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BIOGRAPHY BY
/\. JOSEPH JACKSON
HARRY ELMER JAMES
^ S. H. S. '04 ^
PRINCIPAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ARQO—MILFORD, DELAWARE
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BIOGRAPHY BY
A. JOSEPH JAGKSON.
Copyright, igo6, by Harry Elmer James.
The subject of this sketch, Mr. Harry El¬
mer James, was born at Walkersville, Fred¬
erick county, Maryland, November 18, 1884.
He was the third son of Charles R., and Mary
S. James. He has three brothers, Charles W.,
who is an elevator man for the Steelton Store
Company, of Steelton, Pa.; Yernon R., who
is Principal of the Old College Building, Car¬
lisle, Pa., and Emory A., who is but fourteen
years of age, and is a Junior in the Steelton
High School, Steelton, Pa. Mr. James' par¬
ents moved to Pennsylvania during the fall of.
1888. Harry was then four years old, but he
early showed a great liking for his books.
His first teacher was Mr. Leonard Z. Johnson,
now pastor of a Presbyterian church, in Bal¬
timore. Harry started to school when he was
seven years old, about six weeks before the
close of the term. But he was admitted to
the fourth grade at the beginning of the next
term. His second teacher was Prof. Charles
F. Howard. At the end of the second term
he was admitted to the sixth grade; without
examination, and it was in this grade that
Harry stood as the ranking scholar, having
an average of 98^ for the term's work. His
teacher in this grade was Prof. H. H. Sum¬
mers. From this time on he attended the
mixed schools. His first white teacher was
Daniel A. Hammacher, now Principal of the
Highshire High School. It was in this room
that Harry became very proficient in parsing
and diagraming in English grammar. He
graduated from the UA" Grammar Grade, on
Friday evening, May 20, 1898, in his four¬
teenth year. He entered the Steelton High
School in the autumn of 1898, and has the
honor of being the first male pupil to take the
Classical Course in the High School. He was
tutored by the following teachers, while a
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student in the High School: Mr. Charles S.
Davis, Principal of High School, A. M: Lind¬
say, Miss Sarah B. Truby, F. Y. Emerson,
O. E. Good, Rev. G. G. Bruer, J. Frank Meyer,
H. K. Strickler, C. G. Cannon, Misses Ida M.
Ebert, Clara J. Shepherd, Mary Shimmel,
Ruth E. White and Mary R. White. Also,
A. F. Nace, George Young, Arthur Yoder,
and Harold Lewars. Mr. James is a very
brilliant young man, though he did not al¬
ways utilize his time. He has been endowed
with a wonderful memory, and on March 21,
1906, he delivered twelve orations, declama¬
tions, and recitations, in Milton, Del., with¬
out using a book or being prompted by any¬
one. At the examination held for colored
teachers in Sussex county, on Nov. 14, 1905,
he was the only teacher to receive a five-year,
or first-grade certificate from Superintendent
John D. Brooks. He is now Principal of the
colored schools of Argo—Milford, Delaware,
and he is well liked by both the patrons and
the pupils. He has received much praise
from the Clerk of the School Commission, J.
Wilson Davis, and from the patrons of the
school in general His success during his
first year as Principal makes him stand out
among the best public school instructors of
his race in Delaware. His parents were both
slaves, and of course, were uneducated. But
Harry often says: "My mother was deter¬
mined that I should be something in this
world, and although not having an education
herself she was thoughtful enough to buy her
sons books for Christmas presents rather than
useless toys. These books which we received
each Christmas were not such stuff as Mother
Goose, etc., but were such books as Long¬
fellow's and Whitter's Poems, Encyclopedia,
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, etc. All that I
am, all that I ever hope to be, can be ascribed
to my mother, who was very pains-taking and
exacting in trying to bring me up in the way
I should go. She now looks upon her boys
with great pride, and does not regret the efforts
she spent on them trying to perfect them."
When a small boy, Harry was mischievous
like all ambitious boys are. He was always
kind dispositioned, and wherever he goes has
a host of friends and admirers. He first
wanted to be a doctor, but finding that he had
more talent for law than medicine, he made up
his mind to take up the legal profession, but
this was against the wishes of his mother, so
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he is now content to seek to advance his race
by striving to be an able instructor. He is
very ambitious, always busy. A visitor to his
school room once remarked: ."Don't you ever
get tired, Mr. James? I see you are very busy
in the school room, and whenever I come by
your residence when you are at home I see
you either pouring over some book or busily
engaged writing something." Harry replied
to him, "I am too busy; I havn't time to get
tired." He says he is best satisfied when he
is in the school room surrounded by his pupils.
He has a keen insight, and is at home in a de¬
bate. He is able to use stinging sarcasm, but
he seldom uses it, for he often says : "Ihate to
have an enemy." He is very stern and ex¬
acting in his orders and he sees that they are
carried out to the letter. He has some ability
as an orator and elocutionist. It has been
said by one of his friends that in the near fu¬
ture Mr. James will be an. orator of no mean
ability. He also has some ability at making
rhymes, as he terms it. His poems will be
found after the completion of his biography.
He is 22 years old. He was teacher at Angola,
Del., during the term 1904-5, and he was also
a substitute teacher in the public schools of
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Steelton, Pa. He says sometimes: "The peo¬
ple both here and at my home in Steelton
have learned to have confidence in me, and
I had rather die than betray that confidence,
for a man is nothing when everyone has lost
confidence in him." During his high school
course the following incident happened, dur¬
ing his senior year. Harry had failed in
Greek, and of course could not graduate with
his class. As all pupils do when a difficulty
arises, he charged this against the faculty,
though afterward he found that it was practi¬
cally negligence on his own part. During
the school term of 1902-3 he says that he
thought he was spiteing the faculty by not
repeating his senior year. He says himself
that he is proud of this occurrence, because it
tended to make him feel that he was not the
"whole show." During the term of 1903-4
he studied deeply into the matter, and saw
that he was spiteing Harry more than he was
the faculty of the High School. So he re¬
turned to school and graduated with credit in
Class of 1904, being the only colored member
of a class of 34. And he asks me here to give
due credit to the friends who helped him see
the good of returning to school. They are :
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Mr. Willard R. Pryor, Dr. Benj. B. Jeffers,
Miss Hattie Philipps, his mother, and his
brothers Vernon and Charles. When talking
of that failure once, he said: "Vernon made
me see it in this light—a failure to a fool is a
failure for life, but a failure to a wise man is
often a stepping stone to final success, and,"
he continued, " I do not mean to say that I am
a wise man, and I believe I am no fool, but,
however, I have benefited by that failure."
Mr. James is greatly interested in the progress
of his race, and is secretary of the Colored
Alumni, of Steelton, known as the Douglass
Association. On the following pages you
will find some of his productions :
"LIFE."
The days of the summer have gone,
And autumn to us has now come,
And my heart doth rebound
To the wearisome sound
Of the leaves falling off to the ground.
And as in the change of the seasons,
In this can'be seen the reasons,
Why we should change
And begin to arrange
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' ' L. I F E. ' ' —CONTINUED.
For the autumn of Life's great seasons;
For when our end grows near,
Oh ! • may we then find
That we all have been kind
To those that loved us so dear.
And when from the earth we must go,
To realms which we do not know,
Then what of the prime
In Life's spring-time
If our hearts are filled with woe?
May we then find rest
Amongst the blest
Where,our tears shall cease to flow.
Then why should we wait ?
'Til it is too late
Due honor our friends to show,
For words that you say
May blossom some day
And strengthen you on Life's weary way.
And now to you I do say
In the very same lightsome way,
All honor is due
To the one that is true
In word, thought and deed each day.
Harry Elmer James.
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FORSAKEN.
On the hill the sun is shining,
In the meadow lies the snow ;
In a breast a heart is pining
Weighed down by heavy woe.
A lad who by his kindness,
E'er ready thus to please
A lass, who in her blindness,
Caused words to fall like these.
No more is he so cheerful,
His mind does wander much,
His eyes are always tearful
No thought had he of such.
The hope has all been banished,
In silence now he goes
Her love for him has vanished,
What cause, no mortal knows ;
He can endure no longer—
His active frame grows weak,
A thought in him gets stronger,
But this he will not speak.
But on that final morning,
In the resurrection day—
When our hearts will not be yawning
In these temples made of clay,
Then his heart not filled with sorrow,
Shall then find a sweet repose,
Can it be to-day,—to-morrow?
But the time no mortal knows.
Harry Elmer James.
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AS I SEE IT.
Oh, winter, winter, winter,
How cold thy chilly breath,
Is it true that all our pleasures
Must soon end in death ?
As we read'in the world's great treasures,
In whose books we most delight,
No matter how bright the sunshine,
The day must have its night.
Our hearts shall soon stop beating,
Our voices no more be heard
In this world where we all are retreating,
Away, like men from their word.
And I see in the future of mortals,
That we must make haste, for to-day
The gate that swings on its portals,
To-morrow may crumbling lay.
During life we should then be careful,
Our prayers, our songs, our words,
Let them come from our lips, ah, so cheerful
As songs that are sung by the birds.
Harry Elmer James.
AN EXPRESSION.
Some people take their wheat to the mill, and
when it is ground they give the flour to the devil,
keep the bran themselves, and give God a promise.
Harry Elmer James.
IO
A POEM TO A FRIEND.
Be sure you're right, then go your way,
Let this your motto be, I pray,
And this will guide, you to the goal
No matter how the storms may roll.
Christ tells of, in the book of old,
Hearts that are true, souls that are brave,
Each must pass to a lonely grave.
Never a heart more firmly and true,
Ever the same beat fondly for you;
All have our pleasures, all our strife,
Long may we live, happy our life.
Harry Elmer James.
" SPRING."
List and hear the robin singing
For glad tidings he is bringing,
Telling that the spring time dear,
Now to us is drawing near.
Trees are budding, grass is growing,
Flowers their pretty heads are showing,
Birds are happy, hear them sing:
" Oh ! how pleasant is the spring."
And the heart of man feels lighter—
As all things around grow brighter,
Birds are humming in the trees,
Flower scent is on the breeze.
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Men are ploughing up the soil,
Like the bees, they too, must toil,
See the fields of wheat so green,
And the rows of pea and bean,
All proclaiming as of yore,
Spring is with us now, once more.
For the snows no longer lay,
As we pass along our way,
Oh ! how joyous is the spring,
Listening to the birdies sing,
And no words can ever tell
Why we love the spring so well.
Harry Elmer James.
A FRO-A MERICANS.
Afro-Americans, proud are we,
This is the home of the brave and the free,
Loyal are we to the flag of our land,
We have oft proved it on every hand.
This is our home, not Africa's shore,
We shall remain here for evermore.
Let us be patient, and wait for the change,
God in due time will all things arrange.
He is our refuge in time of need,
He will e'er aid us, and we shall succeed.
Such men as Washington, Miller, DuBois,
Long may they live, and God's blessings enjoy.
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They who have toiled thro' day and thro' night,
Striving at all times to teach us the right.
Then to Scarborough, of Wilberforce fame,
Long live his work, not forgetting the name,
Then to our teachers, class one, two, three,
No matter of which class we happen to be.
There is a work, stupendeously great,
We should atttend to, before it's too late,
We should accomplish this one great end,
Crush out the wrong, and the right defend,
Defend the truth and morality,
And our race progress increased shall be.
Let every freeman try hard with his might,
To tear down the wrong and build up the right,
Follow our leaders, and we shall soon see
Near the van Afro-Americans shall be.
Harry Elmer James.
A TALK.
As some one has said. "The success of an in¬
dividual depends mainly upon his own endeavors."
No idler need expect to get very far in this world.
America especially, is a land peopled by men of
ambition and thrift. There is always room at the
top. A young man of ambition can always find
employment. We idle away too much of our time,
and then blame others because we are not successful.
Rely upon yourself. Strive earnestly and untiringly
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and success will crown your efforts. Be the master
and not the slave. Strive each day to live that the
world shall be better because of your having lived in
it. Do not allow a failure to frighten you off, but be
more determined, try again and again and at last
success shall be yours. Read what has been done,
and try to emulate the work of others. By reading
good literature, we necessarily attain loftier ideas.
There are many journals written by men of our race.
I can recommend to you two, because I have read
them myself, and know their intrinsic value. First,
the True Reformer, whose editor, Mr. E. W. Brown,
is a bright-minded scholarly example of our race. It
deals with race questions fair and square. I think I
do not need take time and space to speak of the
great work that the Grand United Order of True
Reformers is doing for our race, for it is known this
country over. This paper is controlled by this
Order, and as the Order is doing a great deal, the •
paper can say a great deal. Second, The Voice of
Negro is one of the greatest journals printed in this
country. Among its contributors are Kelly Millar,
DuBois, and Scarborough. These names alone, tell
of the strength of this magazine. Let us all strive
to do what we can. We shall be successful if we
persevere.
Harry Elmer James.
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"ENVY AND JEALOUSY."
AN ADDRESS BEFORE THE B. Y. P. U., OF STEELTON, PA
By Harry Elmer James.
Mr. President, and members of the Baptist Yourtg
People's Union : I will first define the above words.
1. Envy is pain, uneasiness, mortification, excited
by another's superiority with a mind to drag them
down.
2. Jealousy is that passion which arises from the
fear that a rival may rob us of the affection of one
whom we love. A woman's jealousy is aroused by
her husband's attention to another woman.
The jealousy of a student is awakened by the ap¬
prehension that his fellow will bear away the palm
of praise. Let me say, jealousy is a near relative to
envy. Envy comes from the Latin "invideo,"
which means "I see against," that is, to look upon
with enmity. Envy caused the death of Julius
Caesar. Men, who because they were not so great
as he, sought to drag him down, and did do it.
Pope has said—
"All human virtue to its latest breath,
Finds envy never conquered, but by death."
Rambler says, "Whoever envies another confesses
his superiority.'' Many of us cannot distinguish be¬
tween envy and jealousy. We often hear people
say: "that person thinks he is so much, because he
has fine clothes." That is an example of jealousy.
Some people wear fine clothes just to be seen,
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this is vanity. Others wear fine clothes from
a certain standpoint of pride, which should be
commended to us all. Sometimes we hear a well-
dressed person speak of someone whose daily cares
do not allow him to be dressed so fine as he, say
"Look how that fellow is dressed." That is envy.
I do not know your condition, nor do you know
mine. I said in the definition of envy that it car¬
ried along an idea to drag one down. The above
example does not show this very plainly. That per¬
son who has the fine clothes will call the attention of
all other well-dressed people to the wretched con¬
dition of his companion. Inasmuch as that person
does nothing to help his poor fellow-creature along,
he has essayed to drag him down.
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B. F. SIMMONS. Jr.
printer
Dover, Delaware