above permitting their mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, to do the drudgery and menial offices of other men’s wives and daughters; it is useless, it is nonsense, it is pitiable mockery, to talk about equality and elevation in society.  The world is looking upon us, with feelings of commiseration, sorrow, and contempt.  We scarcely deserve sympathy, if we peremptorily refuse advice, bearing upon our elevation.

We will suppose a case for argument:  In this city reside, two colored families, of three sons and three daughters each.  At the head of each family, there is an old father and mother.  The opportunities of these families, may or may not be the same for educational advantages—­be that as it may, the children of the one go to school, and become qualified for the duties of life.  One daughter becomes school-teacher, another a mantua-maker, and a third a fancy shop-keeper; while one son becomes a farmer, another a merchant, and a third a mechanic.  All enter into business with fine prospects, marry respectably, and settle down in domestic comfort—­while the six sons and daughters of the other family, grow up without educational and business qualifications, and the highest aim they have, is to apply to the sons and daughters of the first named family, to hire for domestics!  Would there be an equality here between the children of these two families?  Certainly not.  This, then, is precisely the position of the colored people generally in the United States, compared with the whites.  What is necessary to be done, in order to attain an equality, is to change the condition, and the person is at once changed.  If, as before stated, a knowledge of all the various business enterprises, trades, professions, and sciences, is necessary for the elevation of the white, a knowledge of them also is necessary for the elevation of the colored man; and he cannot be elevated without them.

White men are producers—­we are consumers.  They build houses, and we rent them.  They raise produce, and we consume it.  They manufacture clothes and wares, and we garnish ourselves with them.  They build coaches, vessels, cars, hotels, saloons, and other vehicles and places of accommodation, and we deliberately wait until they have got them in readiness, then walk in, and contend with as much assurance for a “right,” as though the whole thing was bought by, paid for, and belonged to us.  By their literary attainments, they are the contributors to, authors and teachers of, literature, science, religion, law, medicine, and all other useful attainments that the world now makes use of.  We have no reference to ancient times—­we speak of modern things.