The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-11-03
WHAT OF NEGRO?
QUESTION ASKED
The Southern Darky as Farm
Hand and as an Ameri-
can Citizen.
QUERIES PUT TO LAND AGENTS
Good and Bad Qualities of the
Afro-American Down in
Rural Dixie.

Nine out of ten Northern and West
ern people who turn their longing eyes
to the cheap. but prolific. farming
lands of the South invariably ask the
land agents or others questions ike
! tnese: What of the negro? Can l
get him to work for me! Is he good
| hand? Is he a desirable neighbor?
VIII he be menace to my property
| and my family?'
The Progressive Farmer has deemed
! IL wise to make general answer 10
these questions. and it Is the correct
| answer Land agents and land own
| ers who ale seeking to sell farms 10
| people ' no We're not reared In the
south will do well to clip this article
| and keep il in their notebooks for
| ready reference because II is certain
| that the questions will be asked them.
/ 1t were better that they be answered
| promptly and correctly.
| Good Worker When You Get Him.
| The Progressive Farmer says:
| These are questions which ADMIT OF
| no definite answer. simply because all
! negroes are not alike any more than
! all white men are alike. We will try.
! however, to answer them the best We
| can.
ITO the first, you can get the negro
to work for You. II you are willing to
pay him fair wages and treat him
squarely, .he will work. and work hard.
This is not saying that YOU can
get him whenever you want him. how
j ever. The two great faults of the re
gro as a iaboIer are, his tendency 20
| do slovenly work when not watched
| and his liability TO consult his own
! pleasure rather than his employers
! about taking a vacation. The average
negro Will go to the 'baptiZln or the
! big meetin,' even if he loses his job
Of fSov, hak az
dissemination to work when they get
a little ahead. Yet there are many
darkies who are good steauy hands.
who will do good work and prove
! trustworthy. The devotion of the ne
gro to the white man he likes is pro-
verbal The man who knows how TO
| do things himself, who Is firm and just
and kind. will find tine negro fairly
! good hand. Whether the negro
| is good help depends a great deal on
! the man who hires him.
Not q Real Menace.
lis he a desirable neighbor" No.
especially if he is too numerous. Don Z
come South and settle in section
where the negroes outnumber the
whites, unless YOU can settle near
group of good white neighbors. or
| bring your neishbors with YOU You
! will not like too many black neigh
lsbors: but. to tell the truth, if you are
nike most of our Southern white peo-
pie you won't mind bit having some
TWO or three colored families within !
! easy reach when You want some odd
jobs done. This is especially true II
these families are of the thrifty. aspir-
ing. law-abiding class. and there are
lots of negroes of this kind.
The negro is not menace save
when he is in the majority, or when
ne is subjected to the depraving lnfiu- |
ences of bad whiskey and 6isreputable
resorts. In most parts of the South
the people are not afraid of the ne
gro. 1t is true that the criminal ne
gro must be guarded against. just as
the criminal white man must and one
should not reckleSsly expose his fam
lily; but if proper precautions are TAX
en- there need be no fear The aver
age negro is a peaceab!e, shiftless crea-
ture who would rather do you a ia
vOr than an injury.
Some Plain Statements. :
Frankly. on great reason why we
want settlers from other sections is
to increase the preponderance of
whites over the blacks. The comnu-
nifty with large negro population is
handicapped in that the negroes, as a
! class. lack the energy. prudence fore .
sight and mental ability nece ssary to
make =. country thrifty and progress :
siVc. They are aliens in our civiiiZa- :
ton, and such progress they make
is due to the example set and the in I
; centive given them by their white
nei-hbo.s. They are making progress. [,
however, and as their relative num- :
bers decrease and they become better .
trained. and more imbued with a sense |
of personal responsibility and a desire :
for the respect and confidence Of their .
white neighbOrs. they are going to
make still greater progress !.
In short. the negro is not a white }
mar. and you will make a mistake to
treat him as a white man, or to ex-
pect of him white mans ability or
ideals. He has good qualities. how
ever and is capable Of developing those
he lacks He is not the best laborer
IN the world. but he Is by no means
the worst. and given a square deal
and kept in his place will do you no :.
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