Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1891-07-11
THE NEGROES IxsrIN1.
The Relative Decrease OF ColOrod Popu
latlOn Shown by tho Eleventh CSnsus--
The Negroes Future Home tho
Southern Lowlanda.

lation Shown by the Eleventh Census
The Negroes Future Home tho
southern Lowlands.
i Hasty CONGRATULATIONS concerning the
future numerical strength OF the neg:
in this country, based on his prop:
tionate high birth rate, and the piI
leading reports Of III, census OF 1870,
have done more thai anything c!se to
render the negro problem question
for political manipulation. Only twi
years ago the presiding officer OF pr
litical convention stated that at no dis
tant future the colored population wou..:'
reach fifty millions. Statements such
Us this are regarded with different de-
grees of satisfaction, and II true th'
negro himself would soon oyerrp2 tn
continent.
The crudity OF statements such q;
this, which can be used so disastrous.
for political purposes, is shown By GEE
Francis A. Walker in the July Forum.
IN an article sketching the future OF the
negro, based on the statistics OF thu
race back to 1908, when the slave tracs
was abolished. At that time, or from
the census OF 1910, the negro numbered
700, 900 or 10 per cent OF the entire pop
ulation. In the recent census he is bu.
ITO Of the entire population, or, while
the white population has increased six
teen fold, the negro has increased but
ten fold. Taking the statistics by ten
and twenty year periods since 1910, Gen
eral Walker shows that the increase by
per cent has declined steadily, and as
serts that in all probability this steady
reduction in the negro's relative i'm
portance in the population will never
be reversed.
In confirmation he examines in detail
the respective birth and death rates in
% southern counties OF equal popula
ton, black and white, based OF the
tenth census, and finds that per l.OO9
births of those born and dying, the rate
for whites was 100. against l40.S blacks.
The proportion of death rates between
blacks and whites in the large cities is
greater against the blacks. In New
Orleans the death rate for whites was
2j.57. blacks, SO. In st. Louis, whites
was 1919, blacks, 1878. These result
show that the negro race is maintain
ing its rate of increase only by means
of very high birth rate over avery
high death rate.
Another fact worth noting is the fu-
lure geographical distribution OF the
negro, now that he can move freely
from place to place. As slave. the
tropically bred negro was forced TO fol-
low the interests of his northern bred
master, often into regions where he
lived only at a sacrifice OF vitality.
Comparing between 1SS0-90 the rates
of increase in Delaware, Maryland.
Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennes-
see and North Carolina, with the cot
ton growing states, it is found to be ~
per cent in the latter against D per
cent in the former. The inference is
that in those parts OF the country where
the negro is not an economic necessity,
the black population will become more
and more reduced by the entrance OF
q vigorous white element. Industrial
at the same time will
draw him to his more natural habit at
the gulf states, where the white man
cannot take his place. Whatever growth
may be expected from the colored race
will take place there, and IL Is not prop
able that race SO limited in its range
will ever reach to one-third even OF So
boo, 900.
To recapitulate, the negro in 1880
was one-ffth the population: in
1910, but one-sixth; in 1850, one
seventh; in 1890. less than one
eighth. Industrial reasons and natu-
raj tendencies are draining him off
toward the low lands OF the Gulf OF
Mexico, and there his greatest rate OF
increase will be felt, which in the ma
ture OF things will be constantly de-
creasing in its relation to the total pop
llation.
Facts such as these indicate that the
negro problem will become less and
less rather than more and more pollt-
ical, and that the solution may reason
ably be left to the operation OF physio-
logical and economic laws.