y, and
said: 'I am mighty glad to see you. I have heard about you and I have
been wanting to meet you for a long while.'

"I was naturally pleased at this cordial reception, but I was
surprised when, after looking me over, he remarked: 'Say, you are a
great man. You are the greatest man in this country.'

"I protested mildly, but he insisted, shaking his head and repeating,
'Yes, sir, the greatest man in this country.' Finally I asked him what
he had against President Roosevelt, telling him at the same time that,
in my opinion, the President of the United States was the greatest man
in the country.

"'Huh! Roosevelt?' he replied, with considerable emphasis in his
voice, 'I used to think that Roosevelt was a great man until he ate
dinner with you. That settled him for me.'"

Mr. Washington goes on to say: "This remark of a Florida farmer is but
one of the many experiences which have taught me something of the
curious nature of this thing that we call prejudice--social prejudice,
race prejudice, and all the rest. I have come to the conclusion that
these prejudices are something that it does not pay to disturb. It is
best to 'let sleeping dogs lie.' All sections of the United States,
like all other parts of the world, have their own peculiar customs and
prejudices. For that reason it is the part of common sense to respect
them. When one goes to European countries, or into the Far West, or
into India or China, he meets certain customs and certain prejudices
which he is bound to respect and, to a certain extent, comply with.
The same holds good regarding conditions in the North and in the
South. In the South it is not the custom for colored and white people
to be entertained at the same hotel; it is not the custom for black
and white children to attend the same school. In most parts of the
North a different custom prevails. I have never stopped to question or
quarrel with the customs of the people in the part of the country in
which I found myself."

And so he acted in the case of the Wanamaker dinner. He accepted Mr.
Wanamaker's invitation because he was in the North and his host was a
Northerner. In so doing he felt that he was not violating any
generally accepted custom or universally entertained prejudice of the
part of the country in which he found himself. Had the inconceivable
occurred, and had a Southerner invited him to dine in the South, under
conditions in all other respects identical, he would not have
acc