The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1914-05-22
Nepro Farmers Prosperous

a.
souri, negroes unsurpassed by any
other calling and solves the problem
Of their future by giving them oppor-
tunities and advantages which no
other vocation holds out, declares
Commissioner John 7. Fitzpatrick, in
a Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletin
given publicity to-day. Statisti g..
facts which are given indicate that the
negroes who are farming in Missouri
are making high success Of it, ave
prosperous, contented and entirely
satisfied with the life.
The negro population of Missouri
is l57,452 men, women and children,
with 1880 living in St, Louis; 49,
566 in Kansas City; 4.2i3 IN ST. Jo-
seph; 1895 in Springfield; sol in Jop-
lin; 1871 IN Sedalia; l,SI6 in llanni-
bal, and the other scattered over the
state, including the few that now own
farms and others engaged in hus-
bandry.
Out of the $4,000 famrs in Missou-
ri little less than 1853 are owned by
negroes. They rar,:c in size from .
to 260 acres and are worth, land,
buildings, livestock and everything
else on them, 1927 ,76s,750, using the av-
erage value of Missouri farm, 81
4O5, as n basis for computation.
The farm of the average Missouri
negro farmer, just like that OF his
white brother, the Bureau Of Labor
Statistics bulletin says, is well kept
and well stocked and is very produc-
tive, growing wheat, corn, oats, grass
cs, watermellons. Strawberries, peach
cs, apples and all other food necessi-
ties. Negroes raise poultry for the
market, sell eggs, milk and butter,
have bee hives and plenty Of honey
produce sugar cane which, in fall, they
boil out for sorghum molasscs. Their
daily menu is made of the best things
they produce, being far superior to
that OF the average city negro, who,
half the time, is ont of work and has
no money to buy food.
The life Of the negro farmer is full
of comforts ard joys. In winter most
Of them are we'll housed, warm, snug
and well fed Free fuel, wood, furn-
ished by the rendered lands in and
around their farms, do away with Goa!
bills. Every Sunday there is chick
en-, sweet potatoes, honey, dumplngs,
apples, nuts and other daintics, with
strawberries or watermelons in sum-
mer, and turkey or duck and mince or
pumpkin pie in winter. Fresh eggs
and hickory smoked sugar cured ham
is an ordinary breakfast.
Nearly every negro farmer Of Mis-
souri, has a bank account and his pro-
fits allow him to take vacation in
st. Louis, Kansas City or some other
large metropolis once or twice year.
He owns three or four suits of clothes
with shoes and hats to match.
Supervisor of Statistics A. T. Ed
monston of the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics, states in the bulletin that any
Missouri city or town negro with ST.
900 in cash and little knowledge Of
farming can become farmer in four
or five years, have his farm paid for
and be Independent and well off finan-
cinlly. A first payment of $500 would
be the opening wedge toward getting
the farm, leaving $500 for purchasing
farming implements or other articles
which may be needed. The balance
due on the farm can be paid off small
weekly installments from the money
derived from the sale of crops and
poultry, butter, eggs and milk. Many
farms have wooded areas full of oak
and other timber highly suitable for
lumber and tics. In winter time could
be given to cutting and marketing
such timber and enough earned that
way to pay the yearly irstallpents,
This is the picture painted in the
Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletin Of
the life of the average Missouri negro
farmer. At jefferson City, in Lin
coin Institute, maintained by the"state
to educate negroes, the curriculum in
cludes a course in agriculture but the
present class is not as large as it
ought to be. Prof. b. F. Allen, the
Superintendent, in his last report to
State Superintendent of Public
Schools, Evans, gave the following
facts pertaining to the negro state
farm and its future:
"The farm consists of sixty acres,
with u good brick cottage, barn. pig
gerry, fruit orchard, ETC., just purchas-