would be largely
freed so far as Negroes are concerned from the menace of the crimes of
violence which are committed almost exclusively by ignorant persons.
Finally, were Negro travellers given equal accommodations and
treatment for equal rates on all the Southern railways the volume of
Negro travel would more rapidly increase, thus increasing the
prosperity of the railways and their shareholders which would in turn
promote the prosperity of the entire South.

True to his policy of always placing the emphasis upon those things
which are encouraging instead of upon those things which are
discouraging, Mr. Washington concluded the already much-quoted
article, "Is the Negro Having a Fair Chance?" with these observations:
"Notwithstanding all the defects in our system of dealing with him,
the Negro in this country owns more property, lives in better houses,
is in a larger measure encouraged in business, wears better clothes,
eats better food, has more schoolhouses and churches, and more
teachers and ministers, than any similar group of Negroes anywhere in
the world."

CHAPTER FIVE

MEETING RACE PREJUDICE

Although intensely human and consumingly interested in humanity--both
in the mass and as individuals, whether of his own race or any
other--Booker Washington thought and acted to an uncommon degree on
the impersonal plane. This characteristic was perhaps most strikingly
illustrated in his attitude toward race prejudice. When, many years
ago, he had charge of the Indian students at Hampton, and had occasion
to travel with them, he found they were free to occupy in the hotels
any rooms they could pay for, whereas he must either go without or
take a room in the servants' quarters. He regarded these experiences
as interesting illustrations of the illogical nature of race
prejudice. The occupants of these hotels did not resent mingling with
members of a backward race whose skin happened to be red, but they did
object to mingling on the same terms with members of another backward
race whose skin happened to be black. It apparently never entered his
head to regard this discrimination with bitterness or as a personal
rebuff. One could not, however, make a greater mistake than to assume
from this impersonal attitude that he condoned race prejudice, or in
any sense stood as an apologist for it. To dispel any such idea one
has only to recall his speech at the Peace Jubilee in Chicago after
the Spanish War, from which w