Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-30
Not Leaving the Country.

II Is the almost universal belief through
put the south that the negroes are deserving
the plantations and focking to the cities,
where they i've lives of idleness and vice
and many of them drift into crime. This
may be so in spots but taking the entire
southern states together the returns Of
the census enumerators do not justify such
staten ent. 1t is true that the negro pop
ulation is increasing most rapidly in the
larger cities, both north and south, and
that the most rapid Increase is found in
the north. But there has been no falling
off in the population of the country dis
tricts. on the contrary, there was an in
crease of 1871 per cent in the negro popula-
ton in the rural districts from 1890 to 1900,
while that Of the white rural population
was only 1874 per cent. The increase of the
rolored population in the cities during the
same time was 1872 per cent and that of
the whites 35.T per cent; so that it may be
said that the white people are drifting from
the country 10 the cities more rapidly than
the negroes In 1900, 10 per cent of the
colored population. or 1886, 796. lived in
cities, and 6,55S,1T3. or $50 per cent, lived
In the country. During the ten years from
1880 TO 1900 the negro population of cities
Increased 329.3o2 and the country popula-
ton increased v33, go.
Nor is IL true. taking the south all to-
Eether, that the negroes are leaving the
plantations, although you hear that COM
plant everywhere. have mentioned 1t
repeatedly in this series of letters, and 1t
must be true in certain localities Other
wise the planters would not be sending to
Mexico, to the Italian colonies of the cities
ana TO the white mountain settlements for
labor. But, at the same time, the census
returns show that while the increase of the
cClored population was only 17.2 per cent,
including men, women and infants, % per
cent more cclored men were employed upon
plantations in the southern states in 1900
than in 1890. and that the number OF ne
glCeS cultiVating farms on their own ac-
count increased 3l.1 per cent. 1t should be
considered that. while the increase in ag-
riculural laborers and farmers refers to
adult men only, all ages and sexes are in
cluded IN the increase of population.
Negroes in the City.
The census returns also contradict the
general impression that the city population
are lazy and waste their time in idleness.
have heard the best friends of the race
lament this fact and have seen evidences
or II in various cities-almost everywhere
and doubtless IL is true to a large extent.
But the census reports show that the
ground for such complaint Is more appar-
ent than actual You see crowds of negro
ioafers on the streets everywhere in the
south; they are always hanging about the
railway stations; but perhaps we might re-
member that we have little opportunity of
seeing the industrious portion of the pOpu-
Iatlon, while the idle ones are always in
evidence.
Tha census returns show a slight gain in
the percentage of negroes in the south en-
gagged IN Eainful occupations, and IL is sig
hihcint that the increase is much more
RAPID than among the whites of that sec
ton The number of white breadwinners
per 1000 of population in the south increas-
ed but 70 In ten years while the number OF
negroes increased ~. Twenty-SeVen occu-
p2tions are given. There was a falling OF
only N the number of negro carpenters.