There remain to be considered some of the agencies at work to better the
lot of the farmer. In this I shall not attempt to give a list of
institutions and outline of courses but to indicate various lines of
work which seem promising.
In discussing the training of the Negro farmer credit must first be
given to the white planters under whom he has learned so much of what he
knows. Under the changing conditions of agriculture this training, or
the training received on the average farm is not sufficient and must be
supplemented by special training if the desired results are to be
obtained.
It probably lay in the situation that the Negro should get the idea that
education meant freedom from labor. It is none the less unfortunate for
him. To counteract this idea has been a difficult matter and the
influence of the average school has not been of any special help. The
country school taught by a teacher, usually incompetent from any
standpoint, whose interest has been chiefly in the larger salary made
possible by his "higher education" has not been an unmixed blessing. The
children have learned to read and write and have preserved their notion
that if only they could get enough education they might be absolved from
manual labor. Even today Hampton and Tuskegee and similar schools have
to contend with the opposition of parents who think their children
should not be compelled to work, for they are sent to school to enable
them to avoid labor. Quite likely it could not be expected that the
country school should hold up a higher ideal, for here we have to do
with the beginnings of a system of instruction which had to make use of
such material as it could find for teachers. The same excuse does not
suffice to explain the attitude taken by the bulk of schools maintained
by the northern whites for the Negroes. Their inability to comprehend
the needs of the case can only be ascribed to the conception of a Negro
as a white man with a black skin and a total failure to recognize the
essential conditions of race progress. When the Roman monks penetrated
the German woods the chief benefits they carried were not embalmed in
Latin grammars and the orations of Cicero, but were embodied in the
knowledge of agriculture and the arts which, adopted by the people, made
possible later the German civilization. The old rescue mission sought to
yank the sinner out of the slough of despond, the social settlement
seeks to help him who has fallen in the contest of life or him to whom
the opportunity has not been offered, to climb, recognizing that
morality and religion attend, not recede progress. The old charity gave
alms and the country was overrun with hordes of beggars; the new seeks
to help a man to help himself. A similar change must come in the efforts
for the Negro. It has been sought to give him the fruits of civilization
without its bases. It will immediately be argued that this is wrong,
that the chief educational work has been but primary and that little
so-called "higher education" has been given. This is true, even to the
extent that it is possible to find a town of 5,000 inhabitants one-half
Negroes, in which the city provides but one teacher for the black
children and the balance are trained in a school supported by the gifts
of northern people. But, and this is the important thing, the spirit of
the education has been clear and definite and that the plan has not been
carried out has not been due to lack of faith in it. General Armstrong,
thanks to his observations in Hawaii, perceived that a different course
was necessary. His mantle fell on H. F. Frissell and Booker T.
Washington, so Hampton and Tuskegee have been the chief factors in
producing the change which has been noted as coming. Now that industrial
training is winning support it is amusing to note the anxiety of other
schools to show that they have always believed in it. I can but feel
that had the plans of General Armstrong been widely adopted, had the
teachers been trained to take the people where they were and lead them
to gradual improvement, that the situation today would be radically
different. It is, however, not too late to do this yet and the
widespread founding of schools modeled after Hampton and Tuskegee
indicates a general recognition of the needs of the situation.
Yet, even these schools have not turned out as many farmers as is often
supposed. On examination of the catalog of Tuskegee for 1901 I find only
sixteen graduates who are farming and thirteen of these have other
occupations (principally teaching). The combination, I think, desirable
rather than otherwise. Three others are introducing cotton raising in
Africa under the German Government. From the industrial department nine
have received certificates in agriculture and six in dairying, but their
present occupations are not given. Asking a prominent man at Tuskegee
for the reason, he exclaimed, rather disgustedly, that they disliked
work and preferred to teach. This merely indicates the handicap Tuskegee
has to overcome, and perhaps the average agricultural college of the
North cannot show a higher percentage of farmers. An official of the
Department of Agriculture tells me that only 5 per cent of the graduates
of the agricultural colleges become farmers. To show how much
agricultural training is given at Tuskegee the following statement for
the year 1902-3 is of interest: No pupil is counted twice. One hundred
and eighty-one students are engaged in the actual operations of the
farm, truck garden, orchard, etc. Seventy-nine are taking the dairying,
etc., and 207 are taking agriculture as part of their academic work.
Yet, more of the graduates become professional men (lawyers, preachers,
etc.) than farmers, the proportion being about three to one. In citing
Tuskegee I am, of course, not forgetting that other schools, such as
Tougaloo and Talladega, have excellent farms and are seeking (though
their chief emphasis is elsewhere) to give agricultural training.
Reverting to the different lines of work which seem hopeful, the subject
may be subdivided into several sections. We have first to do with the
efforts to make the young child appreciate Nature and become interested
in her processes. Perhaps Hampton has developed this side most
extensively, both in the little garden plots cultivated by the children
and the nature study leaflets prepared for use in other schools.
Personally I can but feel that there is a possibility of vastly
extending such instruction by means of the country schools. If they may
be consolidated, and this is being done in many sections, I think a way
can be found to make the school house the social center of the district
in such a way as will greatly help conditions.
Actual instruction in practical farming, dairying, horticulture, etc.,
is given in an increasing number of schools, but the opportunities are
still very inadequate to the needs. If it be possible the way must be
found to enable the Negro to use more and better machinery. The average
planter does not care to introduce expensive machinery lest it be ruined
by careless and ignorant tenants.
These industrial schools can never hope to reach more than a certain
percentage of the people. There must be measures adopted to widen the
influence of the school. Tuskegee may be mentioned for its attempts to
reach out. For many years an annual Farmers' Conference has been held
which bids fair to become the Mecca of the Negro farmer. The influence
exerted cannot be measured, but it is believed to be great. One weak
spot in many of the schools is that they have little if any direct
influence upon the life of the community in which they are situated.
There are, however, some exceptions. The Calhoun Colored School has a
farmer's association meeting monthly. This is made up chiefly of men who
are purchasing land through a company formed by the school. Topics of
local interest, methods of farming, etc., are the subjects for
discussion. There is also a mother's meeting with subjects of more
domestic interest, with a savings department for co-operative buying.
Curiously enough the formation of the mother's meeting was at first
opposed by the men (and by some whites), as it took the women out of the
fields occasionally. Now it is more favored. As Tuskegee and many other
places there are similar farmers' associations, of which no special
mention need be made. Tuskegee has an outpost some miles from the school
which is doing a general neighborhood work. The following papers
circulated by the school will give a general idea of their conceptions
of the needs as well as of their efforts to influence conditions for the
better:
MY DAILY WORK.
I may take in washing, but every day I promise myself that I will
do certain work for my family.
I will set the table for every meal. I will wash the dishes after
every meal.
Monday, I will do my family washing. I will put my bedclothes out
to air. I will clean the safe with hot water and soap.
Tuesday, I will do my ironing and family patching.
Wednesday, I will scrub my kitchen and clean my yard thoroughly.
Thursday, I will clean and air the meal and pork boxes. I will
scour my pots and pans with soap and ashes.
Friday, I will wash my dish cloth, dish towels and hand towels. I
will sweep and dust my whole house and clean everything thoroughly.
Sunday, I will go to church and Sunday school. I will take my
children with me. I will stay at home during the remainder of the
day. I will try to read something aloud helpful to all.
QUESTIONS THAT I WILL PLEDGE MYSELF TO ANSWER AT THE END OF THE
YEAR.
1. How many bushels of potatoes, corn, beans, peas and peanuts have
we raised this year?
2. How many hogs and poultry do we keep?
3. How much poultry have we raised?
4. How many bales of cotton have we raised?
5. How much have we saved to buy a home?
6. How much have we done towards planting flowers and making our
yard look pretty?
7. How many kinds of vegetables did we raise in our home garden?
8. How many times did we stay away from miscellaneous excursions
when we wished to go? What were our reasons for staying at home?
9. How have we helped our boys and girls to stay out of bad
company?
10. What paper have we taken, and why have we taken our children to
church and had them sit with us?
HOW TO MAKE HOME HAPPY.
Keep clean, body and soul. Remember that weak minds, diseased
bodies, bad acts are often the result of bad food.
Remember that you can set a good table by raising fruit,
vegetables, grains and your meat.
Remember that you intend to train your children to stay at home out
of bad company.
Remember that if you would have their minds and yours clean, you
will be obliged to help them learn something outside the school
room. Remember, that you can do this in no better way than by
taking a good paper--the New York Weekly Witness or The Sabbath
Reading, published in New York, cost very little. Have your
children read to you from the Bible and from the papers.
YOUR NEEDS.
You need chairs in your house. Get boxes. Cover with bright calico,
and use them for seats until you can buy chairs.
You need plates, knives and forks, spoons and table cloths. Buy
them with the tobacco and snuff money.
You need more respect for self. Get it by staying away from street
corners, depots and, above all, excursions.
You need to stay away from these excursions to keep out of bad
company, out of court, out of jail, and out of the disgust of every
self-respecting person.
You need more race pride. Cultivate this as you would your crops.
It will mean a step forward.
You need a good home. Save all you can. Get your home, and that
will bring you nearer citizenship.
You can supply all these needs. When will you begin? Every moment
of delay is a loss.
HOW TO BECOME PROSPEROUS.
1. Keep no more than one dog.
2. Stay away from court.
3. Buy no snuff, tobacco and whisky.
4. Raise your own pork.
5. Raise your vegetables.
6. Put away thirty cents for every dollar you spend.
7. Keep a good supply of poultry. Set your hens. Keep your chickens
until they will bring a good price.
8. Go to town on Thursday instead of Saturday. Buy no more than you
need. Stay in town no longer than necessary.
9. Starve rather than sell your crops before you raise them. Let
your mind be fixed on that the first day of January, and stick to
that every day in the year.
10. Buy land and build you a home.
The various states are beginning to establish institutions in which
agriculture and industrial training may be given. Among these may be
mentioned that of Alabama at Normal, and of Mississippi at Westside.
Alabama has also established an experiment station in connection with
the Tuskegee Institute.
In Texas there is an interesting movement among the Negro farmers known
as the "Farmers' Improvement Society." The objects are:
1. Abolition of the credit system.
2. Stimulate improvements in farming.
3. Co-operative buying.
4. Sickness and life insurance.
5. Encouragement of purchase of land and home.
The Association holds a fair each year which is largely attended.
According to the Galveston _News_ of October 12, 1902, the society has
about 3,000 members, who own some 50,000 acres of land, more than 8,000
cattle and 7,000 horses and mules. This organization, founded and
maintained entirely by Negroes, promises much in many ways. In October,
1902, a fair was held in connection with the school at Calhoun, Ala.,
with 83 exhibitors and 416 entries, including 48 from the school and a
very creditable showing of farm products and live stock.
Besides these general lines which seem to be of promise it is in place
to mention a couple of attempts to get the Negroes to purchase land.
There have been not a few persons who have sold land to them on the
installment plan with the expectation that later payments would be
forfeited and the land revert. There are some enterprises which are
above suspicion. I am not referring now to private persons or railroad
companies who have sold large tracts to the Negroes, but to
organizations whose objects are to aid the blacks in becoming
landholders. The Land Company at Calhoun. Ala., started in 1896, buying
1,040 acres of land, which was accurately surveyed and divided into
plots of fifty acres, so arranged that each farm should include
different sorts of land. This was sold to the Negroes at cost price, $8
per acre, the purchasers to pay 8 per cent on deferred payments. The
sums paid by the purchasers each year have been as follows:
1896--$ 741.03. Found later to be borrowed money in the main.
1897--$1,485.15. Largely borrowed money.
1898--$ 367.34. Men paying back borrowed money. Advances large.
1899--$ 374.77.
1900--$1,649.25. Money not borrowed. Advances small.
1901--$ 871.49. Bad year. Poor crops. Money not borrowed.
1902--$2,280.42. Advances very small. Outlook encouraging.
There have been some failures on part of tenants, and it has been
necessary to gradually select the better men and allow the others to
drop out. The company has paid all expenses and interest on its capital.
A second plantation has been purchased and is being sold. There is a
manager who is a trained farmer, and by means of the farmers'
association already mentioned much pressure is brought to bear on the
Negroes to improve their condition. The results are encouraging. In
Macon County the Southern Land Company has purchased several thousand
acres which it is selling in much the same way, but it is too early to
speak of results. Even at Calhoun but few of the men have yet gotten
deeds for their land.
A word regarding the methods of the Southern Land Company will be of
interest. The land was carefully surveyed in forty-acre plots. These are
sold at $8 per acre, the payments covering a period of seven years. The
interest is figured in advance, and to each plot is charged a yearly fee
of $5 for management. In this total is also included the cost of house
and well (a three-roomed cabin is furnished for about $100, a well for
$10). This sum is then divided into seven equal parts so that the
purchaser knows in advance just what he must pay each year. The object
of the company is to encourage home ownership. Until the place is paid
for control of the planting, etc., remains with the manager of the
company. Advances are in cash (except fertilizers), as no store is
conducted by the company and interest is charged at 8 per cent for the
money advanced and for the time said money is used.
On this place in 1902, H. W., a man aged 68, with wife and three
children, owning a horse, a mule and two cows, did as follows. He and
his son-in-law are buying eighty acres. They made a good showing for the
first year under considerable difficulties and on land by no means rich:
Debits. Credits.
Fertilizer $ 34.88 Cotton $390.32
Whitewashing 3.00
Liming 19.76
Lease contract 180.00
Cash 130.36
Interest 3.12
-------
$371.12
-------
Balance Jan. 1, 1903 $ 19.20
This leads me to mention the question of land ownership on the part of
the Negroes. This has not been mentioned hitherto for several reasons.
In the first place the data for any detailed knowledge of the subject
are not to be had. Few states make separate record of land owned by the
blacks as distinct from general ownership. The census has to depend upon
the statements of the men themselves, and I have heard tenants solemnly
argue that they owned the land. Again a very considerable proportion of
the land owned is also heavily mortgaged, and these mortgages are not
always for improvements. Nor is it by any means self evident that land
ownership necessarily means a more advanced condition than where land is
rented. Moreover, a considerable proportion of the _farms_ owned are so
small that they do not suffice to support the owners. Conditions vary in
different districts. In Virginia it has been possible to buy a few acres
at a very low price. In parts of Alabama, or wherever the land has been
held in large estates in recent years, it has often been impossible for
the Negro to purchase land in small lots. Thus, though I believe
heartily in land ownership for the blacks and believe that well
conducted land associations will be beneficial, I cannot think that this
alone will solve the questions confronting us. Retrogression is possible
even with land ownership. Other things are necessary. On the basis of
existing data the best article with which I am acquainted on this
subject appeared in the _Southern Workman_ for January, 1903, written by
Dr. G. S. Dickerman, in which he showed that among the Negro farmers the
owners and managers formed 59.8 per cent of the total in Virginia, 57.6
per cent in Maryland, 48.6 per cent in Kentucky, falling as we go South
to 15.1 per cent in Alabama, 16.4 per cent in Mississippi, and 16.2 per
cent in Louisiana, rising to 30.9 per cent in Texas. Evidently the
forces at work are various.
Within a few months, at the suggestion of Mr. Horace Plunkett, of the
Irish Agricultural Organization Society, a new work has been taken up,
whose course will be watched with great interest. I quote from a letter
of Mr. Plunkett to Dr. Wallace Buttrick, of the General Education Board:
From what I have seen of the negro character, my own impression is
that the race has those leader-following propensities which
characterize the Irish people. It has, too, I suspect, in its
mental composition the same vein of idealism which my own
countrymen possess, and which makes them susceptible to
organization, and especially to those forms of organization which
require the display of the social qualities to which I have alluded
and which you will have to develop. These characteristics which
express themselves largely, the old plantation songs, in the form
of religions exercises, and in the maintenance of a staff of
preachers out of all proportion I should think, to the spiritual
requirements, should, in my opinion, lend themselves to associative
action for practical ends if the organizing machinery necessary to
initiate such action were provided.
What, then, is my practical suggestion? It is that your board, if
it generally approves of the idea, should take one, two, or, at the
most, three communities, such as that we inquired about, and organize
them on the Irish plan. The farmers should at first he advised to
confine their efforts to some simple object, such as the joint
purchase of their immediate agricultural requirements. * * * I would
at first deal solely with the colored people, beginning in a very
small way, leaving larger developments for the future to decide.
Hampton Institute has taken up the suggestion and is planning to
organize a community. Everything will, of course, depend on the
management as well as on the people. If the results are as satisfactory
as they have been in Ireland the efforts will be well expended.
With this brief and incomplete account we must take leave of the Negro
farmer. Throughout the thesis I have attempted to keep two or three
fundamental propositions constantly in sight. Briefly summarized these
are that we have to do with a race whose inherited characteristics are
largely of African origin; that these have been somewhat modified under
American influences, but are still potent; that the economic environment
in America is not a unit and must finally result in the creation of
different types among the blacks; that the needs of the different
habitats are various; that the segregation from the mass of the whites
is fraught with serious consequences; that measures of wider application
must be adopted if the Negro is to bear his proper part in the progress
of the country; that owing to the great race differences the whites must
take an active interest in the blacks; that in spite of the many
handicaps under which the Negro struggles the outlook is not hopeless if
his willingness to work can so be directed that a surplus will result.
To my mind the Negro must work out his salvation, economic and social.
It cannot be given without destroying the very thing we seek to
strengthen--character. This is the justification for the emphasis now
laid upon industrial training. This training and the resulting character
are the pre-requisites of all race progress. Industrial education is
thus not a fad nor a mere expedient to satisfy the selfish demands of
southern whites. It is the foundation without which the superstructure
is in vain. If I have fairly stated the difficulties in the way and have
shown the possibility of ultimate success, I am content. For the future
I am hopeful.
MAPS SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NEGROES IN THE SOUTHERN STATES
These maps are particularly referred to in Chapter II. The chief
geological districts are indicated. The figures are based upon the
census of 1900. The maps are here included in the hope that they
may prove of value to students of the problems herein discussed.
=VIRGINIA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION, 1900
Total Negroes 660,722
Total Whites 1,192,855
Negroes form 35.6% of total=
=VIRGINIA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 40,125
Average Negroes per Mile 16.4
Average Whites per Mile 29.7=
=NORTH CAROLINA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION, 1900
Total Negroes 624,469
Total Whites 1,263,603
Negroes form 33% of total=
=NORTH CAROLINA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 48,580
Average Negroes per Mile 12.8
Average Whites per Mile 26=
=SOUTH CAROLINA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, 1900
Total Whites in State 557,807
Total Negroes in State 782,321
---------
1,340,128
Negroes form 58.4% of total=
=SOUTH CAROLINA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 30,170
Average Negroes to Square Mile 25.1
Average Whites to Square Mile 17.9=
=GEORGIA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, 1900
Total Whites in State 1,181,294
Total Negroes in State 1,034,813
---------
2,216,107
Negroes form 46.7% of total=
=GEORGIA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 58,980
Average Negroes per Square Mile 17.6
Average Whites per Square Mile 19.9=
=FLORIDA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION, 1900
Total Whites 297,333
Total Negroes 230,730
-------
528,063
Negroes form 43.7% of total=
=FLORIDA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square miles in State 54,240
Average Negroes per Mile 4.2
Average Whites per Mile 5.4
=ALABAMA
Total Whites in State 1,001,152
Total Negroes in State 827,307
---------
1,828,459
Negroes form 45.2% of total=
=ALABAMA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 51,540
Average Negroes per Mile 16
Average Whites per Mile 19.4=
=MISSISSIPPI
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, 1900
Negro Percentage in State 58.5
Total Whites 641,200
Total Negroes 907,630
---------
1,548,830=
=MISSISSIPPI
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Average Negroes per Square Mile 19.58
Average Whites per Square Mile 13.82
Square Miles in State 46,340
=TENNESSEE
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION, 1900
Total Negroes 480,243
Total Whites 1,540,186
Negroes form 23.8% of total=
=TENNESSEE
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 41,750
Average Negroes per Mile 11.2
Average Whites per Mile 36.8=
=KENTUCKY
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION, 1900
Total Negroes 284,706
Total Whites 1,862,309
Negroes form 13.3% of total=
=KENTUCKY
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 40,000
Average Negroes per Mile 7.1
Average Whites per Mile 46.5=
=ARKANSAS
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, 1900
Negro Percentage in State 28
Total Whites in State 944,850
Total Negroes in State 366,856
---------
1,301,706=
=ARKANSAS
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 53,045
Average Negroes per Sq. Mile 6.9
Average Whites per Sq. Mile 17.8=
=LOUISIANA
NEGRO PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION, 1900
Total Whites in State 729,612
Total Negroes in State 650,804
---------
1,380,416
Negroes form 47.1% of total=
=LOUISIANA
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles in State 45,420
Average Negroes per Mile 14.3
Average Whites per Mile 16.1=
=EASTERN TEXAS
Whites in District 1,747,052
Negroes in District 608,301
Negro Percentage in State 20.4
In District Covered 25=
=EASTERN TEXAS
NEGROES PER SQUARE MILE, 1900
Square Miles included 60,453
Average Negro .10
Average White 28.8
Includes all Counties with one Negro per Square Mile=
Footnotes:
[1] See article by A. H. Stone. Atlantic Monthly, May, 1903.
[2] "The Negro in Maryland."
[3] The Negro in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta.
[4] Bulletin, Department of Labor, No. 35.
[5] The Future of the American Negro.
[6] Olmsted, F. L.--The Cotton Kingdom.
[7] Olmsted, F. T. The Cotton Kingdom.
[8] Negroes of Litwalton, Va.--Bulletin Department of Labor, No. 37.
[9] Rents a mule.
[10] Bulletin, Department of Labor, No. 35.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.
Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate
both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as
presented in the original text.
Inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, and hyphenation have been
retained from the original.
Misprints corrected:
"entrepeneurs" corrected to "entrepreneurs" (page 6)
"optomistic" corrected to "optimistic" (page 8)
"from" corrected to "form" (page 9)
"Atantic" corrected to "Atlantic" (page 9)
"stdy" corrected to "study" (page 10)
"Talledega" corrected to "Talladega" (page 16)
"inhabitated" corrected to "inhabited" (page 17)
"sevaral" corrected to "several" (page 31)
"carefuly" corrected to "carefully" (page 37)
"Tusgekee" corrected to "Tuskegee" (page 73)
"Talledega" corrected to "Talladega" (page 73)
"charactertistics" corrected to "characteristics" (page 77)
Two footnotes are marked [7]; both refer to the same footnote.
The key to the table on page 51 was extracted from the column headings
of the original table that were printed vertically.
Wide tables have been split in half with one column repeated.