The Omaha guide., 1936-01-18
Weaver Tells How
u. S. Faced With
Discrimination
Sees Little Hope For Ssmall
Business Says Races Sal
walton Is Jobs

U0oihhS vii Odh. 10 NNANA >
That the chance for any appre-
ciable development of Negro bus
mess is gone and the economic
problem of the race is almost ex-
clusively a labor problem is the
view taken by DR.. Robert C. Wea-
yer, adviser on Negro affairs in
the u. S. department of the inter
Tor, in an interview with the AS
sociated Negro Press last week.
DR.. Weaver, considered one of
the most brilliant young econom-
mists of the race, also revealed
the difficulties faced by the fed
eral government in counteract-
ing discrimination, especially in
those areas where previously such
was almost the rule.
The government expert gave
data to SUPPORT his contention that
Negro business has lost it's chance
In 1880 there were 126,281 native
white owners in selected manufac-
turing industries as against 862
Negroes. Between 1910 and 1880
the white figure had decreased
from 154,510 while the Negro to-
tai had dropped from LIB.
Small Plants Swallowed Up
"This decrease was, of course,
a natural one in a period typified
by consolidation of plants and in
crease in size of representative
industries" DR.. Weaver said. GAS
we entered an era of large scale
production, smaller and weaker
plants were swallowed up and a
lesser number of separate enter
prises produced a larger output.
"The Negro manufacturer en-
tered the field at a time when the
greatest opportunity had, for the
most part, passed. His period of
growth was in an era which mark
ed the decline of the mailer pro-
Queer. Naturally, penalized by in
experience, lack of credit and UNI
friendly economic environment he
persisted. The movement toward
big business has been most pro-
'nounced in manufacturing and
mining. The decline in owner and
operators among Negroes has
been equally conspicuous in both
of these two fields.
The greatest growth made in
any single class of workers dur
ing the last 20 years has been "a
mong clerks and other kindred
workers, the economist asserted.
Among native born whites 20.2%
of those gainfully employed in
1880 were in this class while only
1869 or 1.5 percent of Negroes
were so classified.
Big Business Grows, Negro
Declines
While large scale business has
grown, this growth has been asso-
ciated with the decline of the Ne
gro as a producer. in the field of
retail trade the picture is practic-
ally the same. In 1929 there were
colored employing 1861 as COM
pared with 3,833,581 employed in
such stores by the nation as a
whole.
at is not reasonable to hope
that education and racial pride
can create a great increase in the
number of Negro business men,"
DR.. Weaver concludes from these
figures. "Fhe day of the small
business man with limited capital
has passed. With his passing goes
the chance for any appreciate de-
velopment of Negro business"
Solution Is Jobs
The one solution then is jobs,
the government official asserted.
Leaders should be most concern
ed with opening and keeping for
Negroes the type of work extend
ing throughout the entire Ameri-
can economic system Failure to
secure them spells failure for the
colored business men and profess
sional workers to find a chance to
apply their training.
at is foolish for us to expect to
work out a racial solution to the
occupational problem" DIR. Weav-
er warned. ''There is no way to
develop security for Negroes un-
less the economic system of which
they are a part offers security.
However, given an economic or
ganization and given a great en-
fact the greatest EN-
ployer of that organization-the
government, it becomes import
ant for us to inuuire what stems