The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-11
PREACHING SOUND DOCTRINE.

PREACHING SOUND DOCTRINE.
 The Chicago Tribune. discussing the statistics relating to colored land owners. has some views which we can heartily endorse. and from which we make the following rather lengthy quotation:
 considersbiy developed in men before any substantial progress can reason- ably be expected of them Exertions pacity for susta1ned eRort: and these habits and this capacity are at the acter. Once a man has learned to w0rk dpa tnnk Mank so sa .s he % asSns sn:a e' Ss S. : s:si luxuries. Especially may he be ex- aren aI a Start in the world, not only by leaving them his little fortune but by educating them. The desire to own ef0PsIiK of PsspiKrasions but probabiy sas human progress than any other human
 This desire has become widely diff It is said negroes in other parts or as.S sns sou's ats have .aSs @ h their t waX The S,. nss5o propsrsy other things being equal. makes the best citizen. He has . stake in or- derliness and welfare of the com munity. Anxious that others shall let him and his property alone. he aeo is dis, Is especially desirable that negro ownership of farm lands shall in- crease. In the rural districts the blacks prosper most. materially, men tally. and morally. The more South ern negroes there are cultivating their own little farms the better for the South and the entire country.
 It is useless to deny that colored farm labor in the South is uncertain. and that 1t is becoming more so as time passes. Whether as tenants or employees they cannot be depended on as they could a few years ago. and this uncertainty Is continually giving the white land owners more and more trouble and worry. Che of the chief causes is the tendency among the ne- groes to flock to the towns and cities. To a majority of the negroes. especial- fy of the later generation. country life is drudgery and city life ease and pleasure. They know little of the ac- tual conditions existing in the cities. but when they visit the town and see crowds of their race loafing about and doing nothing. or see them em- ployed about the offices. shops and stores, they think that nothing Is needed to place them on flowery beds of ease but to get to the city or town.
 Following this desire, each year sees the colored population of the cities becoming more congested and trouble some, while the farmers are finding it more difficult to secure reliable help. Thus we have a two-fold and con- stantly increasing evil. The cities are becoming gorged with a population that is neither welcome nor desirable As their numbers increase the difficult ty of obtaining honest employment. work. increases the percentage of the idle, the vicious and the criminal, and the problem of successfully dealing with this over-crop of undesirable cit- zens is continually becoming more per picking to the city authorities.
 And while these undesirable condi- tions are existing and growing in the cities the land owners are finding themselves face to face with the op- posite phase of the situation. If the farmer secures labor enough to pre- pare his land and plant a crop he can feel no assurance that he wNl be able to keep 1t long enough to Scultivate and gather 1t. If he rents his land to negroes he cannot be sure that the tenants will cultivate 1t properly. or that ne will get his rents when due This makes farming an uneer- tain business, and the uncertainty is all the time growing.
 Under such admitted conditions what is to be done? The negro Is part of our population and he is here to stay. As we see 1t the only and proper thing to be done is not only to encourage them to own their homes but to assist them. As The Tribune says, the col ored home owner is almost sure to be better, more contented and more desir- able citizen than Is the tenant or the employe. Owning his own home and farm he feels that he has an interest in the common welfare. and that it is his duty to work in harmony with other citizens for the common good. The man, white or colored, who owns land and stock. who cultivates and gathers his own crops. and who pays taxes on his own property feels de- gree of independence and responsibili- ty which cannot be felt by the land less and homeless citizen of any class or color To assist the negroes to own their homes will make them bet ter citizens and will help to relieve the congestion in our cities. Both are good objects. =
 A PROFITABLE TREE.