According to accounts given by Mr. Abraham Epstein, the health problem of the Negro migrants in Pittsburgh was a serious concern. An investigation into the causes of Negro mortality, based on comparison between a seven-month period in 1915 and a like period in 1917, showed that pneumonia cases during the latter year had increased 200 per cent over those of the former year. The same period in 1917 indicated also a marked increase in acute bronchitis and meningitis, and almost twice as many deaths from heart disease. The seven-month period in 1917, when the migration was in operation, registered, moreover, a total Negro death rate of 527, whereas the same period in 1915, before the movement began, showed a death list of only 295. During the first seven months of 1917, furthermore, the death rate among Negroes in this city was 48 per cent greater than the birth rate. In other words, while in the general city population the number of deaths was 30 per cent less than the number of births, the number of deaths among the Negroes greatly exceeded the diminished number of births; "thus for every one hundred persons born in Pittsburgh in 1917, there were 70 deaths, whereas among the Negro population for every one hundred children born, one hundred and forty-eight died."[156]

The report of the Health Department of Newark stated that during the month of December, 1917, there were 975 cases of diseases, and that this number was 287 in excess of the number of cases of sickness reported during the preceding month. These cases were largely bronchial pneumonia, and the deaths resulting from this malady numbered ninety-four. The report attributed the cause of this increase in pneumonia to the severe weather and to the increasing number of Negro laborers from the South, who, unaccustomed to the harsh climate of the North, easily became victims to this disease.[157] In Philadelphia, in the early spring of 1917, the lack of housing accommodations for the Negro influx caused women and children to be stranded in railroad stations overnight; and this soon brought on a public health problem. As was the case in Newark, in this place, too, there was an increase in pneumonia cases due to the sudden rush of Negroes to the North before the cold period was passed.[158]

The health conditions were so serious in Cincinnati that the city health officer suggested the establishment of a community health center in order to improve the health of the Negroes. He pointed out that their general death rate was about double that of the whites, their pneumonia rates more than three times as high, and their syphilis rate more than five times as high as the whites. In proportion to the population, he affirmed also that three times as many Negro children died before birth as whites, and that three times as many of the babies born alive died before their first birthday anniversary; and that the excess in deaths of Negroes from preventable causes alone was so great that it accounts for more than one point in the general death rate of the city.[159]

This rush of the Negroes to the North, moreover, was accompanied by smallpox and venereal diseases. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, for example, faced a danger of epidemic from the former and were compelled to undertake wholesale vaccination of laborers in camps and mills. In one year the city of Cleveland also reported 330 cases of this malady. As to venereal diseases these became so rife that some industries adopted the physical examination system as a part of application for work. One large sugar refinery found after three weeks of this experiment that three in every ten Negro applicants had to be rejected because of syphilis or gonorrhea. An examination of 800 Negroes at a large railroad camp showed that 70 per cent of them were infected with tuberculosis, syphilis, or gonorrhea, and that nearly 80 per cent of the total were infected with the latter disease. This, however, was the case for the most part only among the shiftless, the casuals and floaters, for the examinations of the better type of Negroes showed that the percentage of those affected by those diseases was exceedingly small.

The recent movement brought to the cities of the North a multitude of ignorant Negroes mostly from the farms and plantations of the South, where opportunities for education are almost unknown. To the majority of them city life was an entirely new thing, and especially strange to them was the extremely complex life of the large cities of the North. Theirs, therefore, was an extremely difficult task to adapt themselves to the mores of these places, and in their efforts to do so, it is very obvious that they could not avoid committing errors. Furthermore, there were among these migrants many who, having been freed from the influence of the strict moral and religious checks of the southern communities, lost complete control of themselves, and were thus led into the committing of criminal acts. These circumstances, however, do not warrant the conclusion that with the coming of the Negroes to the North there arose a wave of crime of various kinds. This was not at all the case. The truth of the matter is that there was an increase in certain cities in both minor and major offenses committed by Negroes, but in this regard the increase in minor offenses was far greater than that in major offenses.

What has just been said is well illustrated by the results of an investigation of Negro crime in Pittsburgh. This was done by comparing the police court records for a period of seven months during 1916-17 with those for the same period during 1914-15, before the migration occurred. This comparison showed that the arrests of Negroes for petty offenses during the former period greatly exceeded those of the latter. During 1914-15 the total number of arrests was 1,681, whereas during 1916-17 the total number was 2,998. There was also a disproportionate increase in arrests for such offenses as suspicious characters, disorderly conduct, drunkenness, keeping and visiting disorderly houses, and violations of city ordinances. Increase in arrests for major offenses was very small. In 1914-15 the number of Negroes arrested for grave offenses was 93, while the number arrested for same in 1916-17 was only 94.[160]

The report on Negro crime and delinquency in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, showed that the Negro population had served more than to double the number of prisoners of color during a period of one year ending 1917. During the spring and summer of that year more than half the average number of inmates of the county jail, 200 in all, had been Negroes, although the Negro population of the county was estimated to be about 10 per cent of the total population. Most of the Negroes had been sentenced to serve short terms for stabbing, carrying deadly weapons, or for fighting.[161] Likewise, in Steelton, Pennsylvania, there was much disturbance among the Negroes which manifested itself in the form of fighting and cutting one another. From the first there had been a general carrying of weapons, promiscuous shooting, and dangers of trouble with the white population. Many arrests of Negroes were reported to have been made on the especial charges of drunkenness, gambling and disorderly conduct.[162] The Census of 1920 shows, however, that very few Negroes remained in Harrisburg during this preceding decade as the increase was only 721 or 15.9 per cent.

In Cleveland, Ohio, it was found that the Negro population of the jail had increased from 13 per cent of the total jail population in September, 1916, to 87 per cent in September, 1917. During the month of August of the latter year the Negro population of the jail was 60 per cent of the total jail population. The superintendent of prisons, however, expressed the belief that these Negroes were not of the criminal type, and affirmed that they had been sent to jail for such minor offenses as loafing on street corners, drunkenness, and as suspicious characters. He declared, further, that in many instances, because they were inadequately housed, deprived of opportunities for decent recreation, poorly clad, and often hatless on the streets, Negroes were summarily picked up by the police and sent to prison on the mere charge of suspicion.[163] This accounts for much of the so-called "Negro crime" in the United States.

Without further investigation, and relying solely on the facts already presented concerning conditions among the migrants in the North, one would, no doubt, at once suppose that a great many Negroes at first failed in the struggle, fell by the wayside, and finally became public charges. Strange as it may seem to relate, however, the contrary was rather the case. Few, indeed, were those among the migrants who became so overwhelmed by poverty as to necessitate their calling for public aid. The only account of Negroes appealing for help is that given by the Society for Organizing Charity in the city of Philadelphia. In this statement we are informed that during one year, ending early in 1917, this society received twenty-eight applications from Negro families who had recently come from the South. This same report states also that the Juvenile Court had received relatively few applications; that the Children's Bureau had not removed any children from newly arrived families; and that the House of Detention had handled only twenty-eight children arrested on one charge or another.[164]

This surprisingly small number of Negroes who became public charges must not, however, convey the impression that the migrants were altogether self-supporting. Numerous instances could be cited in which it would be shown that many of the older Negro residents of the North came to the rescue of stranded migrants from the South. Churches and missions did much to help the newcomers to settle themselves in the new environment. When the Negroes began to come in very large numbers, moreover, and when the public realized the many obstacles which were in the way of their adjustment, numerous uplift organizations or counter-selective agencies sprang up, having as their specific function the assisting of the migrants to adapt themselves to the new conditions. Foremost among these was the National League on Urban Conditions among Negroes. This organization, however, had been in existence for several years, and had been making itself interested in the welfare of Negro migrants who were flocking to the cities of the North and West before the recent Negro movement. When this exodus was in full operation, this organization greatly expanded its work by establishing branches in most of the cities where the migrants were located. In order to perform its work more effectively it adopted a program which was executed in most of these cities. The program was (1) the establishment of an employment bureau to secure jobs for all newcomers who had no promise of any before their arrival; (2) the opening of a bureau to locate suitable houses at reasonable rates for the migrants; (3) the organization of a department to provide various kinds of wholesome recreation for the newcomers; (4) the maintenance of a department to aid in suppressing and preventing delinquency and crime among the Negro migrants; and (5) the putting forth of systematic efforts to help the Negroes to become industrially efficient. Thus, it can readily be seen that this organization and the smaller uplift agencies played a large part in the adjustment of the Negroes to the Northern environment; and it is no doubt due largely to their efforts that so very few of the migrants became objects of public charity.

Very recent inquiries, however, show that in certain centers large numbers of the Negro migrants are in distress and are, therefore, compelled to seek public relief. These are single men and in many cases men with families who have been deprived of work because of the great industrial depression now in existence for nearly a year. They are moving from the industrial centers where they were formerly employed into the larger cities either in search of work or on their way back to their homes in the South. Usually, in these places they become stranded and are thus forced to seek aid. Conditions due to the influx of Negro families into the city of Pittsburgh are described by Mr. Charles C. Cooper, head of the Kingsley House, as follows: "The great number of idle colored men and women in any part of the great cities is difficult to estimate; there is no method of computing those who have come into the city after being laid off in surrounding territory. During some twelve days in January, 1921, 2,100 colored men, who had come from surrounding districts, and none of whom had been working in Pittsburgh, applied at the little Providence Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh for assistance and work. In one week 1,027 applied to the Urban League of this City for work, and 8 received it." He states, further, that the usual uplift or philanthropic agencies were overburdened in their efforts to help these unfortunates. Two prominent Negro churches volunteered their services and rendered valuable assistance to the regular relief organizations in the matter of feeding and housing these migrants. The situation, moreover, was all the more aggravated because of the attitude of the police department toward these newcomers and the acute housing conditions. With its usual lack of understanding, it permitted the police officers to arrest hundreds of these Negroes, many of whom were sent to the workhouse. On account of the scarcity of dwelling places rents were very high, and even where money was available for the purpose, the purchasing of houses was an impossibility. When a large group of these distressed men were asked if they were going to return to the South on account of their misfortunes they firmly replied: "Like Hell we are!"[165]

A small movement of some unemployed Negroes endeavoring to reach their original homes in the South, however, greatly augmented the number of homeless Negroes in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, during December, 1920. As this city has never made provision to care for homeless men, these wanderers at first received a very cold reception. The workhouse became the lodging-place of a large number of them, because they were arbitrarily arrested by the police, and on the charge of vagrancy were sentenced by the court to this institution for a period of ninety days. Efforts of the State Employment Bureau and the local branch of the Urban League to find jobs for these men were of no avail. Finally, through the instrumentality of the Community Council of this city a meeting of representatives of a number of organizations devised a plan of action for the purpose of aiding these homeless men. To supply them with sleeping quarters the Young Men's Christian Association furnished the use of its basement wherein thirty beds with bedding, loaned by the Associated Charities, were placed. Blankets were provided by the Salvation Army Industrial Home. Funds to defray the expenses of a night man and for breakfasts for the men were pledged by the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Director of the Board of Public Safety promised the cooperation of the police by requesting the latter to refer homeless men to the Young Men's Christian Association instead of arresting them with the view of having them sent to the workhouse. The Associated Charities agreed to see to it that every man who actually could be taken care of in another community would be given the necessary transportation, and the city promised to assist in meeting this item of expense. In the meantime the State Employment Bureau and the Urban League gave assurance that they would renew their efforts to secure jobs for those in need of work.[166]

The extent to which these conditions exist is not yet definitely known; but owing to unemployment there are many more cases of Negroes undergoing hardships such as those to which reference has just been made. Mr. E. K. Jones, the Executive Secretary of the National Urban League, states that in the city of Detroit a very large number of Negroes are unemployed and in consequence have had to appeal to the city for relief. He is of the opinion that proportionally the Negroes are receiving more aid than any other group, for while they constitute a small percentage of the population of the city, they receive 37 per cent of the total relief given. In Chicago and its vicinity, owing to decreased production, not long ago, 70,000 Negro laborers agreed to accept a cut in wages rather than lose their jobs. The agreement was that they would accept a 10 per cent reduction in wages for unskilled laborers and a 15 per cent reduction for skilled workers. Mr. Parker, President of the American Unity Labor Union, declared then that there were 100,000 unemployed men in Chicago and its environs.[167] Thus here too a large number of Negroes are undoubtedly undergoing some hardships or are being placed in positions where these will certainly overtake them.

The fact that so many Negroes are out of work and on this account have fallen into poverty raises the question as to whether their unemployment is due to a general policy of employers to deprive Negroes of work simply because of their color. It is known that during this industrial depression production is exceedingly small and that correspondingly there is an infinitely small demand for the very large available supply of labor. The result is that there is an almost universal state of unemployment which presumably affects all groups alike. However, Mr. Charles C. Cooper, head of the Kingsley House in Pittsburgh, does not think that this is the case, for he is of the opinion that discrimination has been made against Negro workers. He holds that unskilled Negroes, the latest to be employed in industrial plants, have been among the first to be discharged and that only in exceptional instances is this untrue. These exceptions exist where the percentage of Negroes discharged is no larger than that of white workers because of the efforts of Negro social workers who were employed to act as spokesmen for the Negro laborers.[168] Opposed to this is the view of the Executive Secretary of the National Urban League. He does not believe that the percentage of Negroes discharged from work is larger than that of whites. In many plants, where Negroes have made good, when the necessity of cutting down the labor force arose, the proportion of Negroes who were dropped was no greater than that of any other group. In fact, in a few cases, employers have actually retained, proportionally, more Negro than white laborers. Be that as it may, the fact, nevertheless, is that unemployment is largely responsible for the distressed conditions of many of the Negro migrants; and the hope is that when this industrial crisis is passed and they are again given the opportunity to work, they will lift themselves once more to the level of self-help and independence.

In any migration of peoples in modern times there are usually those who either intend to remain in the new locality temporarily or who, because of the least dissatisfaction with conditions, are willing to return home at the earliest possible time. This gives rise to an outflow as well as an inflow of migrants. Perhaps the immigration from Europe to this country may illustrate this. For several years previous to the Great War, while thousands of immigrants arrived in this country, on the one hand, on the other, thousands departed for their respective native lands.[170] To some extent this principle likewise applies to this intra-State movement of the Negro population. From our study of conditions among the migrants in the North it is obvious that many of them found conditions very different from what they had been represented to be by labor agents and others. This undoubtedly brought on much dissatisfaction and disappointment, and thus caused many to seek their way back to the South. The number of those acting thus is very uncertain, because no accurate study in this regard has been made. Nevertheless, some have estimated that only about 10 per cent of the total number of those who left the South returned there; others have estimated it as high as 30 per cent.[171] Both of these percentages, however, are mere guesses, with the likelihood perhaps of the former being approximately nearer the truth. The only attempt which has been made to investigate this phase of the movement was that on the part of the Chicago branch of the National League on Urban Conditions among Negroes shortly after the Washington and Chicago riots in July, 1919. This study was made mainly to verify the reports to the effect that because of these outbreaks the Negroes had become terrified and were on the move back to the South. This investigation was very limited in that it took cognizance of conditions as they pertained to Chicago only. The method of procedure was the study of Negro arrivals and departures during the week following the riot in that city. The interesting result was that during that period 261 Negroes arrived in the city while 219 departed. Of those leaving 83 gave some southern State as their destination. They were for the most part persons returning from vacations, visiting the South, going on business, or returning to join their families. Only 14 gave the riot as a cause for their leaving the city.[172]

It is reported, moreover, that the South, still feeling the effects of migration in the form of a serious labor shortage in its main industries, has been trying to induce the Negroes to return. As a means of accomplishing this it resorted to a scheme of using certain newspapers in the North to make persuasive appeals to the Negroes. In these the South's needs were made known, its kind treatment of Negroes was extolled, its opportunities were enumerated, and its growing change of heart on the question of race relations was affirmed. After rumor went broadcast that after the Washington and Chicago riots the Negroes, in terror, were leaving the North, moreover, more positive efforts were made, especially on the part of two Southern States, to obtain Negro laborers. These took the form of sending agents to the North to solicit labor and of empowering them to offer the Negroes free transportation and to make them promises of increased wages and better living conditions. These inducements, however, were ineffective because the Negroes doubted the sincerity of the Southern agents. Indeed, they were inclined all the more to be skeptical, for in the meantime news had reached them from various parts of the South to the effect that, except school conditions, things have not at all changed for the better; that, in many instances on the contrary, since the Great War living conditions of Negroes have become worse and that from a few places a small stream of Negroes was still moving northward.[173] The Federal census of 1920 justifies us, furthermore, in saying that for the most part the Negro migrants are satisfied with conditions in the North and are inclined to remain there; and that the number of those returning or who have returned to the South is, in comparison to the great number of those who came North, infinitely small.

FOOTNOTES:

[156] Epstein, A., The Negro Migrant in Pittsburgh, pp. 56-59.

[157] Pendleton, H. B., Survey, 37: 571, Feb. 17, 1917.

[158] Survey, 38: 28, April 7, 1917.

[159] Survey, 42: 579, July 19, 1917.

[160] Epstein, A., The Negro Migrant in Pittsburgh, pp. 47-48.

[161] Tyson, F. D., Negro Migration in 1916-17, Rep. U. S. Dept. Lab., p. 141.

[162] Ibid., p. 142.

[163] Ibid., p. 141.

[164] Bell, J. B., Proc. Nat. Conf. Soc. Work., pp. 502-03, June, 1917.

[165] Survey, 45: 752, Feb. 26, 1021, "A New Negro Migration."

[166] Hoyer, R. A., "Migration of Colored Workers," Survey, 45: 930, March 26, 1921.

[167] New York Times, Dec. 12, 1920, 14: 1.

[168] Survey, 45: 752, Feb. 26, 1921.

[169] Washington, F. B., Survey, 38: 333-35, July 14, 1917.

[170] Fairchild, H. P., Immigration, pp. 348-52.

[171] Dillard, J. H., Negro Migration in 1916-17, Rep. U. S. Dept. Lab., p. 11.

[172] Hill, T. A., Survey, 43: 183-85, Nov. 29, 1919.

[173] Hill, T. A., Survey, 43: 183-85, Nov. 29, 1919.



CHAPTER IX

THE STATISTICS OF THE MIGRATION

The apparent effect of the migration in the light of the advanced reports of the census of 1920 has been the movement of the Negro population from the southern cities to northern industrial centers, while there was going on at the same time a movement of the rural Negro population from the rural districts in the South into the thus depleted southern cities to take the places of those migrating to the North. Statistics show, therefore, a small increase or stability in the cities of the South, whereas the Negro population of the State increased less, remained about the same, or decidedly decreased.

Delaware, for example, although a southern State, economically connected with the North, suffered a decrease in its population, having lost during the decade 846 Negroes, or 2.7 per cent, as against an increase from 1910 to 1920 of 484, or 1.6 per cent. Delaware had 492,614 whites and 30,341 Negroes in 1920. Wilmington, however, had 99,381 whites and 10,751 Negroes, showing an increase in the white population of 26.9 per cent and in Negro population of 18.4 per cent.

In Alabama, out of the total population of 2,248,174 there are 900,652 Negroes, whereas in 1910 the Negroes numbered 908,282, showing a decrease in numbers of 8,282, or a decrease of eight-tenths of one per cent. In 47 of the 60 counties there was also a decrease in its number of Negroes. Statistics further show that this decrease in the Negro population was largely among the males and accounts for the change in the sex ratio of the total population of Alabama. The white population during this decade increased by 17.8 per cent. Yet the cities of Alabama did not thus fare. In Birmingham the increase in the white population during the decade between 1910 and 1920 was 28,193, or 35.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 17,912, or 34.2 per cent. In Mobile the white population increased during the same period 8,132, or 28.3 per cent, whereas the Negro population increased 1,130, or 5 per cent, as compared with an increase of 5,718, or 33.5 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. In Montgomery the increase in the white population was 4,828, or 25.7 per cent, while the Negro population increased 504, or 2.6 per cent.

In 1920 the population of the State of Mississippi included 853,962 whites and 935,184 Negroes. In 1910 there were 786,111 whites and 1,009,487 Negroes. The white population increased 8.6 per cent as compared with 22.6 per cent for the previous decade, while the Negro population showed a decrease of 7.4 per cent as against an increase of 11.2 per cent during the preceding decade. The proportion of Negroes in the total population declined from 56.2 per cent in 1910 to 52 per cent in 1920. In most counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 68 of the 82 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The population of the State of Louisiana, according to the last census, is 61 per cent white and 38.9 per cent Negro. In 1910 the percentage of Negroes was 43.1 per cent. The Negro population, which was 713,874 in 1910, decreased to 700,257 in 1920, a decrease of 1.9 per cent. The white population during the same period increased from 941,086 to 1,096,911, or 16.5 per cent. In most of the parishes of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 41 of the 64 parishes there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes. In the city of New Orleans, however, the development was the other way. In 1920 the city had 285,913 whites and 100,918 Negroes. The white population constituted 73.8 per cent of the total in 1920 and 73.6 per cent in 1910 while the Negro population constituted 26.1 per cent of the total in 1920 and 26.3 per cent in 1910. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 36,510, or 14.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 11,656, or 13.1 per cent.

Statistics place South Carolina in middle ground. In 1920 there were in that State 818,538 whites and 864,719 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 679,161 whites and 835,843 Negroes. The rate of increase in the white population was 20.5 per cent as compared with 21.8 per cent for the period from 1900 to 1910. The percentage of increase between 1910 and 1920 in the Negro population was only 3.5 per cent, a rate slightly more than half as great as the corresponding one for the decade from 1900 to 1910, when it was 6.8 per cent. The proportion of Negroes in the total population declined from 55.2 per cent in 1910 to 51.4 per cent in 1920. In the city of Charleston there were 35,617 whites and 32,292 Negroes. The white population constituted 52.4 per cent of the total in 1920 and 47.2 per cent of the total in 1910 and 52.8 per cent in 1900. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 17,853, or 28.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,236, or 4 per cent.

Some other Southern States did not have the usual increase in the Negro population, but nevertheless did not report a loss in 1910. In 1920 there were found in Maryland 1,204,737 white persons and 244,479 Negroes. The white population increased by 13.4 per cent while the Negro population increased by 5.3 per cent. In almost every county in the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 19 of the 24 counties there was also a decrease in the number of the Negroes. In Baltimore, on the other hand, the tendency was the other way. The white population was 625,074 and the Negro population 108,390, whereas in 1910 there were 473,387 whites and 84,749 Negroes. Both the white and Negro populations, therefore, had increased since 1910, that of the whites being 32 per cent as compared with 10 per cent of the previous decade, and that of the Negro being 27.9 per cent as compared with 6.9 per cent of the previous decade.

The population of Virginia was 1,617,909 whites and 690,017 Negroes. In 1910 there were 1,389,809 whites and 671,096 Negroes. The white population increased 16.4 per cent while the Negro population increased only 2.8 per cent. Lynchburg had 21,714 whites and 8,355 Negroes. In 1910 there were 20,023 whites and 9,456 Negroes. The white population showed an increase since 1910 of 1,691, or 8.4 per cent, while the Negro population showed a decrease of 1,111, or 11.7 per cent. In 1920 Norfolk had 72,243 whites and 43,377 Negroes. In 1910 the figures were 42,353 whites and 25,039 Negroes. The increase of the white population since 1910 was 29,890, or 70.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 18,338, or 73.2 per cent. In 1920 Portsmouth had a white population of 31,104 and 23,242 Negroes. In 1910 this city had 21,560 whites and 11,617 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 9,544, or 44.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 11,625, or 101 per cent. Richmond had 117,565 whites and 54,057 Negroes in 1920. In 1910 the city had 80,879 whites and 46,733 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 36,686, or 45.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 7,314, or 15.7 per cent. Roanoke had 41,530 whites and 9,300 Negroes while in 1910 the figures were 26,945 whites and 7,924 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 14,585, or 54.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,376, or 17.6 per cent.

North Carolina had some increase in its Negro population. The total population of 2,559,123 included 1,783,779 whites and 763,407 Negroes. In 1910 there were 1,500,511 whites and 697,843 Negroes. The increase in the white population was at the rate of 18.9 per cent, while that of the Negro population was 9.4 per cent. In most counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 37 of the 100 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

In Georgia the total population of the State comprised 2,895,832, having 1,689,114 white persons and 1,206,365 Negroes. The white population increased by 18 per cent and the Negro by 2.5 per cent. Augusta had a white population of 29,894 whites and 22,576 Negroes, showing an increase during the decade of 32 per cent for the white population as compared with an increase of 8.3 per cent during the previous decade, while the Negro population showed an increase of 23.1 per cent as against a decrease of less than 1 per cent from 1900 to 1910. The white population of Macon increased 32.8 per cent, while the Negro population increased 27.2 per cent. In Rome there was an increase of 19 per cent for the white population as compared with 87.1 per cent of the period before but a decrease in the Negro population of 11.5 per cent against an increase of 32.8 per cent from 1900 to 1910. In Savannah while the white population increased 38.5 per cent, the Negro population increased 17.9 per cent. The statistics of the counties of Georgia show that the percentage of Negroes decreased and that in 82 of 155 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The total population of Florida in 1920 was 968,470. 638,153 of these were white and 329,487 were Negroes, whereas corresponding figures for 1910 showed 443,634 whites and 308,669 Negroes. This indicates that the white population increased by 43.8 per cent and the Negro population by 6.7 per cent. Jacksonville then had 50,031 whites and 41,479 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 21,702, or 76.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 12,186, or 41.6 per cent. The city of Tampa had a population of 40,057 whites and 11,520 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 11,267, or 39.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 2,569, or 28.7 per cent. In almost every county of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased, and in 28 of the 54 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The border States suffered much from the migration. Kentucky, according to the census of 1920, had 2,416,630 persons. Of these 2,180,560 were whites and 235,938 were Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 2,027,000 whites and 261,656 Negroes. The white population increased 7.5 per cent and the Negro population decreased 9.8 per cent. There was a decrease in the number of Negroes in 104 of the 120 counties. The city of Covington, however, showed that while the white population was increasing 7.4 per cent, that of the Negro increased 4.9 per cent in contradistinction to what took place in the State as a whole. In Louisville the increase of the white population since 1910 was lower than that for the preceding decade, and the Negro population increased only one-tenth of one per cent during that period, having been 40,522 in 1910 and 40,118 in 1920.

Tennessee belongs to the declining class so far as the Negro population is concerned. In 1920 the State had 1,885,993 whites and 451,758 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,711,432 whites and 473,088 Negroes. The white population increased by 10.2 per cent while the Negro population decreased by 4.5 per cent. In most of the counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 75 of the 95 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes. In Chattanooga there were 39,024 whites and 18,856 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 26,660 whites and 17,942 Negroes. The increase in the white population during the decade was 12,364, or 46.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 924, or 5.1 per cent. In Knoxville there was a white population of 66,508 and a Negro population of 11,303. The figures for 1910 were 28,760 whites and 7,638 Negroes. The increase in the white population was at a much higher rate than during the preceding decade, the increase from 1910 to 1920 being 37,802, or 131.7 per cent, as compared with 3,428, or 13.6 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. The increase of the Negro population was also greater from 1910 to 1920 than from 1900 to 1910, the increase being 3,665, or 48 per cent, from 1910 to 1920 as compared with 279, or 3.8 per cent, from 1900 to 1910.

The population of Memphis included 101,117 whites and 61,173 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 78,590 whites and 52,441 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was much lower than that for the preceding decade, the increase from 1910 to 1920 being 22,527, or 28.7 per cent, as compared with 26,210, or 50 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. The increase in the Negro population was greater from 1910 to 1920 than from 1900 to 1910, the increase being 8,732, or 16.7 per cent, from 1910 to 1920 as against 2,531, or 51 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. In 1920 Nashville had 82,699 whites and 35,634 Negroes. In 1910 the corresponding numbers were 73,831 whites and 36,523 Negroes. While the increase in the white population since 1910 was lower than that of the preceding decade, there was a decrease in the Negro population from 1910 to 1920, the decrease being 889, or 2.4 per cent, from 1910 to 1920, as against an increase of 6,479, or 21.6 per cent, from 1900 to 1910.

Missouri, however, forming a part of the industrial West, did not follow the fortunes of Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1920 there were in Missouri 3,225,044 whites and 178,241 Negroes, whereas the figures for 1910 were 3,134,932 whites and 157,452 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 2.9 per cent. The population of Kansas City was 293,532 whites and 30,706 Negroes. The white population constituted 90.5 per cent of the total population and the Negro 9.5 per cent. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 30.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase of the Negro population was 7,140, or 30.3 per cent. In St. Louis there were 702,764 whites and 69,603 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,276, or 9.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 25,643, or 58.3 per cent.

The more favorable condition in Missouri obtained throughout the Southwest. In 1920 there were in Oklahoma 1,821,194 white persons and 149,408 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,144,531 white persons and 137,612 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 26.1 per cent, while the Negro population increased only 8.6 per cent. The white population of Oklahoma City was 82,847 and that of the Negroes 8,269. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 25,354, or 44.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,723, or 26.3 per cent. There were in Okmulgee 13,967 whites and 3,372 Negroes. The white population increased since 1910 11,241, or 412.4 per cent, while the increase in the Negro population during the same period was 1,996, or 145.1 per cent. In Tulsa there were 63,430 whites and 8,442 Negroes. The white population constituted 88 per cent of the total in 1920 and 88.1 per cent in 1910, while the Negro population constituted 11.7 per cent of the total in 1920 and 10.8 per cent in 1910. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 47,212, or 296 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 6,483, or 330.9 per cent.

In Arkansas the situation seemed to be somewhat the same. The total population of that state in 1920 was 1,752,204. Of this number 1,279,757 were whites and 472,220 were Negroes. The white population increased by 13.2 per cent and the Negro population by 6.6 per cent. During this period the city of Little Rock in that State increased its white population to 47,658 and 17,474 Negroes. The increase in the white population during the decade was 16,273, or 51.8 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was only 2,935, or 20.2 per cent. The statistics as to counties show a decrease in a percentage in the Negro population and 43 of 75 counties reported a decrease in numbers.

The white population of Texas in 1920 was 3,918,165 and that of the Negro 741,694. The corresponding figures for the previous decade were 3,204,848 whites and 690,049 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 22.3 per cent while the Negro population increased by only 7.5 per cent. Dallas had a white population of 134,888 and 24,023 Negroes, whereas in 1910 there were 74,043 whites and 18,024 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,845, or 82.2 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 5,999, or 33.3 per cent. El Paso had 75,843 whites and 1,373 Negroes. In 1910 the corresponding figures were 37,586 whites and 1,452 Negroes. While the white population showed an increase in 1920 of 38,257, or 101.8 per cent, the Negro population showed a decrease of 121, or 8.3 per cent. Fort Worth had a white population of 90,466 and 15,876 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 59,960 whites and 13,280 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 30,506, or 50.9 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 2,616, or 19.7 per cent. In Houston there were 104,367 whites and 33,843 Negroes. In 1910 there were 54,832 whites and 23,929 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 49,535, or 90.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase of the Negro population was 9,914, or 41.4 per cent. In San Antonio there were 146,795 whites and 14,355 Negroes. In 1910 there were 85,801 whites and 10,716 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,924, or 71.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 3,639, or 34 per cent.

West Virginia, economically a part of the North or West rather than of the South, showed tendencies directly opposite to those of that section to which it is historically connected. In 1920 the State had 1,377,235 whites and 86,345 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,156,817 whites and 64,173 Negroes. The white population increased by 19.1 per cent while the Negro population increased by 34.6 per cent. The city of Huntington had 47,279 whites and 2,890 Negroes, whereas in 1910 the figures were 29,009 whites and 2,140 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 18,270, or 63 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 750, or 35 per cent. Wheeling had 54,579 whites and 1,619 Negroes. In 1910 the figures were 40,433 whites and 1,201 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 14,146, or 35 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 418, or 34.8 per cent.

The effect of the migration in the North and West will be interesting also. The census showed a decidedly large increase in the population in the important industrial States just beyond the line of the North and South. In the North and West there were 1,550,754 Negroes, whereas there were only 1,078,336 in 1910, the increase being 472,448, or at the rate of 43.8 per cent. In the extremely northern and north-western portions of the country the Negro population was not affected otherwise than normally. New England had 66,306 Negroes in 1910 and 79,051 in 1920. The increase was 12,745. The increase and the decrease in the Negro population of these States does not mean very much in percentage because of the very small number of Negroes in that section. For example, the increase in the Negro population of Connecticut, the State most affected thereby, was 5,872, which in the form of a percentage would mean 38.7 per cent. The state had only 21,046 Negroes in 1920 as compared with 15,174 in 1910. The Negro population of New Hampshire, moreover, increased from 564 in 1910 to 621 in 1920, meaning an increase of 10.1 per cent. Vermont had only 572 Negroes in 1920 as against 1,621 in 1910, showing thereby a decrease of 64.7 per cent. Rhode Island had 10,056 Negroes in 1920 and 9,529 in 1910. Massachusetts had 45,466 Negroes in 1920 as compared with 38,055 in 1910. While the white population was increasing 14.4 per cent, the Negro population increased 19.5 per cent. Boston had 16,350 Negroes in 1920 and 13,564 in 1910, showing an increase of 20.5 per cent, while the white population was increasing 11.4 per cent. Maine had 1,310 Negroes in 1910 and 1,363 in 1920, showing an increase of 3.9 per cent in the Negro population, while the white population was increasing only 3.5 per cent.

New York increased its Negro population 47.9 per cent. This State had 134,191 Negroes in 1910 and 198,423 in 1920. The migration did not materially affect any cities in the State except New York City, Buffalo and Rochester. The Negro population of New York City increased from 91,709 in 1910 to 153,088 in 1920, an increase of 66.9 per cent. In Buffalo, an industrial center, the Negro population increased 154.8 per cent, that is, from 1,773 in 1910 to 4,517 in 1920. The Negro population of Rochester increased from 879 in 1910 to 1,599 in 1920, an increase of 720, or 81.9 per cent.

In New Jersey there was an increase of 30.5 per cent in the Negro population during this period, that is, from 89,760 Negroes in 1910 to 117,132 in 1920. The cities much affected thereby were Camden, East Orange, Jersey City, Atlantic City, and Newark. The Negro population in Atlantic City increased 11.3 per cent, that is, from 9,834 in 1910 to 10,948 in 1920. That of Camden increased 40.1 per cent, that is, from 6,076 Negroes in 1910 to 8,513 in 1920; that of East Orange 24.6 per cent, that is, from 1,907 Negroes in 1910 to 2,377 in 1920; that of Jersey City 33.3 per cent, that is, from 5,960 Negroes in 1910 to 7,947 in 1920; that of Newark increased 79.5 per cent, that is, from 9,475 in 1910 to 17,010 Negroes in 1920.

The Negro population of Pennsylvania increased 46.7 per cent. This State had 193,919 Negroes in 1910 and 284,568 in 1920, the increase being 46.7 per cent. The cities which were materially affected by the migration were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Chester. The Negro population of Philadelphia increased from 84,459 in 1910 to 134,098 in 1920, showing an increase of 49,632, or 48.8 per cent. The Negro population of Pittsburgh increased 47.1 per cent, that is, from 25,623 in 1910 to 37,688 in 1920. The Negro population of Harrisburg increased from 4,535 in 1910 to 5,256 in 1920. The Negro population of Chester increased 48.5 per cent, that is, from 4,795 in 1910 to 7,119 in 1920. The Negro population of such cities as Altoona, York, Washington, Harrisburg, Johnstown and Lancaster was considerably increased, in some cases more than doubled; but not sufficiently to make any material change in the complexion of the city.

Ohio had an increase in the Negro population of 67.1 per cent. This State had 111,452 Negroes in 1910 and 186,187 in 1920. The cities much affected thereby were Cincinnati with an increase of 35.6 per cent, that is, from 19,639 in 1910 to 29,636 in 1920; Columbus with an increase of 73.4 per cent, that is, from 12,739 in 1910 to 22,091 in 1920; Dayton with an increase of 43 per cent, that is, from 4,842 in 1910 to 9,029 in 1920. Toledo had an increase of 203.1 per cent, that is, from 1,877 in 1910 to 5,690 in 1920; Youngstown had an increase of 244 per cent, that is, from 1,936 in 1910 to 6,660 in 1920; and Cleveland had the largest percentage of all, showing an increase of 308.1 per cent, that is, from 8,448 in 1910 to 34,374 in 1920.

The Negro population of Indiana increased 34 per cent, that is, from 60,320 in 1910 to 80,810 in 1920. The cities most affected by this migration were Gary with an increase from 383 in 1910 to 5,299 in 1920; Indianapolis with an increase of 59 per cent, that is, from 21,816 in 1910 to 34,690 in 1920, and Terre Haute with an increase of 40.6 per cent, that is, from 2,593 in 1910 to 3,646 in 1920. Fort Wayne was not materially affected. Evansville had 6,400 in 1920, only 134 more than it had in 1910. South Bend had practically no Negroes at first but received 691 during this decade in addition to the 604 which it had in 1910.

The Negro population of Illinois increased 67.1 per cent, that is, from 109,049 in 1910 to 182,274 in 1920. The two urban centers chiefly affected in that State were East St. Louis and Chicago. The Negro population of Chicago increased 148.5 per cent, that is, from 44,103 in 1910 to 109,594 Negroes in 1920. The Negro population of East St. Louis increased from 5,882 in 1910 to 7,433 in 1920, the percentage being 26.5 per cent. The change in the complexion of the population of Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield is not interesting.

Michigan showed an increase in the Negro population of 251 per cent, that is, from 17,115 in 1910 to 60,082 in 1920. Detroit was most affected thereby, its population having increased 623.4 per cent, that is, from 5,751 Negroes in 1910 to 41,532 in 1920.

Kansas showed an increase in its Negro population from 54,030 in 1910 to 57,925 in 1920, or an increase of 7.2 per cent. Kansas City, an urban center of importance influenced by Kansas City, Missouri, was most affected thereby. Its Negro population was increased 55.1 per cent during this period, that is, from 9,285 in 1910 to 14,405 in 1920. The population of Topeka decreased 5.3 per cent, that is, from 4,538 Negroes in 1910 to 4,297 in 1920, while in Wichita there was an increase of 44.2 per cent, that is, from 2,457 in 1910 to 3,543 in 1920.

Iowa showed an increase of only 26.9 per cent in its Negro population, that is, from 14,973 in 1910 to 19,005 in 1920. Nebraska had 7,689 Negroes in 1910 and 13,242 in 1920. Omaha showed an increase in its population of 133 per cent, that is, from 4,426 in 1910 to 10,314 in 1920. Wisconsin increased its Negro population from 2,900 in 1910 to 5,201 in 1920, an increase of 79.3 per cent. Milwaukee received most of these, having 908 Negroes in 1910 and 2,234 in 1920, an increase of 128 per cent.

The statistics of the States of the Far West, such as Idaho, North and South Dakota are not very interesting. North Dakota had a decrease in its Negro population of 24.3 per cent and South Dakota increased its 1.8 per cent. Utah increased its Negro population 26.4 per cent; Idaho 41.3 per cent; Minnesota 24.4 per cent; Nevada decreased 32.6 per cent; and New Mexico increased 252.1 per cent. That of Colorado decreased from 11,423 in 1910 to 11,318 in 1920, that of Montana decreased from 1,834 in 1910 to 1,658 in 1920; and that of Wyoming decreased from 2,235 in 1910 to 1,375 in 1920. Oregon's Negro population increased 43.7 per cent, that is, from 1,492 in 1910 to 2,144 in 1920. Washington increased its Negro population 13.6 per cent, that is, from 6,058 Negroes in 1910 to 6,883 in 1920. The Negro population increased 79.1 per cent in California, that is, from 21,645 in 1910 to 38,763 in 1920.



CHAPTER X

SOME CONCLUSIONS

If now we put together here much of what we have learned from the study of this movement, we perceive first of all that it was a social phenomenon representing the maladjustment of almost 500,000 Negroes to their present environment and their escape from this situation by flight to another locality. This maladaptation was the result of defeat of the migrants by natural forces operating in the struggle for existence, and of their failure to overcome the powerful economic and social adversities due to racial prejudice in the Southern society. The floods and boll-weevil pests had, in many cases, either destroyed crops, or rendered the raising of them totally impossible, and in consequence had practically destroyed the very means of subsistence of the Negroes. Added to this were numerous economic and social disadvantages in the form of unjust farming conditions, wretchedly low wages, lynchings, segregation, injustice in the courts, poor housing, poor schools, and so on, all of which tended to make life in the home environment more and more unendurable. While these driving forces were at work, there suddenly loomed up in the North a most unusually large demand for labor, and in this the Negroes saw the possibility of gaining access to an environment where conditions of life seemed much more favorable than those in the present surroundings. Consequently, as a means of escaping the pain of maladaptation and of seeking the pleasure which results from proper adjustment to external conditions, the Negroes simply chose the line of least resistance; that is, flight or migration to the North.

In the next place, we see that the migration was merely one of many such movements which have been in progress for more than fifty years, and that it differs from these only in volume. Its uniqueness, as we said,[174] lies in the fact that it alone brought from the South to the North and West a number of Negroes which exceeds that which resulted from all the combined movements in this direction during a period of forty years. While this is the case, it should not be overlooked, however, that this was due largely to the then existing extraordinary economic and social conditions. At the time of the occurrence of this movement conditions causing the Negroes to desire to leave the South, and opportunities for their employment in Northern industries, were never so favorable and widespread as then. The forces of push and pull, both economic and social, were present and were operating on a scale larger than any hitherto known. It is, therefore, very evident that without these most unusual and favorable conditions this migration either never would have occurred when it did, or if it would have, it would not have acquired such an immense volume.

It has been seen, moreover, that this recent exodus was a sort of spontaneous movement of the masses of the Negro population and not one composed of its leading elements. This fact has been marveled at, because in this migration the rank and file of Negroes, accustomed to being led, showed some initiative by acting of their own accord, and thereby abandoned the old policy of seeking and awaiting the advice of their leaders.[175] While this is true, and is, indeed, a very commendable performance, yet a careful view of the situation will show that it is hardly a phenomenon to be considered a marvelous affair. As we saw in Chapter IV of this dissertation, this movement was largely precipitated and stimulated by the labor agents who were seeking a supply of labor to satisfy the demand of northern industries. The Negroes, then suffering from the pangs of maladaptation, were seeking an avenue of escape, and this was pointed out to them by these agents. The latter offered the Negroes free transportation, and promised them higher wages, better working conditions, better social advantages, and on the whole better things than the southern environment could afford them. In many instances, for a time all the Negroes needed to do was to decide to leave the South, and, thereafter, they had very little to worry about until they had reached their destination places. In this whole matter it seems that the Negroes were confronted with what Professor Sumner calls the first task of life, which is the task of living, not thinking. Conditions in the environment had brought to them necessities which had to be satisfied at once. Need then was their experience and was followed immediately by efforts to satisfy it. This was the impelling force.[176] Through the efforts of the northern labor agents the Negroes obtained instruction as to the means whereby this need might be satisfied. They, therefore, were the actual leaders of the movement, and thus rendered it unnecessary for the Negroes to turn to seek and await the counsels of their customary leaders.

While this movement was in operation, furthermore, the opinion of a few was to the effect that this migration would act as a means of so distributing the Negro population throughout the country as to bring on an equalization of the racial problem. This, it was alleged, would be a good thing, first, because it would remove the fear of race domination in the Southern States and thus deprive them of many of their peculiar characteristics which they have developed in the course of their efforts to keep the Negroes in the background; and, secondly, because it would be of benefit to Negroes, in that it would mean for them better education, more wealth, and greater political power.[177] It is evident that had this movement wrought such results it would have been a social occurrence of extraordinary importance, because it would have, perhaps, accomplished much in the way of lessening the tense friction between the two races; but it produced no such results. The Census of 1920 shows that the North and West had a very large increase in its Negro population during the preceding decade, the number being 472,448, but the Negro population in the Southern States decreased in only a few and remained almost normal in others while actually increasing in some of these commonwealths. In fact, when we consider the effects of past movements upon the distribution of the Negro population in this country, we are forced to the conclusion that such a dissemination of this population can hardly be accomplished through migration. According to the Federal census of 1910, in 1870 the total Negro population of the United States was 4,880,009. Of this number 4,420,811 lived in the South, and 459,198 lived in the North and West.[178] In 1910, forty years later, this same population was 9,827,763, and of this number 8,749,427 resided in the South, whereas only 1,078,336 dwelled in the North and West.[179] Looking at this distribution of population from the standpoint of percentage estimates, we find that in 1870 90.6 per cent of the Negro population lived in the South, whereas only 9.4 per cent lived in the North and West. In 1910, 89 per cent of the total Negro population of the United States was living in the South, while only 11 per cent was living in the other two sections.[180] In 1870, moreover, the number of Negroes born in the South and living in the North and West was 149,100; in 1910 this number had increased to only 440,534.[181] This number, however, was exclusive of that of the migrants who might have died or returned to the South or elsewhere before the taking of the Federal census.

Owing to a number of small and unimportant movements, and this great movement of 1916-18, the Federal census of 1920 shows, on the one hand, a decrease in the percentage of the total Negro population living in some of the Southern States and, on the other, a considerable increase both in the number of Negroes born in the South and living in the North and West, and in the percentage of the total Negro population of the United States residing in these two sections. The point here, however, is that notwithstanding the numerous movements of Negroes from the South since their emancipation, in 1910 nearly nine-tenths of the total Negro population of this country was still living in that section, whereas only a little more than ten per cent was residing in the North and West. This shows that the Negroes in proportion to their numbers are leaving the South very slowly, and that the tendency is for the greater bulk of the Negro population of the United States to remain in that section. This, therefore, seems to preclude the notion of a general dissemination of the Negro population in the United States, unless those conditions which gave rise to the recent large Negro exodus should repeat themselves in such rapid successions as to cause numerous similar movements; but the occurrence of such phenomena, while not altogether impossible, is, to say the least, very highly improbable.

During this movement also migration was suggested as a weapon which the Negroes might use against the South. In this regard the opinion was expressed that since the Negroes cannot defend themselves by the ballot or armed revolt they have in their possession an effective weapon in the form of migration, because it can be used quietly, without open threats, and with telling results. All they need do, when conditions in the South become intolerable, is to move away, provided, however, there are economic opportunities for them in the North. By so doing they will render the South decidedly hard up for labor, and thus force it to make concessions to them or face economic stagnation.[182] While there might be a possibility of putting this suggestion into effect, yet a little inquiry into the nature of migration will show that its use as an economic weapon is greatly limited. For the occurrence of a migration, as has been seen, there must always be both a repellent cause and an attractive cause. These causes, however, do not always occur simultaneously, for while the repellent or drawing cause may be existent, the attractive or beckoning cause may be non-existent and vice versa. Hence, in either case there will be no migration, because it is the tendency of man to prefer to remain in the environment to which he has become accustomed, even under most adverse conditions, or to leave it only when he feels certain that another environment offers him advantages superior to those afforded him by his home surroundings.

According to this principle, then, there might occur repeated instances in which conditions in the South may become very distressing, but unattended by signs of better things in the North. This would, no doubt, result in compelling the Negroes, for the most part, to remain where they are. In a word, a migration, in the true sense of the word, is not a phenomenon brought about by the mere whims or fancies of the individuals or groups participating, but is rather brought into being by a sort of rational response to certain economic and social laws. A movement engendered otherwise is almost certain to bring disaster to the migrants, as was the case in the Negro exodus to Kansas in 1879.[183] The occasion for a Negro migration of sufficient volume to affect the industries of the South, moreover, as did this recent one, might require such a long time for its occurrence as to render the force of the migration as a weapon almost nihil. On account of the peculiar position in which the Negroes find themselves placed, therefore, it might be well if they had in their possession some economic instrument by which they might peaceably force concessions from the South, and thereby remove many of the obstacles in the way of their progress; for it is hardly possible that they will accomplish this through the agency of migration.

Another thing in regard to this movement is that it has undoubtedly taught the South a few lessons. First of all, it must have brought home the fact that the Negroes, to a very large extent, are dissatisfied with conditions in the South; that they resent the economic and social injustices done to them; that they are not wholly anchored to this section; and that large numbers are ready to leave whenever there are signs of favorable opportunities for them in the North and West. As never before, perhaps, moreover, the South has been made to realize the economic value of the Negroes. It has been brought to see the valuable asset it possesses in having at hand this almost illimitable supply of labor so well adapted to its climate and industries, and that there are possibilities of its losing it to such an extent as to endanger very seriously its economic interests. The migration, moreover, has, on the whole, demonstrated to a large part of the better elements of the South that the Negro has not been getting a square deal; that in dealing with him rough methods will not work; and that if the South would have the Negro remain there, "the conditions under which he lives must be kindlier, the collective attitude of the white people toward him friendlier, and that equal opportunities with the whites for his prosperity, enjoyment of life, and the education of his children, must be assured him, not grudgingly, but gladly and abundantly."[184] In a word, the realization is that in order to allay his discontent with conditions in the South, the Negro must in every way be given a man's chance.

The migration likewise is not without its lessons to the Negroes themselves. In the first place, it must be evident to many that moving from the South to the North is no mere trifling affair, but rather a matter of serious concern. It causes the migrants to change suddenly from a mild climate, comparatively easy and slow-moving types of occupations, and relatively simple living conditions to a climate that is for the most part severe, to hard, relentless, and pace-set work of various kinds, and to very complex living conditions. This sudden shift from the old to the new locality brings many hardships and misfortunes to the migrants, because it means for them the putting forth of strenuous efforts for a long period of time in order to make themselves fit for the new occupations, crowded and unsanitary conditions of living, grave problems of health, and much delinquency and crime among them. It brings, also, additional burdens upon the communities of the North and West, because they are compelled to expend much energy, time and money in creating and maintaining social agencies for the purpose of helping the newcomers to adjust themselves to the new surroundings. It means, again, the increasing of the friction between the two races which frequently results in horrible race riots like those of Chicago and East St. Louis.

In the next place, the migration must have made it obvious to the Negroes that the North's interest in them is predominantly economic. The North wants the Negro, but to a limited extent only. It is glad to have him, but only so far as he can be of use to it in its industries. It is not at all disposed to invite and welcome him within its confines merely for the sake of enabling him to escape his unfortunate situation in the South. This is seen, to some extent, in the somewhat changed attitude on the part of certain employers toward Negro labor. It is reported that with the signing of the Armistice the barriers of race were again setup in industry. During the war Negro workers were used widely in the place of white workers to turn out war supplies, but with the ending of hostilities, making these products unnecessary, this policy came to an end. Employers are less willing now to hire Negroes than before, race riots are making it difficult for Negroes to get jobs, and firms which never employed Negro workers are loath to begin the experiment at this time.[185]

This movement perhaps has furthermore indicated very clearly another factor besides racial prejudice which has been a great obstacle in the way of the Negroes' admission into northern industries, and that with its removal there is a possibility of the Negroes becoming greater participants in them. This is foreign labor. This factor has worked along with that of racial antipathy, and has been the latter's most efficient ally in rendering insecure the interests of Negro labor in the North. As we saw, white workers for the most part have long objected to working with Negroes, and where this was the case, employers usually adopted the policy of non-employment of Negro laborers. With the coming of the hordes of immigrants from southern and south-eastern Europe this policy assumed a more rigid permanency, because from these foreign groups the employers could recruit all the labor they needed, and at the same time that sort of labor to which little or no objection could be made on the ground of race and color. Consequently, the Negro was pushed farther and farther back in industry, his opportunities for obtaining situations in the better paid occupations were considerably lessened, and he was thus forced almost wholly into those lines of work which are very menial, often irregular, and poorly remunerative. Even many of these were invaded by the foreigners to such an extent as to drive the Negroes almost completely out of them. This has been especially true of those occupations in which Negroes exclusively formerly served as cooks, waiters, butlers, footmen, coachmen, barbers, porters, janitors, bootblacks, and the like.[186]

When, however, the Great War came and suddenly removed thousands of the aliens from the industries of the North, employers experienced such an urgent need that they were only too glad to draw freely from the Negro population of the South to meet their demands. As the economic interests here were paramount, racial prejudice was apparently swept aside, and Negroes by the thousands were admitted into industries hitherto closed to them. In these they worked beside white men, and, where they measured up to the efficiency of the latter, they received the same pay. Hence, it is to a great extent the foreign labor element that has been a formidable barrier to the Negro in the industrial field, for it was seen that on its removal from this place Negro labor was employed in its stead, notwithstanding the force of racial antipathy. Though this force is capable of accomplishing much, the probability is that in the face of economic stress it would have been rendered impotent by the action of employers just as it was in the recent emergency, and Negroes would have been hired freely according to the exigencies of industries, if foreigners had not been available in such large numbers.

In view of the fact that Negro laborers have now been given a chance in these industries from which they were formerly barred, and the fact that the American Federation of Labor has consented to admit them into the international unions, and is endeavoring to urge these bodies to carry out this policy, the outlook for Negro labor begins to brighten; for there is a possibility of its becoming a potent factor in industrial affairs: but this outcome is conditioned by three things. These are the volume of post-war immigration from Europe, the extent to which Negroes are actually given effective membership in the unions, and the ability of industrial establishments, operating under normal conditions, to absorb fully the available supply of Negro labor. Already, immigration has attained such a height as to cause grave concern in that it threatens, if left unchecked, to surpass its pre-war records even at a time when an almost unprecedented industrial depression is in existence. So serious is the situation that Congress has passed a bill, which has been approved by the President, and thus will soon become a law, providing for a restriction of the number of immigrants from Europe, for a period of one year, to less than half a million. Judging from the past, one can hardly escape taking the view that, if foreigners should come here in numbers sufficient to meet the demands for labor as they were doing before the European War, the Negro's position as a laborer will be greatly endangered, for by this supply of alien labor it may again be pushed back to its old pre-war status. On the other hand, on account of racial prejudices, the international unions are still defying the American Federation of Labor by being unwilling to change their constitutions in order to grant the Negroes membership in their unions, and unless the Federation succeeds in coercing these bodies to execute its will, the withholding of this right will stand as another barrier in the way of the Negro workers.

It should be recalled, moreover, that most of the migrants were attracted North to work for great manufacturing concerns which were engaged in turning out supplies to carry on the European War. The ending of this war rendered, on the one hand, many of these establishments unnecessary because they had been erected for emergency purposes, and, on the other, it brought about a great curtailment of production in those plants of a permanent nature. The question now, therefore, is will production in those industries operating under peace conditions, barring industrial crises, be of such a magnitude as to occasion a demand for the full utilization of the very large available supply of Negro labor?

Here, it might not be amiss to give attention to the question as to whether or not the migration has, on the whole, been a success; or, in other words, have the Negroes in general given a good account of themselves in the new environment? A thoroughly satisfactory answer to this question at this point would be impossible, because such an attempt would lead us beyond the intended scope of this essays. A partially satisfactory reply may be had, however, by taking cognizance of the results of the efforts of the migrants in the various occupations in which they were engaged. On the basis of much that has been said concerning the migrants in this regard, one would at once be in serious doubt as to the success of this movement; but this viewpoint would not be altogether correct, because it would be based on facts which reflect conditions existing at the time when the Negroes had recently arrived North and were struggling to adjust themselves to the new life conditions. Under these circumstances it was almost impossible for them to make a record that could be considered creditable. Despite the hardships which many of the migrants have undergone, and those which numbers of them are undergoing at present because of unemployment, since sufficient time for adjustment has elapsed, the migrants have so wrought in industrial affairs as to furnish ground for reason to believe that the migration has, at least from that standpoint, been a success. This view is firmly taken by a representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. His conclusion in this regard is based on the discoveries of a recent study of the progress of Negro migrants in certain industrial centers in the North and West. These localities are Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, and the shipbuilding plants on the Atlantic Coast. This investigation showed that the Negroes were rapidly becoming adjusted to the new industrial and social conditions, that they were still being hired as laborers, that they were casting off the habits of tardiness, of indolence and of unreliability, were developing skill and efficiency, and were in every way giving satisfaction to their employers.[187]

More recently many employers of large numbers of Negroes were interviewed and the majority of them indicated that they were satisfied with Negro labor. Several steel mill superintendents said that they were agreeably surprised by the results of that sort of labor. The employment manager of a string of large foundries stated that Negro laborers are making good with him and that they can have their jobs as long as the foundries are operating. It was found also that the Pullman shops in Chicago, which hire 15,000 Negroes, were very well satisfied with Negro labor. A superintendent of one of the largest automobile plants in Detroit said that he knows that Negroes are good workers, and that he is trying to make his shop one which they will be eager to enter. In this same city an inquiry into the status of the Negroes in various industries showed that 60 per cent of the manufacturers employing Negro workmen were fully satisfied with their labor, 20 per cent were neutral, and 20 per cent expressed themselves as being dissatisfied.[188] A short while past, information from questionnaires sent out by the United States Department of Labor to thirty-eight employers of 6,757 Negro employees showed that the majority of these employers were promoting Negro workmen to the skilled ranks; that they were giving the Negroes the same opportunity as the whites to learn semi-skilled or skilled processes; that they were of the opinion that the Negro workmen show ambition for advancement; that there was no difference in the conduct and behavior of Negro and white workers in the plant; that there was no difference between white and Negro employees in the loss of materials due to defective workmanship; and that the time required to break in employees to the work was the same for Negroes as for whites.[189]

Besides, as evidence of their being satisfied with Negro labor, some employers are manifesting personal interest in the affairs of Negro workers by adopting plans of aid and conciliation which tend to encourage laborers and thereby render them more efficient. Accordingly, in a number of plants there exist industrial relations or "mutual interest" departments. The lines of activity of these departments vary from plant to plant. Some establishments merely offer bonus and insurance schemes, emphasize safety, and take steps that lead to the cultivation of cordial group relationship between labor and the management as a substitute for the old cordial individual relationship between the laborer and the boss. Others go beyond this. They see to it that absentee employees are visited, and when the latter are ill they have them provided with medical treatment and free nursing. They also supply their workers with better housing, lectures, clubrooms, playgrounds and cheap homes. In this welfare work an Ohio steel mill has gone to the extent of erecting a $75,000 school building and presenting it to the city for the purpose of educating Negro children. Few employers, moreover, have given Negro labor a voice in determining some of the policies of management through a shop council. Many plants, furthermore, have men of color on the staff of their employment office to see that these various programs adopted by the industrial relations departments be made effective among the Negro workers.[190]

Thus the foregoing examples of favorable opinions of employers regarding Negro labor and their acts of good will toward it are indications that the Negro migrants are giving a good account of themselves in the various occupations in which they are engaged. They are signs, too, that Northern employers are beginning to give more recognition to Negro labor and that they are learning that this labor is capable of becoming as profitable as any other labor when it is given a fair chance to demonstrate this. These instances also show that the Negro laborers themselves are awaking to the fact that indolence, irregularity, unreliability, and slothfulness will yield them nothing, and that if they would be successful in the great economic struggle they must make of themselves industrious, prompt, reliable, skilful and alert workers. In short, they are being made to see that they must be efficient. Finally, these favorable expressions and acts of employers in regard to Negro labor point to the fact that the Negroes are gradually approaching their due place in industry, and that they are likely in time to obtain it, provided they do not perpetually encounter effective obstruction by the prejudice of labor unions, by the force of foreign labor and by the failure of peace-time industry to utilize his labor to its fullest extent.

HENDERSON H. DONALD

FOOTNOTES:

[174] See Chapter III of this Essay.

[175] Survey, 38: 227, June 2, 1917; and 38: 428, Aug. 11, 1917.

[176] Folkways, p. 2.

[177] Woodson, C. G., A Century of Negro Migration, pp. 183-84; New Rep., 7: 214, July 1, 1916.

[178] Negro Population in the U. S., 1790-1915, p. 33.

[179] Ibid.

[180] Ibid.

[181] Ibid.

[182] New Republic, 7: 214, July 1, 1916.

[183] See Chapter III of this Essay.

[184] New York Times, Jan. 21, 1918, 10: 4.

[185] Survey, 42: 900, Sept. 27, 1919.

[186] Warne, F. J., The Immigrant Invasion, p. 174.

[187] White, W. F., "The Success of Negro Migration," The Crisis, 19: 112-15, Jan., 1920.

[188] Woofter, T. J., Jr., "The Negro and Industrial Peace," Survey, 45: 420, Dec. 18, '20.

[189] The Negro at Work During The World War and During Reconstruction, Rep. U. S. Dept. Lab., pp. 50-51.

[190] Woofter, T. J., Jr., "The Negro and Industrial Peace," Survey, 45: 420, Dec. 18, '20.



BOOK REVIEWS

The Life of Charles T. Walker. By SILAS XAVIER FLOYD. National Baptist Publishing Board, Nashville, Tennessee, 1902. Pp. 193.

This is a brief biography of a distinguished Negro churchman who for more than forty years rendered valuable service in the church in the United States. It begins with the usual account of the parentage, birth, and early childhood of the man and his preparation for his task, as is customary in biographical treatment. This part of the book brings out nothing particularly striking, except an appreciation of the valuable experiences of the subject of the sketch in his struggles to acquire an education and to establish himself in his chosen field. The more interesting part of the work is found in chapter V devoted to a discussion of his call to the Central Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia. Here we read of a busy life devoted to the settlement of church troubles, the raising of funds for a new edifice, and the expansion of the work under more favorable conditions. Some of the most interesting efforts mentioned here are the management of the Augusta Sentinel and the establishment of the Walker Baptist Institute. His work was immediately productive of great good and his influence became a force throughout the State.

The author shows how Dr. Walker, emerging as a more useful man, served as a chaplain of the United States volunteers during the Spanish-American War. He is then presented as an important figure cooperating with the National Baptist Convention and the International Sunday School Convention. As an evangelist, he showed unusual power with an influence so great that he was asked to accept the pastorate of the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in New York City, where he served five years in spite of the persistent efforts of his former church in Augusta to have him return to that field. In New York, as in Augusta, according to this account, he was interested in all matters pertaining to the social uplift of Negroes and, therefore, started the movement to establish for young men of his own race a branch of the Young Men's Christian Association, a plan which was finally adopted and supported by the city management.

Called back to Augusta so urgently, at the expiration of five years' service in New York, he resumed his work in that city, preaching with more power than ever. The press gave him favorable comment and persons of distinction like John D. Rockefeller, William Howard Taft, Lyman B. Goff, and General Rush C. Hawkins came to hear him expound the gospel, so great was his power of analysis and his ability to impress the thought of his discourses upon the minds of his hearers. The book, therefore, as whole, is a eulogistic treatment; but, on the other hand, it is an interesting account of the career of a man both useful and popular, a worker who connected with so many social forces in our life and engaged in so many different enterprises for the advancement of humanity that every one having an intelligent interest in the Negro may profitably read this volume.

* * * * *

A Short History of the American Labor Movement. By MARY BEARD. Harcourt, Brace and Howe, New York, 1920. Pp. 174.