the concrete the opportunities of America by getting some of the
Americans of greatest achievement to tell how they had risen by their
own efforts from the very depths of untoward circumstances. For this
purpose they selected Jacob A. Riis and Booker T. Washington. After
much hesitancy on his part and urgency on theirs Booker Washington
finally agreed to write the story of his life for serial publication
in the _Outlook_. His hesitancy was due merely to the fact that he
could not believe that the events of his life would be of any interest
to the public. So convinced was he in this belief that he had the
greatest difficulty in starting to write even after he had agreed to
do so. Finally, after a particularly urgent letter from the editors,
he stole some hours from his absorbing and exacting duties at Tuskegee
to write the first chapter. After these efforts had been typewritten
by his stenographer they produced only three and one-half pages--an
amount of copy discouragingly inadequate for the first installment.
He mailed the material, however, with a line of apology for its
inadequacy and promising to send more the next day. On receipt of this
scant initial copy the editors wrote him a letter of congratulation
and approval which greatly encouraged him, in spite of his heavy and
unrelenting administrative duties, to push ahead with new courage.
Notwithstanding, however, the best intentions on the part of the
writer and the most patiently insistent reminders on the part of the
editors there were many and wide gaps in the supposedly consecutive
series of chapters before the story was finally finished. Much of the
story he dragged from his tired brain, and jotted down on odds and
ends of paper on trains, while waiting in railway stations, in hotels,
and in ten and fifteen minute intervals snatched from overburdened
days in his office. The fact that it was a physical impossibility to
give adequate time and attention to so important a piece of work
distressed him and made him feel even more apologetic about the
product.
The enthusiastic reception of his story by the editors and later by
the public was accordingly particularly surprising and gratifying to
him. After its serial publication he was soon almost overwhelmed with
congratulatory letters and laudatory reviews. Julian Ralph in the New
York _Mail_ and _Express_ wrote in part:
"It does not matter if the reader feels a prejudice against the Negro,
or if he be a Negrophile, or if he has never cared one way or the
other whether the Negro does or does not exist. Whatever be his
feelings, 'Up from Slavery' is as remarkable as the most important
book ever written by an American. That book is 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.'
Booker Washington's story is its echo and its antithesis. 'Uncle Tom's
Cabin' was the wail of a fettered, hope-forsaken race. 'Up from
Slavery' is the triumphant cry of the same race, led by its Moses upon
a trail which leads to an intelligent use of the freedom that came to
it as an almost direct result of Mrs. Stowe's revolutionary novel. 'Up
from Slavery' and 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' are inseparably linked in the
history of our relations with our dark-skinned fellow-citizen. One
book begins precisely where the other left off."
William Dean Howells in the _North American Review_ said of it: "...
What strikes you first and last is his constant common sense. He has
lived heroic poetry, and he can, therefore, afford to talk simple
prose.... The mild might of his adroit, his subtle statesmanship (in
the highest sense it is not less than statesmanship, and involves a
more Philippine problem in our midst), is the only agency to which it
can yield...."
Among the congratulatory letters came one from Athens, Greece, signed
"Bob Burdette, Mrs. Burdette, and the children" which greatly amused
and delighted Mr. Washington. It reads, paraphrasing the passage in
the book where he tells of the insistent stranger who unerringly seeks
him out when he tries to get a little quiet and rest on a train, "'Is
not this Booker T. Washington? We wish to introduce ourselves.' You
see, you can't escape it. We read that sentence, and shouted with
delight over it, in Damascus. I was going to write--'far-away
Damascus'--but no place is far away now. Damascus is very near to
Tuskegee, in fact, only six or seven thousand years older, and not
more than fifty thousand years behind. It must have had a good start,
too, for Abraham went there or sent there to get that wise and tactful
'steward of his house,' Eliezir. But Damascus has always remained in
the same place, whereas Tuskegee has been marching on by leaps and
bounds. But you are a busy man--we have heard that, even in this land.
And I can see you reading this letter five lines at a time. No use
sitting next the window, piling your hand-baggage up in the seat, and
pulling your hat over your eyes, is there? No, for we come along just
the same, sit on the arm of the seat, touch your elbow, and--'Is not
this Booker T. Washington?' We have been travelling for a year. The
_Outlook_ has followed us week by week. And week by week we have
reached out to clasp your hand, and have knelt to thank God for the
story of your life--for its inspiration, its hopefulness, its trust,
its fidelity to duty and purpose. Such a wonderful story, told in the
elegance of simplicity that only a great heart can feel and write. We
paused again and again to say 'God bless him.' And now we send you our
hand clasp and message--'God bless him and all of his.' There, now!
You may pile up your baggage a little higher--pull your hat down over
your eyes a little farther--and pretend to sleep a little harder. We
will leave you. But not in peace. More likely in pieces. For I see
other people, crowding in from the other car, with their glittering
eyes gimleted upon you."
Barret Wendell, Professor of English at Harvard University, wrote him:
"Will you allow me to express the pleasure which your book, 'Up from
Slavery,' has given me? For about twenty years a teacher of English,
and mostly of English composition, I have become perhaps a judge as to
matters of style. Certainly I have grown less and less patient of all
writing which is not simple and efficient; and more and more to
believe in a style which does its work with a simple, manly
distinctness. It is hard to remember when a book, casually taken up,
has proved, in this respect, so satisfactory as yours. No style could
be more simple, more unobtrusive; yet few styles which I know seem, to
me more laden--as distinguished from overburdened--with meaning. On
almost any of your pages you say as much again as most men would say
in the space; yet you say it so simply and easily that one has no
effort in reading. One is simply surprised at the quiet power which
can so make words do their work."
Thus was received the simple narrative of his life up to this time as
hastily written down in odd moments snatched from his already
overcrowded days. In this country alone more than 110,000 copies of
the book have since been sold. It has been translated into French,
Spanish, German, Hindustani, and Braille.
Booker Washington's philosophy as to money raising after a generation
of constant and successful experience was summed up in this statement
which he made in "Up from Slavery": "My experience in getting money
for Tuskegee has taught me to have no patience with those people who
are always condemning the rich because they are rich, because they do
not give more to objects of charity. In the first place, those who are
guilty of such sweeping criticisms do not know how many people would
be made poor, and how much suffering would result, if wealthy people
were to part all at once with any large proportion of their wealth in
a way to disorganize and cripple great business enterprises. Then very
few people have any idea of the large number of applications for help
that rich people are constantly being flooded with. I know wealthy
people who receive as many as twenty calls a day for help. More than
once, when I have gone into offices of rich men, I have found half a
dozen persons waiting to see them, and all come for the same purpose,
that of securing money. And all these calls in person, to say nothing
of the applications received through the mails. Very few people have
any idea of the amount of money given away by persons who never permit
their names to be known. I have often heard persons condemned for not
giving away money, who, to my own knowledge, were giving away
thousands of dollars every year so quietly that the world knew nothing
about it.... Although it has been my privilege to be the medium
through which a good many hundred thousand dollars have been received
for the work at Tuskegee, I have always avoided what the world calls
'begging.' My experience and observation have convinced me that
persistent asking outright for money from the rich does not, as a
rule, secure help. I have usually proceeded on the principle that
persons who possess sense enough to earn money have sense enough to
know how to give it away, and that the mere making known of the facts
regarding the work of the graduates has been more effective than
outright begging. I think that the presentation of facts, on a high,
dignified plane, is all the begging that most rich people care for."
Although this favorable estimate of the money-giving rich was based
upon many years of successful experience it must not be supposed that
Booker Washington did not have his share of rebuffs and
discouragements. In fact, scarcely a day went by that he did not
receive some such disheartening rebuff as the following note from a
man who had for several years contributed a small sum each year to
Tuskegee Institute:
----, _May 10, 1913._
_Mr. Warren Logan, Treasurer, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee,
Ala._
DEAR SIR: I enclose my check for ten dollars in reply to
President Washington's appeal of the 6th inst.
I do not understand why such an appeal should be necessary
after the large gifts by Mr. Kennedy and others. The Indians
have received much less than the Negroes in money and care,
yet they beg less, and are more ready to imitate the whites
in being self-reliant. All over the North I find the Negroes
despised by the whites for their laziness and disposition to
be dependent.
Very truly,
---- ----.
Mr. Washington's patient, circumstantial, and constructively
informative reply is characteristic of his method of rejoinder. It
also illustrates his habit of placing his reliance on facts and not on
adjectives, and of so marshalling his facts that they fought his
battles for him. He replied thus:
_Tuskegee Institute, Alabama,_
_May 26, 1913._
MY DEAR SIR: Our Treasurer has shown me your letter of May
10th, in which you inquire as to why it should be necessary
for Tuskegee to appeal to the public for additional funds,
also stating that the Indians receive much less than Negroes
in money and care.
Under the circumstances, I thought you would not object to
my making the following report to you, covering the
inquiries suggested in your letter.
The Indians from a financial standpoint are better off than
any other race or class of people in this country. The
265,863 Indians in the United States own 72,535,862 acres of
land, which is 273 acres for each Indian man, woman, and
child. If all the land in the country were apportioned among
the inhabitants there would be 20 acres per person. The
value of property and funds belonging to Indians is
$678,564,253, or $2,554 per capita, or about $10,000 per
family. The Negroes, but lately emancipated, are by contrast
poor and are struggling to rise.
The Indians are carefully looked after by the United States
Government. In addition to the elaborately organized Indian
Bureau at Washington, there are six thousand (6,000) persons
in the Indian field service, to especially look after and
supervise them. There is one director, supervisor, or
teacher for each 44 Indians.
Some of the things that the Government does for the Indians
are:
(1) Look after the health of the Indians; for this purpose
there are in the field one Medical Supervisor, 100 regular
and 60 contract physicians, 54 nurses, and 88 field matrons.
(2) Supervise their farming and stock raising. For the
24,489 Indians engaged in farming there are two general
supervisors, 48 expert farmers, that is, men with experience
and scientific knowledge, and 210 men in subordinate farming
positions.
Over $7,000,000 have been spent in irrigating lands for
Indians. Congress in 1911 appropriated $1,300,000 for this
purpose. For the 890,000 Negro farmers in the South, the
United States Government maintains 34 Agricultural
Demonstration Agents.
For the supervision of the 44,985 Indians engaged in stock
raising, the Government maintains 22 superintendents of live
stock. For the 700,000 Negro farmers engaged in live stock
raising there is only one Government expert working
especially among them.
(3) A system of schools is maintained by the Government for
Indian children. For this purpose there are 223 day schools,
79 reservation boarding schools, and 35 boarding schools
away from reservations. In these schools in 1911 there were
24,500 pupils. For the support of these schools the United
States Government for 1912 appropriated $3,757,495. To
assist in teaching the 1,700,000 Negro children in the South
there was received in 1911 from the United States Government
$245,518.
In general the Indians are not taxed for any purpose. On the
other hand, the Negroes are taxed the same as other persons
and in this way contribute a considerable amount for their
own education and the education of the whites. In this
connection, I call your attention to the enclosed pamphlet
"Public Taxation and Negro Schools."
I enclose herewith copy of my Last Annual Report, giving
information as to the various activities of the Institution.
Yours very truly,
[Signed] BOOKER T. WASHINGTON.
On October 25, 1915, a few weeks before he died, Mr. Washington
delivered an address before the delegates to the National Council of
Congregational Churches, in New Haven, Conn., in which he well
illustrated his belief already quoted, "that a large part of the
mission of both Hampton and Tuskegee is to keep the cause of Negro
education before the country." He said in part:
"There is sometimes much talk about the inferiority of the Negro. In
practice, however, the idea appears to be that he is a sort of
super-man. He is expected with about one-fifth or one-tenth of what
the whites receive for their education to make as much progress as
they are making. Taking the Southern States as a whole, about $10.23
per capita is spent in educating the average white boy or girl, and
the sum of $2.82 per capita in educating the average black child.
"In order to furnish the Negro with educational facilities so that the
2,000,000 children of school age now out of school and the 1,000,000
who are unable to read or write can have the proper chance in life _it
will be necessary to increase the $9,000,000 now being expended
annually for Negro public school education in the South_ to about
$25,000,000 or $30,000,000 annually."
And in conclusion he said: "At the present rate, it is taking not a
few days or a few years, but a century or more to get Negro education
on a plane at all similar to that on which the education of the whites
now is. To bring Negro education up where it ought to be will take the
combined and increased efforts of all the agencies now engaged in this
work. The North, the South, the religious associations, the
educational boards, white people and black people, all will have to
coöperate in a great effort for this common end."
These were the last words he ever spoke at a great public meeting.
They show his acute realization of the immensity of the task to which
he literally gave his life, and his dread lest what had been
accomplished be over-estimated with a consequent slackening of effort.
A very cordial friendship existed between Mr. Washington and his
Trustees. Every man among them was his selection and joined the Board
on his invitation. In the year 1912 they manifested their friendship
and interest in the most practical of ways by volunteering to raise a
guarantee fund of $50,000 a year for five years to help bridge the
ever-widening gap between the income of the school and its unavoidably
mounting expenses. To do this, aside from contributing handsomely
themselves, almost all went out and "begged" of their friends. Mr.
Julius Rosenwald of Chicago, for instance, after making his own
liberal personal contribution, and soliciting funds among his Chicago
friends, left his great and absorbing interests at a busy time of the
year to go to New York and devote a week's time to "begging" money for
Tuskegee among his friends and acquaintances, Messrs. Low, Willcox,
Trumbull, Mason, and others also personally solicited funds. Many men
have gotten millionaires to give large sums of money, but how many men
have ever gotten millionaires both to give large sums and personally
to solicit large sums for a purely unselfish purpose?
In his final report Booker Washington said of this guarantee fund: "It
is not possible to describe in words what a relief and help this
$50,000 guarantee fund has proven during the four years it has been in
existence.... We shall have to begin now to consider some method of
replacing these donations. The relief which has come to us because of
this guarantee fund has been marked and far reaching."
The same qualities which enabled Booker Washington to get close to the
plain people helped him to win the confidence of the great givers.
Through his money-raising efforts he constantly added to his great
stock of knowledge of human nature. Also the same qualities of heart
and mind which enabled him to rise superior to the obstacles of race
prejudice helped him to bear without discouragement or bitterness the
many rebuffs of the money raiser. One cannot help speculating,
however, on the loss to Tuskegee, to the Negro race, and to the
general welfare, entailed by the necessity of his devoting two-thirds
of his time, strength, and resourcefulness merely to the raising of
money.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MANAGING A GREAT INSTITUTION
Booker Washington's chief characteristic as an administrator was his
faculty for attention to minute details without losing sight of his
large purposes and ultimate ends. His grasp of every detail seems more
remarkable when one realizes the dimensions of his administrative
task. Besides leading his race in America, and to some extent
throughout the world, and raising between one hundred thousand and two
hundred thousand dollars each year, he administered an institution
whose property and endowment are valued at almost four million
dollars. Although the original property of the school was only a
hundred acres of land with three small buildings, it now owns
twenty-four hundred acres, with one hundred and eleven buildings,
large and small, in its immediate vicinity. In addition to these
twenty-four hundred acres of land the school now owns also about
twenty thousand acres, being the unsold balance of a grant of
twenty-five thousand acres of mineral land, made by the Federal
Government as an endowment to the Institute in 1899.
The organization of the Institute ramifies throughout the entire
county in which it is located. It has a resident student population
of between fifteen hundred and two thousand boys and girls, with a
teaching force of about two hundred men and women. It enrolls in its
courses throughout the year from thirty-five hundred to four thousand
persons. The receipts of its post office exceed those of the entire
postal service of the Negro Republic of Liberia in Africa. In a given
year the revenues of Liberia were $301,238 and the expenditures
$314,000. In the same year the receipts from all sources of Tuskegee
Institute were $321,864.87 and its expenditures $341,141.58.
Booker Washington so organized this great institution that it ran
smoothly and without apparent loss of momentum for the nine months out
of the twelve, during the greater part of which he was obliged to be
absent raising the funds with which to keep it going. The Institute is
in continuous session throughout the twelve months of the year. During
the summer months a summer school for teachers is conducted in place
of the academic department. For the purposes of this summer school all
or most of the trades and industries are kept in operation.
The school is organized on this basis. There is, first, a Board of
Trustees which holds the property in trust and advises the principal
as to general policies, etc., and aids him in the raising of funds;
second, the principal, who has sole charge of all administrative
matters; third, an executive council, composed of the heads of
departments, with the principal as its chairman. The following
officers serve as members of this executive council: Principal,
treasurer, secretary, general superintendent of industries, director
mechanical industries, director department of research and Experiment
Station, commandant, business agent, chief accountant, director
agricultural department, registrar, medical director, dean women's
department, director women's industries, chaplain, director extension
department, superintendent buildings and grounds, dean Phelps Hall
Bible Training School, director academic department.
The position of general superintendent of industries is held by John
H. Washington, brother of Booker T. Washington. Mrs. Booker T.
Washington fills the position of director women's industries.
After this executive council comes the faculty made up of the leading
teachers who have charge of the instruction in the various divisions
of the agricultural, industrial, and academic departments. This
faculty Mr. Washington in turn subdivided into a series of standing
and special committees having particular charge of certain phases of
the work such as repairs, cleanliness, etc. The committee on
cleanliness would, for instance, be expected to see that the boarding
department was insisting upon the proper use of knives and forks and
napkins--was serving the food hot and in proper dishes, and that the
kitchens were at all times ready for inspection and models of
cleanliness.
[Illustration: Some of Mr. Washington's humble friends. (_See page
136_)]
[Illustration: Soil analysis. The students are required to work out in
the laboratory the problems of the field and the shop.]
In the same way he constantly appointed committees to go into the
academic classes and see that they were correlating their work with
the trade work. The tendency to backslide is especially strong in an
institution which, like Tuskegee, is working out original problems.
It is fatally easy for the teachers in both academic and industrial
classes to slip away from the correlative method, for which the
institution stands, back to the traditional routine. The correlative
method requires constant thought. As Mr. Washington well knew, the
average person only thinks under constant prodding. Hence, the
committees to do the prodding! It is so much easier to take one's
problems from the textbooks than to dig them up in the shops or on the
farm as to be practically irresistible unless one is being watched.
Then, in the shops it requires a constant effort to work the theory in
with the practice. If the instructors in the trades tended to become
mere unthinking mechanics a vigilant committee was at hand to keep
them true to their better lights. And if the committees themselves
ever became slack, the all-seeing eye of the principal soon detected
it and they in turn were "jacked up." Mr. Washington himself had a way
of leisurely strolling about day or night into shop, classroom, or
laboratory with a stenographer at his elbow. If he thus came upon a
recitation in which no illustrative material was used, that teacher
would receive within the next few hours a note such as this:
_December 8, 1914._
MR. ----: After a visit to your class yesterday, I want to
make this suggestion--that you get into close contact with
some of the teachers here like Mrs. Jones of the Children's
House, and Mrs. Ferguson, Head of the Division of Education,
and Mr. Whiting of the Division of Mathematics, who
understand our methods of teaching and try to learn our
methods.
Your work yesterday was very far from satisfactory, _not
based upon a single human experience or human activity_.
[Signed] BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, Principal.
Three days before he had sent the following note to the head of the
academic department:
_Mr. Lee, Director of the Academic Department:_
I was very glad to see the wideawake class conducted by Mr.
Smith this morning. His methods are certainly good.