The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-01-30
A Study IN BLACK.

rartment Of Labor Is a Social Study OF
the Negroes Of Farmvllle. Va" by Pro-
fessor w. T.. Burghardt Du Bots. him
self a negro born and raised In New
England. who spent the months Of July
and August. 1897, at that point In max
ing Investigations. FarmviIle was Sc
iccted because OF the large percentage
Of negro population.
lie begins by saying that century
ego Prince Edward county. OF which
Farmville is the county seat, had pop
ulation of 5000 evenly divided between
whites and blacks: to-day It has popu-
lation OF 1900. but the increase is almost
entirely among tho blacks. In 1850 there
were $50 slave holders. holding 1874
slaves. In 1897, there were about 5000
whites and 1900 negroes. The total val
uation Of real estate and personal prop
oriy in the county in 1890 was S2.397. 0O7 In
1895, the value of farming lands owned by
the whites was sl.OGf.1S0: by the negroes
$l32.1S9. in 1891. the negroes owned 12.2l5
acres Of land; in 1895. 1855 acres.
The population Of Farmville in 1890
was composed Of 9G1 whites and 1.448 ne
groes The negro population at the pres
ent time is about one hundred less.
The professor is interested to note de-
crease in the marriage rate among the
blacks. In slavery times, he says. mar
rage was entered upon early in life,
and the same was true OF the first gene
ration Of freedmen. But the second
generation Is postponing marriage This
he says. necessarily leads to two evils,
bad morals and restricted influence Of
family life. He found in the town OF
Farmville n Legitimate negro children
under ten years of age.
AS 10 education, he found that Of 1861
children between the ages of five and
fifteen. about hfty-six per cent. attended
school. He estimates that about forty
two per cent OF the negro population
can read and write.
The negroes arc occupied as follows:
In professional occupations, %; in do
nestle 2S7: in commercial, 40; in agri-
cultural. Is: in industrial, 2S2; not en-
gagged I'm gainful occupations 2J9, and not
reported, II.
Using n different classification. he finds
those working on their own account, IS;
labcring class. $50: house service, 90; day
service 1i9: at home unoccupied, and de-
pendent, 259; professional and clerical, "A;
and not reported, IA.
The leading barber is the richest negro.
and Is reported to be worth $4,000. The
town jailer Is a negro and there are
seven grocery stores conducted by black
men. There are no negro Doctors or
lawyers. Richmond negroes own and
conduct the steam laundry. Very little
clerical work is done by the blacks
The inevitable Servant gal" problem
claims a part of the professors attention
and he tells us that there is considerable
dissatisfaction over the State of domestic
service.
The negroes are coming TO regard
the work as relic of slavery and
as degrading. and only enter it from sheer
necessity, and tfen as a temporary make
shift. Employers, on the other hand,
find an increasing number of careless
and impudent young people who neg
lecs their work and in scme cases show
vicious tendencies. and demoralize tine
children of the family. They pay low
wages, partly because the Southern GUS
tom con pels families, who ought to do
their own work. TO hire help, and they
cannot afford to pay much: partly, too
becau0e they do not believe the service
rendered is worth more. The servants.
receiving less than they think they ought
are often careful to render as little for
it as possible. They grow to despise
the mental work they do, partly because
their employers themselves despise II and
teach their daughters to do the same.
But the negroes themselves. he adds.
are row beginning to hire servants and
III found ten negro families in Farm
VILE. Which hire help.
After making careful study of condi-
tons in Farmville, he thinks it fair to
| conclude that the industrious and prop
| erty-accumulating class of negro citizens
| best represents on the whole, the
general tendencies of the group.
At the same time the mass OF
soth and immortality is still large and
threatening. He does not pretend TO say
how far Farmville's conditions are true
of ether sections of Virginia