The Twin City star., 1912-09-28


Which Have Done Much For the Bet.
ter Development Of the Race.
Harrisburg.-Accordi to the lates,
report Of the bureau of industrial sta
tistics for the state Of Pennsylvania
the number Of Afro-Americans owning
property in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
and 1O5 cities and towns In the state IL
as follows: Philadelphia, 1850. with ar
assessed valuation Of $2,SO1,275 The
market value Of these holdings is put
at $3.735.OOO.
In Pittsburgh the number of Afro
American property owners is 843, with
an assessed and market valuation OF
$1.437. .O6O and $2,153,S $50 respectively
In eighty-seven towns and cities the
number Of property owners Is 1,O7f
and the assessed and market value OF
their property Is $1.351 PIT and $2,316.
S85. In the remaining eighteen towns
the record shows 57S owners Of prop
erty, with total assessed and market
valuation Of $1,214,5OO The grand to
tai is as follows: Number of property
owners. 1878; valuation. $9,420.195.
A great deal Of the property of Ne
groes Is in churches. Among the vari.
Gus influences which the church has
had has been the encouragement of CO
operative buying Of church properties
Many Negroes learned for the first
time what deed meant or builders
contract or mortgage, ETC., from his
participation in church buying and
building. The census department re-.
ported in 1906 that Negroes owned
about $58,OOO,O0O worth of church
property in the United States.
OF this fully $5O.OOO,OOO worth was
unencumbered. As will be seen, Penn.
sylvania Negroes own more than their
share, which is due largely to the fact
that in this state Negro churches took
root very early and have always been
encouraged as one Of the influential
factors for the better development Of
the race.
There are about l5O Baptist churches
in the state Of Pennsylvania, but only
seventy-three Of them reported their
value. which was put at $7s5. .23O. an
average Of about $17,S5O each. These.
Of course. were the best properties.
The balance Of about 100 churches
includes about ffty which are more or
less temporary and own but little
property.
If the average of these 100 Baptist
churches Is $1,000. that would give an
additional 100000 Of church property
and a total of 1886. .23O, the value Of
the property of Negro Baptists. There
are 196 African Methodist churche, In
the state. Of which l38 are of the Az
rican Methodist Episcopal denomlna.
ton and sixty African Methodist
Episcopal Zion denomination.
OF the former 106 reported at the
last conference session property
valuation Of $1,O87.213. Allowing a
valuation Of 500 each for the thirty.
six not reported, we have 1875 proper
ties Of tie African Methodist Episco-
pal church in the state of Pennsyl-
vanla valued at $1.O97,213. OF the
latter. forty-six reported property
valued at $553.S24, an average Of about
$4,000 each. II the average value
Of the remaining fourteen African
Methodist Episcopal Zion churches ID
$1,000. tho total valuation would be
about $567 .S24.
There were fourteen Presbyterian
churches whose value Is estimated at
100000 and eight Episcopal churches
valued at about 100000. There are h
number OF Negro congregations of the
Methodist Episcopal church, the chief
ones being In Philadelphia and Pitts
burgh. They own about $25O0OO
worth Of property. .1.-
Other churches are the A. u. M. F..
the Church of God, Congregational O.
M. e. church. and several independent
churches who own property valued at
about 100000. This would make the
total amount Of church property owned
by Negroes approximately, as follows:
Baptists, 1856 ,230; A. M. g., 1,067 .213;
A. NJ. q. Zion, $567. 1924; Methodist
north. $25O.OO0; Presbyterian, $780,
600; Episcopalian. 100000; other de-
nominations, 100000. Total value Of
church property, $3,16O267.
BY the above 1t Is seen that In the
cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
the assessed value Of property. ex-
elusive Of churches. Is 81, ,23S. 1886; that
in eighty-seven other cities and towns
the assessed value of 1,072 properties
is $1.351,2l7, making a total Of $5,-
bS9,552. having a market value Of $S,-
2O5. 1885.
To this market value must be added
the estimated holdings Of Negroes In
eighteen other cities and towns with a
market value OF $1.214,500 and $3,.
100. .26O the value Of church property,
making a total Of $12.6s0.455 as the
value holdings Of Negroes in this state.
II we consider the difficulty Of OBJ
tanning data, and scan carefully the
list of places reported, we must con-
clude that this estimate Is possible 25
per cent under the real holdings of
Negroes In the state. II Is estimated
that they own property. the most con-
servative eatimate Of whose value ID
!. SIC. 100000 20 s2O0OO,O00.