CHAPTER XX.

THE MOVEMENT FOR A PERMANENT ENDOWMENT

Having, through nearly twenty years of incessant toil, succeeded in securing for Tuskegee the annual expenses for running the school and the money with which to purchase its present plant and equipment, valued at about $300,000, it has been for several years clearly seen by the trustees and myself that the thing needed to secure Tuskegee in the future was a permanent endowment fund. Not only is an endowment fund necessary as an assurance that the work of Tuskegee shall go on in the future, but it is necessary in order to relieve the Principal of the hard work of remaining in the North the greater portion of his time begging and speaking in order to raise the amount annually necessary to carry on the work. An endowment fund, the interest from which would be sufficient to meet, partially, the current expenses of the institution, would enable the Principal to devote his time to the executive work of the school, and this would obviously lead to greater perfection in the work there, both in the academic and industrial branches. Improved methods and facilities would redound to the benefit of each person educated at the institution. Various appeals, for the last year or two, have been made to the friends of Tuskegee for an endowment fund, and within the past year we have received by gifts and bequests $38,848.93 for this purpose. The United States Congress, in the winter of 1899, donated to Tuskegee 25,000 acres of land out of the public domain of Alabama, the proceeds of this grant to be added to the endowment fund.

No organized effort, however, was made to interest the friends of Tuskegee in the matter of raising a permanent endowment until the fall of 1899. It was then thought by the trustees and myself that the time was ripe for putting forth specific effort in this direction. Accordingly, it was decided to hold a public meeting in December, 1899, in the city of New York, at which the work of Tuskegee might be set forth by capable speakers, and the good the school was accomplishing, not only among the Negroes of the “black belt” but for the whole country, might be brought forcibly to the ears of the public. This meeting was held in the concert hall of Madison Square Garden, in the City of New York, on the evening of December 4, 1899. I take pleasure in giving a description of this meeting and in mentioning some of its immediate results, because it proved to be a magnificent tribute to the cause for which Tuskegee stands.

Ex-President Grover Cleveland had very kindly consented to be present and to preside at this meeting. The beautiful concert hall, which holds about 2,000 people, was packed that night so that it was difficult to procure even standing room. Many prominent people occupied seats upon the platform and in the boxes. Among the former I might mention Mr. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. Wm. E. Dodge, Mr. Alexander Orr, Mr. Robert C. Ogden, Mr. George Foster Peabody, Rev. Dr. C. H. Parkhurst, Rev. Dr. D. H. Greer, Mr. Charles E. Bigelow, Mr. Arthur Curtiss James, Mr. John A. Stewart, Mr. A. S. Frissell, Mr. George McAneny, Mr. Horace White, Hon. John M. Barrett, Mr. Walter H. Page, Hon. Seth Low, Hon. E. M. Shepard, Hon. Levi P. Morton, Dr. N. M. Butler, Mr. J. G. Phelps Stokes, Mr. John E. Parsons, Hon. Carl Schurz, Rev. P. B. Tompkins, Mr. Samuel P. Avery, Mr. R. F. Cutting, Mr. J. S. Kennedy, Mr. C. P. Huntington, Mr. C. S. Smith, Mr. R. W. Gilder, Chancellor H. K. McCracken, Mr. William G. Low, Mr. W. P. Ware, Prof. Chas. Sprague Smith, Mr. Wm. Jay Schieffelin, Mr. Charles Lanier, Mr. J. Hampden Robb, Mr. Dorman B. Eaton, Mr. Horace E. Deming, Mr. Joseph Lorocque, Mr. J. Kennedy Todd, Mr. LeGrand B. Cannon, Mr. Charles S. Fairchild, Mr. August Belmont, Mr. Jacob H. Schiff, Mr. Gustav Schwab, Mr. James C. Carter, Mr. John L. Cadwallader, Mr. Cleveland H. Dodge, Rev. Dr. H. Heber Newton, Mr. Edward Hewitt, Dr. Hamilton W. Mabie, Mr. Wheeler H. Peckham, Mr. Everett P. Wheeler, Mr. I. Fredk. Kernochan, Col. Wm. Jay, Mr. Chas. C. Beaman, Rev. Dr. Wm. R. Huntington, Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix, Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott, Mr. Wm. Dean Howells, Gen. Wagner Swayne, Hon. W. L. Strong, Mr. Charles H. Marshall, Mr. Henry Holt, Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. Among those who occupied boxes were Mr. Robert C. Ogden, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Dodge, Mrs. C. R. Lowell, Mr. Henry Villard, Mr. C. D. Smith, Miss Putnam, Mr. George Foster Peabody, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Mrs. Fredk. Billings, Miss Olivia Stokes, Mrs. C. A. Runkle, Miss Matilda W. Bruce, Miss Mary Parsons, Mr. W. H. Baldwin, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Morris K. Jesup, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore K. Gibbs, Mrs. W. H. Harkness, Mrs. C. B. Hackley, Miss Bryce, Mrs. F. C. Barlow, Mr. and Mrs. A. T. White, Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Pratt, Mr. C. E. Bigelow.

The day before the meeting was to be held Mr. Cleveland found himself confined to his house by illness, and wrote me his inability to be present. The letter proved to be almost, if not quite, as great an encouragement to the object of the meeting as Mr. Cleveland’s presence would have been. The letter was read at the meeting, and I think the reader will not complain if I quote it here. It is as follows:

PRINCETON, N. J., Dec. 3, 1899.

“MY DEAR MR. WASHINGTON:

“My inability to attend the meeting to-morrow evening, in the interest of Tuskegee Institute, is a very great disappointment to me. If my participation could have, in the slightest degree, aided the cause you represent, or in the least encouraged you in your noble efforts, I would have felt that my highest duty was in close company with my greatest personal gratification.

“It has frequently occurred to me that in the present condition of our free Negro population in the South, and the incidents often surrounding them, we cannot absolutely calculate that the future of our nation will always be free from dangers and convulsions, perhaps not less lamentable than those which resulted from the enslaved Negros, less than forty years ago. Then the cause of trouble was the injustice of the enslavement of four millions; but now we have to deal with eight millions, who, though free, and invested with all the rights of citizenship, still constitute, in the body politic, a mass largely affected with ignorance, slothfulness and a resulting lack of appreciation of the obligations of that citizenship.

“I am so certain that these conditions cannot be neglected, and so convinced that the mission marked out by the Tuskegee Institute presents the best hope of their amelioration, and that every consideration makes immediate action important, whether based upon Christian benevolence, a love of country, or selfish material interests, that I am profoundly impressed with the necessity of such prompt aid to your efforts as will best insure their success.

“I cannot believe that your appeal to the good people of our country will be unsuccessful. Such disinterested devotion as you have exhibited, and the results already accomplished by your unselfish work, ought to be sufficient guarantee of the far-reaching and beneficent results that must follow such a manifestation of Christian charity and good citizenship, as would be apparent in a cordial and effective support of your endeavor.

“I need not say how gratified I am to be able to indicate to you that such support is forthcoming. It will be seen by the letters which I enclose, that already an offer has been made through me, by a benevolent lady in a Western city, to contribute twenty-five thousand dollars toward the Endowment Fund, upon condition that other subscriptions to this fund aggregate the amount required. With so good a beginning I cannot believe it possible that there will be a failure in securing the endowment which Tuskegee so much needs.

“Yours very truly, “GROVER CLEVELAND.”

“BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, ESQ.”

In the absence of Mr. Cleveland, the Hon. Carl Schurz consented to preside at the meeting; and, as might be expected of one so ripe in experiences, he proved to be all that could be desired of a presiding officer. His short speech on taking the chair showed a hearty sympathy with the work that is being done at Hampton and Tuskegee. Mr. Schurz is a well-known German-American, who has been a general in the war of the Rebellion, a Senator in Congress and a member of the Cabinet of President Hayes. He has been for years a foremost worker in the Civil Service Reform movement. He is a writer of ability and a man who needs no introduction in the United States.

The Tuskegee Male Quartette was present and rendered plantation melodies, to the great delight of the audience.

The first speaker of the evening was Mr. Walter H. Page, a native of North Carolina, but for many years the Editor of the Atlantic Monthly, in Boston. The effort of Mr. Page was truly wonderful. He is a native Southerner, who has studied the Negro question for more than twenty years, from every point of view, as he alleged. He was well prepared to speak, and with irresistible logic and unusual eloquence, pointed out the benefits of the Tuskegee plan for the solution of the race problem. He claimed it to be the only solution that had been discovered. He pointed out how hopeless was the condition of the race, unless the problem was solved by industrial and moral training, and how hopeful would be its condition if the problem were settled in this way.

At the conclusion of Mr. Page’s address, Mr. William H. Baldwin, Jr., one of our Trustees, and a member of the Committee on the Investment of the Endowment Fund, spoke in behalf of the Trustees as follows:

“It is my privilege to speak to you as a Trustee of Tuskegee Institute on the subject of its finances. The generous friends who have made Tuskegee possible should know its exact business condition. It has been a hard but beneficial struggle for Mr. Washington to raise the funds necessary to pay the current expenses of the Institution, to acquire the 2,267 acres of land, and to erect the 42 buildings now comprising the school.

“During the 18 years of development, there have been imperative demands from time to time for buildings for which no specific funds were available. The rapid growth of the work, the constantly increasing number of students, with applications for admission far beyond the capacity of the buildings, put a burden on the Trustees which compelled them in their positions as Trustees, to advance some of the unrestricted contributions for the construction of buildings to protect the general welfare of the Institution.

“During this period, enough money has been collected to pay the current expenses, and to accumulate $300,000 in plant and equipment, and an endowment fund of $62,253.39.

“No mortgage has ever been placed upon the property, and the Trustees desire to pay any and all indebtedness without mortgaging the property, and without using other resources which should be used for endowment, or for increased plant.

“The grant of 25,000 acres of land from the United States Government in 1897, is valued at a minimum of $100,000, and that land, together with unrestricted legacies to be received, are obviously full security for the advances made by the Trustees. But these resources should be kept for permanent uses, and to care for the constantly increasing demands of the School.

“The income for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1899, amounted to $110,161.59. The current expenses for running the Institution were $64,386.70, showing very economical administration for the care of nearly 1,200 people. The balance of income was used in the construction and completion of buildings, and in reducing a part of the indebtedness. The Endowment Fund received $38,848.93 last year.

“In order that the accounts of the School should be kept on a strictly business basis, the Trustees, in 1897, appointed an Auditor, a Certified Public Accountant of New York, to direct and supervise all the accounts. The Trustees are in position to assure you that any contributions made, are properly and rigidly accounted for; and furthermore, that all expenditures are made with great economy and wise discretion.

“In short, Tuskegee has a good business organization, and warrants the entire confidence of its friends. Its Endowment Fund will be strictly preserved. Special contributions for buildings or other specific purposes, will be kept separate for their particular uses, and the contributions for current expenses will be expended economically and effectively.

“Though the School is still in need of simple buildings for dormitories, classrooms and shops, the Trustees determined in 1898 that a point of development had been reached when the Institute should not go into debt for any new buildings, and that in future no buildings should be erected until all the necessary funds are guaranteed for the purpose.

“There are two interests to be served by the upbuilding and strengthening of Tuskegee--the whole Negro race, and the country as a whole. The industrial education of the Negro--the education from the foundation up, as practiced at Tuskegee, is of vast business importance to all of us. The difference between ten million ignorant Blacks and ten million reasonably educated industrial workers, means more than sympathy, more than sentiment, more than our duty--it means wealth to the community.

“There is no longer the old problem of what to do with the Negro. That question has been settled. The problem now is one of co-operation and help and work.

“Booker Washington represents the evolution of this problem. His untiring devotion to the cause of the Blacks, his modesty, integrity, ability, in short, his greatness in dealing with this question, has brought about such a complete change in the understanding of the problem within the last few years that we can hardly repay the debt.

“Can we stand by and see a man who has such power to lead and educate his people, begging from door to door for the funds necessary to carry on his work? Is it not our duty to raise such a fund as will enable him to spend most of his time in the South, where he is needed, and where he can serve his people, and all of us, as no other man can do?

“Now is the time and the opportunity to show our recognition of the wonderful service he has done his people and his country, and to make the opportunity for him to be free to work to the best advantage. He asks an Endowment Fund of $500,000--a very modest request. Now that the White and the Negro of both the North and the South, and the authorities of the State of Alabama, and the President and Congress of the United States, have all agreed that Tuskegee and Booker Washington show the true way, we feel confident that there will be a quick response to the appeal to place Tuskegee on a firm financial standing.

“The friends of Tuskegee, in the past, have contributed generously to work out a problem. The problem is now solved--and it should be a privilege to us all to aid in this work, with the full knowledge that every dollar expended by Tuskegee will aid the Negro race in the only effective way, and that our whole country will profit by the investment.”

At the conclusion of Mr. Baldwin’s address I was introduced to the audience by the Presiding Officer. In my speech I told the audience, among other things, that the White people North and South, and the Negroes as well, had practically agreed that the methods of Tuskegee and Hampton offered the best solution of the perplexing Negro problem that had been put forth. In other words, that the whole country had agreed upon this solution of so important an economic, political and social problem. It was the duty, therefore, of those who could to supply the means for an effective solution in this way. I will not burden the reader with extracts from that speech.

After I had concluded, Rev. Dr. W. S. Rainsford, Rector of St. George’s Church, New York, made a few extemporaneous remarks, which were regarded as a strong appeal in behalf of the purpose of the meeting. I only wish I could lay before the reader the remarks of this gentleman in full. He said, among other things, that Tuskegee was doing a work for humanity--not only for the “Black Belt,” but for the whole country. Pointing to me, he said, “It is our duty to do for that man, engaged in that noble work, what we failed to do for General Armstrong. We allowed General Armstrong to go around begging, begging from door to door, to carry on the work at Hampton, until it killed him. It is our duty to save Mr. Washington from an untimely death, brought on in this way. It is our duty to save him for useful service by endowing Tuskegee.”

As may be partly gleaned from Mr. Cleveland’s letter, the results of this meeting began to be felt immediately.

A few days after the lady in the West, mentioned in Mr. Cleveland’s letter, gave notice that she would give us $25,000 on condition that the whole amount sought for was raised, we were very pleasantly surprised to receive her check for the $25,000, she having decided to remove the condition. Counting this $25,000 with the $50,000 given by Mr. Huntington and $10,000 by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, the result of the meeting was $85,000; Mr. Rockefeller’s $10,000, however, being given for current expenses. Adding what was received as a result of this meeting to our previous Endowment Fund, we have now in the hands of our Endowment Committee about $150,000 from which the school is receiving interest.