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BOOKER T. WAS HINGTON Autobiographical Writings The number of people who stand ready to consume one's time, to no purpose, is almost countless. At one time I spoke before a large audience in Boston in the evening. The next morning I was awakened by having a card brought to my room, and with it a message that some one was anxious to see me. Thinking that it must be something very important, I dressed hastily arid went down. When I reached the hotel office I found a blank and innocent-looking individual waiting for me, who coolly remarked: ''I heard you talk at a meeting last night. I rather liked your talk, and so I came in this morning to hear you talk some more.'' I am often asked how it is possible for me to superintend the work at Tuskegee and at the same time be so much away from the school. In partial answer to this I would say that I think I have learned, in some degree at least, to disregard the old maxim which says, ''Do not get others to do that which you can do yourself.'' My motto, on the other hand, is, ''Do not do that which others can do as well.'' One of the most encouraging signs in connection with the Tuskegee school is found in the fact that the organization is so thorough that th daily work of the school is not dependent upon the presence of any one individual. The whole executive force, including instructors and clerks, now number eighty-six. This force is so organized and subdivided that the machinery of the school goes on day by day like clockwork. Most of our teachers have been connected with the institution for a number of years, and are as much interested in it as I am. In my absence, Mr. Warren Logan, the treasurer, who has been at the school seventeen years, is the executive. He is efficiently supported by Mrs. Washington, and by my faithful secretary, Mr. Emmett I. Scott, who handles the bulk of my correspondence and keeps me in daily touch with the life of the school, and who also keeps me informed of whatever takes place in the South that concerns the race. I owe more to his tact, wisdom, and hard work than I can describe. The main executive work of the school, whether I am at Tuskegee or not, centres in what we call the executive council. This council meets twice a week, and is composed of the nine persons who are at the head of the nine departments of the school. For example: Mrs. B. K. Bruce, the Lady Principal,7 the widow of the late ax-senator Bruce, is a mem~ Josephine B. (Mrs. Blanche Kelso) Bruce was assistant principal of Tuskegee from 1899 to 1909. 352