The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1942-12-23

ton Of the Negro preesnts dlai-
enlties today. It was almost impos-
sible then. Il was the custom of
plantation owners 70 work their
slaves six days a week and then
give them the seventh day to
grow crops for their own susten-
anee. This left no time for the
missionaries TO instruct the slaves
in reading and religion. Moreover,
many shareholders opposed edu-
cation of the Negroes on the
grounds that education might
spoil the slaves.
In the face of these and other
difficulties. the representative of
the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel accomplished re-
markable results. They gradually
won plantation owners over to
their point of view by telling
them that baptism and education
would not free the slaves but
would make more Trustworthy
servants. In time. the missionaries
took a stronger stand against
slavery and its evils, and it is
likely that their efforts laid the
groundwork for the whole move
ment to humanize the treatment
of slaves and eventually to set
them free. Those interested in
early attempts to educate the Ne
gro will want to read Klingbrg's
book.
DR.. Klingberg says 1t is not
generally realized what a vital
part the Negro played in making
the United States the important
nation 1t is today. Without the
Negro / would have been impos-
sible to develop the great plan
tations of the South. He was vital
to the vast rice and cotton fields
which were so important to early
American economy. That's why
Reginald COPELAND said america
was saved by Africa"
Emancipation did not by any
means solve all the Negroes prob
Ions. Progress made in tie last
70 years has been uneven and
sometimes painful to the Negro.
What is his lot today. and what
are the prospects for the future?
Well, here are a few facts:
There are about 1920, 700
colored people in the United
States today, or close to 1'10th
of the population.
There have been about $1,000
colored college graduates. and
over 200 have been elected to Phi:
Beta Kappa, but one out Of every
six Negroes cannot rea6 or write.
About 25 per cent oe tie Negro
farmers of the South are full or
part owners of their land - all
the rest = rs per cent are
tenants or shaercroppers.
Figures reveal that the lowest
average Negro wages covered by
the Social Security Act were re-
ported from the states of Missis-
sippi and South Carolina = an
average of $500 per year. This
low figure can be partly accounted
for by the shifting of Negro
workers between jobs which are
covered by the act and the jobs
which are not. As a standard of
comparison. the lowest yearly
wage for whites was sS16 in Ar
kansas - nearly three times as
great.
The death rate from tubercu-
losis among Negroes is seven
times higher thar that of whites.
Negro marriages are less stable I
than white unions though Me-
groes marry earlier in life, they
are more likelyto separate. Their
high firth rate is balanced by
high dea h rate. and the net re-
suit is that the average Negro
family is slightly smaller than
the average white family.
A survey made two years ago
indicated that the ID states
which provide separate schools
for Negroes spent an average of
only $12.57 yearsly for each pu-
pill, or about n tn of the amount
spent on southern whites.
In many respects, this overall
picture is a discouraging one. 1t
is not surprising that some Ne
groes are bitter and cynical about