The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-01-19
PROGRESS MADE BY THENEGRO
4 PICTURE or HIS CONDITION
IN LOUISIANA TO-DAY.
Statistics a. 20 Ills Increase in Wealth
Since the Civil war-Fortuncs Of the
Old Free Families Of Color u 900
Negroes with $500 OF Taxable Property

| NEW OhLLANo' van 10 ne DtuVo VI
Louisiana under the new Constitution
Of 1890 Is compelled to keep accurate and
separate statistics Of the two races. whites
and negroes. not only as TO population but
also as TO their educational condition, their
property and the taxes paid by them. Some
Of the statistics just compiled supply i'm
portant information.
The figures showing the number OF me-
groes entitled to vote under the property
! clause and the amount Of property owned
by them give an accurate picture OF the
negro in Louisiana to-day and OF how
much progress he has made In the last
forty years. The assessors return a total
of 1857 POI of property owned by negroes
In Louisiana out Of a total Of s276. SOS ,507.
This Is a much better showing h In
tho other Southern States and yet IL 10
poor enough. It is an average Of only
Sl$e3 for each negro, as the accumulations
Of a life time.
In considering such figures In other States
Il Ia usual TO reason that the negro
started with nothing at the close Of the
Civil War and that what property he pos
sesses now represents what he has accum-
ulated since. That does not apply TO
Louisiana.
When the Civil War came on there was
In Louisiana a minority OF free negroes,
nearly all them well-to-do. and some Of
them quite wealthy Their total wealth
was estimated at the time as slightly In
excess Of $50. 600, 900. The negroes In
Louisiana to-day are, therefore, worth
only one-third as much as In isco.
II is doubtful whether there has been
any very considerable increase in tho
number Of negro property owners. They
were estimated at $500 In 1890, they are
only 5000 to-day. including only those
owning more than $500 OF property, Con-
sidcring the fact that the colored popula-
ton of the State has doubled In these forty
years, although there Ia a slight increase
In the aggregate number Of negro AK
payers. there has been proportiorally a
marked decline.
The colored property owners OF slavery
days suffered like their white neighDors
from the Civil War. The emancipation OF
the slaves cost them several million dol
lars, and the shhnkaEe In land values
for they were large and owners In the
city Of New Orleans and the sugar parishes
hurt them even more han the whites.
When it came to rebuilding lost fortunes
the negroes do not show the same rccupera.
tive powers as the whites. The colored
families that lost their fortunes during
the civil War ard the generalization OF
the reconstruction period never recovered
them. Inc returns OF the census snow
that only a fraction of the fortunes owned
b. the coiored free families nave sur
viyed the shock of the last forty years
These colurtd people for their own social
advantages and protection had cuugregated
together. There were five distinct settle
mcuts or colonies Of them in the par
iSa,s Of Orleans, Natchitoches, st. Martin,
and st. Jatnes-St. John; n IN these
several districts they owned a majority
of the real estate. The condition OF Affairs
l. shown to-day In the fact that ia these
parishes the property assessed against
negroes is mucn greater IN proportion TO
their number than In other parts OF the State.
Indicating that some wreck OF these ante
bellum fortuncs stiil exists.
The parishes enumerated above return
property belonging TO negroes OF t+.s55,sSO
OF nearly as much as all tns other uityr,
three parishes In the state. How much OF
THIS belongs TO the old free families
OF color, the negro autocrdts whose
freedom and prosperity dates from ante
bellum DAYS, II IL Impossible 10 say
with any degree Of accuracy. but a
wealth Of tire former free negroes OF
Louisiana has thus shrunk In the laht
forty yoars from more than s3O,OOO!OO 10
Ices than tiVUJ.UOO. Tie other property
belongs 20 negroes who have grown up
from slavery and who started without a
cent some thirty years 40
H. the fret wear 81 reconstruction, In the
general dtseut@gratioh y hich cane = great
deal Of properly passed into the haLds Of
negroes, but 'Ney were new hegio"s
uiors who Lai -prung up from slavery IL
looked then az If asyrt"m ~ c"l1red prahan-
Try might grow upln lsuisiafa
NauN f~IantHfIuuH l4J l,rh cot Up, and
cold 81 r-rt.d ~ uerroc- In is'2. il wa