The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1924-11-15

Negro tells the South that he i on
to the steal the white man i pulling
enough best people will be found
to destroy the evil.
One influential man who has given
considerable study to the situation has
suggested that an effort can be made
to interest some philanthropist in Ne
gro agriculture just as Mr.. Rosenwald
interested himself in Negro Education.
He believes that if Hampton Of Tuske-
gee were to establish fund, plan
could Be worked out on the dollar
for dollar" plan from counties, states
and the federal government whereby
the Negro farmer might come into his
own.
In letter TO one of the leading Ne
groes of the South this observer
writes;
Il think the time is quite ripe for
such move, for if, after eighteen
years Of conscientious effort on the
part Of thh Federal and State Gov
ernments, through its Negro agents,
sufficient sentiment has not been Gre
ated to warrant direct appeal for
this kind or rural education among
Negroes, then it would appear that we
are on the wrong track" There are
at present about 800 Negro men and
women agents employed in the Exten-
sion work in the IS Southern States,
at approximately total expenditure
Of $408,0OO per annum. According to
law this amount should be $4,000.
The Negro exodus is still going
on, and many substantial Negro farm
ers are leaving in such manner as
to, for the time being, terribly de-
moralize agriculture Needless to
say, a remedy for this condition is
being sought The Negro farm and
home demonstration agents, by rea-
son of the nature of their work, get
very close to the rural problem, and
therefore are important factors in the
composition Of any program that may
be adopted. The effect which the
agents now at work have had in
stabilizing the Negro farmers among
whom they serve, i self-evident
"A glance at the attached United
States map will show, however, that
the number Of agents employed to do
this Kind OF work is too small to
reach and influence the masses of
Negroes of these States. Now that
the Federal Government has been ap-
pealed to by the South and the cotton
interests in the North. to help work
out plan to check, in some way,
this wholesale movement Of southern
labor, the time seems very opportune
to call on the Federal and State Gov
ernments for a substantial increase ID
the number Of Negro workers for
the next fiscal year. For Alabama
! beg TO suggest that an additional
appropriation of $1,000 per annum be
requested for the next FIVE years.
Such an increase would enable the
promotion Of few meritorious agents
now employed, and increase the force
of Negro workers from ~ to III, plac-
ing home demonstration agents in all
Of the counties now occupied BY men
agents which now have no women
agents. as follows: Lee. Macon. Bull
lock, Tallapoosa, Elmore, Lowndes,
Dallas. Marengo, Greene, Sumter,
Conecuh, Limestone, Colbert and
Randolph, randolph might be omit
ted because of scant Negro popula-
toms add man and woman agent
in the following counties: Russell,
Wilcox, Perry. Hale, Choctaw, Mon
roe, Mobile. Washington, Butler. Pike,
Henry, Chamber. Coosa, Talladega,
and Pickens. This would stimulate
agriculture among Negroes in Ala
bama, setting precedent for the
whole South as nothing else could
possibly do at this time. and would
serve as a counter-balance TO many
existing conditions. the cause OF
wholesale unrest and migration.
From their very beginning. Tuske-
gee and Hampton Institute, have ocs
cupied exceedingly strategic positions
in the educational development Of the
South; their methods being copied
quite As much. If not more, BY the
whites than by the colored schools.
] am not sure that your attention
has been called to the rapid strides
being made, and systematic effort put
forth by the southern white A. & M.
Colleges in utilizing the Extension
Service System in getting a frmer