onditions are rapidly passing away and
those nations, races, and individuals who cannot adjust themselves to
these new conditions must be left behind. Just now grave and serious
problems confront the American People and this, in itself, is a proof of
our going forth. We must not deprecate them, we must not shirk them,
they are ours, we must face them manfully, must shoulder them and stand
up and walk. These problems are the mothers of progress and instead of
trying to turn from them or to dodge them, we should rejoice because we
live at a time when we can help in the solution of such complex
problems, whose results will have such far reaching and lasting effect
upon the social and economic life of the American People.

This country is one and inseparable and whatever is beneficial to the
white man is beneficial to the black man also. The negro cannot hope at
the present to play a very important part in the solution of great
questions. At our best the part we must play can only be secondary.
First, because our business operations have not brought us into intimate
relation to these questions and we do not fully comprehend their
meaning. Second, we can do but little because these questions are
political in their nature and must be settled by the ballot. The Negro
in this section has been disfranchised and therefore he cannot play at
that game. Our being thus handicapped and prohibited from assisting in
the solution of these great problems, is no reason why we should say
there is nothing we can do.

"If you cannot cross the ocean
And the heathen lands explore
You can find the heathen nearer;
You can help them at your door."

There are some problems, however, that are within our reach, upon the
solution of which depends our future welfare in this country. They are,
inefficiency, vagrancy, and crime. For a long time we have been hearing
of the inefficiency of the Negro teacher, the inefficiency of the Negro
preacher, but all the while it was said that he was a good worker; that
he was only fitted to do manual labor. The cry has gone out and is
rapidly spreading to the effect that the Negro is worthless; that there
is inefficiency in the pulpit, inefficiency in the school-room, and now
inefficiency on the farm. Inefficiency everywhere. Our race has lost
many places of trust and honor because of this cry. I know personal
cases where Negro men have been replaced by white men because, they say,
the black men were in