hat President William McKinley is the best
example of a man of this class that I have ever seen.

In order to be successful in any kind of undertaking, I think the
main thing is for one to grow to the point where he completely forgets
himself; that is, to lose himself in a great cause. In proportion as
one loses himself in the way, in the same degree does he get the highest
happiness out of his work.

My experience in getting money for Tuskegee has taught me to have no
patience with those people who are always condemning the rich because
they are rich, and because they do not give more to objects of charity.
In the first place, those who are guilty of such sweeping criticisms
do not know how many people would be made poor, and how much suffering
would result, if wealthy people were to part all at once with any large
proportion of their wealth in a way to disorganize and cripple great
business enterprises. Then very few persons have any idea of the large
number of applications for help that rich people are constantly being
flooded with. I know wealthy people who receive as much as twenty calls
a day for help. More than once when I have gone into the offices of rich
men, I have found half a dozen persons waiting to see them, and all come
for the same purpose, that of securing money. And all these calls in
person, to say nothing of the applications received through the mails.
Very few people have any idea of the amount of money given away by
persons who never permit their names to be known. I have often heard
persons condemned for not giving away money, who, to my own knowledge,
were giving away thousands of dollars every year so quietly that the
world knew nothing about it.

As an example of this, there are two ladies in New York, whose names
rarely appear in print, but who, in a quiet way, have given us the means
with which to erect three large and important buildings during the last
eight years. Besides the gift of these buildings, they have made other
generous donations to the school. And they not only help Tuskegee, but
they are constantly seeking opportunities to help other worthy causes.

Although it has been my privilege to be the medium through which a
good many hundred thousand dollars have been received for the work at
Tuskegee, I have always avoided what the world calls "begging." I often
tell people that I have never "begged" any money, and that I am not
a "beggar." My experience and observation have convin