4 ,if the ,negro at the ,north is more criminal than his brother at the ,south1 it is because of the employment which the ,south gives him and the ,north denies him4 ,it is not the educated ,negro who has been guilty of or even charged with crime in the ,south2 it is1 as a rule1 the one who has a mere smattering of education or is in total ignorance4 ,while the ,negro may succeed in getting into the ,state prison faster1 the white man in some inexplainable manner has a way of getting out faster than the ,negro4 ,to illustrate3 the official records of ,virginia for a year show that one out of every three and one-half white men were freed from prison by executive clemency1 and that only one out of every fourteen ,negroes received such clemency4 ,in ,louisiana it is one to every four and one-half white men and one to every forty-nine ,negroes4 ,so that1 when this feature is considered1 matters are pretty well evened up between the races4 ,as bearing further upon the tendency of education to improve the morals of the ,negro and therefore to prolong his life1 no one will accuse the average ,new ,york insurance company of being guided by mere sentiment toward the ,negro in placing its risks2 with the insurance company it is a question of cold business4 ,a few months ago the chief medical examiner for the largest industrial insurance company in ,america stated that1 after twenty years' experience and observation1 his company had found that the ,negro who was intelligent1 who worked regularly at a trade or some industry and owned his home1 was as safe an insurance risk as a white man in the same station of life4 ,not long ago1 a ,southern white man residing in the town of ,tuskegee1 who represents one of the largest and most wealthy accident and casualty companies in ,new ,york1 wrote to his company to the effect that while he knew his company refused to insure the ordinary1 ignorant coloured man1 at the ,tuskegee ,institute there were some #aej officers and instructors who were persons of education and skill1 with property and character1 and that he1 a ,southern white man1 advised that they be insured on the same terms as other races1 and within a week the answer came back1 ,insure without hesitation every ,negro on the ,tuskegee ,institute grounds of the type you name4 ,the fact is1 that almost every insurance company is now seeking the business of the educated ,negro4 ,if education increased the risk1 they would seek the ignorant ,negro rather than the educated one4 ,as bearing further upon the effect of education upon the morals of the ,negro during the last forty years1 let us go into the heart of the ,black ,belt of ,mississippi and inquire of ,alfred ,holt ,stone1 a large and intelligent cotton planter1 as to the progress of the race4 ,mr4 ,stone says3 ,the last census shows that the ,negro constitutes #hg4f per cent4 of the population of the ,yazoo-,mississippi delta4 ,yet we hear of no black incubus2 we have had few midnight assassinations1 and fewer lynchings4 ,the violation by a ,negro of the person of a white woman is with us an unknown crime2 nowhere else is the line marking the social separation of the two races more rigidly drawn2 nowhere are the relations between the two more kindly4 ,with us1 race riots are unknown1 and we have but one ,negro problem--though that constantly confronts us--how to secure more ,negroes4 ,there are few higher authorities on the progress of the ,negro than ,joel ,chandler ,harris1 of the ,atlanta ,constitution4 ,mr4 ,harris had opportunity to know the ,negro before the war1 and he has followed his progress closely in freedom4 ,in a statement published recently ,mr4 ,harris says3 ,in spite of all1 however1 the condition of the ,negro has been growing better4444 ,we cannot fairly judge a race1 or a country1 or a religious institution1 or a social organisation1 or society itself1 nay1 not the republic in which we take pride1 unless we measure it by the standard set up by the men who are its best representatives4 ,we are in such a furious hurry4 ,we are placed in a position of expecting a race but a few years from inevitable ignorance imposed on it by the conditions of slavery to make the most remarkable progress that the world has ever heard of1 and when we discover that in the nature of things this is impossible1 we shake our heads sadly and are ready to lose heart and hope4 ,the point ,i desire to make is that the overwhelming majority of the ,negroes in all parts of the ,south1 especially in the agricultural regions1 are leading sober and industrious lives4 ,a temperate race is bound to be industrious1 and the ,negroes are temperate when compared with the whites4 ,even in the towns the majority of them are sober and industrious4 ,the idle and criminal classes among them make a great show in the police court records1 but right here in ,atlanta the respectable and decent ,negroes far outnumber those who are on the lists of the police as old or new offenders4 ,i am bound to conclude from what ,i see all about me1 and from what ,i know of the race elsewhere1 that the ,negro1 notwithstanding the late start he has made in civilisation and enlightenment1 is capable of making himself a useful member in the communities in which he lives and moves1 and that he is becoming more and more desirous of conforming to all the laws that have been enacted for the protection of society4 ,some time ago ,i sent out letters to representative ,southern men1 covering each ex-slave state1 asking them1 judging by their observation in their own communities1 what effect education had upon the ,negro4 ,to those questions ,i received #acf replies as follows3 #a4 ,has education made the ,negro a more useful citizen8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #aba2 no1 #d2 unanswered1 #aa4 #b4 ,has it made him more economical and more inclined to acquire wealth8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #ih2 no1 #ad2 unanswered1 #bd4 #c4 ,does it make him a more valuable workman1 especially where skill and thought are required8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #acb2 no1 #b2 unanswered1 #b4 #d4 ,do well-trained1 skilled ,negro workmen find any difficulty in securing work in your community8 ,answers3 ,no1 #aag2 yes1 #d2 unanswered1 #ae4 #e4 ,are coloured men in business patronised by the whites in your community8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #ib2 no1 #i2 unanswered1 #ce4 7,the large number of cases in which this question was not answered is due to scarcity of business men47 #f4 ,is there any opposition to the coloured people's buying land in your community8 ,answers3 ,no1 #abh2 yes1 #c2 unanswered1 #e4 #g4 ,has education improved the morals of the black race8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #ig2 no1 #bj2 unanswered1 #ai4 #h4 ,has it made his religion less emotional and more practical8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #aja2 no1 #af2 unanswered1 #ai4 #i4 ,is it1 as a rule1 the ignorant or the educated who commit crime8 ,answers3 ,ignorant1 #aae2 educated1 #c2 unanswered1 #ag4 #aj4 ,does crime grow less as education increases among the coloured people8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #ajb2 no1 #ai2 unanswered1 #ae4 #aa4 ,is the moral growth of the ,negro equal to his mental growth8 ,answers3 ,yes1 #ee2 no1 #df2 unanswered1 #ce4 ,but it has been said that the ,negro proves economically valueless in proportion as he is educated4 ,all will agree that the ,negro in ,virginia1 for example1 began life forty years ago in complete poverty1 scarcely owning clothing or a day's food4 ,from an economic point of view1 what has been accomplished for ,virginia alone largely through the example and work of the graduates of ,hampton and other large schools in that state8 ,the reports of the ,state ,auditor show that the ,negro to-day owns at least one twenty-sixth of the total real estate in that commonwealth exclusive of his holdings in towns and cities1 and that in the counties east of the ,blue ,ridge ,mountains he owns one-sixteenth4 ,in ,middlesex ,county he owns one-sixth2 in ,hanover one-fourth4 ,in ,georgia1 the official records show that1 largely through the influence of educated men and women from ,atlanta schools and others1 the ,negroes added last year #a1ebf1jjj to their taxable property1 making the total amount upon which they pay taxes in that ,state alone #af1gjj1jjj4 ,from nothing to #af1jjj1jjj in one ,state in forty years does not seem to prove that education is hurting the race4 ,relative progress has been made in ,alabama and other ,southern ,states4 ,every man or woman who graduates from the ,hampton or ,tuskegee ,institutes1 who has become intelligent and skilled in any one of the industries of the ,south1 is not only in demand at an increased salary on the part of my race1 but there is equal demand from the white race4 ,one of the largest manufacturing concerns in ,birmingham1 ,alabama1 keeps a standing order at the ,tuskegee ,institute to the effect that it will employ every man who graduates from our foundry department4 ,when the ,south had a wholly ignorant and wholly slave ,negro population1 she produced about #d1jjj1jjj bales of cotton2 now she has a wholly free and partly educated ,negro population1 and the ,south produces nearly #aj1jjj1jjj bales of cotton1 besides more food products than were ever grown in its history4 ,it should not be overlooked that it is not the ,negro alone who produces cotton1 but it is his labour that produces most of it4 ,and while he may pay a small direct tax1 his labour makes it very convenient for others to pay direct taxes4 ,judged purely from an economic or industrial standpoint1 the education of the ,negro is paying1 and will pay more largely in the future in proportion as educational opportunities are increased4 ,a careful examination shows that1 of the men and women trained at the ,hampton and ,tuskegee schools1 not ten per cent4 can be found in idleness at any season of the year4 ,years ago some one asked an eminent clergyman in ,boston if ,christianity is a failure4 ,the ,reverend doctor replied that it had never been tried4 ,when people are bold enough to suggest that the education of the ,negro is a failure1 ,i reply that it has never been tried4 ,the fact is that #dd4e per cent4 of the coloured people of this country to-day are illiterate4 ,a very large proportion of those classed as educated have the merest smattering of knowledge1 which means practically no education4 ,can the ,negro child get an education in school four months and out of school eight months8 ,can the white child of the ,south who receives #d4ib per capita for education1 or the black child who receives #b4ba1 be said to be given an equal chance in the battle of life1 or has education been tried on them8 ,the official records in ,louisiana1 for instance1 show that less than one-fourth of the ,negro children of school age attend any school during the year4 ,this one-fourth was in school for a period of less than five months1 and each ,negro child of school age in the ,state had spent on him for education last year but #a4hi1 while each child of school age in the ,state of ,new ,york had spent on him #bj4ec4 ,in the former slave ,states ninety per cent4 of the ,negro children of school age did not attend school for six months during the year #aijj4 ,wherever the race is given an opportunity for education1 it takes advantage of that opportunity1 and the change can be seen in the improved material1 educational1 moral and religious condition of the masses4 ,contrast two townships1 one in ,louisiana1 where the race has had little chance1 with one in ,farmville1 ,virginia1 by means of the ,united ,states ,bulletin of the ,department of ,labour4 ,in the ,louisiana township only #aj per cent4 attend school1 and they attend for but four months in a year1 and #ga per cent4 of the people are illiterate4 ,and as a result of this ignorance and neglect1 we find that only #ej per cent4 of the people living together as man and wife are legally married4 ,largely through the leadership of ,hampton graduates1 #ef per cent4 of the black children in ,farmville1 ,virginia1 attend either public or private school from six to eight months4 ,there is only #ci per cent4 of illiteracy4 ,practically all the people living together as man and wife are legally married1 and in the whole community only #ae per cent4 of the births are illegitimate4 ,but the vital point which ,i want to emphasise is the disposition of the ,negro to exercise self-help in the building up of his own schools in connection with the ,state public school system4 ,wherever we send out from ,tuskegee1 or any of our ,southern colleges1 a ,negro leader of proper character1 he shows the people in most cases how to extend the school term beyond the few months provided for by the ,state4 ,out of their poverty the ,southern ,states are making a tremendous effort to extend and improve the school term each year1 but while this improvement is taking place1 the ,negro leaders of the character to which ,i have referred must be depended upon largely to keep alive the spark of education4 ,illustration3 ,courtesy of ,the ,henderson ,lithographing ,co41 ,cincinnati1 ,o4 ,,bird',s-,,eye ,,view ,,of ,,grounds ,,and ,,buildings ,,of ,,tuskegee ,,normal ,,and ,,industrial ,,institute ,,tuskegee1 ,,alabama ,it now seems settled that the great body of our people are to reside for all time in the ,southern portion of the ,united ,states4 ,since this is true1 there is no more helpful and patriotic service than to help cement a friendship between the two races that shall be manly1 honourable1 and permanent4 ,in this work of moulding and guiding a public sentiment that shall forever maintain peace and good-will between the races on terms commendable to each1 it is on the ,negro who comes out of our universities1 colleges1 and industrial schools that we must largely depend4 ,few people realise how1 under the most difficult and trying circumstances1 during the last forty years1 it has been the educated ,negro who counselled patience and self-control and thus averted a war of races4 ,every ,negro going out from our institutions properly educated becomes a link in the chain that shall forever bind the two races together in all the essentials of life4 ,finally1 reduced to its last analysis1 there are but two questions that constitute the problem of this country so far as the black and white races are concerned4 ,the answer to the one rests with my people1 the other with the white race4 ,for my race1 one of its dangers is that it may grow impatient and feel that it can get upon its feet by artificial and superficial efforts rather than by the slower but surer process which means one step at a time through all the constructive grades of industrial1 mental1 moral1 and social development which all races have had to follow that have become independent and strong4 ,i would counsel3 ,we must be sure that we shall make our greatest progress by keeping our feet on the earth1 and by remembering that an inch of progress is worth a yard of complaint4 ,for the white race1 the danger is that in its prosperity and power it may forget the claims of a weaker people2 may forget that a strong race1 like an individual1 should put its hand upon its heart and ask1 if it were placed in similar circumstances1 how it would like the world to treat it2 that the stronger race may forget that1 in proportion as it lifts up the poorest and weakest1 even by a hair's breadth1 it strengthens and ennobles itself4 ,all the ,negro race asks is that the door which rewards industry1 thrift1 intelligence1 and character be left as wide open for him as for the foreigner who constantly comes to our country4 ,more than this1 he has no right to request4 ,less than this1 a ,republic has no right to vouchsafe4