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mite mWB jOTD OBSEUVjEB. SUNDAT,BniXABT 23. iJEGnO'S STRUGGLE FdR ' SURVIVAL By RAY i STANDARD BAKER, in Mzrch American One, of the ' questions I asked of Negroes whom I met both North acid South was this: "What Is your chief cause of com plaint?" -In the South the first answer nearly always referred to the Jim Crow cars or the Jim Crow railroad stations; af ter that, the complaint-was of poli tical disfranchisement, the difficulty of retting justice In the courts, the lack of good school facilities, and in some localities, of the danger of actual phys ical violence. ' But in the North the first answer In variably referred to working condi tions. : J "The Negro Isn't given a fair oppor tunity to get employment 'He is dis criminated against because he Is col ored." ' I--; ;; . . ' i Professor Kelly Miller, one of the acutest of Negro writers, has said: j "The Negro (in the North X is com pelled to loiter around the . edges of Industry. 1 Southern white men are fond of meeting Northern criticism of South ern treatment of the Negro with the I "But the North doses the doors of industrial opportunity to the Negro." I And yet in spite of this complaint of conditions In the North, one who looks Southward can almost see the army of JNegroes gathering from out of the cities, villages and farms, bring ing -nothing with them but a buoyant hope in a distant freedom, but tramp ing always Northward. "And they come not alone ( from the old South but rom the West Indies, where the col ored population . looks wistfully to- . -ward the heralded ' opportunities of America. A few are even . coming Jrom South Africa and South America. In New, York, Boston and Phlladel- . jihla, thousands of such foreign Ne groes know nothing of American tra ditions; some of them do not j even ppeak the English language. And why do they come if their dif ficulties are so great? Is it true that there is no chance for , them in In dustry? Are they better or worse off in the North than in the South? In the first place, as I showed last month. In the most of the smaller Northern cities where the Negro popu lation Is not increasing rapidly, dis crimination is hardly' noticeable. Ne groes enter the trades, find places in the shops, or even fellow, competitive business callings and t still maintain friendly relationships with the " white people. "V ' v But the small tbwns are not typical of - the new raca conditions in the . North; the situation In the greater centers of population where Negro immigration Is Increasing ' largely, is decidedly different. As I traveled In the North. I heard many stories of the difficulties which the colored man had to meet in get : ting employment. Of course, as a Ne- J rrn aM n "triri ' arm ; alvnvi i gro said to me, "there are .alwayi places tor the colored man at the bot tom" He can always get work at unV:!lld manual labor, or personal or domestic service In other' words, at menial employment, lie. has had that ih plenty in the South. But what he frteks as he becomes educated is an ; opportunity for better grades of em- ployment. He wants to rise. 1 It Is not, then, his complaint that he cannot get work in the North, but that he is limited In his opportunities to ' rise, to ; get - positions which his ca ?nblllties (if it were not for his color) ould entitle him to. He is looking :7or a" place where he will be Judged at hla worth a3 a man, not as a Ne gro: this he came to the North to find, and be meets difficulties of which h3 had not dreamed m the South. V rVt Indianapolis I found a great dis- i i'uaiioii going on over what to do with t h largo n umber of idle young col t rj people, some of whom had been thrusK the public schools, but who t :suld not, apparemtly. find any ' work to do. As an able colored man said i nr: r.ai snau we aoi Here are our young people educated n the the skilled trades are hostile to I Ne-jK-hooi.. capable of doing good work groe, even though they may have no r, many occupaUons where skill and . rules againsl their admission.' I heard inirwijriii'3 .SUB rctjuirea ana ? yei with fev opportunities ODenins: for Ihtm; They don't want to Air dltrhoa or become porters or valets any more ;i;in intelligent white, -boys: they are human. The result is that some of .them drop 'back into idle discourage- 'rotnt or worse." 'i " 'a.:;v ., -T Jn, New York I had a talk with Wil liam I Bulkley, the colored principal of public School No. 80, attended chiefly by colored children,; who" told me of the great difficulties and dis couragements which confronted the OCegro boy w ho wanted to earn his liv ing. He relates this story: . . "t ' received a communication the other day- from 'an electric - company stating that they could use . some bright, clean, indutrious boys In their business.: starting them at so mucha week anil aiJing them to learn .th business. 1 suspected that they did not comprehend colored boys un 3 ?r the generic term . 'boys,, but thought to tr J "So I 'wrote asking if they would give employment to a col ored boy who. could .answer to the qualifications stated. The. next mall "brought the expected reply that no colored boy, however promising, was wanted. I heaved a sigh and went on. "Tlie saddest thing that faces me in mf work is the small opportunity for t colared boy or girl to find proper employment A boy-comes to my of- ' See and asks for his working' papers. He may be well up in the school, pos rt My with -; grad nation V only a few months off. I question him. somewhat as follows: 'WelL nr bov. von want to BTO tO WOTkL Ho vou'?' Whnt arm What are you rolng to do? oor-boy, sirl I am going to be a wen you wxu gt .3.50 or '3 per week, bat alter awhE ARE YOU A TJACISTRATE? CAN YOU r.lARRY A COUPLE? ' ' Send at ones to the. publishers.' Edwards A Broughton . Print ing; Co, Dept-.N., Raleigh, N. C. and jret the latest. edition of their great. Handbook for Magistrates, THE NORTH CAROLINA MANUAL OP LAW AND 'FORMS. Contains $90 pages, packed full of the very things a Magistrate needs to know. - a complete Legal library for him has all the law,- the forms, .the fee bill, the marriage ceremony, and evei ythlng else. Tells you Just how and what to do, and what to charge for your work.' - Cheap for you at any price, but you an get this great book - by sending $3.00 at once to the publishers ; . ? edvahds d cnbuciiTon pninTinc co. IN THE NORTH that will not be enough f whit .then? After a moment's pause he will reply: I should like to be an office boy. Well, what next? A moment's sil ence, and. I .should try to get a po sition as bell-boy. "Well, 'then, what next? r A rather contemplative mood, and then. 'I should like to Climb to the I position of head bell-by. 'He has now arrived at the top;! farther than this he sees bo hope. He must face the bald fact that he must enter business as a boy and wind up as a boy.-.;- .. --:' .-. j ' - 1! And yet in spite of these difficulties, Negroes come North every year In in creasing numbers, they find living ex pensive; they suffer sickness and death, they meet more prejudice. a I showed in my last article, than they expected to meet, and yet they, keep coming.1, Much as Negroes complain of the hardship of Northern conditions, and r thojugh they are sometimes piti fully homesick for the old life in the South, '$ have yet to find : one who wanted to go back unless he had ac cumulated enough money to buy land. "Why do they; come?" I asked "j a Negro minister In Philadelphia. j "Wel4 they're treated mor like men up here in the North," he said, "that's the secret of It There's pre judice here, too, . but the color line isn't drawn In their faces at every; turn as it is in the South. It all gets back to a. question of manhood." j , - In the North prejudice ) is . more purely economic than it is In th South an incident of industrial . competi tion. ----- j -. ' ! --f :--: -V.r "h In the South the Negro still has the field of manual labor largely to himself, he Is unsharpened by compe tition;' but when he reaches the North ern city, j he not only finds th work -different j and more highly organized and specialized,, but he finds that he must meet the fierce competition of half a dozen eager, struggling, ambi tious groups of foreigners, who ' are willing a.hd able to work long hours at low pay in order to get a foothold. He has to meet often for the first 'time the Italian, the Russian Jew, the Slav, to say nothing of the white American laborer. He finds the pace set by competitive industry lmmenselyihard? er than 'in most parts -of the South! No life in the world, perhaps, requires as much In brain and ' muscle j of all classes ot men as . that of the vast Northern! cities in the United States!, I hare talked with many colored workmen and I am convinced that not a few off them fail, not because of their color, nor because they are lazy (Negroes Jin the North : are for the most part hard workers they j must be, else they starve or freeze), but for simple lack of speed and skill; they haven't learned to keep the pace set! by the white man. A contractor In New York who em- ploys large numbers of men, said to me: ' ::,' ' 'S' v--V" j "It isn't color so much as plain ef- flclency..) ,1 haven't any sentiment In the matter at alL It's business. As a general rule the ordinary colored man can't do as much work I nor do it as ; well asJ the ordinary , white man. The result Is. J don't take i colored men when I can get white men. Yet I have .everai riArii mn vhA ha v KAn wJth me for years, and I wouldn't part with them for any white man I know. Tn the name wav T wnulrt Tnihor m. ploy Italians than Russian Jews; they4 are stronger workers."; ' ' j Not unnaturally; the Negro charges these competitive difficulties which he has -to meet in the North (as he has been accustomed to, do in the South) to the white man;lhe calls it color prejudice, w hen as a , matter of j fact, it is often of the cold business-like re quirement of an industrial life which demands tremendous efficiency, which In many lines of activity has., jllttle more feelihg than a machine, that is willing to use, Italians, or Japanese, or Chinese, or Negroes, or Hindus, or any other peome pn( the face. of the earth. on the; other :hand, no doubt exists iv- ! -,!.. the exDerienceS of an exnert NVern lo comotive engineer named Burns i -who hr.1 a run-out of Indianapolis to SCuth. Though he was much In the fa- vor with the 1 company, . and indeed with many- trainmen who knew Ihlm personally, the general feeling was so strong mai ny soaping the tracks In juring his engine, and in 'other ways making his work difficult and danger ous, he wasflnally forced to abandon his run. If there were space I could give many accounts of strikes against the 'employment of Negroes. , The feel ing among union labor, men has un doubtedly . been .growing more intense tn the' last tew years owing ; to (the common use of Negroes as strike breakers. With a few. thousand Ne groes, the employers, broke the great Stockyards strike in Chicago in 1904, and the teamsters' strike'! In the fol lowlng year Color prejudice is used like any other weapon for strengthen ing the monopoly of the labor union. I know several uniens which are prac tically monopolistic corporations into which any Outsider, white, yellow! or black, penetrates with the greatest dif ficulty. Such closely organized unions keep the Negroes out in the South (ex actly as they, do in the North. A Ne gro tile-settler. steam-fitter 1 or plumber can mo more get ipto a union ... . .1 - kl . ... . A - I uu Auarn wmn in iew jcork. or course these Unions, like any otier closely organized group of men, Em ploy every weapon to further their cause. They use prejudice as a com petitive fighting weapoir, they seize unon th rnlnr n' tha W.vta .a. .v.. pig-tail and curious habits i of th Chinaman, or the, low-living standard ; or the Hindu, to flsrht comnAtitlon nlnrt j protect themn their labor monopoly. - rr, And yet, although I expected to find the Negro wholly ostracized by union labor ,1 "discovered that where the Ne gro became numerous ; of skilled enough, he. like the Italian or the R'ussian Jew, began to force his way into the unions. The very first Ne gro carpenter I chanced to meet in the North (from whom I had expected a complaint of ; discrimination), said to me: : v ' ;H ."..' "I'm all right. I'm a member of the union and get. union wages." z: -. And I found'after inquiry that there are a few Negroes In most of the unions of skilled workers, carpenters, masons. Iron-workers,- even .in . the ex clusive typographical, union and In the railroad organizations a fow here and there, mostly , mulattoesv They have got n Just vas , the. Italians get in, not because they are wanted, or because they are liked, but because by being prepared; 1 skilled and energetic, the unions have had to take them in as a matter of self-protection. In the South the Negro is more readily accepted as a carpenter, blacksmith or brick-layer than in the North not because he Is more highly regarded but because (un like the North) the South has almost no other labor supply. ! In several great Industries North and South, Indeed, the Ngra is as much a part of labor unionism as the white man. Thousands ofj j Negroes are members of the United Mine Workers, John Mitchell's (great or ganization, and they stand on an exact industrial equality with the i whites. Other .thousands are in the cigar makers union r where, by j virtue of economic pressure, they have forced recognition. ; ; x j , Indeed. In the North, in spite of the complaint of discrimination. I found Negroes working and making; a rood living, in all sorts of industries union or, no 'union. A considerable j nun. her of Negro firemen have good positions In New .York, a' contracting Negro plumber in. Indianapolis who uses col ored help has. been able to maintain himself not only against white , com petition, but against the opposition of organized white labor. I know of Ne gro , paper-hangers" and painters, not union men, - but making a living " at .their. trade and gradually getting hold. A good many Negro . printers, . press men, and the like are now found in Negro, offices, (over 2d0 newspapers and magazines are .published by Ne groes In this country), who are get ting their training. I know of1 several girls (all Mulattoes) who occUpy re sponsible positions in offices in New York and Chicago. Not a few colored nurses, seamstresses and milliners have found places in the life' of th North which Jthey seem capable vt holding. It is, not easy for them to malice pro gress: each colored man who Itakcs a step ahead must ; prove,,, for his race, that a colored man can. after all., do his t special . work : as well as 4. .vhite man. The presumption is j always, against-him. Here is a little newspaper Account of . a successful skilled pattern maker In Chicago: !-' :..f...y. "A few days ago a large bax con taining twenty-one large and j small patterns . was shipped to . the James town Exposition by the McOulre Car Company of. Paris, Illinois, pne o' tlie largest car companies In the West Be fore the box was shipped scores of newspaper men, engineers anrt busi ness men were r permitted ' to Inspect yhat is eald to be the, most complete and most valuable exhibit of th'J kind ever sent to an exhibition In thlscmn-try- The contents of this precious box Is entirely the work of a colored man named George A. Harrison. MrT IJar rison te one ,of ' the hlghcst-wtlarled men on the pay-roll of -the coninany. He makes all the patterns for all of ! ,Biwi, uion ana iron casungs ior every kind of car made by this com pany.; He 'graduated at the had of nis ciass oi sixty. members in s cat- ternmakiner ieKtaKiiaVimonf i I - 0 . "if Chi- Cases of this sort are excepional among the vast masses of . untrained Negro population in the cities, ah yet 1t shows what can be done and the very possibility of "such advancement encourages - Negroes to come North. ; Trades Which Negroes Dominate. So much for the higher branches, of industry, in some of the Jess skilied occupations, on the other, handj i the Negro- is not only getting hold, but actually, becoming dominant The; asphalt - workers are nearly all colored. , In New York t they have . sv uuuu ua aimougn pare or tne membership Is white (chieny Italian), the chosen representative who I sits with the Central Federated Union of : the city Is ; James II. Wallace, a ored man. In Indianapolis I found that col- the hod-carriers - industry was . almost wholly In the hands of Negroes (who nave a strong union with a- large Strike jfund-,put aside. So successful have they been . that . they now propose erecting a building of their own as a jclub house. Although there are white men . in the . union the officers are all colored. Not long ago some, of I the colored members began to "rush" a white man at his work. It was re ported to the union and hotly discussed- The colored members finally (de cided that there should be no ( (dis crimination . against white men. and nnear one of the : Negro offenders his conduct He couldn't pay and to leave town. Y ; f for had ! Where the Negro workman gets a noouioia in tne North, he often des very well Indeed. R. R. Wright calls attention to conditions in j Mldvale Steel Company, which is' Jr., the pne of the lareest. if not th ..t ployer of Negro labor in Philadelphia unariea j. Harrah. the president of mis company, said before the Un ted States Industrial Commission In I fro 0: I "We have fully 800 or l.'OOO colored ron. . The balance are Americans, Irish and Germans. The colored la bor we have is excellent . . They are lusty fellows; we hav shoulders twice as deep as mine. The men come up here igtioiai u tutored. We teach them the benefit of "discipline. We teach the colored man the benefit . of thrift and coax him to open a bank account; and he generally, does it. and irt a short time has homo In, It and nothing can stop him fmnt adding monoy to that bank account! We have no colored men who drinlc" , . ,.i Asked as to the' frictioh between the whiK and black workmen, near. Harrah replied: ? i jl "Not a bit of it They work cheek by Jowl with Irish, and when' the Irishman has a festivity at home he has colored, men invited. We 'did fit with? trepidation. We introduced one man at fii-st to sweep up the yard, ad noticed the Irish and Germans looked at him askance. .Then we put another. Then we ; put. them In . the boiler rpom, and then we got themln the open hearth and in the forge, and gradually! we ' got them everywhere. They are intelligent and docile, an'6 when they come in as laborers, : uhk ... . . i ' EVERY EXPRESS BRINGS US SOr.IETIICVG OF-i SPRINGS NEW STETSON IIATS CRAWFORD SHOES Latest Fads In CRAVATS. Tailor-made SUITS, Etc. ' i -.! See our complete spring; line of tailoring samples. skilled, they gradually become skilled, and in the course of time we will make excellent foremen but of them. Mr. Harrah added that there was ab solutely nOjj difference In iwages of ne groes and whites in the same grade of work.- " ' " i ' ' ' . T i . I have . pointed out especially in ;my last. article, how and -where prejudice was growing, in Northern cities, as it certainly, is. f On the 3 (other .hand, where- one gets down under the sur face, there are to be found many counteracting- Influences hose quiet con structive forces, which,, not. being sen sational or threatening, attract too lit tle attention; Northern people : are able to. help Negroes where , Southern people are , deterred by the intensity of social prejudice:, for in most places in the South the teaching of Negroes still means social ostracism. Help For Negroes in the North, i Settlement -work. In one; form or an other, has been instituted! in most Northern cities, centers ypf enlighten ment and hope. I ' have visited ; a number of .these settlements, and ' have seen their work. They are doing much, especially In -giving a moral tone to a slum commuiiity: "they help to keep ' the children off the streets by means of clubs and classes; they open the avenues 'of sympathy between, the busy, upper world and the struggling lower world. ' Such is the work .of Miss Bartholc new, Miss , Hartcock, Miss Wharton In Philadelphia, j Miss Eaton In Boston, Mrs. Cella Parjcer Woollev In Chicago. Miss Ovington in New York. Miss Hancock.' a busy, hope ful Quaker woman, has a "broom squad" of Negro boys which makes a regular business of sweeping - several of the, streets in the, very worst slum district in Philadelphia; ltj gives , them employment and it teaches them civic responsibility and pride , . ; But perhaps I can give tbe best idea of these. movements by telling of the different forms of "work n a singlA city Indianapolis. In the first place, the Flanner Guild projecied by Mr. Flanner, a white man. Is !maintalnid largely by white contributions, but it Is controlled wholly by colored peo ple. Millinery classes were opened for girls (of -which there are Snow many practicing graduates, eight of whom are giving, lessens in Indianapolis and In other cities), and .there; are clubs and social gatherings of ail sorts: it has been, indeed, ahelpful social cen ter of influence. 1 In the South, as I have sihown, Ne groes receive much off-hand; individual charity food from the. kitchen, gifts of old clothes and money j ' but : it Is largely personal and unorganized. In the North there is comparatively little indiscriminate giving, but ah effort to reach and help Negro families by making them help themselves. On0 of the difficulties of, the Negro is im. providence; but once given a start on the road to money saving, it is often astonishing to see him try to live up to cash in the bank. The Charity Or ganization Society of Indianapolis has long maintained a dime sayings and loan association which eniploys six women collectors, one colored, . who visit hundreds of homes every week These form indeed a corps jof friend ly visitors, the work of collecting the! savings f urnfShing them an! opportu-i nityof getting into, the homes and sol winning, the ' confidence. of the people that they can . help them in many ways.: Last, year over : 6,000 deposi tors were registered in the Association, two-thirds of whom were Negroes, and; over $25,600 was on deposit Not less than twenty-five cents a week Is ac cepted, but many Negroes save ; much ; more. As soon ' as they get! into the habit of saving they, usually transfer their accounts to the savings banks It not pay better to buy - a piano which has prov en itself to be an ln,tru i..cnt of extreme merit THAN j t to buy. an instrument that Is largely an experiment? NINETY-SIX THOUSANDS OR - i have been made and sold and have made as many satisfied custom e rs. Neither money : irtpr brains are spared to pro duce the best piano that can possibly be. built , is made under 'the supef--vision of the greatest' piano experts in thjln country . and is backfjd up by one of - the richest houses and largest mad u factors. ' " w : ,' ' For catalogue and full information, address, t ell fiUioroas STYLES ' r " EMERSON PIANOS Darn XIALEXGU. N. C and once with a bank book, they are on the -road to genuine improvement ? Night schools are also held in the public school buildings from Novem ber to April two schools for ' Negroes especially, where colored people of all ages are at liberty to attend. It ? is a remarkable sight; Negroes fifty and sixty years old mingle there with mere children. The girls are taught sewing and cooking, the men carpentry be sides the ordinary branches. One old man from the South was found crying with joy over . his ability to write (his name. . :For the very young children, Negro equally with white, there is Mrs. Eliza B take's Kindergarten. For the aged colored women a . home is now supported principally by the colored people themselves. - - . : The; Morals of Negro Women. I saw a good deal of these various lines' of . activity and talked with the people who come close In touch with the struggling masses of the Negro poor. I i wish I had room to tell some ot the stories I heard: the black mass es of poverty, disease, , hopeless ignor ance .and yet everywhere shot through with hopeful tendencies andVndivldual uplift and success. In Indianapolis, as In other Northern' cities, I heard mt i to the credit of the Negro women. "If the Nesro is saved here In the North," Miss Smith told me. "it will be due to the women. ' They gave i me many illustrations showing how hard the Negro women worked taking in washing' or going out every day to work. j raising ; their families, .keeping the home, sometimes supporting j worthless husbands. "A Negrp woman of - the" lower class,; ode; visitor said to me, ."rarely expects her husband to support her. She takes! the .whole 'burden herself. ! And the iwomen. so the Loan Asso ciation visitors told me, are . the chief savers: they 1 are the ones who get and keep the bank accounts. I have heard a great deal' South and North about the immorality of Negro women Much immorality no doubt exists, but no honest ' Observer can go Into ' any, of the crowded colored communities of Northern cities and study the life without coming away with a new re spect for the fNegro woman. : 1 Another hopeful work in 'Indianapo lis Is the Juvenile Court A boy who commits a" j crime is not Immediately Cast off to .become a more desperate crimtnal and Ultimately to take his re venge upon the society which neglect ed him. He comes" into . a .specially Organized! court ! where he meets not violence, but friendliness! and encour agement Mrsl Helen W.. Rogers Is at the head of the probation work In In dianapolis, and she has under her su pervision a- large corps of voluntary probation officers thirty of whom are colored men and; women the best in town. These colored probation of ficers haveian organization of which George WY jCable, who Is the foreman of the distributing department of the Indianapolis p!st-offlce. is the chair man. A Negro boy charged with an offense is turned over to one of these leading Negro men or women, required t report regularly, , and helped until he gets on; his feet again. Thus far the system has worked with great suc cess. Boyswhose offenses are too se rious for probation are sent not to a jail or chain-gang, where they become habitual criminals, but to a reform school, where -they are taught regular habits, of work , r -. 1 i tVhy tiio Nesro Often Fails. . If As I - continued myb inquiries I found that the leading colored men In most cities, though they might be ever so discouraged j over th condition of the Ignorant reckless masses of their people,, were awakening to the fact that the Negro's difficulty in the North was not all: racial, not all due to mere color prejudice.' but also. In large measure to lack of training, lack of aggressiveness and efficiency, lack of organization. In 'New York a "Com mittee for Improving Industrial' Con dition of Negroes') has been formed. It is composed of both white and colored men, and the Secretary Is 8. R. Scot tron, an able colored man. The object of the committee is to study the con dition . of the Negroes in New York city, find out the cases of idleness, and try to help; the Negro to better em ployment ' (.- '-; " .'"vi iThis committee has experienced dif ficulty not so much In finding open ings for Negroes, as in getting relia ble Negroes to fill them. Boys and girls, though -educated in the public schools, ; come out without knowing how , to do i anything that will earn them a living Although the -advantages of Cooper Institute and other in dustrial training, schools, are open to Negroes, they shave been little used, either from lack of knowledge of the opportunity, or: because the Negroes preferred the regular' literary courses of the schools, i So many unskilled and untrained Negroes, both old and young,' have ! discouraged many ' em ployers from tryinjr any sort of No gro! help, r shall hot forget the sig nificant remark of a white employer I met tn Indianapolis: a broad-gauge man, known ?f or his .philanthropies. 'I've tried 'Negro help over and over again, hoping to help out the condition of Negro idleness we have here. I have had two! orj three good " Negro workers, but so many of 'them 'have been wholly undisciplined, irresponsi ble, and sometimes actually, dishonest that I've given up trying. I doa't em- ploy him." ;- i; Upon this very j point Professor BuIHley said to me: The great need of the young col ored people Is practical training In In dustry.' A Negro', boy can't expect to get hold in a trade unless he has had training. :i : . - ; R. R. Wright Jr., who has made a study of conditions i in Philadelphia, "It Is in the skilled trades that the Negroes are at the greatest disadvant age. Negroes have been largely shut out pl mechanical trades partly be cause of indifference and occasional active hostility of labor unions, partly because it has. been : difficult to over come the traditional notion that ' a "negro's place'- is in domestic, service, but' chiefly ' because there have been practically no opportunities for ne groes to learn i trades. These negroes who know ' skilled trades and follow, them I are principally, men from the South, who learned their trades there. The poorest ot them fall Into domestic service; the best have found places at their trades. - For the negro boy who is born in this city it is difficult to ac quire a trade, and here, I say, the system has been weakest" j '; v With the idea of giving more prac tical training School No. 80 in New York.l of which Professor Bulkley is principal, Is how opened in the even ings for industrial instruction. 'Last year 1,300 colored people, young and old, I were registered. 4 In short there is a recognition In the North, as in the South , of the need of training the Ne gro to work. And not only the Negro, but the white boy and girl as well , as Germany and other European countries have learned . - -v. - . i I1NE STOCK ALL SIZES ALL PRICES BUT - ONLY GOOD MULES JUST: ARRIVED 1 SEE THEM ' v ' AT - . . OUR STABLES. ' THE J.TJ. PACE MULE CO. The Road from Slavery to Freedom. At Indianapolis I found an organiza tion of Negro women, called the Wo man's Improvement Clubt. The presi dent , Mrs., Lillian ,T. Fox, told ; me what the club was doing to solve the problem of ' the colored "girl and boy who, couldnot . get work.; She found that, after all. whlte prejudice, was not so much a bugaboo as she had imagin ed. The newspapers gave publicity to the -work;-the Commercial Club, .'the foremost business 'men's organization of the city, offered to lend its assist ance; several white employers agreed to try colored help,' and one, the Van Camp Packing. Company, one of the great concerns of ' its kind In 'the country, even" fitted . up a new plant to be operated wholly by colored people. Last fall, after the season's work was over .one pf the officers' of the compa ny told me that the Negro plant had been a great -success, that the -girl had . done- their work faithfully - and with great Intelligence, y. r; Just recently . a meeting - of colored carpenters 'was held In' Newt York to organize for self-help, and they found that by bringing pressure. to bear, the Brotherhood, of Carpenters was per fectly willing to accept them as mem bers of the Union, on exactly the same basis as any other carpenters. In short, the Negro is beginning to awaken to the fact that If he. Is to sur vive and succeed in Northern cities. It must .be by his own skill, energ and organization. :f For, like any In dividual or - any - race, striving for a place in ". industry or in modern com mercial life,; the Negro must in order to ? succeed, not only equal his com petitor, but become more efficient A Negro contractor said to me: "Yes. I can" get any amount of work, ' but they, expect ., me to do it a little better and a little cheaper than my white competitors." Then - he added: "And l ean do it too! ' Those are the only terms on-which success can be won. For so long a time the Negro has been driven or forced to .work, as in the South, that he learns only slowly, in an intense. Impersonal, competitive life like that of the Norths where work Is at a premium, that he himself, not the white man. must do the driving. It!s the lesson that raises any.4 man from slavery into freedom. : . ' - Pullman Porters." '-V-)' So much for Industry. ,The Negro In the North has also been going into business and. Into other and , varied employment The very difficulty of getting . hold ' In the : trades and .'-. In salaried employment has driven many colored people into small business en terprises; grocery stores, - tailor shops, real estate or renting agencies. If they are being drivY . out by white men as waiters and 'barbers, they en Joy, on the other hand, growing op portunities as railroad and ; Pullman porters and . waiters places which are often highly profitable,, and lead. if the Negro saves his money,. to better openings. A Negro banker whom I met In the South, told me that he got his start as a Pullman porter. He had a good run, and, by being active, and accommodating, often made from $150 to S200 a month from his wages and tips. : : But- the same change is going on In the North that I found everywhere in the South: I mean a growing race con sciousness among Negroes the build ing up of a more or less independent Negro community life within the gr ater : white civilization. Every force seems to be working in that direction. .: '.... .-. Business Amonr Boston and Phlladel . j phia Ncsxea. -As I showed In - my last .article, many .Negroes In Boston (and indeed In other . cities) t have made .a . success in. business enterprises .which are pat r ronlzed by. white people or rather by both races. Colored doctors and law yers In Boston, have more or less white practice. , Of course, colored men who can succeed without reference to their color and do business with both races. . wish . to continue. to do so but the tendency, In the North, as In the South, is all against such development and, toward Negro enterprises for the Negro, population. .. Even . in , Boston numerous enterprises are , conducted by Negroes for Negroes. I visited sev eral small but ; , prosperous grocery stores. . A Negro . named Basil : - F. Hutchins has built up a thriving un dertaking and livery establishment for Negro . trade. Charles W. Alexan der has a - print-shop with : colored workmen and t publishes "Alexander's Magazine.' A new hotel called v. tho Astor House conducted by Negroes for Negroes, has 250 rooms with telephone service in . each room, a large restau Is satisfying when the coffee Is good. Tllnk of ' . what people say ' about .oor coSet. Everybody riraineit our ooSeesi TUV THEM. J,R.Ferrall & Co. Telephone orders , filled prowflUy. ' - x c rant and many of the other attractlon.4 oi a good hotel. But. In this growth tne worth Is far behind the South Scores of Nerro banks are to be found in the South, not one in the North. Cities like Richmond. Virginia; Jack son. Mississippi; Nashville Tennessee, have a really remarkable development of Negro business enterprises. ? Perhaps I can convey a clearer Idea of the great variety of employment of Negroes in Northern clUes by, outlin ing the condition- In a single. dty, Philadelphia Information for which I am indebted to R. R. Wright Jr. The census of 1900 shows that out of 28. 940 Negro males (boys and men), 21 128 were at work, and out of n ?i girls and i . men, 14,095 were wage- earners. Here are some of the more numerous occupttons of Kegro .men: Common laborers, ............ 7.490 Servants and waiters .... . . . . . , 4, J78 Teamsters and hackmen . . . . ... 1,9 57 Porters and helpers in stores... ' 921 Barbers and hairdressers. . . ... . 444 Messengers and errand boys,,.. F. 346 Brick and stone masons....... ,308 i Most of these are, of course, low class occupations the ' hard' wage- work of the city in which the - men often sink below the poverty line. On the other hand the census gives these figures: , Negro professional men (415) and,; women (170) Including doctors, clergymen, - dentists, artists, -teachers, electricians, architects. musicians, lawyers, journalists, civil engineers, - actors, literary and scientific Dersons. etc: ..58S- men (22) ...319 Hotel keepers .................. ,13 One Negro runs a men's furnishing store; another, a drug store; others, groceries, meats, etc The beneficial society, has grown to a regular Insur ance company, the renting. acent has become a real estate dealer.: Within the past twelve months Negroes have Incorporated two realty companies, one land investment company, four , build ing, and loan associations, one ma.no- xactunng company, one . Insurance smaller concerns. . . . ; The civil service has proved of ad vantage to the Negro of Philadelphia, as of every other large Northern city. in the, post-ofnee there are about, 150 a1a1S Mkl m. mm, M .AS. wet lb, vat i ici uu wuier employees, on the police . force about 70 patrol men, and 40 school . teachers and about 200 persons in other municipal offices. Wherein Lies Success for Nerroes. ' 1 have thus endeavored to present the conditions of the Nesrro In the 'North and show his relationship with Humf.pwiJie. except in uie mauer or politics, a subject of so much import ance that I shall take it up In a later articie. I have tried to exhibit every factor, good or bad. which plays ' a part tin racial conditions. Many sin ister Influences exist: the immense in crease of Ignorant and unskilled Ne groes from the South; the growing prejudice in the North, both social and industrial, against, the Negro; the high death rate and low! birth rate among the . Negro population, which is due to poverty, ignorance, crime and an unfriendly climate. On the other hand, many encouraging and hopeful tendencies are perceptible. , Individual Negroes are .forcing recognition. In nearly all branches of human activity, entering business, life and the profes sions.! A new racial .consciousness. is gro.wing up, leading to organizations for self-help; and while white preju dice is Increasing, so is white helpful ness as manifested in social ' settle ments. Industrial schools, and other useful philanthropies. , . , 4 v -"'All these forces and counter forces economic, social, religions, political are at work. We Can all see them nlaJnlv. hut xcm .nnnnt AwAtrm t? t ViaI . . W ww ..WW wuBW Vw respective strength. It is a tremen dous struggle that Is going r on the su-uggie or a oackward race tor sur vival ; within the swift-moving civili zation j. of an advanced race. No one can look upon It without the . most profound fascination tor its Interests as a human spectacle, nor without the deepest sympathy, for . the efforts of 10.000,000 human beings to surmount the obstacles . which beset them os every hand. .. j.," , And I what a struggle it Is! As 1 look out upon, it and see this dark horde ot. men and .women coming up, coming up, a few white men here and there cheering them on, a few bitterly holding them back. 1 feel that Port Arthur, and the battles of Manchuria, bloody ; as they, werej, are not to bo compared with such a conflict as thl?. for this is the silent dogged, sanguin ary modern struggle! in which the combatants never rest - upon their arms. But the object is much ' the aama . . A oi Via fr utn . rm for a foothold upon this earth. for civilized respect and ah opportunity to expand. And the Negro is not fighting Russians, but Americans. ' I Germans. Irish. English. Italians. Jews. Slavs- all those mingling white races, (each,' Indeed .engaged In the same sort of a struggle) which make up the, nation we call America; ' v The more I see of the conflict: the more I seem to see that victory or de feat lies with the Negro himself. As sjb sow i v vr rv& h W VWP 1X1; . n nloa r7s-v w t me -jrorty years ago the white man emancireted us; but We are only just now discovering that We must eman cipate our. elves. .- .. .Whether the Negro lean survive the conflict, how It will ail come out no man knows. For this is the making of lifeultself. ! ' . tin later articles Mr. Baker will mm ui uie irouncai tosiuou .w . - Negro, the Mulatto, How the Negro Himself looks at the Negro Problem, and several other subjects, which will in this country. The Editor J WOMAN TOR1UD OR FRIGID. While Man Is Always Either Temper ate or -Intemperate; i (flew iur oHn.i ; The semi-annual examinations were . . . l. A. .... w... CM. neii ti wen . v9kou private school the other day, and while 1 inspecting the papers the teachers rntina xiiu.il J. auiiiui vrua ausncis itf ome of the . cuestlons. A class of boys averaging about 12 years of aga had been examined In geography, which had been -preceded the day- be fore by grammar. Among the questions in the geogra nhv nancr was the followLvr; "Name the zones." , " ,v " One promising youth or II year. wrote this answer: , ' "There are two zonss, masculfcaand feminine. The ma3cullre io slJhe? J?m perate or Intemperate; ths fsilaio i either torrid or frigid." . i The man who know tend to hU own bu-: all tr.at Is worth ' j. rr
The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 23, 1908, edition 1
6
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