Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-04-29
COLONY OF COLORED PEOPLE
Settlement Being Established in Cherry
County on Public Land
DOZEN FAMILIES FORM NUCLEUS
Success of the Enterprise ia Predicted
by ID. Glen Deaver, who Has
Conferred with the
Leader.

Booker Washington may have his splen-
did Tuskegee institute down in Georgia
where he trains the mind and hand Of
the colored man in that most useful and
practical OF all pursuits-tilling OF the
soil; the Salvation Army may have its
agricultural colony along the placid wa
ters Of the Pacific in California for the
poor white man unable longer 20 combat
tho oppression of the squalid cities of
the east; st. Louis philanthropist-manu-
facturers may have their little family
municipalities where their employees hap
PLY and thriftily live on the cooperative
plan-all these institutions are thriving
and are commended, but now comes Ne
braska into this movement II social
amelioratiOn and plants what yet no
other state has ever attempted, colony
for colored people.
The Nebraska colony is designed not by
the state or national government, nor
along lines specially of public benefac-
tion, but 1t is nevertheless to be a colony
of colored people--if the colored people
take hold as they now promise to do.
Located in Cherry County.
Up in the south central part of Cherry
county--that county which exceeds in do
main several New England statss-vast
tracts of public land are available to col
ored people; every negro who wants to
become a farmer can obtain $40 acres Of
this land, and by thrift and industry es-
tablish a valuable home for himself and
family.
The nucleus for this colored colony has
been formed with about dozen families,
numbering more than thirty persons. This
settlement is about ten miles west Of
/ I ydNy
land a large part Of which was thrown
open to settlement as a result of the
recent prosecutions Of land grabbers by
the United States government. These
dozen families are taking on themselves
the task of bringing other thrifty col
ored persons into that territory and es-
tablishing a wide and we'll populated
area of their own race.
d. Glenn Deaver, general land agent for
/ the Burlington route, went up into that
/ country last week at the request OF these
/ colored persons for a conference with
| them for the purpose of devising ways
and means of promoting this enterprise.
He returned yesterday and is enthusias-
tic over the outlook.
Clean Set of People.
Those people have struck on a fine
plan. II seems to me-" said Mr. Deaver,
"and they are going about their scheme
In business-like way. 1 met them all,
and was most favorably impressed with
their intelligence, moral character and
ambition. They wanted me to help them
locate the cancelled Sections IN the i'm
mediate vicinity Of their colony aad to
get other good colored persons to Join
them. We had our conference ct Hal
sey.
Three carloads of goods for this set
tlement were shipped to Thedford, last
week. The shipment consisted OF house
hold goods, farm implements, horses
cows, hogs, chickens; one family having
three crates OF chickens. One most ex-
oellent feature Of this colony is that sew
eral Of the pioneers are practical farm
ers. They have been renting land fur
ther east and have learned the lessons OF
frugality and industry, we'll as the
methods Of successful farming.
Room for Hundred Families.
81 think there Is enough vacant land IN
that locality for 100 families l have nc
doubt other families will soon embark
for that new country We have in Ne
braska several settlements of white peo-
pie of different nationalIties and every.
one OF them is prosperous. My judgment
| Is this colony or colored people In Ne
braska is the pioneer step of a movement
which win work a tremendous trans
formation in the social status OF the col
ored race 1t Will be watched believe
with more than ordinary interest all ovel
the country.
"The leaders of this are determined
to have colony of men and womeT
who are honest, thrifty and ambitious
It will be no place for the sluggard, th'
parasite or the immoral man. The pro
cession will move too fast for him ant
the atmosphere will be too uncomfortable
for his happiness"