The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1904-07-06
NEGROES IN THE UNITED STATES.
The Total in United States, Alas
ka, Hawaii and Porto Rico, Ag-
gregates 9,204, ,53i.
over n Per Gent OF the Negroes live in
the Country.

Washington, d. G., July 1.-The
tcensus breau today issued the final
bulletin on TIE negro population of
f1the United States. The number of
negroes in the Unissd States inclnd-
imp the entire area covered by the
twelfth census, I Continental United
States, Alaska and Havail,) and
Porto Rico, is sos 531, perhaps q
larger number than is found in any
otker country outside of Africa.
The report indicates that between
I'll ands16 per cent OF the negro popu-
EIation hare or are believed by the emu.
merators to- have some degree of
white blood. The centre Of the negro
population is in DeKalf County, Ala
bama, about four miles from the wes-
tern boundary of Georgia. having
moved thence from Dinwiddie County,
Virginia, 476 miles northeast, since
1890 Over n per cent. of the negroes
live in the country, against over 81
per cent. of the whites. Almost 80
per cent. of the negroes in Continen
tai United States are in the Southern
States and three-tenths of them are in
Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama.
Negroes constitute about fifteenth
of the: city population of Continental
United States. There was an Increase
among tthe negroes of 1915, 31S, or 13
per cent. in Continental United States,
but the rate of increase declined stead
ily through the nineteenth century.
The negroes, unlike the Indians and
the native white. have slight excess
OF females. Illiteracy among them is
about seven times greater than the
whites. There are 3,992; 33S negroes
IN the United Sattes engaged ngainful
occupations. Their death rate ap-
proximates 80 per cent, while that Of
the whites under the same calculation
is II per cent. s=s''
The p-ortion Of mulattoess to all me-
:groes is usually higher in cities of the
great cottonlgrowing States than it is
in the districts ont side Of the cities.
The district in which the proportion
of negroes is greatest lies in the Mis-
s::ssippi alluvial, region, along the
banks Of the lower Mississippi, where
-6ge-eigh tbs Of the population is me-.
gro, the maximum being in Issaquena
County, Mississippi. with more than
fifteen negroes to each white person.
Negroes form one third of the popula-
tien in. the South, both in cities and
in country districts, W bile in the
North sbey are about one-fortieth Of
city and one-ninetieth oft he country
diistricts. In the. country districts Of
the South, excluding the population.
of the % cities, which bad at least
2,5O0 inhabitants bothsin 1880 and in
1900. the negroes increased, 1890 to
1900, over 1e per cent. In the %
Seuthern cities as awhois they inereas-
ed 2l.7 per cens.r Their increase In
the country districts was about two.
thirds as rapid as that Of the whites
Ia the same area; their increase In
Southern cities was nearly 6ve-siSths
as fast as that of the whites in the
same. cities. .Ss
! In the Eve Southern, cities, having
as least 10000 inhabitants, in 1900,
the negro opulstion increased 25.8 per
cent, 1890 to 1900; the white populas
ton of the canine cities increased
only 20.S per cent. This is the only
group of Southern cities in which the
rate of increase of negro population
passed that of the whites In the 38
cities of this class in Continental Uni
ted States the per ceat- of increase
was SO for negroes and 32.7 for whites
The largest number Of negroes liv-
ing in compact masses, are found in
certain urban counties, several of
which lie outside the great cotton
growing States. The four each having
over Is. 0Oc negroes are: District Of
COLUMBIA coextensive with Washington
Shelby County, Tennessee, containing
Memphis: Baltimore City, Nd, and
Orleans Parish, Louisiana, coeXtensive
with New Orlea3s.
The general conclusion seems war
ranted that the proportion Of mulat-
toes to total negroes was found by the
enumerators to be high or low, accord
ing as the portion of whites or negroes
is high or low.
The total number of negroes reported
by the twelfth census was s, $40, 7S9.
70 this number may be added the
1853, 743 persons Of pure, or mixed, ne
gro blood, in Porto Rico, making a
total Of 9, 204, 531 negroes under Ameri-
can jurisdiction This includes s, $50, 1894
negroes of continental United States,
which excludes those, of Porto Rice
| and few in Alaska, Hawaii and the
military aud naval service.