BY FIELD-SUPERINTENDENT C. J. RYDER
A colored preacher of the old style stumblingly read for his text, the following:—“Wine is a moccasin and strong drink is a rattlesnake.” The sermon which followed was in keeping with the text which he read. This is sound temperance sentiment even if it is a little faulty as a rendering of Scripture. The question is often asked:—What is the A. M. A. doing toward the grand temperance upheaval of the South? This question has been put to me recently:—“Is the A. M. A. keeping step to the march of present reform, as it did in the great anti-slavery agitation?” An unhesitating yes can be given to this question. In the “Notes in the Saddle,” for June, a few hints were given concerning the part the representatives of the A. M. A. were taking in the temperance movement in Texas. This was only a hint. It was intended as such. Much more could have been said, and truthfully said; for instance:—one pastor of an A. M. A. church is devoting a large part of the summer to stumping the State in favor of the proposed Temperance Amendment to the State Constitution. He goes out under the commission of a committee of temperance workers appointed for the special purpose of stirring up correct sentiments among the people. The colored people are a large factor in the settlement of this question in Texas. This pastor will do his utmost to lead them to vote right. Other pastors and teachers are giving portions of their time this summer to the same good work. In the South at large every A. M. A. school is the center of pronounced temperance agitation. “Bands of Hope” among the younger pupils and temperance societies of various names among the older pupils are the universal rule. The “Three Pledge” cards, including abstinence from tobacco, intoxicants, and profane language, are signed by almost every pupil in the A. M. A. schools. These pupils, when they go out as teachers in the public schools, take these pledges with them, and secure signatures from their pupils, and in this way carry the work far beyond the limits of the enrollment of our own schools, in this aggressive temperance agitation. Not a single pastor of an A. M. A. church uses intoxicants or tobacco so far as my knowledge goes. The example of these pastors, as well as their preaching, is right and safe. In one community, the rigid rules adopted by the Congregational Church concerning these indulgences, brought the other colored churches into line first, and, finally, the white church of the same community found it necessary to take this radical position in order to maintain its hold upon the people. Their wise method of reaching the people and securing a correct public sentiment concerning this question, is made use of both by pastors and by schools. Instruction in Coleman’s and Richardson’s Manuals is provided for in the course of study. Honest, earnest, and persistent Christian effort is put forth by the representatives of the A. M. A. all along the line.
While walking down the streets of Florence, Ala., a few weeks ago, a little white boy came trotting along at my side. We easily fell into conversation. “How old are you?” I said. “Nine years old,” he replied. “What Reader do you read in?” “I never read in no Reader.” “Do you go to school?” “No, sir.” “Can’t you read?” “I can pick out some words right smart.” This is the exact testimony of a Southern white boy of the middle class of society to-day! A few rods farther down the street of the same village, a little colored boy overtook me. I invited conversation with him, with the following result: “How old are you?” “Nine years old, Boss.” “Go to school?” “Oh, yes, sir; been going to school for a long time.” “What Reader are you in?” “The Second, sir.” “Can you read right along in the Bible without any trouble?” “Yes, sir; I don’t have any trouble in reading ’most anything.” This incident is true to the letter. It is not very exceptional. The colored children are improving faster than the white children in the South. If this state of things continues very long, the Southern people will be obliged to hire colored young men and women to teach their white schools. Think of it! “In New York State 55 white men in a thousand, and in Massachusetts 62 in each thousand, make their mark when they sign a document,” says the New York Post, “while in Kansas only 31 in a thousand, and in Nebraska only 30 in a thousand are so illiterate. But in Kentucky 173 white men in a thousand cannot write their own names!” The A. M. A. schools in the South are seeking to correct this appalling state of things. They not only educate, but they inspire also a desire for education in those reached by their influences. It is unfortunate that these influences are mostly confined to the colored people, but that is not because the whites are excluded from our school privileges. “None are so blind as those who will not see.” None are so hopelessly ignorant as those who do not desire to learn.
ATLANTA UNIVERSITY.
The eighteenth anniversary of this institution has just passed. No year in the history of the school, perhaps, has witnessed a broader and better work than that of the year now closed.
The exercises incident to Commencement week were inaugurated with the baccalaureate sermon, preached by Sec. Woodworth, of Boston, Sabbath morning, May 22d, in the chapel of the University, packed to the full with the students and their friends.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were occupied with the usual examinations of the Normal and College departments, in the presence of the State Board of Examiners appointed by the Governor for that purpose. Every opportunity was given and taken to test the students in their thorough knowledge and mastery of the subjects reviewed; and it is but simple justice to them and to their teachers to say that they bore the test superbly. In addition to the ordinary school work, there were exhibitions in handicraft of various kinds. First came an exhibit in the principles and practice of wood-working, including carpentry and turning, which would have gratified the advocates of manual labor connected with our public schools.
Next came an object lesson, by the Senior and Normal classes, in nursing. They brought in, upon a stretcher, one of their own number, and illustrated how different kinds of bandages should be made and applied; how plasters and poultices should be mixed and spread, and also how deftly and easily the clothing of the sick bed could be changed and renewed without removing or disturbing the patient.