The Twin City star. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1910-19??, 1916-04-01
STEADY ADVANCE
AMONG FARMERS
Millions Of Improved Acres
Are Being Cultivated.
INCREASE IN OWNERSHIP.

INCREASE IN OWNERSHIP.
csnsus Figures Place Amount Of Land
and euildinss Under Control of the
coIorsd People at 5000. ,3s4LTen.
ant Farmers, However, Ars Still In
ths Majority.
J. BY w. ANTHONY AERY.
There Is now a vast number of col
cred farmers in the south, working
millions and millions Of acres rich in
possibilities, and yet only small frac-
don Of this land Is rated as improved
land According to the census of 1910,
there were in the south 800, III colored
farmers (287 per cent Of the total
number Of farmers) working 42,6O9,-
lit acres az per cent Of the total farm
acreage), Of which 27,735.743 acres
(of 1a4 per cent? were reported ~ i'm
proved land.
Coloced farmers control nearly q bill
hon dollars worth Of land and build
hss in the south, and still they control
enly one e-eighth of the land and build
hsS On all the farms in the south.
The value Of the land and buildings
under the control of all the colorej
farmers was given at $500. 1S2,334
Q22 per cent Of the total value Of
hand and buildings for all farms In the
south as against $3.50. .290.963 (11.6 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
svsr, - clearly shown by the census
figures Of 1900 and 1910 Even where
tho Negro has many disadvantages to
face he Is making progress.
The 218,467 colored farm owners in
1910 held land and buildings valued at
&272, ,238 (4.8 per cent? as against
800, 1913 (37 per cent? in 1900. The
owners were distributed as follows:
South Atlantic states, 1881; east
south central. bS.737: west south cen-
taI H,7ee.
A long as the colored tenant farm
81. however, outnumber the col0red
fArm owners three to one and as long
% tho tenant farmers have under their
osuf1ol q 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 win be q
pressing and serious one.
The 670,474 colored tenant farmers
IN 1910 titled 1856. .8O2 acres, Of which
2000d875 were reported as improved
And These tenants were using land
and buildings valued at $616, ,788, lat
az per cent? as against $268, 177.330
N2 per cent? in 1900. These colored
tenants were distributed as follows:
South Atlantic states. 253, ,181; east
south central. 268232; west south cen
tzal 151, ,081.
r the Negro tenant is not taught
how to treat the fand properly and in
crease his earning power the whole
south win suffer tremendous econom-
h loss. When more than 75 per cent
ot ths Negro farmers are tenants there
= 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.
THIS improvement for many. many
white farmers has slready come about
II tho south is to make the progress
4 should there are still too many
white tenants as compared with white
farm owners.
Ono 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
eolored farmers were owners. O.1 per
csat managers and 75.3 per cent ten
ant1L For 1900 the figures were 25.2.
OF and 74.6 respectively. In 1910 the
white farmers of the south were dis
txibuted as follows: Owners. col per
cent; managers. OF; tenants, 89.2 For
1900 the figures were 83 per cent, 0.e
and 88.1 respectively.
Tho total number of Negro farm op-
erators In the south in 1910 was $780,
007, and in 1900 1t was 732.382. From
fe00 10 1910 the percentages of In.
crease in the south were: Total white
farmers. ia; colored farmers. 2O.2;
white farm owners. II: colored, II;
white tenants. 27.6; colored. 21.4; i'm
proved land In farms. white. 1876; col.
ored, 1915; improved land In farms
owned by white farmers, 1873; colored,
-: improved land in farms Of white