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15 - Boys Life of Booker T. Washington by Walter Clinton Jackson · Boys Life of Booker T. Washington

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  Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen of A Boy's Life for Booker T. Washington.
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  Speaker 1: This is a libricvox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by Paul Bryan Stewart. A
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  Speaker 1: Boy's Life of Booker T. Washington by W. C. Jackson,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen, Visits to Europe. Washington was a great traveler.
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  Speaker 1: He was away from home at least half of each year,
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  Speaker 1: and often more than that. He traveled principally in the North,
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  Speaker 1: making speeches and interviewing people who might help Tuskegee. While
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  Speaker 1: on these trips, he did most of his reading and writing.
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  Speaker 1: He was very fond of newspapers and magazines. When he
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  Speaker 1: started on a long journey, he surrounded himself with a
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  Speaker 1: large number of papers and magazines and books, which he
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  Speaker 1: thoroughly enjoyed. History was his favorite field of reading outside
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  Speaker 1: of newspapers and magazines. He was especially fond of biography,
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  Speaker 1: of reading about real men, men of action and thought,
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  Speaker 1: and great talents. Much of his greatest inspiration as a
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  Speaker 1: boy came from reading the lives of great men. Lincoln
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  Speaker 1: was his greatest hero. He said that he had read
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  Speaker 1: practically every recorded word of Lincoln's Washington also did much
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  Speaker 1: of his writing on these trips. He kept his stenographer
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  Speaker 1: with them all the time, and when he was not reading,
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  Speaker 1: he was usually dictating a speech or letter, or an
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  Speaker 1: article for a magazine. A large part of his greatest book,
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  Speaker 1: Up from Slavery, was written while he was on the
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  Speaker 1: train or waiting at stations between trains. It is remarkable
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  Speaker 1: that he should be able to accomplish so much under
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  Speaker 1: such circumstances, for traveling was hard work. He often had
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  Speaker 1: to get up in the middle of the night to
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  Speaker 1: get a train and then ride all day, often without
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  Speaker 1: pullman accommodations. He said that he had slept in three
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  Speaker 1: different beds in one night. So broken was his rest,
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  Speaker 1: and so often did he have to change trains in
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  Speaker 1: order to keep engagements. Undoubtedly it was this hard traveling
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  Speaker 1: that helped to break down his great strength and wear
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  Speaker 1: him out. In eighteen ninety nine, he made a speech
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  Speaker 1: in Boston, and some of his friends noticed that he
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  Speaker 1: was extremely tired. He remained in Boston several days. One
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  Speaker 1: day during his stay, a friend asked him if he
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  Speaker 1: had ever been to Europe. He replied that he had not.
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  Speaker 1: He was asked very casually whether he thought he would
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  Speaker 1: enjoy a trip to Europe. He said that he certainly would,
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  Speaker 1: but he did not even expect to have such a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: A day or two later, some of his friends came
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  Speaker 1: to him and told him they had a little surprise
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  Speaker 1: for him. That they had made arrangements for him and
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  Speaker 1: his wife to go to Europe in the summer and
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  Speaker 1: spend several months on a vacation. Washington was very greatly surprised.
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  Speaker 1: He thanked his friends very cordially for their interest, but
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  Speaker 1: told him that he could not afford to take the trip.
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  Speaker 1: Whereupon they told him that all the money for the
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  Speaker 1: expenses of the trip had already been raised and that
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  Speaker 1: it would not cost him a cent. He thanked them
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  Speaker 1: again very sincerely, but told them he could not think
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  Speaker 1: of leaving his work that long. The money had to
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  Speaker 1: be raised for Tuskegee and they had to stay right
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  Speaker 1: on the job to get it. Then they told him
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  Speaker 1: that a group of his friends had already raised enough
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  Speaker 1: money to keep Tuskegee going until he got back. He
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  Speaker 1: then gave another excuse. He was afraid people would say
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  Speaker 1: he was stuck up that since he had made some
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  Speaker 1: success in the world, he was trying to show off
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  Speaker 1: and play the big man. His friends told him that
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  Speaker 1: sensible people would not think such a thing, and that
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  Speaker 1: he need not bother about the people who had no sense.
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  Speaker 1: Washington thought too, that he had no right to quit
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  Speaker 1: work so long he had worked all his life. There
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  Speaker 1: was a world of work yet he had to do.
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  Speaker 1: To go off on a vacation at several months when
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  Speaker 1: there was so much to be done and when other
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  Speaker 1: people were at work seemed wrong to him. But he
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  Speaker 1: realized finally that a reasonable amount of rest when one
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  Speaker 1: is tired needs more and better work in the long run.
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  Speaker 1: So it came about that on May tenth, eighteen ninety nine,
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  Speaker 1: Washington and his wife went aboard the ship for Island
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  Speaker 1: and York Harbor and sailed for Europe. It was a
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  Speaker 1: wonderful experience for Washington in the first place. As he
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  Speaker 1: went aboard the ship, he received a message from two
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  Speaker 1: of his friends telling them they had decided to give
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  Speaker 1: him the money to build a magnificent new building at Tuskegee.
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  Speaker 1: And that was a good send off. And Washington was
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  Speaker 1: a bit uneasy about how people would treat him aboard ship.
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  Speaker 1: He knew what unfortunate experiences some members of his race
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  Speaker 1: had had in times past. But the captain received him cordially,
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  Speaker 1: and everybody on the ship was exceedingly courteous to him
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  Speaker 1: and his wife in every way. Washington was on as
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  Speaker 1: way to Europe. It seemed to him like a dream
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  Speaker 1: again and again. He had thought of Europe much as
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  Speaker 1: he did of Heaven, a goodly place, but far away.
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  Speaker 1: It never even occurred to him that he would ever
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  Speaker 1: go to Europe, And now he was on his way.
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  Speaker 1: He was like a schoolboy. He was happy over the
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  Speaker 1: prospect of a wonderful trip. He did not get seasick
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  Speaker 1: on the voyage, as most of the passengers did. The
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  Speaker 1: weather was fine, and he had a glorious voyage. But
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  Speaker 1: he did not know how tired and worn out he
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  Speaker 1: was until he relaxed. About the second day, he began
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  Speaker 1: to sleep, and he says that from then on until
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  Speaker 1: they landed, he slept at least fifteen hours every day.
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  Speaker 1: He continued the habit of long hours devoted to sleep
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  Speaker 1: all the time he was gone, and it was one
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  Speaker 1: of the means by which he restored as depleted strength
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  Speaker 1: After a fine voyage of ten days, they landed at Antwerp,
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  Speaker 1: aer famous old city of Belgium. Here they spent a
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  Speaker 1: few quiet days, finding it extremely interesting to observe the people,
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  Speaker 1: with their dress and manners and customs different from anything
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  Speaker 1: they'd ever seen before. Then they went on a delightful
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  Speaker 1: journey through the picturesque country of Holland. Washington. Always interested
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  Speaker 1: in farming and especially dairy farming, was greatly delighted on
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  Speaker 1: this trip. On every hand with the wonderful farms of
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  Speaker 1: the Dutch. He had never seen such intensive cultivation of land.
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  Speaker 1: Every foot of ground was used, Vegetables were grown in boxes,
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  Speaker 1: one above another on the back porches of houses. So
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  Speaker 1: precious was the skierest land, and ten or twelve acres
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  Speaker 1: was a good big farm. Coming from a country where
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  Speaker 1: land was so abundant and cheap, and so extravagantly wasted
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  Speaker 1: and so carelessly cultivated, these beautiful farms were a delight
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  Speaker 1: to him, and the herds of fine Holstein cattle pleased
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  Speaker 1: him immensely. He loved cows, and these seemed to be
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  Speaker 1: the finest herds he had ever seen in his life.
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  Speaker 1: Out of Holland and back into the historic and now
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  Speaker 1: heroic Belgium. The party went going to Waterloo, the famous
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  Speaker 1: battlefield of Napoleon's defeat, and to other places of interest,
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  Speaker 1: and from here to Paris, the gayest and brightest of
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  Speaker 1: all the cities of Europe, the capital of France. While
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  Speaker 1: in Paris, Washington met a number of distinguished Americans. He
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  Speaker 1: made two or three important speeches, and was given a
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  Speaker 1: reception by the Admirican ambassador. At Paris, he met Experson Harrison,
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  Speaker 1: General Horace Porter, our Ambassador, Justices Fuller and Harlem of
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  Speaker 1: the United States Supreme Court, and other distinguished men, all
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  Speaker 1: of whom were most cordial. And the American whom he
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  Speaker 1: found most interesting in Paris, however, was a Negro. Henry O.
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  Speaker 1: Tanner Tanner is an artist a painter. He is the
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  Speaker 1: son of the beloved Bishop Tanner and was born in America.
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  Speaker 1: He showed marked talent for painting in his youth, and
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  Speaker 1: when he grew up he determined to go to the
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  Speaker 1: greatest city in the world for art. He went to
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  Speaker 1: Paris and became so successful in his work that he
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  Speaker 1: has continued to live there. He has several paintings in
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  Speaker 1: the Louver, the greatest and most exclusive art gallery in
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  Speaker 1: the world. A picture cannot be put in the louver
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  Speaker 1: unless it is recognized and accepted as a great work
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  Speaker 1: of art. Washington spent much time with Tanner and was
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  Speaker 1: greatly pleased to see what Mark's success had been won
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  Speaker 1: by this American Negro. He took it as proof of
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  Speaker 1: his contention that when a Negro proves himself really worthy,
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  Speaker 1: he will be recognized and honored. For Tanner enjoyed the
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  Speaker 1: esteem and regard of all his associates, regardless of rage,
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  Speaker 1: and they esteemed him because of his worth and not
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  Speaker 1: because of his color. From Paris, the Washingtons went to London.
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  Speaker 1: Here they visited many places of historical interest, the British Museum,
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  Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul's and the House of Commons. They
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  Speaker 1: met many interesting people. The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland,
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  Speaker 1: Joseph H. Chose American Ambassador England Henry M. Stanley, the
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  Speaker 1: great African explorer, with whom Washington conversed at length. They
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  Speaker 1: were also received by Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. It
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  Speaker 1: had been a wonderful trip. Washington had learned many lessons
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  Speaker 1: from the Old world. He had seen and talked with
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  Speaker 1: men who helped him in the better understanding of his
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  Speaker 1: own great task. He had had a wonderfully good time.
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  Speaker 1: He was thoroughly rested. A new man. He plunged into
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  Speaker 1: his work again upon his return with great vigor and enthusiasm.
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  Speaker 1: Washington made two other trips to Europe during his lifetime.
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  Speaker 1: The second was largely like the first, a trip for
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  Speaker 1: recreation and pleasure and rest, but the third trip was
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  Speaker 1: undertaken with a serious purpose. He wanted to see how
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  Speaker 1: the poor people of Europe lived and how their living
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  Speaker 1: conditions compared with those with the working man in the
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  Speaker 1: United States. He was particularly anxious to see how conditions
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  Speaker 1: there compared with those affecting the Negro population of the South.
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  Speaker 1: He also wanted to see whether or not he could
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  Speaker 1: find anything in Europe that would justify the system of
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  Speaker 1: education he had established at Tuskegee. So this time he
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  Speaker 1: left the usual highways of travel and went far into
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  Speaker 1: the interior, visiting the peasant in his hut in the
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  Speaker 1: remotest regions of the country, the minor toiling underground, the
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  Speaker 1: laborer in the quarry, and the poor man at his work,
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  Speaker 1: whatever it was, and wherever he could be found. He
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  Speaker 1: visited farms in the remotest parts of Poland, Austria, and Italy.
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  Speaker 1: He went to the sulfur mines in Campofranco at Catania.
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  Speaker 1: He saw the grape harvest and the men bare legged
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  Speaker 1: treading the wine press as they did in Bible times.
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  Speaker 1: In a very remote part of Poland, away up in
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  Speaker 1: the mountains, he stopped at a little thatched roof cottage,
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  Speaker 1: desiring to see how the place looked on the inside.
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  Speaker 1: He knocked at the door. In response, a man opened
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  Speaker 1: the door, and Washington said something to him in English,
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  Speaker 1: thinking of course that the man would not understand, but
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  Speaker 1: that he would be able to see inside the hut,
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  Speaker 1: and to his utter astonishment, the man answered him in English.
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  Speaker 1: Upon further conversation, he found that this man had once
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  Speaker 1: lived in Detroit, Michigan. When he was in the mines
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  Speaker 1: at Campofranco, Sicily, he by chance met a man who
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  Speaker 1: had once worked in the mines near mold in West Virginia,
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  Speaker 1: where Washington himself had worked when a boy. The world
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  Speaker 1: is not such a big place after all. As a
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  Speaker 1: result of his observations of conditions in Europe, Washington came
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  Speaker 1: to the conclusion that the negro in the South is
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  Speaker 1: generally speaking, in far better condition than the peasant of Europe.
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  Speaker 1: He also noted that wherever conditions were fairly good, where
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  Speaker 1: the natives owned the land and had developed reasonably good
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  Speaker 1: farming conditions, there was no emigration from that region to America.
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  Speaker 1: But where conditions were bad, where farms were not well kept,
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  Speaker 1: where people were not permitted or encouraged to own their
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  Speaker 1: own homes, from such sections, there was always much emigration
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  Speaker 1: to America. In other words, good local conditions, land ownership,
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  Speaker 1: good schools, and so on, tended to make the people happy, contented,
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  Speaker 1: and desirous of remaining where they were. In this fact,
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  Speaker 1: he saw a great lesson for his own people. He
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  Speaker 1: believed that the South is the home of the Negro,
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  Speaker 1: that here it is possible for him to do his best.
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  Speaker 1: He was therefore tremendously anxious for the Negroes to learn
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  Speaker 1: how to cultivate the soil to the best advantage, to
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  Speaker 1: buy land, to build schools, to establish churches, and in
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  Speaker 1: every way to become real citizens of the country where
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  Speaker 1: they were. Washington wrote an interesting book describing what he
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  Speaker 1: saw and learned on the Strip. It is called the
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  Speaker 1: man farthest down. As stated before, he pointed out that
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  Speaker 1: there were many many people farther down than the American Negro,
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  Speaker 1: that compared to most of the people of Europe, he
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  Speaker 1: ought to be exceedingly thankful that his condition is as
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  Speaker 1: good as it is. Of course, he did not mean
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  Speaker 1: by this that conditions with the Negro were what they
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  Speaker 1: ought to be, but that the Negro should be thankful
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  Speaker 1: for the progress that he had made. They should take
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  Speaker 1: courage and go forward to better things. The most interesting
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  Speaker 1: experience of this trip to Europe was his visit to
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  Speaker 1: the King and Queen of Denmark at Copenhagen. On his
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  Speaker 1: first visit to the palace, he was received by the King.
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  Speaker 1: Washington was much impressed by the King's cordiality and simplicity,
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  Speaker 1: by his knowledge of America, and by his acquaintance even
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  Speaker 1: with the work Washington was doing at Tuskegee. At the
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  Speaker 1: close of the interview, the king invited him to dine
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  Speaker 1: at the palace that night. Now, the invitation of a
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  Speaker 1: king is the same as a command, and one is
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  Speaker 1: always expected to accept. Of course, Washington was delighted to
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  Speaker 1: accept this invitation, and Washington spent the rest of the
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  Speaker 1: day preceding the dinner hour, visiting the country people near Copenhagen.
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  Speaker 1: He was late getting home and was terrified when he
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  Speaker 1: realized that he might be late for dinner. To keep
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  Speaker 1: the King and Queen waiting would be a terrible offense.
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  Speaker 1: He dressed as rapidly as he could, but in his
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  Speaker 1: haste he pulled his neck tie to pieces, the only
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  Speaker 1: one he had fit for the occasion. He pinned it
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  Speaker 1: together the best he could and put it on, but
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  Speaker 1: he says that he was in great distress throughout the dinner.
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  Speaker 1: Least the tide come to pieces again. He reached the
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  Speaker 1: palace just in time for the dinner. He was taken
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  Speaker 1: directly to the King, who led him to where the
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  Speaker 1: Queen was standing and presented him to her. She was
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  Speaker 1: very cordial and gracious. She spoke English perfec and Washington
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  Speaker 1: was again surprised to find that she too was thoroughly
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  Speaker 1: familiar with affairs in the United States, and that she
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  Speaker 1: also knew about Tuskegee. There was a very distinguished group
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  Speaker 1: of people present. The dinner was given in the magnificent
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  Speaker 1: summer palace, and everything was truly royal in its elegance.
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  Speaker 1: And splendor. Washington says, as I ate my food for
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  Speaker 1: the first time in my life, out of gold dishes,
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  Speaker 1: I could not but recall the time when, as a
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  Speaker 1: slave boy, I ate my syrup from a tin cup.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter fourteen.