The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-12-20
Whites Losing Ground in Africa
TIE CAJS:

In the midst Of the North African
turmoil all England is discussing fig
ares "f tn" last South African c"nsus
which seem /" he prophetic Of Il
"lilack South Africa. Following is "a
frank discussion nf the problem iy the
Johannesburg correspondent Of the
london Mail:
Some Of the statistics revealed by
the census arc onainuus. t"ntras'ed
with the figures uf tn. 1870. census
they reveal ,.nien"Ins which must
riils" Tho Gravcst anxiety.
In the Cape Pr"vinrc-whi"h is an
area more than FIX" times the Siz. If
England + white male population
has decreased by lG.S25 in thes- Sev-
IN years. y percentage decre.s" of
is. Eur til" natiN" and r"i"r"d
males jnrreas,'! by 1886 in III" sam.
period. in 1904 the whitc population
Of III" cap" formed 24.oi Of tn. total
population. To-day it is only 22.75 per
cent Of tn" total population. And this
after NOR" thai two centuries of
white settlement.
Taking the whole union Of South
Afric". tho whit" population increased
by only l6l.2l3 in the last seven
NcarS But In" native and colored
population increased iy 6.1.213 In
1904 tho black and brown races
WI ill., - pei 'fItL III INC lbItI
population Of the union. To-day they
constitute" 7s.l' per cent. In the UNI
ion of South Africa today there are
only 5l.33f male whites more than
'h"r" were seven years ago. l!u;
iilcr" are 236,o33 moro naics in tho
native and colnr"d population.
Thes" census returns. rcInnmhnr. do
not include Hasutnlund, HechuanalHnd
or kh"dcsia. in which the black poo-
l. F-, -
must ii lac forgotten thu III" death
and that in years to como their per-
rnniase Increase will still grow more
rapids. The whites in Suuth Africa
are not holding their own today. They
are falling back. IT is n tendency
which usually becomes more rapid
the longer it lasts.
Thc whites are losing ground be-
cause the whole history OF white col
onization in South Africa has beer
a record Of a atuou attempt to build
up - white. nation upon Il basis of col
ornd labor.
For generations q black labor pol
icy has ruled. Today We are begin
ming to see the effects OF that policv
Back in the lifiics of the seventeenth
century, Van Ricbce!i. the first Dutch
governor Of the Cape of Good Hope,
advocated the importation of Chi
ncSe labor for tho garden established
Inder the shadow Of Table mountain
In all the records Of Dutch admins.
%tration one find. only one high Off
cial who pleaded for the importation
of white settlers instead Of coIorcf
settlers. The Dutch introduced tn.
slaves. The English in Natal brough,
in Asiatic coolies-.o that today Their.
are more British Indians than white.
in the garden colony Of South Africa
Chinese for the Rand mines -anf
when they were sen away large,
numbers of natives imported from
Mozalnhi1ue.
The agents IF South African ON
plnyers still scour half 81 continent foI
black hbor. Whenever ~ shortng.
occurs the cry goes up for more col
ored workers. one wonders VIVA
would happen in Lancashire il tn,
mill"wners brought in "a few hundred
thousand Chinese or Indians TO- wnrl
the looms. But this has been Soutl
Africans policy for years. Color Il
the most desirable qualification for
tho" worker. And the irony Of it nj
Is hat the very men who are bolster
ing up tn" system are always talkin,
largely about the great white uatio,
which is being built up in South Afri
90. Great black nation. If you like
Hut not White while present mcthod
last. Not white when tho census re
turns read as they do today.
one of the most curious things /,
This land Of curious arguments is tina
with All its Cheap black labor |
lives largely mon the foodslufrs pro
uuced hv EXPENSIVE" white lnbn
thousands Of miles o|er SEQ. soutl