Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1895-10-11
A COMPLETE FAILURE.
Negroes In the West Indies
Cannot Govern Themselves.
For Moro Than Fifty Years They Have
Enjoyed the Greatest Freedom, But
Have Made No Advance Social
ly OF Morally.

nave Made No Advance Social
ly Morally.
In the last quarterly issue of the
American Statistical association Fred
eric L. Hoffman gives a series of statis-
tical tables bearing upon the social and
moral development of the negroes in
the West Indies. AS he points out to
the students of the race problem in the
United States, the West Indies offer an
attractive field for observation and
study, for the reason that for more
than fifty years the negro has there en-
joyed those political and social oppor-
tunities which it is claimed are denied
him in this country. Thus, says the
Boston Herald, for more than half q
century, he has had there presented
the possibilities of progress and adj
vancement in civilization, and consid-
ering that in 1884 those who were in
strumental in bringing about enamel
patton in the West Indian colonies of
Great Britain felt confident that the
change would be of immense benefit to
the colored people and to the world ut
large, it is interesting to see how far
these hopes have been verified by ex-
perience
Mr.. Hcffinan's tables include the
Lecward islands, the Barbados, Ber-
muda, the Bahamas, Trinidad, Jamai-
ca, British Honduras and British
Guiana. He also has race tables as to
the population of Cuba and Porto Rico.
From these it appears that, while tho
negro race in the West Indies does not,
on the whole, greatly increase, the
white population is steadily diminish
ing. For example, a hundred years ago
the white population of Jamaica was
about 10 per cent. of the entire popula-
ton, while it is now little less than
per cent. In the Leeward islands the
white population a hundred years ago
was about per cent; it is now about
per cent. In the Barbados the white
population hundred years ago was
about 20 per cent, while at the present
time it is less than per cent. In some
| of the other colonies the relative de-
cline Is not so great, but the tendency
has been for the white race to disap-
pear, with the result that the colonies
| have fallen more under the control Of
the negro inhabitants.
Contrasted with this change is that
presented by Cuba, where the white
| population in 1879 amounted to about
80 per cent, and in 1900 to approximate
| ly 70 per cent, and Porto Rico, where
| the white population in 1902 was As per
cent, and in 1890 63 per cent. In other
words, in the two Spanish colonies
the white race, as in the United
States, has tended to increase at
faster ratio than the colored race. This
Mr.. Hoffman holds to be due to the de-
terlnined struggle that has been main
tanned in the Spanish colonies by the
whites for political, as well as social,
supremacy and that under such condi-
tions race of inferior standing is not
able to hold its own. In the British
West Indies, on the other hand, the,
struggle is a hopeless one. and hence
no effort was made to maintain it, as
tendency passing, with all that it i'm
piled, into the hands of the colored pop
ulation.
The result of this does not seem to
have been specially advantageous. The
colored race has grown in the West
Indies at rapid rate. Possibly tho
LIMITATIONS of area and Industrial OPP
n bortunities may have something to do
q with this, but the birth rate has not
been especially high, and, what is quite
as material factor in determining the
growth in numbers of a community, the
rate Immortality has been exceptionally
high, SO that the population has tended
in some of the colonies to become al
most stationary. In the group of Lee
ward islands there are now fewer peo-
pie than there were u century ago, and
jamaica may be said to be about the
only island which has shown q large in
crease in population, the number there
doubling in less than century. In
those instances where contrast is per-
missiblc it is found that the death rate
is much larger among the colored in
habitants of these colonies than it
is with the white population, state
ment that also holds true of Cuba,
where the death rate is high with both
races, but about Is per cent. higher
with the colorcd than with the white
race.
But the worst showing made in Mr..
Hoff1nan's tables of statistics is found
} in those which relate to the moral con-
dition of tho people, for while the
. statistical evidence shows that in the
| matter of education there is a constant
! improvement, as, for example, in
, Jamaica the number of those able to
read and write over years of age has
, advanced in the last thirty years from
!, 81 to 50 per cent. of the population, q
corresponding Improvement does not
5 appear to have taken place in the moral
| condition of the people. In the Barba
| does 70 per cent. of the population /:
5 unmarried, in Jamaica II per cent. anG
Y in Trinidad, excluding coolies from the
r East Indies, nearly 50 per cent, whils
: in all these colonies more than 60 PEI
: cent. of the births are of illegitimatt
j children.
Satisfied with One Ego.
The Beyrcuth newspapers record