Page:Boys Life of Booker T. Washington.djvu/97

Rh the tears ran down his face. Most of the negroes in the audience were crying, perhaps without knowing just why.

"At the close of the speech Governor Bulloch rushed across the stage and seized the orator's hand. Another shout greeted this demonstration, and for a few minutes the two men stood facing each other, hand in hand."

It was a wonderful speech. It contained much good advice both to the whites and to the negroes. It was fair to both. As Clark Howell, editor of the Atlanta Constitution, said, "It was a platform upon which both races, black and white, could stand with full justice to each other." In the speech he told the following story: "A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal: 'Water, water; we die of thirst.' The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, 'Cast down your buckets where you are.' A second time the signal, 'Water, water, send us water,' ran up from the distressed vessel, and was answered, 'Cast down your buckets where you are.' And a third and a fourth signal for water was answered, 'Cast down your buckets where you are.' The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River." Washington then appealed to his own people to