any other mechanic, is something more than
these, he has been incapable of perceiving and taking in the ideals that
go with these accomplishments. He has been taught over and over again to
"hitch his wagon to the stars," and if he fail to do so, the fault is in
himself, and not in Tuskegee.

As between a poor doctor and a poor carpenter, there is but scant
choice. They are both failures and to be avoided. Honor in one is as
precious as in the other. Honor and efficiency--these, therefore, are
the ideal test of every son and daughter that passes out of these
grounds into the larger world of work and responsibility.

What a terrible task it has been and still is to teach the lessons of
the upward spirit: "God's in His heaven, all's well with the world."
Hope is strength and discouragement is weakness. Everything that is
false and unjust and wrong is transitory. Those who are brave enough to
solve problems shall be more honored of mankind than those who create
problems which they make no effort to solve.

There can be no liberty without intelligence, no independence without
industry, and no power for man, and no charm for woman, without
character.

These are some of the ideals toward which all our teaching leads;
without these there would be no Tuskegee; with them, as its very life
and spirit and inspiration, Tuskegee shall lead into more ways of peace,
happiness, and power than we of this generation have yet dreamed of, or
realized.

II

RESOURCES AND MATERIAL EQUIPMENT

BY WARREN LOGAN

When the Alabama Legislature in 1881 passed an act to establish a Normal
School for colored people at Tuskegee and appropriated for it $2,000
yearly, it made no provision whatever for land or buildings; these were
left to be provided for by the people who were to be benefited by the
school. Here was almost a case of being required to make bricks without
straw. But as matters have turned out, this neglect was the best thing
that could have happened to the school. First it gave opportunity for
the employment of those splendid qualities of pluck, self-help, and
perseverance which have distinguished Mr. Washington so preeminently in
the building of Tuskegee. Moreover, the State has contributed nothing to
the school in the way of land or buildings; it has not sought to control
the property of the institution, leaving it free to be managed by the
Board of Trustees.

The school was opened on the 4th of July, 1881, in an old