hings and get facts, in a cold, business-like
manner.

I have seen the statement made lately, by one who claims to know what he
is talking about, that, taking the whole Negro race into account, ninety
per cent of the Negro women are not virtuous. There never was a baser
falsehood uttered concerning a race, or a statement made that was less
capable of being proved by actual facts.

No one can come into contact with the race for twenty years, as I have
done in the heart of the South, without being convinced that the race is
constantly making slow but sure progress materially, educationally, and
morally. One might take up the life of the worst element in New
York City, for example, and prove almost anything he wanted to prove
concerning the white man, but all will agree that this is not a fair
test.

Early in the year 1897 I received a letter inviting me to deliver an
address at the dedication of the Robert Gould Shaw monument in Boston.
I accepted the invitation. It is not necessary for me, I am sure, to
explain who Robert Gould Shaw was, and what he did. The monument to
his memory stands near the head of the Boston Common, facing the State
House. It is counted to be the most perfect piece of art of the kind to
be found in the country.

The exercises connected with the dedication were held in Music Hall, in
Boston, and the great hall was packed from top to bottom with one of
the most distinguished audiences that ever assembled in the city. Among
those present were more persons representing the famous old anti-slavery
element that it is likely will ever be brought together in the country
again. The late Hon. Roger Wolcott, then Governor of Massachusetts,
was the presiding officer, and on the platform with him were many other
officials and hundreds of distinguished men. A report of the meeting
which appeared in the Boston Transcript will describe it better than any
words of mine could do:--

The core and kernel of yesterday's great noon meeting, in honour of the
Brotherhood of Man, in Music Hall, was the superb address of the Negro
President of Tuskegee. "Booker T. Washington received his Harvard A.M.
last June, the first of his race," said Governor Wolcott, "to receive an
honorary degree from the oldest university in the land, and this for
the wise leadership of his people." When Mr. Washington rose in the
flag-filled, enthusiasm-warmed, patriotic, and glowing atmosphere of
Music Hall, people felt keenly that here wa