The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1910-04-29

ing our city as tidy and clean as
some OF the cities of the North, and
that we did not have the means or ac-
cumu'ated wealth that wou d enable
us to duplicate some of the civic inn
provements in the larger Northern
cities; that we had some forty thou
sand colored people in Nashville
over third of our population-who
needed education, sanitation and con-
troll, and were a great expense to the
city, yet contributed less than 2 per
cent of the municipal property taxes
necessary to the support of the city
government, thus placing serious
financial burden upon the white tax
payers of the city, and limiting our
ability to make expensive municipal
Improvements.
Now this statement is not unjust or
untrue 1t is no reflection upon the
worthy citizens who criticized it, or
upon the colored race. / have the pro-
foundest respect for the Intelligent
ministers and leaders OF the colored
element in Nashville Many of them
are my friends. There are thousands
Of this class who are making a heroic
struggle to elevate and educate the
humber and illiterate men and women
of their race. | have always sought
their good opinion and friendship.
I fee sure Mr.. Napier, DR.. Boyd, DR..
Noel, DR.. Kinney, DR.. Clark, Mr..
Richard Hin and others | have known
would not accuse me of prejudice
against their race. | fully agree with
Mr. Johnson and Mr. Crosthwait and
their friends that there are several
thousand of clean, educated, prosper
Gus, law-abiding, moral, taxpaying,
helpful and patriotic Negroes in this
city who are deserving, self-support-
ing, and are an integral part of the
body polite of the city" A | honor
to them. Their numbers are constant
ly increasing
My critics also insisted that | was
RECKLESS" in my statement, and that
there are not forty thousand Negroes
in Nashville, and this is known by the
least observant,' they say.
Now let us see. By the last cen
sus (of 1900) the population of Nash
vile was S0,S65, including 30,044 col
ored people, or about three-eights of
our population. For many years this
has been about the proportion of white
and co ored. The experts now place
our population at 10000. Three
eights of this number is 45,000-the
closest approximate estimate that can
be made. think too well of my crit
les to charge them with a reckless"
statement. They are doubtless sin
sere in their belief that I was mis-
| taken as to the numbers.
Some years ago in studying the
financial status of Nashville, | en-
deavored to find the percentage of
taxes paid by the colored people of the
city, and applied to the intelligent Tax
Assessor, Mr.. Roger Eastman, for in
formation. After considering the sub.
iect for a time, he said he could not
give me exact information, but that he
was certain it was not over one and a
half or two per cent. of the whole
property tax. | also endeavored to
ascertain the number or property pay
ers in Nashville for comparison with
the cities of the North, and | learned
from the Assessor that there were
about ten thousand. I selected Dayton,
my native city in Southern Ohio as an
example. Its population in 1900 was
1888. Some 4,468 more than the pop
ulation of Nashville. Upon inquiry as
to the number of property taxpayers
in Dayton, the municipal authorities
informed me that the pay rolls includ-
ed the names of approximate 10000
taxpayers. The difference in numbers
of property owners is probably due to
the thrift and economy of the white
mechanics and laborers of Dayton,
who own their own homes, while most
of the 'aborers and lower classes of
our colored people here have not yet
learned the lessons of saving and ac-
emulation.
There is also in Nashville a large
element of whites, who are as thrift
'ess and improvident as the lower
classes of Negroes, and don't seem
able to own property.
Our colored friends must remember
also that notwithstanding their com
parative'y small contribution in taxes,
the city is educating more than 300
colored pupils in our excellent colored
schools, and that at least one-half of
the expenses of our health and police
departments has to be incurred for the
benefit of their race. Some years ago
in examining the police records of the
city found that although the colored
element constituted about one-third of
our population, it was charged on the
record with two-thirds of the annual
arrests, and that during the year, 1904,
one white man in fifteen of our white
population had been placed under ar
rest. while the promotion Of NEGROES