New-York tribune., 1905-01-28
NEGROES BUYING LAND.
oaccess of Experiment in Connection
t0ith the Calhoun School.
To the Editor of The rrihune


Sir: The friends of the Calhoun Colored School
which is Neighborhood Centre In Lowndes County
Alaoama, will be glad to know that long step
forward has been taken In the securing of small
farms and homes. Eight years ago the land move
Hent began, in September, 1896 Short crops and
low prices for six years made hard times The
bumper crop OF 1898 brought only four and one-half
and five cents. The people sang. ct never did know
the battle was hard" but they kept at It. BY
January 1, 1901 ten warranty deeds had been given
and $4,000 had been paid In. On january l. 1902,
twenty deeds had been won and S1S,OO0 been paid
H. Last year short crop, but with nine
cents for the cotton twenty more deeds were
cured. making forty deeds in all. and $4,000 paid
In This year eighteen additional deeds have been
wons making ffty-eight in all on January l. 1905.
with S2S.0OO and paid in the land.
Meanwhile Calhouns seventy-ffve families have
paid over $4,000 for advances. So the community
has earned and paid out in eight years $4,000
In all The advancing has been done by L. 3.
Chestnut, Southern white man, who sold us his
own plantation at the beginning OF the movement
and has been in close cooperation with it ever
since.
The average rent in Lowndes County is two bales
for one horse farm of about twenty acres. The
men have bought their land with their rent and
they have something to show for it, namely. war
ranty deeds to farms and homes
Meanwhile better farming has been getting under
way. Several of Calhoun's farmers have recently
reached the point where they know how to carry
themselves. Men who used to- ask for $40 advance
for tho year ask for $50 $40. This means
'living at home" raising corn and meat to do
me-" It means the beginning of diversified farm
ing
House building has had to wait land buying.
but something has been done. Boyd Rhetta,
Calhoun graduate. built three room cottage with
glass windows in it for his mother last year Benja
min wylie put about S2o0 into improvements on his
house last year The cost of building materials Is
almost prohibitive, for S1O0 to the room is too
much for the man who wants a four room cabin
with brick chimney.
Twelve of Calhoun's graduates in the land
buying group. eight of whom have finished their
payments Two of our graduates have built and
paid for good cottages Another graduate is plan
ming to build on his land next year So beginning
has been made and It is not true that find the
farm-owning negro content simply to wear out MS
land" and live on in the old dirty cabin
Best of all and heart of the whole matter. the
standards of family life going up Calhoun
has two contracts-a lease and a bonus enabling
man TO secure his farm by paying rent, pro-
vided he pays for it with his own earnings. and a
Gods help TO live for-the children. This takes In
everything worth living for. .,,,
The fathers and mothers OF q p@r G fcnoD fcn ton
books Again, the people Of our community m ana e OF
bt 5ne larger a atraeVe County church at cost Of
about 81 500 Most of this money has come out OF
sixty men Signing the note. ON October 15. the day
Then the mote tell W Within week or So The
architect who planned this church building was
Charles Edwards, a Calhoun graduate also a
Hampton graduate. who is now teaching carpentry
and manual training at Calhoun. The preacher
settled over this same Ramah church Is another
Calhoun graduate, the Rev. z. E Edwards a lay
man. John W. Lemon, Hampton graduate. the
colored man who has done more than any one else
IN carrying through the land movement from the
beginning has had much to do with building Ranah n
Church and establishing in 1t the largest and best
Sunday school in the county. Now. FOR the nrSt
time these children have comfortable churcn
home In this church the minister preaGheS right
eousness and sets the right example In his own
family life
Calhoun has an overhoVing school this year
more than three hundred boys and girls, most OF
them from the neighborhood 1t also has graduates
and students out teaching some four hundred or
more in the public schools about MS
Alabama is introducing agriculture INTO her
public schools. Calhoun is in line with this. with
its farm Of hundred acres, its field and gar
den work and instruction in farming There ,t +, Is
much unfinished business in Lowndes County, with
its go 900 negroes and only 5000 whites. But these
statements submitted as a small part OF our
story. ~,
Calhoun's neighborhood work should grow with
the wears The school is both community and a
county centre. The negroes OF the black majority
counties in the cotton belt will win the respect
of the white people and their own salvation by
nothing short of good neighborhoods. law-a bid
ing taxpaying nefghborhoods. There must pc
groups of families where the children are properly
brought up neighbOThoods where farm ana nome
and school and church are working together.
- PITT DILLINGHAM;
New-York Jan g. 1905.