Evening journal., 1913-05-05

shacked in Africa and brought here in the face
Of their vehement protests And after their arrival
they subjected to abuses and hardships that
would have debased and brutalized any race of any
color.
That they are here is admittedly the fault Of the
white man. That they have been what they have
been and that the are what they are is due largely
to the white man. He may regret what he has done,
but he cannot undo IT, What has been done is water
that has passed the dam Il is useless to spend
time in voicng regrets The manly thing to do is to
face the situation It exists today and deal with
II wisely, remembering that the moral material spirit
ual and physical weli-being of 100000 human be-
ings has vital bearing upon the future OF a nation
such as ours in the government OF which large pro-
portion of that negro population has both a voice and
a vote
It must be borne in mind that until fifty years ago
the American negroes slaves The Emancipation
proclamation Of President Lincoln gave to almost
100000 of them their freedom. but made no provi-
sion for money or land to enable them to start life
for themselves under favorable conditions Ignorant
because educational advantages had been denied to
them; dependent because the white man had refused
to permit them to think TO for themselves pow
erty-stricken, because the white man had taken to
himself the fruits OF their labor these millions of
negro men, women and children were cast adrft to
shift for themselves. In too many instances they found
themselves, destitute and penniless, in communities
dice and even death
Although freed they we're exploited by the white
man and denied educational and other advantages
which should have been the accomplishments of that
freedom Years elapsed before they gained semblance
of real freedom and financial independence Slowly
but surely they worked their way upward. increasing
in numbers and wealth until today they are better
on thaIs they have been in the history of the
race in America Reports for 1871 show that the total
value Of property owned by negroes in the United
States in that year S60O00O00O. In Arkansas
they paid taxes property valued at $40 100000; in
Georgia, S32,234437; in North Carolina. s2s,6OOOOO
in Pennsylvania s1SOOOOOO; in Virginia S27OOOOOO
and in Texas S3O0OO000 Statistics show that sixty
two and two-tenths per cent OF all negroes in the
United States 10 years Of age are engaged in
gainfu occupations and that foryeight and sx-tenhs
per cent OF the whites thus engaged That dis
parity is caused largely by the fact that white children
do not have to go to work as early as negro chill
dren and that many whites placed so we'll hnan-
cialy that they do not work at all Statistics also
show that the in each main class of occupa-
tons arc as follows: Agricultural pursuits 214S176;
professional services. 1924 domestic and personal
service, 1S2416O; trade and transportation. 2O9154
and mechanical and manufacturing pursuits, 275149
The figures above cited give only general idea Of
the advancement Of the American negro in the COM
paratively short time that he has enjoyed his free
dom from slavery and exploitation They will grow in
size with the lapse of years. In fact they are grow
Ing daily.
One of our local contemporaries, Of Demo-
cratic leaning gives credit for accuracy the Pha-
phia Public Ledger when that paper says that there
is increasing friction between the white and the col
ored throughout the entire country and that the
negro is being more and excluded from all but
the most menial and common branches of labor.
While IL must be admitted that at various times
and in various places there is trouble between the
whites and the negroes we do not think that anv keen
observer Of current events will deny that such out
breaks in these days less frequent they have
been at any time since the Civil War There are fewer
lynchings than there were years ago For in
stance, in 1891 there 12l ynchings; in 1892
1856; in 1S93 154; in 1894 1874; in 1896 119; in
1897 1922; in 1900, 1O7 and in 1901, 1O7 At no time
since 1901 has the number exceeded 93 and in 1907 it
dropped to so and in 1911 was SO.
The abstract of the United States Census shows
that in the decade from 1900 to 1910 the number of
negro farm operators increased 7467i5 to s933S4
Statistics bearing the economic progress Of the
negroes in the decade from 1890 to 1900 show that
they made a gain of 1872 per cent as miners 40 per
cent as masons, 653 per cent as dressmakers, 1927
per cent iron and steel workers and 624 per cent
as stationary engineers There is doubt that be-
cause OF the introduction Of labor-savng machinery
the negro has lost ground in several occupations but
that also is true TO the whites With respect to the
members of boln races thus affected think that in
vestgaton would show clearly that what they lost in
such occupations they gained in others equally as de-
sirable and lucrative