The Washington Bee Newspaper, February 5, 1898, Page 4

Pudlisned every SATURDAY at 1109 1 Stree Aoribwest, WasnincTor, D. Ente-ed »t unr Post Uifice at Weningiop ec) clams atl etter 4 — W. CALVIN CHASE, Eviror. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. I oo -60 +20 O we copy per year... Six months. .... Three mouths. . 2 City subseribers. monthly. - i SPECIAL NOTICE. A There are regular Authorized Col- kctors in the employ of THE BEE Printing Co.. and when they call to see @elinguent subscribers they are re- quested to pay them, and not give the azcuse that “they will see the Editor.” The Editor has no time to see the sub- scribers, and it is hoped that his friends and the patrons of THE BEE will pay the Collector when he calls, —e—eeaeeaeonrerrrer,sereec—5_ee eee HENRY DEMAS. The Afro-American press of the country will watcn with a degree of anxiety the action of the Com- mittee on Commerce as to the con- firmation of Hon. Henry Demas. Ex-Senator Demas is a represen- tative man in whom his people have the most implicit confidence and they will not sit idly by and see him uvjustly treated. There is nothing agairst Mr. Demas chur- acter or reputation nor can any man charge him trathfally with political juggling. Ex-Governor Kellogg who has always had the the respect and confidence, of the southerr colored man will find out that he has lost it by his unjust attack upon Mr. Demas. Mr. Demas ; and although he is surrounded by is aman of honor conspirators as was Cesar, he is too much ofa man to play the baby act. He knows the leaders who daily would suck his blood. He knows the lily white and black republicans who are too cowardly to show their hands are waiting | and watching to stick a knife in him. Senator Frye and his committee, will undonbtedly make a favorable report on his nouina'ion. Certain— ly republicaw Senators cannot go to the country and endeavor to by “thood wink’’ cvlored voters saying that the President is opposed to the negro. This kind of substerfuge will not catch negro delegates to the next next republican convention. The old republican leaders of the South nave lost their occupation They are no longer the Nestors in poli- tics. Demas is today the recognized leader in the State of Louisiana. He is honored and respected. ‘Ihe South is in need of Demas leader- ship. He is true, honest and brave. He has been true to those who are inclined to desert him. Notwith- atanding the duplicity and knavery of his supposed friends he wil! win. The administration will stand by and see that he is given his just reward. The colored people of this coun- try are for Demas and it is hoped that the Senate will confirm him at once. . JUDGE McCOMAS ELECTED. After a hard political fight Judge Louis E. McComas was elected, United States Senator, to succeed Mr. Arthur P. Gorman, the democratic boss of Maryland. Mr. Gorman may have his faults but he was certainly a friend to jthe District. Judge McComas isa good repub- lican and a positive character. Since he has been on the bench, he has been a hard student of law. His decisions bave more or less been sustained. As Senator from the State of Maryland, he will show himself to be equal to the! occasion. We understand that Judge McComas is in favor of the civil service, if so, it is Wrong and no man who is in favor dfcivil ser- vice can hope to succeed. We don’t believe it however, but we do believe that he is in favor of putting republicans in office. The Bsgx predicted the nomination and election of Judge McComas long before it was contemplated. The opposition to him came from dis- gruntled politicians who were easily convinced that Judge McComas was the winner and the proper man to represent the republican party. ' The Ber extends its congratu _|lations to Senator elect, MeComas and hopes that his pathway may be strewn with flowers. THE NEGRO PRESS. The address of Gen. George I. Harries that appears in this issue |of the Bee on the Negro press and fits duty to the Negro is one of the most able documents that we have read on that subject. THE BER agrees to a great eXtent with the writer ani willingly testities that we have but t! ree or four real Negro editors in this country who have opinions of their own. The “(New York Age,’’ edited by Mr. For- jtune; the ‘Richmond Planet,”’ ed. lited by Johu Mitchell, jr, and THe |BEE are no doubt the only three journals, edited in this country, by Negroes that have the courage of their convictions | Indeed the others are sycophantic jcowardly and full of demagogism. They cater to the whims of admin- listr tive powers and. often betray | their people totheir enemies, Some of hem are on this side of the fence to-day and to-morrow they can be found elsewhere. Yes, we need jeditors, honest, brave, and truthful A majority of the Negro editors will hide corruption avd condemn their contemporaries who have the courage to expose it. They will support corrupt men for office and denounce the appointing or elective powers if they are not appointed or elected. Yes, we need editors’ and a new Negro leadership. ‘There is too much sentimentality among Negro jeditors as there is among Negro representatives. | General Harries has only half | told the story. he addres (worth reading and digesting. TRUANT AGENTS. , tis to be hoped chat the school jtrustees will some plan whereby truant scholars mav be looked after and reported. We an- derstard that the Commissioners included in their estimate, for the current fiscal year, an amount. sufil- cient to pay two truant agents, one each for the colored and white schools; but it was not retained by the District Committee. Every school day sees a number of pupils absent, many of whom write their own excuses. signing their parents or guardian’s tames. ‘This is very demoralizing aad the sooner truant agents are appointed the better. | DISTRICT PATRONAGE, is devise Washington city has » popula- tion of about 240,000. 25 per cent, are non residents. 25 per cent have lost their citizenship in the States from which thy come and the remainder—50 per cent, are legal citizens of the Distriet. Note withstanding the fact that only one half of the population are bona fide residents. Yet the latter are favored with the principal offices within the gift the of President and the Commissioners. This is obviously unjust and the present administration would exhibit wis- dom in departing from this custom. The non residents and those who have lost their citizenship by reason of their failure to conform to the laws regulating the limitation as to the elective franchise in their sev- eral States from one half of the population of the city and Trepre- sent two-thirds of its wealth. A few of the property and bond hold- ers are citizens of the District: but the greatness and beauty of Wash- ington is due to U. S. Senators, Members of Congress, government officiais, and foriegn syndicates who own the franchises of the city, ere the owners of its most costly build- ‘ings and pay the largest percentage of the taxes, Snce Congress appropriates the money to pay half of the expenses of the city government, one half of the offices, at least, should be filled by appointments from the States, It is to be hoped that the President whose interest in the whole people and political sagacity are well known, will see the situation ag THE BEE sees it and give more of the plums to the influential and worthy citizenso f the States HOW. JOHN F. LAOEY. 4 ; 2a aes -In this issue of ‘The BEE, we again publish the history of one of}: the best known men in Iowa and a man has the largest colored vote of any man in the State of lowa. Mr. Lacey is alawyerand an author | as will be seen in the biographical sketch of his life. There is man in Congress who Lacey. He has shown that, as a seldier, stands high with those who have been his opposers. The man who has: sacrificed al-: most his ‘ife; one who left mother. | father, wife and children tu go inww the fieldin defense of his country and this uew emancipated race is entitled to the support and suf- frages of his coustituents. The colo ed men to those who have defended him and is the last per-on to desert « friend when duty calls him. Mr. Lacey's record in Congress is one that any. people shou'd be proud of and his defense of the colored American citizen will al- ways be appreciated for ages to come. He has always been grate— ful to the great colored vote in his is rateful district and forever defend those | who love and respect good citizen- ship. THE NEGRO PRESS, GEN. GEORGE H. HARRIES DE- FINES ITS DUTY... 1N NEED OF EDITORS. A WHITE JOURNALISTS VIEW OF ITS CONDITION. There was a large and representa- tive audience present at St Luke’s Guild Lyceum on last Thursday even- ing. The occasion was a paper read by Gen. George H, Harries, journal- ist and commander of the District of Columbia National Guard. ‘The gen- tleman having been introduced by the president, Dr. Bruce Evans, he said: i be gentleman who requested me to address you suggested a topic—‘‘The Duty of the Négro Préss to the Ne- gro’’—not the Negro who controls and operates the press but the other Negro; the one who is in need of good sound advice; the one who as yet may be unable to make unaided progress. It is as a rule easy enough to tell the other man what he ought to do and that is the case now. _ It will be my en- deavor to be more than a critic, for it is my hearts desire that you achieve all the good and’ noble things the wisest of you ever perce The plain duty of the Negro press is to inform the ignorant, admonish the erring, and encourage every rational effort that may be made to elevate a race which is destined to play so con- spicuous a part in the civilization and material growth of this great republic. But betore I make plain my iieas as to duty let me devote a brief season to discussion of the Negro press In every-day life when we propose to do a certain thing we, if we are business- like, make careful arrangement of our plans and procure the materials and tools necessary, in cur opinion, to the , result we desire. It must be manifest | to every one that improper material and illy adapted tools will not permit us to satisfactorily work cut our plan, To-day we are planning great things for the millions you racially represent. Let us inquire into the character ef the material and the tools which are being used at this time. More than all else—unless exception be made to the important matter of financial support—the Negro press needs editors. Always interested in your literature, I have been especially watchful of it since the topic we have under consideration was suggested to me and I am thoioughiy con- vinced that your. newspapers need editors. Those whom you now have are probably energetic and many of them are blessed with the best of - good intentions but only few display in the columns of their papers anything that approaches to editorial ability. | This is a weakness that extends to newspapers for which you are not in any sense responsible, but I am talk- ing about your newspapers now and am not engaged in working out paral- lels or making odious comparisons. Like a great many of your Caucasian brethren you may imagine that almost anybody is capabie of running a news- paper. You have probably heard of the dog whose owner endeavored to dispose of him because he was un- doubtedly a good coon dog. A pros- ctive customer called for testimony in behalf of that poo quality and was informed that the animal must bea good coon dog because he wasn’t good for anything else. It would probably be unfair to apply that story to the ed- itorial situation; as a matter of fact a number of your editors could undoubt- edly do many things much better than they are doing the work which some- how or other has been placed in their hands, No writer with whom I am familiar has ever voiced more truthfully the vast extent of public ignorance as to the requirements of the newspaper business than did Will Carleton when he wrote ‘‘Makin’ An Editor Outen o’ Him.” Those of you who have read the poem will remember how the old man, endeavoring to secure an edito- aut position for his half grown boy, said: “But he don’t take to nothing but vittles, and s he'll never do much, I’m afraid, ‘Sol thought it would be a good notion to larn __ him the editor's trades “His body's too small for a farmer, his judg- ao sae pages too slim, “But hought we perhaps c in’ editor outen tim. paper cor oars That was an interesting volley of queries fired at the ancient agricultu- rist by the not-unreasonable editor: i ) no; is a better) friend to our people than Mr. ‘ on | more than one occasion. His record ; BEX. «phe editor sat in his sanctum and looked old man intheeye, _ ! wephen glanced at the'grinhing young hopeful ‘ and mournfully made his reply: _ | “Is your sona small unbound edition of Moses i and Solomon both? v#59 3 | “Can he compass his spirit with meekness, am | strangle a natural o th? - “Can he leave all his wrongs to the future an j carry his heart in his cheek? 5 | “Can he do an hour’s work :na minute and live on asixpence a week? «+ | “Can he courteously taik with an equal, and brow-beat an tmpudent dunce? “Can he keep things ia apple-pie order, and do half a dozen at once? “Can he press all the springs of knowedge with quick and reliable touch? “And be sure that he knows how much to 4enow and knows how to not know too much? s “"Does he kuow how to spur up his virtue, and put ach-ck rein on his pride? iki “Can he carry a Lester 's manners wit! “Can ie kcowisll and do ail, and be all, with cheerfulness, courage and vim? “If so, we perhaps can makin’ an editor outen o’ him.” “The farmer stood curiously listening, while wonder his visage o’erspread, __ pi “And he said: ‘Jim I guess we'll be goin’; he’s probably out of his head! To some of you it may seem as though my presentation of the editor, his duties and his attributes is lacking in that modesty which so well becomes most people, but I trust that my offend- ing may be excused because ef my de- sire to speak the truth—which all edi- tors do not invariably do—and because my experience as a reporter. and a wandering, free-lance, go-any-where- to-get-into-trouble sort of a correspon- dent is to my editorial experience as ten is to one. B Now as to the k.nd of editor you need. pa You need the broad-minded, liberal- ly-educated men or women who are absolutely honest; who wouldn’t sell a line of their editorial space for a mil- lion dollars; whose opinions will be trammelled only by the dictates of de- cency and who will have no other than the highest possible standard of indi- vidual uprightness and public moral- ity. Mois need men who are not only ca- ' pable of telling the truth but who will , tell it when the telling ofitis likely to {contribute to he general welfare; men who will not permit their personal de- sires to interfere with any proposition ! that has init the greatest good for the greatest number. i , You need men who while they pay reasonable and proper attention to po- litical situations will hold themselves aloof from the wiles of office. + You need men who will not waste their force in,foolish trifling agitation as to non-essentials. !- You need men who when they de- ‘mand the destruction or reconstruc- tion of any of your institutions are ca- pable of at least suggesting the needed betterments or a new plan to take the place of the old one. : You need men who will encourage the young man who works. At the risk of being assailed by those who in- sist that a persistent effort is being made to compel your race to occupy a thenial. plane, let me say that you need men who will encourage .your boys and girls to do those things for which they are best fitted. Every boy cannot be a lawyer or a doctor or an educator. “Every girl cannot be a school teacher or a teacher of music or painting. It is inevitabie that some of the men must be carpenters, and biack- smiths, and plasterers, antl tinners; while some of the women will surely occupy spheres of usefulness outside of those | have mentioned. Is it not sense to prepare the boys and girls for the future that must inevitaoly be theirs? Do you not realize the impos- sibility of building well and strongly when ninety per cent. of your material is shaped for the superstructure and revolts when any suggestion is made that somewhere cr other material must be had for the foundation? Not for an instant would | discourage any ambi- tious efforts of your young men and young women, but I would have your editors preach continually the doctrine of hard work and the necessity of hard work no matter what the character of the work may be. The editors you need are the men who will point out the folly of cram- ming classical education into the boys and girls whose lives will never have in them opportunities for usefully ap- plying painfully acquired information. You need men who will tell you the sharp-edged truth as to the over- crowded professions and the thou- sands of men and women whv are idle to-day because their education has not only failed to fit them for the places they desire to occupy but has unfitted them for the places which might be theirs did they have cultivated capa- bility to fill them. : | And having such outspoken men in the editorial chairs many of you need the grace to believe the things they tell you. Next to the best men for editors the Negro press needs a great supply of capacious waste baskets. n this age of enlightenment and yery genera! literary endeavor the ed- ‘itor’s waste .basket has necessarily achieved for itself a proud position in the world of letters. Years ago there was a widespread delusion as to the inanimate associates upon whom the editor was compelled to lean, the pop- ular conviction being that those asso- ciates were, in common terms, a pair of scissors and a paste pot. In Cau- casian newspaperdom of the metro- politan sort, the usefulness of the scis- sors is at a minimum and there has been corresponding shrinkage in the use of the scissors and pasté pot, and in the place of these one-time common accessories—frequently over-esteem- ed—is the editor’s waste-basket. Itis not unlikely that a large proportion of this audience would, in response to a properly put inquiry declare that the editor should be judged by the ma- terial that finds its way into the col-/h umns of his paper; yet such a conclu- sion would be nothing less than erro- neous, for the thoroughly successful editor of to-day is not he who so much knows what to put in his paper as he who knows what to keep out. In discussing the editor’s waste-bas- ket it 1s only reasonable for me to be- lieve that I'shall have the close and perhaps sympathetic attention of those of my hearers who have written for that capacious receptacle, as I fre-| f. quently have, and unless this audience differs very materially from other au- diences with which I am, it may be, more intimately acquainted, there will be practically unanimous interest in what may be said of that wide-mouthed and frequently-emptied wire or wicker framework. In order that mt be no misunder- -—you who have basket and | who \ standing between/ written for the w/ chatter about it—let me make it plain at the outset that;all the matter that finds its way inte the noncomplaining frame-work is not necessarily worth- less; it is “unavailable”; and behind the breadth and height of that most elastic term the judicious editor fre- quently retreats when called upon to explain his\lack of good sense in de- clining to present to the public some of the extremely interesting facts and fancies that you of my audience or other dwellers.in the midst of our scribbling civilization have. seen fit to submit to the editor for his judgment. It would be quite difficult, if not practi- cally impossible, for me to give you more than an indifferent idea of the editor’s application of that word “‘un- available,” Much easier would it be and much less wasteful of your time to-sketch with rough outlines what we regard as available matter. All news is available; no item of any real news can be’so small that it can be classified with the ‘‘unavailable.” It may not be well written and it may lack features that entitle it to anything more than local consideration, but the deficiency in composition can be amended and will be amended by any editor who knows his business. but when we forsake the news field and wander over literary heights, through the green pasturés of fancy, and beside the generally placid stream of poetry—stopping occasionally to ruffle its surface or disturb its depths— we lose our grip on the editor, whether willingly or unwillingly, and must take our chances with thousands who through natural desire or stress of cir- cumstances devote their energies to the business of writing for the press. Lhave said, perhaps with some em- phasis, that your editors need waste- baskets. A very large percentage of ithe matter published in your press should have gone to the waste-basket in the first instance; as things now are we so frequently put the news- paper in the waste-basket and that pro- ceeding you ‘must admit cannot be defended on economic grounds for in the preparation of the _ newspaper, whether it be good, or bad or merely indifferent, there had been an expen- diture of valuable if misplaced time, energy and money. ‘The waste-basket is needed for many of the personal. biographical.sketches. Such sketches, when well written—:f the subject be meritorious—are useful to’ point morals and to excite emula- tion but their frequent repetition and fulsome adulation must weary eyen those whose praises are being sung, and the inevitable net result is the arousing of public suspicion as to the motives of the publisher. When it once appears that personal interest are being served by such publications as those of which I now speak then the influence of that newspaper for good is either seriously damaged or totally de stroyed. ee , The waste-basket. is needed for the unimportant “personals” and for the impertinent “‘personals”’ and for the malicious gossip, badly written as a rule yet framed with a view of evading wholesome law by the narrowest pos- sible margin. Then there ought to be piled into the baskets the frequently and vio- lently reiterated statements that this or that newspaper is the best of its kind ever published and that no other newspaper ever could or can hope to compete with it; all of which state- ments are completely disproved by one reading of one issue. { wish you hada waste-basket large enough to accommodate those news- paper publishers who know nothing of the commonest rules of language, who are content with blurred topography, who ignore proof-reading, who flaunt their ignorance of,spelling twenty times in a column, become enthusiastic on the subject of skin bleaching and di rect the attention of their patrons to Lhd ary guaranteed to take the curl out of human hair; who seem to care for nothing so long as their in- comes frem subscriptions, advertise- ments, and other sources are sufficient to satisfy their daily needs; who have no thought for the future of their race and who care for nothing above or be- yond their own personal, selfish and sometimes unprincipled interests. If we had such a basket we would prob- ably find it difficuit to put in it all the people who deserve to find a resting Place in its depths. It is a calamitous condition. Some of you wilt undoubtedly say that my criticisms are as closely appli- cable, in the main, to editors whose skins are white. Such a statement would be indisputably true, but I am not going to permit myself to draw myself intoa racial controversy. With feelings of the utmost friendship I have briefly and crudely discussed the Ne- ES Press as it has appeared tome. I ave been frank, because to be other- wise would be unfair to you and to my conscience. You have accomplished marvels in one generation and you are destined to great achievement in the ae tocome but your progress will be disappointingly slow if you rest sat- isfied with things as they are. Im- foccnens must be steadily rapid and know of no keener or more effective spur than unbiased and friendly crit- icism. Much, if not all that I have said to- night has been known to you for some- time. There is not within the sound of my voice aSthinking man or woman who does not know the real duty of the Negro press to the Negro. pase nate Stacia _Yes there is another house in this city who make all kinds floral decora- tions. Davidson and Walker. If you want to be accommodated give them acall, 1710 Penn. avenue northwest. One of the greatest house furnishing ousesin the city; a place where youcan get anything you want. Do you know Sons & Co.? If not call and see them. Inspect their store and if they don’t satisfy you noother place in the city can, 908 7th st., n. w. —— A BLACK SKIN REMOVER. This preparation will turn dark skin four or five shades lighter. It re- moves wrinkles and freckels from the es the skin beautifu., person using it can see the resul lace and makes pa in forty eight hours. It does not turn theskinin spets but bleaches out whitel It is a very good thing for weak eyes it allowed to go in while washing the face. The skin remains beautiful ooo Seta use and 1s perfectly armless to the skin. Price $2. C.O. D. Thomas Beard, # Patona Coloveil » The Chesay Company 18 8 join zation chartered pile laws of Virgin, suitable proper % general hote a 380 Denke Be TNE stg © tO pute ¥ and con Buckroe Beach On the ant—about the electric art Comfort, Va. There is no finer more attractive s lesapeake After. e 1% Aiteen minutes ‘on Ot Pg Deach Atlantic Coast. tojoin this co scribing Shares only ten Payable g¢ per. month on- eae liberal discount on ful There are t jand—Water fro: nic park cove trees.—There are ed an auditorium, bath-house, each. stock. rooms. There is no Mpany by y to: its capital toed ($10) dot, ash ol Share; It paid ten acres TE 550 feetap + with live already ery Nttage ang Containing: fity Resort for colic people in the United States OFFICERS: Rev. A. L. ines, M., B. D., Pastor Immam| 4 E. church, Portmouth, Va} George L. Pryor, A’ ident; at Law, Secretary; Mitchell, D. Rev. Hull D.,—Past Street Baptist churc Va.,—Treasurer; Wm. E: DIRECTt » Attorney for the comp ORS: Matt. N.' Editor, Recorder, Samuel L. Tucker, Mosley & Co. Nor Clarke, Attorney at Lay, | port News. Jno. H. Cooper, i Foreman, Schoo! Press, No Institute Hampton, Va You ean get farther information or sub scribe for stock fro the following wel known gentlemen. E. V. Davis, Att'y, 6e9 Fst... # L. M. Hershaw, 1460 T st. John D. Hyman, at Bureau of Per sion. Rev. I. L_ Thomas, 19141! street, n. w. N. J Igth st nw, jem I street n. w., or to D. B. Me Cary, 609 F street, n.w.,at the De itory of the Capital Savint Bank, where they will also * ceive payments for stock . Booker, 1! Wim. Calvin Chast This resort bein at Old Point, Va." the best location f a national hotel | America. As the buildings are erected and place by the company. ¥‘ risk in taking stock oF officers of the company Ls aia a splendid fina 3 Subscribe for al you f and the dict you can convenient! pay big divide: For further informatio’ E. 122% West Broad St.| Financial Agent, Richmond, Var} uy Director of the address C. enll on Townsend, by Norfolk, ¥% Comp 4 5