From the beginning of our work to the present I have always had
the feeling, and lose no opportunity to impress our teachers with the
same idea, that the school will always be supported in proportion as
the inside of the institution is kept clean and pure and wholesome.
The first time I ever saw the late Collis P. Huntington, the great
railroad man, he gave me two dollars for our school. The last time I
saw him, which was a few months before he died, he gave me fifty
thousand dollars toward our endowment fund. Between these two gifts
there were others of generous proportions which came every year from
both Mr. and Mrs. Huntington.
Some people may say that it was Tuskegee's good luck that brought
to us this gift of fifty thousand dollars. No, it was not luck. It
was hard work. Nothing ever comes to me, that is worth having, except
as the result of hard work. When Mr. Huntington gave me the first two
dollars, I did not blame him for not giving me more, but made up my
mind that I was going to convince him by tangible results that we were
worthy of larger gifts. For a dozen years I made a strong effort to
convince Mr. Huntington of the value of our work. I noted that just
in proportion as the usefulness of the school grew, his donations
increased.
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