Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-11-17

T HE best friends of the negro race
north and south have appeared
recently to be in serious uncer-
tainty as to the real outcome
Of the past 40 years of effort for its en-
lightenment and its moral and social re-
demption. 1t is not uncommon for
thoughtful northerners to denounce the
whole reconstruction system as a mon
strous blunder, and that conception of
the negro which was behind it as being
radically wrong. The reversal of this In
southern restrictions of the franchise has
been somewhat reluctantly acquiesced in
as containing a measure of justice. This
feeling of uncertainty has contributed to
the extraordinary interest in the Tuske-
gee institute and similar educational en-
terprises as though they indicated a new
and better way to the desired end,
notable instance of candid utterance
upon this subject is a presidential address
delivered some two years ago before the
American Social Science association by the
late distinguished man Of letters. Charles
Dudley Warner. The subject of the adj
dress is THE Education of the Negro"
and in 1t he reviews such effort as has
been made since the civil war with the
purpose of judging something of it's re-
suits and its promises to lead US seriously
to inquire whether our effort was found
ed upon an adequate knowledge of the
negro, of his present development, of
the requirements for his personal welfare
and evolution in the scale of civilization,
and for his training in useful and honora-
BILE citizenship"
Speaking OF. colleges founded for the in
struction of negroes he says: There is
no doubt that they furnish shining exam
Piles of emancipation from ignorance, and
of useful lives. But a few years have
thrown much light upon the careers and
characters of a great proportion of the
graduates, and their effect upon the COM
munities of which they form part,
mean, Of course. with regard to the indus
trial and moral condition of those commu-
mites. Have these colleges, as whole,
stimulated industry, thrift, the inclina-
ton to settle down to the necessary hard
work of the world; or have they bred
idleness indisposition to work, q vapor-
GUS ambition in politics, and that sort of
conceit Of gentility of which the world
has already enough? If any one has any
doubt about this he can satisfy himself
by a sojourn in different localities in the
south"
This opinion of Mr.. Warner carried add
ed weight when he says of himself: cit
was my fortune to see many of these in
situations in their early days. and to be-
lieve that they were full Of the greatest
promise for the race
To consider this opportunity for high
er education to be the cause Of the loss
by the negro race of strong and fruitful
characteristics, formerly belonging to 1t,
would be the height Of absurdity But we
In the south know that, generally speak
ing, the negro is not as safe a laborer nor
as valuable servant as he was twenty
years ago. That this is not a merely local
condition appears from statistics gathered
by Prof. Wilcox of Cornell university,
and quoted by Mr.. Warner. 1t appears
that "the negro prisoners in the southern
states to ten thousand negroes increased
between 1880 and 1890 q per cent. while
the white prisoners to ten thousand whites
Increased only 8 per cent" I'm the states
where slavery was never established, the
white prisoners increased Z pr cent faster
than the white population, while the negro
prisoners no less than 80 per cent faster
than the negro population. Thus the In
crease of negro criminality, so far as IT Is
reflected in the number of prisoners. ex-
ceeded the increase of white criminality
more in the north than it did in the south. :
This fact indicates remarkable state OF
affairs. In that part of our country where