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THE SUNNY SOUTH
f
U/ye SUNNY SOUTH
Published Weekly by
Sunny South Publifhing Co
Businefs Office
THE CONSTITUTION BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
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lUarch 13, 11101
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The Sunny South Is the oldest weekly paper of Literature,
Romance, Fail and Fldtlon In the South & It Is now-res
Jlored to the original shape and will be published as for»
merly every week & Founded In IS74 It grew until >499,
when, as a monthly. Its form was changed as an experts
meat & It now returns to Its original formation as a
weekly with renewed vigor and the Intention of ectlpss
ing its most promising period in the past.
If
9 9
The Young Man With
Nothing But Brains
CLEVER writer in the February
fB issue of The Forum, one of. the
EE strongest contemporary magazines
%EE of current thought, contributes an
article with the above caption. So
far as it goes and in its deductions,
the article is excellent. The writer
takes the stand that gigantic combi
nations in business and a radical rev
olution in business methods, are rap
idly crowding young men of talent
to the wall, and the question natural
ly arises—where shall these young
men turn for a living, much less a
career ?
The gentleman we have quoted takes a very pes
simistic view of the situation. He augurs ill for
the “young man with nothing hut brains.’’ He pic
tures all the professions and occupations as woe
fully crowded, and presents the aspiring young mar
with two alternatives—engaging in a trivial, half
manual occupation, or stagnation. Th.s phase in
the first few paragraphs of the article. Before
the close is reached, however, he expresses the
conclusion that the best field for the man whose
brain is his capital is in exploiting the wares of the
giant trusts. The stand is taken that ideas of a
brand new stamp will be used in modern adver
tising, and that the “genius of the artist, the pho
tographer, the printer and the writer, will be laid
under tribute,’’ in this connection. That is the
sum total of the article, aside from its being a plea
for originality in ideas and life.
It sems to us that the writer takes too narrow
a view of the situation. To argue that here is no
room in the mercantile world for ambitious young
men, is to assert that our system of business, and
our expansion in commercial ideas, have reached
perfection, a statement which bears inaccuray on
its face. It is only within the last decade that the
full significance of the revolution in commerce aiifl
trade has been apparent, and its development got
ten fairly under way. It is in the memory of many
people not of age. when trusts were unknown ; in
the memory of almost as many when transporta
tion facilities were extremely primeval; and the
marvelous rapidity with which science and inven
tion have simplified merchanical problems is only
a recent story.
It is fair to presume, from these factors, that the
tale of development, in commercial, scientific and
industrial directions alike, has been but partly told.
Are we not in the earliest installments only? If
such be the case, the chances for the young man
with brains almost defy enumeration. There are
improvement to be made in many present methods
—radical improvements; there are practically new
industries to be created; there are new demands
every days from a people being rapidly enlightened
and metamorphosed intellectually, and these de
mands will have to be met by men of brains and
superlative industry. If life in the twentieth cen
tury, in its outward appearances, bears so little re-
emblance to life in the earlier part of the nine
teenth, have we not logical reason to believe that
the next hundred years will work revolutions just
as mightv? And will not these revolutions require
the energv and cooperation, and will they not be
dominated by this same young man of brains, who
isbeing taught to fear that his vocation is rapidly
becoming narrowed ?
The man with "nothing but brains’’ has a price
less heritage. It is sensible to wish, however, that
wfth brains pure and simple, will come also com
mon sense and practical application. The two '
admirably under the same yoke. But separated
they are usually, weak, inefficient forces.
Old and New Books and
Friends
ESPITE the fact that this is an ex-
ceptionally busy age, and that com-
m' 1 mercial pursuits are absorbing some
EsJ of our best minds nowadays, books
exercise a peculiar potency over our
everyday lives. The average busi
ness man and woman read more than
they are giving credit for, and the
printed page, inasmuch as it gener
ally catches us when the mind is
stripped of conventional safeguards,
exercise a degree of influence over
our thoughts and actions of which
we are not, perhaps, fully aware.
But for the very reason that the
reading time of a busy person is greatly restricted
it is easy to form the habit of sticking to old books
—that is, those which have been read and reread
and with the characters and plots of which we are
perfectly familiar. The same cause moves us to
keep our circle of friends constricted, and the con
sequence is that we rarely get out of a beaten path.
It is perfectly natural that old books should
have the preference, when we must measure the
timfe to be given to mental diversion. Through
long acquaintance we have become familiar with
the scenes which we may expect to encounter;
some new oddity or strength strikes us in each
character as we read more for reflection and less
for the narrative; we do not fear being suddenly
roused out of mental serenity by uncongenial de
velopments or those for which we are not pre
pared; and gradually we begin to feel a sense of
participation or proprietorship, which is surely re
freshing, and a splendid antidote for the worries
and weariness of the day.
So it is with the circle of people with whom we
are wont to associate. They suit our little pecu
liarities; we find pleasure in their company, and
they supply the needs which the nature of every
socially inclined individual demands. If we are of
a weakish temperament, we chose our friends
among those who are merciful to our foibles; and
if we are looking for sympathy or a trend toward
development, we are pretty apt to go to the saint
market for it all the time.
It is this very keeping ourselves unconsciously
behind figurative walls that robs us of the fullest
fruition of our powers. One of the happiest phases
of nearly every human temperament, and one
which if properly utilized rarely weakens with age,
is that of being influenced by outside agencies. If
we deny ourselves admission to new fields of liter
ature, or refrain from mingling with strange peo
ple, and viewing the world through their eyes, we
are wrongfully neglecting this faculty. It may cost
an effort to break ourselves of long-lived and pow
erful habits. But, like the small bov about to take
his icy morning plunge, when once it’s done we
feel an immediate benefit, and still greater ones in
the future, which open up a thousand new bypaths
and keep the mind strong and active against^ the
approach of old-fogyism.
There is this to be said, too. in favor of discrimi
nate selections among new books and new friends.
In addition to new and helpful points of view,
thoughts that vivify and ideas which we may use
in our everyday life, they keep us informed of cur
rent events in the world’s, work. And there is this
on the side of the late book: that it generally re
cords, in a palateable form, and commonsense, ra
tional language, every sociological, industrial and ■
political development of which wc should be cogni
zant.
True, we find life hardly endurable without old
books and old friends. All the same, in justice to
yourself and others, don’t forget new ones.
Oratorical Gift l)al=
Nowadays?
HERE is no doubt that oratory, if we
r confine ourselves to a literal defini
tion of the word, has declined during
the past few years, at least in point
of usage by prominent men. The per-
fervid brand, or that in which elo
quence rages rampant at the ex
pense of logic, is almost extinct, or
its use restricted to ornate, decora
tive .occasions, where no substantial
consideration is involved, and the
main motive is to tickle the intellec
tual palate of the audience. It mav
be said that America has set the
fashion for what may be called com
mercial spech-making, or that in which th speaker
(ieals with cold facts, employs reasoning in place
of eloquence, and strives to convince his hearers,
rather than to stampede them into a conclusion
with a jumbled mass of irrelevant metaphors and
similes.
If we take the trouble to examine reports of
speeches delivered in congress during the last ten
years, we shall discover that figures involving nu
merals largely predominate over flowery figures
of mere grammar; that appeals are made rather
more to the commopsense of the audience than to
its sentiment or emotion; and that often there are
artful plays upon the selfishness of a certain class—
one of the most effective forms of oratory. This
same method is employed almost exclusively on
the hustings. Necessarily, there is more of an ap
peal to passion and prejudice, and ridicule is like
wise a powerful weapon. But on the whole, our
observations will tend to the conviction that ora
tory of the modern variety has been stripped of
all needless verbage, and brought down to the point
where every word'and sentence is carefully weigh
ed and calculated to produce a certain given effect.
We have heard it lamented that audiences now
adays are growing deplorably matter-of-fact, and
that the utmost effort on the part of a gifted orator
frequently fails to arouse any degree of enthusiasm.
This may apply, we think, where indifferent sub
jects, or those which have been threshed thread
bare, are under discussion. But eloquence pure
and simple must today reach its highest utility in
treating of topics which are new to the public
mind. There is a long list of such topics, and to
the man who is willing to study there is an im
mense and profitable field open.
New scientific discoveries of a nature to shake
the very foundation of some of our most respecta
ble theories; new phases in the commercial world
which have been created by events of the last ten
or fifteen years; industrial problems which are fas
cinating through the fact that they involve the lives
and welfare of millions of people. This is only a
crude summary of the many fresh topics crowding
themselves upon public attention. So that the man
who proposes making a living by oratory must be a
close student, a keen observer and a ready and
sympathetic talker. Eloquence, of course, will be
found useful in certain directions, but it would
be well for the man who employs it to "bear in
mind Thomas B. Reed’s definition: “Eloquence is
logic on fire.” /
To gain the best profits and effect from oratory
it seems wise, then, that it should be used merely
as a means to an end—not the end itself. It be
hooves, the aspirant to keep this in view, for if he
does not, he: will speedily find himself in a very
isolated and indifferently successful class.
^ Slfie WeeK in a Busy World
RESIDENT,
JOHN MITCHELL,
of the United Mine
Workers’ Union,
who has just been
exonerated from the
charges preferred
against him by
Miss Meredith, is
one of the young
est and at the same
time most widely
known of the labor
leaders in the coun-
Pres. Mitchell try. He began his
career as a laborer in the coal mines of
Illinois when he was a child of 15, and
improved his mind by hard study at
night and in his other hours of leisure,
which were few. At 16 Mr. Mitchell
joined the Knights of Labor, but took no
conspicuous part in the affairs of that
order until 1§95, when he. became secre
tary and treasurer of the north Illinois
subdistrict. Two years subsequently he
was made a member of the Illinois min
ers’ executive committee, and was-elect
ed president of the national organization
in 189S. Since that time he has .been
the principal leader in all the affairs of
the United Mine Workers’ Union.
NE of the most
pleasant things
Marconi takes to
Europe with him is
the tribute paid by
Thomas Alva Edi
son. the “wizard of
Menlo Park.” When
it was first an
nounced that the
wireless inventor
had Hashed a signal
across the Atlantic,
Edison was inclined
Thos. M. Edison to be doubtful, biu
as soon as the marvelous young Italian
declared over his own signature that the
signal was a fact. Edison was the first
to send him his heartiest congratulations.
“Since Marconi has stated over his own
signature,” wrote Edison, “that he has
received the signal from England, I be
lieve him. I think he will carry it to a
commercial success. It is a great achieve
ment, and he is a great experimenter.”
Marconi reveres Edison and treasures
this sincere tribute from the great Amer
ican inventor.
The young inventor is also very promi
nently In the public eye at present by
reason of the formal breaking of the en
gagement between Miss Holman and
himself,
signed.
Dr. Rlxey
partment of the service,
No reason has been publicly as-
R. PRESLEY MA
RION R1XEY, who
has just been nom
inated surgeon gen
eral of the navy,
has been a capable
and a popular offi-
cer of thac service
since 1874. He is a
native of Virginia,
entered the navy
when 24 years old
and has served in
numerous positions
in the medical de-
Dr. Dixey was
_ close and warm friend of President Mc
Kinley, whose confidence and esteem he
enjoyed in the highest degree and who
had promised to nominate him for the
surgeon generalship, a promise President
Roosevelt has ratified.
Dr Rixev’s splendid conduct of the Mc
Kinley case, when the former president
was stricken by an assassin s bullet at
Buffalo, has made him a popular hero.
He has acted as Mrs. McKinley's per
sonal adviser ever since the president's
death.
Miss Mary Johnston, the well-known
author, who is reported ill in. Baltimore,
first sprang into fame with the wide
spread success of her novel. “To Have
and To Hold.” She is a native of Buch
anan. one of the most picturesque towns
of Virginia. Her father is a prominent
lawyer, who was a major of artillery
in the civil war. and who for many years
has made his home in Birmingham, Ala.,
which has also been the home of his
talented daughter. Miss Johnston's ill
ness is not of a serious nature.
W*
I R ROB ERT
GRIFFEN.who pre
dicts a tremendous
deficit in the
finances. of the
British government
and who proposes
now methods of
taxation, to raise
the needed money,,
is a foremost sta
tistician of England
nnd one of the
. world’s authorities
Sir Robt. Griffon in that line. .He
has held a number of official positions,
although at present he is devoting most
of his time to private, work. Sir Robert
is a fellow of the Royal Society and
was created a knight of the Bath seven
years ago.
The prognostications of Sir Robert
have created a great sensation, and his
utterances are being quoted and com
mented on in the leading newspapers to
a great extent.
EV. CHARLES
W ILBDR D E
LYON NICHOLS,
who has leaped into
instantaneous noto
riety by constitut
ing himself the ar
biter of social dis
tinction in America,
has one. of the most
remarkable pedi
grees in the coun
try. He is alineal
descendant of King
Dr. Nichols Robert IT, of Scot
land, through three maternal lines of
ancestors. Dr. Nichols also traces his
pedigree in a double line to the marquis
of Aylesford. On his father’s side he is
descended from the royal house . of
Bruce. His American ancestor. Sir Rich
ard Nichols, was the first English gov
ernor of New York. Lr. Nichols is a
Roman Catholic priest, and preaches to
a charge in the town of Nichols, Conn.
Those upon whom he has put the stamp
of his approval think well of his pecu
liar classification, but competent critics
who have no axes to grind think other
wise.
»*?
ENERAL LOYD
.WHEATON, of the
United States force
in the Philippines,
has been severely-
attacked in the
United States sen
ate for an inter
view cabled from
Manila, part of
which is considered
a criticism of the
position of the roi-
-nori'.y in the senate.
Gen. Wheaton Senators Dubois,
Teller and c'thers made heated references
to General Wheaton. Senator Dubois say
ing that while he did not know who Gen
eral Wheaton was, he supposed he was
“some charity boy appointed to West
Point by a senator or representative an.l
since supported’by the government.” It
is probable General Wheaton will be re
proved by, the war department if it is
shown he criticised the official actions
of senators.
General Wheaton has been in the Phil
ippines three years, and has participated
in the most important engagements in
the islands, notably the chase after
Aguinaldo. He entered the army during
the civil war as sergeant of the Eighth
Illinois volunteers, and rose to be colonel
of that regiment. ■ lie is not a West
Pointer, but was appointed captain in
the regular army in 1866 from among
the volunteers of the civil war. He has
received several brevets nnd a medal
from congress for meritorious service.
Need of
*
Home Service Training; and What
Is Being Done
Discussed by BOOKER WASHINGTON
Written for TIhe Stinny South
ECENTLY there have ap-
peari iTin The Atlanta Con
stitution several editorials
on the subject of the home
service training schools.
In brief, these editorials
comme-nted on the educa
tion and training of young
persons, for home service
as oiyj of the growing
needs <>i? the south.
It isf undoubtedly true
that in | the best of homes
throughout the south there
is a constant demand for family household
servants capable of taking charge of do
mestic arrangements, such as house clean
ing, family sewing, the purchase of minor
supplies, and assistance to children in
their personal needs and primary studies.
Perhaps in introducing what is to follow
—a splendid interview with that doyen of
negro leaders along industrial lines,
Booker T. Washington—this extract from
a recent editorial in The Constitution will
not be amiss:
“It is not our purpose to decry’ the ef
forts which have been made in some of
our schools for the education of young
women in the arts of home service. But
what those schools need to do more effec
tively is to teach their pupils that house
labor is not menial ind degrading service.
No greater work of beneficence, especially
to the colored young woman of the south,
can be done for them than to educate
them ouit of the idea that they should find
fheir careers cither in teaching wayside
schools or in setting up home work shops
in w'hich to employ their knowledge of
cooking and sewing for the support of
some lazy lout of a husband. On the
other hand, when these schools will be
gin to turn out annually’ large classes
of household servants specially trained to
the care of children and the conducting of
domestic affairs of the home, they will
find that popularity immensely augment
ed and the public willingness to support
their work manifested in fhe most liberal
fashions.”
At the request of the editor of The Sun
ny South, I took up this matter with
Booker Washington and secured from
him a statement that seems to cover fully
all the points made, and which leads to
the belief that there is in rapid progress
a betterment of the conditions justly crit
icised by' The Constitution. Booker
Washington said:
Booker Waihin^ton’s Views
"You ask for my opinion concerning
the editorials and other matter recently
appearing in The Constitution on the sub
ject of training for domestic service in
fhe south. I have read these editorials
with much interest and am very glad to
note that lit is being taken up and dis
cussed so vigorously.. The southern peo
ple are naturally beginning to ask how
long it will be before the" influence of in
dustrial education is going to be felt in
fhe kitchen and on the farm. The aver
age individual does not have much pa
tience with any education that does not
sooner or later make itself felt in these
connections. Industrial education should
make Its Influence felt in these two places,
but we must not look for tangible and
visible results too early.
“The matter of securing skilled, intelli
gent and conscientious servants in the
home is not a problem that is peculiar to
the south nor even to the United States.
When in Europe some years ago I noticed
fhat in England, France and Holland the
people were discussing the problem of se
curing proper house servants with the
same interest that the question Is being
discussed in the south. Many times in
the north I have been told by housekeep
ers that white young women preferred to -
work in factories at small salaries rather
than to do household work at twice the
salary, and notwithstanding that when
they work in the factory they’ had to fur
nish their own rooms, which were not
always comfortable; at the same time if
they would live in a family fhey would
have a nicely furnished room and every
thing comfortable and attractive—so the
problem is not peculiar to the south. It
is one of my ambitions, however, to do
my part In making the influence of indus
trial education for the negro felt in every
home and on every farm in the south. If
industrial education docs not in time ac
complish this, It will largely be counted
a failure, and the southern people are
right in beginning to ask questions con
cerning the direct results. But there are
some special reasons why we cannot ex
pect to accomplish this all at once or
within the period of a few years. In
. the first place, we must hear in mind that
immediately after the war j^t educating
tl.^ negro in most cases the error was
made of jumping from one extreme- to
the other. Emphasis was laid upon lit
erary and religious training to the exclu
sion of industrial or hand training. The
average' black man had the Idea imme
diately after the war that a school was
a place where an individual was taught
how not to work rather than how to
work, and that In some unaccountable
and inexplainable way if he had his brain
trained he would he rid of all the re
sponsibilities and hardships of life. It
has only been within the last twenty
years that industrial education has been
emphasized in any large degree. When
institutions like Hampton and Tuskegi
and a few others began to make it known
among the colored people that in addition
to giving literary and religious trainin
they were going to instruct their students
In industrial occupations, quite a feeling
of opposition sprang up among the rank
and file of the colored people. It took
some years to overcome this feeling and
for them to se^ their mistake. I am glad
to say that this task, though it took fif
teen or twenty years to accomplish, has
now been practically completed and the
battle in favor of industrial education
has been fought and won so that the
feeling in favor of industrial education
throughout the south among our people
and in the north as well, 1s one of hearty
sympathy and cooperation. This is true
to such an extent th.at at Tuskegce x\
cannot begin to admit all of the students
who want to take our industrial courses.
AVhatt is true of Tuskegee is trite of other
institutions. The greatest work which 1
consider that such institutions as Hamp
ton and Tuskegee lu*yo done is to lead
the way, to show how’ our people could
he educated along industrial linos and
bring about a sentiment in favor of the
proper kind of education.
A Prejudice to Be Overcome
“It must not he expected that one insti
tution. or a half dozen, can send out with
in a few years enough men and women to
meet even the demand Ir. the south. Tus
kegee is merely a drop in the bucket in
meeting it. What we. do hope, to accom
plish at Tuskegee and what T think we
are accomplishing, is to make an object
lesson^hat can he copied and to send out
leaders who w’ill not only work them
selves, but teach others how to do the
same thing, too
“It is true that there are a greiat many
schools in the south hearing the name
‘industrial school,’ but comparatively
few who are doing real, practical, enthu
siastic industrial work The number,
however, is grooving .and in proportion as
the work of the Southern Educational
Society, of which Robert C. Ogden, of
New York, is president, grows In popu
larity aafl becomes interested it will be
found that such Institutions will be
strengthened and made of practical value
throughout the south.
“In addition to the difficulties to which
I have referred, I repeat that we cannot
in a few years overcome the feeling that
has obtained among all classes of people
in all countries that there is something
degrading about household service. There
is a feeling that the woman who cooks
or serves at a table is in a different
atmosphere from the woman who teaches
school. At Tuskegee I think we have gone
a long ways in overcoming this feeling.
We are teaching day by day, by precept
and example, that a colored woman who
learns to cook skillfully, intelligently and
conscientiously is just as much entitled to
respect and honor as the colored woman
who teaches music. In order to bring
about the right kind of feeling in this re
spect. we make it a point to put the most
intelligent and cultured women and men
that can be found at the head of our
various industrial departments. We try
to let tire students see that an educated
colored woman who teaches cooking or
who does actual cooking is doing just
as much to be honored as the one who
is a cle^it or teaches school. I may safely
say that at this institution I do not be
lieve our students ever think now of look
ing with disrespect upon anyone who
does any kind of manual labor, and as
by year and plant themselves in different
portions of the south, they will rriake
their influence felt among others in the
right direction, but it will take time for
such influence to leaven the whole lump.
Demand Greater Than Supply
“The Tuskegee institute is often con
fronted with the direct and practical
question from southern white people as
to whether or not they car. get persons
trained at this institution to work in their
homes. Many such applications’ we are
compelled to . refuse for the reason that
the demand, is much greater than the
supply, but what is a greater hindrance
in filling such demand is the matter of
competition. I think I am safe in saying
that the average girl who finishes at Tus
kegee in sewing, laundering, cooking,
poultry raising or general housekeeping,
can secure a salary of $35 or $40 per
month usually in teaching these indus
tries in some smaller school. It is hardly
reasonable to expect a woman who can
get for Tier services the amount of rtioney
that I have named to go into a family
where perhaps she cannot secure at the
most more than $15 or $20 per month. Of
course, in proportion tile number of
properly trained men and women in
crease the wages wdl, perhaps, decrease.
“Another thing which I think has kept
some of the best young colored men and
women out of southern families is the
fact that these families have not always,
I think, been as careful as they should be
about providing comfortable quarters for
those vAno serve in their families. I am
glad to note, however, that there, is a
growing disposition to remedy this de
fect.
“There are two suggestions which I
want to make, and they are such as I
think are practical and will apply to near
ly every part of the south. Ir. Atlanta,
for example, I believe that it is a practi
cal and possible thing for a domestic
training school to ho star^bd where bright
colored girls can bo trained for house
hold service. I believe that the idea of
industrial education has become so pop
ular that such a school can be started
and carried on with success in nearly
every large city in the south. A few
years ago I confess that such a school
would not have beer, patronized by the
colored people. Such a school might be
started as a night school and with
great outlay in the way of money. I
would advise that comfortable, attractive
and convenient quarters lie secured, and
that at the beginning such industries as
cooking, table serving,'’ laund, ring and
general housekeeping be taught; that the
school l>e supplied with a convenient and
attractive hath room, and that those at
tending the school be taught the im
portance of absolute cleanliness in con
ncction with some literary and moral
teaching. The moSt cultured, attractive
and refined teachers should be put in
charge of this school.
“The other suggestion is that more at
tention be ^aid to industrial teaching in
our public schools, especially in large
cities. It would not be expected that a
Irl can go to a school for eight or nine
years and be taught abuot everything in
heaven and on earth except the common
Industries of sewing, housekeeping and
laundering, out of which, perhaps, her
mother has gotten her living for year,
and that girl return to those occupations
when for years she has been going
‘through a course of training that per
haps has educated her out of sympathy
with the occupations which her mother
has followed all her life.
Referenceii Should Be Re-
q uired
“While I am talking on this subject, I
Think I will make one other suggestion,
and that is that those who serve in fam
ilies in the south find it too easy to get
a position. If there was a rule among
families to the effect that no servant was
to be employed unless he or she could
show a letter from his last employer to
the effect’ that he or she had given satis
faction there would soon be a higher
grade of servants throughout the south,
but so long as servants can feel that they
can render poor service in one family
and then go without recommendation and
within a few hours secure a place in an
other family, so long will this service be
poor.
“There is one other thing that I want
to say which has special importance for
my own race, and that is that unless
within a few years we see the importance
of properly preparing ourselves to All
these important positions the time will
these students continue to go out year not be far oil before foreigners will be
Poetical Ideas
Ideals
The Valley of Yesterday
Down in the valley of yesterday
Lies many a shattend dream.
And its broad highway is littered tod.-jy
With driftwood from out life’s strelfl-
The deeds of valor we meant to aehierie
Arc lying along the way,
And intentions have filled many a gr.ae
In the valley of yesterday.
Down In the valley Of yesterday
Lies many a promise broken,
And the heart is still that we m.-ant to
thrill
With beautiful thoughts unspoken.
There are many souls that we me-atv to
save
And debts that we meant to pay,
'But our striving for right is lost to sight
in the valley of yesterday.
And our weary lives can lever retrieve
Nor our. saddened hearts repay,
For beyond all cost are the blessings 1 .st
In the valley of yesterday.
—G. WHflELOCK.
625 Norris Street, Philadelphia^ Pa.
Dreaming By the Southern Stream
Down beside the pleasant river.
Margined by the silvery sand.
Where the alligators frolic
O’er the smooth and glittering strand,
Where the whip-poor-will is calling,
-Where the mocking birds are gay.
There I love to dream and ponder
All the happy livelong day.
Where the glinting of the sunshine
Tips the rippling waves with gold;
^Vhere the maiden loves to listen
To the old. old story told;
Where the butterfly is happy
As it flits from flower to flower.
There I love to dream and ponder.
Dream and ponder by the hour.
Wafted perfume from magnolias
Permeates the balmy air,
Ashen moss from branches trailing
Mingle somber with the fair.
Softly falls the drowsy cadence
Of the wind upon my ear,
Would that I could ever linger
In this sunny southland dear.
’Neath the cypress boughs reclining.
Sheltered from the tropic’s sun.
Listening to the swishing water.
Or the distant sportsman’s gun.
Thinking'naught of care or trouble.
Naught of any worldly strife.
Could I but remain here ever
Sweetly dreaming all my life.
—W. B. LEONARD.
Glens Falls, N. Y.
*
The Spirit of Love
At the heart of a great strong bud it
lay.
Sightless, dumb, on a tuft of gold,
Whilst snow pure petals, crinkled and
cold,
Shrouded it close in a fragrant fold.
That wrapped it in in a strange, soft
way.
With the passing of years it slept, they
say,
From mortal mind concealed, alone.
Itself all dead to the spring’s low tone.
Or wild azaleas, newly blown
On the quivering breast of the May.
And it slept through the pulseless ages
gray,
Till Man and Woman stood confessed,
Then the quickening came with Life's
unrest,
The leaves uncurled from the lily’s
breast,
And Love's giad spirit rose on the dav.
—LOLLIE BELLE WYLIE.
*
Our Jlngel’Child
Before the beauty and the. bloom
Of life's deliglitful spring had fled.
While still, without one spot of gloom.
Its glory shone upon her head;
Ere sin could stain, or sorrow blight,
The pure soul beaming from her eyes.
An angel came one starry night.
And bore her spirit to the skies.
A smile still lingered on her face,
When for the grave we robed her form—
That form so fair! on which now pre>’3
The loathsome grave’s devouring worm;
Ofttn, when Love’s fond watch we keep
Beside her turf-clad, narrow bed.
We dream that she is but asleep—
We cannot think of her as dead!
And sometimes, too, in mournful mood,
We long to see her face again,—
But should we, even if we could.
Recall her to this world of pain?
Nay, that were selfish; let us say:
“Thou art a spirit undefiled!
O God, keep thou for aye and aye
In heaven our darling angel-child!”
—CHARLES W. HUBNER.
PROMINENT PEOPLE
ODD EVENTS
The new ameer of Afghanistan has de
clared against the admission of mission
aries to his country.
At the suggestion of Alfred Moseley, of
London, and Lord Dcay, president of
University college, London, a special
commission will bo sent from England to
this country to inquire into labor matters
and the relations between masters and
labor unions.
John Clews, brother of Henry Clews,
the banker, stamped a silver 5-cent piece
l'orty-six years ago with the name and
birth of his son, John Clews, Jr., and at
cnce disposed of the coin. One day last
week, when his son received change afl;er
making a purchase, he found the stamped
coin was a part of it.
Fairhaven, Mass., is proud of Henry H.
Rogers, the oil magnate, who was born
there and has spent millions of dollars
and much of his time in improving and
decorating the town as he might beauti
fy his own home. He has already given
to the town a library, water works, -
drainage system, tpwn hall, schools ar._
a church.
Dr. Rixey, the new surgeon general of
the navy, does not owe his advancement
altogether to the fact that he was presi
dent McKinley’s physician. He is highly
esteemed by the member^’ of his profes
sion generally and is known as a brilliant
operator in surgery. He entered the navy
more than a quarter of a century ago and
has won his way up on his individual
merits.
brought into the south to take our places
just in the same way that the white bar
ber has taken the place of the negro In
the northern cities. In a word, there are
three things that the negro has got to
learn to do—that is to put brains, skill
and dignity into all the common occupa
tions that are about his door. This the
Tuskegee institute, in common with other
institutions, is trying to emphasize, but
we need many more institutions to do the
same kind of work.
“We have found the method of doing
•th-o work that is needed to be done and
have created a spirit in favor of doing
it. The next thing is for the proper meth
ods to be put in practice in every part
of the south as speedily as possible .The
Constitution Is to be thanked for dis
cussing this question so vigorously and
keeping it so constantly before the - pub
lic.”