Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-03-24
THE NEGRO IN NEW JERSEY

Winston G. Garrison, chief of the Bureau
of Statistics, has complied and will soon
issue monograph on The Negro in Man
ufacturing and Mechanical Industries Y in
this State He has been gathering the
facts and statistics for this report for sew
eral months, and it contains lot of new
and surprising information. In the first
place, the increase of the negro population
in New Jersey viii cause most people to
open their eyes The white population of
the State increased 27.s per cent in the de-
caae from 1880 to 1890 and 29.S per cent
from 1890 to 1900. The negro population
increased %. 6 per cent in the first decade
and 1876 per cent for the decade ending in
1900 comparison of the increase of
negro population by counties reveals some
strange facts. The largest increase was IN
Atlantic county, where it was 674 per cent
in the two decades from 1880 TO 1900. In
Essex it was 1882 per cent; in Hudson,
1872; in Monmouth, 995; in Morris, 100;
in Ocean, 1853, and in Union, 9S.7. The
largest increase was in the cities and sea-
side resort counties, where the negroes find
congenial employment as walters and SER
wants. The lowest percentage of increase
was in the agricultural counties. In War
rem it was 81 per cent; in Salem, 98,
while in Hunterdon it decreased 81 per
cent; in Somerset 6, AMI in Sussex SO per
cent The fetal number of negroes in New
Jersey in 1880 was IS, s53, and in 1900 it
was 6s, ,s44, an average increase of 76.9 per
cent.
In the decade between 1880 and 1890 the
increase of our negro population was 90
per cent less than that of the whites,
while during the ten years following the
negroes increased to the enormous extent
of 466 per cent, against 29.s per cent on
the part of the whites A large number of
letters of inquiry were sent to all the pub
lie schools ..in New Jersey having manual
training departments, the particular point
Of the inquiry being to ascertain how negro
students compare with white in aptitude in
learning the use Of tools. The answers
make favorable showing for the negroes,
both in the acquisition of knowledge in
general and in mechanical aptitude. The
girls make good cooks and the boys are
greatly interested in manual training,
although they require somewhat longer
time to acquire skill. 4 number of inquir-
les were also addressed to a selected num-
ber Of representative establishments of the
chief industries carried on in New Jersey.
These interrogatories were designed to as
certain what kind of skilled work is done
by negroes; whether negroes are paid the
same wages as white men for the same kind
of work; how negroes compare in efficiency
with white men, and whether negroes i'm
prove in efficiency. These circulars were
mailed to AIS manufacturing establish
ments, representing eighty different indus
tries. Three hundred and ninety-eight re-
turned complete answers to the questions.
1t was found that only eighty-three estab-
lishments reported employed negro labor
in any capacity.
The aggregate number of persons of both
races employed in the eighty-three estab-
lishments is 3s, ,364 There were 963 ne
groes among these, of whom only 234 were
either skilled or semi-skilled workers. The
remaining 729 were common laborers,
stablemen or teamsters. It was found that
practically without exception, negroes are
paid the same wages as whites for the same
kind Of work, but most employers prefer
white labor, because negroes are less reli-
able, staying away from or neglecting their
work for any trivial reasons. Laziness and
unsteadiness at work are the most serious
shortcomings urged against the race. Cen
trail labor unions, it was found, do not dis
criminate against negroes; only two out of
sixty-four that replied to interrogatories
forbid the admission of negroes as members.
Two-thirds of the number declare unreser-
vedly in favor Of equal rights for negroes
and whites. Inquiries directed to local
trade unions disclosed that in some Of them
the negroes are not admitted to member
ship while in others they are cordially vel
coined. From which it appears that hos
tility of white workmen is not an obstacle
to the negro's industrial progress.
PauisbOro Incorporation Nomination.
The incorporationists met in Laws Hall
last evening and nominated the following
ticket: