The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-28
PARENTS ATFAULT
Nathaniel Sawyer, a Colored
Teacher, Talks of His Race.
Charges the Churches With Be-
ing Farsighted.
NEED FOR REFORMS.
Would Have COlOred Youth
Taught Necessity of Labor.
Money For Heather Could Be
Expended at Home.
NEED FOR

Youth in Kansas; Causes and Results"
delivered by Nathanie Sawyer, a col
ored teacher in Madison school, before
the eleventh annual meeting of the
Interstate Literary Association" held
at Kansas City. Kansas, Thursday and
Friday:
A few weeks ago my attention was
drawn to an interview by the governor
of Kansas in which the assertion was
made that a distinct tendency toward
crime was manifested by the negro
youth of the present, as distinguished
from the mature negro, or the negro OF
a~ntebellum days. that this was shown
by a comparison of the number OF ne
gro inmates in the various reforma-
tories of the state with the number in
the p-enitentiary. In his mind this COM
parison resulted in the conviction that
there is q Tar greater tendency toward
the commission Of criminal offenses on
the part OF the youthful negro tnan on
that of the antebellum negro.
Now is this so? My apology for writ
ing this paper if it needs an apology
is this: If it is not so, then the facFS
ought to be investigated; and ii not as
represented, then they should be brand
ed as false and the widest publicity
should be given to the falsity of a
statement coming from SO high a
source, since if untrue it is calculated
to do irreparable injury to the charac-
ter of the race. On the other hand, il
it is true, we are interested in knowing
it,. The fact that there is a crimina
tendency in the youth OF our people
should challenge the attention of the
more thoughtful among us to the eni
that some practical measures may be
Immediately taken to arrest it and pre-
vent the further augmentation of an al
ready too numerous class
Now what are the facts as revealed
by this investigation? Before stating
them it may be we'll to remind you that
these figures lave two values, viz: an
absolute value and a relative one
What l shall call the absolute value is
h actual increase or decrease in
crime. which they show in the different
periods taken. The relative value their
value as mpa to the total negro
and white populations of the state
Now. as typical of the conditions that
prevail in the various localities, / made
Il study of the number of arrests made
in the city OF TOpek for two periods of
six months each and four years apart.
The reason 1 take Topeka as the special
locality in which to make my particular
study is because | believe that there is
as fair an average of conditions extant
there, creative of an orderly and we'll
behaved community, as prevail any
where in the state Second, information
from the place was more available
since ! am a resident there; and again.,
because / could not procure information
from the other towns, having written to
several gentlemen in the various first
class cities of the state, and having
waited SO long for a reply that / could
not resort to other means to obtain it.
l made a study of the police court
records for two periods, in order to
ascertain the total number of arrests
and convictions of young persons, be-
tween the ages of 6 and 10 years. This
study involved an examination into ev-
cry species OF crime, from petty larceny
up to forgery and grand larceny am
glad to state there were no murders in
the category 1 also observed those
who were reporters of the same or other
~ofenses, and hence are known as jail
birds or police court characters, but
who. in scientific terms. are known as
recidiyiStS.
The first period taken was that lying
between December 1, 1896, nd June 1,
1897 The second period lay between
December l, 1900, and June 1, 1901
Thus selecting two periods as nearly as
possible at the season when the natural
conditions predisposing to abnormal
action We're precisely similar.
In December, 1896, the total arrests
OF persons between the ages of s and 10,
We're "a OF this number IA were color
ed TO were white.
In january; 1897; total arrests. 8;
colored, 5; white, A.
In February, 1897, total arrests, Ia:
colored. 8; white, 6.
In March, 1897, total arrests, 25; col
pred, II; white, IS.
In April, 1897, total arrests, Al; color
ed, Is; white, Is.
IN May, 1897, total arrests, "a; colored,
Is; white, 10,
For this period the total number Of
arrests of juvenile offenders in the city
OF Topeka reached a grand total of 157.
OF this number rs, one half, or so per
cent We're negroes. Surely an alarming
set of figures TO contemplate.
In the second period the number of
arrests in December, 1900, were p;
colored. 8: white, Is.
In January, 1901, colored, s; white, IT;
total. %.
In February, 1901. colored. 6; white.
o; total, Is.
In March. 1901, colored, s: white, 25;
LQJAi. 80
In April, 1901, colored. IL: white, 80;
total, A.
In May. 1891. eolored. 8; white, p:
total, 80.
Now the true significance of these fig !
ures can only be appreciated by COM
pairing the proportion which the negroes
ana then the proportion they bear to
the criminal population. and the deduc-
tion Is simply appalling
according to the census of 1900 the
total population of the city of Topeka
IS 5S,6oS- The total negro population is
$500, or a little less than one-seventn
on the total population And yet. be-
and June. 1897, his o~ne-seventh of the
Guys population was furnishing nearly |
one-na4f OF the Juveniles whose names |
appeared upo the records of the police
court In the record Of 10000 quite an
Improvement Is shown, for out of lib
&TestS % nly are black. Looked at
re4aLIveay this is quite an Improvement.
relating the ratio OF the first period to
tne second There were actually % per-
Eohs less arrested in the latter period
man tne former. One of the most dis
@dra$Ang 1eature of the case is that, in
composing the lists from month to
month. Il found in the period of lSe6-,97 |
RLM A@E@ Than Hw1n