after the war. It is my opinion
that the rate of increase in the future will be still greater than it
has been from the close of the war of the Rebellion up to the present
time, for the reason that the very sudden changes which took place in
the life of the Negro, because of having his freedom, plunged him into
many excesses that were detrimental to his physical well-being. Of
course, freedom found him unprepared in clothing, in shelter and in
knowledge of how to care for his body. During slavery the slave mother
had little control of her own children, and did not therefore have the
practice and experience of rearing children in a suitable manner. Now
that the Negro is being taught in thousands of schools how to take
care of his body, and in thousands of homes mothers are learning how
to control their children, I believe that the rate of increase, as I
have stated, will be still greater than it has been in the past. In
too many cases the Negro had the idea that freedom meant merely
license to do as he pleased, to work or not to work; but this
erroneous idea is more and more disappearing, by reason of the
education in the right direction which the Negro is constantly
receiving.

During the four years that the Civil War lasted, the greater
proportion of the Negroes remained in the South, and worked faithfully
for the support of their masters' families, who, as a general rule,
were away in the war. The self-control which the Negro exhibited
during the war marks, it seems to me, one of the most important
chapters in the history of the race. Notwithstanding he knew that his
master was away from home, fighting a battle which, if successful,
would result in his continued enslavement, yet he worked faithfully
for the support of the master's family. If the Negro had yielded to
the temptation and suggestion to use the torch or dagger in an attempt
to destroy his master's property and family, the result would have
been that the war would have been ended quickly; for the master would
have returned from the battlefield to protect and defend his property
and family. But the Negro to the last was faithful to the trust that
had been thrust upon him, and during the four years of war in which
the male members of the family were absent from their homes there is
not a single instance recorded where he in any way attempted to
outrage the family of the master or in any way to injure his property.

Not only is this true, but all through the