The Story of My Life and Work

by Booker T. Washington

must be returned within thirty days. On the morning of the day that the thirty days expired we were without the $400 with which to repay the loan and were of course very much depressed in consequence. The mail, however, came in at about eleven o’clock and brought a check from a friend for exactly $400. I could give a number of other such instances illustrating how we were relieved from embarrassing circumstances in ways that have always seemed to me to have been providential. Although the institution has had occasion many times to give promissory notes in order to meet its obligations, there has never been a single instance when any of its notes have gone to protest, and its credit and general financial standing have always been good with the commercial world. I have felt deeply obligated to the white and colored citizens of Tuskegee for their kindness in helping the school financially when it did not have money to meet its obligations. We have never applied to an individual or to either of the banks in Tuskegee for aid that we did not get it when the banks or individuals were able to aid us. The banks have been more than kind, often seemingly inconveniencing themselves in order to be of service to our institution. In the earlier days of the institution, when we had little in the way of income, on several occasions I have started to the depot, when I had to make a journey away from Tuskegee, with no money in my pocket, but felt perfectly sure of meeting a friend in the town of Tuskegee from whom I could get money, and I have never been disappointed in this respect.

In 1883 we received our first donation of $500 from the Peabody Fund through Dr. J. L. M. Curry, the General Agent. At that time Dr. Curry formed his first acquaintance with Tuskegee; and, as I have stated elsewhere, from then until now he has been one of our warmest and most helpful friends. The amount received from the Peabody Fund has since been increased until it now amounts to twelve or fifteen hundred dollars each year.

In connection with this appropriation from the Peabody Fund it may be interesting to relate a conversation which took place between Dr. Curry and one of the State officers at Montgomery, Alabama. The State officer in question was telling Dr. Curry that there were several other schools in the state that needed help more than Tuskegee did; and that, because Tuskegee, through the efforts of its teachers, was receiving money from the North and elsewhere which other schools were not getting, he thought we were not entitled to help from the Peabody Fund. Dr. Curry promptly replied that because we were making an extra effort to get funds which other schools were not getting was the strongest reason why we should be helped; in other words, he told the officer plainly that we were trying to help ourselves and for that reason he wanted us helped from the Peabody Fund.

Through the constant efforts in the North and South of myself and Miss Davidson, the financial report for the first two years of the school showed that the receipts amounted to $11,679.69. The rapid increase in the growth of the school and in the confidence of the people may be shown by the fact that, during the third year of the existence of the school, the receipts nearly doubled themselves as compared with the second year; we received the third year the sum of $10,482.78, which was nearly as much as we received during the two previous years. By far the larger proportion of this amount came in small sums; very often amounts came from individuals that were as small as 50 cents. One of the things that constantly touched and encouraged us during the early years of the school was the deep interest manifested in its success by the old and ignorant colored people in and near the town of Tuskegee. They never seemed to tire in their interest and efforts. They were constantly trying to do something to help forward the institution. Whenever they had a few chickens or eggs, for example, to spare, they would bring them in and make a present of them to the school.

The income of the institution for the fifth year amounted to $20,162.13; for the ninth year, $30,326; for the eleventh year, $61,023.28; for the fourteenth year, $79,836.50.

At the end of the third year we were able to report that the school owned property unencumbered by debt that was valued at $30,000. During the third year Alabama Hall, to which I have already referred, was completed at a cost of $10,000.

The report for the fourth year of the school’s history shows that we received from all sources $11,146.07. During that year we got into a very tight place financially and hardly knew which way to turn for relief. In the midst of our perplexity, I went to Gen. Armstrong and he very kindly loaned the school money to help it out of its embarrassment, although I afterwards learned that it was nearly all of the money that he possessed in cash.

In my fourth annual report to the Trustees I used the following words: “Greater attention has been given to the industrial department this year than ever before. Three things are accomplished by the industrial system: (1) The student is enabled to pay a part of his expenses of board, books, etc., in labor; (2) He learns how to work; (3) He is taught the dignity of labor. In all the industrial branches the students do the actual work under the direction of competent instructors.” I have not had occasion to change in any great degree the foregoing sentences as representing the purpose for which Tuskegee stands.

During the fifth year of our work we were able also to add a saw mill, through the generosity of Gen. J. F. B. Marshall, to whom I have already referred. The addition of this saw mill enabled us to saw a large part of the lumber used by the institution.