Our friend, General Cowen, in his most charming paper undertakes to show and I think does show some reason for the extraordinary success of the people of this state of Ohio; for it is extraordinary. It does not happen to other states, and there must be some reason for it. He shows that the liberty-loving and best people of Western Europe, through Virginia and Massachusetts, were the first settlers of the state of Ohio, and the mingling of the blood of these people has produced this magnificent type of people that we now possess in this state. I have no doubt that that is one reason and a very potent reason, but it strikes me, my fellow-citizen, that there is another reason. Conditions exist in Ohio that do not exist in any other state in this Union. The great mineral, manufacturing, mercantile and farming interests exist in Ohio in about equal proportions. In other states one or the other of these great interests predominate; hence it is that these great interests operating upon the minds of our people so equally produce a level-headed sort of people (applause and laughter) while in other states one factor being potential makes the people of that state just a little lop-sided compared with the people of Ohio. (More applause and laughter.)

My fellow-citiens, I think perhaps if I stop I can yet get that dinner, and you have had this centennial discussion from all points and had many very able papers, and I do not care about continuing my speech because it won't get into that book of sixteen volumes.

Having said this much I desire to express my great gratification at meeting you and to compliment the officers of the Ohio State Archæological and Historical Society upon the success of their enterprise. (Great applause.)

ADDRESS OF BISHOP B. W. ARNETT.*

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: (Cries of "What shall we do with the Colored Race?" "Hear him." "Hear him.") I am more than pleased to be here, pleased because of the occasion that brings us together in the reception vestibule of the twentieth century. I am here to rep

resent in part ninety-six thousand Buckeyes of the buckeye color. (Laughter and applause.) We are not painted buckeyes, but are buckeyes (more laughter); every one of us. You see it is our buckeye; you have adopted it; we have the color and you have the buckeye. (Laugh

ter.)

If it were not so late I would like to go back one hundred years and speak of the grand work of the pioneer fathers, but I know it is too late for that.

My dear friends, in this grand work of laying the foundation of the Northwest Territory, no class of people in this land was more interested and had a deeper interest in its consummation than the race with whom I am identified, by blood, by history and by destiny, for the Northwest Territory was the first gift to posterity, from the fathers that fought for the establishment of a country here whose cornerstone was that "God has created all men equal and endowed them with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The Northwest Territory was the Ten Commandments; the Northwest Territory was the Golden Rule; the Northwest Territory to us was the land of Canaan, the promise of liberty, of honey, and milk, and wine. (Laughter and applause.)

We have not always received the wine; we don't want it; as Doctor Thompson says, we can do without it; but there is this about it: In the organization of the Northwest Territory our fathers were in harmony with the spirit that laid the foundation of our republic. They believed what they said; they believed in the doctrine of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of But the subject with them was how to supply that; how to take the power of the strong and give it to the weakest; how to take the wealth of the wealthiest and distribute it among the poor; how to take a race that was down and lift it up. For our fathers in the past hundred years their sons have solved that mysterious problem and to-day we stand in Ohio.

man.

In 1802 my race was denied the oath in the courts; we were denied the right to carry a gun; we were denied the jury box; we were denied the cartridge box; and we were denied everything that was in those two boxes. But we have lived to see the children of the fathers who laid the foundation of this government, come up to the point where we are this day. There is not a statute on the books of the great state of Ohio that discriminates against any man or woman on account of race, color of previous condition (applause); we stand to-day equal before the law. A hundred years ago my race was standing with not a star appearing above the horizon; no stars appeared above the horizon of our civilization except the two stars that guide the pilgrims of all nations-the Star of Bethlehem and the Star of Hope. For American citizens they are the brightest stars in the firmament of our civilization.

To the Negro there was no star, but thank God we have lived to see the day when our sons every one - have the opportunity to make of themselves men; to take upon themselves the responsibilities of citizenship, and we have come to you, not to criticise the past, but to gird ourselves for the duty of an American citizen; to, in the future, increase the wealth, the intelligence and the virtue of this grand republic of ours. (Applause.) We hope that the coming century may be broader even than the past, and we want to assure you, Mr. Chairman, that one hundred years ago when the state was organized there was not a Negro

who owned a house in this great territory, but to-day twentyseven thousand homes belong to our race.

In eighteen hundred when the census was taken there were only one thousand five hundred negroes in all the Northwest Territory; but to-day there are two million five hundred and seventysix thousand, five hundred and forty negroes I think there has been some addition since that (laughter), since the census was taken, but we will let those figures stand. (Applause and laughter.)

But we are here to take our part; our soldiers in the past have fought in the war; we have fought for our country, as a race we have fought; our soldiers went out and fought for the union and the constitution. Why it is said we fought like demons upon the battle-field. Both slave and valiant freemen faced the glittering steel; our blood, beneath the banner, mingled with the whites; beneath its folds we now have received justice and equal rights, let it wave. (Applause.) Let the glorious banner wave, let it wave, but never over a slave. (Great applause.) That is the message we have for you, my fellow-countrymen.

Fellow-citizens, let us adopt for the coming century the motto of Kentucky. Kentucky has two white men standing — they made a mistake and holding each other's hands, and above them is written "United we stand, divided we fall." So I say to this audience, to this congregation and all the state of Ohio, let us stand as the motto says, United the Negro and the White stand.

We know that one hundred years ago the Indians outnumbered us, but the Indian is passing away and the Negroes have increased. The Indians rejected your Bible; they rejected your civilization; they rejected your coat; they rejected your pants; they rejected your shoes; they rejected all of these; the Negro, he has appropriated your shoes (laughter), appropriated your coat (more laughter) when the weather is stormy he had to have it, if you didn't give it to him he would take it anyhow (great laughter), because in our civilization to-day we must have a coat. And the reason we haver appropriated the best of your civilization is the reason we araihere to-day and where are the Indians? lt has come to benas General Cowen said last night, when he was talking about the Clift Dwellers, the Mound Build

ers and the Tent Dwellers who had inhabited this country, coming to the people who had dwelling houses, school houses, court houses and watch houses. (Laughter.)

Now, who own the dwelling houses of this country? - The negro and the white man. Who own the school houses of this country? - The negro and the white man. Who own the court houses of this country? The negro and the white man. You furnish the judge and we furnish the prisoner. (More laughter.) The sixteen million families of this country live in fourteen million houses, and of the fourteen million houses more than two million of them belong to us we are the only people in this country that own houses.

We have our titles clear to the houses on earth as we have to the mansions in the sky.

And that is the reason why we are here. Talk about the Negro going away. We can't get away if we wanted to, and we wouldn't go if you did want us to. Your fathers supported us when we were slaves; your fathers educated us when we were ignorant; your fathers helped us when we had nothing; now we are enlightened, now the school houses are open to us, now we are doing our duty, and we are going to with your help. The Negroes of this country, the nine million Negroes of this country have been in a normal school America is a normal school teaching some how to teach the rest, teaching others how to realize the best.

Why the Negro and the white man are the ones who know how to get things! Do you know that there is not a statute on the books of the nation or state that was put there except by us two? Show me an instance.

The Indians, there are only about two hundred and fifty thousand of them; the other colored peoples, there are about one hundred and seventy-five thousand of them; but there are nine millions of us and sixty-six millions of you, and every statute on the books of this nation is there, proposed and put there by you or us.

Do you know that the only people ever sitting in the speaker's chair of the House of Representatives of the United States are us two? Nobody ever got there but the Negro and the white man. (Laughter.) And do you know that the first colored man who ever occupied the chair of the House of Representatives was