The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-17
A MODEL NEGRO TOWN.

hO1JEL NEsOAAO Cf-N
It is announced that negro town is 10
be established on Long Island, Suffolk
county, New York. The idea OF its pro-
motors is to make a purely industrial
town, having in the beginning 1000 inhabi-
tants A number of colored men have Sc
| cured the site. which contains about 5000
acres. and a number of manufacturers
have agreed to erect factories on condo
ton that the promoters of the town will
furnish operatives at a certain stipulated
price with which to run the factories
It Is asserted that an agent Of the pro-
motors has visited Georgia, South Caro-
lima and North Carolina, and has received
assurances that there viii be no trouble
whatever in getting the number of colo
nists wanted. 1t is provided that every
colonist shall be the possessor of at least
SO and enough to pay his fare to the
new town. Houses are 10 be built for the
colonists, and those who want to build
houses for themselves will be permitted
to do So
The idea Is that the city will very soon
reach a population of 1900. 1t will not be
possible to take care of a greater number
than that on the land which the pro-
moters have secured, and 1900 acres addi-
tional on which they have been given an
option. It is not stated what the character
of the manufacturing is to be- though it
is understood that so far as the factories
are concerned, everything has been ar
ranged.
No doubt it will be an easy matter to
get 1000 colonists In the states named,
though it will not be so easy to get men
who have as much as SO each, and enough
besides to pay the cost of reaching the
projected town There are of course
plenty of negroes who have money. but
the great majority of those who have
houses or land or cash are pretty we'll
satisfied where they are, or are too old TO
make good factory hands. 1t is alleged
that the majority of those who have an
nounced their purpose of becoming citi-
zens of the negro factory town are gradu-
ates from some one of the negro Industrial
colleges in the South.
We do not know, of course. ANYTHING
more about this projected negro manufac-
turing town than what we see In the New
York papers 1t may be a thoroughly le-
climate enterprise We sincerely hope it
is. It is apparent that the promoters of
Ii propose to take from the South only
moral and thrifty negroes-negroes who
are good citizens in the South, and who
will be good citizens in the North. There
intention m fn
shiftless and immoral negroes who fur
nish the victims for the lynchings.
But before any of the better class of the
negroes leave their homes for the pro-
jected town on Long Island they will con-
suit their own interests by being sure that
those making promises to them are able
to comply with all of their obligations
The announcement that only negroes hav-
ing as much as SIS will be accepted looks
suspicious It is at least sufficient to put
negroes, who are thinking of going to the
new town, on their guard. Neither the
whites nor the blacks in the North are
such phllanthropists as to be willing to
make an outlay for the benefit of South
ern negroes unless they see a way to get
their money back with compound interest
That negroes are not in favor there. and
will not be welcomed on Long Island is
evident from the statement that one or
two newspapers published in Suffolk
county, having heard of the scheme, are
protesting against planting negro colony
in that county.
The enterprise seems to be genuine. It
is to be hoped 1t is, and that it will be the
first of very many more such colonies-so
many in fact, that the race problem will
be transferred from the South to the
North. The Northern people appear to
think they can solve that problem There
will be no great regret in the South if they
have an opportunity to do so.