The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1309 
Things To Think About 
Honoring a Colored Man 
We consider it a very fine thing, and 
the strongest evidence of true growth in 
public sentiment, that the Chamber of 
Commerce in Richmond, Va., should pass 
resolutions on the death of a colored man 
and say that “his passing is a heavy 
blow to this city in which he has spent 
his entire life.” The man was Giles B. 
Jackson who was the first negro to prac¬ 
tice law in Virginia. He lived for near¬ 
ly JO years in Richmond, and did much 
to promote harmony and confidence be¬ 
tween whites and blacks. The Richmond 
Dispatch printed this obituary notice: 
Giles Jackson made judges, lawyers 
and thousands of laymen laugh during 
his long life, but it was because lie 
wanted them to laugh. Frequently he 
employed the quaint phrases and odd 
turns of speech that marked the older 
generation of colored people, but he did 
it deliberately. For Giles B. Jackson, 
attorney and counsellor at law, was es¬ 
sentially a serious man. He had to be, 
else he could not have won his way from 
plowed field to court room, he could not 
have aided in countless ways the ad¬ 
vancement of his people, he could not 
have earned the respect and confidence 
of white and colored people alike, he 
could not have 'been so powerful a fac¬ 
tor in helping to create and maintain the 
friendly relations that exist in Richmond 
between the races, and he could not have 
taught, as mightily as he did teach, the 
young people of his race to lead upright, 
clean and industrious lives. 
He could make others laugh, because 
he could laugh himself. And that he 
could laugh, behind Ms kindly, sober 
visage, must have been a saving grace to 
him. He overcame almost insuperable 
difficulties from his boyhood to his old 
age—difficulties that harassed him and 
beset the path of helpfulness he had laid 
out for himself. It must have been his 
ability to see the humor that lay even 
in darkness and distress that enabled him 
to go through a life of hard work, for 
others rather than for himself, with an 
exquisite courtesy rarely found in these 
days. 
A tireless and faithful laborer in many 
fields of usefulness, Giles Jackson leaves 
behind him the memory, in another sense, 
of another “Old Gentleman of the Black 
Stock.” 
Many years ago Charles Dickens wrote 
his “American Notes” in which he brand¬ 
ed the white people for their treatment 
of the negro. We wish he could come 
again and see, in this southern capital, 
newer relations as evidenced by this in¬ 
cident. 
A Day in a Modern School 
One of our Ohio readers sends us the 
following note and clipping. There is 
much wholesome truth beneath this keen 
satire. In their efforts to “enlarge and 
improve” our methods of education some 
of the educators are surely leaving the 
earth and getting up into the clouds: 
It has been a good many years since 
our children went to school, but the en¬ 
closed clipping readily revives our mem¬ 
ories of those days. “There is many a 
truth spoken in jest,” and I think this 
clipping tells a whole lot of truths. This 
was taken from the Saturday Evening 
Post. C. C. K. 
Ohio. 
Study-prevention Week 
Teacher : “Good morning, children. 
We shall omit the morning exercises 
this morning, for it is a very busy day. 
The Society for the Aid of Disabled 
Hack Drivers has started a campaign 
for fun s and wishes our help. 
“Here is a letter from them which I 
am to read, and then you are to tell your 
fathers and mothers about the great work 
this society is doing. Contributions 
which yo r parents wish to make, you 
are to bring to school. 
“This is Be Kind to Coal Dealers 
Week, as you know, but first we have to 
finish our colored posters for the Plumb¬ 
ers’ Relief Association convention which 
opens Tuesday. We want to get these 
done quickly, for next Wednesday we 
shall begin our house-to-house canvass 
for funds for the dear little children of 
the Zulu Islands, which the Missionary 
Society told us about.” 
They spend an hour working on the 
colored posters. 
Teacher : “There is the bell for re¬ 
cess.” 
On resuming their places the pupils 
are greeted by a member of the Society 
for Keeping Your Yard Tidy. 
In concluding a half-hour talk the com¬ 
mittee member says, “We wish the 
schools to co-operate with us in every 
way. To help you remember the wonder¬ 
ful work which our committee is doing, 
we are going to offer prizes to the boy or 
girl who will sell the most tickets for our 
bazaar, which will be held to raise 
funds,” and so on. 
Teacher, after bidding the committee 
member good-bye: “I have an announce¬ 
ment to read to you from the Fruit 
Growers’ Society. They say that all 
children should eat fruit, and to heln the 
good work along they propose to place 
fruit on sale in the schoolhouse so that 
all may buy fruit,” and so on. 
“Now, let’s take our arithmetic, and 
-Oh. good morning, Mr. Snowberry. 
Time for the exercises on the playground? 
I’m sure we all forgot it, we’ve been so 
interested in our school work. 
“Now, children, we shall form in line 
and march outdoors to watch Mr. Snow- 
berry plant the lovely little tree given us 
by the Historical Society to mark the 
spot,” and so on. 
Teacher, after returning from the ex¬ 
ercises: “What is it, Esther? We haven’t 
bad our esthetic dancing? So we haven’t. 
Bet’s do it before we do anything else, 
for The Thursday Morning Society of 
Rhythm was so kind to introduce it into 
the schools.” 
Teacher plays the piano and the child¬ 
ren take the places. 
Teacher : “That was very good. Now 
we shall be busy this afternoon with the 
rehearsals for the cantata so kindly ar¬ 
ranged for us by the Municipal Music 
League. What? Oh, yes, James, this 
is the day for our banking, isn’t it? You 
may take your pennies and file into the 
hall. Remember Mr. Johnson of the 
Thrift Society told us about how the 
pennies made the dollars.” The children 
file to the hall. 
Teacher, on their return: “Now we’W 
take our arithmetics.” She is handed a 
paper by a messenger. “Children, the 
Anti-Cosmetic Association wishes you to 
be taught something every week about 
the harmful effects of the use of cos¬ 
metics, so if you will lay aside your 
arithmetics I will read you the first little 
lesson which they have prepared for the 
use of the schools.” She reads. 
Teacher: “Oh, dear, there’s the dis¬ 
missal bell. No time for our arithmetic 
this morning. Perhaps tomorrow we can 
get to it. Yes, Tommy, what is it? So 
we do. Tommy says to-morrow we have 
the long-promised visit from the president 
of the Junior Politicians’ Reform Asso¬ 
ciation. I had forgotten. They want us 
all to become members and help them 
raise money to combat,” and so on. 
“Good-bye, children. Perhaps day after 
to-morrow we’ll have time for our arith¬ 
metic.” CHARLES PENPEXTER DUKELL. 
This Family Worked 
On page 1095 there is an article on the 
child labor amendment. An insane Con¬ 
gress might pass such an amendment, but 
no sane man would do so. I can speak 
from experience. I was left an orphan 
before I was six years old ; was given a 
home by a farmer’s wife. I know that 
I had a tyrant to live with, one who 
thought that every cent’s worth of work 
she could get out of me was so much 
clear gain for herself. But I learned to 
be a good worker, and to stick to a job, 
once it was started. As soon as I was 
old enough I left those people and went 
out for myeelf. 
I was sure of a job, from my first day’s 
work. Employers found they could de¬ 
pend on me. I married a poor man, but 
we have lived, and had many of the lux¬ 
uries of life. My four children grew up 
to know just what work meant and every 
one of them is successful in their chosen 
work. My oldest son graduated with 
honor from one of our county’s largest 
schools. My youngest son would have 
graduated iu June, but the war claimed 
him in May of that year, and when he 
came back again, he went into business 
for himself, and is now married and get¬ 
ting along well in his chosen career. An¬ 
other son is a good farmer, making a 
living, and putting a little money in the 
bank each year. My daughter is mar¬ 
ried, and has a family of her own to 
teach. 
My children were care-free until they 
were five years old. Then each one was 
given some small job, that they had to 
do, before they could play. My daughter 
had to pick the knives, forks and small 
dishes from the table, and place them 
neatly on the 'broad shelf in the pantry 
after each meal. As she grew older other 
pieces were given her. My sons had to 
bring in a stated num'ber of sticks of 
wood, and pile neatly in the wood box. 
They soon learned to do the work, with¬ 
out any fuss about it. When older, and 
given more work to do, they did it cheer¬ 
fully. There is no scandal about them. 
They are not rich men’s children brought 
up without a thought except to amuse 
themselves. They understand that life 
means service. One of iny friends told 
me recently that she did not see how I 
managed to have such a nice family. They 
were a credit to the town where we liv^. 
MRS. J. H. R. 
Visitor : “Couldn’t you settle your 
case out of court?” Convict: “That’s 
what we was tryin’ to do when de cops 
interfered.”—Philadelphia Bulletin. 
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