The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-06-03
TO BUILD A MODEL
TOWN FOR NEGROES
ONE RESULT OF THE SOUTHERN
LYNcHINGs.
Factories and Dwellings to Be Built
on the Peconic River, Near James
port, L. I.-White Men to Furnish
the Capital-Many Negroes AL
ready Eager to Come.
From the New York Sun,

within a. few months Long Island
is to have an industrial colony made
up of negroes from the South. 1t will
be a municipality in itself, conducted
according to it's own rules, and viii
start its existence with a population OF
1000, all negroes. No white person
will be permitted to acquire property
for dwelling purposes within its linn
its, but the factories which Will FUR
nish the industrial life of the town
will be owned by whites. Lynch law,
as practiccd in the South, is the deter
mining cause of this colony, the coll
onists being from the states of &c eorgia,
North Carolina and South Carolina,
and should this experiment prove
success other Northern settlements for
Southern negroes may follow. The
promoters of the project say that such
is the feeling on the part of the better
element of negroes in the south regard
ing the recent lynchings that 100000
colored families would gladly leave the
South and come North If employment
could be guaranteed to them
THE SITE.
SEhA site Of the proposed colony Is in
county, about twenty miles
eastern end Of Long Island.
it one takes the Long Island
main line, to Jamesport, and
ibout a mile and a half from
tion TO the south side of the
river. two miles in from Pc
bay. Here the river is broad
Ieep enough to admit large YES
The country there is level and
from swamps. Nearby are some
he best farms on Long Island.
lille the tract near the river is not
fooded, back a short distance there is
slne timber land. 1t would be difficult
to find anywhere a site better suited
for an industrial city whose inhabit-
KS intend to grow their own crops,
Is the plan with the negro colony.
land will require little grading or
bring, the soil is in a high degree
ceptible of cultivation and access is
v both by land and by water. The
pmoters intend to buy at first tract
900 acres, ana they have an option
900 acres more. The first purchase
III be made within a day or two, as
bon as the title has been thoroughly
Eearched.
What financial interests are back of
the project is a matter Of secrecy at
present. Rufus L. Perry, of Brooklyn,
represents the active management. Mr..
Perry is young colored lawyer, q
graduate of the New York university,
and a Democratic politician of some
prominence. His scheme is, in sub
stance, as follows:
THE PLAN.
As soon as the land is secured grants
will be made to certain manufacturers
who will put up factories. To the
manufacturers all the labor they need
will be guaranteed at a certain rate,
( in return for which they must en-
gage to abide by the rules of the cor
poration which is to conduct the affairs
of the colony. Streets are to be laid
out and houses built, and when the
factories are in running order and
there are accommodations for the col
onists 1000 of them will come up. AL
ready the selection Of the emigrants
from the south has been arranged for
by the agents of the colonizers, and
1t is expected that the factories will
be running by next winter.
Mr.. Perry was asked by a Sun re-
porter last week to tell the objects
and nature and the hackers of the
project. He was at first reluctant to
speak on the subject, saying that for
some reasons ii seemed best not 10
make the matter public as, even when
nothing was definitely known of it,
one newspaper had got an inkling of
1t and printed an editorial warning
Long Islanders against permitting an
influx of negroes. But, he added, many
details of the scheme were bound to
come out in a few days any way, SO
he would give some facts without dis
closing the identity of the capitalists
interested. All he would say regard
ing them was that they were all citi-
zens of New York city.
WHAT SUGGESTED IT.
This thing" said he, was sug-
gested by the wish of the negroes in
many south 'r.l stl:.s to get away be-
cause of the outbreak of bad feeling
against them which has caused SC
many lynchings in the past few
months. About three months ago
took hold of the matter actively and
What brute That is what is said of
the m who ahuEpc his bnrSfa hut y