" I often tell people that I have never "begged" any
money, and that I am not a "beggar." My experience and
observation have convinced me that persistent asking outright for
money from the rich does not, as a rule, secure help. I have
usually proceeded on the principle that persons who possess sense
enough to earn money have sense enough to know how to give it
away, and that the mere making known of the facts regarding
Tuskegee, and especially the facts regarding the work of the
graduates, has been more effective than outright begging. I think
that the presentation of facts, on a high, dignified plane, is
all the begging that most rich people care for.
While the work of going from door to door and from office to
office is hard, disagreeable, and costly in bodily strength, yet
it has some compensations. Such work gives one a rare opportunity
to study human nature. It also has its compensations in giving
one an opportunity to meet some of the best people in the
world--to be more correct, I think I should say the best people
in the world. When one takes a broad survey of the country, he
will find that the most useful and influential people in it are
those who take the deepest interest in institutions that exist
for the purpose of making the world better.
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