The Tar Baby and the Tomahawk: Race and Ethnic Images in American Children's Literature, 1880-1939

THE BROWNIES' BOOK
July, 1921
One Dollar and a Half a Year
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THE BROWNIES' BOOK

Published Monthly and Copyrighted by DuBois and Dill, Publishers, at 2 West 13th Street, New York, N. Y. Conducted by W. E. Burghardt DuBois; Jessie Redmon Fauset, Literary Editor; Augustus Granville Dill, Business Manager

VOL. 2. No. 7 July,1921 WHOLE No. 19

CONTENTS

PAGE
COVER Drawing "Vacation Begins" Hilda Rue Wilkinson
FRONTISPIECE—High School Graduates 190
THE GOLD PIECE. A Play. Langston Hughes.Illustrated by Hilda Rue Wilkinson 191
GRADUATES OF 1921. Illustrated 194
PLAYTIME. Games Arranged by Annette C. Browne 200
FUNNY BUNNIES. A Poem. Annette C. Browne.Illustrated by Marcellus Hawkins 201
The JUDGE 202
"SUNSHINE SAMMY." A Picture 203
THE LITTLE PIG'S WAY OUT. A Story. Julian Elihu Bagley Illustrated by Hilda Rue Wilkinson 204
THE CROW 206
THE JURY 208
CHINESE NEWS Annie Laurie McCary 209
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. GILPIN. Illustrated. Ruth Marie Thomas 211
THE GIRL RESERVES CONFERENCE. Illustrated 212
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MARY BINKLEY Annette C. Browne 214
OUR LITTLE FRIENDS. Four Pictures 215

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  • Entered as second class matter January 20, 1920, at the Post Office at New York, N.Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879.

brownies.192107.004.jpg [illustration - Graduates of I. C. Norcom High School, Porsmouth, Va.] [illustration - HARTLEY G. WILLIAMS, Virginia Union] [illustration - MISS O.G. MILLER, Charlton High, Baumont, Tex. ] [illustration - RUBY RILEY, Colored High, Snroveport, La. ] [illustration - KENNETH MEADE, Dunbar High, Fairmont, W. Va. ] [illustration - High School Graduates of Straight College, New Orleans, La.]

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The Brownies' Book

Vol. 2—No. 7 JULY, 1921 Whole No. 19

THE GOLD PIECE

A Play That Might Be True

LANGSTON HUGHES
Characters
  • A Peasant Boy.
  • A Peasant Girl, his wife.
  • An Old Woman.
Scene

T HE interior of a hut by the roadside. It is twilight. A boy and a girl are lying before the firplace, a gold piece on the floor between them. There is a door at the right of the fire-place and a window at the left. During the play the twilight deepens into darkness.

The Girl (Looking at the coin)—Just to think that this bright gold piece is ours! All ours! Fifty whole loren!

The Boy (Smiling happily)—The ten old pigs were fat ones, Rosa, and brought us a fine price in the market.

The Girl —Now we can buy and buy and buy.

The Boy —Sure we can. Now we can buy all the things we've wanted ever since we've been married but haven't had the money to get.

The Girl —Oh! How good, Pablo! It seems we've been waiting an awfully long time.

The Boy —We have, But now we shan't wait any longer. Now we can get the wooden clock, Rosa. You know—the one that we've wanted since we first saw it in the old watch-maker's window. The one so nicely carved, that strikes the hours every day and runs for a whole week with a single winding. And I think there is a cuckoo in it, too. It will make our little house look quite elegant.

The Girl —And now you can buy the thick brown boots with hob nails in them to work in the fields.

The Boy —And you may have the woolen shawl with red and purple flowers on it and the fringe about the edges.

The Girl —O-o-o! Can I really, Pablo? I've dreamed of it for months.


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The Boy —You surely can, Rosa. I've wanted to give it to you ever since I knew you. It will make you look so pretty. And we'll get two long white candles, too, to burn on Sundays and feast days.

The Girl —And we'll get a little granite kettle for stewing vegetables in.

The Boy —And we'll get a big spoon to stir with.

The Girl —And two little blue plates to eat from.

The Boy —And we'll have dried fish and a little cake for supper every night.

The Girl —And-but Oh! Pablo! It's wonderful!

The Boy —Oh! Rosa! It's fine!

The Girl and the Boy —(Rising and dancing joyously around and around the little gold piece which glistens and glitters gaily on the floor before the open fire as if it knew it were the cause of their joy)—Oh! How happy we are! Oh! How happy we are! Because we can buy! Because we can buy! Because we can buy and buy and buy!

Just then an old woman's figure passes the window and there is a timid knock at the door. The dancing stops. The Boy picks up his shining gold piece and clutches it tightly in his hand.)

The Girl (With a little frown of annoyance)—Who's there?

(The door opens slowly and a bent old woman leaning on a heavy stick enters.)

The Boy (Rudely)—Well, Grandmother, what do you want?

The Old Woman (Panting and weak)— I've come such a long way today and am very tired. I just wanted to rest a moment before going on.

(The Girl brings her a stool and she sits down near the fire-place.)

The Girl (Sympathetically)—But surely. Old Woman, you aren't going any further on foot tonight?

The Old Woman —Yes, I am, child, because I must.

The Girl —And why must you, Old Lady?

The Old Woman —Because my boy is in the house alone and he is blind.

The Girl —Your boy is blind?

The Old Woman —Yes, for eighteen years. He has not seen since he was a tiny baby.

The Boy —And where have you been that you are so late upon the road?

The Old Woman —I've been into the city and from sunrise I have not rested. People told me famous doctors were there who could make my blind boy see again and so I went to find them.

The Girl —And did you find them?

The Old Woman —Yes, I found them, but (her voice becomes sad) they would not come with me.

The Girl —Why would they not come?

The Old Woman —Because they were great and proud. They said, "when you get fifty loren, send for us and then perhaps we'll come. Now we have no time." One who was kinder than the rest told me that a simple operation might bring my boy's sigh back. But I am poor. I have no money and from where in all the world could a worn out old woman like me get fifty loren?

The Boy and the Girl(Quickly) —We don't know!

The Boy(Keeping his fist tightly closed over the gold piece) —Why, we never ever saw fifty loren!

The Girl —So much money we never will have.

The Boy —No, we never will have.

The Old Woman —If I were young I would not say that, but I am old and I know I shall never see fifty loren. Ah! I would sell all that I have if my boy could only see again! I would sell my keepsakes, my silken dress that I've had for many years, my memories, anything to bring my boy's sight back to him!

The Girl —But, Old Lady, would you sell your dream of a wooden clock, a clock that strikes the hours every day and need not be wound for a whole week?

The Old Woman —Yes, child, I would.

The Boy —And would you sell your wish for white candles to burn on feast days and Sundays?

The Old Woman —Oh! Boy, I would even sell my labor on feast days and Sundays were I not too weak to work.

The Girl —And would you give up your dream of a woolen shawl with red and purple flowers on it and fringe all around the four edges of it?

The Old Woman —I would give up all my dreams if my son were to see again.

(There is a pause. The Girl, forgetting for a moment her own desires, begins to speak slowly as if to herself.)


brownies.192107.007.jpg [illustration - But, Old Lady, would you sell your dream of a wooden clock?]
brownies.192107.008.jpg

The Girl —It must be awful not to know the sunshine and the flowers and the beauty of the hills in springtime.

The Boy —It must be awful never to see the jolly crowds in the square on market days and never to play with the fellows at May games.

The Girl —And the doctor says that maybe this boy could be made well.

The Boy —And the Old Woman says that it would cost buy fifty loren.

The Girl(Suddenly) —I have no need of a gay shawl, Pablo.

The Boy —We have no shelf for a wooden clock, Rosa.

The Girl —Nor vegetables to cook in a granite kettle.

The Boy —And a big spoon would be such a useless thing.

The Old Woman(Rising) —Before the night becomes too dark I must go on. (She moves toward the door.)

The Boy —Wait a moment, Mother. Let us slip something into your pouch.

The Girl —Something bright and golden, Mother.

The Boy —Something that shines in the sunlight.

The Girl —Something from us to your boy. (They open The Old Woman's bag and The Boy slips the gold piece into it. The Old Woman does not see what they have given her.)

The Old Woman —Thank you, good children. I know my boy will be pleased with your toy. It will give him something to hold in his hands and make him forget his blindness for a moment. God bless you both for your gift and — Good-Bye.

The Boy and the Girl —Good-Bye, Old Woman.

(The door closes. It is dark and the room is lighted only by the fire in the grate.)

The Girl —Are you happy, Pablo?

The Boy —I'm very happy. And you, Rosa?

The Girl —I'm happy, too. I'm happier than any wooden clock could make me.

The Boy —Or hob-nailed shoes, me.

The Girl —Or me, a flowered shawl with crimson fringe.

(They sit down before the fire-place and watch the big logs glow. The wood crackles and flames and lights the whole room with its warm red light. Outside through the window a night star shines. The Boy and the Girl are quiet while The Curtain Falls.)

GRADUATES OF 1921

COLORED HIGH SCHOOLS

W E have written to all high schools have colored graduates, asking them how many will graduate; how many of those graduating will enter college, and how many of those already graduates are non-college students. These are the answers.

Galveston, Texas, 13; 12 will enter college; 29 are already in college.

Columbus, Georgia, 29; 24 will enter college ; 20 are already in college. A new brick building is being erected.

Frederick Douglass High, Columbus, Missouri, 9, of whom 6 will go to college.

The I. C. Norcom, Portsmouth, Va., 34 graduates of whom 20 will enter college; 8 are in college. A new modern building this year with 34 rooms of which 24 are classroom. The High School department occupies the third floor. This is the finest building for colored children in the State.

Lincoln High School, Wheeling, West Virginia, 10 graduates, of whom 4 will enter college; 4 are already in college.

Knoxville Colored High School, 21 graduates, of whom 13 will enter college.

Lincoln High School, Sedalia, Missouri, 19 graduates.

Avery Institute, Charleston, South Carolina, 16 graduates, of whom 7 expect to go to college; 30 are already in college. Shakespeare's "Othello" was presented in costume in the open air.

Wechsler Graded and High School, Meridian, Mississippi, 13 graduates, of whom 5 expect to enter a college; 11 are in college.


brownies.192107.009.jpg [illustration -
  • WILLIAM HOLLAND, Terre Haute, Ind.
  • FREDERIC N. CRABB, New York
  • WILLIAM C. KING, Chicago, Ill.
  • BURRELL JOHNSON, Johnstown, Pa.
  • MATRIN D. JENKINS, Terre Haute, Ind.
  • WILLIAM CHAMBERS, Omaha, Neb.
  • ANDREW SHELTON, Terre Haute, Ind.
  • JOHN COOK, Johnstown, Pa.
  • WILLIAM J. KNOX, JR., New Bedford, Mass.
  • JAMES ANDRESON, Terre Haute, Ind.
  • JAMES T. LEWIS, Omaha, Neb.
  • S. AUSUSTUS WALKER, New York
  • MARVIN SHELTON, Terre Haute, Ind.
  • ROY CARDWELL, Joliet, Ill.
  • JEROME S. PETERSON, New York
  • EMILE HOLLEY, New York
]
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Seneka Institute, South Carolina, 17 graduates.

Dunbar High School, D. C., 175 graduates, of whom 38 will enter college in the fall. This school has the following graduates now in college: Howard 140; Amherst 4; Williams 4; Brown 3; Oberlin 3; Syracuse 3; Illinois 3: Columbia 3; Radcliffe 3; Hamilton 2, and one each in Wellesley, Dartmouth, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Chicago and Cornell.

Parkersburg, West Virginia, 4 graduates,'of whom 3 will enter college ; 9 are in college.

Booker T. Washington High School, Norfolk, Virginia, 18 graduates from the four year course, 14 from the commercial course and 28 from the teachers' training course. Of these, 28 expect to enter college next fall; 10 graduates are in college.

Hill Street School, LaGrange, Georgia, 3 graduates from a three-year course, all of whom will enter college; 8 graduates are attending higher institutions.

Cumberland High School, Cumberland, Maryland—there are no graduates because of the lengthening of the course, but a new $75,000 building is to be erected this summer.

Jackson High School, Lynchburg, Virginia, 8 graduates, all of whom expect to go to college. This is the first class to graduate from the four Years' course. A lot has been purchased and plans made for a modern new High School building.

Stanton High School, Annapolis, Maryland, has established a full four years course but has no graduates this year.

Lincoln High School, Paducah, Kentucky, 9 graduates of whom 6 will go to college; 7 graduates are now in college. A new High School building to cost $90,000 is nearly complete. A new playground and athletic field have been provided with the assistance of the Community Service, Incorporated. The music department has been enlarged.

Lincoln High School, Fort Smith, Arkansas, 10 graduates of whom 6 will enter college; 12 graduates are now in college. A branch of the Carnegie Library has been opened in the school and a cafeteria.

William Grant High School, Covington, Kentucky, 2 graduates both of whom will enter college next fall; 11 are in higher institutions.

Douglass High School, Oklahoma City, 21 graduates of whom 10 will enter college; about 50 graduates are now in college.

Lincoln High School, Tallahassee, Florida. 12 graduates of a three years' course, all of whom will enter college; 9 graduates are in college.

The Okolona Industrial School, Mississippi, 3 Normal graduates. The school has been taken over by the Episcopal Church and $5,000 appropriated for the year.

Walters Institute, Warren, Arkansas, 1 graduate. A committee of local white men have given $4,000 for a girls' dormitory and a 50 acre site. They are connected with the Arkansas and Southern Lumber Company.

Stanton High School, Jacksonville, Florida, 16 graduates, of whom 13 will enter college; 30 graduates are in college.

Dunbar High School, Mayfield, Kentucky, 3 graduates in the four years' course and 7 from other courses; 1 will enter college. A new $21,000 High School building is in course of erection; 10 teachers will be employed next year instead of 5.

Dunbar High School, Shawnee, Oklahoma, 5 graduates, of whom 2 will enter college; 2 graduates are in higher schools.

Knox Institute, Georgia, 3 graduates. Lincoln Institute, Kentucky, 9 graduates. Morristown N. & I. College, Tennessee, 30

High School graduates and 37 graduates from other departments. The school is planning to put $100,000 in new buildings next year.

Cookman Institute, Jacksonville, Florida, 8 High School graduates.

Swift Memorial College, Rogersville, Tennessee, 22 High School graduates, no gradu-ates from the college department.

Flipper Key Davis University, Tullahassee, Oklahoma, 5 High School graduates.

Guadalupe College, Texas, 6 Normal graduates. The college has been given a library and a lighting plant this year.

Bettis Academy, South Carolina, 5 High School graduates.

Colored High School, Petersburg, Virginia, 10 graduates from a three years' course, all of whom will enter the fourth year of the extended High School course; 14 graduates are in higher institutions. The school is now housed in a new building of 10 rooms with an auditorium which seats one thousand. Near it is a 25-room building for the grades. Both buildings cost $140,000. There are in all 1,700 pupils, 7 supervisory teachers, 38 teachers and other assistants. The domestic science and manual


brownies.192107.011.jpg [illustration -
  • GLADYS WHEELER, Canton, Ohio
  • ELTRA SAUNDERS, Lincoln Neb.
  • LUCILE CLARK, South Haven, Mich.
  • GLADYS BROWN, Omaha, Neb.
  • HELEN CONTRELL, Danville, Ill.
  • GWENDOLYN BONNER, New Bedford, Mass.
  • EMMELINE LEAKCOOK, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • LUCILE MAJOR, Quincy, Ill.
  • GWENDOLYN BENNETT, New York
  • EDITH LOND, Atlantic city, N. J.
  • KATHERINE HANCOCK, Pittsburgh, Pa.
  • IRENE SEALY, New York
  • FRANCES D. GORDON, Omaha, Neb.
  • MARIE BROWN, Wichita, Kan.
  • ELVETTA JACKSON, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • LOUISE JOURDAIN, New Bedford, Mass.
]
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training departments are especially well equipped. The school has had a three years' course for 49 years. The four years' course begins next September.

Trinity School, Athens, Alabama, 4 High School graduates.

Colored High, Bowling Green, Kentucky, 5 graduates; 3 will go to the State Normal School and 2 will study dentistry; 11 of the graduates are in higher institutions.

Allen Normal School, Thomasville, Georgia, 4 High School graduates.

State Normal School, Montgomery, Alabama, 30 High School graduates. The work of the institution has been completely reorganized so as to contain a junior college of two years and a senior and junior high school of three years each. The General Education Board has given $30,000 and the Legislature of Alabama $20,000 for a new dormitory for girls. G. W. Trenholm is acting president.

Virginia N. & I. Institute, 58 High School graduates and 59 Normal and Industrial graduates. A new trade school and barn have been erected and the institution became a Land Grant college, January 21, 1921.

Roanoke Collegiate Institute, North Carolina, 13 High School graduates. A $50,000 girls' dormitory is planned for next year.

High Point N. & I. School, North Carolina, 10 High School graduates.

Storer College, West Virginia, 31 High School graduates and 5 Normal graduates.

Albion Academy, North Carolina, 10 High School graduates.

Henderson Normal Institute, North Carolina, 7 High School graduates, 5 teacher training graduates, 1 nurse training graduate. Erected one building last year at a cost of $75,000.

Laurinburg N. & I. Institute, North Carolina, 3 High School graduates. Have just erected a $45,000 building complete without debt.

Georgia N. & A. School, 10 High School graduates and 9 Normal graduates.

Christiansburg Industrial Institute, Virginia, 50 High School graduates.

Chandler Normal School, Lexington, Kentucky, 5 High School graduates.

Mary Potter School, North Carolina, 17 High School graduates. Lost one building by fire.

Southland Institute, Arkansas, 3 High School graduates, 18 Normal graduates. During the next year the course will be rearranged and the teaching force increased.

Allen Industrial School, North Carolina, 19 High School graduates.

St. Paul N. & I. School, Virginia, 6 High School graduates. Has completed a new dining hall at a cost of $30,000.

Tennessee A. & I. State Normal, 65 High School graduates.

Colored High School, Bessemer, Alabama, 10 graduates; all expect to enter college; 11 graduates are in higher schools.

Gloucester A. & I. School, 8 High School graduates, all of whom will enter higher institutions.

Daytona, N. & I. Institute, Florida, 7 High School graduates. Has received $10,000 toward a dormitory in addition to $25,000 already raised. There is need for $15,000 more. Daytona "Circles" have raised $2,500 from colored people.

Huntington High School, Newport News, Virginia—This is a new school, opened last September, with 140 pupils and 4 teachers. It is the first public High School that the colored People have had. The School Board will add four rooms and employ three more teachers next year.

Oakwood Junior College, Huntsville, Alabama, 3 High School graduates and 4 Normal graduates.

High School, Elizabeth City, North Carolina, 29 graduates; 11 graduates are in higher institutions. The High School has received $180,000 for permanent improvements and $23,500 for maintenance during the year.

Central Alabama Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, 6 High School graduates and 2 Normal graduates.

Utica N. & I. Institute, Mississippi, 24 High School graduates.

Central High School, Louisville, Kentucky, 47 graduates; 17 will go to college.

Hungerford N. H. & I. School, Eatonville. Florida, 1 graduate.

Dallas Colored High School, Texas, 41 graduates. The school employs 97 teachers.

WHITE HIGH SCHOOLS

Seattle, Washington, 6; Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1; Minneapolis, Minnesota, North High, 2; San Jose, California, 1; Shortridge High, Indiana, 25; Quincy, Illinois, 1; Joliet, Illinois, 1; New Rochelle, New York, 2 ; High School, College of the City of New York, 6; Technical


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  • CHARLES R. BURTON, Easton, Pa.
  • JANE C. JOSEPH, New Bedford, Mass.
  • ROSS R. COOPER, Harrisburg, Pa.
  • CATHERINE BENNETT, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • NELLIE B ROBINSON, York, Pa.
  • RUTH E. SATCHELL, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • SARA C. JACKSON, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • CARLTON SAYRES, New York City
  • MARCELINE LEWIS, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • RUTH REYNOLDS, New Bedford, Mass
  • LUCY CRAWFORD, Pittsburgh, Pa
  • DORIS PILGRIM, Atlantic City, N. J.
  • HILTON L. MAYERS, New York City
  • MARY NELSON, Licoln Neb.
  • WILLIAN A. R. Michael, New York City
  • FLORA WILSON, Atlantic City, N. J.
]
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High, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1; Girls' Commercial High, Brooklyn, New York, 1; Easton, Pennsylvania, 1; Englewood High, Chicago, February, 5; June, 10; Girls' Latin, Boston, 1; Washington Irving High, New York, 6; Topeka, Kansas, 16; Atlantic City, 12; Minneapolis, Minnesota, Central, 1; Lansing, Michigan, 1; Danville, Illinois, 2; Quincy, Illinois, 3; Canton, Ohio, 1; Terre Haute, Indiana, 11; Minneapolis, Minnesota, South High, 1; Elgin, Illinois, 1; South Bend, Indiana, 1; Bridgeport, Connecticut, 2; Elmira, New York, 2; Marshall High, Chicago, 1; Girls' High, Brooklyn, 2; Troy, New York, 1; New Bedford, Massachusetts, 5; Norristown, Pennsylvania, 1; Omaha, Nebraska, 3; Lincoln, Nebraska, 2; Richmond Hill High, New York, 1; Commercial High, Brooklyn, New York, 1; South Hills High, Pittsburgh, 2; Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 2; Providence, Rhode Island, 1; Binghampton,

New York, 1; Girls' High, Boston, 7; Kings. ton, New York, 1; Charlestown High, Boston, 1; High School of Commerce, Boston, 1; Trenton, New Jersey, 2; Technical High, Chicago, 3; York, Pennsylvania, 3; Erasmus Hall, Brooklyn, New York, 2; East High, Cleveland, Ohio, 1; High School of Commerce, New York, 2; Fifth Avenue High, Pittsburgh, 2; Boys' High, Brooklyn, 4; East Orange, New Jersey, 2; Wichita, Kansas, 1; Hartford, Connecticut, 9; Cadiz, Ohio, 2; Council Bluffs, Iowa, 2; South Haven, Michigan, 1; Tacoma, Washington, 1; Rockford, Illinois, 2; Wendell Philips High, Chicago, 40; Brockton, Massachusetts, 3; Central, Harrisburg, 7; Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 3; St. Paul, Minnesota, 8; Los Angeles, California, 24; Everett, Massachusetts, 4; Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1; Peoria, Illinois, 1; Douglass High, Cleveland, Ohio, 16; Lane Technical, Chicago, Illinois, 1.

(To be continued in August)

PLAYTIME

GAMES

Arranged by ANNETTE C. BROWNE
STEALING STEPS

IN this game all the players except one stretch out in a line four or more yards from the base where stands another player with his back to them. The object of the game is to see which one can first reach the player at the base by taking steps toward him while he is counting ten. The player at the base counts ten, then quickly turns around and if he catches any player still stepping, he makes him go back farther from the base.

He continues counting in this way until a player reaches and touches him. That player takes the counter's place.

CROSS QUESTIONS AND CROOKED ANSWERS

An even number of players are arranged in two parallel lines. A person goes down one row and whispers to each player a question, usually a funny or foolish one, while another person goes down the other row and whispers to each player an answer of some sort.

Then the first player in the questioner's row states his question to the first player in the other row who gives his answer. Then the next player in the first row gives his question to the corresponding player in the other row, and so on. The answers, of course, seldom fit the questions but are very mirth-provoking.

POOR KITTY

All players except one are seated in a circle. The one who is "Poor Kitty" goes and kneels before some player and says "me-ow" three times, while the one before whom she kneels pats her on the head each time she me-ows and says, "Poor Kitty" without laughing—if she can. If she does laugh she becomes "Poor Kitty".


brownies.192107.015.jpg

FUNNY BUNNIES

ANNETTE C. BROWNE
[illustration - FUNNY BUNNIES ANNETTE C. BROWNE]
I NEVER thought the rabbits
Had any funny habits;
They seem so shy and timid on the go;
But when they're safe in cover
And no danger seems to hover,
Folks say they pull off stunts that beat a show.
On many a summer night,
When the full moon sheds its light,
They give big dances in some lonesome lane;
My grandma told me so,
And I guess she ought to know,
For she says she's seen them time and time again.
They step out two and two
Just the way that people do,
Then with even step they skip and prance around;
While one bunny in the middle,
Imitates the bow and fiddle,
And his mouth sends out a funny humming sound.
I've never seen this sight,
Though I hope I shall some night,
If I can manage once to get a chance;
But if you're still and look,
The next night you pass a nook,
Perhaps you'll get to see the bunnies dance.

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THE JUDGE

WILLIAM is looking for "Atlantis" and has exhausted all the atlases.

"There is no such place," says Wilhelmina.

But if there is a name, there must be a thing," answers William.

"No," says the Judge, "perhaps there was something with such a name and it doesn't exist now."

"Did somebody lose it?" asks Billy.

"It may have been lost," says the Judge.

"But this," says William, "was a whole continent and you can't lose a continent."

"Sometimes you can," answers the Judge. "It may go to war and lose itself or lose its head (which is the same thing), and then again it may sink into the ocean and that is what some people say happened to Atlantis."

"Oh, I remember," says Wilhelmina, "there was a wonderful land beyond the Pillars of Hercules with a civilization as beautiful as that of the Greeks and then it disappeared."

"But where could it go?" asks Billy. "Continents can't run around loose in the ocean."

"It might blow up and settle down," suggests William.

"That is one theory," says the Judge, "but there is also another: there is a great German explorer, Leo Frobenius, who insists that Atlantis was not in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but was in Africa."

"I thought Africa was always uncivilized," says William.

"Then you have not heard of Egypt," answers Wilhelmina.

And the Judge adds, "Or of the Mellestine or Of Zymbabwe or—"

"Gee! what names!" says Billy.

"Oh, of course, I know of Egypt," answers William, "although somehow people do not seem to talk as though it were part of Africa. I never heard of the other names."

"You see," says the Judge, "on the West Coast of Africa there is a most interesting stretch of land where we have discovered remains of ancient art and industry together with poetry and folk lore handed down through generations, all of which leads some people to believe that here in early days was the site of a great civilization and that it was this civilization that the Greeks discovered and called Atlantis."

"How curious," says Wilhelmina, "to think of Africa as the Lost Atlantis."

"There are many things more curious than that in the world," answers the Judge.

"But what about Atlantis," insists Billy, "whether it is in Africa or New Jersey?"

"Listen!" answers the Judge.

"Plato tells the story. He describes how certain Egyptian priests talking with Solon, pictures Atlantis as a country larger than Asia Minor, lying just beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Lesser islands lie around it. Nine thousand years before Solon, Atlantis had been a powerful kingdom and had conquered all the lands around the Mediterranean except Athens alone. Then the sea overwhelmed Atlantis, and the ocean where it was became unsailable on account of the shoals. For years thereafter, historians and story-tellers repeated and varied this tale, and men hunted in their time for the lost land in Portugal, in England, even in America. Such is the legend. The truth may lie in Africa."

"Africa," says Wilhelmina musing, "certainly seems to be the land of the mysterious."

"When I'm a man I'm going there," says William evidently thinking out loud.

"So am I," pipes up Billy, "and when I come back I'm going to write a new history, and a new geography—"

Wilhelmina interrupts, "Especially a new geography, I think I'll have to help you there, Billy. I'll do the illustrating. And instead of these uncanny types that I learned of, when I was a child, as the people of Africa, we'll put in beautiful, mysterious faces. What shall we call them, Judge?"

"The Atlantides," he tells her promptly, "the inhabitants of Atlantis."


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"Sunshine Sammy" would never do this in real life, but it's all right in the movies.


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THE LITTLE PIG'S WAY OUT

JULIAN ELIHU BAGLEY

DID the little pig ever do any-
thing to pay Mister Crocodile for keeping old Br'er Bear from drowning him?" asked little Cless one evening.

"Oh, yes, honey—certainly; of course he did," answered Granny in rapid succession.

"Well, what did he do?"

"Oh, he did so many things I don't know what he didn't do," was Granny's evasive reply.

"Well what was one of the things he did?" Cless demanded.

Granny was bemused. "I—I—I think," she said haltingly, "I think he saved Mister Crocodile's life once."

This was exactly what little Cless wanted his grandmother to say. "How did he do it, Granny? How did he do it?"

"Well you know," said Granny, "after Mister Crocodile had drowned Br'er Bear in the river and saved the little pig, all the other bears in The Land of Sunshine had it in for him. Naturally, then he had to be very careful about his movements. Every time he crawled out on the banks of the river to cool off, he kept a sharp eye out for the bears. They were determined to get him. They didn't care at all about catching the little pig, but oh my, how they did want to catch Mr. Crocodile! Now it wasn't very long before Mister Crocodile found this out. Of course, he wanted to tell his friend, the little pig, but he didn't dare leave the water in the daytime. He was afraid the bears would catch him. One day, however, he made up his mind to leave the water, but just as he started out he looked up the road and saw two great big bears tromping down to the river to get a drink. Mister Crocodile ducked his head under the water and lay perfectly quiet. He wanted to hear what they were going to say.

"'Oh yes,' said one to the other as they lapped up the water, 'we'll get old Mister Crocodile yet. Any time we bears go after a thing, we're sure to get it. And we won't miss Mister Crocodile—I'll bet my life we won't.' Now when they had finished drinking they lay down on the bank of the river to rest and to talk about their plan to catch Mister Crocodile. The whole scheme was laid out by these two bears, who were the smartest in The Land of Sunshine. They meant to keep watch down by the riverside all day. This would stop Mister Crocodile from coming out to get his sun bath ; and if he did come out they would catch him.

"Well Mister Crocodile overheard their plan and therefore made up his mind to keep his head under the water. Now sunshine to a crocodile is what water is to us. They must have sunshine; we must have water. So, of course, he couldn't stay under the water forever. What should he do? He himself did not know, but he thought the little pig could find a way out for him. But to get to the little pig was another question. How could he do it? An idea struck him that the safest time to go was at night when the two bears were off guard. So one dark night he crawled out of the water and toddled out to see the little pig and to tell him his trouble.

" 'Heyo! there, little pig,' said Mister Crocodile as he jumped up on the pen. 'I haven't seen you since the night I drowned old Br'er Bear. And what do you think, all the bears in The Land of Sunshine have heard about my drowning Br'er Bear and they're trying to kill me. They, don't want you—said so, but they'll give anything in the world to catch me. Now, little pig, I helped you out when you were in trouble, what are you going to do to help me? I've got to have sunshine, you know, and I can't possibly get it with two big bears guarding the river all day.'

"The little pig was thinking. And while he was thinking, he heard a heavy tromping down the road. Presently two big bears loped up to the pen, sniffed around the outside a time or two and then went galloping away. But they had found what they wanted. They knew Mister Crocodile was in that pen. And Mister Crocodile knew that they knew too. He was almost scared to death. 'Little pig, what shall I do? What shall I do, little pig? Tell me—tell me quick. How can I get back to the river before moonrise?' "The little pig was thinking. At that moment, however, he could not upon his life think


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of a scheme that would get Mister Crocodile past the bears and back to the river before the moon rose. Presently the moon came up and with it came a big bright idea. Out in the field near the little pig's pen stood a scare-crow which a farmer had put up to frighten the crows away. This was just the thing to do the trick, thought the little pig. 'I'll just undress that scare-crow,' said he, and dress up Mister Crocodile like a sure- enough man.' And I wish you could have seen the little pig dressing up Mister Crocodile! Took that old scare-crow's coat, slung it round him, pulled an old derby hat down over his eyes, handed him the scare-crow's wooden gun, and then Mister Crocodile looked like a sure-enough man a-going hunting.

"'Now,' said the little pig as he handed Mister Crocodile the gun, you just take this gun in one hand, keep that derby hat pulled down over your eyes, and go on back to the river. If you meet the bears they'll never know you. But mind, keep a level head. If you don't they'll certainly find you out.'

"Well Mister Crocodile started out. Everything went all right till he was about half way to the river. Here he met the two bears. Both Mister Crocodile and the bears were almost scared to death, but Mister Crocodile held his head and kept right on advancing like a real hunter, while the bears became frightened, whirled around and went galloping back to the swamp as fast as they could. Now Mister Crocodile was safe. He went toddling on down to the river just a-laughing and a-thinking about the cunning trick he had played on the bears. But this wasn't the only time the old scare-crow served his purpose so well. For that night before Mister Crocodile jumped overboard he pushed a big stick into the ground and dressed it up with the scare-crow's clothes. The next morning when the two bears started down to the river to get some water and to look for Mister Crocodile, they spied the old scarecrow. Back to the swamp they went. And for three weeks they tried again and again to get down to the river, but every day they found the old scare-crow on guard. At last they gave up the watch, and Mister Crocodile, no longer afraid, came out each day and took his sun bath without being troubled.

"Of course, this was a long, long time ago," concluded Granny, "but if you go to The Land of Sunshine this very day you will still find the old scare-crow on watch down by the river. And the belief is yet common among the bears that he is some mysterious hunter put there to protect Mister Crocodile forever."

[illustration - On Guard]

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AS THE CROW FLIES

HAPPINESS is not something to seek, it is something in us. I am happy, yet as I fly and fly, I cannot find happiness.

  • Napoleon has been dead 100 years. Paris commemorated the anniversary.
  • The Japanese Crown Prince Hirohito is making an official visit in London, England.
  • Martial law has been proclaimed in Jaffa, where Moslems and Jews have not stopped rioting.
  • The Aland Islands Commission recommends that these islands remain under Finnish sovereignty, with guarantees for safeguarding the Swedish people. The recommendation is made to the League of Nations.
  • The leader of the Ulster Unionists,—Sir James Craig, who is Premier-designate for northern Ireland,—has held an informal conference with the "President of the Irish Republic"—Eamon de Valera.
  • The president of the Irish Republic, De Valera, insists that until Ireland's right to be a nation is recognized, there can be no compromise with England.
  • The Allied Commission in Constantinople proclaims that Constantinople, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles are neutral in the hostilities between the Turks and the Greeks.
  • Germany has accepted unconditionally the Allied ultimatum.
  • During the national election which returned Premier Giolitti and his Cabinet in Rome, 52 persons were killed and 92 wounded.
  • Japan, at the earliest possible moment, will evacuate Siberia and restore Shantung to China.
  • There has been rioting in Alexandria, Egypt. The dead number 37 and the wounded, 151.
  • Ambassador George Harvey has made his first public speech in England. The United States, he says, will never join the League of Nations, but calls for Anglo-American unity to restore peace.
  • France paid full military and civic honors to America's dead in France on Memorial Day.
  • The German High Court has sentenced Captain Mueller to 6 months' imprisonment. He is the second German officer to be tried on the charge of criminal action in the world war.
  • A note from the French Government has been handed to the Polish Foreign Office by the French Minister at Warsaw. The note proposes that the Poles take the same measures against insurgents in Silesia as were required of Germany : Stoppage of transportation of munitions and volunteers, closing the border, and disarming the insurrectionist leaders.
  • A special courier has given to the Reparations Commission, German Treasury notes equal to 850,000,000 gold marks. This completes Germany's first payment of 1,000,000,000 gold marks.
  • The Dublin Custom House has been burned by the Sinn-Feiners. Nine lives were lost and the property damage was $5,000,000.
  • By a vote of 419-171, the French Chamber of Deputies has endorsed Premier Briand's policy on German reparations payment.
  • Salzburg, Austria—in an unofficial plebiscite—has voted in favor of union with Germany.
  • The Chairman of the Financial Committee of the League of Nations announces that France and Great Britain are willing to wait 20 years for a settlement of Austria's obligations, under the Treaty of Saint-Germain.
  • A bust of George Washington—a gift of America—has been unveiled by Ambassador George Harvey in St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

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  • ¶Although Germany has been very slow in making returns to France for the losses which she inflicted during the war, and although the financial condition of France is still pretty bad, yet the French are recovering marvelously from the ruin and devastation which surrounded them. Within two years they have cleared most of the 9,500,000 acres of plough land, which the invaders had devastated, from projectiles and barbed wire, and have got 2,403,945 acres of it already under crops. Of the 523,000 cattle taken by the enemy, 117,222 have been replaced ; of the 367,000 horses confiscated, 209,138 have been restored ; and 128,109 sheep and goats have been acquired out of a loss of 469,000.

SORROW is not in us, but about us. I find sorrow everywhere, but there lies no sorrow in my light and flying heart.

  • Two constitutional amendments have been introduced by Senator Hiram Johnson of California. He wants Congress to have the power to regulate primaries for Presidential, Vice-presidential and Congressional nominations.
  • A bill to create a Department of Public Welfare has been introduced by Senator Kenyon.
  • Three Haitian delegates to the United States nave presented a report to the Department of State and the Foreign Relations Committee. The Haitians demand that the United States Army of Occupation be withdrawn from Haiti.
  • One hundred thousand clergymen have been sent a circular appealing to Congress for an international conference on armament reduction. In this effort are Protestants, Catholics and Jews.
  • In the coal-field mountains of Mingo County, West Virginia, guerrilla labor warfare has broken out again.
  • According to figures of the Labor Department, during April there was increased employment in 8 major industries ; in 6 remaining industries there was a decrease.
  • The order making General Pershing Chief of Staff of the United States Army will go into effect July 1.
  • The Emergency Tariff Bill has been adopted in the House by a 245-97 vote and will now go to the President. The bill carries tariff duties on more than thirty farm products, together with compensatory duties on the articles manufactured by them ; it empowers the Secretary of the Treasury to employ penalties in preventing the dumping of foreign-made goods ; it continues the war-time control over importations of dyes.
  • Franklin K. Lane, who was Secretary of the Interior in President Wilson's Cabinet, is dead at Rochester, Minn. He was 56 years old.
  • As a gift of American women, President Harding has presented $100,000 worth of radium to Madam Curie, who is the Franco-Polish scientist and discoverer of radium.
  • President Harding in an address over soldier dead at Hoboken, N. J., made an appeal for better understanding among peoples, classes and nations.
  • The American Federation of Labor is planning a national drive to unionize industry.
  • At the personal direction of President Harding, all the property of Grover C. Bergdoll has been seized under the Trading-with-the-Enemy Act. Bergdoll is the fugitive draft dodger.
  • The Farmers' Finance Corporation has been formed by the Executive Committee of the United States Grain Growers, Inc. The organization has a capital stock of $100,000,000. It will finance farm marketing and facilitate direct handling of crops.
  • When a Curtiss-Eagle Ambulance Airplane crashed to earth near Morgantown, Md., 5 army officers and 2 civilians were killed.
  • There has been race rioting at Tulsa, Okla. Twenty-one Negroes and 9 white people were killed ; 44 blocks in the Negro section were burned ; but the Negroes prevented the threatened lynching which started the riot.
  • On July 1, an average reduction of 12 percent in the wages of various classes of employees of 104 railroads will become effective. This ruling of the United States Railroad Labor Board will take $400,000,000 a year from the payrolls of the railroads.
  • Brigadier-General Horace Porter is dead in New York at the age of 84. He was former Ambassador to France and the last survivor of the staff of General Grant.
  • Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman who resigned from the presidency of Cornell University a year ago, after 28 years of service, is to be succeeded by Dr. Livingston Farrand. Dr. Farrand was formerly a professor of anthropology at Columbia and president of the University of Colorado. Dr. Schurman has been appointed United States Minister to China.

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THE JURY

I HAVE been reading THE BROWNIES' BOOK since it first came out. I buy it for myself, too. You see, the boys on my street have a club, and we go errands for people. We don't charge, but nearly always they give us a nickel and sometimes a dime.

I always save enough to buy THE BROWNIES BOOK when it comes out ; then I buy tops and marbles and kites.

JOHN WHITE
New York City

I AM a little girl who lives in the country. We have a library in our home. My mother and father have lots of magazines that come to them.

One day last month I was so surprised and happy when the postman brought a magazine addressed to me! And it was THE BROWNIES' BOOK.

Mother has sent in a subscription for me.

DOROTHY ALLEN
Monroe, Va

I'VE kept each copy of my BROWNIES' BOOK.

I just wait and wait and wait, it seems, and when it arrives, I am so glad!

Some of the things I don't understand ; but mother says I will when I get older. Father has had my copies of THE BROWNIES' BOOK for last year all bound together.

MARION LEE
Buckley, Ga

I THINK THE BROWNIES' BOOK is just fine!

I like the stories about the colored heroes most.

I paid for my year's subscription by selling lemonade last summer on a very hot street. I am going to get my dollar and a half the same way this year.

When I get older and go to high school I'm going to try to write a story for THE BROWNIES' BOOK.

WILLIE BROWN
Fairmount, Pa

NEXT week I am going on my vacation. go to Reevytown, a nice country place near Red Bank, N. J. My grandma lives there and she has lots of chickens and a cow and a horse and a great big garden. I feed the chickens and the horse every morning. When I get big enough I am going to milk the cow. Grandma has apple trees and plum trees and when the fruit gets ripe I can eat just as much as I want. When I get big I want to live in the country too.

RACHEL GOODWIN
Freeport, N.Y.

IN one issue of THE BROWNIES' Book, there was a story-telling game. By mother and I tried it, and made up a story called "Bugs", as a result. My mother told the first, and I the second part and so on.

I'm very glad to see that THE BROWNIES' BOOK gets better and better each issue.

BERTIE LEE HALL
Montgomery, Ala.

I WANT to tell you that I enjoy THE BROWNIES' magazine immensely.

I am a little white girl ; I am ten years old. I think the pictures of the little dark babies are sweet. I was especially interested in the pictures of those who did so much. Paul Johnson's smile makes me laugh back to him. I like the covers also.

GERTRUDE MAREAN
Cambridge, Mass.

I HAVE decided to put in my order for THE BROWNIES' sometime. I find the BROWNIES' a very cheerful little book. Some evenings when my lessons are done I sit and read the stories. I find them very good, also interesting.

I like "Little People of the Month" because it encourages the children to do more and I hope some day to have a fine orchestra myself.

LOUISE R. MORGAN
Boston, Mass.

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CHINESE NEWS

ANNIE LAURIE McCARY

OUR recent government census approximates the population of the United States at one hundred and twelve million people. The words "Red", "Bolsheviki", "Sovietism", names of Lennie and Trotzky have turned our attention to Russia and we see there a country larger than ours in area and with more inhabitants, but think of a country teeming with so many people that they cannot be counted! A country where in one of the least densely populated provinces the average number of persons is five hundred and thirty-one to the square mile, and where in the more crowded sections an estimate of from one thousand to fifteen hundred to the same area is not exaggerated! Such a country is China—a country with a total population conservatively supposed to be four hundred and fifty million.

In our bold assumption of superiority, we Westerners send missionaries to China as though it were some new, uncivilized portion of the globe. How absurd—what upstarts we must seem to the calm, stolid yellow men of that far eastern empire whose clan records date back to 2800 B. C.! Some three thousand years after the beginning of their records, before America was even discovered, Marco Polo, well known friend of our history days, writes in his travels of a Chinese financial system so far advanced at that time that paper money was in circulation, and of astrologers who consulted an astrolabe to forecast the weather, thus anticipating our modern Weather-Man.

Some claim that this vast empire has been welded together by oppression, by the series of conquests to which it has submitted ; but the Chinese themselves assert that it coheres rather by the almost universal acceptance of the ethics of Confucius whose wise precepts, given forth five hundred years before our Christ was born, inculcate all the cardinal virtues and include love and respect for parents, respect for an allegiance to authority—symbolized by allegiance to the ruling Prince,—respect for and obedience to all superiors, respect for age, and courteous manner to all. These are the people to whom we send missionaries—whom we would civilize! The foundation of China rests upon the family life. Parents really rule their households, children have reverential respect for mother and father. A child gravely kowtows (makes a formal bow) to his parents upon entering their presence. No youth would eat or drink in the presence of his father or mother until invited to do so. Among the nobility, etiquette is so rigid that if a son is addressed by his father while at his meal, he must stand before answering. The power of parents is practically unlimited—extending even to life or death. The mother, who is theoretically inferior, is the real controller of the family, extending her authority even to the wives of her sons. One incident, while cruel and apparently heartless, shows how absolute is a mother's power. A wealthy young Chinaman, who had come under "civilized" influences in Hong Kong, was leading a wild life—motor cars galore, reckless gambling and all the rest. To his mother's remonstrances he turned a deaf ear, so she had him locked up in chains and fetters. The boy, however, escaped and when he was finally returned to her, his mother had the tendons of his ankles cut, thus permanently crippling him. Thus do the Chinese treat the prodigal son.

Nearly all geographies show the Chinese ladies with their piteous, bound feet. The origin of this custom is lost in antiquity and to our western minds seems incomprehensible, but it is considered over there a badge of a free and reputable family. In recent years some of the Imperial family have stopped this practice and edicts forbidding it have been issued, but a custom so deeply rooted cannot be abolished in a day.

Apparently a Chinese lady's dress is unchanging—a beautifully embroidered jacket, long pleated skirt, and wide trousers. The general cut, the lines, remain the same for it is considered immodest and indelicate for a lady to show the lines of her figure. The colors are visually bright crimson or yellow with the delicate shades of all other colors. We suspect the styles change with the differing intervals of embroidery. Wives of officials are entitled to wear all the insignia and regalia of their husband's rank.

The preliminaries to a social call are as rigid


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and formal as that of all social intercourse in China. The scarlet visiting card, three or four inches wide and sometimes a foot long—depending upon the social rank of the visitor— is first sent in and returned with an invitation to enter. The hostess, meantime, dons on her latest "gown" and according to the rank of her caller meets the latter at the first, second, or third doorway, as the caller's rank demands. Three-fourths of the Chinese population is rural. There are few important Chinese cities. Hong Kong,—practically a European commercial center in an Oriental setting, Shanghai, Canton and Pekin, the capital, are best known to us. Our largest interest is in the villages as really representatives of Chinese life. The houses are made simply of the soil, moulded into adobe bricks, dried until they cease to shrink. The roofs are mostly flat—supported by timbers—and serve as a storage place for crops and fuel. Instead of numbers the houses may have a name over the door. The sill is moveable with a hole cut in it as an entrance or exit for the family cats and dogs. In the small yards the babies, chickens, geese, ducks, cats, dogs, all play together in merry confusion.

The principal cultivation is that of rice. The first crop is sown about April and reaped early in July. The second, later in July, and reaped at the end of September. Other crops are of fruit, vegetables and mulberry trees in the silk regions. Tea and poppies (for the opium contained therein) are the other mainstays.

The Chinese are expert quarrymen—stonecutters—and sawyers. The lowest form of labor is the work of the coolies who carry coal and building materials. The hours are long, the work most taxing, and the pay almost nothing! After the day's work, however, the work men dearly love games—or rather gambling, Though gambling houses are forbidden by law, no official supervision could circumvent betting,—for instance, on the number of seeds in a melon, and such wagers! Besides gaming, cock-fights are the next popular amusement.

Chinese education is based upon the wisdom of the ancients and to the young student is set the task of memorizing the Classics! Book after book is stored away in the pupil's memory. As official positions are awarded to those who pass the government examinations, boys spend years preparing themselves, committing to memory the works of Confucius, commentaries upon the same, and mastery of Chinese characters. The whole system is one of cramming. In the principal cities within recent years American and European schools have been introduced and the type of education with which we are familiar is being established.

All that we have just said about education refers almost entirely to boys, for girls are not given much education and never go anywhere to speak of. One Chinese woman said that she hoped in her next existence she would be born a clog, so that she could go where she chose! Betrothed at the earliest possible date, a girl's period of unmarried life is spent in merely caring for her body.

Says the Chinese father, "Why should I teach her how to read, write and reckon, when it will never do me any good?"

"But she is your daughter."

"Not after she is married."

With the exchange of ideas between China and women of Western lands, it is to be hoped that the girls will some day soon come into their right of a free and untrammeled girlhood, as we Westerners conceive of girlhood and its joyousness.


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AN INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES S. GILPIN

RUTH MARIE THOMAS

HAVING planned for an interview with Mr. Charles S. Gilpin, who is starring in "The Emperor Jones," I had wondered how the interview would be. Finding the stage entrance, my sister and I climbed up to his dressing room, after informing the maid that we had an appointment with him. Reaching his dressing room we were met at the door by Mr. Gilpin's valet, who, after seeing our credentials allowed us to enter. Indeed, we were greatly honored at not having to await him in the reception room but having the special privilege of going to his private room.

How did Mr. Gilpin look ? What was he doing when we entered? Now for the grand surprise. Mr. Gilpin was washing his feet! ! I know this is funny but his part requires that he be barefooted and of necessity after each performance he has to bathe. Mr. Gilpin is an American Negro of striking appearance. He is tall, well-built, of nut brown complexion and clean-cut features. His appearance was very neat. I was surprised to see that he looked to be about thirty-five years old, since I know that he is older.

We made ourselves at home and then Mr. Gilpin told me to fire away. Though I was somewhat taken by surprise because he was conversing with his valet, continuing to dry his feet, and answering my sister I managed to ask him my questions. Mr. Gilpin answered them in an easy drawl.

Mr. Gilpin was born in Richmond, Virginia, and attended St. Francis, a Roman Catholic School. As a boy he was much interested in acting and took part in many of the school theatricals. He entered the profession when he was offered a part during an unemployed time. Mr. Gilpin has been in the profession for twice as many years as I am old. When asked how old I was he said seventeen which is perfectly correct.

A good common education at least is needed for acting, Mr. Gilpin thinks, because it gives an understanding of the setting and also enables one to understand the character of the person portrayed.

The characteristics that are necessary for success in this line of work are an optimistic disposition, ability to stand many hardships and much discouragement. A person must have a vivid imagination, that is one that will enable him to put himself in another one's position. Perseverance in studying is an essential thing. There must be an affection for the work, not for the dollar side of it.

There are great opportunities for the colored women in the profession, Mr. Gilpin stated, if they enter with the right idea. Only the majority of women who enter this field are not willing to study but go in with the desire for the flash and excitement of the stage. Success can not be reached if there is a lack of ambition for the things that require hard labor.

His ambition for the future is to establish a small business, because the theatrical life is so

[illustration - Charles S. Gilpin, in "The Emperor Jones."]
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strenuous, but he thinks that he will undoubtedly return to the stage as there seems to be an irresistible longing to go back to the stage in most cases. Mr. Gilpin was asked if he wasn't deadly in love with his profession. He answered that he could not say that, but he did have an affection for it but it was also a business to him.

Mr. Gilpin laughed when I had finished my questions and told me that I, of course, would have to write about how he impressed me. I said that I would surely write that he had a wonderful, kind disposition. Mr. Gilpin wished that I also say that he is an extremely moody man and that I had caught him in one of his bright humors. He is very sympathetic and entered into my interview with complete sincerity. He is known to be especially interested in school children, as he has a son, who is eighteen years old attending school. He has a very straightforward and frank way of speaking when addressing one. When we left he stood and shook hands with us in a very cordial manner. My own opinion is that Mr. Gilpin is a wonderful man, a thorough gentleman and above all he is not egotistical.

GIRL RESERVES CONFERENCE

THE first conference for Colored High School Girls Reserves of the East Central Field met at Germantown, PA., May 13-15. One hundred and twenty delegates representing Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Lancaster, Coatesville, Wilkes-Barre and Germantown were present.

The conference opened Friday with a camp fire at which the girls were welcomed by the Germantown Girl Reserves and the Philadelphia High School Council. Games and stunts were indulged in, and after a picnic lunch and a "Good Night" story by Miss McNeill, the guests were carried to the homes of the Germantown hostesses.

On Saturday morning the meeting, presided over by Charlotte Ross of Germantown, began with Devotions led by Alice Richards of the Phyllis Wheatley Girl Reserves of Washington. Miss Crystal Bird, the National Girls' Work Secretary for Colored Girls, gave a talk on "The Purpose of a High School Club", after which the several commissions were presented to the conference.

The discussion of the Social Commission was led by Hilda Anderson of Baltimore, the Membership Commission by Ida May Hall of the Dramatic Club of Washington, the Service Commission by Elizabeth Craig of Lancaster, the Program Commission by Helen Cook of Germantown. One of the most helpful suggestions adopted by the conference was given in the Membership Commission from Washington which created a scholarship fund for extending the education of worthy high school girls. The idea was so gladly received that it inspired all present with the zeal to begin it at once, and a contribution, given by Miss Jane C. Turner, a member of the Germantown Girls' Work Committee as the first toward the fund, grew in a few moments to the amount of twenty-five dollars.

After luncheon and a conference picture, the meeting was closed for the afternoon by an address on "The Girl Reserve—Her Service" by Miss Gertrude L. Prack, Field Girls' Work Secretary.

At the banquet held on Saturday night the girls were fortunate in having Dr. DuBois as guest of honor. In appreciation of the presence of this great leader the girls received him with acclamations, songs and yells. In the course of the banquet the guests were entertained with a program by the delegates and a short speech , by Dr. DuBois.

After breakfast on Sunday morning the girls were taken on a long hike through Fairmount Park and after an arduous climb up one of the steepest hills of the park, they stopped at the summit for their meetings. This elevated position


brownies.192107.027.jpg [illustration - First Conference, Colored High School Girl Reserves, Germantown, PA., May 13-15, 1921]
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assisted their minds also to rise and take a wholesome outlook on life, as was shown by the code adopted at this time. The advisers and secretaries were taken by Miss Bird to another part of the woods where they held a Round Table while Miss Prack and the girls made resolutions which they formulated into the following code:

  • I:
    Health Code
    • a:
      Drink a glass of water before breakfast each morning.
    • b:
      Clean teeth at least two times a day.
    • c:
      Sleep with windows open (down from top and up from bottom).
    • d:
      Take at least one hour's exercise daily (out of doors).
    • e:
      Eat three regular nourishing meals a day.
    • f:
      If hungry between meals, eat only nourishing food.
  • II:
    Dress
    • a:
      Wear serge or other simple dark dresses for winter; simple gingham dresses for spring and fall; and middies and shirts at any time (school dress).
    • b:
      Low-heeled sensible shoes.
    • c:
      Wear no flashy jewelry or too much of any kind.
    • d:
      Use no cosmetics except enough powder to take the shine off.
    • e:
      No socks.
  • III:
    Honor
    • No cheating at all.
  • III:
    Dancing
    • The proper dancing position—the distance of one hand between partners, and the correct position.

At the conclusion of the Round Table meetings the girls walked back to the "Y" where dinner was served. At the Vesper Services Sunday afternoon at 3.30 Miss Bird gave a talk which closed this successful conference. nth. gates left for their homes on Sunday evening, except the Washington girls who were given permission by their schools to take one more day for visiting in Philadelphia, so they spent Monday on a sightseeing tour, visiting the Mint, Independence Hall, and many other places of interest.

The marked efficiency of the leaders of the discussions and the care with which the recommendations had been prepared, facilitated in a large degree the work of the conference. It is needless to say that the wonderful success of the conference may be attributed to the thorough preparation made by Germantown, but as the success of so large an undertaking may not be said to come from one source alone, we must add to this the great enthusiasm of all the girls inspired by their cheer leader, Anita Turpeau of the Phyllis Wheatley Club of Washington.

Miss Prack says, "The conference was a marvelous dream realized."

Olive C. Jones
Washington D.C.

SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF MARY BINKLEY

ANNETTE C. BROWNE

IN thinking over what you have heard or read about slavery, you, children of a more fortunate age, there will come to your minds, no doubt, pictures sad and awful— pictures of children growing up under the oppressor's rod—children whose souls are steeped in ignorance and degradation and in whom every hope is born to be starved out.

In my mind now there is a picture of a girl born under such conditions and whose life, not only while in slavery but long afterwards, was a tale of weary, plodding toil. This girl, Mary by name, was born in Tennessee, and was put to work in her master's field as soon as she was large enough to do any work. Among her early memories of herself was that of plowing in the field when she was only eleven years old!

Even though her environment was one that


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radiated hopelessness, even though her life was marked by cruelty and toil, there struggled in her soul a longing for light, such as

The desire of a moth for a star, Of the night for the morrow; The longing for something afar From the vale of our sorrow.

She reached womanhood before she was loosed from the shackles of slavery but still toil and poverty were her only portion, and having been brought up to the labor of the field she continued at it until the infirmities of old age made such impossible.

The sketch of the life of Mary Binkley is no record of great achievements that usually mark biographies, neither is it an attempt to portray the character of one who rose to great heights or even small fame for the simple reason that no such things marked her life; but it is, to me, an impressive story of a soul that was filled with a desire for enlightenment—a desire so strong that many years of bending toil failed to weaken it.

She first came to my notice a few years ago when, too old to labor in the field, and having moved from Tennessee to Henderson, Kentucky, she had settled down in a little but in an alley. In passing by I noticed that unlike most persons in her condition, who would have sunk down in hopelessness or silent resignation, she was always looking about eager and alert as though expecting something. Sometimes she would stand at the opening of the alley and listen and look around with questioning gaze.

On forming her acquaintance and learning something about her life, I learned that this humble creature was filled with a desire to know,—to know about the life of the world and especially the part around her.

How much it meant to her when a few kindly persons began to take an interest in her! How interested she seemed over a bit of ordinary information! When a book or a paper was being read to her she would listen most attentively, drinking in every word. Whenever she heard of coming events of educational interest she would make it a point to put in her humble presence and often people attending important lectures wondered who was the shabby, feeble- looking old woman who probably didn't understand what was being discussed. But whether she understood or not, she was there just the same—this humble soul that for years had longed for enlightenment.

Then there came into her life something that caused her cup to overflow. Two of the colored women's improvement clubs of our city, under the endorsement of the Kentucky Illiteracy Commission, conducted at the local high school what was known as a "Moonlight School" for the benefit of grown persons who had been denied or had neglected their chance for an education.

Mrs. Binkley's joy on hearing of this can hardly be described. She was among the first to give in her name, and her eagerness to start was inspiring. It was truly an interesting sight to see her trudging along with renewed strength, going to school, her night school primer and tablet under her arm.

She attended the entire term of the night school, and so great was her zeal that her teacher was willing to continue helping her after the school closed. Who can estimate what wealth the ability to read and write brought to this humble, patient soul that craved the opportunity which so many neglect?

After America's entry into the World War, when there were so many things of human heart interest before the people, Mary Binkley threw her soul into the tide of human thought and action, and, through hearing speeches, watching parades, and talking to soldiers, she lived in the spirit of the times.

She had never before heard of the Red Cross but when the first meeting was held to organize a chapter among the colored women she was right there, occupying a front seat. The leaders of the meeting were so impressed with her interest that they made her a paid-up member, giving her the membership button which she wore with great pride. When there were patriotic parades in which colored people took part she would march forth wearing her Red Cross scarf with her flag in hand. She also did her humble bit by purchasing war savings stamps out of her small portion.

Two years ago she had become so infirm that she went to Indianapolis, Indiana, to spend her last days with her son. There she died in February of this year.

I am sure that as her soul sped onward on its great eternal quest, all those years of toil and unsatisfied desire were forgotten in the knowledge that it would now have life abundantly.

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