The Booker T. Washington Papers, Vol.3, page 507, Feb. 1895, U. of Illinois Press

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F E BR U. ARY · I 8 9 5 To Irene Bonds ''Tuskegee, Ala.] Feb. gth, 1895 Mrs. Bond: I have thoroughly considered your attitude in regard to taking part in the inspection of the girls rooms. Whatever I said to you last year or at any other time in reference to your being excused from night work had reference to work that would interfere with your being with your children. Ever since you have been here I have always considered that in view of the fact that you were kept away from your children during the day that exception in your case ought to be made in every way possible so as to allow you to be with them after the day s work was done. I cannot see that asking you to spend ten or fifteen minutes in taking your turn every three weeks in inspecting seven or eight girls rooms is in any way breaking faith with you. I have always tried to be reasonable and considerate with all teachers, and expect that they in turn will be the same way with the school. It appears to me that you desire more now to take advantage of a technicality in what I said to you than to get rid of the duty of inspecting. Ever since the beginning of this school, we have made it a point to try to secure teachers who would be willing to work wherever and whenever duty called, and in this respect I feel that we have been unusually successful. This school is supported almost wholly by people who make sacrifices of personal conveniences in order that they may give to us, and I cannot fee} that it is right to allow a teacher to refuse, without adequate reasons to give a small sacrifice of her time to work that has the good of the girls in view, while at the same time our Northern friends and others are doing all they can to support the school in the belief that each teacher is willing to perform her duty in the same spirit that they give the money. We have a large number of girls whose mothers have entrusted them to our care Land it] seems to me that you should count it a privilege to go into their rooms once in a while and get acquainted with them and help them in a way that will impress them all through their lives. Such work should not be counted a task. In view of the circumstances, I cannot make any change in what I 5o7