Page:Boys Life of Booker T. Washington.djvu/118

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102
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

and 1500 students. The institution has a large endowment, and it owns 20,000 acres of land given it by the United States Government. It keeps a large dairy herd, runs a large farm, a poultry farm, and keeps a large number of pigs, horses and sheep. Every phase of education is taught, but the main work is industrial,—carpentry, brick masonry, basket making, metal working, draughting, auto-mechanics, blacksmithing, telegraphy, farming, dairying, lumbering, building, cooking, sewing, nursing, housekeeping—all these and a large number of other callings are taught. It is through such training as this that Washington believed that the negroes, in largest numbers, would first get their best start in life.

Life is strenuous in this school. Here is an outline of the daily work: "5 a.m., rising bell; 5:50 a.m., warning breakfast bell; 6:00 a.m., breakfast bell; 6:20 a.m., breakfast over; 6:20–6:50 a.m., rooms cleaned; 6:50 a.m., work bell; 7:30 a.m., morning study hour; 8:20 a.m., morning school bell; 8:25 a.m., inspection of young men's dress in ranks; 8:40 a.m., devotional exercises in chapel; 8:55 a.m., 'five minutes with the daily news'; 9:00 a.m., class work begins; 12:00 m., class work ends; 12:15 p.m., dinner; 1:00 p.m., work bell; 1:30 p.m., class work begins; 3:30 p.m., class work ends; 5:30 p.m., bell to 'knock off' work; 6:00 p.m., supper; 7:10, p.m., evening prayers; 7:30 p.m., evening study hour: 8:45 p.m., evening