Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1909-02-27

has 50 caustically spoken.
Instead OF the white people sup
porting the Negroes. the Negroes
have been supporting the white peo-
pie of this section for more than
two hundred years. All OF the fine
plantations. all OF the wealth. all OF
the fine equipages were the direct
result Of the producing power of
these colored people that Mr.. Beck
ham declares that these white people
down here have been supporting. II
was when this labor was made free
to work for itself that the most en-
barrassing part of this southern
problem took place.
Evidently, Mr. Beckbam is thor
oughly unacquainted with southern
customs. He is not aware Of the
fact that the Negroes Of this sunny
cline are the most faithful laborers
In the world About the only Ne
groes that the white people support
down here are those In the jails OF
these commonwealth. They do not
even support the convicts in the pen
Heuuary for they are leased out TO
contractors and in other instances
made 10 30 work in the machine
shops of the states prisons SO true
is this that we had several white
men on the outside looking for con-
victs who had been discharged with
a view to employing them in faoto-
ries on the outside. so skilled had
they become in the work OF making
shoes by machinery
But what does the Census Bulletin
40. say about this industrious class
.of people, On Page 10, it reads as
follows
There are nearly four million
(3.992.33T negroes i'm continental
United States engaged In gainfnl oc
equations.
+ These persons. who may be called
bread-wiuners. constitute 45.2 per
cent OF the total negro population.
while for the total white population
the per cent is 37.3. and for southern
whites SAP.
Negro brcadwinners constitute
62.2 per cent of all negroes at least
20 years of age. For whites the cor
responding per cent is $50. and for
southern whites 500.
The relatively high per cent for
negroes is closely connected with tho
marked prevalence of female labor
in that race. Among females az least
10 years Of age. f0.7 per cent. OF
che negroes and only rs per cent of
the whites and lis per cent of the
southern whites report money get
ting occupations. n difference which
accounts for about three fourths of
the difference in the proportion of
breadwinners In the two races.
That part of the difference between
negroes and whites I'm the proportion
of broadwinners 60 population at
least 10 years OF age. which is not
accounted for by the much greater
prevalence OF gainful OCCUPATIONS
among negro women. finds It's ex-
PLANTATION in tho fact that negro bovs
and young men. and also negro men
over % years of age. are more gen
orally engaged In broadwinning than
white boys and men of correspond
ing ages
This would seem Co dispose of the
intimation that the Negroes of this
section sit around with their hands
extended waiting for the white peo-
pie 60 give them money or with their
mouths open waiting for the white
people TO an them with food. As
la further evidence Of the thrift and
industry OF the Negroes, this same
Bulletin on Page 60 reads:
There were In the United States.
i'm 1900. 746.717 farms operated bv
negroes. OF which 716,b14 were i'm
proved by buildings. These farms
contained 3S.233,933 acres. or SO.
TAI square miles. an area about
equal TO that Of the state OF Georgia
or that of New England: 23.362.79S
acres. or 81 per cent OF the total
area. was improved for farming pur-
poses. The total vaule OF property
80 - & D =
which $324.2f4,397 represented the
value OF land and improvements.
$71,9O3.315 that Of buildings. SIS
S59,757 that of implements and ma
chinery, and SS4.9S6.265 that of live
stock. The gross value of all pro-
ducts on farms of negroes in 1899
was 81 5,T51,145. or this sum how
ever, $25. S43.443 represents pro-
ducts fed to live stock. the value OF
which reappears and is 20 that extent
duplicated I'm the reported value OF
animal products such as meat, milk,
butter. eggs. and poultry; subtract
Ing this amount we have a net value
OF ,9OT.7O2, or Sc per cent of
the total value OF farm property In
farms cultivated by negroes. This
sum represents the gross farm in
come. The total expenditure for la
Dor on farms OF negroes in
1899 was SS.7S9.792, and the ex-
penditure for fertilizers was S5.614.-
S44.