It was urged that negroes should patronize their own industries, when such industries were worthy of patronage. For instance, it was pointed out that in almost any northern city a young colored woman will be taken as an apprentice while she is learning the milliner's trade. But as soon as she becomes capable of drawing a salary it is difficult for her to find an opening. If the colored women of her city would patronize her, it might be profitable for her to open an establishment of her own.
Undoubtedly, the delegates to this assembly belong to the aristocracy of the race. They do not represent its rank and file. But the capabilities of any race must be judged by the very best that it has produced. And the motto of the National Federation of Colored Women's Clubs is: "Lifting as we climb."
