Booker T. Washington Part 10

"The first time I ever met Mr. Rogers was in this manner: about fifteen years ago a large meeting was held in Madison Square Garden concert hall, to obtain funds for the Tuskegee Inst.i.tute. Mr. Rogers attended the meeting, but came so late that, as the auditorium was crowded, he could not get a seat. He stood in the back part of the hall, however, and listened to the speaking.

"The next morning I received a telegram from him asking me to call at his office. When I entered he remarked that he had been present at the meeting the night previous, and expected the 'hat to be pa.s.sed,' but as that was not done he wanted to 'chip in' something. Thereupon he handed me ten one-thousand-dollar bills for the Tuskegee Inst.i.tute. In doing this he imposed only one condition, that the gift should be mentioned to no one. Later on, however, when I told him that I did not care to take so large a sum of money without some one knowing it, he consented that I tell one or two of our Trustees about the source of the gift. I cannot now recall the number of times that he has helped us, but in doing so he always insisted that his name be never used. He seemed to enjoy making gifts in currency."

In an article published in _McClure's Magazine_ in May, 1902, Rear-Admiral Robley D. Evans thus describes the occasion on which he presented Booker Washington to Prince Henry of Prussia: "The first request made by Prince Henry, after being received in New York, was that I should arrange to give him some of the old Southern melodies, if possible, sung by Negroes; that he was pa.s.sionately fond of them, and had been all his life--not the ragtime songs, but the old Negro melodies. Several times during his trip I endeavored to carry out his wishes, with more or less success; but finally, at the Waldorf-Astoria, the Hampton singers presented themselves in one of the reception rooms and gave him a recital of Indian and Negro melodies. He was charmed.

And while I was talking to him, just after a Sioux Indian had sung a lullaby, he suddenly turned and said: 'Isn't that Booker T. Washington over there?' I recognized Washington and replied that it was, and he said: 'Evans, would you mind presenting him to me? I know how some of your people feel about Washington, but I have always had great sympathy with the African race, and I want to meet the man I regard as the leader of that race.' So I went at once to Washington and told him that the Prince wished him to be presented, and took him, myself, and presented him to the Prince. Booker Washington sat down and talked with him for fully ten minutes, and it was a most interesting conversation, one of the most interesting I ever heard in my life. The ease with which Washington conducted himself was very striking, and I only accounted for it afterward when I remembered that he had dined with the Queen of England two or three times, so that this was not a new thing for him. Indeed, Booker Washington's manner was easier than that of almost any other man I saw meet the Prince in this country.

The Prince afterward referred to President Roosevelt's action in regard to Booker Washington, and applauded it very highly."

In 1911 Mr. Washington visited Denmark with the particular purpose of observing the world-famed agricultural methods of that country. While in Copenhagen he was presented to the King and Queen. This experience he described on his return to this country in an article published in the New York _Age_, the well-known Negro paper, in December of the same year. The portion of the article describing his meeting with the King and Queen reads as follows:

"Soon after I entered, the Chamberlain went in and presently returned to tell me the King would be ready to see me in about five minutes. At the end of the five minutes exactly the door was opened and I found myself in the King's chamber. I had expected to see a gorgeously fitted apartment, something to compare with what I had seen elsewhere in the palace. Imagine my surprise when I found practically nothing in the room except the King, himself.

There was not a chair, a sofa, or, so far as I can recall, a single thing in the way of furniture--nothing except the King and his sword. I was surprised again, considering the formality by which he was surrounded, by the familiar and kindly manner in which the King received me, and by his excellent English. Both of us remained standing during the whole interview, which must have lasted twenty minutes. I say we remained standing, because, even had etiquette permitted it we could not have done anything else because there was nothing in the room for either of us to sit upon.

"I had been warned by the American Minister and Mr. Cavling, however, as to what might be the result of this interview.

Among other things in regard to which I had been carefully instructed by the American Minister was I must never turn my back upon the King, that I must not lead off in any conversation, that I must let the King suggest the subjects to be discussed, and not take the initiative in raising any question for discussion. I tried to follow Minister Egan's instructions in this regard as well as I could, but I fear I was not wholly successful.

"I had not been talking with the King many minutes before I found that he was perfectly familiar with the work of the Tuskegee school, that he had read much that I had written, and was well acquainted with all that I was trying to do for the Negroes in the South. He referred to the fact that Denmark was interested in the colored people in their own colony in the Danish West Indies, and that both he and the Queen were anxious that something be done for the colored people in the Danish possessions similar to what we were doing at Tuskegee. He added that he hoped at some time I would find it possible to visit the Danish West Indian Islands.

"As I have said, I had been warned as to what might be the result of this visit to the King and that I had best be careful how I made my plans for the evening. As the interview was closing, the King took me by the hand and said, 'The Queen would be pleased to have you dine at the palace to-night,' at the same time naming the hour.

"The Minister had told me that this was his way of commanding persons to dine, and that an invitation given must be obeyed. Of course I was delighted to accept the invitation, though I feared it would wreck my plans for seeing the country people. The King was so kind and put me so at my ease in his presence that I fear I forgot Minister Eagan's warning not to turn my back upon him, and I must confess that I got out of the room in about the same way I usually go out of the room when I have had an audience with President Taft.

"Leaving the King and the palace, I found out on the street quite a group of newspaper people, most of them representing American papers, who were very anxious to know, in the usual American fashion, just what took place during the interview, how long I was with the King, what we talked about, and what not. They were especially anxious to know if I had been invited to the palace for dinner."

And further on he thus describes the dinner:

"The dinner was not at the palace where I was received in the morning, but at the summer palace several miles out of Copenhagen. When I reached the hotel from the country it soon dawned upon me that I was in great danger of being late. To keep a King and Queen and their guests waiting on one for dinner would of course be an outrageous offense. I dressed as hastily as I was able, but just as I was putting on the finishing touches to my costume my white tie bursted.

I was in a predicament from which for a moment I saw no means of rescuing myself. I did not have time to get another tie, and of course I could not wear the black one. As well as I could, however, I put the white tie about my neck, fastened it with a pin, and earnestly prayed that it might remain in decent position until the dinner was over.

Nevertheless, I trembled all through the dinner for fear that my tie might go back on me.

"I succeeded in reaching the summer palace about ten minutes before the time to go into the dining-room. Here again I was met by the King's Chamberlain by whom I was conveyed through a series of rooms and, finally, into the presence of the King, who, after some conversation, led me where the Queen was standing and presented me to her. The Queen received me graciously and even cordially. She spoke English perfectly, and seemed perfectly familiar with my work. I had, however, a sneaking idea that Minister Egan was responsible for a good deal of the familiarity which both the King and Queen seemed to exhibit regarding Tuskegee.

"As I entered the reception-room there were about twenty or twenty-five people who were to be entertained at dinner. I will not attempt to describe the elegance, not to say splendor, of everything in connection with the dinner. As I ate food for the first time in my life out of gold dishes, I could not but recall the time when as a slave boy I ate my syrup from a tin plate.

"I think I got through the dinner pretty well by following my usual custom, namely, of watching other people to see just what they did and what they did not do. There was one place, however, where I confess I made a failure. It is customary at the King's table, as is true at other functions in many portions of Europe, I understand, to drink a silent toast to the King. This was so new and strange to me that I decided that, since I did not understand the custom, the best thing was to frankly confess my ignorance. I rea.s.sured myself with the reflection that people will easier pardon ignorance than pretense.

"At a certain point during the dinner each guest is expected, it seems, to get the eye of the King and then rise and drink to the health of the King. When he rises he makes a bow to the King and the King returns the bow. Nothing is said by either the King or the guest. I think practically all the invited guests except myself went through this performance. It seemed to me a very fitting way of expressing respect for the King, as the head of a nation and as a man, and now that I know something about it, I think if I had another chance I could do myself credit in that regard.

"During the dinner I had the privilege of meeting a very interesting old gentleman, now some eighty years of age, the uncle of the King, Prince ----, who spoke good English. I had a very interesting conversation with him, and since returning to America I have had some correspondence with him.

"As I have already said, the Queen Mother of England was at this time in Copenhagen, and as I afterward learned, her sister, the Queen Mother of Russia, was also there. As both of these were in mourning on account of the recent death of King Edward, they did not appear at this dinner. I was reminded of their presence, however, when as I was leaving the King's palace after my interview in the morning, one of the marshals presented me with two autograph books, with the request that I inscribe my name in them. One of the books, as I afterward learned, belonged to the Queen Mother of England; the other belonged to the Queen Mother of Russia."

A mere catalogue of the princ.i.p.al organizations which Booker T.

Washington founded for the purpose of helping his people to help themselves tells a story of constructive achievement more impressive than any amount of abstract eulogy.

The following is a list of such organizations given in chronological order with a few words of description for the purpose of identifying each:

In 1884 he founded the Teachers' Inst.i.tute, consisting of summer courses, conferences, and exhibits having as their main purpose the extension of the advantages of Tuskegee Inst.i.tute to the country school teachers of the surrounding country. The work of this Inst.i.tute is described in the chapter: "Washington, the Educator."

In 1891 he established the Annual Tuskegee Negro Conference. He decided that the school should not only help directly its own students, but should reach out and help the students' parents and the older people generally in the country districts of the State. He started by inviting the farmers and their wives in the immediate locality to spend a day at the school for the frank discussion of their material and spiritual condition to the end that the school might learn how it could best help them to help themselves. From this simple beginning the Conference has grown until it now consists of delegates from every Southern State, besides hundreds of teachers and princ.i.p.als of Negro schools, Northern men and women, publicists and philanthropists, newspaper and magazine writers, Southern white men and Southern white women, all interested in helping the simple black folk in their strivings to "quit libin' in de ashes," as one of them fervently expressed it. At one of these conferences an old preacher from a country district concluded an earnest prayer for the deliverance of his people from the bondage of ignorance with this startling sentence: "And now, O Lord, put dy foot down in our hearts and lif' us up!"

The year following Mr. Washington established a hospital in Greenwood village, the hamlet adjoining the Inst.i.tute grounds where live most of the teachers, officers, and employees. It was at first hardly more than a dispensary, but when the Inst.i.tute acquired a Resident Physician two small buildings were set aside as hospitals for men and women, respectively. Later a five-thousand-dollar building was given which served as the hospital until, in 1913, Mrs. Elizabeth A. Mason, of Boston, presented Tuskegee with a fifty-thousand-dollar splendidly equipped modern hospital, in memory of her grandfather, John A.

Andrew, the War Governor of Ma.s.sachusetts. While these hospitals, from the first humble dispensary to the fine hospital of to-day, were of course primarily for the Inst.i.tute they were in true Tuskegee fashion thrown open to all who needed them. And since the town of Tuskegee has no hospital they have always been freely used by outside colored people. Mr. Washington, himself, on his riding and hunting trips would from time to time find sick people whom he would have brought to the hospital for care.

The next year, 1893, he started the Minister's Night School. This is conducted by the Phelps Hall Bible Training School of the Inst.i.tute.

Here country ministers with large families and small means are given night courses in all the subjects likely to be of service to them from "Biblical criticism" to the "planting and cultivating of crops."

The year following Mrs. Washington began the Tuskegee Town Mothers'

Meetings. Both she and Mr. Washington had long been distressed at seeing the women and young girls loafing about the streets of the town of Tuskegee when they came to town with their husbands and fathers on Sat.u.r.day afternoons. Now, instead of loafing about the streets these women attend the Mothers' Meetings where Mrs. Washington and the various women teachers give them practical talks on all manner of housekeeping and family-raising problems from the making of preserves to proper parental care.

In 1895 the Building and Loan a.s.sociation was established. The Inst.i.tute's chief accountant is its president, and the Inst.i.tute's treasurer its secretary and treasurer. This a.s.sociation has enabled many scores of people to secure their own homes who without its aid could not have done so.

The next year the Town Night School was started. This school has as its purpose giving instruction to the boys and girls who have positions in the town which make it impossible for them to attend the Inst.i.tute, and to the servants in the white families. This school has become one of the best and strongest forces in the life of the community. As an outgrowth of it came later the Town Library and Reading Room, for which Mr. Washington personally provided the room.

There is now in this school a cooking cla.s.s for girls and several industrial cla.s.ses for boys. At the same time Mr. Washington established a Farmers' Inst.i.tute which is described in the chapter "Washington and the Negro Farmer."

In 1898 he started a County Fair to spur the ambition of the Negro farmers of the county. This Negro County Fair under his guidance grew and flourished from year to year. The whites maintained a separate County Fair. Finally the two fairs were combined, and now one of the most flourishing County Fairs in all the South is conducted, both races supporting it by making exhibits, and sharing in the success and profits of the enterprise, as well as in its general management.

In 1900 he organized the National Negro Business League, as described in the chapter, "Washington and the Negro Business Man."

Two years later he established the Greenwood Village Improvement a.s.sociation for the little community which has grown up around the school. Taxes are collected from the property holders as well as the renters for the upkeep of the roads, bridges, and fences, and a park in the centre of the village, which was introduced in emulation of the typical New England village. Just as in New England, also, this central park, or "green," is surrounded by a number of churches. An elective Board of Control presides over this village, settles disputes, and keeps the community in good repair morally and spiritually, as well as physically. On the Monday immediately following the close of a regular school term a town meeting is held at which reports are read and discussed covering every phase of the life of the community. Mr. Washington particularly enjoyed presiding at these meetings because they demonstrated what the people of his race could accomplish under a favorable and stimulating environment. He always contrived to have the meetings followed by simple refreshments and a social hour.

In 1904 he started the Rural School Improvement Campaign and the Farmers' Short Course at the Inst.i.tute, both of which are described in the chapter, "Washington, the Educator." In the same year he started a systematic effort to improve the conditions in the jails and the chain gangs and for the rehabilitation of released prisoners.

The next year he founded a weekly farm paper, a circulating library, and a Ministers' Inst.i.tute. The year after, 1906, the Jesup Agricultural Wagon--the agricultural school on wheels, which is described in the chapter, "Washington, the Educator"--was started. In 1907 the farmers' cooperative demonstration work, which has also been mentioned, was inaugurated. In 1910 the rural improvement speaking tours began. And finally, in 1914, he established "Baldwin Farms," the farming community for the graduates of the agricultural department of Tuskegee, which also has been previously described.

These, then, are some of the tangible means which Booker Washington developed during a period of thirty years for keeping in touch with his people and for keeping his people in touch with one another and with all the things which go to make up wholesome and useful living.

CHAPTER SEVEN

BOOKER WASHINGTON AND THE NEGRO FARMER

Booker T. Washington was a great believer in the experience meeting, and the Tuskegee Negro Conference, which he started in 1891, is nothing more nor less than an agricultural experience meeting. He placed his faith in the persuasive power of example--in the contagion of successful achievement. He once said: "One farm bought, one house built, one home sweetly and intelligently kept, one man who is the largest taxpayer or has the largest bank account, one school or church maintained, one factory running successfully, one truck garden profitably cultivated, one patient cured by a Negro doctor, one sermon well preached, one office well filled, one life cleanly lived--these will tell more in our favor than all the abstract eloquence that can be summoned to plead our cause. Our pathway must be up through the soil, up through swamps, up through forests, up through the streams, the rocks, up through commerce, education, and religion."

Nothing delighted Mr. Washington more than the successful Negro farmers who had started in life without money, friends, influence, or education--with literally nothing but their hands. At one of the Tuskegee conferences not many years ago his keen eyes spotted such a man in the audience and he called to him in his straight from the shoulder manner: "Get up and tell us what you have been doing as a farmer."

A tall, finely built, elderly man, looking almost like a Nubian giant, arose in his place, his face wreathed in smiles, and showing his white teeth as he spoke: "Doctor, I done 'tended one o' yore conferences here 'bout ten year ago. I heard you say dat a man ain't wurth nuthin'

as a man or a citizen 'less he owns his home, 'least one mule, and has a bank account, an' so I made up my mind dat I warn't wuth nuthin', an' so I went home an' talked de whole matter over wid de ol' woman.

We decided dat we would make a start, an' now I's proud to tell you dat I's not only got a bank account, but I's got two bank accounts, an' heah's de bank books (proudly holding on high two grimy bank books); I also own two hun'ed acres of land an' all de land is paid for. I also own two mules, an' bofe dem mules is paid for. I also own some other property, an' de ole woman an' me an' de chilluns lives in a good house an' de house is paid for. All dis come 'bout from my comin' to dis heah conference."

Another old fellow, when called upon to tell what he had accomplished, dexterously evaded the direct inquiry for some minutes, and when Mr.

Washington finally succeeded in pinning him down, said: "All I's got to say, Doctah Washington, is dat dis heah conference dun woke me up an' I'll be back heah next year wid a report jist like dese oder fellers."

Mr. Washington was a great believer in his favorite animal, the pig, as a mortgage lifter and general aid to prosperity. At one of the conferences, after he had paid a particularly warm eulogy to the economic importance of the pig, an old woman got up and said: "Mr.

Washington, you is got befo' you now Sister Nelson of Tallapoosa County, Alabama. All I has I owes to dis conference and one little puppy dog."