The bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-03-02
By HORACE ID. SLATER.

Home Owning Discussed.
| By HORACE d. SLATER.
Utica, Miss.-The usual experience
meeting Of former conferences became
! this year, 1917. veritable school,
where men and women We'd with each
other in asking questions that would
make their burdens lighter. that would
make their community better and tina,
would put them all III position to rem
der better service one to another and
to understand their peculiar problems
day by day. This in a nutshell de-
scribes the thirteenth ANNUAL session
| Of the Utica institute farmers confer
ence recently held in this town. The
| conference lasted two days and was
| presided over by William Ii. Holtz,
claw. principal Of the school Tho
meeting was attended by several hun
dred farmers from the surrounding
neighbOrhuods. Many educators. min,
listers and other professional and bust
ness men were also in attendance.
Principal IIoltzclaw in his advice to
the farmers in the south with refer
ence to migration to northern ccnterS
was pointed and vigorous, but he main
! tanned that the south was the better
place for the Negro. However, he rec
oSnized the right OF any individual to
change his residence if lie thinks best
to do SO.
The declarations adopted by the con-
ference were just as frank as the ad-
dress OF Principal uollZclaw They
recounted the progress made by the
Negro. congratulated him thereon, but
! did not fail in the meantime to point
out the need for the development of
the country round about them. the pre-
vention of so much disease. the sup
preston Of crime and the building Of
home life.
Problems of health. community life
and farm improvement were consid-
cred in vigorous manner by the con-
ference. County Superintendent F. NJ.
Coleman laid major stress upon the
importance Of agriculture in the life
Of the people, urged larger co-opera-
ton on the part Of the Negro minis
ters in the large amount Of uplift work
the Negro teachers We're doing in the
county and told just what the county
department Of education was doing to
help the colored people in Kinds
county.
The wonderful fertility of the soil
and the varied nature of the yield that
would be possible under intelligent
farming were demonstrated by Pro
fessor George w. Carver of Tuskegec
institute in a manner that easily made
him the feature of the conference I'm
assuming. quite like farmer in APP
pearancc. he hardly impresses one as
member of learned societies that
have for their object the promotion of
science He was the most pronounced
advocate OF diversitication and incl
dentallv struck the national hegira
hard blow when he showed what the
Negro ia rmer could do with the Mis-
sissippi soil the year round. Reducing
the high cost of living would be an
easy matter il the farmers would raise
goodly amount Of their own stuff.
according to Professor Carver. who
showed how from the velvet bean
bread coffee. candies and foodstufr
could be made. &
Concrete examples Of the influence
the institute had exercised over the
people of the community were afford
ed by a number Of talks from farmers
present. typical among which was that
of Il. D. Morrison. who since the be-EE
ginning Of these conferences had pur.;=
chased a farm Of 100 acres, had taken
the lead in his community near Ed
wards and had succeeded in raising
among the coiored people more than
$1,000 with which they had elected a
modern three room school building.
70 this Julius Kosenwald added $500;
and lately Il blacksmith shop has been
erected. Cooking. carpentry and black
smithinS were taught in addition to
the common school branches.
Henry Kennard stated that he had
always worked as a renter or share
CFOpppI anu NiultU ~ pulSli q
home. He sought light from some one
in the conference who had succeed
ed. John Tyner. who had been buying
a home for ten years. told how it
could be accomplished and made the
point that it was better to be ten years
buying home than to rent twenty.
as many had done. Sam Field re-
counted an incident that illustrates the
value and influence Of the personal re-
lations between some white and color.
ed men in the south when he showed
how by the exercise Of diplomacy he
succeeded in getting the use Of a first
class mule from his white landlord.
United States Demonstration Agent
J. II. Tanner gave some common sense
advice and urged the farmers to stick
TO the pig as a valuable help to get out
Of debt or to accumulate money. He
told the farmers that they were well
come to take advantage Of the cc.>p
erative shipping Of hogs and stated
that in the last shipment Of car and
half from Utica Il number Of Negro
farmers had participated.