The Washington times., 1904-07-03
Negro Population.


classified statistics available to stu
dents of the negro problem is made
by the Census Bureau in its latest
bulletin, which gives an analysis of
the negro population and negro occu-
pations in the United States, Alaska,
Porto Rico, and Hawaii The compi-
lation was made in response to num-
erous inquiries received by the bu-
reaU, and is the work of Prof. Will
cox, of Cornell. and Prof. Dubois, of
Atlanta University.
The total negro population in the
area above indicated is 9,204 ,531.
About nine-tenths of the negroes in
continental United States live in the
Southern States. and three-tenths in
Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama.
The four urban localities having over
$4,000 negroes are the District of Co
lumbia, Shelby county, Tenn. con-
tanning Memphis; Baltimore city,
Nd. and New Orleans parish, La.
The center of negro population is
Dekalb county. Ala. near the western
boundary of Georgia, and thirty-three
miles south of the southern boundary
OF Tennessee A suggestive tendency
10 local separation of the races in the
South is shown by the fact that while
in 1890 the distance between the cen
ter of the Southern white population
and negro population was seventy
nine miles, in 1900 1t was ninety-four
miles.
In the South the negroes are about
one-third of the population, both in
the cities and in the country, though
IN the area of the densest negro pop
ulation, in the Mississippi alluvial re-
gion, five-eighths of the people are
negro, while in Issaquena county,
Miss, there are more than fifteen ne
groes TO each white person.
There was an increase of IS per
cent in the negro population during
the decade between 1890 and 1900,
though the rate of increase steadily
declined during the nineteenth CEN
fury While the negro birth rate is
high, the death rate is also high-3O
per cent to about II per cent for the
whites. Half the negroes are under
nineteen years of age, the meSii-.s.,
age of the whites being twenty-three
years. Illiteracy among the negroes
is seven times as common as among
the whites; in the South four times as
common.
Industrial statistics show that 62.3
OF all negroes over ten years of age
are bread winners. For whites the
corresponding percentage is 1863. This
is due to the prevalence of female
labor among the negroes. Twenty
seven occupations gave employment
to about IS per cent of the bread
winning negroes. The leading en-
pigments were servants and walters,
draymen, hackmen, and teamsters,
saw and planning mill employees, por-
tiers and helpers, teachers. nurses,
and midwiyes, clergymen, bostIers,
masons, dressmakers, iron and steel
makers, stationary engineers, and
hremen. In these thirteen occupa-
lions, the proportion of negroes in
/ creased in the decade.
The chief worth of these figures
/ lies in clarifying the exact situation
for investigators and founding a basis
/ for their work. Many wise conclu-
( sions will doubtless be drawn from
them by earnest men and women
with a particular AK 10 grind, but it
is safe 10 prophesy that every one of
those conclusions win be tinged by
! private experience and coIored by pri-
Yate prejudice Interesting as the
! figures are, it cannot be said that a
careful perusal Of them throws much
light either on the solution OF the
negro problem or on the established
lines Of negro development or retro
/ gression. They do. however, empha-
T size the magnitude Of the problem
and the vital need of careful, sane
and wise action in dealing with IT,