red in the form in which it is stated; for there is no "the
Negroes" in the unit sense. Since its freedom the colored race has
classified itself into almost as many grades, as regards ability and
capacity, as there are to be found among the whites; it is, therefore,
no longer possible to speak of "the Negroes," meaning that they are
all upon the same mental and moral plain. It is as absurd to say that
every Negro should be made to receive an industrial training as it is
to say that every Negro should be given a college education.

The question of higher education or industrial training is one that
depends entirely upon the individual; and there should be no limit
placed upon the individual's right of development. I think it a great
folly to educate a colored man beyond his capacity; I think it an
equally great folly to so educate a white man.

It is needless, and not within the limits of the subject, for me to
make any defense of higher education for Negroes; but, I do say that
every man, be he black or white, should be allowed to make the most of
all of his powers, his possibilities, and his opportunities. I
recognize the fact that the great majority of Negroes must, and, I
hope, will be engaged in agriculture and the trades; that is true of
every race; but there is, and ought to be, no power to say that
this or that individual in any grade of society shall not break
through his environments, and rise above his conditions. And I think
it safe to say that the proportion of colored men and women who have
been given an education beyond their capacity for receiving and using,
is very little larger than the same among the whites; and, in the
years to come, as the race shall more and more fit itself to the
grinding process which it takes to turn out a people, that proportion
will become less and less, and each individual will settle to his
level, or rise triumphant over obstacles and circumstances to the
place for which his ability and aspirations fit him.

But let us consider our subject in a deeper sense; if by education is
meant that training, those influences by which the habits, the
character, the thoughts, and the ideals of a people are formed and
developed, then, the answer hinges upon the answer to another
question: Is the Negro to remain in this country a separate and
distinct race, or is he to become one of the elements in the future
composite American?

If, as some claim, the Negro is to remain in this country