e has anything to
obse've, I will make a few remarks."

Mr. Gillespie cleared his throat, and, assuming an oratorical attitude,
proceeded:

"The time has come in the history of our people when we should stand
together. In this age of organization the march of progress requires
that we help ourselves, or be forever left behind. Ever since the war we
have been sendin' our child'n to school an' educatin' 'em; an' now the
time has come when they are leavin' the schools an' colleges, an' are
ready to go to work. An' what are they goin' to do? The white people
won't hire 'em as clerks in their sto's an' factories an' mills, an' we
have no sto's or factories or mills of our own. They can't be lawyers
or doctors yet, because we haven't got the money to send 'em to medical
colleges an' law schools. We can't elect many of 'em to office, for
various reasons. There's just two things they can find to do--to preach
in our own pulpits, an' teach in our own schools. If it wasn't for
that, they'd have to go on forever waitin' on white folks, like their
fo'fathers have done, because they couldn't help it. If we expect our
race to progress, we must educate our young men an' women. If we want
to encourage 'em to get education, we must find 'em employment when they
are educated. We have now an opportunity to do this in the case of
our young friend an' fellow-citizen, Mr. Williams, whose eloquent an'
fine-lookin' letter ought to make us feel proud of him an' of our race.

"Of co'se there are two sides to the question. We have got to consider
the claims of Miss Noble. She has been with us a long time an' has
done much good work for our people, an' we'll never forget her work an'
frien'ship. But, after all, she has been paid for it; she has got
her salary regularly an' for a long time, an' she has probably saved
somethin', for we all know she hasn't lived high; an', for all we know,
she may have had somethin' left her by her parents. An' then again,
she's white, an' has got her own people to look after her; they've got
all the money an' all the offices an' all the everythin',--all that
they've made an' all that we've made for fo' hundred years,--an' they
sho'ly would look out for her. If she don't get this school, there's
probably a dozen others she can get at the North. An' another thing: she
is gettin' rather feeble, an' it 'pears to me she's hardly able to stand
teachin' so many child'n, an' a long rest might be the best thing in the
wor