The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-27
NEGRO FARMERS
$40 CONFERENCE
AT the Georgia State Industrial
College.

Fine weather greeted the eolored
farmers on the opening day of their
conference at the Georgia State Indus
trial College. The usual school exer-
cises went on until noon. when the
exercises of the conference proper be-
gan.
In the morning many visitors were
on the campus and by noon a large
crowd of well-dressed negro farmers
had gathered. The new utensils of
the Peabody Dairy attracted many.
One old fashioned COW mixer and but
ter maker declared he did not want
any steam engine blowing his head
of to make all the butter old Bess
gave between Christmas and Fourth
of July.
Among the prominent were Prof. n.
w. Cartright. principal of the Walker
Baptist Institute and Prof. NJ. w.
Gordon, principal of the Deaf and
Dumb Academy of Cane Springs.
In the afternoon the school battal-
ion paraded, and though the boys wore
no uniforms. yet with their wooden
guns and the. music of the college
band they MADE a creditable parade.
The girls. under the direction of In
structor L. B. Thompson, made some
very creditable figures on the field.
After the parade a large audience
gathered in Meldrim auditorium.
Prof. Gordon of Cave Springs made
an address full of wisdom. He was in
spired, he said, with the scenes which
he had witnessed He urged the stu
dents to be practical. He believed in
solid geometry, that is the geometry
which would give you solidity of char
acter. He is going TO stay in the South
he said. Others may seek other places
but he is perfectly satisfied. He spoke
of the vast undeveloped resources of
Georgia, and urged his people to get
to work and develop them. He COM
mended the industrial idea in educa-
ton. The great need of the times calls
for the training of the hand as well as
the head, he said.
Rev. Sherman said there is much to-
day to encourage the negro race. He
was really proud. he said, of the ac-
complishments of his people. He COM
mended the Anglo-Saxon pride of race
and said the negro ought to emulate
it. He recalled Gen. Tombs' remark
that Every man ought to tote his
own skillet
Rev. j. ]. Durham of the Second
Baptist Church spoke on the value of
the negro as a farmer. His idea was
the negroes supposed thriftless condi-
ton. He denied that the negro is
thriftless or shiftless and quoted from
the United States census report to the
effect that the negro had produced in
the United States on farms S255, 600 900
worth of cotton, corn and other farm
products, Negroes, he said, own 746, III
farms, containing 3S233,734 acres, val
ued at S499, 949, 7S4. They pay $4,000, 900
for labor and S5,00O,O 900 for fertilizers,
leaving a balance to their credit of
S24O,OOO,000 If a race who in so short a
time can do this, does it not deserve
some consideration? he asked. "Can
you reasonably can the race shiftless
or thriftless?" In Georgia, Dr. Durham
said, the negro owns 100000 farms
containing 5,5O0,000 acres, the annual
products of which was valued at $45,-
100000, and to produce which they pay
S1,O00,000 for labor, 81, 100000 for fertil-
izers and on this clear 5000 900. DR..
Durham thought the Georgia negro is
doing pretty we'll.
d. L. Jackson, president of the
Georgia Colored Farmers Association
said if the negro will buy homes and
farms and stay at home and work
he will keep out of trouble. The negro
can get more credit than he really
needs. The speaker said he owns 1900
acres of land worth $40 an acre and
he made it out of his muscles. He
did not make a nickie out of the gov
eminent by holding office. He said
he had visited Booker Washington