The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-06-15
THE NEGRO NORTH :.

THE NEGRO NORTH.
 They Are Steadily Leaving the old
 Ceilings.
 Chicago Record-Herald.
 The steadily increasing tide Of emigra- ton of the negroes from the South te Northern cities will form the cardinal subject of investigation by a conference to be held at the Institutional Church S,2 Dearborn Street, on June g. The leading spirit of the inquiry is Prof. " G. V. Du Bofs. of the University of Att lanta. He is an expert sociolog!st. r All the cities of the North show large gains of negro population during the past ten years. Chicago gained 16,0o0 negroes or III per cent. the greatest on record.
 The census shows that 70 out of every 100 women either take work away from home or take work to their homes. This means that their children are neglected. It is suggested that a settlement may be established containing kindergartens. day nurseries. cooking and sewing schools. and an employment agency. About $6.o0( will be needed. and hopes are entertained that this sum will be obtained in a short time.
 The "black movement to Central Af- rica is frowned down by the Rev. A. R. Murray. of Bethel Church. and other prominent negroes of Chicago.
 Quits Old Ceilings.
  gradual busting of the negro from occu. pations which were always regarded as peculiarly his own. His work as barber. laundryman. whitewasher and caterer has gradually passed into the hands of the white race. These occupations are now developed by moAey and a newer inteili- gence to such a degree that it is more difficult for colored people to carry them on successfully than it IS to win success in the mercantile and industrial field.
 a e ha G. ed to be in the Northern States The shops owned by them are now almost wholly for the accommodation of their own race. The men who are still in the business say that colored men have lost interest in this trade to such an extent that first class barbers are very hard to find.
 The younger men of the race have come Ito associate this and a few other callings above mentioned with the servile condi- tions of former days and a sure badge of inferiority. This false notion is prob- ably chiefly responsible for she loss to the negro of business that artistic taste and money have developed into one Of the most respectable of callings.
 What Is true of the .'tonsorial art" Is true of the laundry business save that tfl this case machinery. steam laundries and the Chinaman are chiefly the cause Of ths negro's loss.
 Few Are whitewashers.
 The artistic decorator" is the new narfis for the old whitewash business. While most of this work Is done by white men In well organized companies and corpora. lions with ample capital. colored mel have not entirely lost their hold on this occupation. Not a few men like Oscar DePriest and MT. Chisholm of this city. have taken pains to equip themselves for this occupation by training and the ap- plication of business methods, and they find no prejudicial hindrances to their success.
 The busness of catering Is also one of the callings that used te be considered as belonging exclusively to colored men: The colored caterer in Philadelphia used to be famous. and still retains his dis tinction of fifty years ago. when he en- foyed the friendship and confidence Of the distinguished men of his day to an extent that no other set of colored business men ever enjoyed. Their efficient service won many friend to the cause of abolition. John S. Trower who was delegate to the recent convention. and c. II. Smiley of this city. are typical representatives of this Philadelphia school of caterers. Their statements to the convention of tho negro's achievements In this line of bus mess were among the most tnttrestug features of the session.
 In New York the negro caterer has not fared so well, the business having long since passed out of his control into the larger interests like the Delmonicos and the Sherrys.
 Am btt10n or the 1outn.
 The colored men who are still in the business complain that their sons show but little inclination to carry it on and succeed them. Their ambition for ad- vancement leads them to ignore the oc- cupation of their fathers and to seek the professions and the more polite caliings This mi sdirectcd pride is chiefly the cause of much of the failure to hold and de- velop the business that the colored men of two or three generations ago launch ed and in which the first foundations for money-making and saving were laid Shoe polishing is another industry that has passed out of the negros hands into that of the thrifty foreigner. With the colored people 1t was sort or pickup chance to make q living. now it Is con ducted as a well ordered and organized But these losses are not without com pensatng equivalent. By sheer force rf thrift and surprising apti- tude, colored men are succeeding Tn % great variety of business occupations. In many cases the colored man who form erly blacked shoes for living IS now of shoe polish.
 And so 1t may be said if there are few CT negro barbers. there Is an ever increas- and negro merchants. What is still better. the colored men and women in business are creating a sub- stantial constituency much needed for the
 
 up opportunities for the employment or the young men and women whom pretu- dice now bars from nearly every avenue free to the young men and women or other races for honest employment The young colored woman who has been train ed as a bookkeeper or stenographer finds her chances for lucrative employment in- creased with every increase of business enterprise shown by colored men and wo- men.
 Work of the Women.
 Colored women are also beginning to the value of proper training in the domestic arts. If the occupation of household service can be so enlarged and developed so as to remove from 1t the badge of servllity by virtue of the training and education demanded for sue cessful and conscientious service, colored women will be more than able, to com pete with their white associates In this business. They are already learning to put a new and higher value on occupa- lions that once identified them with ser vice conditio IS. They are also beginning to feel that all work is honorable that is well and honorably done, and with this has come an increase of self-respect and that is to do much for the building up of character in the younger men and women of the race.
 We are Given Warning.