No. 4.] THE COLORED HACK. 275 



feet, owning the land, educating their children, living strong, 

 helpful, American lives. We have not only got to get our 



own people on their feet, but to convert the southern white 

 man to the point where he can see that an educated, schol- 

 arly, conscientious black man is of more value to society 

 than an ignorant, worthless black man. Gradually we are 

 doing that. 



I remember some months ago I met a southern white man 

 on the street, who said to me, " Washington, I hear you are 

 educating nigger dairymen over to Tuskegee. I want a 

 dairyman. I want you to send me one." I picked out 

 one of the most intelligent, scholarly, conscientious men 

 that had ever graduated from our dairy school, and sent 

 him to this southern white man. About six months after, 

 I met this same white man and he said to me: "Mr. 

 Washington,'' — he didn't say "Washington" that time, — 

 " Mr. Smith," — he didn't say " nigger dairyman," either, — 

 he said ; " Mr. Smith has revolutionized my dairy business. 

 He has cleaned up the whole establishment, he has systema- 

 tized it, and for the first time in its history it is upon a 

 paying and satisfactory basis." He said : " Mr. Washington, 

 I want you to send me another graduate just like Mr. 

 Smith." 



Now, my friends, no amount of abuse, no amount of quar- 

 relling or fighting, could have made that southern white man 

 respect me and that institution. We have got to go on grad- 

 ually, quietly and persistently, eternally putting before them 

 these object lessons, showing them, by evidence indisput- 

 able, that an educated negro is of more value to the south 

 than an ignorant negro. 



Some years ago one of our men began to try to see how 

 many bushels of sweet potatoes he could produce on a single 

 acre of land. After a number of years he got to the point 

 some time ago where he could produce two hundred and 

 sixty-six bushels upon one acre. The average in that com- 

 munity had been only forty-nine. When this black man 

 produced two hundred and sixty-six, you ought to have seen 

 the white farmers come to see how he had done it. They 

 forgot about the color; they didn't have a bit of prejudice 



