"Now my ole man he's an' old-fashion farmer an' he don' kere fur dese modern notions, an' so I don't git no help from him, an' that makes it hard for me 'cause it ain't nat'ral for der woman to lead. If I could only git him to move I'd be happier jest ter foller him." While these explanations are going on the farmers in the audience are naturally saying to themselves over and over again, "I could do that!" or "Why couldn't I do that?"
One of Mr. Washington's chief aims was to increase the wants of his people and at the same time increase their ability to satisfy them. In other words, he believed in fermenting in their minds what might be termed an effective discontent with their circumstances. With this purpose in view he addressed to them at these conferences such questions as the following:
"What kind of house do you live in?"
"Do you own that house?"
"What kind of schoolhouse have you?"
"Do you send your children to school regularly?"
"How many months does your school run?"
"Do you keep your teacher in the community?"
"What kind of church have you?"
"Where does your pastor live?"