"But I can say that no persons have sustained so great a loss as have the members of the Tuskegee Alumni Association; and I come to bear testimony to the depth and sincerity of their grief.
"There is a story which has not yet been told, in connection with the spread of industrial education in the South and throughout the entire country. I must tell that story here before I can make clear just how great is the Alumni's loss.
"In telling of the spread of industrial education, during the past twenty-five years, we seem not to know that the work has been difficult and prosecuted at great sacrifice on the part of the Tuskegee graduates who have sought to interpret Dr. Washington's theory that economic fitness was the basis of racial growth in many other directions.
"The people did not take kindly to this form of education, believing that it was the same old slavery from which we have emerged under a new name; and the Tuskegee graduates have prosecuted their work in the face of the misrepresentations, prejudice, opposition, and ridicule of those of their own race who could or would not understand the spirit of industrial education—a spirit broader and finer than the phrase suggests. More than this: in the communities where they have worked it has been the fashion to permit our graduates to do the difficult tasks and carry all the burdens of leadership; but if there were any honors to be bestowed, they were given to the graduates of other schools.
"Being human and denied those honors and public marks of esteem which always gladden the heart, these Tuskegee men and women have often grown discouraged and have been tempted to lay down their work. But like Daniel, when those gloomy hours came, they have turned their faces toward Jerusalem, to Tuskegee, over which the great spirit of Dr. Washington brooded and lived; and from this place he has sent back to them whenever they have called, encouragement, counsel, and help.
"Sometimes they have been so depressed that they have come to Tuskegee just to see and talk with their prophet once more and to be baptized again in his sweet and noble spirit. Many times we have seen them here and wondered at their presence. They were here to receive comfort, and to hear Mr. Washington say in his own convincing manner: 'It has been my experience that if a man will do the right thing and go ahead, everything will be all right at last.' And these men and women who have sat at his feet and who trusted him have gone back to their work with new and increasing strength.
"But now Dr. Washington is gone, and the graduates of the school will never again receive his counsel and encouragement, however gloomy their paths may be. That is the measure of our loss.
"And yet our Principal is not buried out yonder. It is his tired body which is resting just beyond that wall; but he is not buried in that grave. The real Dr. Washington is buried in the graduates who sat at his feet and imbibed his spirit, and he lives in them.
"King David, pondering over God's mercies and goodness to him, thinking of how he had been taken from minding sheep and placed upon the throne of Israel; and how God had guided and protected him and made his name great in the earth, exclaimed reverently, one day, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits unto me?' and he answered his question, in part, by saying: 'I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all the people.'
"If all our graduates could speak to-night, they would have me pay their vows of gratitude for the opportunity to make blessed and beautiful their lives, given by our great teacher; and they would have me give public assurance of their fealty to the work for which Mr. Washington gave his life.