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That this avowal was sincere was shown by a subsequent message to Congress on the subject, condemning the process by which the Democracy had vaulted into power. When the dispatch from Washington recognizing Baxter was received at the Antony House the faithful, while making the welkin ring, made immediate preparations to take undisturbed possession of the State House. The march of Governor Baxter and his adherents to the capital was made, as imposing as had his former exclusion been humiliating. A band playing inspiring music not unlike "See, the Conquering Hero Comes," and stepping to the air came an array, led by General King White, on horseback, with flags flying, animated and exhilarated with all the pomp and circumstance of a victorious legion, entered and occupied the building which Brooks and his following, defeated and depressed, had vacated, in obedience to the President's mandate. The prospect for their rehabilitation seemed shadowy, but, with that hope said "to spring eternal in the human breast," they had resolved to carry their contest to Congress.

It may be properly said of Joseph Brooks, as of Charles II, "His fault – and no statesman can have a worse one – was that he never saw things as they really were. He had imagination and logic, but he was an idealist, and a theorizer, in which there might have been good if only his theories and ideals had not been out of relation with the hard duties of a day of storm."

There was opportunity for him to have secured the approval of the Poland Committee. But the tenacity of his ideal of no concession allowed it to pass.

CHAPTER XIV

In 1874 a constitutional convention was called and a new constitution adopted. At the State convention of the Democratic party for the nomination of State officers Baxter was the favorite for re-election as Governor, and probably would have been the choice, had not the more astute politicians put the United States senatorial "bee in his bonnet," which induced a letter, fervid and patriotic, declining the nomination. Baxter was confiding and honest, but not an adept in the wily ways of the politician. Augustus H. Garland was elected Governor, and in the United States senatorial race Baxter was "left at the stand." It was then, as it oft happens, that —

 
"God and the soldier all men adore,
In time of war, and not before.
When the war is over and all things righted,
God is forgot, and the soldier slighted."
 

Augustus H. Garland was a Senator in the Confederate Congress in 1861, succeeding Baxter as Governor, then United States Senator from Arkansas, and subsequently a member of President Cleveland's Cabinet, evidencing in every position that it was a selection "fit to be made" not only for his ability and attainments as a statesman, but for rugged honesty of purpose and broad humanity as a man. Taking the reins of government at the zenith of a successful revolution, when violence sought gratification, desire rampant for prosecution and persecution, Governor Garland, by a conservative policy, soothed the one and discouraged the other – a policy early announced in his first proclamation, an extract of which is as follows: "Should there be any indictments in the courts for past political offences, I would suggest and advise their dismissal. Let people of all parties, races and colors come and be welcomed to our State and encouraged to bring her up to a position of true greatness." His friendship I highly esteemed, and, learning of his demise, could not but submit the following token:

"Tamatave, Madagascar,

"April 17, 1899.

"Editor Little Rock Gazette:

"Sitting in the Consulate, way down on the banks of the Indian Ocean, the Gazette comes to me laden with expressions of sorrow on the passing of my friend, ex-United States Attorney General A. H. Garland. Truly, 'a great man has fallen.' In him the nation has lost an eminent statesman and Arkansas a most distinguished citizen, celebrated for his intellectuality and valued services to the Commonwealth. I said 'my friend,' and I reiterate, in no platform sense of that term. Twenty-five year ago I was municipal judge of the city, at the time when the conflict for party ascendancy was most intense. When passion struggled for the mastery, as Governor, he was in reality to me a friend. During his residence at the capital I have never visited Washington without seeking and as promptly receiving his kindly greeting. On several occasions his services, eagerly given, were most helpful. He was not only mentally eminent, but morally great.

"Ever approachable, he was a manly man, with courage of conviction, and, while urging them with a zeal born of honest belief, had the inestimable faculty of winning adherents by strength of presentation, blended with suavity of manner. He was conspicuous in this, that his broad soul expanded with tender and affectionate regard for the poor and humble. Reserved in manner, magnanimous and catholic in a spirit that embraced the 'world as his country, and all mankind as his countrymen.' So in the archives of memory I make haste to lay this small tribute to a departed friend, who still seems as 'one long loved and but for a season gone.'"

I was present, but not a delegate, at the convention that nominated General Grant for a second term, at the Academy of Music, in Philadelphia, in 1872.

The proceedings, reported and published, of a National Convention are always interesting, but lose much of the impression and force of actuality with which an auditor and spectator is affected. The gayety and magnetism of numbers, the scintillations of brain in special advocacy, followed by tumultuous accord. The intensity, the anxiety depicted, while results far-reaching and momentous are pending, furnish a scene vivid and striking that cannot be pictured. Here is being formed the policy of a party which is to be subjected to the winnowing fan of acute and honest criticism, and by denunciation by opposite parties, striving to obtain the administration of the Government, the fiat of which and the selection of the standard-bearer constitute the claim for the suffrage of the people. They are the preparatory cornerstones of self-government, fashioned and waiting for the verdict of the nation.

Committees on platform and resolutions are generally composed of the radical and conservative elements of a party, so that, while the canvass is up and on, it shall have steered between "the rocks of too much danger and pale fear" and reached the port of victory. Experience during the period since last it met may have had much to do with silence or brief mention of the heretofore darling shibboleth with which they were wont to inspire the faithful, rally the laggards, or capture converts. "Consistency, thou art a jewel" that dazzles, confuses, but doth not bewilder the ordinary politician, who can allow a former policy noiseless and forsaken to sink into the maelstrom of neglected and unrequited love. Prolific in schemes is the procedure of a minority party, not the least is the selection of a standard-bearer, who has been the most sparse and reticent in utterance, hence a record the least assailable, that extracts from his opponents the exclamation of one in Holy Writ, "Oh, that mine enemy had written a book."

Among the men who made mark at the convention above referred to was Oliver P. Morton, of Indiana, styled the "War Governor," for the patriotism and alacrity which he summoned his State in response to the national call, caught up and followed by every loyal State during the Civil War. A confirmed invalid, with lower limbs paralyzed, with massive head and inspired brain, assisted by two servants to a chair to the front of the platform, he made the speech of the convention. Another novel incident was the occupation of the platform of a National Convention by Afro-Americans. The Late Hon. William H. Gray, the faithful and eloquent leader of the colored Republicans of Arkansas, and the late Hon. R. B. Elliott, Congressman from South Carolina, were invited to speak.

A few of their well-chosen words in exordium were as follows:

Mr. Gray said: "Gentlemen of the Convention: For the first time, perhaps, in the history of the American people, there stands before you in a National Convention assembled, a representative of that oppressed race that has lived among you for two hundred and fifty years; who, by the magnanimity of this great nation, lifted by the power of God and the hands of man from the degradation of slavery to the proud position of an American citizen."

Mr. Elliott said: "Gentlemen of the Convention: It is with great appreciation of the compliment paid my State that I rise to respond to your invitation to address you. I stand here, gentlemen of the convention, together with my colleagues from the several States, as an illustration of an accomplished fact of American emancipation, not only as an illustration of the management of the American people, but as a living example of the justice of the American people."

The speeches of which the foregoing are but a part of their introduction, expressive of gratitude and fidelity, a conception of the needs of the hour, delivered with an eloquence that charmed, elicited hearty response, the Academy echoing and re-echoing with the plaudits of the vast assembly. At each National Convention of the Republican party representatives of the race have shown not alone oratorical power, but an intelligent grasp of the political situation. At this period of General Grant's nomination, the nation's heart still jubilant with the success of the Federal arms; its conscience awakened by the dread penalty paid by contributions from every loyal hearthstone for the subjugation of slavery, was now eager and active in providing that the Negro who had been faithful in peace and heroic in war, should enjoy the rights of an American citizen. It was history repeating itself, for in England's history we read that it was Henry at Ajincourt who said: "Who this day sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother; were he ne'er so vile, today shall gentle his condition." For the Civil War, as it matured, became no ordinary case of political contention; the soul of its suppression sprang from the most sacred impulses in the mind of man. It was response to the self-retort of Cain that came echoing down the ages, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Answer came in shot and shell.

But as time receded from these historic epochs, engrossed more and more in national development, mercantile aspirations, internal improvements, rivalry of parties, self-aggrandizement – in short, all the agencies and factors inseparable from human nature that influence on material lines, have effaced much of the general solicitude that formerly existed. This decadence of purpose is not unnatural; a wardship is a duty, and should not be a continuous necessity, its greatest blessing a consciousness that its ideals and purposes have been assimilated by its wards, and lifted higher in humanity's scale. Too much dependence is as hurtful as entire neglect. The more persistent the call for the forces within the greater the response from the assistants without. The lethargy or neglect to give the Negro protection in the exercise of his constitutional rights is developing a spirit of self-help and intensity of purpose, to find and adopt a course and measures remedial that may be practical and efficient; to ignore the sentimentality of politics and subordinate them to conditions irrespective of party. He has found that "the mills of the gods grind slowly;" that the political lever needs for its fulcrum a foundation as solidly material as equitably sentimental.

Proclaim brotherhood, justice, and equal rights ever so much, men will nod acquiescence with a mental reservation of "but," significant of "Who are you? What can you do, or what have you done?" It is your current life's answer to these interrogatives that most interest people in this material world in your behalf. Only as we increase in commercial pursuits, ownership of property, and the higher elements of production through skilled labor will our political barometer rise. Upon these we should anchor our hopes, assured that higher education, with its "classic graces, will follow in their proper places."

Of the latter a humorous writer, in answer to the question from the president of an Eastern college, "Is there any good reason why our sons should not study the dead languages?" said: "While our sons are not on speaking terms with many live languages, it ill becomes them to go fooling around the dead and dying. I do not think it necessary that our sons should study these defunct tongues. A language that did not have strength enough to pull through and crawled off somewhere and died, doesn't seem worth studying. I will go further, and say I do not see why our sons should spend valuable time over invalid languages that aren't feeling very well. Let us not, professor, either one of us, send our sons into the hospital to lug out languages on a stretcher just to study them. No; let us bring up our sons to shun all diseased and disabled languages, even if it can't be proved that a language comes under either of those heads; if it has been missing since the last engagement, it is just as well not to have our sons chasing around after it with a detective, trying to catch and pore over it. You may look at it differently, professor. Our paths in the great realm of education of youth may lie far apart; but it is my heartfelt wish that I may never live to see a son of mine ride right past healthy athletic languages and then stand up in the stirrups and begin to whoop and try to lariat some poor old language going around on a crutch, carrying half of its alphabet in a sling. If two-thirds of the words of a language are flat on their back, taking quinine, trying to get up an appetite, let us teach our sons that they cannot hope to derive benefit from its study."

But Lord Rosebery, ex-Premier of England, in a late address before the University of Glasgow on "Questions of Empire," in the following, on action and learning, takes a serious view:

"There was a time, long years ago, when the spheres of action and learning were separate and distinct; when laymen dealt hard blows and left letters to the priesthood. That was to some extent the case when our oldest universities were founded. But the separation daily narrows. It has been said that the true university of our days is a collection of books. What if a future philosopher shall say that the best university is a workshop? And yet the latter definition bids fair to be the sounder of the two. The training of our schools and colleges must daily become more and more the training for action, for practical purpose. The question will be asked of the product of our educational system: Here is a young fellow of twenty; he has passed the best years of acquisition and impression; he has cost so much; what is his value? For what, in all the manifold activities of the world, is he fit? And if the answer be not satisfactory, if the product be only a sort of learned mummy, the system will be condemned. Are there not thousands of lads today plodding away at the ancient classics, and who, at the first possible moment, will cast them into space, never to reopen them? Think of the wasted time that that implies; not all wasted, perhaps, for something may be gained in power of application; but entirely wasted so far as available knowledge is concerned."

And in keeping with this line of thought, the "Washington Post," of Washington, D. C., in a recent issue, makes the following pertinent and truthful mention:

"Almost without exception, the colleges and universities are beginning another year with unusually large classes. Many of these institutions report the largest number of matriculates in their history. The aggregate attendance is unquestionably greater by thousands than that of any previous year. This is due in part to the prevalence of business prosperity and in part to the steadily increasing approbation of higher education for women, while the natural increase of population is also something of a factor. The 'Cleveland Leader,' speaking of the reports of large classes of freshmen all over the country, says:

"'That appears to be the best and most conclusive reply which the American people can make to those gentlemen of wealth and prominence who, like Mr. Schwab, of the Steel Trust, discourage higher education as preparation for the life of the business world. It is the solidest kind of evidence that the old love of knowledge for its own sake and the old faith in the beneficial effects of college training upon the youth of a country having such a government and social organization as this Republic has developed remain as strong as ever.'"

To which the Post replies:

"That is somewhat hasty and a probably erroneous conclusion. The "higher education" which Mr. Schwab discourages, the old-time classical course, has not grown in popular favor. The reverse is true. The demand for a more practical education in this utilitarian age has compelled the colleges and universities to make radical changes in their curriculum. The number of students who elect to take the old-time course is smaller in proportion to the population and wealth of this country than it ever was. Science, both pure and applied, takes a far more prominent place in collegiate studies than it formerly occupied. Many of the leading institutions of learning have introduced a commercial department. Everywhere the practical, the business idea is becoming dominant.

"While no intelligent man questions the value of classical studies or disputes the proposition that a knowledge of the classics is indispensable to a thorough understanding of our own language, the area of practical study has become so vast, by reason of new discoveries in science and the arts, that a choice between the two is compulsory to young persons who have their own fortunes to make. The old-time course of mathematics and classics furnishes splendid mental discipline, with much knowledge that may or may not put its possessor on the road to success in business. But the time required for that course, if followed by a three or four years' term of practical study, sets a young man so far along in life that he has a hopeless race with younger men who dispensed with the classical and went in zealously for the practical.

"The change from the old to the new lines of education is even more marked in the common schools than in the colleges and universities. The practical begins in the free kindergarten and runs with more or less directness through all the grades. Millions are expended upon industrial training. The business high schools are a great feature of the free school system. All this is comparatively new. It has come because of the necessities of an industrial age.

"'Knowledge for its own sake' is becoming more and more a luxury, in which the sons and daughters of the rich indulge, while the representatives of families that are merely well to do feel that they must acquire knowledge for practical uses. And this tendency is likely to continue, for, as we have said, the field of the practical is expanding. Take, for example, electricity and its uses. All that was known of this subject in the time of our grandfathers could be learned in a few days or weeks. To be an up-to-date electrical scientist and practical electrician in 1901 means that years have been devoted to hard work."

The crude notion held by some, that in far-off climes, to the American Negro unknown, who, with small capital and limited education; with an inherited mental inertia that is being dispelled and can only be eradicated by contact with superior environment, that there awaits him peace, plenty, and equality, is an ignis fatuus the most delusive. Peace is the exhaustion of strife, and is only secure in her triumphs in being in instant readiness for war; equality a myth, and plenty the accumulation of weary toil.

With travel somewhat extensive and diversified; residence in tropical latitudes of Negro origin, I have a decided conviction, despite the crucial test to which he has been subjected in the past and the present disadvantages under which he labors, nowhere is the promise along all the lines of opportunity brighter for the American Negro than here in the land of his nativity. For he needs the inspiriting dash, push, and invincible determination of the Anglo-Saxon (having sufficient of his deviltry) to make him a factor acknowledged and respected. But the fruit of advantage will not drop as ripe fruit from the tree; it can be gotten only by watchful, patient tillage, and frugal garnering. Ignorance and wastefulness among the industrious but uneducated poor render them incapable to cope with the shrewd and unprincipled. The rivalry to excel in outward appearance and social amenities beyond the usual moderate means on the part of the educated is a drawback to any people, but one disastrous to the Negro in his march through arduous toil and restricted conditions to financial independence.