The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1882-06-24
Material progress Of the Negro.

| Material Progress Of the Negro.
ATLANTA, June 10.-Besldes the question OF
education, another very important class of
facts bearing upon the progress of the negro
, still remains to be presented. The awards or
college examinations and the mere study of
books are very imperfect tests of mans value
as a citizen. Is he selt-suppOrting? Does he
add 10 the wealth Of the country Does he
accumulate property? Does he make for him.
self by work 80 good chance of becoming al
property holder that he will be interested in
the security ofpropertys
There never was race which had better
, opportunity than the Southern blacks; The
Southern country is full Of uncultivated land.
While other thinly settled territories of the
world are fast filling up with emlgrants, some
prejudice IL keeping them away from the
. South, 80 that competition for land Is largely
diminished in favor OF the negro. In addition
to this the best part Of this section, the South.
! ern "up country" is specially adapted to small
farms. In the old ante.belum days an arti.
fetal state Of things united the land in large
plantations. But even in those days 1t was
always said that the increase OF capital came
from the increase of negroes. Men lived we'll
they made provisions, they made cotton to buy
those things which must come from stores
but they grew rich because their negroes mul.
raised to SELL The matter worked as follows
When a planters children were grUwn, his
negroes had increased IN like ratio Whenl
they were divided, some OF the children went
!. with their share of the negroes to Texas orl
Mississippi, while one son, perhaps, remained
on the old homestead to get rich and divideI
among his children as his father had done
Since the war, the uplands of the Southern
States are fast dividing into farms. On every
we'll known road are the evidences of this sub
division of the land. 1t Is nonsense TO talk OF
the unwillingness of the whites to sell land to
negroes They will be governed by their own
interest and II Is to their interest to sell. The
report of the Comptroller General of Georgia.
!. for 1881 shows that negroes own land in every
one of the 1877 counties in Georgia but one,
ana that contains only 10 coored voters.
The entire property Of Georgia is valued at
j, S27O, 093SSS. or this the colOred taxpayers
own $6,47e,951, or 2 5 per cent. of the whole
! The white voters number $4,000 IN round
numbers the cOlored voters, 900. The In
crease in value Of the entire property of the
! State since 1880 is $lS,9776ll, or about per
cent Since 1880 the property OF the colored
taxpayers has increased $G71 ,l79, or about IA
y per cent. In Fulton county, containing the
city of Atlanta, the negroes own more proper
e ty than in any other county of the State. The
l. whole real and personal estate of Fulton coun-
ty amounts to S20,343525. The whole prop.
erty of the negroes is valued at $34S 1896. The
:. white vote of Fulton Is 2,7SS polls; the negro
a 800.
!. AS might be anticipated, the negroes in
Georgia own more horses, mules and hogs
than any other kind of property, The value
of all the cattle IN Georgia for 1881 was $23,.
|, 63S, 1904 The negroes owned the value of &c.,
213,02l, very nearly one tenth of the whole.
The increase IN the total value OF this species
y of property from 1880 was $54,9S9, not quite .
l. per cent. The increase in this kind OF prop.
|. erty owned by negroes has been, since 1880,
$l5S 234, or Ia per cent. In Burke county
rich river county, just below Augusta, the
= negroes own more stock (hOrses, mules, &c.)
IS than IN any other county. The whole stock
G of the county is worth $333,753. The entire
l. vote of the county Is 1873 votes. The negroes
- own stock worth 500, 725, and poll 1902 votes
. All of the landed property in Georgia is
valued at $S6,921,959 This does not include
what are called wild lands.) The land of the
colored taxpayers is valued at 81 ,754 800, OF
2 is per cent. of the whole. The average
n value of landed property per acre Is 80. Tht
:. land owned by cOlorcd taxpayers is small
j. trltie below this. They own greater number
" of acres IN Decatur than IN any other county
d There are l,1S5 colorcd voters, and they owl
10 29,025 acres of land
e all things into consideration. 1t is pretty Ger
e, tain, think, that the prejudice which ha'
" kept emigrants away from the Southern States
Il will not last, and thus the negro Will be sub
lect to much greater strain Of competition
There is every evidence that the many advan
le tages Of this fine country are attracting attcn
N ton abroad. Whether, with q severe struggle
for existence and property, the negroes will
continue to increase as they have done, is no
y altogether certain.
10 In cities there is a great deal of pauperisn
e. among negroes In Atlanta the winter of 1881
-, was very severe season. 1t became know
~ that there was, among the poor, good doal o
y suffering for food and fuel. A public meeting
b. was held by the citizens, and considerable
N sum was raised to distribute those necessaIles
% A record was kept Of cases relieved. There
- were LOO Ia all, of which all but 100 wer,
IS blacks. | passed the place Of distribution
j. daily, and it was painful sight to see crowC
N of hearty looking negroes pressing up, while
- a few timld looking white women remained
- in the rear.
lie Negroes adhere very tcnaciousy to any lane
d they buy. Sometimes white people wish tC
n buy them out IN order to improve a neighbor
hood Ii is very hard 10 do il, even when 6
e very high price is offered. They are not III
n natured; they simply cling to their property
e p. b. IN N. Y. SIN.
AN ANCIENT COIN.-We have in our pos
% session copper plate or com, found on the
d farm OF Peter Cline of Akron township, PEG
d ria county, that is remarkable to say the least
Il 1t was found by Jacob Moftitt the presen,
= owner, while engaged in drilling well, and
g was brought to the surface by the augcr from
y a depth of l2j feet. 1t is about the size OF
d the old style copper cent, but trlfle thinner
n and has five square angles on the edges. Both
sides have certain cabaistc TO u.s. characters
D. pronounced by scientists to bear resem blanCe
a to the ancient Greek IIebraic, but their signi
5, ticance, il any, has never been discovered
, There is likewise the rude representation of 9
human figure with one arm elevated, while