at the foot of the mountain,
hungering and desiring to be fed; naked and desiring to be clothed;
sick, and desiring to be healed. The work of Jesus Christ and His
disciples was not on the transfigured mountain, but at the foot among
the masses. So as they came down from the mountain, there met Him a man
whose son was a lunatic, desiring that the Master might heal him.

"So on occasions like this when Dr. Washington takes us upon the
mountain and reveals to us Tuskegee in all of her beauty and splendor,
we are likely, in such a state of ecstasy, to cry out saying, Principal
Washington, it is good for us to be here, and let us build three
tabernacles; one for thee, one for Armstrong, and one for Douglas. But
my friends, we cannot abide here. We must go down to the foot of the
mountain among the masses. We must go out into the rural districts for
there it is that the people are a hungry and thirsty crowd, and there it
is that the harvest is great, but the laborers are few, and there it is
the work of the world must be done.

"Another suggestion is, that as you go out to work, you will find that
for the most part Negro society is built upon a false basis. Instead of
being built upon the sound basis of merit and character, it is built
upon display; instead of being built upon substance, it is built upon
shadow.

"We need young men and women who have confidence in themselves;
confidence in the race, and abiding faith in God. We need young men and
women who are more interested in the opportunity to make a dollar than
in the privilege to spend one. We need young men and women who are
imbued with the spirit of sacrifice and service, whose mission is, 'Not
to be ministered unto, but to minister.' We need young men and women
with a purpose.

"To illustrate what we mean by a purpose, we take the action of Grant
during the late Civil War. When Winfield Scott and McClellan had
practically failed with the army of the Potomac and things were looking
very dark for the Union forces, Lieutenant U. S. Grant was placed in
command of all the Union forces. From the date of his command, his
purpose was: 'On to Richmond.' Day after day his command was: 'On to
Richmond.' When they had rivers to ford and mountains to climb, his
command was: 'On to Richmond.' At times thousands were laid low by the
ravage of disease, but his command was: 'On to Richmond.' When the
cannon of his enemy roared like thunder and bullets like lightning
struck his m