Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-02-10
THE. COUNTRY HOME
What Sort of Labor Does the South
Desire or Need?
BY MRS. w. H. FELTON,

What Sort of Labor Does the South
Desire or Need?
A late publication gave the in
| formation of a movement now con-
templated to introduce, Japanese Ia
morers into the southern states to
take the place of the colored negro
laborer, which is moving out much
faster than we can realize without
being made aware of both move
ments, here mentioned.
| That we must have more labor
| in Georgia than is now aVallable
is plainly evident. 1t is also evil
dent that colored people are going
to other sections because race an
1tipathy has been growing stronger
and stronger as the years roll on.
| Our political promoters are con-
tinually saying the colored race mas
all the rights the law allows them
| in the south. Is that true!
The question is answered as soon
as brought forward for honest dls-
cussion. 1t is unnecessary Tor me
either to elaborate or to crltlclse
such statements One thing is GER
tain, there is obliged to be change,
and that right early. We must have
| some labor supply that will never pc
furnished by the native white men
and women of the south, as Whlte
men and women serve in the nortn'
especially in domestic service. !.
In the year 1912 was IN Phlla'
delphia few days, and the census
reports gathered in 1910 were pelns
published for the information OF the
country. 1 read something ike the
following in a Philadelphia paper OF
large circulation: "There is a RAPID
increase in the population OF TINS
citv coming from the southern
states. Philadelphia has SO,O0O COT
ored people and Pennsylvania mas
more than 100000. They are largely
engaged in domestic service, taxing
the place of ignorant foreigners VINO
have been coming into this country
in wears gone by" That was eleven
years ego.
made some inquiries and founo
an intelligent colored woman IN the
family where I boarded, with
southern lady delegate ito DIG
suffrage -convention) and this maid
| said there were a very large NUM-
her of colored men and women, tnat
she knew all about, who were serV-
| ing as cooks and maids and as put-
I1ers and drivers in Philadelphia. She
said. 1--WE have good regular wages
regular hours off and we are at ho-
erty to go to many places ana re-
main undisturbed, without being
made to move or get out, because
our race is tabooed."
left the boarding house quite
early one morning to get to tram
and the fine house steps were DelnS
| swept and carpets busted, in long
| strips, and they were all swept and
busted by scores of colored people.
| In the town [ lived [ knew of a col
ored woman who was also washer
woman. She had said to me; Il
works hard; my boy is in big school
in Philadelphia. He is learnin fast.
T sends him money cherry mont and
he waits in restaurant after school
hours-to feed hisself, brakfus and
supper" 1 put the two statements
| together and 1 could understand
why the colored population was in
creasing over there and how south
ern labor was being shifted north.
| The following statement | clipped
from a paper, less than two days old,
and it tells where $1,000 colored
Georgia Baptists have gone north
during the year 1922:
Losses in membership Of negro
Baptist churches in Georgia, par
ticularly country churches, in 1922
| indicate a startling emigration of
negroes from the state, according to
ID. D. Crawford, corresponding Sec
| retary of the General Missionary
Baptist Conference of negro
churches.
Negro Baptists in Georgia lost 61,-
500 members in 1922. due to the re-
moval of negroes north, Crawford
said.
1--WE love our homes, our farms,