The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-07-03
NEW YORK HAVING
A NEGRO PROBLEM
MANY BLACKS FROM SOUTH
ARRIVE IN CITY PENNILESS.
SOME INCIDENTS.

The New York Times reports that
the influx of negroes from the south
is proving to be big problem in that
city. That paper says:
among the first people in New
York to discover that there was MI
grafton of negro workers from the
south was the Travellers Aid Society
For the last six months its aids have
been kept busy, notably at the Penn
sylvania station, trying to ind homes
and friends for these negroes, many
of whom can neither read nor write,
and have used up what money they
had. They Invariably have the ad-
dress to which they wish to go IN
their baggage The negroes include
girls who frequently arrive without
FIVE cents to telephone or pay their
There is an influx of negroes the
last of each week. They get here on
Saturday, or start Saturday and reach
here Sunday, when, all day long, the
lower level at the Pennsylvania sta
ton is crowded with them. Many
come from small farms and they are
utterly helpless. Some OF them have
made strange preparations tor city
life.
"One woman from a farm came TO
ioin her husband in Buffalo. He had
come on six weeks before and sent
for her. When she reached here she
had no money and the Travellers Aid
Society took care Of her while it tele-
praphed to the husband, who made
arrangements Immediately for her to
ioin him. The woman had with her
several chickens off the farm, but IN
her prolonged journey they had lost
their freshness and their odor was
ANYTHING but enticing.
"A man who came to make his
home in the city brought his wife
and four children with him and in
the baggage car all his provisions for
city life-four pigs, no furniture and
no trunks. -.
"A negro, so years old, had been
sent for by his daughters living on
Long Island. He passed through the
society's hands and duly reached
them. But Long Island did not please
him and the society received an ur-
gent message soon after to try to-
head him off as the daughters thought
he had escaped and started back
home. But they were Just too late;
he had taken the train. Ten days later
a. message came from the police ask
ing if they knew an old man who said
he didn't know who he was or where
he was going. He only knew that his
money had been stolen 1t was the
aged father and again he was sent to
his daughters.
John Grifin's brother Moses, who,
escorting a young woman, had come
on to see his brother, was another OF
the strays He thought he should have
gone to Newark, but he had come to
New York and he didn't know where
his brother lived The society took
care of the two while kilograms were
sent to different places in the south
to learn Johns address. By coinci-
dence Moses learned the address him
self. On the street one day, while
waiting for an answer he saw a group
OF negro men and asked if they hap
pened to know John Griffin, who was
a deacon in the Baptist church. Some
one among them did.
THE negroes are OF all ages-men,
women and children. Some of them
have come north TO work in factories
and some of the girls are going into
domestic service. Sometimes they
have definite places in view, and when
they need aid in such cases it is be-
cause of a mislaid address"