The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-31
CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH
FAIRLY REPRESENTED BY STATS
TICS GATHERED AT FARM
VILE, VA.
IMPROVEMENT IS NOTICEABLE.
Re
Many Ex-sIaves Are Owning Large
Farms or Controlling Mercan-
tile Enterprises.
Special to the Globe.

man whose historical and social stud
les have already attracted considerable
attention, contributes to the January
number of the Bulletin of the Depart
ment of Labor an interesting paper on
negro conditions in the South Mr. Du
Bois selected Farmville, Prince Ed
ward county, Va, for his study, and
passed two months there last summer.
living with the negroes and learning
all that he could of their condition and
prospects. The facts which he sets
forth as a result are probably fairly
typical of the whole negro population
of the South, and hence of much value
to students of the race question. Mr..
Du Bots was eminently qualified for
such an undertaking. He was grad
uated at Harvard college in 1890. and
continued his study there and abroad,
earning Phi. D. three years later. But
his greatest work is a history of the
slave trade in America, which has
been the subject of much favorable
comment.
The county which DR.. Du Bots select
ed for his study has had an interest
ing history. A century ago it had a
population of S,000 evenly divided be-
tween whites and blacks; today it has
population of over $4,000, but the in
crease is almost entirely among the
blacks, the number of whites still re-
naming under 5000. This great rela-
tive increase of the black population
is not typical of the South, but rather
illustrative of the tendency of the
races to segregate, as it were. one
township or county filling up with
blacks, while another will increase
wholly in its white population. OF the
total population of Prince Edward
county, less than one-third live in
towns Of twenty-five or more inhabi-
tants leaving the great mass of the
people thoroughly rural and agricuI-
tural. Before the late war more than
IS per cent of the farms were Of 100
acres or over, and We're worked by
gangs Of from ten to fifty slaves By
1870 these farms had become so brok-
en- up that nearly 40 per cent of them
were less than fifty acres in size. Since
then something of reaction has taken
place and more waste land brought un-
der cultivation, so that, in 1890, 81 per
cent of the farms were less than fifty
acres in size.
The extent to which the negroes
have become property owners is an in
teresting point. Dr. Du Bots finds that,
in 1895, the 1924 negroes owned IT. 500
acres of land, which, together with
buildings, was assessed at $132, 189 The
Alto whites of the county, in the same
year, owned 202, 962 acres, and the as
sessed value of their lands and build
ings was $1,0641S0 or, in other words,
the average white man was twenty
times as rich as the average negro.
After general survey of the county,
DR.. Du Bots selects it's chief town,
Farmville, for a minute study. He de-
scribes it as it is, thoroughly Vir-
ginian In character-easy- going, Cos
slpy and conservative, with respect for
family traditions and landed property.
1t would hardly be called busting.
and yet it is busy market town, with
long, low main street, full of general
stores, and branching streets with to-
bacco warehouses and tobacco fac
tories, churches and substantial dwell
lingS. 1t is the trading center of six
counties. Here a large proportion of
the tobacco of these counties is mar
keted, and some of it manufactured
into strips. On Saturday, the regular
market day, the town population SwellS
to nearly twice it's normal size from
the influx of country people-mostly
negroes-some in carriages, wagons
and OK carts, and some on foot, and
a large amount of trading is done.
Naturally such a town in the midst
Of a farming district has,ra great at
traction for young countrymen on ac-
count Of the larger life and the pros
pect of better wages, in its manufac-
turing and trading establishments. A
steady influx of immigrants thus adds
annually to the population of the town
At the same time Farmville boys and
girls are attracted by the large city life
of Richmond, Norfolk, Baltimore and
L. .-.l1.. N
acts as a sort Of clearing house, TAX
ing the raw country lad from the farm
to train in industrial life, and sending
North and East more or less we'll
equipped recruits for metropolitan life.
OF the 351 miles over fifteen years of
age in Farmville who returned answers
41.9 per cent were single; -50.l per cent
We're married, and 4 per cent were
widowed. The remaining ga per cent
were in TO case regularly divorced, but
We're permanently separated from their
wives and have been so scheduled. OF
the 1872 women, 32.1 per cent were SIN
gle; 454 per cent were married; 1914 per
cent were widowed, and 81 per cent
were permanently separated.
Comparing the conjuga1 conditions in
Farmville with the conditions in for
eign lands and in the United States, Mr..
Du Bots finds some instructive indica-
tions. I'm slavery days." he says,
marriage was entered upon very early,
and the first generation of freedom did
the same. The second generation, how
ever, is postponing marriage largely for
economic reasons, and is migrating to
better it's condition. Consequently we
find in g. race young in civilization,
that the percentage of single men over
is would seem to be larger than in
Great Britain, France, Germany, Hun
gary or Italy, if the conditions in
Farmville are generally true, and that
the number of single women is larger
than might be expected
Some attempts were made to deter
mine what proportionsof the whole pop
ulation was of mixedz blood. A record
was kept Of the personal appearance of
a majority of those negroes of the town
who were met by thesinvestigator face
to face. OF 705 negroes thus met, 1893
were apparently Of 'unmixed negro
blood PIG were brown in color and
showed traces of white blood, and 153
were yellow or lighter and showed
considerable infusion Of white
blood. According to this, -one-third to
one-half the negroes of the town are
Of mixed blood, and, verifying this by
observations ON the streets and in as
semblies, this seemed a Fair conclu-
sion.
The schools Dr. Du sBois finds pretty
poor, but adds thatiSso Indifferent
school system has had its effect on the
illiteracy Of the town. Of the 908 peo-
pie reporting, 1875 per cent could read
and write, IT'S per cent could read, but
could not write, while 40 per cent were
wholly illiterate. If we divide the pop
ulation into four classes-those reared
in slavery, those reared in time of war
i