The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/E185x5xA881p/aup03/ or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/E185x5xA881p/aup03 SOME EFFORTS OF AMERICAN NEGROES FOR THEIR OWN SOCIAL BETTERMENT, Report of an investigation under the direction of Atlanta University; together with the pro ceedings of the Third Conference for the study of the Negro Problems, held at Atlanta Uni versity, May 25-26, 1898. Edited by B. fiUBvIIAADT Du Bulb, l'h. D. Corresponding Secretary of the Conference. ATLANTA, GA. ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PRBt The Corresponding Secretary of the Atlanta Conference will upon request undertake to furnish correspondent« with in formation upon the Negro problems, so far as possible; or will point out such sources as exist, where data may be obtained. No charge will be made except for actual expenses incurred. CONTENTS. PAGE. INTRODUCTION . 3 I. RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION THE EDITOR. 1. THE SCOPE OP THE INQUIRY - 4 2. GENERAL CHARACTER OP THE ORGANIZATIONS 4 3. THE CHURCH - - 5 4. THE SECRET SOCIETY - 12 5. BENEFICIAL AND INSURANCE SOCIETIES 18 6. COOPERATIVE BUSINESS - 21 7. BENEVOLENCE - 27 8. GENERAL SUMMARY . 42 II. PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE 45 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE CONFERENCE 47 III. PAPERS SUBMITTED TO THE CONFERENCE 49 THE CHURCH AS AN INSTITUTION FOR SOCIAL BETTERMENT; Rev. H. H. Proctor 50 SECRET AND BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES OF ATLANTA, GA. ; - Dr. H. R. Butler 52 ORGANIZED EFFORTS OF NEGROES FOR THEIR OWN SOCIAL BETTERMENT IN PETERSBURG, VA. ; " - Prof. J. M. Colson "54 THE WORK OF THE WOMAN'S LEAGUE, WASHINGTON, D. C. ; Mrs. Helen A. Cook 57 THE CARRIE STEELE ORPHANAGE ; - Miss Minnie L. Perry 60 MORTALITY OF NEGROES - L. M. Hershaw 62 INTRODUCTION, " The sky of brightest grey seems dark To one whose sky was ever white, To one who never knew a spark Thro' all his life of love or light, The greyest cloud seems overbright." —Dunbar. Atlanta University is an institution for the higher education of Negro youth. It seeks by .maintaining a high standard of scholarship and de portment, to sift out and train thoroughly, talented members of this race to be leaders of thought and missionaries .of culture among the masses. Furthermore, Atlanta University recognizes that it is its duty as a seat of learning to throw as much light as possible upon the intricate social problems affecting these masses, for the enlightenment of its graduates •and of the general public. It has therefore for the last three years sought to unite its own graduates, the graduates of similar institutions, and edu cated Negroes in general, throughout the South, in an effort to study care fully and thoroughly certain definite aspects of the NegTo problems. Graduates of Fisk University, Berea College, Lincoln University, Spel- man Institute, Howard University, the Meharry Medical College, and •other institutions have kindly joined in this movement and added their •efforts to those of the graduates of Atlanta, and have in the last three years helped to conduct three investigations: One in 1896 into the Mortal ity of Negroes in Cities * another in 1897 into the General Social and Phys ical Condition of 6,000 Negroes living in selected parts of certain Southern cities ; finally, in 1898, inquiry has been made to ascertain what efforts Negroes are themselves making to better their social condition by means •of organization. The results of this last investigation are presented in this pamphlet. Next year some phases of the economic situation of the Negro will be .studied. It is hoped that these studies will have the active aid and co-op- •eration of all those who are interested in this method of making easier the solution of the Negro problems. STUDY OF NEGBO ÖITY LIFE. RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION. BY THE EDITOR. 1. The Scope of the Inquiry.—The aim of this study is to make a tenta tive inquiry into the organized life of American Negroes. It is often asked What is the Negro doing to help himself after a quarter century of outside aid? The main answers to this question hitherto have natur ally recorded individual efforts in education, the accumulation of prop erty and the establishment of homes. The real test, however, of the ad vance of any group of people in civilization is the extent to which they are able to organize and systematise their efforts for the common weal ; and the highest expression of organized life is the organization for purely be nevolent and reformatory purposes. An inquiry then into the organiza tions of American Negroes which have the social betterment of the mass of the race for their object, would be an instructive measure of their ad vance in civilization. To be of the highest value such an investigation should be exhaustive, covering the whole country, and recording all spe cies of effort. Funds were not available for such an inquiry. The method followed therefore was to choose nine Southern cities of varying size and to have selected in them such organizations of Negroes as were engaged in benevolent and reformatory work. The cities from which returns were obtained were : Washington, D. C., Petersburg, Va., Augusta, Ga., At lanta, Ga., Mobile, Ala., Bowling Green, Ky., Clarkesville, Tenu., Fort Smith, Ark., and Galvestoii, Tex. Graduates of Atlanta University, Fisk University, Howard University, the Meharry Medical College, and - other Negro institutions co-operated in gathering the information desired. No attempt was made to catalogue all charitable and reformatory efforts but rather to illustrate the character of the work being done by typical examples. In one case, Petersburg, Va., nearly all efforts of all kinds were reported in order to illustrate the full activity of one group. The re port for one large city, Washington, was pretty full, although not ex haustive. In all of the other localities only selected organizations were reported. The returns being for the most part direct and reduced to a hasis of actual figures seem to be reliable. 2. General Character of the Organizations.—It is natural th at to-day the hulk of organized efforts of Negroes in any direction should centre in the Church. The Negro Church is the only social institution of the Negroes which started in the African forest and survived slavery ; under the leadr ership of the priest and medicine man, afterward of the Christian pastor, the Church preserved in itself the remnants of African tribal life and be came after emancipation the centre of Negro social life. So that to-day the Negro population of the United States is virtually divided into Church congregations, which are the real units of the race life. It is nat ural therefore that charitable and rescue work among Negroes should first EFFORTS FOR SOCIAL BETTBBMBNT. 5 be found in the churches and reach there its greatest development. Of the 236 efforts and institutions reported in this inquiry, seventy-nine are churches. Next in importance to churches come the Negro secret societies. When the mystery and rites of African fetishism faded into the simpler wor ship of the Methodists and Baptists, the secret societies rose especially among the Free Negroes as a substitute for the primitive love of mystery. Practical insurance and benevolence, always a feature of such societies, were then cultivated. Of the organizations reported ninety-two were se cret societies—some, branches or imitations of great white societies, some original Negro inventions. Both the above organizations have efforts for social betterment as ac tivities secondary to some other main object. There are, however, many Negro organizations whose sole object is to aid and reform. First among these come the beneficial societies. lake the burial societies among the serfs of the Middle Ages, there arose early in the Nineteenth century among Free Negroes and slaves, organizations which did a simple accident and life insurance business, charging small weekly premiums. These beneficial organizations have spread until to-day there are many thou sands of them in the United States. They are mutual benefit associa tions and are usually connected with churches. Of such societies twenty- six are returned in this report. Coming now to more purely benevolent efforts we have reported twenty- one organizations and institutions of various sorts which represent distinctly the efforts of the better class of Negroes to rescue and uplift the unfortunate and vicious. Finally, we have a few instances of co-opera tive business effort reported which typify the economic efforts of the weak to find strength in unity. Let us review each of the classes. 3. The Church. The following table presents the returns of seventy-nine Negro churches in nine Southern cities ; the queries sought to bring out es pecially the economic situation of these corporations, and their social and benevolent activity : 6 TABLE NO. I,— CHURCHES. WASHINGTON, D. C. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 £i 1 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 85 36 37 38 NAME. Mt. Carmel... Y. P. Tabernacle Asbury......— ... Liberty.—. .......... Srace Chapel... ... Northeastern.—— St. Luke..— ............ 18th Street ............ Galbraith .............. First W Washt'n Metropolitan—— Virginia.———. Snorter's Chapel M. Wesley Fifteenth Street. Macedonia ............ Campbell..——... Miles Chapel—— St. Luke's— ........... Metropolitan- Plymouth .............. Vermont Avenue Ebenezer .......... ._... U. P. Temple- Third————— Mt. Zion.— ...... - . Lincoln Mem- John Wesley.—. Our Redeemer..... Shiloh....— ..... ....... . Denomination, Baptist LL M E Baptist LL LL A.M.E. Baptist AME,Z Baptist A.M.E. Baptist A.M.E. AME,Z Presby. Baptist LL A.M.E. C.M.E. P. E—— Baptist Congr'l Baptist C.M.E. M. E..... Congr'l Baptist M. E..,.. Baptist Congr'l AME,Z Luther. Baptist LL LL Enrolled Members. 1,404 40 787 850 350 20 52 100 300 300 1,500 350 700 800 400 26 500 312 264 119 150 207 600 700 227 3,300 400 784 100 975 650 2,139 188 265 50 145 1,650 900 Active Members, 1,000 40 500 400 200 12 35 25 150 160 800 300 700 500 360 12 200 160 150 73 90 400 450 158 1,500 200 500 100 450 550 125 150 30 75 950 600 Value of Real Estate. $26,000 7,000 80,000 30,000 1,500 1,500 10,000 1,000 80,000 36,000 16,000 90,000 17,000 4,000 50,000 60,000 24,000 1,900 5,000 24,000 70,000 65,000 25,000 75,000 60,000 50,000 3,000 40,000 27,500 45,000 25,000 75,000 9,000 2,500 50,000 40,000 Indebtedness. $ 2,600 750 275 140 100 10,000 16,000 24,000 3,400 7,500 7,000 12,500 2,400 16,000 8,000 25,000 5,000 15,000 8,000 20,000 17,000 2,800 15,000 18,500 11,000 OJ „- If s! Sa 6 3 8 4 5 5 4 4 5 4 7 4 5 4 3 5 1 3 4 5 4 5 4 2 5 10 9 8 3 22 12 4 5 6 3 4 4 Entertainm'nts per year. 24 12 12 30 6 21 25 40 30 50 4 20 6 27 20 45 15 50 20 15 10 24 4 50 40 6 10 50 Lectures, Lit'ry Exercises pr yr 6 1 5 I 30 13 50 4 20 30 4 20 16 47 50 50 5 5 8 10 40 52 Suppers and So ciais per year 4 1 6 3 24 10 4 25 4 2 2 5 4 10 5 2 3 6 1 3 t & E 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Concerts per year. 4 3 3 20 & 4 5 1O I 2 9 6 B 6 10 3 2 4 4 12 3 5 2 4 39 St. Matthew- 40 Zion.-.—.——— 41 Union Street- 42 St.. Stephen 's... 43 First................... 44 Tabernacle ....... 45Gilfleld——.-..— 46 Central———— 47 Oak Street........ 48 High Street...... 49 Bethany............ 60 Third...—............ Baptist LL C.M.E. P. E Baptist 2,700 1,200 2,6121 Presby. A.M.E. Baptist 50 227 75 111 400 80 100 374 30$ 800$ 102 65 80 400 874 1,996 19 250 60 75 111 3,000 8,000 3,600 28,000 8,000 85,360 2,500 23,000 600 2,000 300 928 600 100 800 1,515 257 179 4 4 3 6 5 2 6 6 15 TABLE NO. I.—CHURCHES. 7! WASHINGTON, D. C. • $ f t E 6 f 8 < 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1 Other Enter- 1 tainm'tsrjervr. 4 10 2 25 12 4 10 4 5 11 3 33 ] No. of Churchl Organizations. 7 8 12 4 6 1 3 4 1 2 20 4 3 11 12 6 10 8 7 12 5 22 19 8 1 6 3 12 13 1 Literary 1 Societies. 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 Benevolent 1 Societies. 1 4 5 1 3 1 4 2 3 2 2 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 4 Missionary Societies. 1 2 1 1 1 4 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 1 2 1 X ss j>S II 5 2 3 4 5 1 3 1 2 5 1 3 4 3 1 5 3 3 9 4 5 20 1 6 2 7 1 7 6 i ———————— Annual - Income. $ 2,406 700 4,000 1,250 3,000 76 600 900 1,060 1,000 5,714 3,000 *2,000 10,000 1,500 300 2,120 2,000 2,480 200 1,200 2,087 3,500 3,900 1,785 4,000 3,450 4,926 1,500 4,000 3,000 1,226 2,200 400 550 6,000 4,500 Annual Expense. $ 2,406 700 3,800 1,250 3,000 50 595 900 1,060 1,000 2,840 3,000 2,000 9,000 1,000 300 2,000 2,000 2,200 200 1,200 2,000 3,500 4,160 1,785 3,600 2,291 4,926 1,500 4,000 2,800 1,500 2,000 600 500 5,900 4,425 Expenditure for Charity. 128 • 20 250 78 6 10( 100 432 200 150 226 200 5 100 180 i 500 75 62 200 50 75 50 84 140 75 50 50 150 400 Number of 1 Persons Aided. 1 30 6 50 250 30 13 20 25 5 7 36 25 25 10 00 Work ill Slums and Jails, etc Two workers. Miss 'n for jails Some. •Some. Visits to slums. Vluch work. Three workers. Occasional. Much work. Much inst'l wk Occasional. •Some. Mission. Visits.—— ........... Some. Seven workers. REMARKS, " D wns 2tenements Bas Asst. Pastor Two churches [have split off [from this. Receives |300 a [year from A. [M. A. Receives $300-- [from A. M. A. Deceives aid. 1.25 apiece usually giv' [en charity applicants' vThis probably does riot Include pastors' salary; the total income must be 84 000 or $5 000 PETERSBURG, VA. 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 7 2 3 4 1 2 3 5 3 5 5 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 $ 250 800 300 492 7,500 1,231 2,350 600 1,000 380 400 400 $ 850 350 664 7,600 1,130 2,350 600 900 400 400 400 $ 10 10 12 400 378 25 50 16 30 5 12 25 4 Three missions An orphanage. 1 Missionary. Owns church, [parsonage, [mission house [and tenement. TABLE NO. I.—CHURCHES.—Continued. AUGUSTA, GA, 61 62 63 61 ir- ll 22 1! ^.2 O t? .1 _ "S 2'° ^ 02*0 J 6 3 3 3 3 1 8 S-S CQ 1 1 1 2 1 issiouary Soci« 53 £ Is Sia co S 1 2 1 1 1 h- i^ i 3 8 15 3 la a Eutertai per year 1 37 8 jbx • -f lectures Exercise 12 10 ™i Se p, ^. li 12 6 g S, e 2 S « Concerts pe 10 4 BOWIJNG GREEN, KY. .VI 56 57 College Street— Taylor's Chapel- State Street—.... C. Près. A.M.E Baptist 180 18B 850 74 12(J 600 $ 2,800 5,000 1,500 $ 800 4 4 4 24 6 25 6 8 5 7 5 10 6 MOBILE, ALA, 59 State Street. 60 Bethel. ........... 61 First.....—— Zl A.M.-ti. AME, A.M.E. üongr '1 760 L,000 420 125 650$ 800 300 100 700 75 FORT SMITH, ARK. 62 63 64 I. W. Burns——- Mallallieu— ..-...—. Q.uinn Chapel .... C.M.E. M. E.— A.M.E. 140 142 250 Vb 92 200 $ 2,000 1,200 5,000 V 3 2 25 52 10 19 12 1 6 GALVESTON, TEX. 65 66 67 68 Macedonia ............ Reedy Chapel- Frank Gary— ....... St. Augustine— Baptist A.M.E. M. E.... P. E- . 500 427 300 300 250!$ 7,000 304 20,000 200 9,500 1851 13,000 $ 150 1,207 2,200 4 4 6 3 24 3 4 24 24 13 4 2 1 b 6 1 2 CLARKESVILLE, TENN. 69|St. Peter's Chap.lA.M. E. 823| 225|$20,000|$ 263] 6 6 24 1 4 ATLANTA, GA. 70 71 72 73 741 76 76 77 78 79 1-i'irst.— . — ..—.-. Wheat Street. ...... Friendship .._..—... Bethel......———— Lloyd Street.. ....... Alien Temple....... Eeed Street——— Providence.— .... Shiloh...—— . .... New Hope....— ... . . Congr'l Baptist u A.M.E. M. E.... A.M.E. Baptist it tt Presby. 400 1,692 1,570 1,350 800 595 460 391 230 100 300 $10,000 if 100 b 10 10 lu 1 10 STUDY OF NEGRO CITY LIFE. This table may be summarized as follows : Number of Churches reported———— Number of Denominations reported— Baptist..-.........—......-............-..........-..........-..—.... - Methodists: African Methodist Episcopal....———— African Methodist Episcopal Zion— Colored Methodist Episcopal..........——... Methodist Episcopal—..................................... Congregational.—.......... ....................................... Presbyterian................. ........... Protestant Episcopal— LutJieran....—— ............................... 79 9 ... 37 Churches. ... 14 ..... 4 ... 5 . 6—29 Churches. ............ 5 " ... 4 " 3 " 1 " Total enrolled members............................... .. 42,631 Active members, less than.................... .................................... .... 30,000 Value of real estate owned,67 churches reporting.......——.-..—...$1,542,460 00 Reported indebtedness.........................................—..——.......................... 295,114 00 Total annual income...—..........—..............-.—.......—.................................. 157,678 00 Total recorded expenditure in local charity (65 churches re porting)..........................—. .............................................................................. 8,906 68 Number of missionary and benevolent societies reported 123 Number of persons directly aided so far as reported (36 churches)................................................................................................ 1,422 GENERAL, BENEVOLENT AND REFORMATORY ACTIVITY. Some irregular work in slums, jails, etc.-...—— .. 8 Churches. Considerable irregular work in slums, jails, etc....——................ 2 " 1 mission established in slums...........—........——— 3 " 3 missions established in slums............. ........... 1 " Eegular visits to slums..—. ...... . 3 " Mission for jails—————————————.———-——————-.—— 1 " 2 regular workers in missionary and benevolent work........— 1 " 1 regular worker.—....................................................................... ... _... 1 " 3 regular workers———— 7 regular workers...————— Eegular institutional work... 8 visits a year.............................. 12 visits a year............................................... 10 visits a month and parish school.... Visits to hospitals with food.... ................ Orphanage.......——.................................... Home for aged and two missions.——. Total... EFFORTS FOR SOCIAL BETTERMENT. 11 These returns do not give an account of all of the benevolent work of Negro Churches; much is done by individuals, and perhaps the larger part of the charity is entirely unsystematic and no record is kept of it. Some needy person or cause appeals to a congregation. Immediately in a whirl of sympathy or enthusiasm a collection is taken up and the money given, although no official record remains of the deed. So, too, the dis tress of the peedy is often relieved by neighbors through notices given in the church. While, then, these returns do not indicate the whole benevo lent activity of churches, yet they do give an idea of the orderly system atic work of the more business-like organizations. A better idea of the activity of Negro Churches will be obtained, per haps, if we tabulate the income and charitable expenditure of such churches as give $100 or more annually in charity. 27 NEGRO CHURCHES EXPENDING $100 OR MORE ANNUALLY IN CHARITY. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1Q 20 01 22 00 24 25 26 27 PLACE. »Atlanta. ...... ...... .. ... Galveston ......... ...... ...... ... . 11 Fort Smith...... Galveston ....... Washington— ........ ...... 11 u Washington... ...... u u 11 II Mobi'e ................. Mobile...—— ............ ......... Washington.... u u II II DENOMINATION. Paptist— ........... ... Merhrdist — .... Baptist———. .... n P. F—— . P. E.. .............. .... Methodist.... Baptist——— Methodist— ....... 11 11 Baptist- 14 n 11 Methodist...... .... n u 11 11 Methodist...... ..... . 11 Methodist..——— Annual Income. $ 3.000 1.500 1,231 1,200 1.550 3,500 1,059 1,500 1.250 2,406 1,060 1,000 2,000 4,500 3,000 5,714 2,4£0 3,000 6,215 4,000 2,000 7,500 4,000 2,000 3.000 6,000 10000 Annual ex penditure in charity. $1,600 600 378 300 300 500 150 200 150 288 100 100 200 400 150 432 180 200 388 250 125 400 200 100 140 150 226 ö«- • "3 Mil sill 50. 40. 30 25. 19. 14. 14. 13. 12. 12. 10. 10. 10. 9. 7.5 7.5 7.2 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.2 5.3 5. 5. 4.7 2.5 2.2 *This ehurch is building a Home for tlic Aged, so that this is extraordinary expenditure. Nineteen other churches give between $50 and $100 a year, and thirty- three churches either give less than .$50 or make no returns. Probably most of these give considerable in an unsystematic way. Some individual churches present noticeable peculiarities. One Con gregational Church "is doing a varied work along institutional lines." In 12 STUDY OF NEGKO OITY LIFE» a Methodist Church "the Wayside Gatherers have a mission for assisting' the denizens of slums and jails." Another Methodist Church has "a committee to visit the jail every week." A Baptist Church has the inter est from a fund, amounting to $150 each year, set aside for the poor; "We only give them enough to buy medicines and, at times, fuel, never ap propriating more than $1.25 to each." Another large Baptist Church, with 800 active members, reports a detailed budget: BUDGET OF THE NINETEENTH ST. BAPTIST CHURCH, WASHINGTON, I). O. 1895. Total income. ...15,714.09 Total expense : Build'g and improvements Sunday-school.... Charity : Church poor..... ..$236 00 Educat'nof Min'strs 3252 Missions-..-...... , 80 14 Miscellaneous. . . 184 00 Pastor's salary and other church ex penses.—.—.. ......... Balance on hand .12,840 00 132 00 482 6ft 1,871 77 437 66 15,714 09 One Baptist Church in Petersburg, Va., conducts an orphanage, and an other in Atlanta is erecting a home for the aged at a cost of $6,000. Whites have contributed considerably to this latter enterprise, but much of it has been done by Negroes. From this data it is clear that Negro Churches are becoming centres of systematic relief and reformatory work of Negroes among themselves. At present the actual expenditure of the organized agencies is not large compared with the income of the churches; but when we remember that fie members of these churches are largely poor working people, with little business train ing, and that much of the unorganized and spasmodic work is unrecorded it seems that the work being done is both commend able and by no means insignificant in amount. 4, The Secret Society.—Ninety-two lodges, belonging to nine different Fecret societies, were reported, although these by no means cover all ex istent lodges in the cities studied. Those reporting were : Grand United Order of Odd Fellows........— Ancient Order of Free and Accepted Masons- Grand United Order of True Reformers........... International Order of Good Samaritans, etc. J. E. Giddings and Jollifee Union...... — Independent Order of St. Luke- Ancient Sons, etc., of Israel..., 38 Lodges. 13 Lodges. 12 Fountains. 8 Unions. 8 Tents. 7 Councils. 3 Tabernacles. EFFORTS FOB SOCIAL BETTERMENT. 13 Knights of Pythias.... Knights of Tabor ........ 2 Lodges. 1 Lodge. 9 Orders.———. ........——.........—...... .................———_. 92 Organizations. Of these the Odd Fellows, Masons and Knights of Pythias are similar organizations to those among white people but are not directly affiliated with them. The Negro Masons of the United States, for instance, sprung from a lodge of Boston Negroes who received their charter from England. Most of the other orders seem to be Negro inventions purely, and" form cu rious and instructive organizations. Their main function is insurance 'against sickness and death, the aiding of the widows and orphans of their deceased members, and social intercourse. Their activity and con dition in detail is given in Table II. NEGRO SECRET SOCIETIES IN SOUTHERN- CITIES. PI/AOE.. Washington., D. C U y u, u i.i y i.i. u y U '*. y t,' y a y u 11 y lt. u i> u y U 11 i,; u 11 it. U 11 k.» « U • ! 11 » u y U -u u 11 U 11 11 11 11 a Petersburg, Va. u 11 l. U 11 11 It, 11 4.1 u FAME.. .Peter Ugden. ................................ Star of the West.... .. Bloom of Youth...... Rising Sun ............... Free Grace.......... ...... Mount Olive..... John F. Cook..... Eastern Star............ Union Friendship...... Progressive Lodge.... Con nthlan. .................. Golden Reef........... A. K. Manning........... ........ ....... Traveling Pilgrim. .. W. A. Freeman.............. ....... Osceola ........................................... Union Light..... Social...............— Rose Hill..... Old Ark.. ... .... .. Simon .................................. ...... Green Mountain..... ...... J. McCrummell..... Western Star........... ...... Columbia........................ ...... Taylor's Fountain....... .............. Christoe's Fountain.... .......... Cedar Leaf........................ .......... Sheba Lodge....... ............ Virginia Lodge..... Bethel.. . ..... ......... OEDEE. Odd Fellows. 11 u 11 u 11 u u u u u i i i i i i i i i i i i u u 11 TrueReformers u u 1 1 u Masons. u TrueRflformfirs Members. | m 84 102 76 109 85 78 68 90 70 5E 58 71 95 38 107 78 70 8t 7Ê 136 120 102 107 47 57 43 If- 32 45 15 47 Aciive 1 Members.]! loa 6H 87 fi8 100 7E 49 41 64 62 55 38 CO 77 2C 93 69 60 81 70 128 105 79 75 42 52 43 15 29 30 10 4.7 Investments in Real Es tate «nil oth er Property. $ 1,040 00 1,000 00 12,000 00 500 00 14 20 14 46 607 m 870 09 326 27 880 00 909 90 800 CO 105 00 1,769 00 275 00 700 00 90000 338 40 1,509 45 600 60 1,000 00 100 OC 378 30 700 00 700 00 300 00 T C 52 5 $250 00 23 DO 150 00 147 00 694 00 81 OQ 71 00 391 00 59 00 333 00 228 00 96 00 148 00 34 00 451 00 12 00 192 00 220 00 88 14 115 00 128 00 45 00 245 00 93 00 &i lr $ 180 60 90 00 leo oo 100 00 80 00 IQ?; «7 **i Ci Ë.4 t* Dues. LL 1.1. IL IL 1.1 IL IL IL Ll IL 1 1 L 1 1 1 L 1.1 11 LL 11 IL IL IL Dues & asses Dues. Dues & asses Dues. X •si 50 g « M § fl75 00 277 00 133 00 901 00 146 4f 218 80 101 15 77 00 824 00 45 05 75 50 12 00 78 00 23 EO 171 00 75 00 99 05 117 05 45 25 281 22 207 ï-5 289 74 195 85 96 65 64 71 12 50 12 00 16 00 1© 00 5 00 on en Total Death! Benefits.1 Ï2s75 00 256 25 207 00 195 00 310 07 237 00 208 00 147.00 191 00 eo oo 147 40 15 00 80 00 237 00 39 00 71 IE 120 00 177 25 44 75 180 00 C8 08 287 00 ICO 00 120 CO étf M2 •g -t . W 0 D Z3 10 12 17 16 16 33 12 17 5 11 3 14 5 18. 11 9 15 8. 14 27. 11 19. 11 2 1O 4 14 6 Cb Petersburg, Va. Fort Smith, Ark Gethsemâne...... ............................ keystone Fountain.... Ireen Bay...................... ...... Friendly........ Mt. Olive.............. î. O. Johnson... GQ I»Q IT 'Q 3t. James..... ...... erusalem....... ...... Pocahontas ....... .... ... ...... Ab: aham..... ........... ....................... United Sons of the Morning. Mal-ala's ........................................ Shiloh Rosebud............. ilose Bud Fountain.. . Rosebuds......... ................ Randolph. ........ ........ King Solomon's... Abigail Tent.... Mt. Ararat....... Charity......... .... Eureka............... Mt. Lebanon... St. Mary's..... Mt. Carmel... Sheba.. ...................... St. Joseph... Roxcillas..... Hannah..... Shiloh................. Dinwiddie... ........ Queen Esther.... Eureka........ • Weldone.... Widow's Son... Mfl.fier. ................. Biddings ............ True Reform'rs 3t. Luke.............. liTsi crin c Prue Reform'rs Samaritans........ Biddings ............ [srael.. ....... ...... Masons.... ....... .1 u Odd Fellows..... Giddings ............ u True Reform'rs u u u u u u [srael..... Giddings ... ... Samaritans...... St. Luke. .......... u u It 11 11 11 . 11 11 Odd Fellows... Giddings .......... n True Reform 'r u u Giddings .. Odd Fellows- Knight of Tab' Masons........ ...... Odd Fellows... 45 72 45 17 16 10 3f 20 30 18 19 84 1C 28 19 26 14 66 42 & 2E 91 30 23 16 20 18 16 5r 28 8n 53 34 4 25 1? 81 52 52 45 72 43 15 16 10 38 20 10 18 19 76 16 2fc 19 26 14 96 42 28 25 21 30 23 15 2C It ie 5" 23 85 53 3 3a 2C Ifc 8 4C 49 $ 500 00 750 00 500 00 1,400 00 3CO OC 2.800 00 200 OC 400 00 One lot 3,00000 29 42 163 80 350 00 154 80 45 OC 80 00 30 80 85 15 60 00 135 00 50 00 119 5C 320 00 55 00 87 3C 37 61 45 00 42 00 340 29 130 2C 86 80 66 00 78 02 100 00 82 80 60 2C 72 OC 70 6fc 57 6C 196 OC 74 4C 113 4C 265 OC 170 OC 105 OC 95 OC 90 OC 300 00 800 00 800 00 Dues & taxes u u 11 u u u ^n AB 3ues & taxes Dues..... .. ........ u u Rent & dues P)n £*c Dues & rents Dues & taxes Dues............... u Dues& taxe? Tin AQ Dues & fines 11 U Dues.... ......... Dues & fines Dues & finee Dues & fines Dues, picnic Rent, etc...... Dues............... 12 00 77 00 6 OC 20 00 19 50 4 50 24 00 10 00 27 75 102 EO 12 00 21 20 15 80 60 00 21 CO 6 00 5 50 8 50 40 00 7 60 1 00 18 00 10 00 4 50 28 50 10 50 22 00 19 57 27 00 25 00 50 00 15 00 91 73 300 00 200 00 $875 00 60 00 30 00 60 00 50 00 20 OC 29 00 250 00 75 00 14 55 20 00 45 OC 10 00 37 7£ 80 00 75 OC 120 00 200 00 100 00 S 23' 2: 8'. 2' 3 8 2 5 18 1 5. 20 7 2 3 5 4 7 5 3 6 4 9 2 15 15 10 4 4 25- ES.— Continued SOUTHERN C IETIES RET S GRO S TOS imoj, OMTIOJJ WI pntiH no IJSBQ JB q}O pun aj -«3 rraH "! •saaqurajij ORDER. PLAGE EFFORTS FOR SOCIAL BETTERMENT. 17 8 88 8888 88S8 §Q CC GO O OOCCO O CO •d-KN O O O O CD iï5 T-H »O »O l£> l£> (M i-H (M i-H C3 T— i " CD Gi GO -* CO GS t— G ,oWo S_ ß cä 'S: MS o œ S —i w n o A summary of this table can be made as follows: Total membership........ .. ....5,763 Active membership..........................................................—...5,150 Total value of investments in real estate and other property... ...*$49,073 OB Total cash on hand................................-...........—......................................... . 4,651 40 Annual income..--.-...-........ ........... 16,060 62 Annual Expenditure : For sick benefits....- .....$6,96/) 98 . For death benefits................................... . 5,984 78 $12,895 76 Total numbr of persons aided last year.:... ......................:....612. «I'bistxso unvalued lots. Some facts about certain societies are of interest: One lodge of the Giddings Order in Petersburg, Va., has been organized 23 years, and is composed entirely of women ; another lodge in the same place describes its work as consisting of "relief given to "widows and children, and the ed ucation of minors." One lodge of Masons in the same place was organ ized in 1867, and a lodge of Odd Fellows in 1866. Of a lodge of Masons in Clarkesville, Terni., it is said: "Most of the members own their own homes;" the lodge has spent "$10,000 for burials and sick dues since or ganization," September 28, 1874, or an average of over $700 a year. They own a lot and expect to build a hall on it soon. Another Petersburg lodge of the Giddings Union assesses each member SF1 a year to support an Old Folks' Home for the general order. One Odd Fellows' Lodge in Mobile has been organized fifty-five years, that is, since 1843. Both Masons and Odd Fellows in Fort Smith, Ark., own halls, two stories hi height, with stores below, which are rented out. We have here a kind of an organization which contrasts sharply with the churches, considered as business enterprises. First, it demands a higher average of intelligence and thrift in its membership, and more quiet, business-like persistence along selected lines of effort. The process of social selection has consequently made the group much smaller than the church organization, averaging fifty and sixty members, and having in no case over 175 members. These smaller and more compact groups do not handle as much money as the churches, but by arranging regular sources of income and carefully cal culating expenses they use their funds more effectively. The secrecy and ritual of these lodges is not without a certain social value. It attracts members, and then, too, it allows the establishment of a hierarchy of authority, which does away, to some extent, with the democratic freedom of the church; thus the more competent (and at times, it must be confessed, more unscrupulous), get a chance to guide and rule. The main practical objects of these societies are life and sickness insurance, and social intercourse. They represent the saving, banking spirit among the Negroes and are the germ of commercial enterprise of a purer type. On the other hand, .the secret societies represent much extravagance and waste in expenditure, an outlay for regalia and tinsel, which too of ten lack the excuse of being beautiful, and to some extent they divert the savings of Negroes from more useful channels. 18 STUDY OK NEGRO CITY LIFE. EFFOKTS FOE SOCIAL BETTEBMENT. 19 5. Beneficial ana Insurance Societies.—The beneficial society sprang di rectly from the church organizations and has developed in four character istic directions. First, by taking on ritual, oaths and secrecy it became the secret society just mentioned. Secondly, by emphasizing and en larging the beneficial and insurance feature and substituting a board of directors for general membership control, many of these societies co alesced into, or were replaced by, insurance societies. Thirdly, the train ing in business methods thus received is now, in an increasing number of cases leading to co-operative business enterprise. Fourthly, the distribu tion of aid and succor tended to pass beyond the immediately contribu ting members, and become pure charity in the shape of Homes, Asylums and Benevolent Societies of various sorts. In number of organizations the secret societies outstripped the benev olent societies, while the others naturally are still but partially developed. Nevertheless the beneficial society antedates emancipation; some now in existence are fifty years old or more, and others now extinct can be traced back to the Eighteenth century. These societies, of all kinds, sizes and states of efficiency, are still very numerous. Take, for instance, Petersburg, Va. There alone we have re ports from twenty-two, as follows: BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES OF PETERSBURG, VA. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 S 10 11 12 13 14 15 18 17 18 19 2) 21 . NAME. Sisters ff Friendship, etc. Union Working Club ........ Sisters of Charity.—..—.. Ladies' Union........................ Beneficial Association..— Daughters of Bethlehem Tjadifis'Working Club........ Qf TVTarlr Yonne: Risters of Charity. S'sters of Rsbeccah..- ..... Petersburg ............ ........ .......... Petersburg Beneficial........ i-st Baptist Church Ass'n Oak St. Church Soc'ety.... Total.............................. When Or£nn ized. 1884 * 1893 1884 1896 1893 1884 1888 1874 1845 1867 1869 1868 1885 1893 1872 1892 1893 1894 1894 1894 .Vo. Mem tiers 40 22 15 17 47 163 39 16 37 28 26 22 30 26 30 40 29 35 100 44 38 98 942 Assessments per Year. $7 00 3 00 3 00 3 00 3 00 •1-25C. 5 20 tt2c. 3 00 t25c. 3 00 tl2c. 3 00 «2c. 3 00 t!2c. 3 00 tt2c. 3 00 I-12C. 3 00 tl2c. 3 00 3 00 3 00 U2J£c.3 00 töOc. 5 20 60 t25c. . 3 00 1 20 3 00 Total Annual Income. $ 27500 68 55 45 00 51 00 135 00 1,005 64 129 48 22 50 95 11 84 00 68 00 66 00 90 00 68 00 90 00 120 00 85 00 182 00 60 00 211 00 42 60 120 00 $3,113 88 Sick and Death Benefits. f 150 00 43 78 23 00 30 00 808 46 110 04 30 50 52 65 32 00 27 00 40 00 3000 35 50 6000 8500 11 00 158 00 40 00 202 25 112 63 96 00 $2,177 81 Cash and Property. $ 175 00 128 25 440 00 62 00 214 09 150 00 100 00 36 00 100 00 75 00 130 00 175 00 99 53 118 00 80 CO 100 00 50 00 43 00 $2.275 87 *OrKanizerl before trie war. t Assessment upon each member in ease any member dies. Returns from other places are not so full,notbecause of the lack of such societies, but because of the difficulty of getting exact reports from them. They are small, have no public office and must be searched for. Probably there are at least one hundred such societies in the nine cities. Some are small and weak, others flourishing. Of the latter class the condition of six typical ones is given in the next table. SOME TYPICAL BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES. PLACE. ' Galveston, 'rex...... ki u u u Atlanta, Ga . ..... u u NAME. Daughters of Rebecca Trinity Moral Reform Union Relief.........—.... Young Mutual.-.....—.... Helping Hand.......— ... Coachman's Benefit- Six Societies..-...——— I c JaO £ 1866 1850 1894 1886 1879 1896 e ^ II EH 3 Ï5 53 94-0 ino 475 wii 4fl 95? 1 s s ^ 1 1 d A ** $ 12 00 1 00 1 20 muai Income. i** c-> $ 900 Qßfl Cflfi 661 140 94.fi |$3.701 «si §3fi 2A 35 $ 800 500 orin 498 100 $2,198 it "2 .ÖBH 5 $3,000 100 1,000 on 1 lot. $4,187 The business methods of beneficial societies are extremely simple. A group of mutually known persons, members of the same church or neighbors, unite in an organization and agree to pay weekly 25 cents or more into a common treasury; a portion of the fund thus secured is paid to any member who may be taken sick, and, too, the other members in such case give their services in caring for the sick one. In case a member dies each of the other membersisassessed from 12J£to50cents—usually 25 cents—in addition to their regular fee, to help defray funeral expenses. This simple and safe insurance business has everything to commend it as a method of self-help, and it has without doubt had much to do with the social education of the Negro, both before and since emancipation. The indications are that ten or fifteen years ago the number of these so cieties was twice as great as at present. Over half of those reported in this inquiry were established before 1890, and are probably survivals of a very large number of enterprises. The insurance societies have come in to replace the activities of these societies, and the change, while indi cating higher economic development, is at present having many disas trous results. The impulse towards insurance societies was given by the large number of white societies organized to defraud and exploit the Ne groes. Everywhere the Freedman is noted for his effort to ward off ac cident and a pauper's grave by insurance against sickness and death. In New York city a canvass of one slum district showed that 35% of the Negro fathers and 52% of the mothers belonged to insurance societies.* In Philadelphia the situation is similar, although the disparity between the sexes is not so great.t So, too, throughout the South the operations of these societies has been wide-spread. Partly in self-defence therefore, *Laidlaw, 2nd Sociological Canvass, 1897. fPuBois, The Philadelphia Negro. 20 STUDY OF KTËGEO CITY LIFE. EFFORTS FOE SOCIAL, BETTERMENT. 21 and partly in obedience to a natural desire to unite small economic efforts Into larger, the Negro insurance societies began to arise about 1890, and now have throughout the country a membership running into the hun dred thousands. Some of the secret societies are in reality insurance so cieties with a ritual to make membership more attractive. The True Reformers' order, for instance, was started in Richmond, Va., not over fifteen years ago; it now extends widely over the East and South, owns considerable real estate and conducts a banking and annual premium insurance business at Richmond. Three typical Virginia insurance societies are the Workers' Mutual Aid Association, the Colored Mutual Aid Association and the United Aid and Insurance Company. The Workers' Mutual Aid Association was organ ized in 1894. It is conducted by twelve stockholders and has two salaried officers, besides the agents. It claims 10,053 members, an annual income of $3,600, and sick and death benefits paid during the year to the amount of $1,700. It owns property to the amount of $550. Its rates of insurance are as follows : Weekly Premiums. Weekly Sick Benefits. Death Benefits. $ 05 $1 25 $ 17 00 10 2 00 35 00 15 2 76 45 00 20 3 50 56 00 25 4 25 66 00 30 5 00 76 00 85 6 76 86 00 40 6 50 95 00 45 7 26 106 CO 50 8 00 116 00 The agent reporting declares : "This class of enterprises do well, but the great drawback is they are too numerous, and it is hard to find young men who are willing to do the work necessary to make them a success ; and then the class who are willing to take hold honestly, is at a very grea premium." The headquarters of this association is in Petersburg, Va. The Colored Mutual Aid Association was organized in 1896; the number of stockholders is sixteen; the number of salaried officers, three; the number of members, 6,000; the total annual income, $1,172 82; the total expenditures for sick and death benefits, $800. The rates of insurance are : Weekly premiums. Weekly Sick Benefits. Death Benefits. $ 05 $ 1 50 $ 16 00 10 3 26 36 00 16 3 50 40 00 20 4 50 60 00 25 5 26 60 00 30 6 00 76 00 36 7 00 86 00 40 8 00 95 00 45 9 00 100 00 50 10 00 115 00 The United Aid and Insurance Company, according to its report, "was organized in Richmond, Va., four years ago; we have a total membership of 21,500 members. We are doing business in all the cities of this State and also in some other States. The financial condition of the company is good; it pays all claims promptly." The company occupies its own building in Richmond. The membership of these societies is naturally much smaller than re ported, but nevertheless it is large. The insurance charged is of course very high. A thousand dollar life policy costs about $250 a year premium, against $30 to $40 for a middle aged man in the regular life insurance com panies.* This high rate is to cover the weekly benefits in case of sick ness, and as there is no age classification and practically no medical ex amination, it represents the gambler's risk. Such business, of course, opens wide the door for cheating on both sides. The educational value of conducting these enterprises is, among the Negroes, very great, and con sidering their lack of business training, the experiment has been quite successful. On the part of the insured, the old beneficial society was a more wholesome method of saving. The insurance society savors too much of gambling and discourages the savings bank habit. 5. Co-operative Buxinexx.—There are undoubted proofs that the native Afri cans, or at least most Negro tribes, are born merchants and t.rafickers, and can drive good bargains even with Europeans. Little trace of this, how ever, survived the fire of American slavery. Communism in goods, ab olition of private property, and absolute dependence on the master feu dally bread almost completely robbed the slaves of all thought of eco nomic initiative. Business enterprise would therefore be the last form of activity which we might expect to see recover from the effects of slavery, even under normal conditions. The situation to-day is, however, abnor mal, from the fact that the white South is making unusual strides in com mercial life, and so no sooner has the Negro learned something of the business methods about him than further advance on the part of the com munity has rendered them obsolete. There are two ways in which a primitive folk may establish co-opera tive business effort: First, by the establishment of private business en ter- prise and then combining the single businesses into one joint stock com pany; or by beginning directly with co-operation and either developing into a less democratic form of directorship, or disintegrating into pri vate enterprises. Negro co-operation has thus far been largely of the latter type. For instance: Opposite the campus of the Atlanta Univer sity has stood for a long time an unsightly old tumble-down dwelling. Last year a small group of Negroes bought it; they met for awhile in it; formed an organization, moved the building back and prepared to build. By regular contributions they began a fund which supported a leader with a salary. They hired laborers and masons from their own number, and with their own labor have now nearly finished a tasteful brick build ing. This organization was a church, but its activity has been so far co operative business, democratic, in direction and peculiarly successful. From such enterprises sprang the beneficial societies, and to-day slowly «Mutunl Benefit Life Ftis. C'o.'s rate for a man of 45 is $87.«. 22 STUDY OF NËGEO OIÏY UFË. and with difficulty is arising real co-operative business enterprise de tached from religious activity or insurance. On the other hand, private business enterprise has made some beginning, and in a few cases united into joint stock enterprises. It will be years, however, before this kind of business is very successful. Indeed, all co-operation in business among Negroes is as yet in the ex perimental stage. For thatreason it is especially mentioned in this study, since it represents not so much private gain as social effort for the good of the group. Of the fifteen enterprises reported in the next table, probably not more than ten are at present paying enterprises, and sotne of these are only moderately successful. The rest are either just making ends meet, with a prospect of future growth, or are tottering and destined to fail. The cities reporting are not in all cases identical with the nine which sent in the other reports ; OJE those only four reported co-operative busi ness. The reports are as follows: 02 H 02 W 1 W 02 OQ 02 P W C^ ä g o ô ü œ K I S _£3_ S s sgJ LO O I m- CD 88 ! •<* O 5 O Jiß O ^ 110 ! m ce O eâ o O-l- S- 001010 88 o ro o »O -Q • C— > : o - • O : o •pazitreS-io NAME H O « « œ l! _Fqpq et -a - œ * fi ••Ö IS, -g es PQ •"o^S C5 O ^-* t~ O2 O2 COCO GO 6c § pqfi o IX £ .£ fi.g ,5 2 S*2 3 I 3 a 3 PQWPQ "OS S§ œ P5 œ. »* ësèé * Ä 6* * if ^•«1 § « § § si g n 2 o %* a t ^o ' 0> ^ O à = U I ill OB •< BpqlH œ rt Smith, Ark........ Americus, Ga..... .... Southern Pines, N.C. Raleigh, N. C....-.....— Washington, D. C...- Pine Bluff, Ark........... "^JucVtvillp TPTITI T^fvsi s Washington, D. C...... Atlanta, Ga..- " " Augusta, Ga.... " " ~XTa cjlnrjllf ^Pf»TlT1 A f.1 »vi til f-ï-fi Petersburg, Va— Atlanta, Ga............. .... Petersburg, Va.— .— ... Washington, D. C...... Richmond, Va.. .......... . NAME. t Ladies' Relief and Missionary Corps.—. Col'd Orphan asylum Pickford Sanitarium Ladies' PickfordSan- itarium Aid Society.. Colored Woman's Mothers' Conference Parents' Conference. Farmers' Improve ment Society..........—... American Negro Florence Crittenden Women's Club of Union Waiters' Hospital for Negroes ........—...-—.. ... Tenn. Orphanage... ... Orphanage „-——.-....... Orphanage .................... First Sociological Club.......— ...—............. Old Folks' Home....... Carter Home for the A j?"f»fl National Ass'n of Colored Women......... Hospital for e;ro Boys and Girls.... Founded. 1898 1898 1897 1897 1892 1893 1897 1896 1897 1898 1895 1859 1898 1896 1897 1896 189 OBJECT. Charitable work, Mothers' Meeting. rlosp'tal for To aid hospital........ Kindergartens, Mothers' meetings. Mothers' meetings. Village and farm Tracts and Publi- To rescue Fallen {föi itn p 1 1 Charitable work, Benevolence, care of sick and dead. To care for the Sick........................ .... For Orphans. ... 3tudy and Benevo- .ent Enterprise- Care of Aged... ......... Confederates Wo men's Clubs.. ............ To Care for the To Reform Young Criminals ................ MEM BERS. 130 6 trus tees. 30 100 1,800 60 16 trust's 20 2,000 21 Di rectors. ORGANIZED BENEVOLENT EFFORTS. 31 T 2 8 4 6 6 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 20 21 22 I «S r 100 00 40000 100 00 647 59 37 80 150 00 500 14 7500 736 60 801 21 —— 1,500 00 2,254 00 OBJECTS OF EXPENDITURE. Charity, et«--..-. Care of consumptives . Kindergarten, educating girls. Printing, etc.... Sickness and ~ Purchase of Land ....... EXPENSE LAST YEAR. $91 00 Erected two 606 71 76 80 150 00 749 7C 698 28 BEMARKS. Home and school for children; built by Grand Lodge of Masons of Ga. ; corner stone laid April 18, '98. Some white trustees and donors, but acres : 4 buildings pledged. Has furnished first pavilion. [Has established kindergarten sys tem and normal training school, ed ucated girls and done rescue work. Organized by a white woman ; car ried on mainly by Negroes. Meets annually; has branches all over the State. A national association. A new enterprise. A part of the National Association of ColoredWomen. , Owns hall and loan ass'n stock ; has large number of old men as members. Endowed by a Southern white man ; conducted by Negroes. Receives some State aid. Supported by Baptists. "To improve the home life of the poor." Secret society home. Connected with a Baptist church. Has a large number of affiliated clubs. Endowed by a Southern white man-; conducted by Negroes. Expects partial State support; is nearly ready for inmates. 32 STUDY OF NEGRO CITY LIFE. ored people of this city and State. It is well watered and has on it a beautiful house and one of the finest young-orchards in this section. "It is all a very commendable move of the Negroes of this city and de serves the support of all good citizens." The orphanage was chartered by the Stats February 19, 1898, and as its prospectus says, proposes "to care for some of the many parentless and neglected Negro boys and girls of this State, take them off the streets and train not only their heads tout their hearts and hands as well, that they may become good, useful, Christian men and women." A similar enterprise in Virginia is that started by John H. Smyth, ex- Minister to Liberia. His own words are: "Virginia unconsciously is graduating under common and statute laws annually thousands of youthful criminals. There is no middle ground, there is no house of refuge, correct'on or reformatory for the black boy or girl—who from defective, and from no training, has taken the first step downward, and as a consequence, crime is accelerated and in creased by law. 'The motherhood of the black race in Virginia is being tainted in its childhood by jails and a penitentiary, the manhood and youth are made criminal by means designed for punishment of wrongdoing, but which are proving most effective and destructive agencies of the morals of a large class of a race. ******** "It would be better to kill the unhappy children of my race than to wreck their souls by herding them in prison with common and hardened criminals. ******** "Seeing this condition, a few earnest Negro men, in defence of the re spectability of the race, moved by humane and Christian sentiments, formed the Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia, whioih cam« into corporate existence June 11,1897. It has a Negro Board of Directors and an Advisory Board of seven white Virginians, and its purpose is to rescue juvenile offenders through a reformatory. Though there is a reformatory in Virginia for white hoys, in the eighth year of its existence, the Ne gro children and youths may not enter its portals, though there is not a word or sentence in the charter of the 'Prison Association of Virginia1 restricting its beneficence to whites, nor prohibitive of its influence to blacks. 'The Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia has undertaken to purchase a farm of 1,804 acres of ground in the county of Hanover, and the erection of two dormitories, and two shops for teaching trades. "The cost of the land is $8.00 per acre, or $14,432; the cost of the four buildings $60,000, making a total need of $75,000. "That the institution shall not be an annual pensioner upon friendsland the public, farming in all its branches, blacksmithing, carpentry, shoe- making, and instruction in the domestic arts, are designed to make the institution, from the start, self-supporting with the State's aid in food and clothing of the inmates. The rudiments of English learning- Will be taught and moral training will be the main object."* ' »Address at 25th National Conference of Charities and Correction, Kew York, May 24,1898. EFFORTS FOE SOCIAL BETTERMENT. 33 The last announcement of the Association says : "The Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia gratefully acknowl edges the receipt of $2,254.14 from generous and philanthropic friends in the States of Virginia, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachu setts, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, up to August 1, 1898. The Associ ation has purchased 423 of the 1,804 acres of 'Broad Neck' estate, Han over county, Virginia, and has au option on 1,381 acres, the residue of the plantation, for one year. There are four small buildings upon the land purchased, two dwelling houses, a small barn and a stable, all of which may be used by an ex penditure of ifEOO for necessary repairs. With these buildings repaired the work of receiving inmates may be begun by January 15, 1899. The plans and drawings of the first building, the 'Martha Washington Home for Boys,' of'the Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia, have been made by Mr. C. Ruehrmuncl, 922 Main street, Richmond, Va. This house may be commenced next spring and completed by the summer of 1899, provided the friends of the Reformatory will aid iu raising at once $20,000. "The puipose of the Association is to avoid debt, to pay as it goes, so that when the building shall have been completed it will be the property of the Association and not of the contractors." Of all the efforts here reported none is more deserving of praise than the Pickford Sanitarium. This is the work of a Negro physician, Dr. _L. A. Scruggs, aided by whites and Negroes in the North and in the South. As Dr. R. H. Lewis, Secretary of the North Carolina Board oï Health says: '-if there is one thing more than another that the colored people need, it is hospital privileges, practically within their reach, both as to distance and cost. It has been a matter of surprise with me that some of the peo ple of the North, who have been so generous in their benefactions to edu cational institutions for them, have not realized this fact and devoted some of it to the relief of sickness and suffering. If they realized, as some of us avho go in and out among the colored people do, the environ ment of the average Negro, sick at home, in want of nearly everything a sick person ought to have, I am sure this want would be speeclly supplied. * * * And consumption has become the special bane of the race. * w Unless something is done, I believe that it will eventually decimate the race."* Impressed by such considerations the Negroes of North Carolina have founded a hospital especially for Negro consumptives in the mountain air of that State. The Raleigh Daily Press Visitor, September 13, 1897, says: "The Pickford Sanitarium for consumptive Negroes, at Southern Pines, N. C., was dedicated Friday last. Two thousand persons were present, who attended the exercises and inspected the grounds and buildings. "Dr. Scruggs deserves the credit for establishing this institution. The enterprise is the result of his labors. The building which was dedicated consists of two well furnished and nicely apportioned wards with accom- modations for twelve persons. »Letter to Dr. Scruggs; hue OUIMIKI-II Saniiarium, October, 1897. liSanitarium. October, 1887. 34 STUDY OP NEGBO CITY LIFE. "The white ministers of Southern Pines took an active and leading part In the services. Mrs. A. W. Curtis, of this city, has established and will maintain a memorial cot in memory of her son. "The land and buildings are all paid for, and there is no claim upon them. The people of Moore county and adjoining counties expressed their entire approval and pleasure at the enterprise." The larger part of the money subscribed has come from Northern whites, and especilly from Mrs. C. J. Pickford, of Lynn, Mass. Nevertheless the Negroes, too, are contributing: "The Ladies' Pickford Sanitarium Aid Society, of Baleigh, N. C., has completely furnished the first building of the Sanitarium. These ladies, more than thirty in number, have done a noble deed, which reflects much credit upon the citizens of Raleigh. They have our sincere, thanks."t The plan for carrying on the Sanitarium is thus outlined by the Super intendent: "The Pickford Sanitarium, for the care and treatment of consumptive Negroes and those suffering from any bronchial or throat troubles, is now no longer an imaginary institution, but exists in fact. Within less time than one year four buildings have been pledged by some friends of means, and money has been given, including other donations, sufficient to secure our four acres of land, upon which we have erected and furnished and paid for, one beautiful pavilion, with capacity for twelve patients. "A second building is rapidly going up, and will be ready by December 1,1897, when we shall begin to receive patients. This building will con tain a kitchen, dining-room, nurses' department and offices. * * * "No unnecessary idleleness will be encouraged at this institution. Suf ficient garden land will be provided, so that patients may take very mod erate out-door exercise, and in this way, when able so to do, the patient will not only help to feed himself, but will take, under healthy rules, such physical exercise in the open air as will prove agréât help in expanding the lung cells to a moderate degree, and in securing for him necessary muscular development. "We propose to have a well-aired, suitable building, in which carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, tin-workers, carvers and scroll-cutters, printers and others skilled in the industrial arts may find welcome, home-like em ployment. In this way, with the garden, or little farm and shop work, our institution will take such a stand as to commend itself botli to the sufferer and the public in general. This light labor will prove to this class of pa tients not only a pleasant duty in warm days in winter but a desirable, as well as an acceptable method of exercise as apart of the treatment which they seek. "My friend, will you help us, and thereby have a hand in this work for , the most wretchedly diseased of your fellow-beings?" The Colored Woman's League of Washington is spoken of in detail ' •later. The Farmers' Improvement Society of Texas was started by a former student of the Atlanta University, Mr. B. L. Smith, who is now a member of the Texas Legislature. It is said that in the town where his •society has done the most work, the Negro portion is more attractive than EFFORTS FOE SOOIATj BETTERMENT. 35 that of the whites. The object of the society as set forth at its third an nual convention is : 1. "To abolish the credit system completely, or as much as lies in our power. This object can be best accomplished by raising, as far as possi ble, all our supplies at home, and by purchasing what cannot be so raised for cash. 2. '-To discuss topics of interest to farmers, and thereby create, encour age and foster an intelligent and lively interest in improved methods of farming; to practice economy; to obtain such information as shall lead us to improve and diversify cur crops. The better to accomplish this pur pose, each local organization may offer prizes of money or other valuable considerations for the bestimprovedfield and garden crop, dairy, products or live stock. 3. "To co-operate in purchasing supplies and in selling our products, whenever desirable or practicable. 4. "To aid each other in sickness and in death, for which purpose a fund raised by regular monthly dues, not to exceed ten cents per month, shall be collected and held sacred, being subject to expenditure for no other ob ject whatsoever. 5. "To stimulate our members .who are homeless, to acquire homes, and to urge those who are already possessad of homes, to im prove and beautify them ; to pursuade them to purchase things that are absolutely necessary for the comfort of their famlies; to set our faces against and unite our forces in fighting those evils which tend to debase our character and destroy our homes, the principal of which are gambling, intemperance and social impurity; to refrain from spending our time and money upon foolish and harmful projects ; to re pair our highways and keep them in order; t« plant suitable shade trees and shrubbery; and in general to bring our homes ar.d home life to the highest American standard compatible with our income.'' The society is represented by organizations in thirty-six different towns and claims 1,800 members. The character of these organizations may be illustrated by reports from two :* "Kendelton Branch reported: Number of members, 40; annual dues, $4.00; number of acres owned by membei-s, 2,063; number of acres in cul tivation, 1,037; amount spent for improvements, $885; value of property owned by members. .$36,760; amount spent for sickness, $3.50; amount fcr incidental expenses, SI.00; amount 011 hand, $42.50. Organized by G. A. Alien, January, 1897, with twelve members; we have grown to forty. We send to represent us our worthy secretary, G. A. Allen, and Vice-Prés ident A. B. Brown. Respectfully submitted. "G. H. HIOKS, President. "G. A. AI.LEST, Secretary." "The Oakland Branch of the Farmers Improvement Society respect fully submits its annual report to the convocation: "We were organized in 1891 with 12 members; present membership, 50; number of acres owned by members, 900; value of improvements thereon, $6,000 ; value of land, including improvements, $24,000; average indebted- »From Ildpiiuj Hand. October, 1898. 1 36 STUDY or NEGBO ÖITY LIFE. iies^ for supplies, $40; decrease, 50%; amount of monthly dues collected, $125.25; amount spent for sickness and death, $35.50; balance in treasury, $89.75; amount spent in co-opsratioa, $2.25. J. E. EASON, President. "W. H. ISAACS, Secretary. ISABEL SMITH, Delegate." The President publishes a small eight-page paper, which is the official organ of the Society. TheAmerican Negro Academy is one of the most promising of the broader organizations of the colored people. It has a membership limited to Lfty consisting largely of teachers and professional men; the object of the or ganization is thus stated in the printed announcement; "The Negro Academy believes that upon those of the race who have had the advantage of higher education and culture rests the responsibility of taking concerted steps for the employment of these agencies to uplift the race to higher planes of thought and action. "Two great obstacles to this consummation are apparent: (a) The lack of unity, the want of harmony, absence of a serf-sacrificing spirit, and no well-developed line of policy seeking definite aims. (b> The persistent, relentless, at times covert opposition, employed to thwart the Negro at every step of his upward struggles to establish the justice of his claim to the highest physical, intellectual and moral possibilities. "The Academy will, therefore, from time to time, publish such papers as in their judgment aid by their broad and scholarly treatment of the topics discussed, the dissemination of principles tending to the growth and development of the Negro along right lines, and the vindication of the race against vicious assaults."* So far the Academy has issued two occasional papers, and its venerable president,, the late Alexander Crummell, had at his death nearly finished a series of ten ti-asts. The papers are a "Review of Hoffman's Race T-aits and Tendencies," and "The Conservation of Races." Tract No. 2 is worth repeating heie, together with a list of the other tracts: "TRACTS FOR THE NEGRO RACE." "By Alexander Crummell, President of the American Negro Academy." "NO. 2—CHABACTEB: THE GBEAT THING." "Nothing is more natural than the anxieties of wronged and degraded people concerning the steps they should take to rise above their misfortunes and to elevate themselves. Thus it is that the colored peo ple, in meetings and conventions, are constantly plied with the scheme.? their public speakers say will lift them up to higher levels. 1. "(a) One prominent man will address an assemblage somewhat in this manner: " 'The only way to destroy the prejudice against our race is to become rich. If you have money the white man will respect you. He caresmore for the almighty dollar than anything else.' Wealth, then, is the only thing by which we can overcome the casts spirit. Therefore, I say, get money; for riches are our only salvation.' "(b) Another speaker harangues his audience in this manner: H)ccas>oriul Paper Ko. 2, American Negro Academy. EFFOKTS FOE SOCIAL BETTEBMENT. 37 " 'Brethren, education is the only way to overcome our difficulties. Send your children to school. Give them all the learning you can. To thisend you must practice great self-denia.l. Send them to college, and make them lawyers and doctors. Come out of the barber shops, the eating houses and the kitchens, and get into the professions; and thus you will command the respect of the whites.' "(c) But now up starts your practical orator. His absorbing fad is labor, and his address is as follows : " 'My friends, all this talk about learning, all this call for schol ars, and lawyers, and doctors for our poor people is nonsense. Industrial ism is the solution cf the whole Negro problem. The black man must learn to work. We must have'Manual Labor Schools'for the race. We must till and farm, apply the hoe and rake, and thus, by productive labor, over come inferior conditions and secure strength and influence.' "(d) We have another class of teachers which mnst not be passed over. Our political leaders form nota small element in the life of our people, and exert no petty influence. In fact, they are the most demonstrative of all classes, and they tell us most .positively that 'in a democratic system, such as we are living under, no race can be respected unless it can get po litical influence and hold ofBce. Suffrage is the life of any people, and it is their right to share in the offices-of the land. Our people can't be a people unless their leading men get positions and take part in govern ment.' 2. "Now it would be folly to deny the importance of these expedients. For there is a real worth which the Almighty has put in money, in letters ar_d learning, in political franchises, in labor and the fruits of labo^. These are, without doubt, great agents and instruments in human civilization. "But I deny that either of them can gain for us that elevation which is our great and pressing want. For what we need, as a race, is an elevation which does something more than improve our temporal circumstances, or alter our material condition. We want the uplifting of humanity. We must have the enlargement of our manhood. WE NEED CHAEACTEE! "Many a man and many peoples, laden with riches, have gone down to swift destruction. In the midst of the grandest civilization many a na tion has been eaten out with corruption and gone headlong to ruin. The proudest monarchies and the most boastful democracies have alike gone down suddenly to grim disaster. 3. "There is no real elevation in any of these things. The history of the world shows that the true elevation of man comes from living forces. "But money is not a living force. Farms and property are not living forces ; nor yet is culture of itself, nor political franchises. Those only are living forces which can uplift the souls of men to superiority :—living forces, not simply act'ng upon the material conditions of life, but perme ating their innermost bsing and moulding the invisible, but migh ty pow ers of the reason and the will. "Now, when men say that money and property will elevate our people, they stats only a half truth; for wealth only helps to elevate the man. There must be some manhood, precedent, for the wealth to act upon. So, 88 STUDY OF NEGEO CITY LIFE. too, when they declare that learning or politics will uplift the race, they give us but a half truth. "These are all simply aids and assistances to something higher and no bler, which both goes before and reaches far beyond them. They are, rightly used, agencies to that raal elevation which is essentially an in ward and moral process. "Don't be deceived by half truths: for half truths lose, not seldom, the fine essence of real truth; and so become thorough deceits.' Half truths are oftentimes prodigious errors. Half fcuths are frequently whole lies- 4. "What then is the mighty power which uplifts the fallen? "It is Cowper who tells us— •Tlic only Amnrnrthinc Hover Is virtue; the only lasting treasure is truth.' "But what does the poet mean by thesa simple but beautiful lines? "He means that for man, for societies, for races, for nations, the one liv ing and abiding thing is charactar. "For character is an internal quality ; and it works from within, outward, by force of nature and divine succours; and it usss anything and all things, visible and invisible, for the greatness and the growth of the souls ot men, and for the upbuilding of society. It seizes upon money and property, upon learning and power as instruments for its own purposes; and even if these agencies should fail, character abides, a living and a lasting thing. "The other things are not internal and living things, useful as they are; and hence, of themselves, cannot produce the grand results which beget the elevation of humanity. "I say, therefore, that unless a people has character, there is no elevation possible for them. In saying this, however, I would not by any means eschew the value of money and property, of education and political rights. These have their place in all the processes of personal or social growth ; but they do not make men, nor regenerate society. Character alone doe.3 this. "It is character which is the great condition of life; character is the spring of all lawful ambitions and the stimulant to all rightful aspira tion; character is the criterion of mental growth;, charactar is the motive power of enterprise and the basis of credit; character is the root of dis cipline and self-restraint; character is the cement of the family; charac ter is the consumate flower of true religion, and the crowning glory of civilization. "In fine, it is character which is the bed-rock of everything strong, mas terful and lasting in all the organizations of life and society; and with out it they are nothing but chaff and emptiness. 5. "I am asked, perchance, for a more ('eflnite meaiiingof this word char acter. My answer is in the words of the Apostle St. Paul : " 'Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, what soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are cf good report, if there te any virtue- EFFORTS FOE SOCIAL BETTEEMENT. C9 ele- and if there be any praise, think on these things.' These are the rnents of character. "All this is equally applicable to man, or, a community; for (a) if a, man is not truthful and honorable, just and pure, he is not a inan of charac ter, (b) If a, family, in a neighborhood—father, mother, girls and sons, . are truthless and dishonorable, unjust and impure, no one can regard them as people of character. Just so too with a community, with a na tion, with a race. If it is destitute of these grand qualities, whatever else it may be, whatever else it may have, if it is devoid of character, failure for it is a certainty. 6. "Now, if the Negro race in this nation wish to become a people; if they are anxious to prove themselves a stable, saving and productive ele ment in this great republic; if they are ambitious of advancement in all the lines of prosperity, of intelligence, of manly growth and spiritual de velopment; they must fall back upon this grand power of human beings- character. "They must make this the main and master aim of all high endeavor. They must strive to free themselves from false notions, pernicious princi ples and evil habits. They must exert themselves to the adoption of cor rect and saving ideas. They mast lift themselves up to superior modes of living. They must introduce, as permanent and abiding factors in their life, the qualities of thrift, order, discipline, virtue and purity. "Now, it is useless to deny the presence among us of drunken and profli gate husbands, loose and slatternly wives, and licentious youths of both sexes. We see, not seldom, unprincipled hireling school teachers, greedy of pelf, hating their duties, and disliking childhood. We hear of leprous ministers in our pulpits, prostituting the holiest of offices; and we can, at once, put our finger upon the 'damning spot,' in all this varied iniquity —it is the lack of character! It is not the want of money which is at the root of these disasters; not the need of education which is the great difficulty. No! It it is the absence of that great inward quality—char acter. "Now, the mightiest effort of the whole race, especially of Ministers and Teachers, should tend to this grand acquisition. This should be put be fore and above everything else. If a choice must be made, it were better that our boys and girls should grow up poor and ignorant than that they should be trained in the family, and in the school, devoid of charaater. "Is not this right? For think for a momsnt—what rot is there in the world which is as dreadful as a lad without honor, or a girl who is im pure? "No such choice for our children is forced upon any of us. But charac ter is the main thing; far superior to riches, estates, or learning, or voting." LIST OF TEAOTS.* 1. The Losses of the Race. 2. Character, the Great Thing. *A series of tracts on economic duties nnfl problems are designed to be published in 1899 by the Academy. Some correspondence has been Had by this boly with the Government of Belgium- Inrelniioii to American Negroes in Ihe Congo Free State. See Proceedings of the Congres Inter national Colonial de Bruxelles, 1897, paper by il- Paul Hageinan. 43 STUDY OP NESBO OITY LIFE. 3. The Care of Daughters. 4. Marriage a Duty. 5. Leprous Ministers. 6. The Family and the Home. 7. Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses vs. Hireling Teachers. 8. The Acquisitive Principle and Property. 9. Civilization of the Race. 10. The Duty of Colored Scholars. Price of the Tracts, One Dollar ($1.00) per hundred. The Union Waiters' Society of Augusta is an interesting example of an old, well-conducted benevolent society which has neither died out nor developed into an insurance S3ciety or a business enterprise. Its funds have been well invested in real estate and stocks, and the income goes to support in sickness many of its old and feeble members; besides this, it contributes to churahes, Sunday-scli03ls, and to "every worthy object." It is nearly 46 years old. The Atlanta Woman's Club was organized in 1895 "for the purpose of helping the poor, the needy, siek and imprisoned, and for self-culture. It is one of the clubs which form the National Association."* "The National Association of Colored Women was organized in 1896 in the city of Boston. We began with a little more than a dozen clubs, and now have 125 clubs, representing 2,000 members. We hold our meetings biennially. The next meeting comes in July, 1899, in the city of Chicago. Our motto is, 'Lifting as We Climb.' We are organized for the elevation of woman intellectually, physically and morally."t The Association publishes a monthly paper, the Na/innal Association Notes, and it publishes occasional pamphlets.^ The following is. a roster of 86 of the affiliated clubs : Alabama—Eufaula Woman's Club ; Greensboro Woman's Mutual Ben efit Club; Montgomery Sojourner Truth Club; Mt. Meigs Woman's Club; Selma Woman's Club; Tuskegee Woman's Club; Tuskegee-Notasulga Woman's Club ; Birmingham Sojourner Truth Club; Ladies' Auxiliary, Montgomery; Ten Times One, Montgomery. California—Los Angeles Woman's Club. North Carolina—Biddle University Club. South Carolina—Charleston Woman's League ; Charleston W. C. T. U. Colorado—Denver, The Woman's League. Connecticut—Norwich, Rose of New England League. Florida—Jacksonville Woman's Christian Industrial and Protective Union; The Phyllis Wheatley Chatauqua Circle, Jacksonville; The Afro- American Woman's Club, Jacksonville. Georgia—Atlanta Woman's CJub; Harriet Beecher Stowe Club, Ma- con; Columbus, Douglass Reading Circle; Augusta, Woman's Protective Club; Woman's Club of Athens. *Report of Secretary. ' tRcport of Chairman of the Executive Committee. JSee one on the Chjdn-auvj System, by Mrs. S. S. Butler. EFFOETS FOE SOCIAL BETTEEMENT. 41 Indiana—The Booker T. Washington Club, Logansport. Illinois—Chicago. Ida B. Wells Club; Chicago, Phyllis Wheatley Club; Chicago, Woman's Civic League. Kansas-;'—Sieira Leone Club; Kansas City Club. Kentucky—Louisville, Woman's Improvement Club; Echstein Daisy Club, Cane Springs. Louisia ;a—New Orleans, Phyllis Wheatley Club. Massachusetts—Boston,. Woman's Era Club; Boston, Lend-a-Hand Club; Boston Female Benevolent Firm; Boston, E. M. Thomas League; Boston Calvary Circle; New Bedford Woman's Loyal Union; Salem, Woman's Protective Club; Chelsea, B. T. Tanner Club; New Bedford, St. Pierre Ruffiii Club ; Cambridge, Golden Rule Club. Minnesota—Minneapolis, Ada Sweet Pioneer Club; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Twin City Woman's Era Club; St. Paul, Woman's Loyal Union and John Brown Industrial Club. Missouri—Jefferson City Woman's Club; St. Louisi F. E. W. Harper League; St. Joseph, F. E. W. H. League; St. Louis Suffrage Club; St. Louis Phyllis "Wiieatley Club; St. Louis Woman's Club ; St. Louis Mar ried Ladies' Thimble Club. Michigan—Married Ladies' Nineteenth Century Club. New York—New York and Brooklyn, Woman's Loyal Union; Buffalo Woman's Club ; Harlem Woman's Sympathetic Union ; Rochester Wo man's Club; New York and Brooklyn, W. A. A. Union. Nebraska—Omaha Woman's Club; Woman's Improvement Club. Pennsylvania—Pittsburg and Allegheny F. E. W. H. League; Woman's - Loyal Union, Pittsbuig ; Washington Young Woman's Twentieth Century Club. Ohio—Toledo Woman's Club. Rhode Island—Newport Woman's League; Providence Working Wo man's League. Tennessee—Knoxville, Woman's Mutual Improvement Club; Memphis Coterie Migratory Assembly; Memphis, Hook's School Association ; Phyl lis Wheatiey Ciub, Nivshville ; Jackeon, Woman's Club; Jackson, W. C. T. U. Texas—Fort Worth Phyllis Wheatley Club. Virginia—Woman's League of Roanoke; Richmond Woman's League; Cappahoosic Gloucester A. and I. School Club; Urbana Club; Lynch- burg Woman's League; Lexington Woman's Club. District of Columbia—Washington,D. C., Ladies' Auxiliary Committee ; Washington League; Washington, Lucy Thurman W. C. T. U.; Wo man's Protective Union, Washington. West Virginia—Wheeling, Woman's Fortnightly Club. The First Sociological Club of Atlanta grew out of interest in the Con ferences held at Atlanta University- According to its constitution, "Its object shall be to improve in all practical ways the social condition of the colored people of this vicinity and thereby promote th« welfare of all the -"«ople. The improvement of the home life of the poor shall te the ob jective point of its endeavors." Besides these efforts there are numbers of small local societies for dis- 42 STUDY OF NBGEO OITY LIFE. tributing direct relief to the poor; there ara also such organizations as the Woman's Christian Temperance Association, the. Young Men's Christ ian Association, and the like. Recently a number of congresses have sprung up to discuss the Negro problems. The earliest was the Lake Mohonk Negro Conference, to which usually no Negroes were invited. Booker T. Washington founded the first regular Negro conference con ducted by Negroes, and it has had great success. The conference at Atlanta is prastically entirely can lus tsd by Ne ^r,)63 now, save that it meets at the University and the University publishes its reports. The Hampton Con ference is also conducted in part by Negroes. In the foregoing reports no mention has been made of Negro schools, even in the case of those wholly conducted by Negroes. This omission has been intentional, and was made because, first, Negro schools are pretty well known; and, secondly, the whole subject of Negro education was deemed too broad to be treated in this inquiry, and is reserved for further study. Of course in any complete study of efforts for social bet- termet schools would stand first in importance. 8. General Summary.—We have reviewed in detail the efforts for social bet terment of the following organizations : Churches............-......—............... ... 79 Secret Societies............ ... 92 Benevolent Societies.. ... 26 Insurance Societies——..- ...... 3 Cooperative 'Societies*............ ... 15 Benevolent Organizations— ... 21 Total Organizations.—- .....————..............................——............236 This we must remember represents only a part of the benevolent and reformatory activity of Negroes in a few cities of the South. It includes many of the more important enterprises, but not all even of them. It gives a rough, incomplete and yet fairly characteristic picture of what the freedmen's sons are doing to better their social condition. The first point of interest we have in this picture is a scientific one. No more interesting example of the growth of organizations within a group could be adduced. Here in a half-century, or at most a century, we ha.ve epitomized that intricate specialization of the different human activities, and that adaptation of the thoughts and actions of men to the thoughts and actions about them, which we call advance in civilization. The pro cess here, has been hastened, the environment has had unusual features, the action of the group unusual hindrances; and yet we catch here a faint idea of what human progress really means, and how infinitely complicated 'ts methods are. Compared with modern civilized groups the organiza tion of action among American Negroes is extremely simple. So much so that most persons not acquainted with the matter regard them as one vast unorganized, homogeneous mass. And yet there are among them 2-î,000 churches, with unusually wide activities, and spending annually at least $10,000,000. There are thousands of secret socieities, with their insurance 5'Two partially reported, are not counted here. EFFOETS FOE SOCIAL, BETTEBMENT. 43 and social features, large numbers of beneficial societies with their eco nomic and benevolent cooperation ; there is the slowly expanding seed of cooperative business effort seeking to systematize and economize the earnings and expenditures of millions of dollars. Finally, there are the slowly evolving organs by which the group seeks to stop and mini mize the anti-social deeds and accidents of its members. This is a pic ture of all human striving—unusually simple, with local and social pecu liarities, but strikingly human and worth further study and attention. Again, we have a scientific interest in the kinds of organs with which this group is seeking to accomplish certain ends. Nowhere can the per sistence of human institutions be better exemplified. Men seldom invent new ways of social advance, they rather change and adapt old ways to new conditions. The communism of the African forests with its political and religious leadership is a living, breathing reality on American soil to-day, even after 250 years of violent change—strangely altered, to be sure, and shorn of many peculiarities. The African clan life of blood relatives became the clan life of the plantation ; the religious leader became the head of the religions activity of the slaves, and of whatever other group action was left; monogamy without legal sanction was little more than thinly veiled polygamy. Then came emancipation, and the church resumed more of the functions of the old tribal life, while the minister added political and economic functions to his religious duties. Next the church itself began to differentiate organ izations for different functions; economic and cooperative action became the business of the beneficial society and secret society; and benev olence, of special associations and institutions; finally, cooperative busi ness and insurance sprang from the beneficial societies. How curious a chapter is this of the adaptation of social methods and ways of thinking to the environment of real life ! The second point of interest in this study lies in the light these facts, few and scattered as they are, may throw on the solution of the Negro problems. Here we must first notice that the race prejudice of whites acts so as to isola.te this group and to throw upon it the responsibility of evolving its own methods and organs of civilization. The problem of co operation among the members of the group becomes then the central se rious problem. And cooperation is peculiarly hard for a nation of slaves. Moreover, this process under the present circumstances has to be arti ficially quickened. We want the Negro to advance toward civilization much more quickly than would be the case if he were otherwise situated. This quickened process itself gives rise to new problems. There then lies the reason and excuse for outside aid. The nation helps the Negro not simply to recompence the injustice long done him, but rather to make it possible for him to accomplish more quickly a work which usually takes centuries. Nor is it impossible to givesuch aid effectually. Modern civil ization is continually trying it in the case of its slums and rabble, and has had some marked success. It is, however, a delicate process, in which the chances of error in two ways are about equal. The group may be helped so much that it wil cease to help itself; or it may be helped so little or so injudiciously that 44 STUDY OP NEGRO CITY LIFE. its best efforts will leave it unprogressive and discouraged. For this reason the first step, before aid is given, should be a thorough study and knowledge of the situation. One guide here is the the initiative of the Negroes themselves. If they are found striving in new directions, as to day toward asylums, homes and hospitals, this is a pretty fair indication of a social want, and judicious aid to such enterprises can be applied usually with gratifying results. On the other hand, there will always be fields for aid to anticipate future wants and efforts, which only trained thinkers and observers can foresee. At present even the few efforts of Negroes toward benevolent enter prises a,re highly gratifying and deserving of active aid and encourage ment. The pressing need of the coming decade will be organized work or rescue and reformation among Negroes—benevolence in its broadest and best sense, and not as pure, alms-giving. For the establishment of such work the great hindrance among the Negroes themselves is.their poverty, even among the better classes. If the economic condition of ike best classes of Negroes were better then relief work could be broadened. The question, therefore, resolves itself into a call for more light on the economic condition of the Negro, and to this subject the Atlanta Confer ences of the next few years will devote their energies. THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 45 PART II. PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ATLANTA CONFERENCE. The Third Atlanta Conference for the study of the Negro problems convened in Ware Memorial Chapel, Atlanta University on Tuesday night, May 24,1838, at 8 P. M. The President of the University, Dr. Horace Bumstead, as presiding officer welcomed the conference inashort address. He congratulated the members upon the success of the previous conferences; the attention which they had attracted from the press and public proved that the subjects discussed were not only interest ing but timely; moreover the formation of several sociological clubs for practical work is a good sign. The subject of this year's investigation : The Efforts of Negroes for Their Own Social Betterment, he also considered opportune. It is especially necessary among the Negro people that the bet- tsr educated classes begin to recognize the fact that the chief work of the social reformation of the masses devolves upon them ; the measures of so cial reform are always of two kinds : remedial and preventive ; and although we need jails, reformatories, asylums and hospitals, after all the wiser work is so to educate the masses as to prevent crime, insanity and disease. This conference may be able to point out some method of preventive effort along with the remedial measures. The conference is again to be congratulated on the wide field of study and investigation which lies be fore it: economic questions of occupation and property, educational prob lems of schools and colleges, moral questions of crime—all these are pos sible subjects of future study and discussion. Finally the president reminded the Conference not to lose sight of the ultimate aim of these conferences, the solution of the Negro problems ; and certainly one great step toward the solution is the independent study of the question by Negroes themselves and spontaneous efforts at reform. In this way these problems reduce themselves after all to the old problems of humanity and wo may surely look forward to a time when the unifica- t'on of the American people will be complete and these special problems will disappear. Mrs. G. S. King, ('74). „ S. S. Butler. „ M. A. Ross, C88). „ T. N. Chase. Miss Brittaiii, ('93). 46 STUDY OF NËOBO OÏTY LIFE. After the opening speech by the president the work of the Conference was begun. The first evening was given to a general report of the year's investigation and a suggestion for future work. Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, Professor of Economics and History, presented the general report, dwelling first on the aims and methods of sociological research, and then presenting a series of charts, and figures to illustrate the efforts which Negroes are making in various cities for their own social betterment. He was followed by Mr. George A. Towns - ('94), with a paper which was a review of official statistics already gathered by the government on the subject of the economic condition of the Negro, with conclusions as to the field open for future study. Discussion followed these papers, and after appointing a committee on resolutions the first session adjourned. On Wednesday afternoon a General Mothers' Meeting, designed to reach the mothers of school children was held. The following papers were read: "Good Manners" by "Childrens7 Rights" „ "Cleanliness" „ "Maxims for Mothers" „ "The Care of Homes" "Social Purity"—a tract by Prof. Eugene Harris. An interesting general discussion followed each paper. The second regular session of the Conference met Wednesday night May 25, and was designed to present particular examples of benevolent and reform work in various cities. Letters of regret on account of their inability to be present at the conference were read from Professor Edward Cu minings of Harvard Uni versity, Professor Edmund J. James of the University of Chicago, Hon. Carroll D. Wright of the U. S. Labor Bureau, Professor Katherine Coman of Wellesley College and others. A report on Negro mortality for the past year was presented by the recorder, Mr. L. M. Hershaw C86). The following program \vas then carried out : "The Charitable Work of Negro Churches" Rev. H. H. Proctor, Pastor 1st Congregational Church, Atlanta, Ga. "The Carrie Steele Or phanage" Miss Perry, ('90). "Etfoïts of the Negro for Social Better ment" in Augusta, Gà., Miss Mary C. Jackson ('85) in Petersburg. Va., Professor J .M. Colson, Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. Discussion followed these papers; Rev. Joseph Smith ('76.) spoke of charitable and reformatory work in Chattanooga, Teiin. Mr. Matthews, of the city public schools gave an account of the First Sociological club of Atlanta. Dr. W. T. Penn, Dr J. R. Porter and others discussed other phases. The committee on resolutions, consisting of Mrs. A. H. Logaii, Rev. H. H. Proctor, Dr. W. E. B. DuBois, Dr. J. R. Porter and Rev. F. H. Henderson, presented their report which was adopted. The conference after authorizing the chairman to appoint standing committees then adjourned. F. H. Henderson. > Secretaries. G. A. Towns. ( THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 47 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE CONFERENCE. The Third Atlanta Conference has studied some typical efforts of Ne groes toward their own social betterment in nine Southern cities. It has given especial attention to the charitable and reformatory work of Negro churches, secret societies and rescue institutions, and to efforts in co operative business. As a result of this inquiry the Conference offers these recommendations: 1. Negro churches ought to strive to reduce their building and running •expenses, both of which seem disproportionately high, and seek to extend their charitable and rescue work. Asylums for old people and orphans, Florence Crittenden homes and other such institutions should be estab lished,, and there should be more systematic work in slums and jails. 2. Secret societies among Negroes should be careful not to give undue prominence to ritual, regalia and parade. The increasing dis position in these societies to invest in real estate is commendable, and they should especially be encouraged in their present tendency to ward building asylums and retreats for the aged and orphaned. The relief and insurance features of these organizations need careful man agement, but have done and may do much good. 3. Negroes should be emphatically warned against unstable insurance societies conducted by irresponsible parties, and offering insurance for •small weekly payments, which really amount to exorbitant rates. Sav ings banks are the safest and best means of providing for the future, and .their establishment near the centers of Negro population is highly •desirable, 4. The work of beneficial societies with a small and mutually well- known membership is to be commended. They should not allow their membership to be increased without careful scrutiny ; they should use the .best business methods, and invest their money in real estate and in savings banks. 5. The tendency to extravagance and display at funerals is widespread. 'The system of death benefits often encourages this. Societies giving death benefits, churches and thoughtful persons in general, should frown upon 'these excesses as wasteful, unbecoming and unchristian. 6. In spite of many failures in the past there is room for considerable 48 STUDY OF NBGEO CITY LIFE. cooperative business effort among Negroes. Failures may be expected in the future, but they will have their educational value. Modest efforts, however, in the line of building associations, and perhaps in retailing groceries and fuel, ought to succeed. Consumers' leagues, too, might save much money and inconvenience. The Corresponding Secretary of the Conference would be glad to furnish information aud advice on these points. 7. Hospitals and juvenile reformatories are especially needed among the Negroes of the South, to prevent disease and crime. Efforts toward their establishment, if properly supported by Negroes themselves, would undoubtedly receive State and other aid. 8. Without doubt Negroes are making considerable and commendable efforts toward social betterment among themselves. Nevertheless much more might be done, and persistent agitation and encouragement is neces sary to awaken the mass of the Negroes to their duty in this respect. The educated and comfortable classes should recognize their duty toward the less fortunate in these lines. 9. Continued observation of the Negro death rate in Southern cities shows that it is still excessive. There is, however, no increase in the rate, and in many cases a decrease is to be noted in the last three years. The large death rate is still a matter of solicitude, and the preaching and teaching of the laws of health and hygiene are imperative. THIBD ANNUAL OONFBEBNOB. 49 PART III. PAPERS SUBMITTED TO THE CONFERENCE. The following six papers were among these submitted to the Conference. They are in all cases written by colored men and women who have had an opportunity of studying at first hand the subjects on which they write. The Rev. H. H. Proctor, for instance, is the pastor of one of the most ef fective Negro church organizations of Atlanta, and is a graduate of Fisk University and the Yale Theological School. Dr. H. R. Butler is a physi cian; he is a graduate of Meharry Medical School, and belongs to a num ber of societies in Atlanta. Professor J. M. Colson is a graduate of Dart mouth College, and aprofessor in a Virginia school. His life-longresidence and wide acquaintance in Petersburg enabled him to make by far the best local study reported. Mrs. Helen A. Cook is the wife of the former tax- callector of the District of Columbia, and is the pioneer of organized be nevolent work among colored women. Miss Perry is a recent graduais of Atlanta University, and a teacher in the orphanage of which she writes. Mr. L. M. Hershaw, a graduate of Atlanta University, is in the government service at Washington. He is Eecorder of the Conference and continues this year his interesting work of watching the course of the Negro death rate in various cities. There will be found in the matter here presented some points and fig ures already referred to in the general treatment. The repetition, how ever, is necessary to the different point of view. 50 STUDY OF NEGRO CITY LIFE. THE CHURCH AS AN INSTITUTION FOR SOCIAL BETTERMENT. Abstract of the Paper Read by the Rev. Henry Hugh Proctor, R. D. It is estimated by an investigator in the Department of Sociology, At lanta University, that of every dollar spent by the Negro churches of At lanta, Ga., less than 'two cents is given for direct charity.* The causes of this small contribution are threefold. The first is the poverty of the masses of the Negro people, arising from well known causes in the past and low wages at present. A second and more important reason lies in the lack of organization for this special purpose ; very few of the churches have organizations for this kind of work. The want of organization makes the benevolence unsys tematic and unintelligent. The third and still more important reason for lack of charitable activi ties is the extent to which lodges and insurance societies absorb the ener gies and savings of the church members. Every church has one or more of these societies which, although not officially connected with the churches, nevertheless are in reality a part of them. The first defect can be met only by instilling lessons of thrift and econ omy in the people, so that they will expend their money to better advan tage. The second defect of organization can only be met by carefully organ ized charitable societies in each church. As it is now there is no system ; a special appeal for a special case is made and people give according to their momentary feelings ; but the principle of systematic giving is not developed. Again, there must be more intelligent investigation of the proper objects of charity. There is much deception practiced now. which hurts the general cause. One of the favorite methods among the colored people is to solicit money to bury a dead relative, and many fraudulent appeals for such purposes are made. *Mr. G. F. Porter, '99. His table of the charity in nine Negro churches in Atlanta is as fol lows: CHURCH. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total..... MEMBERSHIP. 1,692 1,350 RAISED PER YEAR. $2,046 00 6,000 00 800 2,300 00 595 2,920 20 460 700 00 400 1,200 00 391 1,242 09 230 3,000 00 100 6,018 203 38 $19,611 67 ANNUAL CHARITY. $ 19 45 80 00 25 00 4500 1400 4500 17 00 20 00 6 00 $271 45 THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE. 51 The question of lodges and insurance societies is a difficultone ; they are strongly entrenched and do much good ; nevertheless the small insurance business is greatly overdone and hinders thrift and benevolence. The church could in many ways do away with the necessity of so "many of these societies. Especially should the Negro church enter upon the gen eral work of rescue and reform among the lower classes of Negroes. One cause of the neglect of this work in the past is the fact that nearly all the churches are in debt. Some are struggling terribly to keep out of the auc tioneer's hands. By the time the members meet their church obligations there is little left for reform work. Atlanta, with her back alleys and slums, is a fine field of work. The churches of the city might parcel out the field and each take a particular set of alleys for the work of general betterment. Again, there might be a matron for Negro girls at the city prison, as there is for white girls, and the churches might support one. Finally, all churches should unite to support the New Florence Critten- den Home, just established by the Negroes of this city of Atlanta. An encouraging beginning has been made. The work progresses. Every church should subscribe liberally. Rescue circles should be formed in every church. The shameless districts should be regularly canvassed, and a way of escape be made for every erring girl that wants to lead a pure life. Is it not high time we stop our shouting, be sober, open our eyes, and do something to save the little black girls that are tripping head long down to hell? I lay this question solemnly upon the consciences of the colored churches of Atlanta. 62 STUDY OF tfËGRO CITY LIFE, SECEET AND BENEFICIAL SOCIETIES OP ATLANTA, GA„ Abstract of the Paper Submitted by H. R. Butler, M. D. I. FEEE MASONS. There are five lodges of Masons in Atlanta, with a total membership of not less than 1,000. The monthly dues are 50 cents per member. They probably have an income of $5,000. This money is used to care for the sick and bury the dead, and assist the widows and orphans of deceased m