The northwestern bulletin., 1923-07-07
HELD
IMPEDIMENT TO
SOUTH INDUSTRY
Loss of Labor Causes Both Races
to Confer on Situations
Respects Condition.
tBy the Associated Negro Press)

10y bHS aoooIldICu &NCoio
Durham, N. c., June 29.-What
the colored men of big business in
the South are thinking of migration
and its effect on the section upon
whose prosperity their efforts depend
is well shown by the following ex-
tracts from an article by President
C. c. Spaulding of the North Caro-
lima Mutual, which appeared in the
morning Herald of this city.
The migration of thousands Of Ne
groes from the southern states dur
ing the spring months of 1928 has
caused grave economic problems in
certain sections of the country.
Strawberry crops worth millions of
dollars have laid on the ground un-
plucked; cotton is fast ripening with
out sufficient hands to pick 1t, and the
approaching fall harvests bid fair to
meet the same doom. Serious mind
ed southern white men have repeat
edly called conferences and tried to
reach the underlying cause of such
widespread migration. A negative
reply, however, is as helpful, If not
more so, than positive answer. So
that we have made careful study of
opportunities and conditions under
which Negro labor is carried on in a
city from which migration has been
practically negligible. We believe
that an exposition of these facts will
present an answer to the conditions
which do not foster migration as well
as forceful reply to those who un-
modifyingly accuse the South of not
presenting fair economic opportuni-
ties to its Negro population.
Durham, Our Model.
The city which we have chosen Is
Durham, N. C. Here nearly 5000
Negroes live in peaceful. friendly
relationship with their white neigh
bors, enjoying splendid economic op-
|portunities.
The tobacco factories, hosiery
mills, building trades, as well as the
farm Industries employ Negro labor
in important positions. More than
one thousand colored men and wom-
en- are employed by the tobacco fac
tories in Durham. They occupy vari-
Gus positions from stemmers of to-
bacco to operators of machines,
which perform some of the technical
processes of the business.
While few hundred Negroes have
left Durham, the number is relative
ly small when compared with the
exodus from other cities of North
Carolina and especially when COM
pared with the migration from cities
in other southern states. Moreover,
the city has not lost its steady Negro
working hands. Most of those who
have gone constitute the floating pop
u1ation that usually changes locations
in the spring of each year and upon
whom industry cannot depend for
regular hours of labor in any season.
Hosiery Mills Offer Unique
Opportunities.
The tobacco factories do not offer
a more striking economic opportunity
than the hosiery mills of Durham.
owned and managed by the well
known Carr family Of Durham. Cen
eral Carr, confederate veteran, who
owned slaves. has never. lost his in
terest in colored people. He shows
it in more words in a larger way than
granting occasional gifts to the chill.
dren of his former slaves. He has
built hosiery mills in which seven
hundred colored hands are employed
in Durham.
One OF these mills is named for a
colored man, John o'Daniel. who
served General Carr for over forty
years. It was in appreciation Of his
services which had enlarged General
Carr's faith in the Negro that the
first colored hosiery mills in the
United States to be operated by Me-
groes were erected by the Carrs.
The Negro hands perform every
process in the knitting Of certain
grades OF stocking from the topping
to the final Inspection. They operate
all the machines in the mill in which
they work and turn out the finished
product, packed for shipment. This
Is an opening seldom granted colored
people In the North or the South.
Such opportunities for work are the
foremost reasons for Negroes not mi-
grating from Durham.
Building Trades Employ Many.
In addition to these well establish
ed industries which offer steady work
under pleasant. healthful conditions
to two thousand citizens of Durham,
we have the building trades that en-
ploy Negroes as bricklayers, plaster