States. The Revised Constitutions have followed with almost mathematical exactness, the relative density of the colored element. The historic order has been Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. Georgia and Florida have not followed suit, for the simple reason that they do not have to. But political action does not affect the spread of population. The Negro finds the South a congenial habitat. Like Flora and Fauna, that race variety will ultimately survive in any region that is best adapted to its environment. We can no more stop the momentum of this population than we can stop the oncoming of wind and wave. To the most casual observer, it is clearly apparent that the white race cannot compete with the Negro industrially in a hot climate and along the miasmatic low lands. Where the white man has to work in the burning sun, the cadaverous, emaciated body, drooping spirit, and thin, nasal voice bespeak the rapid decline of his breed. On the other hand the Negro multiplies and makes merry. His body is vigorous and his spirit buoyant. There can be no doubt that in many sections the Negro element is element is gradually driving out the whites. In the struggle for existence the fittest will survive. Fitness in this case consists in adaptability to climatic and industrial environment. In the West Indian archipelago the Negro race has practically pelled the proud Caucasian, not, to be sure, vi et armis, but by the much more invincible force of race momentum. This seems to be the inevitable destiny of the black belts. in the South. For example; in the State of Georgia the number of counties in which the Negro popu

ex

lation more than doubles the whites, was 13 in 1860, 14 in 1870, 18 in 1880, 23 in 1890, and 27 in 1900. In the same interval the counties in which the Negro constitutes the majority had risen from 43 to 67. This does not imply that the white population in the Southern States is not holding its own, but the growth of the two races seems to be toward fixed bounds of habitation.

Numerous causes are co-operating toward this end. The white man avoids open competition with the black workman and will hardly condescend to compete with him on equal terms. Wherever white men and women have to work for their living, they arrogantly avoid those sections where they are placed on a par with Negro competitors, and if indigenous to such localities, they often migrate to regions where the black rival is less numerous. For this reason European immigration. avoids the black belts as an infected region. The spectacle of black and white artisans working side by side. at the same trade, of which we used to hear so much, is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The line of industrial cleavage is almost as sharp as social separation. The white man does not desire to bring his family amidst a Negro environment. The lynchings and outrages and the rumors of crime and cruelty have the effect of intimidating the white residents in the midst of black surroundings, who move away as rapidly as they find it expedient to do so. Only a few Jewish merchants and large planters are left. The large plantations are becoming less and less profitable, and are being broken up and let out to colored tenants, to enable the landlord to move to the city, where he finds more congenial social en

vironment for himself and children.

The rise and development of manufacturing industries in the the South also adds emphasis to the same tendency. The poor whites are being drawn off in considerable numbers from the rural districts as operatives and workmen along lines of higher mechanical skill. In the black belts the Negro is protected by the masses around him. One may ride for hours in many portions of the South without meeting a white face. The great influx of Negroes into the large cities comes. from regions where the Negro is thinly scattered among the whites, rather rather than from the regions of greatest density. These factors, operating separately and cooperating conjointly, will perpetuate these black belts of the South. The bulk of the Negroes seems destined to be gathered into these dark and dense areas.

If, therefore, we are accorded so large a measure of prevision, it is the part of wisdom to arrange our plans in harmony with the social movement which we have not the power to subvert. The first essential of a well ordered society is good government, which affords satisfaction to the people living under it. The Negroes in the South are not satisfied with the present mode of government, not only because it was not formulated in harmony with their sensibilities, but because of its lamentable failure to protect life and property. Perhaps there is no other government of European type which so ruthlessly disregards the rights and feelings of the governed since. the effacement of the Boer republics in South Africa. The first need of the South is a brand of statesmanship with capacity to formulate a scheme of government which will

command the hearty good will and cheerful co-operation of all the citizens, and at the same time leave the controlling power in the hands. of those best qualified to wield it. This is the desideratum devoutly to be wished. The amiable African can be ruled much more effectively by the wand of kindness than by a rod of iron. Strange to say, Southern statesmanship has never seriously tested this policy. European powers in control of tropical races. have found that reconciliation is essential to effective control. The inferior element must feel that they are a constituent part of the governmental order and are responsible for the maintenance, authority and discipline. But Southern statesmanship has been characterized by broken pledges and bad faith and open avowal to humiliate a third of the population. The democratic party claimed to have won the election in 1876, upon a platform which, in clearly avowed terms, accepted the amendments to the Constitution of the United States. But the democratic states forthwith proceeded to revise their Constitutions with the undisguised purpose of defeating the plain intendment of these amendments. This on the plea that if the Negro were eliminated from politics, the government should be equitable and just, guaranteeing to all, equality before the law. But, as soon as these plans are adopted, the very statesmen who were most instrumental in bringing them to pass are urging more drastic and dreadful measures. They are demanding the repeal of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which, by indirect tactics, they have already annulled. Has the Negro any reason to feel that the demanded appeal would stop this

reactionary movement? There can never be peace and security and permanent prosperity for whites or blacks until the South develops a brand of statesmanship that rises above the pitchfork variety.

The next great need of these black belts is moral and industrial regeneration. This can be effected only through the quickening touch of education. Outside help is absolutely necessary. These people unaided can no more lift themselves from a lower to a higher level than one can sustain the weight of his body by pulling against his own boot straps. The problem belongs to the nation. Ignorance and degradation are moral blights upon the national life and character. It is wasteful of the national resource. The cotton area is limited, and this fabric will become more and more an important factor in our national, industrial and economic scheme. And yet thousands of acres of these valuable lands are being washed away and wasted annually by ignorant and unskilled tillage. The nation is contemplating the expenditure of millions of dollars to irrigate the arid regions of the West. But would it not be a wiser economic measure to save the cotton area of the South through the enlightenment of the peasant farmers? The educational facilities in the black counties outside of the cities are almost useless. The reactionary current against the education of the Negro in the South is deep and strong. Unless the nation, either through statesmanship or philanthropy, lends a helping hand, these shade places will form a continuing blot upon the national escutcheon. There should be better school facilities and social opportunities, not only as a means of their own better

ment, but in order that contentment with the rural environment to which they are well suited may prevent them from flocking into the cities, North and South, thus forming a national municipal menace.

The Negro's industrial opportunities lie in the black belts. He occupies the best cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar lands of the South. The climate shields him from the crushing weight of Aryan competition. Agriculture lies at the base of the life of any undeveloped race. The manufacturing stage is a later development. The exclusion of the Negro from the factories is perhaps a blessing in disguise. The agricultural industries of the South are bound to become of greater and greater national importance and the Negro is to become a larger and larger industrial factor. The cotton area is limited, but the demand for cotton stuffs increases not only with the growth of our own national population, but with the expansion of our trade in both hemispheres. A shrewd observer has suggested that the time seems sure to come when a pound of cotton will be worth a bushel of wheat. When cotton regains its ancient place and again becomes king, the Negro will be the power behind the throne.

It is interesting to notice from the last census the extent to which Negroes are owning and managing their own farms. The large estates are being broken up into small farms and let out to Negro tenants at a higher rate of annual rental. This is but the first step toward Negro proprietorship. There is a double field for philanthropy. First, to furnish school facilities so that the small farmer may become intelligent and skilled in the conduct of his affairs; and second, to

make it possible for him to buy small tracts of land. The holders of the old estates do not care to atomize their plantations, but would gladly dispose of their entire holdings. There is a vast field for philanthropy with the additional inducement of five per cent. Already such attempts have been made. Hon. George W. Murray, the last Negro Congressman from South Carolina, has disposed of 60,000 acres of land in South Carolina in small holdings to Negro farmers, and is equally enthusiastic over the commercial and philanthropic aspect of the enterprise. Some Northern capitalists have undertaken a similar movement in the neighborhood of Tuskegee Institute, which promises to have far-reaching effect upon the betterment of black belt conditions. There are also indications of Negro villages and industrial settlements to afford better social and business opportunities. Colored men of ambition and educa

tion will be glad to seek such communities as a field to exploit their powers. The secret and method of New England may thus be transplanted in these darksome places by the sons of Ethiopia. Thus those that now grope in darkness may yet receive the light.

Mr. John Temple Graves has, in a recent, notable utterance, advocated the separation of the races, and has elaborated his doctrine with great rhetorical pains. But mass movement of the Negro race seems clearly to indicate immediate, if not the ultimate outcome to be separateness rather than separation.

No one can tell what the ultimate future of the Negro is to be; whether it is to be worked out in this land or on some distant continent. We may, however, be permitted to foretell the logical outcome of forces now at work, without assuming the prophet's prerogative.

reactionary movement? There can never be peace and security and permanent prosperity for whites or blacks until the South develops a brand of statesmanship that rises above the pitchfork variety.

The next great need of these black belts is moral and industrial regeneration. This can be effected only through the quickening touch of education. Outside help is absolutely necessary. These people unaided can no more lift themselves from a lower to a higher level than one can sustain the weight of his body by pulling against his own boot straps. The problem belongs to the nation. Ignorance and degradation are moral blights upon the national life and character. It is wasteful of the national resource. The cotton area is limited, and this fabric will become more and more an important factor in our national, industrial and economic scheme. And yet thousands of acres of these valuable lands are being washed away and wasted annually by ignorant and unskilled tillage. The nation is contemplating the expenditure of millions of dollars to irrigate the arid regions of the West. But would it not be a wiser economic measure to save the cotton area of the South through the enlightenment of the peasant farmers? The educational facilities in the black counties outside of the cities are almost useless. The reactionary current against the education of the Negro in the South is deep and strong. Unless the nation, either through statesmanship or philanthropy, lends a helping hand, these shade places will form a continuing blot upon the national escutcheon. There should be better school facilities and social opportunities, not only as a means of their own better

ment, but in order that contentment with the rural environment to which they are well suited may prevent them from flocking into the cities, North and South, thus forming a national municipal menace.

The Negro's industrial opportunities lie in the black belts. He occupies the best cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar lands of the South. The climate shields him from the crushing weight of Aryan competition. Agriculture lies at the base of the life of any undeveloped race. The manufacturing stage is a later development. The exclusion of the Negro from the factories is perhaps a blessing in disguise. The agricultural industries of the South are bound to become of greater and greater national importance and the Negro is to become a larger and larger industrial factor. The cotton area is limited, but the demand for cotton stuffs increases not only with the growth of our own national population, but with the expansion of our trade in both hemispheres. A shrewd observer has suggested that the time seems sure to come when a pound of cotton will be worth a bushel of wheat. When cotton regains its ancient place and again becomes king, the Negro will be the power behind the throne.

It is interesting to notice from the last census the extent to which Negroes are owning and managing their own farms. The large estates are being broken up into small farms and let out to Negro tenants at a higher rate of annual rental. This is but the first step toward Negro proprietorchin. There is a double field ropv First, to fr that + inte