The Nashville globe. [volume], February 21, 1908, Page 3, Image 3

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THE NASHVILLE GLOBE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1003
- r
ANDREW CARNEGIE ON
"THE NEGRO IN AMERICA.
BY B. II. BOYD, 1). p.
7,000 Travelers' Sample Razors 7,0
ri - - --
1 1 i
ft
Is the title of an address or a paper
before the Philosophical Institute of
Edinburgh, Scotland, by Andrew Car
negie, Esq., LL. D.
Being overburdened with the two
fold duties with the oversight of
both the Baptist Publishing House and
a3 a General Missionary-Secretary of
the National Baptist Convention, I
have but little time these days to give
to research and reading (not half
as much as I should). But last Sat
urday's mail brought to my address a
well-printed, well-edited and neatly
bound, thirty-two page pamphlet
marked "Strictly Personal." This
writing on 'the cover or wrapping at
tracted my attention. Hence I re
moved the wrapping and my eyes
glanced hastily over the title page. In
bold letters I saw at the top of the
page the one phrase, "The Negro in
America."
After glancing over the title page I
decided to spend the Sabbath day
quietly at home and give this pamphlet
a careful reading, and I shall never
regret the loss or the time given on
this Sabbath day to the careful perusal
of each line of this- magnificent and
wonderful collection of facts by this
great scholar, historian, philanthropist
and millionaire; and I employ this
method of commenting upon this ad
dress for the benefit of the many
thousand readers of The National
Baptist Union, and I ask it as a per
sonal favor to the race that every
reader of The Nashville Globe who
has' any desire to know any of the
true facts and conditions of the
Negro race, that are now or have ex
isted for the Inst forty years, to se
cure a copy of this inspiring address
read carefully and digest every para-
exflinh in it and then pass it along to
your neighbor, and especially to your
sceptical white neighbor who is dis
posed to believe every phantom, rumor
and falsehood that is being circulated
against the Negro as a race in the
daily papers and Associated Press dis
patches. We only have to mention the name
of Andrew Carnegie, and every well
informed person knows that Andrew
Carnegie has reached the stage both
as to age, experience and wealth
where he has no favors to ask, no am
bitions to gratify and no enemies to
punish. Hence the facts gathered by
him and laid before the Philosophical
Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a
legacy of knowledge to the present
generation and a benevolent and phil
anthropic gift to the ten million op
pressed, despised, . outraged and
wronged Negroes of America,
Andrew Carnegie is known far and
wide for his philanthropicai, pecuniary
gifts. He has- given his millions, not
only in America, but in Europe. The
cities can be numbered by the scores
where the Andrew Carnegie libraries,
cositing from $10,000 to $100,000 each,
stand out to the lasting memory of
this American genius and financial
wonder. These gifts have been made
alike to all needy, regardless of race,
color' or previous condition of servi
tude; but not a single philanthropicai
gift, not a single check that has been
drawn upon the bank account of this
great financier has been sn generously
given as the contribution of this paper
to the world, especially to the Negro
race.
The facts set forth in this careful
research for truth must be accepted as
truth for the reasons above started.
Andrew Carnegie has nothing to ask
of the American Negro, either finan
cially or politically, hence this is pure
ly and simply a philanthropicai gift
without hoie of reward, except in the
peace of mind that will come with the
reflection that "my duty has been
performed to a helpless people with
out fear or favor."
To Inspire the reader to inquire for
this pamphlet and read it, I quote a
few of the wonderful facts set forth
by this great man.
On pages 1 and 2, the committee of
twelve has given a biographical sketch
of this wonderful, self-made man, as
he rose from the lowest state of pov
erty to the position of an uncrowned
financial king.
On pa.ge 3 of this pamphlet Mr. Car
noHA after anolo$rizing to the audi
ence and Introducing his subject,
(rnvA fhA fnllowinc paragraph:
"Tn one resnect the problem is
unique. The Negro is called upon to
ha in ttm fienle from slavery to citl
.vnoMr n thp nresenee of a civilized
representative of the highest his
shortcomings, backslidings, failures,
cannot but be numerous and discour
contrast between the
whites and blacks in many respects,
such as to produce the belief in the
Tv.inria rf thpir former masters that the
end strived for is unattainable. Once
a slave, always a slave, so iar as me
Negro race is1 concerned, is tneir nai
1 rnnrlnsinn."
Here Mr. Carnegie fully introduces
ik0 HfflfMilt. and discouraging task
Hwn him' to handle. I say dlscoura-
O
N
YOUR. CHOICE
8ESf
WORTH $11)0, $1.75, & $2.50, & $3.50
Every Man in Nashyille should
Take Advantage of This Razor SALE
YOUR PICK
s cry .
5
Lew Roberts, the Cutlery Man, has been buying Sample Lines of
Razors from all the Leading Importers and Manufacturers in the
Country, and has accumulated over 7,000 Sample Razors of every
make and description You will find in this lot Standard Makes that
are well known to every self-shaver and barber, such as Wade &
Butcher, Wostenholm Pipe Razor, IXL, William Elliot, Magnetic
Razors, Barbers' Full Hollow Ground Razors, and over a thousand
other celebrated makes
These Razors Are Big Values, and Are
STRICTLY GUARANTEED
Every Razor
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FREE!
By LEW ROBERTS
NO LIMIT!
In all the prerluui Bis
orialen Lew Boberti w
compellrd to limit each
customer to two Bazori,
This Time You Can (Jo
As Far As You Like
i jT 1 T TPS 7 1 See the Man in the Window
'OF Uniy ViHC WCClV Sharpening Razors FREE!
This Big Lot of Sample Razors will no doubt be sold within one week, and it would
be advisable for every self-shaver to make his selection before the barbers pick out
the best makes and sizes
MAIL ORDERS
For Benefit of out-of-town
residents Lew Rob
erts will give Ills per
sonal attention and make
a good selection. State
size you prefer.
s
"The Cutlery Man"
16 THE ARCADE
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
Your Old Razor
Sharpened
FREE!
So Charge to You. Bring
It In. If You Can't Bring
It, Send It!
GO
Cj
All of MY RAZORS are GUARANTEED
ging because it must indeed be dis
couraging to attempt to give the bright
side of bo difficult and unpopular sub
ject before saich an aristocratic, intel
ligent and wealthy audience as must
have made up lhe Philosophical Soci
ety of Edinburgh, Scotland.
With this subject introduced, Mr.
Carnegie sets about reviewing the
American slave from 1G19 to 18G5.
When he had briefly shown a few of
the conditions and horrorsi of the in
stitution of slavery, he then further
attempts to introduce the Negro prob
lem from 18G5 to 1900 as follows, on
page 8: "Here we have between four
and five million of slaves, formerly
held in 'ignorance, unable to read 01
write, without churches, schools, or
property of any kind, yet called upon
to perform the duties of citizenship,
their former masters surrounding
them! incensed at their elevation.
After a period of fifty years, we are
here to-night to enquire whether the
American Negro has proved his ca
pacity to develop and improve; this I
purpose to answer by citing the facts. '
After thug introducing his subject
he showed that the ethnologist would
investigate this problem by making
three enquiries. First, J las the Ne
gro proved himself able to live. in con
tact with civilization and increase a;
a freeman, or does ho siowly die on I
like the American I ml km, Maori or
Hawaiian?
Secondly, Ilai- he a passion for edu
cation, does he desire to be able to
read, write, and cipher?
, Third, Is he industrious, frugal and
saving? In answer to the questions,
Mr. Carnegie shows' that ho has made
diligent and patient revcurehes, and
quotes from the statistics and census
reports given by governmental author
ities; statistics gathered by the ene
my of the Negro; gathered, collected
and compiled by the very people that
mostly oppose the Negro's march to
progress and civilization.
He answers the first question by
showing twenty years of the Negro's
increase. He shows that the Negro in
creased from 1SGJ0 to 1830 from 4,000,
0.10 io (i,5S0,79:J; and from 1 SS0 to 1900
(twenty years more) he had increased
to 8.S40.7S9, showing that in the last
twenty years the Negro's increase was
2,259,990. He shows that their rate of
increase almost doubled the rate of
increase of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain. He further shows that
their number will by the next census.
1910, be more than 10,000,0.00. Ho
gives a plausible reason why the per
centage of increase of blacks in Amer
ica has not been equal to that of the
white percentage of increase for the
reason that there is no blac k immigra
tion to America, hence while the
whites are drawing their percentage
(if increase from the millions of inimi
crants' that aie pouring into the
United States, the Negro's percentage
of increase must depend upon it si nat
ural birth-rate of increase. Hence the
increase is greater.
As to the second ethnological in
quiry he shows that 'tlm Negro has tho
desire not only to read, write and ci
pher, but ho attains to the highest lit
erary development. He shows again
by the census that in thirty years the
Negro had decreased lias illiteracy 43
per cent. He further shows under this
same inquiry that the Negro was not
whnllv denendent upon the whites to
educate his children, but that accord
ing to the facts and figures gathered
frmi.i seven Southern states them
selves, in a single year (the year 1899)
out of the total cost of common scnooi
education of $4,675,504, the Negroes
themselves contributed or paid $3,762,
f.17, leaving only $912,SS7 to be con
tributed by the whites to Negro edu
rntinn. Ho then turns under the same
inquiry and shows that not only their
schools, but their churches have made
wonderful progress. He shows that in
this period of time the Negroes have
organized and built 23.4G2 churches
with a seating capacity for 6,800,000
attaints. Ho shows that their church
property has an assessed value of $26,
026,418. Ho warns his Scottish hear
ers that it is possible that they are
not prepared to digest these figures.
Tinning from this- inquiry, Mr. Car
negie takes up his third ethnological
inquiry, "Is the American Negro in
dustrious, frugal and saving?" He
begins this inquiry as follows: "The
NYgro has often been dcsciibed as lazy
and indolent, yet the census of 1900
u,u- flint, in the South 81 1-10 per
cent of the colored males and 40 7-10
of the females over ten years of age
in cainful occupations,
while of the white population of the
v thrv nercontajro is 79 0-iu ana
only 1G per cent of females." This
paragraph alone delivered at the time,
in the place and by thie man who de
livered it, is worth millions to the Ne
gro. Not because it Is the saying ot
Mr. Carnegie, but because these are
facts gathered by the enumerators or
governmental census takicrs. These
facia were gathered by the govern
ment employees ia 1900, as they went
from house to house and saw each in
dividual Negro, male or female, and
inquired of his or her occupation.
When these figures are read by
the learned Europeans and search
ers after truth, it will give the Euro
pean quite a different idea of
the so-called worthless American
Negro, and it is my opinion that
thousands who read the American
daily papers will wonder how an in
telligent, Christian people can so mis
represent an inoffensive, helpleas. and
oppressed people, and will cause them
to ask, "Why this continual abuse and
hatred of the Negro?"
Mr. Carnegie further seiys, "The Ne
gro is chiefly employed in agriculture.
The census of 1900 shows 1,344.125
male agricultural laborers and 757,
822 females." When this fact, a
shown by Mr. Carnegie, is brought out,
it will tell the European where the
American cotton comes from1 and who
i si the producer.
Ho further sets forth in the follow
ing wordsi: "The Negro agriculturists,
as has been seen, are rapidly becom
ing landlords. Those residing In cities
show similar ambition to acquire
homesi." Here Mr. Carnegie shows bv
J (Continued on Page 6.)
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