We have learned in the hard school of adversity that we are not the wards of any political body; that the improvement of our condition in life is not the solicitude of any particular section of our country, and that the days of our political bosses are over forever; that we are the architects of our own fortunes and the arbiters of our own destinies; that with the various walks of life thrown open to us we are to enter and win victories or defeats upon equal conditions with every other race or condition of people. (Hon. J. T. Settle.) * * * * * Young men, creation would be incomplete without you. From the beginning God made you ruler over every living thing. Do you properly appreciate the kingdom over which you reign? We know that these thoughts do not take hold of you in boyhood, but there is a time when they are fully realized and yet neglected. God has called you because you are strong. Then exercise that strength, both spiritually and temporally. (A. C. Davis, Rome, Ga.) * * * * * We have no great reason to be discouraged, cast down, or hopeless about our future, because of the many unfavorable happenings; we must not expect to be entirely free from the struggles necessary to be encountered to reach true greatness. It is our duty to use every possible and legitimate effort to avert dangers and troubles. We are earnestly persuaded to believe that the brightness of the future glory of the Negro of America is heightened by the darkness of the present clouds. All our sad experiences exhort us to proceed and inspire us with animating hopes of success, should we seek to "lay the foundation well." (Mrs. Julia A. Hooks, Memphis, Tenn.) [Illustration: SUGAR PLANTATION OF EDWARD BUTLER, POTASH, LA. One of the largest sugar cane growers in the state.] * * * * * There is a future before the race--a great and useful future, a future fraught with results which shall touch every phase of the world's life and bring men into sweeter harmony with each other and with God. (Rev. George C. Rowe, Charleston, S. C.) * * * * * As soon as slavery ceased to be beneficial to the Negro, as soon as slavery lifted the Negro as high as it could lift him, God came and abolished it. When he was prepared for his deliverance the yoke of bondage passed away. The race then passed into the glorious sunshine of freedom, which has been getting more glorious every day since his emancipation. (W. H. Council, Normal, Ala.) * * * * *