The Denver star., 1916-01-29


and BuiIdinas Under Control Of the
ceIersd People at $500. 1a2, ,33LTsn-
ant Farmers, However. Are Still In
the Majority.
Dy ". ANTHONY AERY.
There is now a vast number OF COL
ored farmers in the south, working
millions and millions Of acres rich in
possibilities. and yet only a small frac-
ton of this land is rated As improved
land According to the census Of 1910.
there were in the south 800, 141 colored
farmers (2a7 per cent Of the total
number Of farmers) working 42.609.-
III acres az per cent of the total farm
acreage), Of which 27.735.743 acres
Tor 1874 per cent? were reported As i'm
proved land
Colored farmers control nearly 4 bill
lion dollars worth Of land and build
ings in the south, and still they control
only one-eighth of the land and build
ings on all the farms in the south.
The value of the land and buildings
under the control Of all the colored
farmers was given At 5000. 1884
12.2 per cent Of the total value OF
land and buildings for all farms in the
south) as against $3.50. .2sO.263 ole per
cent? for 1900.
That the Negro farmer is going for
ward by leaps and bounds in the pos
session and control of property, how
ever, is clearly shown by the census
figures Of 1900 and 1910. Even where
the Negro has many disadvantages to
face he is making progress.
The 21S.467 colored farm owners in
1910 held land and buildings valued at
&272. .992 23S as per cent? as against
owners were distributed as follows:
South Atlantic states. 1O1, ,961: east
south central. 5s.137: west south CEN
tral. 57.T69.
As long as the colored tenant farm
ers, however. outnumber the colored
farm owners three to one and as long
As the tenant farmers have under their
control a proportional amount OF land
and buildings which they may use
wisely and well or utterly abuse
through sheer ignorance the tenant
problem and. indeed. the whole land
problem for the white south will be .
pressing and serious one.
The 67O.474 colored tenant farmers
in 1910 titled 26.567. 800 acres. of which
2O.O9G375 were reported as improved
land These tenants were using land
and buildings valued at $6l6. 76S.147
GA per cent? as against S26s, 177.33
(S.2 per cent in 1900. These colored
tenants were distributed as follows:
South Atlantic states. 253. 1S1: east
south central. 26G.232: west south CEN
trail. 151 .O6l.
II the Negro tenant Is not taught
how to treat the land properly and in
crease his earning power the whole
south will suffer a tremendous econom-
Ic loss. When more than 70 per cent
Of the Negro farmers arc tenants there
IL important work still to be done
along agricultural lines through the
public schools. the private institutions.
the state departments Of agriculture
and the press to help the tenants raise
themselves into the class OF owners.
oIS lhfuoNeLueul Aot Ahdhys
white farmers has already come about
II the south is to make the progress
1t should there are stll too many
white tenants as compared with white
farm owners.
One Of the most hopeful signs OF
progress. however. is the percentile in
crease In Negro farmers. the amount
Of Improved land held by them and the
value of land and buildings they con-
troll. In the south. according to the
census Of 1910. 24.5 per cent OF the
colored farmers were owners. OIL per
cent managers and 1873 per cent ten
ants. For 1900 the figures were 25.2.
O.2 and TAO respectively. In 1910 the
white farmers of the south were dis
tributed as follows: Owners. COL per
cent: managers. OF: tenants, 39.2. For
1900 the figures were 63 per cent, 90
and 36.1 respectively.
The total number of Negro farm op-
orators In the south in 1910 was $780,
s37. and in 1900 1t was 732.362. From
1900 to 1910 the percentages Of in
crease in the south were: Total white
farmers ia: coiorcd farmers. 2O2:
white farm owners. -: colored, II:
white tenants. go: colored. 2l.4: i'm
proved land in farms. white. 1876: col,
orcd. 1876: improved land In farms
owned by white farmers. 1873: coiored.
Is: improved land In farms OF white
tenants. 346: colored. 17.S.
In Virginia. according to the census
Of 1910. there were 134.155 native
white farmers who had 17.257.416
acres Of land in farms and 4S.114 Ne
Rroes and other nonwhite farmers who
had 2.23S.220 acres Of land in farms.
There were 101 .436 GAG per cent,
farms operated by white owners and
82.228 (87 per cent? farms operated by
col0r,nd nxnnr1 Tho valno nf land and