The source of this uncorrected OCR text may be viewed in the DjVu format at: http://fax.libs.uga.edu/E185x5xA881p/aup07 or http://purl.galileo.usg.edu/ugafax/E185x5xA881p/aup07 ATLANTA UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS, No. 7 THE NEGRO ARTISAN A SOCIAL STUDY MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY BY THE SEVENTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE PRICE, 50 CENTS ATLANTA TWIVEESItT PBKSS ATLANTA, GA. 19O2 JHE whole country should be grateful to this institution for the painstaking and systematic manner with which it has developed from year to year a series of facts which are proving most vital and helpful to the interests of our nation." Booker T. Washington, speech at the Seventh Atlanta Conference. THE NEGRO ARTISAN REPORT OF A SOCIAL STUDY MADE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY; TOGETHER WITH THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTH CONFERENCE FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEGRO PROBLEMS, HELD AT ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, ON MAY 2?TH, 1902. EDITED BY W. E. BURGHARDT Du BOIS, Corresponding Secretary of the Conference. Atlanta University ATLANTA, GA,., 18OS. "nPHE work with the Negro must affect also our work with the brown man and the yellow man. The object is not to train him only to become useful or innocuous, to be a helot of toil, to be a producer,—but under and over all is the fact that the Negro, however unfit he may be now or for some time to come to exercise the political franchise, must be educated so that in time he may become worthy to be in full sense a citizen. We can not endure as a republic if we have classes among us not educated to assume the duties of citizenship. As moral human beings we cannot afford to treat another human being as if he were less than human." DR. FELIX ADLER. January 9, 1903. EN I speak of industrial education I do not mean to dis parage higher education, which will provide teachers. The important thing is to give the best education which it is possible for the recipient to use, which will bring out the best in the stu dent." W. H. BALDWIN, JR., President General Educational Board. January 9, 1903. CONTENTS. o. 6. PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY . ... ... v-vii To THE BEADJOR . . . . ... viii INTRODUCTION. The Atlanta Conference . • . . ... . 1 Sociological Work of Atlanta University .... .2 PROCEEDINGS ov THK SEVENTH ATLANTA CONFERENCE . . 4 THE NKGKO ARTISAN.—By the ICditor. 1. Scope and Method of the Inquiry . . .... 8 History of the Negro Artisan. 2. The Ante-bellum Artisan ..... .13 8. Kconomics of .Emancipation . ...... 21 The Training of Artisans. 4. Occupations and Home-training . . . 23 The Rise of Industrial Training . . . 28 Tho Industrial School ..... ... 33 7. The Influence of the Slater Fund ..'.... 39 8. Curricula of Industrial Schools ..... 42 9. The Differentiation of Industrial Schools ... .58 10. Manual Training .......... 59 11. The Post-Graduate Trade School ... ... 62 12. Cost of Industrial Training ...... .65 13. Results of Industrial Training ..... .08 14. Five Faults of Industrial Schools ..... 79 15. Five Accomplishments of Industrial Schools .... 83 16. The Higher ^Education and the Industries—By Dr. J. G. Mer rill, President of Fisk University ...... 83 17. The Industrial Settlement at Kowaliga, Ala. .... 84 Local Conditions of Negro Artisans. 18. General Statistics of Negro Artisans ...... 87 19. Liocal Conditions: A Study in Memphis, Tenu.—By Henry N. Lee, of LeMoyue Institute .....*. 94 20. Local Conditions: Texas—By K. H. Holmes, of the Prairie \7ie\v Normal School .......... 98 21. Local Conditions: A jSTegro Contractor of Atlanta, Ga..—By Alexander Hamilton, Jr., of the firm of Hamilton & Sou, Building Contractors ......... 102 22. Local Conditions: Indianapolis, Ind.—By W. T. B. Williams . 104 Distribution of Negro Artisans. 23. Alabama .... ....... 106 24. California . . . ...... W8 IV 25. Colorado .......... 108 26. District of Columbia .......... 109 27. Florida ............ Ill 28. Georgia ...... ..... 112 29. Atlanta, Ga ........... 115 30. Other Towns in Georgia ........ 120 31. Illinois ............ 124 32. Indiana ........ ... 125 33. Indian Territory and Oklahoma ....... 125 34. Iowa and Kansas ... . . . 126 35. Kentucky ......... . . 126 36. Louisiana .......... . 127 37. Maine and Massachusetts ........ 128 38. Maryland ....... .... 129 39. Michigan, Minnesota and AYisconsin . ... 130 40. Mississippi ...... ... 131 41. Missouri ............ 132 42. Other New England States (N. H., Vt., E. I., and Conn.) . 133 13. New York and New Jersey ........ 133 44. North Carolina ....... . . 135 45. Ohio ............. 138 16. Oregon and the Northwest (Ore., Mont., Ida., N. D., S. I)., Neb., U., Wash., and AYy.) ........ 139 47. Pennsylvania and Delaware . ... 140 48. South Carolina ... . . . .141 49. Tennessee and Arkansas ......... 142 50. Texas and the Southwest (Tex., Ariz., Nev., and N. Mex.) . 146 51. Virginia and est Virginia ..... . 147 52. Summary of Local Conditions . . .... 150 Trade Unions and Negro Labor. 53. The Negro and Organized Labor .... . 153 54. Unions with a Considerable Negro Membership . . . 158 55. Unions with Few Negro Members ... ... 164 56. LTnions with No Negro Members . . ... 166 57. Local Option in Choice of Members . . . . 171 58. Strikes Against Negro AYorkmeu ... ... 173 59. Summary of the Attitude of Organized Labor .... 176 60. Views of Labor Leaders.—By C. C. Houston, Secretary of the Georgia Federation of Labor, and others . . 176 The Employers of Negro Labor. 61. The Employer, the Artisan and the Eight of Suffrage . . 179 62. The Employment of Skilled Negroes, 1901 . . ... .180 63. The Negro Inventor ... . . . 187 64. Summary ....... . . . 188 INDEX .... . ' . . 189 A Bibliography of the Negro Artisan and the Industrial Training of Negroes. African Laborers, Importation of, DeBow's Keview, 24:421. American Missionary, 46 vol., 1856-1902. America's Kace Problems, N.Y., McClure, Phillips & Co., 1901, 8 o. pp. 187. Awakening of the Negro, Atlantic, 78:322. "Benjamin C. Bacon, Statistics of the colored people of Philadelphia, taken by and published by order of the board of education of the Pennsylvania Society for the promotion of the abolition of slavery, 2d ed. Pliila. 1859, 8 o. pamphlet, 24 pp. Samuel J.Barrows, What the Southern Negro is Doing for Himself, Atlantic, 67:805. John S. Bassett, Slavery and Servitude in the Colony of South Carolina, Johns Hopkins Pi-ess, Baltimore, 1896. John S. Bassett, Slavery in the State of North Carolina, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1899. Bibliography of Negro Education in Keport U. S. Bureau of Kducat.ion, 1893-94, pp. HB8-61. The Black North (Studies of Negroes in Northern Cities) ,N. Y. Times, 1901. Jeffrey It. Brackett. Notes on the progress of the colored people of Mary land since the war; a supplement to the "Negro in Maryland: a study of the institution of slavery." Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1890, 8 o. pp. 96. Jeffrey R. Brackett, The Negro in Maryland : a study of the institution of slavery. Julius Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1889, s'o. 2C8 pp. A Brief Sketch of the schools for black people and their descendants, es tablished by the Society of Friends, etc., Phila. 1H57, 80. pamph.B2pp. P. A. Brnce, Economic History of Virginia in the 17th century, 2 vol., New York. U. S. Bureau of Kdlication, Annual Iteports, 1870-1901. L. S. Census Bureau, Censuses of 1850, I860, 1870, 1880, 1«90, and 1900. Cincinnati Convention of Colored Freedmen of Ohio, Proceedings, Jan. 14-19, 1852; Cincinnati, 1852, 8 o. Coleman Cotton Mill, Gnnton's Magazine, Sept. 1902. Colored Help for Textile Mills, Manufacturers' Itecord, (Baltimore, Md.) Sept. 22, 189:5. Condition of the Negro. What he is doing for himself and what is being done for him. Testimony from both races, (a syuinosium), Indcpend 48:477. J. L. M. Curry, Difficulties, complications and limitations connected with the education of the Negro. (Trustees of the John V. Slater-Kund—oc casional papers, No. 5), Bah imore, 1895, pp. 23, 8 o. VI J. E. Rankin, Industrial Education for the African, Independ., April 2, 1891, vol. 48, p. 3., Educ. 5:63C. E. Deloney, The South Demands More Negro Labor, I)e Bow, 25:491. W. E. B. DuBois, The Philadelphia Negro, 520 pp., Ginn & Co., 1896. "Education of Negroes, New World, 9:625. It. T. Ely, The Labor Movement in America, Crowell, 1890. T. Thomas Fortune, Black and White, New York, 1884, 6 o., pp. 311, Fords & Co. Freedmeu and Free Labor at the South, Christian Examiner, 76:344. Freedmen and Southern Labor Problems, N. Ecclesiastical Review, 3:257. Freedmen's Bureau, Annual Reports of the Bureau for Refugees, Freed men, and Abandoned Lands, 1866-1872. Henry Gannett, Occupations of the Negroes, (Trustees of the John F. Slater Fund—occasional papers, No. 6), Baltimore, 1895, 8 o. pp. 16. Hampton Negro Conference, Reports, 1897-1901. Attitus G. Haygood, Our Brother in Black: his Freedom and his Future; New York, 1881, 12 o. Richard Humphreys, Founder of institute for colored youth, Barnard's Am. Jour. Ed., 19:379. Index to acts and resolutions of Congress, and to proclamations and exec utive orders of the President, from 1861-1867, relating to the refugees, freedmen, etc., Washington. Industrial Capacity of Negroes, Edinburg Review, 45:383. Industrial Education of Negroes, Andover Review, 14:254. Industrial Question, Lippincott, 59:266. Industrial Training of Negroes, Our Day, 16:79,343. Edward Ingle, The Negro in the District of Columbia, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1893, 8 o. pp. 110. Wm. H. Johnson, Institute for colored youth, Philadelphia, 1857, Pa. rich. Jour. 5:387. Win. Preston Johnson, Industrial Education of the Negroes, Educ. 5:636. U. S. Department of Labor, Bulletins: » Negroes in Cities, No. 10. Negroes of Farmville, Va., No. 14. Negroes of the Black Belt, No. 22. Negroes of Sandy Spring, Md., No. 32. Negro Land-holder of Georgia, No. 35. The Negroes of Litwalton,Va.,No. 37. The Sugar Plantation Negro, No. 38. Labor and Capital: Investigation of Senate Committee (Blair committee) 5 vol., Washington, 1885. K. Levasseur, The American Workman, translated by T. H. Adams, edited by T. Marburg, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1900, 517 pp. T. B. Macaulay, Social and Industrial Capacities of Negroes, critical and misc. essays, 6:361-404. G. E. McNeill, The Labor Movement, the Problem of Today; Boston and New York, 1887, 670 pp. S. C. Mitchell, Higher Education and the Negro, (in Report of U. S. Bureau of Education, 1895, pt. 2, p. 1360.) Mohonk Conference on the Negro Question. First conference held at Lake Mohonk, N. Y., June 4-6, 1890, Boston, 1890. 8 o. pp. 144. Second conference held at Lake Mohonk, N. Y., June 3-5,1891, Boston, 1891, 8 o pp. 125. vii' Negro as an Industrial Factor, Outlook, 62:31. Negro as an Industrial Factor, International Monthly, 2:672. Negro as a Mechanic, North American Review, 156:472. Negro as He Really Is, World's Work, 2:848. Negro Exodus. Report and Testimony of the Select Committee of the U. S. Senate, etc., 3 vol., Washington. Negro Exodus (1879) Atlantic, 44:222; Amer. Journal of Social Sci., 11:1,22; International Review, 7:373, N. Y. Nation, 28:242,386; Methodist Quar terly, 39:722; Bankers' Monthly, 33:933. Negro and Knights of Lab»r, Public Opinion, 2:1. Negroes of the South Under Free Labor, Seribners, 21:830. Negro in Southern Manufactures, Nation, 53:208. Negro Labor. Tradesman (Chattanooga., Tenn.) July 15, 1889. Negro Labor, Tradesman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) July 20, 1891. Negro Manual Training Experiment in Texas, Independ., 47:5552. Negro School at New Haven, Niles Re ister, 41:74, 85. The Negro Skilled Laborer in the South, Tradesman (Chattanooga, Tenn ) Oct. 15, 1902. Frederick Law Olmstead, A Journey in the Back Country, N. Y., 1856. Frederick Law Olmstead, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States, N Y., 1856. Frederick Law Olmstead, A Journey Through Texas, N. Y., 1857. Edward L. Pierce, The Freedmen at Port Royal, Atlantic, 12:291. T. V. Powderly, Thirty Years of Labor, 1889, 693 pp. Publiaations of Atlanta University, 7 numbers, Atlanta, 1896-1902. Report of the Industrial Commission on the Relations and Conditions of Capital and Labor, etc., 19 volumes, Washington, 1S01. (Consult especial ly Volumes VII, VIII, XII, XIV and XVII.) Report of the Condition of the Colored People of Cincinnati, 1835. Albert Shaw, Negro Progress on the Tuskegee Plan, Rev. of Revs., 9:436. Social Condition of Negroes Before the War, Conservative Review, 3:211. Southern Workman, 31 volumes, 1871-1902. Henry Talhot, Manual Training, Art and the Negro, An Experiment. (Re printed from the Pub. Sch. Journal, 1894,) 16 o. pp. 34. Trade Schools for Negroes, American, 19:353. Of the Training of Black Men, Atlantic, 90:289. Trustees of the John F. Slater Fund, Occasional Pa.pers, 10 numbers, Bal timore, 1891-1897. (Nos. 1-6, partly reprinted in Keport U. S. Bureau of Education, 1894-95, chapter 32.) Twenty-two Years' Work of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural In stitute, etc., Hampton, 1891, 8 o. pp. 57. Booker T. Washington, Address delivered at the opening of Atlanta Ex position, Sept. 18, 1895, "Atlanta Constitution," Sept. 19, 1895. Booker T. Washington, Future of the American Negro, Boston, 1897. Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery, N. Y., 1901. Carroll D. Wright, The Industrial Evolution of the United States, Cha- tauqua, 1897, 362 pp. R. R. Wright, The Negro as an Inventor, A. M. E. Ch. Review, 2:397. G. W. Williams, History of the Negro Race in America, 2 vol. in one, 481-611 pp. Putnam's, 1882. Vlll TO THE READER. This study is intended for the general reader, the student of so cial questions and the special student of the Negro problems. The general reader will find the most interesting material in sec tions 2, 3, 5, 11, 14,15, 21, 29, 30, 52, 53, 59, 01, (53 and 64. The chief conclusions of the study.may be found by a hurried reader in sec tions 14, 15, 52, 53, 59, and 63. The student of social questions will lind food for thought in nearly all but the purely statistical parts; he is recommended to sections 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15,16,17,19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 2 , 30, 36, 38, 40, 44, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, <>2, 63, and <»4. The special student of the Negro problems will find that the whole study lias been arranged primarily for ln.> needs, and by aid of the table of contents, index, and bibliograplu his use of the results has been made as easy as possible. Errors will undoubtedly be found and in such case the editor would be very thankful for spe cific information. flntrofcuction. THE ATLANTA CONFERENCE. FOK the past six years Atlanta University ha& conducted through its annual Negro Conferences a series of studies into certain aspects of the Negro problems. The results of these conferences put into pamphlet form and distributed at a nominal price have been widely quoted and used. Certainly the wisdom of President Horace Biuustead and Mr. George G. Bradford in establishing the conferences, and the, co-operation of grad uates of Atlanta, Fisk, Howard, .Lincoln, Hampton, Tuskegee, Meharry, and other institutions, has been amply vindicated and rewarded by the collection and publication of much valuable material relating to the health of Negroes, their social condition, their efforts at social reform, their bus iness enterprises, their institutions for higher training, and their common schools. Notwithstanding this success the further prosecution of these important studies is greatly hampered by the lack of funds. With meagre appro priations for expenses, lack of clerical help and necessary apparatus, the Conference cannot cope properly with the vast field of work before it. Studies of this kind do not naturally appeal to the general public, but rather to the interested few and to students. Nevertheless there ought to be growing in this land a general conviction that a careful study of the condition and needs of the Negro population—a study conducted with scientific calm and accuracy, and removed so far as possible from preju dice or partisan bias—that such a study is necessary and worthy of liberal support. The twelfth census has, let us hope, set at rest silly predictions of the dying out of the Negro in any reasonably near future. Tile nine million Negroes here in the land, increasing steadily at the rate of over 150,000 a year, are destined to be part and parcel of the Nation for many a day if not forever. We must no longer guess at their condition, we must know it. We must not experiment blindly and wildly, trusting to our pro verbial good luck, but like rational, civilized, philanthropic meii, spend time and money in finding what can be done before we attempt to do it. Americans must learn that in social reform as well as in other rational endeavors, wish and prejudice must be sternly guided by knowledge, else it is bound to blunder, if not to fail. We appeal therefore to those who think it worth while to study this, the greatest group of social problems that has ever faced the Nation, for sub stantial aid and encouragement in the further prosecution of the work of the Atlanta Conference. THE NEORO ARTISAN SOCIOLOGICAL WORK AT ATLANTA UNIVERSITY. The work of social study at Atlanta University falls under six heads: 1. Sociological Laboratory. The work in the department of Economics and History aims not only at .neutal discipline but also at familiarizing students with the great eco nomic and social problems of the day. It is hoped that thus they may be able to apply broad and careful knowledge to the solution of the many intricate social questions affecting the Negro in the South. The depart ment aims, therefore, at training in good, intelligent citizenship; at a thorough comprehension of the chief problems of wealth, work and wages; at a. fair knowledge of the objects and methods of social reform; and with the more advanced students, at special research work in the great labora tory of social phenomena, which surrounds this institution. The more advanced courses of study no\v offered include: Modern European History (1 year). Economics (2 terms). 1'olitical Science (1 term). Sociology, with special reference to the Negro (1 year). Instruction is given by means of a special class room library with reference books and the leading text books, the arranging of charts and tabular work, the presentation at regular intervals of special reports and theses, and field work in and about the city of Atlanta for the obser vation of economic and social conditions. The aim is gradually to equip a library and laboratory of sociology which will be of the highest value for instruction and training. Contributions to the laboratory for general or specific objects are greatly needed. B. General Publications. Members of the Department of Sociology of this Institution have, from time to time, published the followingstudics and essays on various phases of the Negro problem: Suppression of the Slave Trade, 335 pp., Longmans, 1890. The Philadelphia Negro, 520 pp., Oinn & Co., 1809. The Negroes of Farmville, Va., 38 pp., Bulletin U. S. Department of Labor, January, 1898. Condition of the Negro in Various Cities, 112 pp., Bulletin U. S. Depart ment of Labor, May, 1897. The Negro in the Black Belt, 17 pp., Bulletin U. S. Department of Labor, May, 1899. The Study of the Negro Problems, 21 pp., Publications of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, No. 219. Strivings of the Negro People, Atlantic Monthly, August, 1896. A Negro Schoolmaster in the New South, Atlantic Monthly, January, 1899. The Negro and Crime, Independent, May 18, 1896. SEVENTH ANNUAL COKFEKEJNUE 3 The Conservation of Races, 16 pp., Publications of the American Negro Academy, No. 2. The American Negro at Paris, Review of Reviews, November, 1900. Careers Open to College-bred Negroes, 14 pp., Nashville, 1899. The Suffrage Eight in Georgia, Independent, November 30,1899. The Twelfth Census and the Negro Problems, Southern Workman, May, 1900. The Evolution of Negro Leadership, (a review of Washington's "Up from Slavery,") Dial, July 16, 190]. The Storm and Stress in the Black World, (a review of Thomas' "Amer ican Negro,") Dial, April 16, 1901. The Savings of Black Georgia, Outlook; September 14, 1901. The Relation of the Negroes to the Whites in the South, Publications of American Academy of Social and Political Science, No. 311. (Reprinted in America's Race Problems, McClure, Phillips & Co., 1901.) The Negro Land-holder in Georgia, 130 pp., Bulletin of U. S. Depart ment of Labor, No. 35. The Negro as He Really Is, Worlds Work, June, 1901. The Freedmen's Bureau, Atlantic Monthly, March, 1801. The Spawn of Slavery, Missionary Review, October, 1901. The Religion of the American Negro, New World, December, 1900. Results of Ten Tnskegee Conferences, Harper s Weekly, June 22, 1901. The Burden of Negro Schooling, Independent, July 18, 1901. The Housing of the Negro, Southern Workman, July, September, October, November, December, 1901, and February, 1902. The Opening of the Library, Independent, April 3, 1902. Of the Training of Black Men, Atlantic Monthly, September, 19U2. Hopeful Signs for the Negro, Advance, October 4, 1902. C. Unirersity Pnlillr.ations. The regular University publications are as follows: Annual Catalogue, 1870-1902. Bulletin of Atlanta University, 4 pp., monthly; 25 cents per year. No. 1. Mortality of Negroes, 51 pp., 1896, (out of print.) No. 2. Social and Physical Condition of Negroes, 86 pp., 1897; 50 cents. No. 3. Some Efforts of American Negroes for Social Betterment, 66 pp., 1898; 50 cents. No. 4. The Negro in Business, 78 pp., 1899; 50 cents. No. 5. The College-Bred Negro,115 pp., 1900, (out of print;) 2nd edition, abridged, 1902, 32 pp., 25 cents. No. 6. The Negro Common School, 120 pp., 1901; 25 cents. No. 7. The Negro Artisan, 1902; 25 cents. Select Bibliography of the American Negro, for general readers, second revised edition, 1901; 10 cents. Atlanta University Leaflets, 15 numbers; free. D. Bureau of Information. The Corresponding Secretary of the Atlanta Conference undertakes, upon request, to furnish correspondents with information upon any phases 4 THE NEGRO ARTISAN of the Negro problem, so far as he is able; or he points out such sources as exist from which accurate data may he obtained. No charge is made for this work except for actual expenses incurred. During the past years the United States Government, professors in several Northern and Southern institutions, students of sociology, philanthropic societies and •workers, and many private persons, have taken advantage of this bureau. A column of "Notes and Queries" is published monthly in'the Bulletin. E. The Lecture Bureau. The department has for some time furnished lectures on various subjects connected with the history and condition of the American Negro, and upon other sociological and historical subjects. School duties do not admit of the acceptance of all invitations, but so far as possible we are glad to ex tend this part of the work. Expenses must in all cases he paid and usually a small honorarium in addition, although this latter is often contributed to any worthy cause. During the past few years lectures have been given before the Twentieth Century Club of Boston. The Unitarian Club of New York. The American Academy of Political and Social Science. The American Society for the Exteusion of University Teaching. The American Negro Academy. Hampton Institute. Fisk University. Cooper Union, New York City, etc., etc. F. The Annual Meeting of the Conference. The results of each annual investigation are first reported in May of each year to a meeting of the Negro conference which assembles at the University. It is (hen discussed and afterward edited and printed the following fall. The attendance at these conferences is largely made up of local city Negroes, although Southern whites are always on the programme and visitors from abroad are usually present. An attempt is made here especially to encourage practical movements for social betterment, and many such enterprises have had their inception here. Proceedings of the Seventh Atlanta Conference. TUESDAY, May 27, at In-.00 a. in. SYMPOSIUM: "The Condition of Negro Artisans." Texas—Mr. Elijah H. Holmes, of Prairie View State Normal School, Texas. Memphis, Teiin.—Mr. II. N. Lee. of LeMoyne Institute, Tennessee. Atlanta, Ga.—Mr. Alexander Hamilton, Jr., of the firm of Hamilton & Son, building contractors. At 3:30 p. m. Miss Tjiicy C. Lane,5r, of Haines Institute, Ga., presiding. SUBJECT: "Boy and Girl Artisans in the Home." SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE Music by Orphans from the Carrie Steele Orphanage. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Music. Opening Remarks, by the Chairman. Symposium of Five-minute Speeches. Mrs. M. A. Ford, of Morris Brown College. Miss E. O. Werden, of Spelman Seminary. Miss B. L. Wolfe, of the Atlanta Kindergarten. Mrs. J. B. Porter, President of the Woman's Club. Music. Symposium of Five-minute Speeches. Mrs. Isabella W. Parks, of South Atlanta. Mrs. S. S. Butler, of Atlanta. Mrs. Geo. W. White, of Atlanta. Miss Anna E. Hall, Deaconess, M. E. Church. Artisans in the Homes: Answers from 600 school children. By the Secretary. Music. At 8:00 p. m. SUBJECT: "The Negro Artisan." Opening- Remarks—President Horace Bumstead. The Industrial Settlement—Mr. William E. Benson, of the Dixie In dustrial Company, Kowaliga, Ala. The Trades School—Major B. B. Moton, of Hampton Institute, Va. The Higher Education and the Industries—President J. G. Merrill, of Fisk University, Tenn. The Trades Union Movement—Hon. C. C. Houston, Secretary of the State Federation of Labor and member of the Legislature of Geor gia. Closing Remarks—Mr. Hooker T. Washington, of Tuskegee Institute, Ala. Among other things Mr. Washington said: "For several years I have watched with keen interest and appreciation the work of these annual conferences, and the whole country should be grateful to this institution for the painstaking and systematic manner with which it has developed from year to year a series of facts •which are proving most vital and helpful to the interests of our nation. The work that Dr. DnBois is doing- will stand for years as a monument to his ability, wisdom and faithfulness. ********** "I hope you will excuse me if, for a few moments, I seek to discuss the occupation of our people in a broader way than the narrower one suggested by the subject under discussion at this conference. I want to say as a foundation for my remarks that my belief is that the proper way to begin in the development of a race would be the same as with an individual. The proper place to begin to develop an individual is just where the indi vidual is. We can begin in no wiser way to develop any race than by beginning just where that race finds itself at the moment of beginning-. (frff 6 THE NEGRO ARTISAN "I think you will agree with me when I assert that by far the largest proportion of our people are engaged in some form of agriculture, are en gaged in the cultivation of the soil. Since the bulk of our people are to live out of the soil, are accustomed to agricultural life, it is my opinion that agriculture should be made the chief industry for our people, at least for a long period of years. The Negro should be encouraged to own and cultivate the soil; in a word, as a rule, should be encouraged to remain in the country district**. The Negro is at his best in most cases when in agri cultural life; iu too many eases he is at his worst in contact with city life. Of course, out of agriculture, the fundamental industry, will grow most, if not all, of the most skilled occupations with which, I understand, this conference is now specifically dealing. "In order that the Negro may be induced to remain in the country dis tricts, we should see to it that life is made not only bearable and safe but attractive and comfortable. We cannot expect our people to remain in the country when they can send their children to school but four months in a year, when by moving to a city they can keep their children in school eight or nine months. Nor can we expect them to remain in the country districts unless they are are assured of the same protection of life and property that is guaranteed to them in the cities. Nor can we expect them to remain upon the soil if we are to let them understand that by agricul ture is meant simply drudgery, ignorance and unskilled methods of labor. From the beginning of time agriculture has constituted the main founda tion upon which all races have grown strong and useful. "Our knowledge,must be harnessed to the things of real life. I want to see more of our educated young men and women tako hold in a downright, earnest, practical manner of the fundamental, primary, wealth-producing occupations that constitute the prosperity of every people. I would much rather see a young colored man graduate from college and go out and start a truck garden, a dairy farm, or conduct a cotton plantation, and thus become a first-hand producer of wealth, rather than a parasite living upon the wealth originally produced by others, seeking uncertain and unsatis factory livelihood in temporary and questionable positions. I repeat, do not seek positions but create positions. All people who gained wealth and recognition have come up through the soil and have given attention to these fundamental wealth-producing industries. The young man who goes out into the forest, fells a tree and produces a wagon is the one who has added something to the wealth of the community in which he lives. "I emphasize the ownership and cultivation of the soil, because land is cheaper in the South than it will ever he again, and if we do not get hold of a portion of the soil and use it in laying a foundation for our civilization now, I fear we will not get hold of it in the future. In the country the Negro and his children are free, as a rule, from the temptations which drag so many down in the large cities. The Negro is there always free, too, from the severe competition which, in so many cases, discourages and overmasters him. "The fundamental industry of agriculture will enable us to lay the foun dation upon which will grow wealth, habits of thrift, economy, and will SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 7 enable us in the end to give our children the best education and develop ment. * « *»»***** "In the case of the Negro artisan we should be careful to follow the same course as in regard to agriculture. We should find out the kind of skilled labor in which the Negro is most likely to find employment; the kind of skilled labor in greatest demand. After we find out the kind for which the Negro is best fitted, and the kind which offers the greatest encouragements, \ should say emphasize in that direction. If the greatest demand is in the direction of wood work, emphasize wood work. If the greatest demand is in the direction of iron work, emphasize iron work. If in some form of leather, emphasize leather work. If in brickrnasonry or plastering, em phasize these. "Many of the trades which were formerly iu our hands have in too large a degree slipped from us, not that there was a special feeling against our working at these trades on the part of the native Southern white man, but because, I fear, we failed to fit ourselves to perform the service in the very best manner. We must not only have carpenters but architects; we must not only have persons who can do the work with the hand, but per sons at the same time who can plan the work with the brain. "I have great faith in the value of all the industries to which I have referred, not only because of their economic value, but because of their mental and moral value. "Go into the North or South and ask to have pointed out to you the most prosperous and reliable colored man in that community, and in the majority of cases, I believe, you will have pointed out to you a Negro who has learned a trade; and, in many cases, you will find that this trade was learned during the days ol slavery. »****#**** "Later on, I hope that this conference will find it in its way to take up the question of domestic service. This is one which we should no longer blink at, but should face squarely. We should do the proper thing re gardless of criticism, which will enable our people to hold on to all forms of domestic service in the South. ********** "If we are wise and patient,we can use all forms of service in a way,not only to lift ourselves up, but to bind us eternally in fellowship and good will to the Southern white man by whose side we must live for all time." After adopting the following resolutions the Conference adjourned: The Seventh Atlanta Conference, in considering the situation of Negro artisans, has come to the following conclusions: 1. While the Negro artisans are still losing strength in many commu nities, they are beginning to gain in others, 'and it would seem as if the tide against them was turning and that concerted action and intelligent preparation would before long restore and increase the prestige of skilled l^egro working men. 8 THE NEGKO ABTJSAN 2. To realize this hope it is necessary, first, to preserve what skill we have,and,secondly,to enter new fields. From keeping our present efficiency we are hindered by the lack of a proper apprentice system, and from en tering new trades we arc stopped by the opposition of organized labor in trades unions. The South has never had a careful apprentice system, and it must build it. Skilled Negro workmen must never rest satisfied until they have imparted their skill to other and younger men, and parents must remember that au excellent career for a child may be found by ap prenticing him to » good carpenter or a first-class mason. 3. In trades or places where Negro workmen are numerous and efficient, trades unions admit and defend them. Where they are few in number they are proscribed and barred by these same unions, no matter what their skill or individual desert. This is unjust and wrong. Negroes should sympathize with and aid the labor movement where it is fair and honest with all men, and should publish to the world all cases of proscription and injustice. 1. We especially commend Trades Schools HA a means of imparting skill to Negroes, and manual training as a means of general education. We believe the movements in this line, especially in the last ten years, have been of inestimable benefit, to the freedmen's sons. 5. Wo believe that, in the future, industrial settlements of Negroes properly guided, financiered and controlled, offer peculiarly promising fields of enterprise for a philanthropy based on solid business principles. (5. Finally, we insist that no permanent advance in industrial or other lines can be made without three great indirect helps: Public Schools, Agencies for Social Betterment, and Colleges for Higher Training: illit eracy must be wiped out, savings banks, libraries a.nd rescue agencies es tablished, and, above all, black men of light and leading, College-bred men, must be trained to guide and lead the millions of this struggling race along paths of intelligent and helpful co-operation. L. M. HKRSIIAW, , W. A. HUNT, > Committee on Resolutions. W. E. B. DuBors. > The Negro Artisan. 1. Scope and Method of tlie Inquiry. The present study is at once a con tinuation of the investigations of Atlanta University, in both economic and educational lines, and is a study of skilled work and the training of black boys for it. The peculiar difficulty of most social studies is the fact that the available information must usually come from interested persons. This has been felt in former Atlanta studies: Negroes had to be asked about their own social condition, business men about their busi ness and college-bred men about their work. To some extent, to be sure, this testimony has been corroborated by observation and the testimony of third parties, but the general fact remains that men and women with prej udices and mixed motives must give us the information used, not only in SEVENTH ANNPAL CONFERENCE 9 these but in all social inquiries. In this investigation there are, however, some peculiar advantages, owing chiefly to the fact that it has been pos sible to get concurrent testimony from three entirely distinct sources on practically the same points. The condition of a modern working-man is best known by himself, his fellow-workmen, and his employer. If to this is added the testimony of the community surrounding him, and a study of his social history and education, we have as complete a picture as one could expect. In this study, the following schedule of questions has been answered by about 1,300 Negro skilled laborers, living for the most part in the State of Georgia: 1. Name........................... ....... ............... .............................................. 2. Address.... .......... ........................... ........................... ......................... 8. Age: U.20............ 20 to 30............ 30 to 40............ 40 or over............ 4. Sex: M.................. F.................. 6. Conjugal condition: S........... M.............. W.............. Sep........ ..... 6. Trade................................ ........................... ................. ( For himself......... Owns tools......... Hires others......... Works \ ( For wages...... Invests other capital...... Foreman........ Years engaged .................... ............. ...... How learned......... .................... ............. ....................... Attended trade school......... How long............... Where.............. 7. Wages, per........................ Time unoccupied per year....................... 8. Relation to whites: Wages of whites in same work.................. .................... Works with whites.............................. . ........................ Works primarily for whites............................................ Works primarily for Negroes............... ..... ........... ........ 9. Trades Union: Belongs to what Union?.............. .............................. Do whites belong?........................................ Can you join with whites?........................... 10. Education: Read............. Write............. Higher training............... 11. Own real estate: Yes........ No......... 12. Facts............................. ................................... ... ................. ........... Besides this, the following schedule was placed in the hands of corres pondents of this Conference—mostly College-bred Negroes and profes sional men—and they were asked to study their particular communities. Reports were thus received from 32 states, besides Ontario, Costa Rica and Porto Rica: THE ARTISAN. An Artisan is a skilled laborer—a person who works with his hands but has attained a degree of skill and efficiency above that ot an ordinary manual laborer—as. for instance, carpenters, masons, engineers, blacksmiths, etc. Omit barbers, ordinary laborers in factories, who do no skilled work, etc. 1. Name of Place................................................State ...................... ...... 2. Are there many Negro skilled laborers here! 10 THE NEGKO ARTISAN 3. What trades do they follow chiefly? 4. What trades did they follow chiefly 20 years ago? 6. Write here the names, addresses and trades of the leading- Negro Artisans. 6. Is the Negro gaining or losing in skilled work? 7. If lie is losing, is this due to his inefficiency or to the great growth of the South in industrial lines? 8. What results can you see of the industrial school training? Are young men entering the trades? 9. What ate the chief obstacles which the Negro meets in entering the trades? 10. Is there any discrimination in wages? 11. Can Negroes join the trades unions? Do they join? 12. Write here a short history of Negro artisans in your community—the number and condition before the war, noted cases since the war, etc. Kvery trades union affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and all others that could be reached, were asked to answer the following questions. Ninety-seven answered; eleven made no replies after repeated inquiries: 1. Name of Union. 2. May Negroes join this Union ? 3. If not, how is their membership prevented ? 4. If they may joiii, how many Negro members have you at present ? 5. How many had you in 1890? C. How many Negro applicants have been refused admission to your knowledge ? 7. Can local Unions refuse to admit a Negro if he is otherwise qualified ? 8. Can local Unions refuse to recognize the travelling card of a Negro Union man? 9. Do Negroes make good workmen? 10. What are the chief objections to admitting them to membership in your Union ? 11. Are these objections likely to be overcome in time ? 12. General observations (add here any facts or opinions you may wish. They will be held as strictly confldental, if you so desire). The central labor bodies in every city and town of the Union were sent the following schedule of questions. Two hundred of these, representing 30 states, answered: 1. Name of Council or Assembly. 2. Are there any Unions affiliated with you which are composed of Negro members ? 3. If so, how many, and what is their membership ? 4. Are there any Negro members in any of the local Unions ? 5. If so, how many, aud in which Unions ? 6. Do any of the local Unkms bar Negroes from membership ? SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFEKENCE 11 7. Have Negro applicants ever been refused admission to any of the Unions ? 8. Do local Unions ever refuse to recognize the travelling card of a Ne gro mechanic ? 9. Do Negroes make good workmen in any of the trades? In which trades are they the best? 10. What are the chief objections usually raised against, admitting them to Trades Unions ? 11. Are these objections likely to disapper in time? 12. General observations (add hero any facts or opinions you may wish. They will be held afe strictly confldental, if you so desire.) To the state federations a letter was sent asking for whatever general information was available on the subject. Most of them answered these requests. To the industrial schools the following schedule was sent. Many of the schools were not able to answer definitely, and some returned no answer at all. The principal schools reported: 1. Name of institution. 2. Address. 3. How many of your graduates or former students arc earning a living entirely as artisans ? 4. How many of the above mentioned are: Carpenters, Dressmakers, Tailors, Blacksmiths, Iron and steel workers, .......................... Brickmakers, Shoemakers, ........... ........ .... Masons, Painters, ........................'. Engineers, Plasterers, ........................... Firemen, Coopers, .......................... 5. Where are most of these artisans located at present ? 6. How many of the rest of your graduates or former students are earn ing a living partially as artisans ? 7. What trades and other work do they usually combine ? 8. What difficulties do your graduates meet in obtaining work as artisans ? 9. Do they usually join Trades Unions ? 10. How many of them teach industries in schools ? 11. Can you furnish us with a list of your graduates from industrial courses, with occupations and addresses ? In 1889 and 1891, the Chattanooga Tradesman made interesting and ex haustive studies of skilled Negro labor in the South. The Corresponding Secretary of the Conference invited the Editors of the Tradesman to co operate with Atlanta, University in a third investigation, in 1902, each bearing half the expense. The Department of Sociology of the University prepared the following schedule, which was distributed by the Tradesman and answered by business establishments all over the Southern States: 12 THE NEGRO ARTISAN THE NEGRO SKILLED LABORER. An Inquiry conducted by THE TRADESMAN (Chattanooga, Temi.,} in con junction with the Sociological Department of Atlanta University. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 10. 11. 12. IB. Name of firm.. .................................................... . ................ ........ Address (street, city and state)............ ....... ........ ....................... Kind of business.................... ............... ................. ....... ............ Total number of employees of all kinds......................................... Total number of Negro employees.............................................. ... How many of the Negroes are skilled or semi-skilled workmen ? What kinds of skilled work do the Negroes do ? What wages do the Negroes receive ? How do they compare in efficiency with white workmen ? Are the Negro workmen improving in efficiency ? How much education have your Negro workmen received ? What effect has this education had ? Shall you continue to employ skilled Negro workmen ? The Superintendents of Education in all the Southern States were con sulted as to manual training in the schools, arid most of them answered the inquiries. Six hundred children in the public schools of Atlanta, Ga., were asked to write out answers to the following questions: 1. What kinds of work do you do at home ? Do you sew? Do you sweep? Do you cook? Do you tend chickens? Do you wash? Do you work in the garden? Do you iron? Do you keep flowers? 2. Have you got a hammer and saw at home ? Do you use them? Have you any other tools at home? 3. Do you ever make little ornaments to hang on the walls, or to put anywhere in the house ? -1. What do you like to do best? 5. What are you going to do when you grow up ? fi. How old are you ? 7. What is your name ? 8. Where do you live ? Finally such available information was collected as could be found in the United States' census, the reports of the Bureau of Education, and other sources as indicated in the bibliography. On the whole the collected information on which this study is based is probably more complete than in the case of any of the previous studies. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 13 2. The Antc-bcllvm Artisan. Before the civil war both slaves and free Negroes were artisans to some extent. It is difficult to-day, however, to determine just what proportion could do skilled work and Low their work would compare with that of artisans of to-day. We are told that in Vir ginia* : "The county records of the seventeenth century reveal the presence of many Negro mechanics in the colony during that period, this being espec ially the case with carpenters and coopers. This was what might be ex pected. The slave was inferior in skill, but the ordinary mechanical needs of the plantation did not demand the highest aptitude. The fact that the African was a servant for life was an advantage covering many deficien cies; nevertheless, it is significant that large slaveholders like Colonel Byrd arid Colonel Fitzhugh should have gone to the inconvenience and expense of importing English handicraftsmen who were skilled in the very trades in which it is certain that several of the Kegroos belonging to these planters had been specially trained. It shows the low estimate in which the planters held the knowledge of their slaves regarding the higher branches of mechanical work." As examples of slave mechanics it is stated that among the slaves of the first Robert Beverly was a carpenter valued at £30, and that Ralph Worm- eley, of Middlesex county, owned a cooper and a carpenter each valued at £35. Colonel William Byrd mentions the use of Negroes in iron mining in 1732. t In New Jersey slaves were employed as miners, iron-workers, saw-mill hands, house and ship-carpenters, wheelwrights, coopers, tan ners, shoemakers, millers and bakers, among other employments,** before the Revolutionary war. As early as 1708 there were enough slave me chanics in Pennsylvania to make the freemen feel their competition se verely.t In Massachusetts and other states we hear of an occasional ar tisan. During the early part of the 19th century the Negro artisans increased. In the District of Columbia many "were superior mechanics .... Ben jamin Bamiekor. the Negro Astronomer, assisting in surveying- the Dis trict in 1791"tt Olmsted, in his journeys through the slave states, just be fore tlie civil war, found slave artisans in all the states :ttt In Virginia they worked in tobacco factories, ran steamboats, made barrels, etc. On a South Carolina plantation he was told by the master that the Negro me chanics "exercised as much skill and ingenuity as the ordinary mechanics that he was used to employ in New England." Tn Charleston and some other places they were employed in cotton factories. In Alabama he saw a black carpenter—a careful and accurate calculator and excellent work- Brace: Economic History ot Virginia in the 17th century, ii. pp. 405-6. fWritings, edited by Bussctt, pp. 845, :!4(l, SOU. ooley: Slavery in New Jersey. {Philadelphia Negro, p. Ml ff. tflngle: Negro in District of Columbia. tttOlmsted: Seaboard Slaves States, Journey Through Texas, and Journey in the .Back Country. 14 THE NEGBO ARTISAN man; he was bought for $2,000. In Louisiana lie was told that master mechanics often bought up slave mechanics and acted as contractors. In Kentucky the slaves worked in factories for hemp-bagging, and in iron works on the Cumberland river,t and also in tobacco factories. In the newspapers advertisements for runaway mechanics were often seen, as, for instance a blacksmith in Texas, "very smart," a mason in Virginia, etc. In Mobile an advertisement read "good blacksmiths and horsc-shoors for sale 011 reasonable terms." An ex-governor of Mississippi says:* "Prior to the war there were a large number of Negro mechanics in the Southern States; many of them were expert blacksmiths, wheelwrights, wagon-makers, brick-masons, carpenters, plasterers, painters and shoe makers. They became masters of their respective trades by reason of sufficiently long service under the control and direction of expert white mechanics. During the existence of slavery the contract for qualifying- the Negro as a mechanic, was made between his owner and the master workman." Such slaves were especially valuable and formed usually a privileged class, with a large degree of freedom. They were very often hired out by their masters and sometimes hired their own time although this latter practice was frowned upon as giving slaves too much freedom and nearly all states forbade it by law; although some, like Georgia, permitted the custom in certain cities. In all cases the slave mechanic was encouraged to do good work by extra wages which went into his own pocket. For in stance, in the semi-skilled work of the Tobacco-factories, the Virginia master received from ,$150-$' annually for his slave and the employer fed him; but the slave, by extra work, could earn for himself $5 or more a month. So carpenters sometimes received as much as $2 a day for their masters, and then were given the chance to earn more for themselves. In Texas nine slaves, some of them carpenters, were leased at an average of $280.22 a year and probably earned something over this. If the mechanic was a good workman and honest the master was tempted to allow him to do as he pleased so long as he paid the master a certain yearly income. In this way there arose in nearly all Southern cities a class of Negro clients free in everything but name; they owned property, reared families and often lived in comfort. In earlier times such mechan ics often bought themselves and families and became free, but as the laws began to bear hard on free Negroes they preferred to remain under the patronage and nominal ownership of their white masters. In other cases they migrated North and there worked out their freedom, sending back stipulated sums. Many if not most of the noted leaders of the Negro in earlier times belonged to this slave mechanic class, such as Vesey, Nat Turner, Richard Alien and Absalom Jones. They were exposed neither tNote the attempt to conduct the Baltimore Iron Works by slaves contributed by the shareholders, ft. N. Y. Nation Sept. 1, 1801, p. 171. JEx-C!ov. Lovvry in North American lleview, 156 : 472. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONl'EllENCE 15 to the corrupting privileges of the house servants nor to the blighting tyranny of field work and had large opportunity for self development. Usually the laws did not hinder the slaves from learning trades. On the other hand the laws against teaching slaves really hindered the mechanics from attaining very great efficiency save in rare cases—they must work by rule of thumb usually. North Carolina allowed slaves to learn mathematical calculations, but not reading and writing; Georgia in 1833 decreed that no one should permit a Negro "to transact business for him in writing." Gradually such laws became more severe: Mississippi in 1830 debarred slaves from printing offices and Georgia in 1845 declared that slaves and free Negroes could not take contracts for building and repair ing houses, as mechanics or masons.t Restrictions, however, were not always enforced, especially in the building trades, and the slave mechanic flourished. One obstacle he did encounter however from first to last and that was the opposition of white mechanics. In 1708 the white mechanics of Penn sylvania protested against the hiring out of Negro mechanics and were successful in gettiug acts passed to restrict the further importation of slaves ft but they were disallowed in England. In 1722 they protested again and the Legislative Assembly declared that the hiring of black me chanics was "dangerous and injurious to the republic and not to be sane tioned."t Especially in border states was opposition fierce. In Maryland the legislature was urged in 1837 to forbid free Negroes entirely from be ing artisans; in 1840 a bill was reported to keep Negro labor out of tobacco ware-houses; in 1844 petitions came to the legislature urging the prohibi tion of free black carpenters and taxing free black mechanics; and finally in 1860 white mechanics urged a law barring free blacks "from pursuing any mechanical branch of trade."§ Mississippi mechanics told Olmsted that they resented the competition of slaves and that one refused the free services of three Negroes for six years as apprentices to his trade. In Wilinington, N. 0., 1857, a number of persons destroyed the frame work of a new building erected by Negro carpenters and threatened to destroy all edifices erected by Negro carpenters or mechanics. A public meeting was called to denounce the act and offer a reward. The deed was charged upon an organized association of 150 white working-men. There were similar disturbances in Virginia, and in South Carolina white mechanics about this time were severely condemned by the newspapers as "enemies to our peculiar institutions and formidable barriers to the success of our own native mechanics. "|| In Ohio about 1820 to 1830 and thereafter, the white Mechanics' Societies combined against Negroes. One master mechanic, President of the Me- tStroud's Laws, p. 107. ttCf. the Thiliidelphia Negro. tCI. the Philadelphia Kegro. gBrackett: Negro in Maryland, pp. 100, 210. HOlmstcttd: Scaborfl Slave States and Journey in the Back Country. 1G TJIE NEGRO ARTISAN chanical Association of Cincinnati, was publicly tried by the Society for assisting a young Negro to learn a train. Such was the feeling that no colored boy could find entrance as apprentice, and few workmen were al lowed to pursue their calling. One Negro cabinet-maker purchased his freedom in Kentucky and came to Cincinnati; fora long time he could get no work; one Englishman employed him but the white workmen struck. The black man was compelled to become a laborer until by saving- he could take small contracts and hire black mechanics to help him.t In Philadelphia the series of fearful riots against Negroes was due in large part to the jealousy of white working men, and in Washington, D. C., New York and other cities, riots and disorder on the part of white me chanics, aimed against Negroes, occurred several times. There were, no doubt, many very efficient slave mechanics. One who learned his trade from a slavett writes us an interesting and enthusiastic account of the work of these men: "During the days of slavery the Negro mechanic was a man of im portance. He was a most valuable slave to his master. He would always sell for from two to three times as much in the market as the unskilled slaveman. When a fine Negro mechanic was to be sold at public auction, or private sale, the wealthy slave owners would vie with each other for the prize and run tne bidding often up into high figures. "The slave owners early saw the aptitude of the Negro to learn handi craft, and fully appreciating what vast importance and value this would be to them (the masters) selected their brightest young slavemeii and had them taught in the different kinds of trades. Hence on every large plan tation you could find the Negro carpenter, blacksmith, brick and stone mason. These trades comprehended and included much more in their scope in those days than they do now. Carpentry was in its glory then. What is done now by varied and complicated machinery was wrought tl-en by hand. The invention of the planing machine is an event within the knowledge of many persons living to-day. Most of our 'wood work ing' machinery has come into use long since the days of slavery. The same work done now with the machine, was done then by hand. The carpenter's chest of tools in slavery times was a very elaborate and ex pensive outfit. His 'kit1 not only included all the tools that the average carpenter carries now, but also the tools for performing all the work done by the various kinds of 'wood-working' machines. There is little oppor tunity for the carpenter of to-day to acquire, or display, genius and skill in his trade as could the artisan of old. "One only needs to go down South and examine hundreds of old Southern mansions, and splendid old church edifices, still intact, to be convinced of the fact of the cleverness of the Negro artisan, who constructed nine- tenths of them, and many of them still provoke the admiration of all who see them, and are not to be despised by the men of our day. -(•Condition (if People of Color, &c. ttMr. j. D. Smith, Stationary Engineer, Chicago, 111. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 17 "There are few, if any, of the carpenters of to-day who, if they had the hand tools, could get out the 'stuff' and make one of those old style massive panel doors,—who could work out by hand the mouldings, the stiles, the mullions, etc., and build one of those windows, which are to be found to-day in many of the churches and public buildings of the South; all of which testify to the cleverness of the Negro's skill as artisan in the broadest sense of the term. For the carpenter in those days was also the 'cabinet maker,' the wood turner, coffin maker, generally the pattern maker, and the maker of most things made of wood. The Negro black smith held almost absolute sway in his line, which included the many branches of forgery, and other- trades which are now classified under dif ferent heads from that of the regular blacksmith. The blacksmith in the days of slavery was expected to make any and everything wrought of iron. He was to all intents and purposes the 'machine blacksmith,' 'horse- shoer,' 'carriage and wagon ironer and trimmer,' 'gunsmith,' 'wheel wright' ; and often whittled out and ironed the hames, the plowstocks, and the 'single trees' for the farmers, and did a hundred other things too nu merous to mention. They were experts at tempering edge tools, by what is generally known as the water process. But many of them had secret pro cesses of their own for tempering tools which they guarded with zealous care. "It was the good fortune of your humble servant to have served his time as an apprentice in a general blacksmithing shop, or shop of all work, presided over by an ex-slave genius known throughout the state as a 'master mechanic.' In slavery times this man hired his own time—pay ing his master a certain stipulated amount of money each year, and all he made over and above that amount was his own. "The Negro machinists were also becoming numerous before the down fall of slavery. The slave owners were generally the owners of all the factories, machine shops, flour-mills, saw-mills, gin houses and threshing machines. They owned all the railroads and the shops connected with them. In all of these the white laborer and mechanic had been supplant ed almost entirely by the slave mechanics at the time of the breaking out of the civil war. Many of the railroads in the South had their entire train crews, except the conductors, made up of the slaves—including engineers and firemen. The 'Georgia Central' had inaugrated just such a move ment, and had many Negro engineers on its locomotives and Negro mar- chinists in its shops. So it will be seen at once that the liberation of the slaves was also the salvation of the poor white man of the South. It saved him from being completely ousted, as a laborer and a mechanic, by the masters, to make place for the slaves whom they were having trained for those positions. Yet, strange as it may seem to us now, the great mass of poor white men in the South who were directly and indirectly affected by the slave mechanic—being literally forced out of the business, took up arms and fought against the abolition of slavery! "While the poor whites and the masters were fighting, these same black men were at home working to support those fighting for their slavery. The Negro mechanic could be found, during the conflict, in the machine 18 THE NEGKO ARTISAN shops, building engines and railroad cars; in the gun factories making arms of all kinds for the soldiers; in the various shops building wagons, and making harness, bridles and saddles, for the armies of the South. Negro engineers handled the throttle in many cases to haul the soldiers to the front, whose success, in the struggle going on, meant continued slavery to themselves and their people. All of the flour mills, and most of every other kind of mill, of the South, was largely in charge of black men. "Much has been said of the new Negro for the new century, but with all his training he will have to take a long stride in mechanical skill be fore he reaches the point of practical efficiency where the old Negro of the old century left off. J.t was the good fortune of the writer once to fall into the hands of an uncle who was master of what would now be half a dozen distinct trades. He was generally known as a mill-wright, or mill builder. A mill-wright now, is only a man who merely sets up the machinery, and his work is now confined mostly to the hanging of shafting, pulleys and belting. In the days of slavery the mill-wright, had to know how to construct everything about the mill, from foundation to roofs. This uncle could take his men with their 'cross cut saws' and 'broad axes' and go into the forests, hew the timbers with which to build the dams across the rivers and streams of water, to erect the 'mill house' frames, get out all the necessary timber and lumber at the saw mill. Then he would, without a sign of a drawing on paper, lay out and cut every piece, every mortise and tenon, every brace and rafter -with their proper angles, &c., with perfect precision before they put the whole together. I have seen my uncle go into the forest, fell a great tree, hew out of it an immense stick or shaft from four feet to five feet in diameter, and from twenty to thirty feet long, having as many as sixteen to twenty faces on its surface, or as they termed it, 'sixteen' and 'twenty square.' He would then take it to the mill seat and mortise it, make the arms, and all the intricate parts for a great "overshot" water wheel to drive the huge mill machinery. This is a feat most difficult even for modern me chanics who have a thorough knowledge of mathematics and the laws of mechanics. "It is difficult for us to understand how those men with little or no knowl- edgeof mathematics, or mechanical rules, could take a crude stick of timber, shape it, and then go to work and cut out a huge screw and the 'Tap blocks' for those old style cotton presses." To the above testimony we may append reports from various localities. Prom Alabama we have a report from an artisan at Tuskegee who was 14 or 16 years old at the breaking out of the civil war. The Principal of the Academic Department writes: "He is one of the most remarkable men you ever saw. He is a fine tinner, shoemaker and harness maker, and un til the school grew so large held all these trades under his instruction. He is an all-round tinker and can do anything from the repairing of a watch to the mending of an umbrella." This man names 25 Negro carpenters, 11 blacksmiths, 3 painters, 2 wheelwrights, 3 tin smiths, 2 tanners, 5 masons, and L4 shoemakers in Tuskegee and the SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 19 surrounding districts before the war. "Tuskegee was a small place" he writes "and you will wonder why such a number of mechanics were there. The answer is this: there were, a large number of wealthy white people who lived in the county, owning large numbers of slaves, and there was thus a lot of work all through the country districts; so they were sent out to do the work." Of them in general lie says: "The mechanics as a rule lived more comfortably than any other class of the Negroes. A number of them hired their time and made money; they wore good clothes and ate better food than the other classes .of colored people. In other words they stood higher in the estimation of the white people than any of the others. A very small number of them were allowed to live by themselves in out of the way houses. All the master wanted of them was to stay 011 his place and pa5T over their wages promptly. As a rulo a white man contracted for the jobs and overlooked the work. These white men often did not know anything about the trade but had Negro foremen under them who really carried on the work." From Georgia there are two reports: in Al bany. "Before the civil war all of the artisans in this section of the state were colored men. Their masters compelled some of their slaves to learn these trades so that they could do the necessary work around the planta tions." In Marshalville, on the other hand, "There were only two Negro artisans here before the war." From West Virginia comes a report: there were "but two skilled laborers" previous to the war in Blnefield. In Chester, South Carolina, "Before the war there were practically no Negro artisans." Charleston reports: "We have no accurate data to work on, except experiences of ex-slaves, who seem to agree that though the anti-bellum artisan was very proficient, yet he could not be compared in point of intelligent service with the artisan of to-day." From Green ville we learn: "The Negro since the war has entered trades more largely and in more varied lines. He is now in trades not open to him before freedom." In Mississippi one town reports that "Before the war Negroes were not artisans from choice, but many large planters would train some of their slaves in carpentry or hlacksmithing for plantation use. Theu the Negro did not have to ask, Does this trade pay? Now he does." An other locality says: "Before the war the principal trades were carpentry and blacksmithing and were done by trained slaves." In Louisiana "Be fore and since the war Negroes have built some of the best structures" in New Orleans and Baton Bouge. Olmsted noted many Negro mechanics here. In Texas there were "few if any" Negro mechanics in Georgetown before the war, while in Dallas they did "most of the skilled labor." In Arkansas artisans were few. In Tennessee there were relatively more arti sans before the war than now in Nashville, fewer in Murfreesboro and McMiunville and about the. same number in Hnryville. In the District of Columbia there were many Negro artisans in ante-bellum times, as shown by the directories: 20 THE NEGRO ABTISAN Negro Artisans in Washington, D. C.* SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 21 - Carpenters.................. .............................. Blacksmiths......... .................. .................. Tailors........................... ............................ Shoemakers............................................... Pump-borers............... ......... ..................... Caulkers......... ........................ .................. Coppersmiths ......... ................. ................. Bakers.............................. ......... ............... Cabinet-makers....................... ........ ........ Slaters........................... ......... .................. Wheelwrights ..................................... ..... Whitesmiths............................................. Tinners............ ................................. ........ 1827 2 2 1 .1 3 1 1830 2 2 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1850 2 2 2 7 3 1 1855 1 2 2 1 1 2 18(50 25 11 20 13 12 2 % 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 t 1 2 It is not altogether clear from such incomplete reports as to just what the status or efficiency of the ante-bellum artisan was. It is clear that there were some very efficient •workmen and a large number who knew something of the various trades. Still, we must remember that it would be easy to exaggerate the ability and importance of the mass of these workmen. "The South was lacking in manufactures, and used little machinery. Its demand for skilled labor was not large, but what demand existed was sup plied mainly by Negroes. Negro carpenters, plasterers, bricklayers, black smiths, •wheelwrights, painters, harnessmakers, tanners, millers, •weavers, barrelmakers. basketmakers, shoemakers, chairmakers, coachmen, spin ners, seamstresses, housekeepers, gardeners, cooks, laundresses, embroid erers, maids of all work, were found in every community, and frequently on a single plantation. Skilled labor was more profitable than unskilled, and therefore every slave was made as skillful as possible under a slave system, "t Here we have, perhaps, the best key to the situation in the South before the war; there was little demand for skilled labor in the rather rude economy of the average slave plantation and the Negro did the most of this. The slave artisan, however, was rather a jack-of-all-trades than a mechanic in the modern sense of the term—he could build a barn, make a barrel, mend an umbrella or shoe a horse. Exceptional slaves did the work exceptionally well, but the average workman was poor, careless and *Takeii from the directories of these years and apt to be incomplete. Mr. L. M. Hershaw kindly did this work. fG. T. Winston In Annals of the American Academy, July, 1901, p. 111. ill-trained, ami could not have earned living wages under modern com petitive conditions. While then it is perfectly true to say that the slave was the artisan of the South before the war it is probably also true that the average of workmanship was low and suited only to rough plantation life. This does not, of course, gainsay for a moment the fact that on some of the better plantations and in cities like Richmond, Savannah, Charles ton, and New Orleans, there were really first-class Negro workmen who did good work. 3. Economics of Emancipation. Slaves and the lowest freemen were the ordinary artisans of Greece and Borne, save only as the great artists now and then descended from above as sculptors and architects. In me diaeval times mechanics were largely bondsmen and serfs and were pur chased and imported just as black carpenters formed a part of the ex penses of a Texas emigrant in 1850. While exceptional mechanics in the middle ages acquired a degree of practical freedom just as the Negro me chanics of the South did, yet they were in earlier times serfs. Gradually in free communities there arose a class of free mechanics, but in the rural districts and in the households of the lords they still, for many genera tions, remained serfs. The rise and development of cities gave the freed artisan his chance; there, by defensive and offensive organization, he be came the leading factor in the economic and political development of the new city-states. His development was rapid, and about the 14th century a distinction between laborers and masters arose which has gradually grown and changed into our modern problem of labor and capital. A very interesting comparison between this development and the situa tion of the Southern freedmen might be drawn at some length. Even be fore the war a movement of slaves to the cities took place: first of house- servants with the masters' families and then of slave artisans: if the slave was a good artisan he was worth more hired out in the city than on the country plantation. Moreover,- the Negro greatly preferred to be in town —he had more liberty, more associates, and more excitement. Probably in time there would have been evolved in the South a class of city serf- artisans and servants considerably removed from the. mass of field-hands. It is significant that the Georgia law prohibiting slaves from hiring their time specifically excepted certain of the larger towns. After emancipation came suddenly, in the midst of war and social up heaval, the first real economic question was the self-protection of freed working men. There were three chief classes of them: the agricultural laborers chiefly in the country districts, the house-servants in town and country and the artisans who were rapidly migrating to town. The Freed- man's Bureau undertook the temporary guardianship of the first class, the second class easily passed from half-free service to half-servile freedom. The third class, the artisans, however, met peculiar conditions. They had always been used to working under the guardianship of a master and even though that guardianship in some cases was but nominal yet it was of the greatest value for protection. This soon became clear as the Negro freed artisan set up business for himself: if there was a creditor to be sued he •could no longer bring suit in the name of an influential white master; if 22 THE NEGRO ARTISAN there was a contract to be had, there was no responsible white patron to answer for the good performance of the work. Nevertheless, these dif ferences were not strongly felt at first—the friendly patronage of the former master was often voluntarily given the freedman and for some years following the war the Negro mechanic still held undisputed sway. Three occurrences, however, soon disturbed the situation: (a). The competition of white mechanics. (b). The efforts of the Negro for self-protection. (c). The new industrial development of the South. These changes were spread over a series of years and are not yet com plete, but they are the real explanation of certain facts which have hith erto been explained in false and inadequate ways. It has, for instance, been said repeatedly that the Negro mechanic carelessly threw away his monopoly of the Southern labor market and allowed the white mechanic to supplant him. This is only partially true. To be sure, the ex-slave was not alert, quick and ready to meet competition. His business hitherto had been to do work but not to get work, save in exceptional cases. The whole slave system of labor saved him from certain sorts of competition, and when he was suddenly called to face the competition of white me chanics he was at a loss. His especial weakness was the lack of a hiring contractor. His master or a white contractor had usually taken jobs and hired him. The white contractor still hired him but there was no one now to see that the contractor gave him fair wages. Indeed, as the white mechanics pressed forward the only refuge of the Negro mechanic was lower wages. There were a few Negro contractors here and there but they again could only hope to maintain themselves by markedly underbidding all competitors and attaining a certain standing in the community. What the Negro mechanic needed then was social protection—the pro tection of law and order, perfectly fair judicial processes and that personal power which is in the hands of all modern laboring classes in civilized lands, viz.,' the right of suffrage. It has often been said that the freedman throwing away his industrial opportunities after the war gave his ener gies to politics and succeeded in alienating his friends and exasperating his enemies, and proving his inability to rule. It is doubtless true that the freedman laid too much stress on the efficacy of political power in making a straight road to real freedom. And undoubtedly, too, a bad class of politicians, white and black, took advantage of this and made the reconstruction Negro voter a hissing in the ears of the South. Notwith standing this the Negro was fundamentally right. If the whole class of mechanics here, as in the Middle Age, had been without the suffrage and half-free, the Negro would have had an equal chance with the white me chanic, and could have afforded to wait. But he saw himself coming more and more into competition with men who had the right to vote, the prestige of race and blood, the advantage of intimate relations with those acquainted with the market and the demand. The Negro saw clearly that his industrial rise depended, to an important degree, upon his political power and he therefore sought that power. In this seeking he failed pri marily because of his own poor training, the uncompromising enmity and SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 23 apprehensions of his white neighbors and the selfishness and half-hearted measures of his emancipators. The result was that the black artisan en tered the race heavily handicapped—the member of a proscribed class, with restricted rights and privileges, without political and social power. The result was of course that he was enabled to maintain himself only by accepting low wages and keeping at all hazards the good-will of the com munity. Even here however he could not wholly succeed. The industrial condi tions in the country were rapidly changing. Slowly but surely the new industrial South began to arise and with it came new demands on the mechanic. Now the Negro mechanic could not in the very nature of the case meet these demands; he knew how to do a few things by rule of thumb—he could build one of the rambling old-fashioned southern man sions, he could build a slave shanty; he could construct a rough sugar hogshead and resole a shoe; in exceptional cases he coulcl do even care ful and ingenious work in certain lines; but as a rule he knew little of the niceties of modern carpentry or iron-working, he knew practically noth ing of mills and machinery, very little about railroads—in fact he was es pecially ignorant in those very lines of mechanical and industrial develop ment in which the South has taken the longest strides in the last thirty years. And if he was ignorant, who was to teach him ? Certainly not his white fellow workmen, for they were his bitterest opponents because of strong race-prejudice and because of the fact that the Negro works fol low wages. Apprenticeship to the older Negro mechanics was but partial ly successful for they could not teach what they had never learned. In fact it was only through the lever of low wages that the Negro secured any share in the new" industries. By that means he was enabled to -re place white laborers in many branches, but he thereby increased the en mity of trades-unions and labor-leaders. Such in brief wks the compli cated effort of emancipation on the Negro artisan and one could not well imagine a situation more difficult to remedy. 4. Occupations and Home-training. Manifestly it is necessary that any constituent group of a great nation should first of all earn a living; that is, they must have the ability and will to labor effectively and must re ceive enough for that labor to live decently and rear their children. Since emancipation the Negro has had greater success in earning a living as a free workingman than the nation had a rig-lit to expect. Nevertheless, the situation to-day is not satisfactory. If we compare the occupations of Negroes and native and foreign whites, we have: 24 THE NEGRO ARTISAN Occupations of American Negroes, 1890: 1. Agriculture, Fishing and Mining, 1,757,403, or 57% 2. Domestic and Personal Service, 963,080, or 31% t^ 3. Manf. and Mechanical Industries, 172,970, or 6% • 4. Trade and Transportation, 145,717, or 5% • 5. Professional service, 33,994, or 1% i Occupations of Native "Whites,* 1890: 1. Agriculture, Fishing and Mining, 5,122,613, or 47% 3. Manf. and Mechanical Industries, 2,067,135, or 19% •• 4. Trade and Transportation, 1,722,462, or 16% • 2. Domestic and Personal Service, 1,342,028, or 12% •• 5. Professional Service, 640,785, or 6% • Occupations of Foreign Whites, 1890: 3. Manf. and Mechanical Industries, 1,597,118, or 31% 2. Domestic and Personal Service, 1,375,067, or 27% 1. Agriculture, Fishing and Mining, 1,305,901, or 26% 4. Trade and Transportation, 712,558, or 14% n 5. Professional Service, 1] 4,113, or 2% « Dividing the Negro wage earners by sex we have: MALE Professions ........................................... 1.2% Agriculture........................................... 63.4 Trade and Transportation..................... 6.8 Manf. and Mechanical Industries........ 7.0 Domestic and Personal Service............ 21.C 100.0 FEMALE 0.9 44.0 0.2 2.8 52.1 TOTAL 1.1 57.2 4.7 5.6 31.4 100.0 100.0 There is manifestly here a strikingly small proportion of this race en gaged in trade, transportation, manufactures and the mechanical indus tries—about one-tenth, as compared with 45% of the foreign-born, and 40% of all the native boru.t If we take all the States of the Union we have the following figures for 1890: '"Native whites, "with native parents. fWitti native and foreign parents. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 25 NTCGK.O WAGE-EARNERS, 1890. The United States. 1. Alabama... ....... 3. Arizona. ...... ..... 5. California.......... 8. Delaware........... 9. Dig. of Columbia 10. Florida.. ............ 11. Georgia....... ....... 12. Idaho........ ........ 13. Illinois.......... .... 16. Kansas .............. 18. Louisiana ......... 20. Maryland......... . 21. Massachusetts... 22. Michigan........... 23. Minnesota......... 25. Missouri ............ 27. Nebraska........... 28. Nevada. ............ 29. New Hampshire 30. New Jersey........ 31. New Mexico...... 32. New York. ........ 33. North Carolina.. 34. North Dakota... 35. Ohio...... ............ 36. Oklahoma ......... 38. Pennsylvania. ... 39. Rhode Island..... 40. South Carolina... 41. South Dakota.... 43. Texas... ............. 44. Utah............ ..... 46. Virginia............ 47. "Washington ...... 48. West Virginia... 50. Wyoming.......... All Occupations. Males. 2,101,233 192,322 i,09"i 86,861 4,301 2,765 4,064 9,334 21,238 46,302 246,913 83 19,270 14,648 3,615 13,889 76,411 159,180 409 63,166 7,593 5,065 1,719 198,531 43,940 971 3,741 130 242 16,143 888 23,272 148,370 146 28,085 958 536 37,534 2,337 186,714 284 121,016 123,395 298 322 169,343 902 11,478 855 563 Females. 971,890 101,085 71 30,115 1,041 792 1,964 3,016 18,770 19,071 122,352 23 4,713 4,210 730 3,400 31,255 83,978 145 32,642 3,435 1,329 383 105,306 16,715 140 959 22 107 7,738 156 13,664 68,220 23 7,791 125 99 15,704 1,362 102,836 43 44,701 46,691 51 109 71,752 153 2,623 205 75 Trade and Transportation. Males. 143,350 9,147 13 2,787 457 406 634 633 4.776 4,106 16,397 8 1,994 1,426 289 1,148 7,381 6,045 68 7,538 1,402 448 216 5,671 4,862 45 323 17 24 2,111 40 4,231 7,564 10 3,027 28 42 5,213 546 6,860 121 10,954 6,386 14 33 15,655 69 2,080 74 31 Females. 2,399 140 27 3 5 7 21 195 52 372 41 23 1 20 66 129 2 144 34 6 5 74 44 1 4 1 25 54 106 40 1 1 104 3 188 1 125 69 1 253 7 1 3 Manufacturing and Mechanical Industries. Males. 146,126 9,917 12 3,403 358 402 565 816 2,839 4,501 16,604 2 1,602 1,669 309 1,315 6,519 8,455 55 4,458 1,132 549 88 5,686 3,525 45 370 5 72 1,864 24 2,288 12,114 4 3,426 42 37 4,630 322 9,842 14 10,404 5,794 14 31 18,864 87 927 105 20 Females. 26,929 951 4 275 106 55 165 51 1,490 746 1,924 361 175 35 124 840 2,774 11 1,074 426 137 48 803 396 13 64 2 23 263 3 1,005 2,360 442 2 10 1,077 170 2,341 4 1,141 461 2 6 4,483 15 41 28 26 THE NEGRO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2T There is but one way of remedying such a distribution of occupation^ and that is by training children and youth into new callings. This is a diffi cult matter. The children get their ideals of life from home life primarily, and amoug a people largely servants and farmers they would not naturally turn to trades or merchandizing. Still, the city groups of Negroes are changing rapidly and eagerly grasping after new ideals. To test the trend of thinking among the growing children of a city group the Conference questioned GOO of the Negro school children of Atlanta in such way as to bring out the influence of home-training in preparing them for artisans. There were 226 boys and 374 girls. Their ages were: 9 to 12 years........................... 48 12 to 15 " ....................... ...349 15 to 18 " ...........................203 First they were asked what sort of work they were accustomed to do at home.. They answered: Sewt..... .................. Cook. ................... .... Wash .................. ..... Iron.............. ...... ... Sweep............ ......... 'Tend Chickens....... Work in Garden ..... Keep Flowers.......... BOYS. 59 04 64 51 198 134 129 118 GIRLS. 350 304 323 348 3G5 159 142 282 fSome did two or more of these sorts of work. On being asked as to the tools they had in the home they answered as follows: 430 have hammer and saw at home. 121 have neither hammer nor saw. 11 have hammer. 1 has saw. 37 gave no answer. 322 use the hammer and saw. 108 do not use them. 420 have other tools besides the hammer and saw. 135 have no other kinds of tools. 45 gave no answer as to other kinds of tools. 294 of the girls and 114 of the boys were accustomed to making little or naments or articles for the home; 82 of the girls and 110 of the boys never did this. When questioned as to what they liked to do best, and what they expected to be when grown up, they replied: GIBLS. To sew............. .........................193 To cook..... .......... ...................... 76 To wash and iron........................ 29 To keep house............................ 22 To 'tend flowers.......................... 18 To sweep.................................... 9 To playmusic............................ 6 To'tend chickens..... .... ............ 5 To go to school........................... 3 To read....................................... 3 To make lace..................... ........ 1 To nurse.... ............................... 1 To play................................ ...... 1 To sing.................. ......... ........... 1 To "work" .................................. 5 What do you like to do best ? BOYS. To carpenter...................................37 To do garden-work........................27 To "work" ......................... ............25 To 'tend chickens...........................24 To sweep............................... ........ 1C To do housework.............................13 To play........................................... 11 To go to school...................... ........10 To drive.......................................... 8 To draw....................... .................. 5 To make ornaments........................ 5 To cook........................................... 5 To wash andiron. ....... .................. 4 To play music................................. 3 To sell goods..........:...... ................. 3 To deliver goods...... ...................... 3 To make money.............................. 1 "Don't know"................................. 8 What are you going to do when grown ? BOYS. Artisans, 58. Carpenters...................................15 Wheelwrights.............................. 3 Masons.............. ................. ........ 9 Carriage-makers.......................... 2 Blacksmiths ............................... 5 Boiler-maker............................... 1 Machinists................................... 5 Butcher................................. ..... 1 Railway Employees........ ............ 5 Shoemaker................................... 1 Firemen......................................... 4 Harnessmaker............................. 1 Tailors ......................................... 3 A "trade".................................... 3 Professional Men, 41. Physicians....................... ...........20 Lawyers................—...-.....-..-...... 3 Teachers,.....................................10 Dentist......................................... 1 Musicians and Music Teachers... 6 Pharmacist.................................. 1 Servants and Laborers, 18. Porters .......................................10 Teamsters............... ..................... 2 Butlers......................... .............. 2 Waiter............. Ice-cream-makers ....................... 2 Cook................. Mercantile and Clerical Pursuits, 13. Merchants .................... .............. 3 Book-keepers... Canvassers................................... 2 Cotton-sampler Commercial Men......................... 2 Draughtsman... Typewriters.................................. 2 Miscellaneous. Farmer........................................ 1 "Help my race"....................... ... 1 "Work".......................................14 "Gentleman"................... ........... 1 "President"................................. 1 "Don't know"...............................41 28 THE NEGRO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 29 What are you going to do when grown? GIBLS. Professional Pursuits, 158. Teachers...... ................................85 Musicians arid Music Teachers...65 Missionary.................................. 2 Students.... .................................. 2 Dressmakers and Seamstresses...................109. Servants and Housework, 63. Cooks...........................................27 Housekeepers., Physician..... Elocutionist. Singer........... Writer.......... Nurses .........................................27 Laundresses...... .......................... 4 These answers reveal much of the home life and ideals of city Negroes: first there is no doubt but what the boys and girls naturally like to "do" something with the hands, the larger number of the boys wishing to be artisans of some sort despite the fact that, not one in fourteen of their parents follow such callings. Outside of this they are of course attracted by the successes they see—the neat carriage of the black physician, the colored mail carrier, etc. At the same time it is clear they do not get at home much chance to exercise their mechanical ingenuity—even the sim plest tools being unused in nearly half the homes. Here is the chance for kindergarten work and manual training. These children have actual contact with things less often than in the case of the average child. Much of the world about them is unknown in the concrete and consequently they have greater difficulty in grasping abstract ideas. 5. The Rise of Industrial Training. These facts have long been recognized in the training of children. In the case of the Negroes there were a number of mixed incentives to action which have not yet clearly worked themselves out to-day, First there was the idea of work ing one's own way through school which many consider an excellent moral tonic; secondly there was the idea of educating children in the main according to the rank in life which they will in all probability oc cupy. This is a wide-spread theory of education arid can be especially traced in the European schools. Tliirdty there was the scheme of using student labor to reduce the expenses of maintaining the school; fourthly there was the idea of training girls for house-work; fifthly there was the idea of having the youth learn trades for future self-support, and sixthly there was the idea of "learning by doing"—of using things to enforce ideas arid physical exercises to aid mental processes. All these distinct aspects of education have been loosely lumped together in popular speech as "In dustrial Education" with considerable resulting confusion of thought. Among the Northern free Negroes "Industrial" training found early arid earnest advocates. They meant by this some way of teaching black boys trades in order that they might earn a decent livelihood amid the economic proscription of the North. As Mr. John W. Cromwell has lately said,t it is remarkable that in nearly every one of the dozen or more Negro conventions from 1831 to tSoiithern Workman, July. 1802. 1860 there was developed strong advocacy of trade schools for Negro youths. "In the convention of 1831, assembled at Philadelphia, it was decided to establish a college on the manual labor plan, as soon as twenty thousand dollars should be raised. Rev. Samuel E. Cornish, an educated colored Presbyterian clergyman, was appointed agent to secure funds. Within one year three thousand dollars had been secured for the purpose. Arthur Tappaii, the philanthropist, bought several acres in the southern part of New Haven, Conn., and had completed arrangements for erecting thereon a building, fully equipped for the purpose, that would have done credit to the city, the state and the country. But the people of New Haven and of Connecticut were bitterly opposed to the location of such an institution in their midst. In a mass meeting of the citizens, the mayor, aldermen and councilmen leading, they declared this opposition in forcible and uiimis- takablr language, even against the protest of so powerful a citizen as Roger S. Baldwin, who subsequently defended the Amistad captives, and became governor of the state and United States Senator. More than this, the commonwealth subsequently passed a law prohibiting the establish ment of any institution of learning 'for the instruction of persons of color of other states.' "Half a generation later, at the Colored National Convention of 1847, the demand for a colored college, led by so talented and able a controversialist as the late Alexander Crummell, noted even at that date for the same polished, incisive style and elegant diction which marked his later years, was offset by a firm and powerful constituency that successfully insisted on industrial training- having the prior claim. "But it was at Rochester, N. Y., in 1853, at the most influential of all the conventions in the history of the Negro race, that their approval of indus trial education what most emphatically given. At a time when 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and the name of its authoress, Harriet Beecher Stowe, were on every tongue, she, at the urgent request of friends in Great Britain, was planning a trip to Europe. The convention, following the lead of Frederick Douglass, commissioned her by an overwhelming voice to so licit funds in their name for the establishment of an industrial and agri cultural institution, hi England her reception was most enthusiastic,aiid her mission seems to have been favorably received. The enemies of the Negro in this country severely criticised her course, but after a defence by Frederick Douglas in his paper, 'The North Star,' copied in 'The Inde pendent,' then edited by Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, the attacks ceased. When Mrs. Stowe returned to America she had changed her mind respect ing the industrial education school, and the second attempt of the colored people to found in the North what has since succeeded so well in the South, came to naught. "In the 'Autographs for Freedom,' published in 1854, Prof. Charles L. Reason, who writes the introductory article, says: "The free colored man at the North .... in on* department of re formatory exertion .... feels that he has been neglected. .... He has failed to see a corresponding earnestness, according to the influence \ SO THE NEGRO ARTISAN •of abolitionists in the business world, in opening the avenues of industrial labor to the proscribed youth of the land. This work, therefore, is evi dently left for himself to do. And he has laid his powers to the task. The record of his conclusions was given at Rochester in July, and has become already a part of history. " 'Though shut out from the workshops of the country, he is determined to make self-provision so as to triumph over the spirit of caste that would keep him degraded. The utility of the industrial institution he would erect must, he believes, commend itself to abolitionists. " 'The usefulness, the self-respect and self-dependence—the combination of intelligence and handicraft—the accumulation of the materials of wealth, all referable to such an institution, present fair claims to the •assistance of the entire American people.' "Mr. Reason proves himself a prophet in forecasting conditions familiar to every observer. He adds: " 'Whenever emancipation shall take place, immediate though it be, the subjects of it, like man5r who now make vip the so-called free population, will be in what geologists call a transition state. The prejudice now felt against them for hearing on their persons the brand of slaves, cannot die out immediately. Severe trials will be their portion. The curse of a 'tainted race' must be expiated by almost miraculous proofs of ad vancement. .... To fight the battle on the bare ground of abstract principles will fail to give us complete victory. .... The last weak argument—that the Negro can never contribute anything to advance the national character, must be 'nailed to the counter as base coin.' .... Already he sees springing into growth from out his foster ivork-schocl, in telligent young laborers competent to enrich the world with necessary products—industrious citizens, contributing their proportion to aid on the advancing civilization of the country; self-providing artisans vindicating their pcopb from the never-ceasing charge of a fitness for servile posi tions.' " The Negroes who emigrated to Canada were more successful. In 1842 they held a convention to decide on the expenditure of $1,500 collected for them in England by a Quaker. They finally decided to start "a manual labor school where children could be taught the elements of knowledge which are usually the occupations of a grammar school; and where the boys could be taught in addition the practise of some mechanic art, and the girls could be instructed in those domestic arts which are the proper occupation and ornament of their sex."t Father Henson, the Negro who was chiefly instrumental in founding the school stated that the object was "to make it self-supporting by the employment of the students for certain portions of the time on the land." The school lasted some ten or fifteen years, but gradually decayed as the public schools were opened to Negro youth. In many of the colored schools opened in the Northern statep some in dustrial training was included. The Philadelphia "Institute for Colored fSicbcrt: Underground Railroad, r- 206. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 31 Youth" was founded by Kichard Humphreys in 1837 for the education of Negroes "in school learning, in the various branches of the mechanic arts and trade, and in agriculture." For a while a farm and trade school was maintained from this fund in Bristol county, Penna., but the school is now in Philadelphia and is being reorganized as a technical and trade school. When the civil war opened and the fall of slavery seemed imminent, some of the earliest suggestions for educating the blacks insisted on in dustrial training. The development, however, was slow and interesting. We may indicate the evolution of the Southern industrial school some- • what as follows: 1. Janitor work and chores performed by students. 2. Repair work and equipment by student labor. 3. Teaching of ordinary housework to girls. 4. Teaching of house-service for the training of servants. 5. The school of work; co-operative industry for gain, by use of student labor. 6. Teaching of trades. 7. The industrial settlement. 8. The social settlement. 9. Manual training. 10. Technological education. A diagram will best illustrate the logical development of these succes sive ideas: 1 8 10 This diagram may be explained thus: at first nearly all the schools from necessity required their students to help in cleaning and arranging the school buildings and yards. Afterward this feature was kept as a part of the discipline and to this day in nearly all the hoarding schools an hour or more of labor a day is required of each student regardless of his ability to pay for his schooling. From this situation (indicated by "1") two lines of training easily arose: first the boys by simple direction and oversight were enabled to make ordinary repairs about the school and even to make benches, tables and the like. This became a feature of many schools, both for its usefulness and discipline, (2). On the other hand the New England school teachers who came South found the Negro girls startlingly ignorant •of matters of household economy, which are among the first things a •i 32 THE NEGRO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 33 properly-bred girl knows. These girls could not sew, they could not sweep, they could not make a bed properly or cook digestible food. Les sons in simple housework for the girls early became a part of the curricu lum, (3). This was practically the extent of industrial training in nearly all schools, except Hampton, until about 1880. The new industrial movement then began to awaken the South and many began to see clearly that unless the Negro made especial effort he could gain no important place. The idea' of a "School of Work" therefore arose. It was to furnish education practically free to those willing to work for it; it was to "do" things—i. e., become a center of productive industry, it was to be partially, if not wholly, self-supporting, and it was to teach trades, (5). Admirable as were some of the ideas underlying this scheme the whole thing simply would not work in practice: it was found that if you were to use time and material to teach trades thoroughly you could not at the same time keep the industries on a commercial basis and make them pay. Many schools started out to do this on a large scale and went into virtual bankruptcy. Moreover it was found also that it was possible to teach a boy a trade me chanically without giving him the full educative benefit of the process, and vice versa, that there was a distinct educative value in teaching a boy to use bis hands and eyes in carrying out certain physical processes, even though he did not actually learn a trade. It has happened, therefore, in the last decade that a noticeable change has come over the industrial schools. In the first place the idea of commercially remunerative indus try in a school is being pushed rapidly to the back-ground. There are still schools with shops and farms that bring an income, and schools that use student labor partially for the erection of buildings and the furnishing of equipment. It is coming to be seen, however, in the education of the Negro as clearly as it has been seen in the e'ducation of youths the world over that it is the boy and not the material product that is the true object of education, Consequently the object of the industrial school became to be the thorough training of boys regardless of the income derived from the process of training, and, indeed, regardless of the cost of the training as long as it was thoroughly well done. Even at this point, however, the difficulties were not surmounted. In the first place modern industry has taken great strides since the war and the teaching of trades is no longer a simple matter. Machinery and long processes of work have greatly changed the work of the carpenter, the iron-worker and the shoemaker. A really efficient workman must be to-day an intelligent man who has had good technical training in addition to thorough common school and perhaps even higher training. To meet this situation the industrial schools began a further development; they established distinct Trade Schools for the thorough training of better class artisans and at the same time they sought to preserve for the purposes of general education such of the simpler processes of elementary trade learn ing as were best suited therefor. In this differentiation of the Trade School and manual training the best of the industrial schools simply fol lowed the plain trend of the present educational epoch. A prominent educator tells us that, in Sweden, "In the beginning the economic concep tion was generally adopted and everywhere manual training was looked upon as a means of preparing the children of the common people to earn their living. But gradually it came to be recognized that manual train- ins has a more elevated purpose and one indeed more useful in the deeper meaning of the term. It came to be considered as an educative process for the complete moral, physical and intellectual development of the child."* This conception of the plan of physical training in the educative pro cess is gradually making its way into all schools. It does not belong pe culiarly to "Industrial" schools, although it was, so to speak, discovered there. It is rather a part of all true education. As Mr. A. G. Boyden has so well pointed out,t the modern "laboratory" methods are but part of this new educational movement: "The learner must handle the objects whose qualities he perceives through the senses." He must handle the objects whose colors he would know, place them together and form pleasing com binations and mix and apply colors with his own hands; he must handle bodies whose forms he would know, measure their dimensions, draw the forms and make them of clay, paper or wood. So too he must examine and analyze minerals, draw and examine plants, observe and dissect animals, apply mathematics to counters and measures and surfaces, perform actual experiments in physics and chemistry and take notes, mould land config urations and draw maps in geography; prepare written exercises in gram mar, prepare outlines, charts and reports in history and civics. Finally the student must express frequently in writing what he thinks and studies. Manual training as an integral part of general culture has but just be gun to enter the Negro industrial schools. It was first established at At lanta University in 1888 by Mr. Clarence C. Tucker. Here General Arm strong saw the system and induced Mr. Tucker to enter into the service of Hampton,where industrial training had been given from the firsthand there introduce the distinct system of manual training. Hampton has since de veloped and perfected it in connection with Kindergarten andSloyd work. In time from such manual training will probably develop higher techno logical and engineering schools, but this is the work of the future. On the other hand with the distinct Trade-school evolved also the idea of the In dustrial settlement. The co-operative commercial organization, which was found impracticable in a school, has been, in one community at least, —Kowaliga—developed into a business organization. The school here has been definitely differentiated from business as such and the community or ganized for. work. A slightly different development occurred at Calhoun, where a settlement of Northern people undertook not simply a school but social and economic work to lift the community to a higher social plane. 6. The Industrial School. There were in the United States iri the scholastic year, 1899-1900, ninety-eight schools for Negroes which gave courses in in dustrial training. Their names and addresses are as follows :t *M. Gluys, quoted in Harris' Psychology of Manual Training, tin Report of Conference on Manual Training, Boston, Mass. tWhere dates are given after tlie name of the school the statistics arc for that year and not for 1899-1800. 34 THE NEGRO ARTISAN Name of School. Kowaliga Academic and In- Emerson Normal Institute. State Normal Institute. .... Agricultural and Mechani- Tuskegee Normal and In dustrial School, '98 and '99 Arkadelphia Acad. '98 & '99. Arkansas Baptist Col. " . Philander Smith College. . . Branch Normal College. .... State College for Colored Edward Waters College. . . . Emerson Memorial Home Orange Park Normal and Manual Training School. Florida State Normal and Atlanta University ........ Haines Normal and Indus trial Institute. .... ..... Address. Alabama. Arkansas. Little Rock........ Little Rock . Pine Bluff..... District of Cohnnbia. Florida. Orange Park ....... Tallahassee . Georgia. Atlanta ... .... itlanta ...... Augusta. .......... > 0} o £ . be 2 c as 2 c3 3U fH +3 o-a 65 £ £J CD BS a -S 3£? o~ 205 100 466 499 195 35 1,180 16 20 56 95 109 120 46 223 38 2£ 25 13C 7( 7f 10( 8< 11' 23; s; 45( 9; 20! 1899-1900. Students trained in industrial branches. Farm or garden work. Carpentry. Bricklaying. Plastering. Painting. 53002 40 1233 2217 17 943 35 1495736 101 3 50 32 2 40 2 2 1214 2 81 1 16 5020 3636 3616 6 22 32 62912 Forging. Machine shop work. Shoemaking. Printing. Sewing. 0350 0)251 60 25 172892 115252025 763 21152 3 321313 906 7 202 212 50 13 828 51510 45 1 602 4 3 20 5 52 75 38 7 22 80S 76 43 16 2 48 80 15 94 20 10167 1 4 44 32402 93 8200 Other trades. •) 2 3 28 4227 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 40 4 7 27 19 21 13 18 51 34 44 50 63 15 SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 35 Name of School. Georgia State Industrial College, '98 and '99. .... Fort Valley High and In- Ballard Nor. School. .... Central City College. .... Alien Nor. & Indus. Sch. State Normal School for Chandler Nor. School. . . Gilbert Academy and In- St. Frances Academy .... Industrial Home for Col ored Girls, '98 &'99.... Princess Anne Academy. Mount Hermon Female Seminary ..... ....... Southern Christian Inst. Miss. State Nor. School . . Tougaloo University .... Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College. . . Geo. R. Smith College. . . Manual Training and In dustrial School ........ Address. Georgia (Con.) College.......... Fort Valley...... South Atlanta.. Thomasville... . . Kentucky. Louisiana. New Orleans .... New Orleans.... Maryland. Princess Anne . . Mississippi. Clinton...... .... Edwards.... .... Holly Springs. . . Holly Springs. . . Missouri. lefferson City. . . New Jersey. Bordentown .... Total number of pupils receiv ing industrial training. 140 75 209 272 91 41 310 78 170 111 141 16 229 27 105 60 60 43 80 124 60 221 339 125 52 109 1899-1900 Students trained in industrial branches. Farm or garden work. 12 26 35 72 48 31 18 g 22 110 Carpentry. 8 30 85 26 15 59 72 9 14 30 75 85 36 28 Bricklaying. Plastering. Painting. Tin or sheet-metal work. 8 810 5 111 g 8 2 20 3 Forging. Machine shop work. Shoemaking. Printing. Sewing. 8 8 40 50 124 262 11 15 35 6 6 7 175 78 18 70 111 1 16 29157 13 ' 105 3 411 29 60 5 5 15 80 11 56 60 0 98 32 16 6 49 12 40 41 Cooking. 36 21 10 10 1 48 6 70 8 40 29 60 10 10 70 32 Other trades. 32 20 C 4 2 12 75 9 THE NEGRO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 37 Name of School. Washburn Seminary .... Scotia Seminary. ........ Franklinton Christian College, '98 & '99....... Agr. and Mechanical Col. for the Colored Race . . High Point Normal and Barrette Collegiate and Industrial School .. .... Plymouth State Nor. Sch. St. Augustine's School. . . Shaw University. ....... Gregory Nor.Sch.,'97 & '98 Rankin-Richards Inst. . The Slater Indus. an£ State Nor. School ...... Inst. for Colored Youth . Schofield Normal and Indus. School......... Browning Home School '97 and '98. ............. Avery Nor. Institute .... Alien University ........ Benedict College. ....... Penn. Nor. and Indus Brewer Nor. Sch. '98 & '99 Claflin University ...... Knoxville College. ...... Morristown Nor. Col .... Cen. Tenn. College. ..... Roger Williams Univ. . . Address. North Carolina. Charlotte.. ...... Franklinton .... High Point. .... Kings Mountain Raleigh. ........ Wilmington .... Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. . . . Soiith Carolina. Camden. ........ Charleston... .... Columbia ....... Columbia ....... Frogmore ....... Greenwood ..... Orangeburg. .... Tennessee. Morristown ..... Total number of pupils receiv-| ing industrial training. 118 107 290 174 60 155 75 37 100 190 9 100 16 118 272 231 136 75 205 84 213 179 147 487 78 68 462 93 70 100 —— 1899-1900 Students trained in industrial branches. Farm or garden work. 143 6 F 18 57 10 27 76 9 Carpentry. 48 23 88 12 F t 6 70 4 22 24 20 24 8 98 108 3 14 45 10 | Bricklaying. 9 8 2 10 8 3 12 175 2 | Plastering. 5 3 5 8 42 1 | Painting. 2 3 2 9 10 | Tin or sheet-metal work. 1 4 | Forging, 88 50 | Machine shop work. 6 50 | Shoemaking. 4 5 9 3 15 10 2 4 2 | Printing. 46 5 12 9 11 10 3 25 12 8 13 19 41 2 bb a (D 00 70 20 290 10 64 60 110 20 37 50 120 100 16 38 173 100 75 117 84 109 91 147 195 52 36 378 93 9 98 bb -S •3 o o 290 64 15 85 20 50 37 87 72 36 40 20 20 46 84 10 80 68 Other trades. 123 10 40 30 12 Name of School. Paul Quinn College ..... Ingleside Seminary ,'98-99 Gloucester Agr. & Indus. College, '98 and '99.. . Hampton Nor. & Agri cultural Institute .... St. Paul Normal and In dustrial School, '98-'99. Manassas Indus. School, '98 and '99. ....... . Norfolk Mission College. Va. Nor. and Coll. Inst. . Va. Union University Storer College . . . Address. Texas. Marshall. ....... Virginia. Burkeville.... Lawreuceville. . . Norfolk.......... Petersburg. . . Richmond . . ... W. Virginia. Harper's Ferry. . Total number of pupils receiv ing industrial training. 327 200 140 109 97 949 230 65 400 183 12 105 ] 899-] 900 Students trained in industrial branches. Farm or garden work. . 32 100 30 413 18 '3 Carpentry. 15 109 29 10 27 35 Bricklaying. 24 11 4 Plastering. 11 5 Painting. 2 6 2 M t* o t£ "3 « I f* hf^ ^ 25 ci Ssffiiigs; ^ Se^gSSffl Value of Grounds, Buildings, & fcj H-K SJfeS SSSS_S_S_t5&r# = 2 _.*__ e *-poo _bs rfi OT tf- OT CO o 00-1005 te H P 6-4 03 r-l 3 o 6S£ S 9 S1:? I* sr Isg^d! 9 Igofl I CD S. 5 o CH (D H in 3 ncoln Institute.. Geo. E. Smith Col. I I ° " If §^0« 5>§Pg233 sdg'S'Sg-'g s-l^aj^ g|^#HOT 02. §"S§ £,•5" g, r r St. Frances Academy I. Home for Col. Girls Princess Anne Acad.. ? ^g •a I'll g 3-&S- 5 ""!-!> •&^i «.<• p. State Aid 1 $ 150 0 0 0 0 0 0 345 2,900 0 1 Tuition. $ 100 969 Interest. $ 1,200 Other Sources. * .2 * 6,5501 9,000 0 16,000 270 1,000 4,000 8 300 4,780 761 625 6,169 0 0 15,000 1,000 5,600 4,410 0 3,500 1,700 1,103 1,200 007 t>o* 500 1,823 35,336 672 4,000 3,000, 5,500 6,000 4,359 1,200 8,000 280 14,000 4,500 8,500 8,190 1,680 3,821 3,000 136,668 8,500 5,500 7,410 300 0 9,969 10,359 1,670 1,000 37,000 5,633 17, 13,780 31,761 23,294 11,248 8,480 10,239 3,600 3,700 426,337 12,000 10,740 9,110 17,747 57,478 4,610 13. Results of Industrial Training. It is always difficult to judge a sys tem of human training, since in the nature of the case its results are spiritual rather than material and show themselves fully only alter the lapse of time. Industrial training has changed the ideals of the freedmen, it has educated the hands and heads of his children and it has trained artisans. Of these we can only measure the last and that but imperfectly Every school in the country which is especiallv desi-ned to °ive industrial training to Negroes was sent the schedule of questions printed on page 11 Of the 98 thus questioned 44 answered, and partial data obtained from the catalogues of 16 others, making returns from schools in all. Of these sixty a number answered that they to furnish exact data or had no graduates working as artisans? G-LS,nith College Mo: "We have notas yet made provision for Industrial work " Mt-IlermonFe^le Seminary, Miss: "I am sorry I cannot answeryour questions but I really have not kept track of my former pupils " questions, but Storr's Softootffc :"Thto is a grammar day school and has no industries except sewing » ^a graes as yet c°nnected ^ consequently we have no re thaa ™ b v V ^Venotbeen SoinS lo"S enough for us to have sent out more than a few boys, so that I am not able to give you any answer." [of our Jonesboro, Tenn: "We are teaching sewing only as industrial work Cappahoosic, Va: "While we give elementary lessons in sewing we cannot l training in our school but ; 8" ° = "At pr6Sent i4 is topc«ible to make a report that v K ,?, ^^ WG h°Pe t0 be aUe t0 &™ information in that line.', Umversay,^ew Orleans, La: "This is not a trade school. I never want to manage shops, machines, foundries, kilos, plants, industries; I mean to use some of these on their educational side for various reasons, but book learning is our main aim Ail oi our graduates who are living as artisans learned'that elsewhere " o™'luffp ^^ jy?™^™. Holly Springs, Miss: "None [of our former students or graduates are arhsans.] Ours is a normal school for the education of teachers The only art we teach is dress-cutting and Btting." euucation Ol teachers. I?ftute' 8avannah, Ga : "1 have not found as yet records of addresses or occu of former graduates. * * * * We have no industrial course" "Our Industria) Department has been in al B«- of in- : 'nlookin& «P our statistics of graduates and what they are Scot™ Seminary: "Our work being for girls only our industrial work is conBned auuy to the domestic arts. Some who do not complete a literary course devote them- 70 THE NEGRO ARTISAN selves to dress-making, but the literary graduates generally accept positions as teach ers. The demand for industrial teachers far exceeds our ability to 'supply. Scotia girls, as a rule, do not get a chance for independent positions. They are in such de mand for the high office of. home-maker that nearly all of them are at that not very long after they graduate." In addition to these 20 schools, probably all but a few of the 38 schools not heard from belong to the same category, i. e., they either teach sew ing, cooking, farming, or simple manual training, or if they teach a few trades partially they have no record of their graduates. In the case of girls' schools like Spelman and Scotia it is not expected that they will send out artisans except possibly dress-makers, and teachers of manual training. Turning now to trade schools and those that lay considerable stress on Manual Training, we nave the following reports: Hampton Institute, Va. 112 graduates or former students are working at their trades and 27 are teaching trades, making 139 in all. 227 have finished or practically finished their trades in the years 1885-1902. Of these 10 are dead, and 42 not heard from. Of the remaining 161 heard from, 139 are working at their trades or teaching them :* HAMPTON TEADT5 STUDENTS. Blacksmiths ........... .................. Bricklayers......... ......... ........... Engineers .................. ............. Painters ......... ........ ......... ........ Printers Shoemakers. ............................. Tnilnrt; Tinsmiths ...... ......... ......... ........ Wheelwrights....... ... ...... ........ Wood- working machinists....... a1 CC 2 «e 0> •B S -t-J

> S-3 rS S . _ , C8 O H 95 9 70 14 9 19 14 16 oc 9 1 CD eS ~i o o M-a -, 03 a-s 03-FH n C a>c£ r^ -1 03 1 9 4 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 O CC & OT: Tj 03 .0 "J lie .s« c >. •g-3 S ° *r c3 O c-i 9(i 4 74 14 9 90 14 17 9 98 »> 1 r* O 54H •c a 0> n "o o .C. o Ul f, ttG vnJilrpT's; Machinists ....... ......... Painters .............. ..... Printers..................... Shoemakers............... TQ il /~»>*c Tinsmiths.. . ............... Wheelwrights............ Iron & steel workers .. Brickmakers. ...... ...... Dressmakers and Milliners. .......... ...... ,f) •*-!-] fift QT*-f-i C*1T1Q Total graduates Total work'g at trades Total teaching trades- Total work'g & teach'g Hamp ton. * 02 0> -u eg a -a eg Sc sc _c '> 3 26 3 68 14 9 8 8 20 13 17 2 28 1 217 bi c s o £ 16 3 29 9 3 6 4 11 8 18 1 4 112 138 be a £1 O eg 0) H 1 1 13 3 1 2 f ^ t 1 27 Tuske gee ••- 02 0) 43 eg •O eg & bB _C '> 3 7 13 15 3 3 3 19 6 c \ 5 b 30 11 13J * V bb a £ ^ o 3 8 4 1 1 1 2 11 5 1 6 4 48 84 S 0 eg 0)1 E-i 1 li 1, - C 1 O eg 3 'eg O fe O T- £5 -i-T -1-3 CD ;_i e^ pq -*^j :§ ft eg pq 02 eg1 C£ I a eg J« ^ •< Total liv'g graduates. 6 22 16 2 1 2 6 3 1 3 1 1 2 28 3 2 6 11 20 98 46 14 60 10 15 3 2 10 6 10 25 84 10 20 30 15 15 10 2 15 25 25 157 10 10 6 12 6 25 12 18 79 & J3 02 pq 6 O "eg £P 0 H d 02 2~ TJ cfi o X! & £ 43 £3 O Kj r* •0 0) t- o "o O 0 qn tg h- ( / S? S S o be 4^ § S ri ^ o rS 3 E? 0) 5 <5 -*^ 02 .3 PH 02" _o 43 a 43 43 02 a M ^ 0) J3 43 O Total graduates work ing at trades. 1 3 10 1 15 15 7 1 18 3 3 2 4 38 3 41 5 15 30 20 20 15 10 5 123 6 199 16 8 6 4 50 2 5? 1 2 1 f A 14 3 17 3 2 22 2? 2 2 6 1 1 2 10 24 94 3 7 6 5 5 2 1 10 14 53 2 55 2 16 2 1 4 2 5 4 22 r O 68 13 81 & 3 S ^ a -* c3 43 C 4 . 02 Cv eg 43 be C x; o eg c 1 1 7 12 12 There are reported 623 artisans at work, and 120 teaching them trades or teaching manual training. The proportion which those at work and teach ing bear to the total trade graduates is not easily ascertained. Some are working at trades who did not graduate: Hampton, for instance, reports *Of the Trade school only, not of other departments. fNot including those graduates before 1890. Including nil graduated. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 79 4 bricklayers and wood-working- machinists graduated and 7 working at these two trades. No report at all is made of other than trade school graduates. Tuskegec gives no record of her trade graduates before 1890, and Claflin's report of GO at work is an estimate and not a detailed report. However, we may make the following- table: Tuskegee: Total graduates, 423, or 100%. Of these 11% work at trades, and 6.5% teach trades. To fell trade graduates, about 150*, or 100%. Of these 32 „ work at trades, and 10 o teach trades. Hampton: Total trade graduates, 217, or 100%. Of these 51.5% work at tisides, and 12 „ teach trades. Claflin: Total trade graduates, 98, or 100%. Of these about 47% -work at trades, and about 14 teach trades. Possibly it would bo fair to say that in the best industrial schools some thing- less than a. quarter of all the graduates, and about three-fifths of all the trade graduates, actually practice their trades or teach them. If to the 743 artisans working and teaching we add for the school at Nor mal, Ala., and the Arkansas Baptist College an estimated number of 60 additional artisans, we have 803 artisans. The unreported artisans would bring this number up to at loast 1,000, so that it would be a conservative statement to say that the hundred schools giving industrial training have in the last twenty years sont one thousand actual artisans into the world, beside a large number who combine their mechanical skill with other callings. 14. Five Faults of Industrial Schools. We may now summarize this study of the Industrial School by pointing out briefly certain faults and accom plishments. Twenty years or more ago it was evident that the great problem before the Negro was that of earning an income commensurate with his expanding wants. The Industrial School attempted to answer this problem by training farmers and artisans. How far has it accom plished this work? The various adverse criticisms against the work of Industrial Schools may be catalogued as follows: 0.) Their work lias cost too much. The total incomes of the industrial schools so far as reported on pages 66- 08 was $1,514,793. This includes all schools giving industrial training on any scale. Of this sum $628,379, or 41 °f>, went to Hampton and Tuskegee. Perhaps in all ahout one million dollars went actually to industrial train- i. e., i;it Since 1W(, aml ,U1 t,S(jm,,tcrt nllin|lcr Of lii before that time who finished their trades 80 THE BliOKO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL COKl'E HENCE 81 ing and the rest to academic aud normal work. One might estimate that in the last twenty years the industrial training- of Negroes has cost some thing between five and ten millions of dollars. The total income including gifts and benefactions of the schools* aided by the Slater fund was in 1899-1900: Hampton..........................$426,337———— 939 students. Spelman........................... 32,561———— 599 " Tuskegee...... ................... 202,( Claflhi.............................. 37,C Shaw....... ........................ 21,I Montgomery..................... 15,( Tougaloo........................... 15, It is clear that while manual training is not very costly, and instruction in sewing and cooking need not be expensive, that on the other hand the teaching of trades and the conduct of "schools of work" are very expen sive. It costs as much to run Tuskegee a year as it does to conduct the whole Southern work of the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Societyt, with their 43 schools, 413 instructors and 10,146 pupils. So, too, Hampton received in 1900 more- than was spent on the whole Negro public school system of the state of Virginia. Such facts are no argument against industrial training, but they do raise the question if its cost today is not unnecessarily excessive. The largest items of expendi ture are for tools and machinery, materials, and furnishing- work for stu dents. In the first item it is doubtful if there could be any saving: modern industrial appliances are growing more and more elaborate and costly, and if the student is to be properly trained according to the best methods, he must handle and learn the use of such machinery. There must be too in all trade teaching a large consumption of material from which no return can be expected. The old idea was that the industrial school could sell its products and partially, if not wholly, support itself, but this has proven fallacious. In the third item alone, the furnishing of work for students, there is the largest field for retrenchment. The theory in several schools is to charge no tuition and allow the student to work out his education by crediting him with wages for work in the shops. As a matter of fact every $100 thus earned by the studentwas proven in one school to have cost over $300. Consequently, as has been noted before, there is less emphasis put on this phase of industrial school life to-day than formerly. It is to be hoped that in the future the system will wholly disappear. It was un doubtedly some moral value to the student, but this is more than offset by the waste of time and energy in requiring a student to learn a difficult trade and earn a living at the same time. If he laarns the trade well the living "earned" will be simply disguised charity; and if he really earns a living he will scarcely master his trade in any reasonable time. An in dustrial school should be like other schools: the student or his parents should be required to pay his tuition, board and clothes, and scholarships ""•Except Straight and Bishop; no available data for these. tChristian Educator. May 1002. should be granted the brightest and most deserving- pupils who cannot do this. Others should work and earn the necessary sum before they come to school. In the school all time and energy should be given to learning the trade and masteringthe accompanying studies. Any attempt to go further than this is a dangerous experiment which must he costly either in time, energy or money. (2.) The lines of study have not liccu differentiated. >Iost graduates of industrial schools teach; this means that teacher- ti'iiining should he an important part of the curriculum. In many schools, however, the attempt is made to train a teacher and an artisan at the same time. This would seem to he a mistake: teachers should be trained as teachers and given normal courses in manual training, while separate trade courses should train artisans. "If carpenters are needed it is well and good to train men as carpenters; if teachers are needed it is well and good to train men as teachers. But to train men as carpenters and then set them to teaching is wasteful and criminal; and to train men as teachers and then refuse them living wages unless they become carpenters is rank nonsense."* (3.) There is undue insistence on the "practical." Industrial schools must beware placing undue emphasis on the "practical" character of their work. All true learning of the head or hands is practical in the sense of being applicable to life. But the best learning is more than merely practical since it seeks to apply iteelf, not simply to present modes of living, but to a larger, broader life which lives to-day, perhaps, in theory only, but may come to realization to-morrow by the help of educated and good men. There still lurks in much that passes for industrial training to-day something that reminds us forcibly of Dotheboys Hall and Mr. Squeers: "We go upon the practical mode of teaching, Nickleby; the regular ed ucation system. C-L-E-A-N, clean, verb active, to make bright, to scour. W-I-N, win, D-E-Ii, winder, a casement. When the boy knows this out of book, he goes and does it." The ideals of education, whether men are taught to teach or to plow, to woavo or to write must not be allowed to sink to sordid utilitarianism. Education must keep broad ideals before it, and never forget that it is dealing with Souls and not with Dollars. Along with this goes a certain indifference to the artistic side of indus try. Industrial art is a most important line of study and one peculiarly suited to the aesthetic Negro temperament. Yet Beauty as "its own ex cuse for being" has had little emphasis in most industrial schools. Of the same character is the unfortunate opposition of advocates of in dustrial education toward colleges. The colleges at first looked askance at the industrial schools until they began to prove their usefulness; and this was a natural attitude. On the other hand no one in the light of history can doubt the necessity of colleges in any system of education. Atlanta University Publications No. (i: "The Negro Common School," p. 117. 82 THE NEGIiO AKTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 83 No adequate system of industrial schools and common schools can be maintained without a proper number oi' Negro colleges of high grade and efficiency,aud this fact all men ought frankly and openly to acknowledge. (4.) The changing industrial conditions are often ignored. The journeyman artisan, the small shop and the house industry are be ing replaced by the largo contractor, the factory system and power ma chines; the central fact in the world of labor is the rise and development of the Trade Union. The courses of study in many schools do not suffi ciently recognize these changes but prepare workmen for conditions of work that are passing. Especially are these artisans ignorant of the ex tent and meaning of the great labor movement. (5.) Few actual artisans arc sent out. This criticism is less valid to-day than when it was first made,* and in another decade may disappear as industrial schools improve. Still it has some weight to-day. Roughly'speaking it has cost above five million dollars to establish the industrial schools and send out a thousand workmen. What has hindered the one or two thousand other recipients of some considerable degree of industrial training from following their trades? It .may be answered, three considerations: 1. Poor trade instruction. 2. The demand for teachers. 8. The factory system and trade unions. Many schools undoubtedly give a training in "trades" which is not really worthy of the name. When, as is true in one case, only 6 in every 100 artisans trained are following their trades the in evitable conclusion is that the training is very poor. Even the better grade of industrial schools have come to teaching the main, trades thor oughly only in the hist few years and many other trades are still inade quately taught. When the graduate of an industrial institute leaves school he is tempted to go to school teaching. As long as the school does not distinctly separate teacher-training and trade-training, and as long as the average teacher is of low efficiency, this temptation will remain and take many art isans from their callings. There are many callings, however, which Trade Schools, be they ever so efficient and careful, cannot fill with their graduates. This is duo to two causes: first, the factory system with its minutely developed division of labor which renders it absolutely essential that the apprentice should learn his trade in the factory; secondly, the strong opposition of trade unions to Negro labor in all lines save those where the Negro already has a foot-hold. Of these five faults careful consideration would seem to indicate that while all have some weight the first three are most serious; and thatcarefnl or ganization and experiment will likely remove most of these faults in time,. Of. Rtpovt of the U. S. Commissioner o[ Education, 1881-n, p. l!J6u. 15. Five Accomplishments of Industrial Schools. Turning now to favorable criticism we may note that Industrial training has: (1.) Rationalized Negro Ideals. The first result of these schools, as of all schooling, has been spiritual rather than economic. It has made Negroes think; turned their attention from mere aspiration to the concrete problem of earning a living and emphasized the truth that labor is honorable; and while this thinking has not yet shown itself to any great extent in increased avenues of employ ment and greater skill there is no doubt that future decades will show vast improvement. (2.) Begun the co-ordination, of hand and head work in education. We have not yet reached altogether satisfactory results in this new edu cation but the Negro industrial school has given great and needed empha sis to the movement and has to some extent taught the whole nation. (:i ) Reached out into the Country Districts. The mission schools and the schools of the Freedmen's bureau were pri marily city and town schools and reached the select classes largely. The industrial schools have appealed especially to the neglected county dis tricts and to the "field-hand" class. (4.) Improved Domestic Work in the Home. The first industrial work was with girls in sewing and cooking, and al ready the results of this training are seen in the first-class town homes. (5.) United Races and Sections on one Point. Progress is largely compromise. The attitude of the South toward the Negro is not what the best thought of the North or of the Negroes could wish. The attitude of the Negro toward the South and of the North to ward the Negro is not what the dominant thoughtof the South wishes. It is, however, an omen of unusual importance, that amid this difference of opinion and-bitterness of spirit there is some common ground on which North and South, black and white, can meet, viz: common school, manual and trade training for black children. This does not mean that the race problem can be settled on this basis, but it does mean that its settle ment can be auspiciously begun. Negroes can and will demand some college and professional training in addition; fairmiuded men can and will demand equal rights for all Americans despite color, and the Southern people can and will demand safeguards against ignorance and crime; but all happily will agree on the importance of industrial training. And this is no little step from January 1, 1863. 16. The Higher Education and the Industries, (by Dr. J. G. Merrill, Presi dent of Fink University). The higher education is essential to the very existence of any education and it is only in lauds where education is found that the industries thrive. The higher education may be likened to the head as part of the body; the life of the body terminates when it is removed from it; it may be likened to the key stone of the arch, a very small matter as far as material goes, but it makes efficient the aggregate mass in the structure that can bear untold weight. 82 THE NEGRO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 83 No adequate system of industrial schools and common schools can be maintained without a proper number of Negro colleges of high grade and efficiency,and this fact all men ought frankly and openly to acknowledge. (4.) The changing industrial conditions are often ignored. The journeyman artisan, the small shop and the house industry are be ing replaced by the large contractor, the factory system and power ma- chinos; the central 1'acl in the world of labor is the rise and development of the Trade Union. The courses of study in many schools do not suffi ciently recognize those changes hut prepare workmen for conditions of work that are passing. Especially are these artisans ignorant of the ex tent and mean ing of the great labor movement. (5.) Few actual artisans are sent out. This criticism is less valid to-day than when it was first made,* and in another decade may disappear as industrial schools improve. Still it has some weight to-day. Itoughly'speaking it has cost above five million dollars to establish the industrial schools and send out a thousand workmen. What has hindered the one or two thousand other recipients of some considerable degree of industrial training from following- their trades? It .may be answered, three considerations: 1. Poor trade instruction. 2. The demand for teachers. 3. The factory system and trade unions. Many schools undoubtedly give a training in "trades" which is not really worthy of the name. AVhen, as is true in one case, only C in every 100 artisans trained are following their trades the. in evitable conclusion is that the training is very poor. Kven the better grade of industrial schools have come to teaching the main trades thor oughly only in the last few years and many other trades are still inade quately taught. When the graduate of an industrial institute leaves school he is tempted to go to school teaching. As long us the school does not distinctly separate teacher-training and trade-training, and as long as the average teacher is of low efficiency, this temptation will remain and take many artisans from their callings. There are many callings, however, which Trade Hchools, be they ever so efficient and careful, cannot fill with their graduates. Tins is due to two causes: first, the factory system with its minutely developed division of labor which renders it absolutely essential that the apprentice should learn his trade in the factory; secondly, the strong opposition of trad< unions to Negro labor in all lines save those where the Negro already has a foot-hold. Of these five faults careful consideration would seem to indicate, that while all have some weight the first three are most serious; and that careful or ganization and experiment will likely remove most of these faults in tirn< Cf. Rtport «f tlio U. S. Commissioner of Efluc;itioii, 1HM-6, p. i;«i(p. 15. Five Accomplishments of Industrial Schools. Turning now to favorable criticism we may note that Industrial training has: (1.) Rationalized Negro Ideals. The first result of these schools, as of all schooling, has been spiritual rather than economic. It has made Negroes think; turned their attention from mere aspiration to the concrete problem of earning a living and emphasized the truth that labor is honorable; and while this thinking has not yet shown itself to any great extent in increased avenues of employ ment and greater skill there is no doubt that future decades will show vast improvement. (2.) Begun the co-ordination of hand and head work in education. We have not yet reached altogether satisfactory results in this new edu cation but the Negro industrial school has given great and needed empha sis to the movement and has to some extent taught the whole nation. (3.) Reached out into (he Country Districts. The mission schools and the schools of the Freedmen's bureau were pri marily city and town schools and reached the select classes largely. The industrial schools have appealed especially to the neglected county dis tricts and to the "field-hand" class. (4.) Improved Domestic Work in the Home. The first industrial work was with girls in sewing and cooking, and al ready the results of this training are seen in the first-class town homes. (5.) United Races and Sectimis on one Point. Progress is largely compromise. The attitude of the South toward the Negro is not what the best thought of the North or of the Negroes could wish. The attitude of the Negro toward the South and of tiie North to ward the Negro is not what the dominant thought of the South wishes. It is, however, an omen of unusual importance that amid this difference of opinion and-bitterness of spirit there is some common ground on which North and South, black and white, can meet, viz: common school, manual and trade training for black children. This does not mean that the race problem can be settled on this basis, but it does mean that its settle ment can be auspiciously begun. Negroes can and will demand some college and professional training in addition; fairminded men can and will demand equal rights for all Americans despite color, and the Southern people can and will demand safeguards against ignorance and crime; but all happily will agree on the importance of industrial training. And this is no little step from January 1, 18G3. 16. The Higher Education and the Industries, (by Dr. J. G. Merrill, Presi dent of Fisk University). The higher education is essential to the very existence of any education and it is only in lauds where education is found that the industries thrive. The higher education may be likened to the head as part of the body; the life of the body terminates when it is removed from it; it may be likened to the key stone of the arch, a very small matter as far as material goes, but it makes efficient the aggregate mass in the structure that can bear untold weight. 84 THE NEG11O AltTlSAN The mental quickening which the college graduate gives a rural village, the breadth of view which he helps a municipality to take, the larger con ceptions of business life clue to the men of letters are every day verifica tions of the value to all of .the training received by the few. It is such an atmosphere as this that quickens, the mind of the inventor so that he may produce new instruments for human progress, the intellect of the architect on whose success depends the daily bread of the carpenter, and mason, and even the teamster and the hod-carrier; the ambition of the farmer who learns how to make two blades of grass where one has grown before, and is kept from being merely "the man with the hoe." Or look at the matter in another way. The large proportion of the child ren of the artisan and the laborer are to obtain their training in the com mon school; this training will be of value to them in proportion to the worth of the teaching force in the school. A stream cannot rise higher than its fountain ; a teacher with only a common school education is not equipped for such work; a high school graduate or normal teacher is sought for. But who is to teach the industrial, the high, or the normal school ? There must be a source higher than they to nut in requisition, and so on until we reach the superlative—the highest educators, those whom God has endowed with the loftiest of gifts, who have had the privileges of post graduate training such as have made Germany and England and, of late, the United States, famous in the realms of knowledge. It remains to note the counter movement, the help received by the higher education from the industries. This has been well-nigh phenomenal. As the years have gone by wealth has increased ; the number of millionaires has multiplied; very many of them having amassed their fortunes by means of the industries. But better than this has been the earning power of the average man which has risen in the United States from ten cents per day in 1800 for each man, woman, and child, to 80 cents in 1850, over 50 cents in 1890, and much higher than that in 1900, we are sure compila tions when made from the last census will show. Now, because of this state of affairs higher education prospers, the normal schools and uni versities supported by the state and the princely benefactions given to endow colleges, universities and post graduate schools are a sign of the times, pointing to a future that is very bright when, in all our land, the opportunity to obtain a common school education will be afforded to all, an industrial training to the many, who by native gifts or inclination can earn a livelihood and bless the state by use of their physical powers, the higher education to those whose mental equipment is matched by tenacity of purpose and the high moral aims which alone can make of value any education. 17. The Industrial Settlement at Kowaliya, Ala. The thesis of Dr.Merrill as de veloped in the preceding section is illustrated clearly in the case of Negro education. Industrial training in the South is peculiarly the child of the College and the University. Samuel Armstrong and Dr. Frissell were College-bred men, and the majority of their teachers also; Tuskegee "is filled with College graduates, from the energetic wife of the principal down to the teacher of agriculture, including nearly half of the executive oEVENTII ANNUAL CONFERENCE 85 council and a majority of the heads of departments"* and so, too, in every one of the hundred industrial schools the College graduates are the lead ing spirits. Further than this one College graduate, William Kenson, of Fisk and Howard, has, at Kowaliga, developed an industrial settlement of Negroes on n, business basis which is the longest step toward the economic emancipation of the Negro yet taken. The "Dixie Industrial Company" is the name of the enterprise and this is a description of its work : "We. are sitting in the spacious chapel of a new school building. The walls and columns are decorated in bunting and flags, in three colors. .In every direction which the eye may gaze is to be seen an air of cheerful ness, except the long line of dark, care-worn faces before us. It is the occasion of the county fair which is held annually on the premises of the new community school. On the grounds outside we have seen exhibits of live-stock and poultry; the recitation rooms are filled with specimens of corn, cotton, potatoes, fruit and other products grown in the region. On the floor above the women have arranged their handiwork of sewing, cooking, preserving, canning and quilting; and now we are to witness tlie awarding of prizes to successful competitors. "The farm group seems divided into four classes; those who rent land, live stock and implements, furnishing only their labor and dividing their products half and half; a smaller class who have been frugal enough to pay for live stock and implements and give a stipulated amount for the rent of a given number of acres; a still smaller class who own land of their own, and lastly, those who are buying land under a form of lease and option contract. An enterprising man, a College-bred Negro, secured a tract of one thousand acres of land, which he sub-divided into twenty-five farm lots of forty acres each. Neat and inexpensive cottages were built, being grouped as closely as possible, with the view of overcoming the dis advantages of sparsely settled rural life. These farms, including im provements, are sold at four hundred dollars each. The payments are arranged in annual installments covering a period of eight years—not much exceeding what they have heretofore paid as rent. This group we notice from the reports just read, is more prosperous because they work under intelligent supervision. It is a part of their contract. They cannot take more land than they can handle thoroughly, and they make more with the same labor than under the old system with a big crop, half fer tilized, and half-cultivated. They must raise an abundance of food sup plies, take care of their live-stock and improve their farms. They work better and live better, because they have a personal interest in all they do. One man works at the saw mill, another at the oil mill and another at the brick yard. Every buyer, be he farmer or mill-hand, will be given a clear title to his home when he has completed his payments as specified. "Our community began with a single group, and now we develop mi- other. The establishment of minor industries supplements the farm life aud add to the material prosperity of the community. Much of the viciousness of an isolated rural population is due to idleness. A few pay- *Atlantic Monthly, Sept., HMJL>, \i. 2D5. Ill;1" " 86 TUB NEGRO AKTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CON.FEKKNCE 87 ing industries utilize waste material and keep in the community thousands of dollars which must go out. But you say that we are too far from a rail road, and the expense of finding a market for our products would be too great. Whatever opportunities might ultimately open to us in this direc tion, it is certain that our present welfare depends upon making the com munity self-sustaining and self-relying. We shall make our own market and supply our own demand. We cannot export; we will not import. "We are spending annually an aggregate of five thousand dollars for wagons, furniture and implements. A saw mill and general wood-work ing plant would utilize our timber, first in building homes and making as near a.s possible all the cheap furniture required in furnishing- these homes. A small oil mill plant can be equipped at an outlay of ten thous and dollars. This does not represent the cost of last year's fertilizer, to say nothing of the thousands of bushels of cotton seed carted away to a foreign market. The oil mill man takes the lintings, the bulls and the oil, and sells back again the meal alone to the farmer at an advance of $6.50 to $12.00 per ton more than he has given for the whole product. Our mill will save the community the cost of its fertilizer, and the bulls a.s a valua ble feed. These industries can be operated entirely independent of trusts, because we saw our own trees, and use the bouses, make our own seed and use the fertilizer. "Now follows the development of other groups in fast succession. One finds it profitable to make a specialty of gardening, another dairying and another poultry raising. The aesthetic taste of the female population de mands better made dresses, and they like to have ribbons tied to their hats by a milliner. Our community life becomes a centre of industry, and then a centre of commerce to its own immediate region, selling its products a,nd buying its necessities. This brings us to the point where we touch the life of our white neighbor. The moment we rise to the plane where our business interests are mutual, we strike a common meeting- ground. The Negro teacher, minister and professional business man finds his patronage almost exclusively among the people of his own race. The Kegro business man is the only one who crosses the line, and it is here that his contact with the white man is closest and most congenial. "The first direct effort toward this new agricultural, industrial and do mestic activity was through the enlargement of the community school, niicl the perfection ot a plan by which the community that enjoys its benefits, might more largely participate in its burdens. The people had little money, so one gives land, another material, and others labor. Thus the cabin school-house was torn down and in its place erected a fine structure, with the appointments of a modern institution. We are intro duced to several new teachers—a nice set of young men and women, well trained for the work of leading those who live around them to a more in telligent life of Christian manhood and womanhood. "We have presented this sketch of settlement life, with the simple hope that it may suggest to your minds a practical scheme, for preventing the Negro from drifting from the country to foreign fields, and a fair way to start him ou the road to independence where he is. If you are skeptical as to its feasibility, let us remember that the father of the young Collegian who directs this community, has demonstrated every feature of life and industry which we have advanced. He began a pioneer in the woods,and now we find him the owner of three thousand acres, with two hundred and fifty people cultivating his land. He operates a saw mill, a grist mill and cotton gins. He has a plantation store, horses and cattle. Ho has given his children a good education at the best schools afforded them in the South, and they in turn are helping others. We are surprised to find that he not only has the patronage, but indeed the friendship, of the best white men of the region. His problem is solved, and he has given us the hope of the ideal community, and-his son is widening and developing it." 18. General Statistics of Negro Artisans. The occupations of American .Negroes in 1890 have been discussed in a general way on pages 23 to 26.* Let us now consider more specifically the distribution of Negro artisans in 1890, taking certain typical employments and giving the figures first for the United States and then for the Southern States in detail.** NMUKO ARTISANS IN THK UNITJ3D STATES.—CellsllS of 1890. Carpenters.......... ...................22,318 Barbers.....'.............................17,4«0 Saw-mill operatives ..............17,230 Miners................ ...................15,809 Tobacco factory employees....15, Blacksmiths .......................... 10,762 Brick-makers................... .....10,521 Masons......... .......................... 9,647 Engineers and Firemen........ 7,662 Dressmakers .................:........ 7,479 Iron and Steel workers.......... 5,790 Shoemakers ....... ....................5,065 Mill and Factory operatives....5,050 Painters.............. ....................4,396 Plasterers.................................4,006 Qnarrymeu ..............................3,198 Coopers......... ........ .. .............2,648 Butchers..................... .. .........2,510 Wood-workers......................... 1,375 Tailors......... ............... ...........1,280 Stone cutters...... ...................1,279 Leather-curriers.......................1,099 There were in the. United States in 1890 about 175,000 Negro skilled ar tisans in the main classes enumerated above. If we take the chief skilled workmen in the Southern States we have: *Cf. Gannett: Occupations of Negroes—1'ublicfitious of the Slater Fund Trustees. he figures for 1800 arc not yet available. The figures In the tables contain a negligible number of "Chinese, Japanese, and civilized Tnrtiiins." 88 THE NEOKO AKTTSAN SKILLE1J NKOfRO LATiOKTHtS (J5Y STATES)—1890. 1 5" 'S-S S-5^fo'rrd'tr"J o "S £.?7''7T§'1~!s''S'^' K!CDh.jCtlro^!2|-J—-g32f;g!£2SR:>J?S^ £= ' • i '• ro ^ 't • tr ^ 4j ® 5" M ^ • ' & o"^ i re"— K-~- 3° g ! M 3 *Si 3g Bg g S = : : * S£: ^ o?. g, - ; i = g T#\ •£ «§ 5 Si::* C: 5" ?<3 K : : : — >c : « : "- ' : . . y: - . : • : t—— ^- rU. CX LC "— • Oi "-I 1C •"•! i — ' O' tO OO Ol hk" O' * — ' CTi iJ— Oi Ci • — ' Ol H!^ OC C> Oi ^^ *^l CD —-3 CD Ol I>S ' — > l£ , _ i CTi [s£, Q^ ^O i — ' O5 O1^ -^1 O < Cn CD CC i— l &0 i— i ^ CD OO i*^ CC O < 1\5 1C i— 1— ' OJ D5 CC 1-^ hi ^- 1C 1C CO M Oi )4^. h^ 1 — ' CO |4-* tO h^ h^ hf^ i—i i— i O5 hi5" OC i— ' 1— l 1 — lOih^-D5L-OOiOOI>5O4- 1C OO OC CD h^ CO CC CD C» Ci 1C f-1 O5 C5 i— ' -1 CS ^1 O O< O5 O h-1 Oi fcC C5 1C CD M 1— i h£i 1C —I K) O5 i— i Hi- O i— ' O» OJ C» D5 CC D5X OtOC^CT'l— hi- OlCDCDCDO'OiCC -J O CDC OiM-O'COH-i— ' CO CD O OC CO CD --1 CD tO CO i— ' 1 — ! — 'ICi^tOa* » CD 1C Ol — 1 CC "— ' O OT — T CC h4~ Cl O' Ol Oi 1C OC -1 O -r CD O5 i-* CC CC' -T ri- O CO O< Ci -7 -.1 O' O — tc —1 1—1 1C rf*. i— i Oi 1— O5 -.1 -.1 CC Ol tO C» O5 CC CD iJ- --t — 1 tO Of CO O3 D5 O bO Ol CD LC CO CO O' C3 h— Gi CS GC Of O' GI O5 CC OS DO 1C I—1 tO 1C — "I CC CD l-i COOCC CC^-T OG5 OTOICOtCO tOCO1-^ ICo^O' i— 'CD— -T sXOi hSCSOiCCl— iCC -i ic i— oo 01 —i i— i ht- 01 en o! ij- O O»CDO»^llChl-'30G:CChl-i4-GCD5 CO OO •X OT CS-JCOhl--.lC23Chl-CDri~«.tt-i— i u^tci^- tc - ic ic i— i HH- — GO 'CC ^1 tO 1C CO QC1 1C O' CO CO tO CD CJ"< GC O Of CC 4* O CO —1 C/: O~i CO Ol Ol M- OO 1C H- O CO -1 LC OC OO CD 1C CD O' hi- Oi CO tO Ol LC h^- O 03 CC 1C I-1 M^ CC tO CO i— i OO CO O OOlOO 1-1 h^oocohi-toaacc — Oicon-4-co ccoi-3 COtOOf CO -J O' CO CC 'O2 LC ^- 1— i tC CO CO 1C CD CO i— • ^*- I—1 1C CCCD-v'hl-OfOiLCOO 1C ICCOCO CDhl- CC I— i -1 Ol OO CO 01 i— ' i— ' 001 ico-hi- cc i— ' o — i ht- ai O' -a aotooia; l—i LC i— i 1— i -1 1*- tOLC CD "^IhP-OlCtCQCCTll— 1C5O1OO CC 1C —1 •— l Ol 1C CO CD O CO LC tO O -J Ol O rf*« O5 1C CO i— ' -J LC CD -J CJ< l— i O5 O CJi l— i LC — L!_ O* CO' i— i CC (4* CC O LC — I hU O h- 1 Ol Ol OO CJ'M^-O Oh- 'l— 'ht—CD-^ti— iQCrf^CSi— lOtCCDCO-JICtC 1 1C O OS O3 ^T — -T 1C OO -M 1C O M— O' C^> O tO CO O O • C • Cvi Alabama. Arkansas. Delaware. Districr of Columbia. Florida. Georgia. Kentucky. Louisiana. Maryland. Mississippi. Missouri. North Carolina,. South Carolina. Tennessee. Texas. Virginia. West Virginia. Totals. fcJJVBNTI] 4NSUAL CONFEKENCE 89 The steam railway employees include many section hands and semi skilled workmen, and also the colored firemen. The carpenters are the largest body of skilled workingmen and it will be seen that 20,800 of the 22,800 are in the South. Next come the blacksmiths and wheelwrights with 10,000, the masons and stone cutters with 9,000, the barbers with 9,000 and the brickmakers, stationery engineers and firemen. The states differ considerably in the proportion of different kinds of workingmen: Steam railway employees and carpenters lead in Virginia, the Caroliuas and the Gulf States; iron and steel workers outnumber all but the railway men in the mining state, Alabama, and the masons and stone cutters are numer ous in Tennessee. The city population of the District of Columbia has barbers and brickmakers as its chief Negro artisans. Among the women the skilled work is almost wholly confined to sewing and working in tobacco factories. We may further study the black artisan by uoting his distribution in the large cities where most of the white artisans a-re located. For this purpose let us take 16 large cities with an aggregate Negro population of nearly half a million. There are many curious differences to be noted here. The great Northern cities, like New York, Chicago and Cincinnati, are conspicuous for scarcity of black artisans, having only barbers. The border State cities show the Negroes in some of the important skilled occupations, as in brickmaking in Baltimore, "Wilmington and Philadel phia ; and iron and steel-working in Louisville, Wilmington, Pittsburg and Richmond. Stationary engineers are prominent in St. Louis. In the more typical Southern cities, like Atlanta,, Charleston, Memphis and Nashville, the carpenters, railway men and masons are most conspicuous, while New Orleans shows its peculiarities in a considerable number of carpenters, masous, railway men, shoemakers and painters: 90 TUB NEGRO ARTISAN NKGKO LABOBEKS (BY CITIES)—1890. Tinners & Tinware llakers .......... FEMALE. Dressmakers. Jlilliu ers, Seamstresses. Printers ........... Tailoresses. ........ Xegro Pop'lat'n 189 to oc §CD 3 8 i- "CD oo p— > ^. gi O3 1 ^0 tO Oi O CO "^1 a O1 OO OO ^3 °£ CD CO 1C CD -I l-1 to i— i 1— i ' — CO CD CO 00 CD 'OO^- -T -TCO rt^ t— * O IO Oi to § o, to CO tO 8 CO r— ' CJl O O •*•"* !**• loos g ILtoil -:£ ™9 gig : a; a ; r s?? H-i 10 t"o 05 O OS 01 *- Ui 1— OO QC _^j CD 14^ ~5 DO CD Ol fcC O h£>- tO —3 !•& •— 1 OS Oi^^ CD h-1 ri^- OOIOK> 1— i |S5 r— ' OH |S5)— 1|— ' CO H- * O O rf- Oi W r— ' K3 I— ' Cn K> OCnoo h-> rfa. C» ht* CJi tO t^ •*•! ^~ Oi tO OO r— ' Oi — 3 Oi —3 CD I— ' Oi l— * OO O Ci ^* l~~t OOOOi l— ' O< H- * I— i OO I— CC O i— l H- fcO OOCO-J CD CDr4^ OiCDIO Cc Cn CO CD IOOCD )— ^ >— ' OC 3S^CD tC CDOCJi O — 1 OO OO -J Cn to On to to to OiCDOD OicDtOtO i— l tO O tO o to — i 01 oo ^- co — i tc l-i tO O5 tO K3 CD i— ' CD CD 00 Oi i-> OO CDOOOi OiOiOi • tO W O3 Tin OtO O3 O3O--3 •*•! — 3 O )—— * OO -J H- * O3 i£>. H- * rfii i— i lOl— 'O3 ro i— i I— ' toco to O3OO OO V— 'CDOJ — 3 CD W o ci W g) td 3P7' t^* ^ r^ S o 2. tr gr-^1-1 )--* CJi (4— WOO CD O CD OO CD OO 00 W Cn O •— ' 00 Cn Oi r— i r— ' oo M- CD re t-Ht* OCD -3 GO OO r— 1 I— ' O5 rf^- tO OO O2 O2 OO r— ' 1—— 1— 1 Oi r— ' r— ' Oi 1— l O r^ fcO !•£; OO CD -J O CD K3 tOOO I— ' :» oil— to 05 8. SC 35 tO O O5 1— ' i—1 -^J OS CO OO r— 1 O2 r— ' -1 r— ' O* tO Oi r— ' 1— 1 I— i Oi O2 CD tO O5 O K3 OS O5 CD l—1 Cn 1— ' O r—— I— ' O5 O OiCD O3 l—1 to Co oo Cn o CO H-i OO Oi OS CD Eogineers (C. &M.). Barbers ............. Eng. & Firemen (S.) Steam R'y Employ's Apprentices ........ lO OO r4^ OS h-*CO OSOOCn-3 r-' M- H-l O Oi -3 M- H- * -I h- OS OC _, CD ci--£* CC i— ' ri- 1*«. _r->l—— ______ CO o CD os en i — h^ — j o ,CD - O5 CH r-* 1 —— -J -4 ^ »f. i— Young girls do not take to sewing. Teaches part of time. Work chiefly on tomb stones. 3ne went to Middle Prep. Class. HgiHTJOhJrt CD /*) i-" ,, i-i i~i t^ *r^ fqcc CD f5 rill f| : fy" : CD : £ : : : ac ; : 1— 1 1—1 c» 01 1— ' c?i oo i— * en to -=& Ct-^ft. ^fr ^^ft. O CO tC ei-ri*. *§ 8 £>§ g 0= ro i— •— i— *+- cs i—1 1 — O5 h- 1 K_. QO O O __ . i— ro c» i—1 to o» en O5 ^ OJ ^r CD "ci CD > F •€*& y y ~* OJ€6tol>S!-'€» &• -&r to CO ca g g g ? 0 C? -3» •€» -S* CO 4- 4^ -3 O5 ri^CH CO i — ' i — ' O3 CO h- 1 O 1— ' I—1 I—1 ~J -4 CJi H^ CO o o ^^^ •Sgl-e'g'S'S1 "S?p»&i ^gls^ss °?°?>trg.g. sr B 2 o o ^ 1 »33 p' a g =3 x S' 5" S 2 3" T1 - M H P &. P No. ' Av. Wages Per Day. Own Beal Kstate. Own Tools. Other capital invested. Ages— 20-30. Ages— 30-40. Ages — 40 and over. No- w . !£ s < st o> < it S c?l ? tr & O CD £,P- Wages of Whites. Works for himself. Works for others. Education — Bead. Education — Write. ligher training. Remarks. 98 THE NEGKO ARTISAN 20. Local Conditions : Texas (by K. II. Holmes of the Prairie View Nor mal school). We have always had among vis some men who have been more or less skilful in the use of tools. During the days of slavery these men built the houses, made the plows, carriages, wagons, etc., and performed nearly all that class of labor. The constant doing brought to them experience and experience ripened into a degree of skill. Slavery was their trade school and experience their instructor. After the Civil war these work men followed the trades—they hart the field to themselves at first. In the course of time labor saving machines were introduced and new methods of doing things were adopted—the old workman enters a new era—he finds himself face to face with new conditions—his school did not give instruction in the use of machines and he is unable to keep step with the onward march. Some of them who did keep up have finished their work and gone to their reward. No one has taken the vacant places and to-day the ranks of Negro Artisans need—sadly need—recruiting. Texas offers great opportunities to skilled workmen in various trades. Her natural resources surpass those of any state in the Union. It is her proud boast that within her broad domain is to be found everything from a salt mine to an oil geyser. These resources are but partially developed —some not at all. The Negro Artisan has had a share in this develop ment and will have a larger share in the future, provided he will fit him self for this larger share. I have had opportunity to observe conditions among artisans only in the cities, towns and country districts of southern Texas. Ours being an agricultural state, blacksmiths are in greater demand than perhaps any other tradesman. You will find a Negro blacksmith in nearly every town and at every country cross-road. They are found managing- shops on many of the large cotton and sugar plantations. One of the largest sugar farms in the Southwest, located at Sugarland, Texas, employs a Negro foreman of their blacksmith shop at a salary of $1,080 per year. In the towns the majority of them are doing business for themselves, a few own their own shops, are making a living and accumulating property. There are still others who work by the day in shops owned by whites. These receive wages according to their skill. White men having the same degree of skill would receive no more. There is such a shop at Brenham, Texas. Some weeks ago the owner of this shop stated that he worked a few colored men, that he would employ more if they could do superior work —that there was no discrimination practiced in his shop and he also ex pressed the hope that our school would send out more students who could make drawings and work from drawings. It is difficult to tell the percent of Negro artisans in the towns for this reason: they do not register their occupations. Whatever is known must be learned by inquiry or from per sonal contact. Let us consider conditions at Houston, Texas. This is a city having a population of 60 thousand. One-third are Negroes. It is in every respect a liberal and representative city. There are seven black smiths there who own and run their shops. Two of these shops employ from three to five regular workmen. " The proprietors make a good living KKVKKTIl ANSUAL CONFERENCE 99 and nearly all of them own their homes. The largest carriage and iron repair shop owned by a white man employs 5 Negro blacksmiths on his working force. Two of these manage their own fires. They are paid ac cording to skill—sometimes discrimination is made on account of color. Two boiler and foundry shops employ Negro workmen. They receive the regular moulders' wages, $-1.00 per day, and a few of them have been in the service of the firms for years. The Southern Pacific Railway System em ploys them in two of their shops. In these shops are some who manage their fires, one who operates a steam hammer, some who build and repair ciars and a large number of helpers who rank several grades above com mon laborers. A few of those men have been steadily employed for twenty-five years, some longer. The wages range from 15 to 25 cents per • hour, according to skill. It might be of interest to remark just here that one of the helpers long years ago was foreman of the shop. Time and improved machinery forced him down. So far as employment goes there is practically no discrimination against blacksmiths and I do not know of any blacksmith's union in the whole state. Carpenters are fewer in number than blacksmiths. In the small towns they are journeyman workers. As a class they do inferior work. Their wages range from $1.25 to $2.00 per day. White journeymen do the same poor quality of work but receive higher wages. Their pay ranges from $1.50 to $2.50 per day. The best carpenters drift to the cities because the people there appreciate and demand good work and live in better houses. Com petition is sharp and the labor unions are strong. In the city of Houston we have four men who contract for themselves. They do good work and find ready employment. They get contracts not exceeding $2,500. In the same city are several old contractors who have been forced to retire on account of close competition. Two white contractors work a force of Negro and a force of white carpenters—separate of course. They pay according to skill, white and black alike. More discrimination is shown against carpenters than is shown against any other class of tradesmen. Negro carpenters have been ur ed to form unions which would affiliate with white unions, but have not thought best to do so. They know that they would be called upon to strike in concert with the other unions and they feel that in the end they would get the worst of it. As long a&'they find employment, they prefer to work independent of the unions. Brickmasons are fewer than carpenters. This class of workers are in demand, wages are high and discrimination is reduced to a minimum. There are no brick contractors in Houston, and only one or two in the state. Bricklayers in the towns are journeymen and most of them do a good grade of work—wages are from $3.00 to $4.00 per day. In the cities wages are a little better. 1 know of no plasterers. Sometimes they are called from New Orleans to do that sort of work. The finest plastering in our state Capitol was done by Negroes brought from Chicago. Nearly all the employees in the cotton seed oil mills and cotton compresses are Ne groes. They are not all common laborers. It requires skill to operate some of the machines and to get these mill products ready for market. Wages are $1.50 to $3.00 per day. In some of the trades we do not find the luo THK KEGKl) VETISAK AKKUAL CONFERENCE 101 Negro sit all, or if found they are so few tliiit tlioy do not count in trade competition, Houston lias no shoemakers, no plumbers and harness- makers, and I know of but one tinner in the state. These are the condi tions as they now exist among- Texas artisans. I have observed that any man who knows how to do something and knows how to do that something well and is willing to do something, will find ready employment. Oppor tunities are not wanting, but many times when these opportunities present themselves we are not able to grasp them because of lack of training. The world wants trained workmen, men whose trained minds will direct skilled hands—masters of their craft. Not more than 3 per cent of our young men in Texas are entering the trades, and at the present deatli rate among the old workmen, it will not be long- before we shall be conspicuous for our absence from all the trades. On the other hand a very large pel- cent of young white men enter the trades. AVe have a great influx of emigrants from Europe. They come smd work the farms. They are bet ter farmers than any one, else—they make a crop rain or no rain. The American needs rain to make his crop, and in a few years he finds that he cannot compete with the foreigner, his land is too poor. He abandons the farm and seeks refuge in the trades, or he moves to another county to be gin farming anew. There are some reasons why our young men avoid the trades. Let me mention a few of them. There is a class of young men who, after finishing some school course, do not believe in manual labor, skilled or unskilled. AVhen the slaves were emancipated their first thought was to send their children to school like the white folk, to dress them like white children and to keep them from work like the white children. To do any sort of manual labor was to their minds a badge of humility and a relic of slavery. The old master was a gentleman and he did not work, their sons must be like him and like his sons. This idea was taught the children, it has grown up in them and still remains in them. If a record could be made of all that these dear old parents suffered and endured, of how they toiled and what sacrifices they made, that their children should be ladies and gentlemen, who did not have to work, it would make a tale far more pitiable than "Uncle Tom's Ca.bin." They passed from the slavery of the white man to the slavery of their own children. Another hindrance is that society looks down upon a man who works with his hands, no matter how much skill he may possess or how much that skill commands. This class distinction does not exist among us alone. Tt is hard to see how a man can be intelligent and at the same time be a mechanic. We cannot associate the two ideas. Fear of non-employment keeps another class from entering the trades. Those who oppose indus trial education never fail to present this argument and they have made an impression on some, which nothing but time and changed conditions will ever efface. Another class would enter the world of working men but for this fact: They are ambitious to excel in whatever line of work they inaj choose, but to become an intelligent artisan requires years—long years of hard work and patient study on short pay. They cannot wait, results are too long coming. They forget that men begin at the bottom and that the man who succeeds must toil early and late with all his powers of hody and mind, he must realize thai if he masters his chosen work he must perform the necessary amount of drudgery required in all cases to prepare a suitable foundation upon which to build a successful career. Many of our young men who do follow the trades are not living up to the full meas ure of their opportunities. In the first place the employer can not always depend upon them. They are just as likely not to come to work at the appointed time as they are to come. It matters not how busy the em ployer may be or how anxious he is to finish the job, our young workman feels that hi is under no obligation to see him through. He feels free to take a day off and go a-fishing or to enjoy himself in some other way. That's his idea of liberty. When the next Negro workman comes along and asks for a job, the contractor says, No, we don't want any more Ne groes. Then we say that that man is prejudiced. 1 used to think so, too, but I do not think so any more. I have hired some of them myself and I know that unreliability has kept more Negroes out of good jobs than iu- competency ever did. Unsteadiness is another barrier to success. In the lumber district of Eastern Texas, there are numerous yaw mills which run the year round. The owners employ Negro workmen for places re quiring skill, whene-\ er they can be found, f have in mind one man who has been with a certain firm for 18 years. In fact, he has been with the company so long and has given such faithful service, the managers have forgotten that he is a Negro. Ho is now a competent sawyer and receives $6.00 per day. The sawyer's place at these mills is perhaps the best pay ing place of all, outside the management. The wages run from $4.50 to $6.00, according to skill. The places are open to Negroes and occasionally they take them, hut after working for 10 or 12 months they conclude that they have made enough and retire. The job is too steady. I. do not mean these general statements to apply to all our workmen, but I do say that they will apply to the majority. Our artisan must be more competent faithful and reliable. Ct's the only way to hold on to that which we have. We must be progressive. AVo have clung to the old wa.ys too long—methods of half a century ago. If we do not make the best use of these trade ad vantages which are now ours, we not only shut ourselves out but we close the door of opportunity in the faces of our boys who expect to enter. I grant that there are obstacles. One finds them in every trade and every profession. They seem to be necessary evils. None are too great for our strength. Capacity will be allotted an appropriate place and that speedily. If all the paths are closed to us, we will find away or make one. Faith fulness to duty, however small that duty may be, is simply irresistable. It is so in every walk of life. Greatness in every direction is an accumu lation of little faithfulnesses towering into sight of the world. All we need arc those qualities which have made and are still making men of other races successful along these lines. We need men who have been trained—men who are able to do things and know why they are done. In every line of work it is the man who knows most about the thing he is doing, other things being- considered, who comes out ahead. President Roosevelt, speaking to the graduates of the New York trade school, said: "Success will come to the man who is just a little bit better .1 102 THE NEG-TU) AKT1SAX than the others. There are plenty of workmen who can do pretty well, but the man who can do his work right up to the handle is the man who is in demand." Mental and manual training- combined will in the long- run open wide to us the avenues leading- to usefulness and power in the mate rial world. 21. Local Conditions: A. Negro Contractor of Atlanta, Ga., (by Alexander Hamilton, Jr., of the firm of Hamilton & Son, building contractors). It is a matter of great pride to me, and 1 think sometimes T am :i, little over boastful of the fact, that I learned the use of tools at Atlanta University; and to this intelligent beginning I attribute my success as a carpenter and contractor. I was enabled when I left school to beg-in my trade as an advanced work man, and when I was a journeyman, and now when T have the occasion to use my tools, I ask no artisan in my line any odds. As 1 say 1 credit this to my early training here. I am now associated with my fat.her in business as contractor and builder. We enjoy a good business; our patrons are among the best people in this city. 1 am proud to say that we have been able to maintain a reputation which gives us a preference often in the awarding of contracts. The opportunity for wage earning for the Negro artisan is good; he is always in demand. 1 can bear witness to this fact for T have been fre quently hampered in carrying out my work on account of being unable to secure extra hands, as all were busy. This demand does not exist for the reason that their services are obtained for a smaller wage for, as a rule, they get the prevailing scale of wages. They are in demand for the reason that in their class they are generally swifter workmen than those of th« other race. Some contractors, white contractors I refer to, won't employ other than Negro workmen as they realize that they will earn them more money. Some of them employ Negroes from the foreman down, pud but very few, to my knowledge, have theirforce entirely white. One firm em ploys both white, and colored. Though wages here are small as compared with some other cities, the Ne gro artisans as a rule are making-good use, of their money. They have comfortable homes and are educating their children. I know of several wlio own their own homes, and of some who not only own their homes but have other property, and still others who arc buying homes. Some I know who have saved enough to lay down their tools and enter mercantile life. I know several who have tried mercantile life but found there was morr money for them as artisans, so they are back at their trades. One who has been with us 15 or 16 years, who is a preacher, occasionally lays down his tools and takes a charge somewhere, but he doesn't stay long before he is back looking for his old place. With all this, there is nevertheless, in many oases, a lack of an intelli gent conception of the work which the Negro artisan is to perform; he is ready, willing and able to execute that laid out. for him as long- as he has constant supervision, but sometimes when left to himself he is lacking in pride as to the execution of his work. Ofttimes this may bo due to an over- /ealousness to get so much accomplished. 1 have heard artisans, whose SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE L03 intelligence and honesty ought not to allow such a view of thing's, say, "On, that will do," when nothing should answer short of as near perfec tion as is possible, for I believe that a man can do a thing properly as easily and quickly as he can do it poorly, and I am sure the results are far more satisfactory. I have always found that if one has that view of it and performs a piece of work and satisfies himself as to the execution, he will find that his employer, however critical, will be satisfied. As to the capability of the Negro as an artisan one only needs to visit the many buildings in course of erection in our city and see Negroes em ployed at all trades. Of course I do not have much chance for personal observation, but I am informed of these few instances of which I cite. There is a "sky scraper" in course of erection in this city on which the Negro workmen have been in the majority since its beginning, from the putting up of the iron frame until now. There are at present on that particular building more than a score of plasterers at work, all of whom are Negroes. Now, this only ap plies to one building, the same conditions exist on many others. On an other job of considerable proportions, the contractor (who is white) dis charged all his white employees and substituted Negro artisans, and 1 am informed that the plastering, which will amount to some 30,000 yards, has been awarded to a Negro contractor. I am not in any sense crowing over the displacement of anybody, but simply cite these cases to show thai there is a demand for the Negro artisan. Some argue that this demand prevails because the Negro is cheaper, but in the last case I cited, the men who were put in the place of those deposed were paid the same wages. I must confess that I haven't had a great deal of experience as an artisan, pui-e and simple, though I worked at my trade as a carpenter several years when I was practically my own boss, and my greatest experience lias been as a contractor. T have had some degree of success in that voca tion. I had the advantage, on entering that business, of a standing estab lished by my father through 20 years or more of endeavor. We enjoy the confidence and respect of all the people with whom we deal. We always try to merit this confidence and respect. We are invariably told when a prospective customer thinks our figures are a little high: "Hamilton, your figures are high, but I am told yon do good work and will do what you say." On that reputation, as 1 said before, we have preference shown us very often -in the awarding of work. A great many say that we are awarded a greater number of contracts than most contractors get. Of course we do not take any very large contracts, as we haven't tho capital to handle them. We rarely take other than residence contracts, though we can show quite a number of stores, warehouses, mills, etc., built by us. The largest contract we had last year was a house which cost about $10,000. Our con tract amounted to about $7,500, as theste.am fitting, plumb ing and electrical work were under separate contracts. We are general contractors and usually contract for the house entire, but some architects let contracts under different heads, separately. Last year, which was a good year for work, we were awarded a little over 100 contracts. Of course we did not have competition on half of that 104 THE NEGKO AKTISAN number. Much of it was what we ca.ll job work. Of that number about 55% of them were for amounts less than .$100,20% ranged from $100 to $5(10, 15% from $500 to $1,000, 10% from $1,000 to $7,500. In all we did nearly $35,000 worth of work. A large majority of the bouses we build are from our own plans and specifications, aw very often, unless a person wants an original or an elaborate design in a house, he doesn't care to employ an architect. And there is where my ambition lies, that is if a customer should want an original design 1 could be able to meet his requirements. I only attempt pencil floor plans and once in a while a crude elevation plan; but my de sire is to take a course in architectural drawing, which desire there seems small hope of gratifying. I am a staunch friend of higher education and ac the same tiim I a.m glad that so much stress is being- laid upon manual training. There is a broad field for intelligent artisans. I only wish that more young men would apply themselves to a trade on leaving school, if so much can be accomplished by arti ans who have not had the advantages of school training, how much more success could be achieved by those intelligently prepared for their vocations. 22. Local Conditions: Indianapolis, Lid., (by W. T. B. Williams*.) All the figures I give below were obtained in June, 1900, from foremen and mechanics and from the offices of large manufacturing plants. Though they are meagre, yet T think they are thoroughly reliable. They come, too, from representative establishments and laborers. Indianapolis had, in 1900, a Negro population of 15,931 in a total popu lation of 169,164. The mass of Negro population has come to Indianapolis from the South during the last thirty years. The greater part are fairly recent comers. Many of the whites are also from the South. In fact, Indianopolis is in some respects very much of a.Southern city. Being in the North, how ever, the relations existing between the whites and blacks relating to labor savor of both sections. By far the great majority of Negro laborers are unskilled. But repre sentatives of the ordinary trades are found ill appreciable numbers. The following are the results of my investigations. They refer to the city only: ]5JjAC'KSMJTIIS. Four shops run hy Negroes. Boss Mechanics..................................................... (> Journeymen ............................... ................. ........ 2 General work...... .................................................. 1 Carriage work................................. ..................... 1 Special Horseshoer................................................ 1 ''Submitted through the courtesy of Mr. A. F. Ililycr, of Washington, D. C., at whose suggestion tlie study was made. SEVENTH ANNUAL CON.PE11K.NCK 105 The Blacksmiths' Union is open to Negroes. J. K. Donnell, a Negro, is corresponding secretary of the union. He is also a member of Master Horseshoers' Protective Association. FOTJNDKTES. Moulders........................... ................................... 3 Moulders' helpers.................................. ...;........ . 2 Cupola tenders.... .................................:...... ........ 5 Furnace men melting iron....................................12 Total............................................................22 I found also Firemen .......................................... ..... ............. 2 Common laborers......... ......................................125 My conclusion after visiting a number of foundries is that, there is no uniformity in their attitude toward Negro laborers. Most foundries em ploy no Negroes. Some employ a few. Most claim that no Negroes apply as skilled laborers. One admitted having received one application which was rejected only because there was no vacancy. herevcr Negroes were employed they were spoken of as efficient and satisfactory. Negro foundrymen do not belong to the unions. Employers, however, say no trouble comes from that. Whites and blacks in all cases are given work together. CARPENTERS. Boss Carpenters and Contractors......................... 5 Journeymen...........................................................20 Total............................................................25 Besides the above there are men who make a living at carpentry, but who are not thor ough mechanics.............................. ..................30 Carpenters' Union admits Negroes, but the Negroes do not join. They say that while they may join the unions yet the boss carpenters will not look out for work for them- and that white carpenters will not work with them, though they are union men. Negroes gain in times of strikes by not belonging. BRICKLAYERS. Boss Mechanics and Journeymen.........................14 Bricklayers' Union admits colored men but none join for the same reason given by the carpenters. PLASTERERS. Boss Plasterers......................................................10 Journeymen....... .. ..............................................20 Total.................. ..........................................30 Galvanized iron and cornice workers.................... 1 106 THE NEGKO ARTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 107 WOOD WORKERS. Running planing machine...................... ............. 1 Turners............................ ..................................... 2 Total............................................................ 3 Very good feeling seemed to exist at the factory where the two turners worked. The foreman- declared that the factory could not tolerate inter ference from unions and that men were advanced according to merit. .. 81 CEMENT WORKERS. Making walks, cellars, sewers, etc..... ........... No organization in city. HOD CAEKIEBS. Number in city........ ............................................ .350 u " union......................... ........................200 Union mainly composed of Negroes, but a few whites belong. This union is not affiliated with the National Association. PAPER HANGERS. Can not give exact figures, but not more than...... 6 Indianapolis has a fine industrial training school with good courses in wood- work, i. e., making of joints, etc., and turning, and in iron forging and machine fitting, etc. An appreciable number of colored boys attend this school, but I was unable to learn of any one's having applied to any of the factories or foundries for work. Some mechanics felt that the school has not been in existence long enough to have exerted any marked influence upon the quantity or quality of skilled laborers in the market. From all I could learn Negro carpenters are decreasing in number. But in every other trade there is an increase. This is very marked though the gain in actual numbers is small in the factories and foundries. A probable cause of the increase of skilled laborers in this locality is the steady emigration northward of the Negro from the South. It is not due to any considerable number of younger men of the city entering the trades. This will probably be changed in a few years for the industrial training ottered by the city in one of its high schools seems to appeal strongly to the colored youth who enter the high school. And though there is much prejudice against the Negro as a skilled laborer yet I think he has a fighting chance in .Indianapolis. i>3. Alabama. The state of Alabama had 078,481) Negroes in 1890 and 827,307 in 1000. In 1890 there were reported the following skilled and semi skilled laborers: * These figures include a negligible number ol "Chinese, Japanese and civilized Indians." The figures given here and in succeeding sections are Irom the census of 1890, volume on popu lation, part 2. Just how far these are accurate there is no m us ol knowing. In some cases I have had grave suspicions of their validity, in others they seem reasonable. At any rate they arc only available figures and arc given for what they are worth. The plan followed in these state reports was to select those occupations most largely represented in the state: in this way it often happens that those occupations given arc not necessarily those in which Negroes are most largely engaged. This should ho honir in mind. MALES. Lumbermen...........................................................................415 Miners....................................... ........................ ..............3,687 Quarryineu.............................. ........................... .................369 Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.).........................................16 Barbers....................... ..........................................................520 Engineers and Firemen- (stationary)....................................452 Boatmen, pilots, etc.................................... .................... .....223 Steam railroad employees..................... ....... ............ ........4,591 Telegraph and Telephone operators........... .............................3 Apprentices.......................... ............................. ....................73 Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights ................................ ...........891 Shoemakers........................ ................. ................. ..............272 Brick-makers............................................................ .......... 514 Butchers ........................................................... ....................186 Carpenters............................. .......................... ................. 1,703 Charcoal and lime burners.......................... ..........................499 Textile mill operatives...........................................................281 Iron and steel workers .................... ..... .............................1,749 Machinists............... ........................................... ......... ........54 Marble and stone-cutters and masons....................................618 Mechanics................................................................ ..............64 Millers...................................................................................166 Painters, etc............................ .............. ...............................280 Printers...................................................................................40 Saw and planing mill employees.........................................1,163 FEMATjBS. Telegraph and telephone operatives.........,...............................! Textile mill operatives .............................................. ............22 Dressmakers, milliners, etc ....... ..........................................859 Printers, etc......... .............. .....................................................S Tailoresses............................................................ .................16 A special report from Tuskegee says that a "consensus of best opinions" agree that in that region the Negro artisan "is gaining for the past six or eight years." Up to that time and since the War he had been losing. His "losses were due to neglect and reaction. To-day inefficiency and in creased competition still hamper him. "Competent colored laborers are too few for the demand." The sentiment among the colored people in re gard to entering the trades has "greatly changed iu this and surrounding states" during recent years. Prejudice still is an obstacle before the young mechanic and yet the difference in wages is clue largely to the fact that competent, colored laborers are too few to supply the demand, hence can not command highest wages; and also to the further fact, that colored laborers' standard of living is lower and they are consequently willing to \vorkforless. These Negro mechanics can and do join the labor unions, some 5,000 being members throughout the state, chiefly in the United Mine Workers. They have separate local organizations however. There are at Tuskegee, including the teachers at the Institute, the following artisans: Shoemakers 4 Blacksmiths 8 Harnessmakers 2 Wheelwrights 2 Brickmasons 11 Pattern-maker I Tinsmiths 2 Seamstresses & Dressmakers 5 Tailors 3 Architects 3 SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 108 109 THE NBUltO ARTISAN Printers 4 Carpenters 14 Woodturners 1 Painters 3 Electrical Engineers I Mechanical Engineers •'> Bakers 1 Milliners 1 Lumbermen and Raftsmen. Miners...................... Unfortunately no detailed report is available from the great industrial centers like Birmingham, Annistou, etc. 24. California. There were in California 11,322 Negroes in 1890, and 11,045 in 1900. The colored artisans reported in 1890 include both Negroes and Chinese: MALE. Lumbermen and Raftsmen. •............... Miners................................ Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.) Barbers and Ilairdressers............ Engineers and Firemen (stationary)....... Boatmen, Canalmen, Pilots and Sailors..... Steam Railroad Employees................ Apprentices................................ Bakers................................. Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights............ Boot and Shoemakers....................... Butchers................. ....... Carpenters and Joiners................... Iron and Steel Workers.................... Machinists................................. Marble and Stone Cutters and Masons..... Painters................................ Plumbers.......................... Printers................................ Saw and Planing Mill Employees... Tailors..................................... Tobacco and Cigar Factory Operatives,... FEMALE. Cotton and Other Textile Mill Operatives.. Dressmakers, Milliners, Seamstresses, etc.. . 94 .4.871 1 . sir 32 . 73 .2,044 14 72 . 65 .1,209 220 . 141 24 30 43 GO 4 43 . 191 . .2,139 . .2,380 2 .. 23S) Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.).... Barbers and Hairdressers................ Engineers and Firemen ( stationary ^. Steam Railroad Employees............... Telegraph and Telephone Operators..... Bakers......................... Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights......... Boot and Shoemakers................... Brickrnakers, etc............. Butchers............................... Carpenters and Joiners. ...... Iron and Steel Workers .... ...... Machinists ..................... ......... Marble and Stone Cutters and Masons... Painters ..........:. .... .......... ... Plasterers......................... ....... Plumbers ............................. Printers............. . ............ There are four colored carpenters in San Francisco in a Union of 2,500, and about 100 colored members among- the teamsters', stableuieiis', long- shoremens', seamens' and laborers' unions. In Pueblo there are a few lathers, building laborers, plasterers and [stationary engineers, and also barbers. In Stockton there are a few longshoremen and hod carriers; in Los Angeles there are a few cement workers, plasterers, lathers and paint ers. Fresno has a butcher and several mortar mixers. On the whole a. Neg-ro mechanic is a rare thing in California. 25. Colorado. There were 0,215 Negroes in Colorado in 1890 and 8,570 in 1900. There were reported in 1890 the following artisans, including a few Chinese, etc.: ...... 11 ... .................. . ..142 . ....... .... 2 ... ... .....193 ................. 12 • ... ...100 ... 2 1 ... 19 . ...... ..... 7 ..... 37 • ... --. ..... 2 ... 27 ... ............. 4 ......... 4 ...... 33 .. ...'.. .... 17 49 ....... 1 ...... 2 Haw and Planing Mill Employees.................. ..................... 2 Tailors. ............................ ....................... 5 Tinners and Tinware Makers...... .... ....... .... 3 FEMALE. Confectioners................. ....................... ............ l Dressmakers, Milliners, Seamstresses, etc................................ 51 Printers................. .. ....................................... i Nearly half the Negro population of the state is in Denver. Here a special report says that the artisans are chiefly in the building trades, al though there are not many. The leading artisans include 3 bricklayers, one of vhom is a contractor, 7 plasterers, 4 carpenters, 1 ink-maker, 1 machinist and 4 printers. "Master mechanics can enter the trades but there is no opening for apprentices."* 26. District of Columbia. There were in 1890, 75,572 Negroes in the Dis trict of Columbia, and 86.702 in 1900. This is in many ways a remarkable population, nearly three-fourths being in domestic and personal service and the other fourth containing a considerable number of clerks and pro fessional people. The census of 1890 reported : MAT,E. Engineers, (civil, mechanical, etc)........................ ....... 10 Barbers and Hairdressers.............................................. 450 Engineers and Firemen (stationary)..... ... ......... 122 Boatmen, Canalmen, Pilots, and Sailors........ ............. 82 Steam Railroad Employees. ... ............... .............. 89 Street Railway Employees............. . ............... ....... 23 Apprentices............ ........................ ....................... 54 Bakers................................................................. 17 Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights... ......................... 121 "'Report ot J)r. P. E. Sprutlin. 110 THE NEGKO AKTISAN MALE (continued). Boot and Shoemakers .................... Brickmakers, etc........................ Butchers.......................... ..... Cabinetmakers and Upholsterers....... Carpenters and Joiners................... Iron and Steel Workers..... ...... ...... Machinists.......... .................... Marble and Stone Cutters and Masons. . Painters ............................... Plasterers........ .................. - Plumbers and steam-fitters... ...... Printers............... ............ Tailors................................. Tinners and Tinware makers. -4 442 62 55 316 1C 15 188 J41 152 70 64 16 86 Barbers and Hairdressers................. Stenographers and Typewriters.............. Telegraph and Telephone Operators. Apprentices... ....................... ...... Confectioners .............................••••••••••• Dressmakers, Milliners, Seamstresses, etc.... Printers..... ......................................... •••••• The Union League Directory, compiled toy Mr. Andrew F. Hilyer, re ported the leading Negro artisans as follows. This is not an exhaustive list, but gives the more prominent men in 1902: 15 4 6 13 . 18 1,411 17 Bakers...................... 4 Barber shops.............. .142 Barbers ................... .411 Bicycle shops . ......... 0 Blacksmith shops.............. 13 Blacksmiths...... .27 Shoemakers................. 74 Bricklayers, contractors. t Bricklayers........ .. ...... 01 Electricians. ... 1 Locksmiths.... 1 Painters,contractors. .... . 5 Painters................ ... 56 Cabinet maker.......... . 1 Carpenters, contractors...... 4 Carpenters......... .20 Cement workers............. 1 Cigar manufacturers.... 1 Building contractors........ 17 Dressmaking shops......... 80 Dressmakers ..... .... 140 Dyers and cleaners.......... 11 It is probable that a list like this is more reliable as a guide to actual effective artisans than the census of 1890, where helpers and casual artisant- and those claiming to be artisans are set down under the various trades. The directory referred to has a further study of these artisans by Mr. George W. Ellis, as follows: Paper hangers.. Photographers. Plumbers........... Printers, shops. Printers........... Stove repairers...... Tailor shops......... Tailors.............. Roofers.. ..... ... Tinners... ....... Trussmakers.... Typewriters, etc.... Upholsterers...... I 3 1 0 34 3 0 57 1 4 I 5 0 Kalsominers, etc..... ....... 40 SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 111 YEARS AT WORK. Trades. Blacksmiths and Wheel- Plasterers, Kalsominers, &c. Tailors.. .................... Under 1 year. 3 1 10 I 1 1-3 yrs 31 1 6 2 2 2 3-5 25 3 3 3 1 11 1 4 3 5-1U 27 11 5 2 23 2 ] 3 2 10-20 28 3 In 24 1.4 3 W 9 2 2 Over 20. 17 3 10 ]] 0 7 1 15 7 1 Total. 131 11 54 43 19 69 10 27 23 9 !) SUMBJEK OK EMPLOYEES, CAPITAL AK1> RECEIPTS. Trades. | Employees. [ Capital. | Annual Receipts. Blacksmiths and Wheelwrights . . ..... Printers White-washers, etc.............................................. 407 27 74 91 29 140 56 34 57 46 $50,490 4,575 0,950 2,850 8,445 2,015 10,700 0,325 752 $200,800 11,800 570 15.750 23,170 22,800 18,050 25,900 15,730 In his report to the Hampton Conference in 1899 Mr. A. V. Hilyer said: "In Washington there are over 500 skilled colored workmen not including barbers. There are about 100 bricklayers, 75 carpenters, 80 painters, 75 plasterers, 100 stationary engineers, 100 of various other skilled occupa tions. There are also many skilled brickmakers. Only the engineers and barbers are organized. * * * * TJuring the last ten years over 500 houses have been built in Washington almost entirely by colored labor, some of them costing as high as fifteen thousand dollars. Many of them are fine specimens of the mechanic's art."* 27. Florida. There were 166,180 Negroes in Florida in 1890, aucl 230,730 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported the following Negro artisans: MALE. Miners, 323 Engineers, (civil, mechanical) 9 Barbers and hairdressers, 263 Engineers and Firemen, ( ta.) 160 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots, _ and sailors, 570 Steam railroad employees, 1,586 Telegraph and telephone operatives, 2 Apprentices. 67 Bakers, 51 Blacksmiths 5 cts. more for doing the same work I do. At the 116 THE NEGRO ARTISAN end of the run we have to make out our time on a card, which, with the other neces sary wording has two spaces marked'white'and 'colored'respectively. I cross out the'colored'and get $2.00; he crosses out the'white' and gets $3.25. That's all the difference there is between our work." Mr. Pace interviewed 67 artisans in all. Mr. J. F. .Lemon studied 89 artisans. Twelve per cent of them owned property, 5% owned several pieces of property; 27% were married, 4% were illiterate, 25% had respect able homes and 10% were first-class workmen. He says: "During my tour of research, 1 did not find many high-class artisans; most of the shoemakers, carpenters, and barbers, being hardly more than'botchers.' There were, however, among the brickmasons, carriage-workers, painters, etc.. some good work men. Most of them are married and have families to support. "About one-fifth of the artisans lived in nice homes of their own, well furnished, and comfortable; another third lived in fair homes of three or four rooms fairly well furnished, but the remaining half of the total number of artisans lived in homes too poor and ill-kept to warrant their being called artisans who might earn enough to de cently support a small family. "Most have children in the public schools. Many of the wives of male artisans are laundresses, helping to earn the needed running expenses, while a few wives are in good paying work, as school teachers, etc. "Many of the men belong to secret orders, but I found only two who belonged to any labor union, although they knew of the International to which Negroes are admitted. "Only three of my artisans attended trade schools, most of them having learned as helpers, apprentices or 'picked it up.' "Almost all could read and write, but only about half a dozen had any higher train ing. ] found several who had attended Atlanta University, Spelman, and other schools, none, however, being graduates. I found two enterprising and successful contractors, who do the best work, have plenty to do and own property themselves as a result of their success. "Many of the poorer artisans are old ex-slaves and some cannot read or write and they are no credit to their trades. The better class of artisans are the young who were born since slavery. "The different trades pay, per day, from an average of 75c for the seamstress to about $3.00 for brickmasons and carriage-workers, the others varying between these figures. The wages of whites in like trades are slightly better in most cases." Mr. A. C. Tolliver was "very much surprised at the poor condition of Miitne of the artisans' homes, particularly of men whom I know to be good workmen and engaged nearly the year round." "Very few, if any, of the artisans, as you will see from the statistics, learned their trade at a Trade School. I found one, a glazier, at Woodward Lumber Co., West End, who had attended Tuskegee Everything seemed to be learned by apprenticeship. "The plasterers all seemed to have served under the same man, who was a noted workman in his day. The molders whom I found worked at the Southern Terra Gotta Works. Of the 53 artisans I studied, 35 were illiterate. "The following table shows a comparison of the average wages of the white and colored artisans engaged in the same trade, per day. Trade. Painter, Holder, Rock-mason, Carpenter, Blacksmith, Tile-layer, Electrician, SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE Per day Average wages of colored. $1.80 1.95 2.40 1.82 1.83X, 1.25 3.50 117 Per day Average wages of white. $2.30 2.05 2.70 2.07 2.25 2.50 5.00 "The wages of the whites are computed as given by the colored men themselves; in a few instances I think the amount given is a little too large. It seems to be the opinion of every colored artisan that he gets from 25 to 75 per cent less than hisi white brother for his work. "Very few artisans seem to own any real estate, and if they do, they will not always tell you of it for fear of the tax collector; of the 53 artisans of my district only 8 owned any property. Those houses from outside and inside appearance were in very good condition. "The fellow who gave his trade as an electrician learned what he knew by Corres pondence. I questioned him very closely. He can only put in electric bells, which he worked at all of last summer, but for a livi ng and regular work, he cleaned cars i n the Southern Railroad shops. Yet he makes extra money by putting in electric bells when the days are long." The number of Negro artisans by age, conjugal condition and trades was reported bv the canvassers as follows: ATLANTA ARTISANS. CONJUGAL CONDITION AND ACE. — MALES. Conjugal Condition Widowed.................. Total......... ............ Under 20 17 3 20 20-30 84 118 .8 3 4 216 30-10 | 32 223 LO 5 270 40 & over I'J 2fi3 24 5 7 318 Unknown | 9 10 19 Total 151 C13 42 8 29 843 FEMALES. Conjiifrnl Condition Married ................... Widowed............ ..... Total. .................... Under 20 4 1 5 20-30 7 3 2 1 1 24 30-40| 3 6 1 1 11 40 & over 6 6 1 13 Unknown 1 1 2 Total 14 27 9 2 3 55 Those designated as "separated" are not divorced and not in all cases permanently separated, although usually so. About thirty per cent, of these artisans are under thirty, and about sixty per cent, are under forty years of age. 118 TUB NJiGRO ARTISAN We may now separate these 900 artisans according to the trades they follow. OCCUPATIONS OF ATLANTA ARTISANS.—MALES. Plumbers........................... Tailors ..... .. .................... Bakers................ .............. Machinists........................ Firemen.................... ........ Tinners.............................. Electricians. ................. .... Contractors & builders...... Iron workers..................... "Wh Gtjlxvi'iii'lits Total......... ..................... U. 20 1 1 1 3 1 8 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 20 20-30 10 3 30 7 14 25 17 20 9 9 1 4 4 6 L ] 11 2 I 1 1 1 2 86 216 30-40 7 6 33 1C 17 55 27 12 16 2 3 2 5 4 1 2 15 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 L ] 32 270 40 &O. 13 8 17 31 52 92 24 3 24 1 2 6 12 1 1 2 2 1 26 318 Unknown 4 1 1 2 1 3 4 1 1 1 19 Total 35 18 82 57 86 178 73 39 52 13 5 9 16 11 2 3 3 38 3 2 1 3 1 4 7 1 1 3 2 95 843 FEMALMS. | U. 20 | 20-3U | 3U-40 I 40 & O. I Unknown | Total Total...... ...................... 3 1 I 5 11 12 1 24 3 1 11 7 1 2 1 2 13 1 ^ 2 29 3 18 1 1 3 55 The chief artisans are carpenters, shoemakers and barbers; after these come masons, blacksmiths and plasterers, tailors and painters. The fire men are both stationary and locomotive; the plumbers are usually help ers and not many are masters of the trade. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 119 The wages of artisans in the city are reported as follows: ATLANTA AKTISANS: WAGES PER MONTH. Painters................. ........... Barbers......... . ......... ......... Blacksmiths....................... Masons............. ................ Tailors......................... .... Plasterers ........ .............. . Bakers............................... Lathers ...... ...................... Broom-makers ......... ......... Firemen........... ........ ......... Dressmakers and Seam- Total......... ..................... Percentage ............ ........ L $15 1 1 1 3 5% $15-24 6 2 17 7 18 2 4 3 1 5 1 2 2 I I . 1 7 10 90 13% $25-29 y 1 4 I 7 \ 2 2 1 1 1 6 36 5% $30^9 7 7 16 16 5 46 3 5 1 1 3 2 15 5 21 153 22% $40-49 8 3 27 13 19 7 76 7 7 3 2 6 6 2 1 8 5 21 221 31.5% $50 & O. 7 '2 12 11 50 42 12 32 2 1 1 8 1 11 197 28* Probably in the wages of $50 and more there was exaggeration due to the desire to appear prosperous. On the whole, however, the returns seem reliable and the earnings of the Negro artisan are seen to be small. There is no very satisfactory way of ascertaining the growth or decline in number of the Negro artisans in Atlanta. One method tried by the class in economics in Atlanta University was to count the number given in the directories for a series of years. The directories, however, are in accurate and especially careless in regard to Negroes. The following table, however, is of some interest: REPORTED NUMBER OF NEURO ARTT8ANS IX ATLANTA. Carpenters Blacksmiths ......... ...... ........ Painters................................. Tailors.............. .................. Firemen....... .. . ......... .... Bakers. Printers............ . .......... ......... Machinists ......... ................. Plumbers.... . .. ........... ......... Contractors and builders...... Other trades .......................... ' Total......... ....... . ...... .... 1885 208 84 80 65 30 9 17 15 4 4 1 1 4 39 638 1890 245 93 103 98 95 9 29 54 21 25 10 7 4 7 60 860 189?. 199 139 L27 96 59 26 20 38 50 9 4 9 10 10 93 889 1902 181 158 113 91 50 43 30 28 58 10 3 6 7 3 67 848 120 TiJE NEGRO ARTISAN The apparent slight decrease in number of Negro artisans is offset by two considerations: 1st. The increased competition of later years has had the effect of sifting out the poorer Negro artisans so that the survivors in 1902 are probably better artisans on the average than those of 15 or 20 years earlier. 2nd. There is in South Atlanta a settlement of Negro artisans arid home-owners centering about Clark University who are really a part of the city life. The number and wages of some of these artisans is reported as follows in 1902: ARTISANS AND MONTHLY WAGES—SOUTH ATLANTA. Barbers............................... Firemen.............................. Plasterers........................... Shoemakers........................ Total........... ..... .. ..... ..51 feO-29 | 1 1 2 $30-39 | 3 .1 1 1 9 3 1C $40-49 | 1 2 1 1 I 1 2 9 $60 & O 1 9 1 5 1 24 The artisans of Atlanta- proper reported that 301 of them are accustomed at times to work with whites at these trades; 594 were not. 238 artisans work usually for white patrons; 101 for Negroes, and 266 for both ; 210 of the artisans were illiterate, 631 could read and write; 53 had some higher training; 290 own real estate, 494 own none, and 111 gave no answer; 26 had attended trade schools at Spelman Seminary, Tuskegee Institute, Clark University and Atlanta University. Only 85 artisans reported themselves as belonging to trade unions; however, there are some others who also belong. They reported as follows as to their work: Trades Barbers......... ............ .... Tailors ............................ Plasterers........................ Total........... .............. Works for himself 3 6 36 33 8 6 6 18 123 Hires others 3 11 9 17 6 8 8 15 86 Works for wages 18 47 l>3 20 88 40 C oc 155 422 Works f'r him self & f V wages 1 1 1 2 4 2 11 30. Other Towns in Georgia. Detailed reports covering over four hun dred artisans were received from other towns in Georgia. The ages of these artisans were as follows: SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 121 Years of Age Under 20 20-80 40 and over Unknown Total Their trades were as follows: Male 5 89 111 159 37 401 Female 1 1 3 2 13 20 Total 6 90 114 161 50 421 MAL>: Brickmasons. .................... ...... 71 Carpenters ..... ... ..... ......... ...... 86 Painters......... ................ ........ 18 Printers ........ ........ ....... ........... 5 Tailors........................ ............... 11 Barbers ....... .............. .............. 31 Blacksmiths............... ............... 32 Shoemakers.......... .................... 31 Engineers................................... 3 Plumbers................. ................. 7 Mechanics.................................. 14 Wheelwrights............................. 3 Machinists... ...... ................ ...... 7 Plasterers... ............................... 13 Bill posters................................. 1 Tinners.................. ......... ........... 9 Contractors ................................ 5 Basket makers...... . .................. 1 Bridge builders.......................... 1 Harness makers......................... 2 Firemen.................. ...... ............ 5 Telegraph linemen.......... .......... 3 Electric linemen......................... 2 Horse shoers.............................. 2 Mortar mixers...... ..................... 1 Florists............ ........ ............... 1 Tic cutter...... .............................. 1 Glazier .................................... 1 Dyer... '........................ ............... 1 Stationary firemen............ .......... 2 Cabinetmaker........................ .. 1 Baker............... ........................... 1 Wood worker............................ . 1 Paper hanger...... ...................... 1 Jeweler..... .................. .............. 1 Musician............ ........................ 1 Trained nurse................. ........... 1 Crockery worker........ ................. 1 Ilnclesig'nated.............................. 25 Total."........................ . ...... ........401 VBMALK Tailoress...................................... 3 Printer.............................. ......... 1 Seamstress......... ......... ..............11 Undesignated...... ........................ 3 Dressmaker.................. ............... 2 Total..........................................20 Of these 426 artisans. 6 had attended trade school. The wages received by 122 men were as follows, per month, not counting unoccupied time: 'UncieY"$20l;20-30 $30-40 $40-60 $60-60 $60 & O MasoiiK and plasterers........... Shoemakers.. ... ..... ... .... ..... Blacksmiths & wheelwrights. Engineers and firemen.......... Barbers........ .................. .......... Painters.................. ............. Tinners........ ......................... Mechanics...... .......... ..... ...... Miscellaneous ....... ...... ........ Total (males)..................... y 1 1 1 5 3 o 3 3 2 2 2 6 26 1 2 5 2 3 2 2 7 7 31 6 5 1 7 1 2 7 29 1 1 1 1 4 8 10 4 1 1 2 4 1 23 251 of the men were accustomed once in a while to work along side of whites in pursuing their trade; 59 never worked thus. 148 work primarily for whites, 35 for Negroes, 157 for both; 69 belong to trade unions, 240 do not; 98 said they could join the same trade unions as the whites, 128 said they could not, 180 did not know; 274 could read and write; 44 had had some higher training; 240 owned real estate, 125 did not, 49 gave no answer. Ill, 111 122 TTIE NEGKO AKTISAN SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 123 The following extracts from letters and reports give an idea of the con dition of these artisans: LaGrange—Bridge Builder. "For 20 years I have worked for the La- Grange Bridge Co. Have done very well. Save but little. Live very well. Have (i girls, all in school." Darien—Tailor. "There is but one other tailor in this locality. Our town is not very large, hence we two workmen do the work of our town. Neither of us hire others." Augusta—Tinsmith. "I started at the trade in 1853 as an apprentice, and served same five years. From that time I worked by the clay until 1867 at $2 per day. Since that time I have been engaged in business of my own up until the present. I also have a son who learned the trade under my instruction, and is now in business with me. He is 33 years old. 1 have been successful in my business up to the presenttime. Since I have been in business I have turned out 72 good workmen that served under me at the trade." Bricklayer. "We, as Negroes, have to work mostly for what we can get, and the whites always gets the best of all." Augusta—Brickmason. "I have saved with my labor in cash $800 and that with what I have m real estate all makes a total of $1,200." Gainesville—Brickmason. "I have helped to build 'Vesta' and 'Pacelot' mills here, and also was a foreman over both colored and white in Spartanburg, S. C., on Enaree mill." St. Mary's—Brickmason and Plasterer. "Mr. ———— was among the mechanics that laid the foundations of Atlanta University, and worked there until the building was ready for use, working for $3.00 per day, and also for $3.50 on the Kimball House." Athens—Carpenter. "No contracts from whites are given to colored carpenters in Athens, but colored and white carpenters work together." Augusta—Carpenter. "I am not contracting this year. I am foreman for one of the leading contractors in this city. Prejudice is very strong between the white and colored mechanics here. Even the architects are against us. I get there just the same." Athens—Carpenter. "Work almost entirely for non-union white con tractor, who employs and pays white and colored alike. There has arisen within the last three years a feeling on the part of white union carpenters against my present employer for using on equal terms and wages, white and colored mechanics." Carpenter. "I have been working at the trade for 40 years and can do any kind of finishing, and can get a reputation from any contractors who know me. I have worked both North and South." Augusta—Painter. "The Negro painters are doing well." LaGrange—Carpenter and Contractor. "I learned my trade under mj father. I have been a contractor and bridge builder for 30 years. Mj contracts for 1901 amounted to $10,000." . Augusta—Plasterer. "Negro workmen have very little competition in this line of work, as this kind of work is too hard for whites." Eatonton—"I am a painter at $1.50 per day. The white men get $2.00 per day. I work 10 hours per day, and keep pretty busy all the year. I began work in 1889." Buena Vista—Turner and Glazier. "This boy is a fireman, glazier and turner. I have been knowing him some 12 or more years as a fireman. He has the certificates of his trade." liuitman—Carpenter. "I am employed almost the entire year, mostly for whites. I work with white and colored. There is very little discrim ination shown toward good workmen." Thomasville—Tinner. "We have several skilled workmen here, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, and shoemakers." Marietta—Blacksmith. "In they ear 18901 went to work at the American Marble Co., as a yard hand, and in three weeks I was sent to the shop as a helper to make and dress marble tools and in three months I was given a forge. In the year 1894 I was made foreman and machinist. My first wages were 90c per day. Then my wages were $1.25 during the part of the year 1894. Afterward I went to Canton, Ga., to work for the Georgia Marble Finishing Works for $1.50 and my expenses of travel paid. In the year 1895 I went into business of my own. In 1897 1 was offered $2.00 per day by the McJNeal Marble Company of Marietta, Ga. Now I am working for the Butler Brothers, of Marietta Ga., and others." Fort Valley—"The town is being benefited no little by the different trades that are taught the boys and girls at the Fort Valley High and In dustrial School." Athens—Carpenter. "I fail to work about one-third of the year. I get $1.50 up to $2.00 per day. There is a white union here but the colored do not belong to it." Darien—Contractor and Builder, now Post Master. "This is my third term as post master, but I continue with mv trade. I have men working now. I pay them $1.00, $1.50 and $2.00 per clay." College—Mason and Plasterer. "I am instructor in Ga. State College. Have erected $20,000 brick dormitory with student labor. Under my su pervision students work for both white and colored around the College." Wrightsville—Carpenter. "There is some discrimination as to color where the colored mechanic is not of high standard." Savannah—Contractor. "When I first went out to learn the trade I re ceived 50c per week; as my trade advanced, wages advanced, and now I am foreman of my work." Augusta—Bricklayer. "I am a bricklayer by trade. T have been work ing for the leading contractor of Augusta for 20 years. I work regularly when it is so we can work." Eatonton—Contractor of Brick, Tile and Plastering. "I own property and real estate. I am a competent and active contractor and have been engaged in it for ,H5 years. I have learned nearly 50 young men to be first-class workmen, together with my two sons." LaGrange—Blacksmith and Machinist. "I worked in one shop two years, and where 1 am now I have been working 13 years, and I am the only colored man in the shop, and I stand equal to any man in the shop; if you need any references you can get them." Eoberta—Carpenter. "I have been engaged in this trade for about 14 years and follow it about half of iny time now. I farm and carry on my trade whenever called on to do a job of work." Valclosta—Painter. "As to unions, we can have separate branches and co-operate with whites in cases of a strike or regulation of hours per day or wages, by a committee." St. Mary's—Carpenter. "I have contracted for work and worked quite large gangs, both colored and whites, but have been working for ————— for 10 years at Cumberland Island, Ga." Augusta—Plumbers. "There is no union among the colored laborers here at all. I wish there were. At the shop where I am employed, Mr. ———— and myself are the only two that are reliable. We both work 124 TIIK KEGKO ARTISAN right along by the side of the white men. We do gas and steam fitting just the same as the white men. But still we don't get the same wages for the work. Of course there area great many others that will work, but they work only as helpers with white men." Marietta—Plumber. "T have been a steady workman under others for nine years. I can do tin work of any kind; I can set bath tubs, toilets, rough a job on new houses; can fit up any kind of steam work in the line of plumbing; make steam quirls, can wipe a pretty good joint, and most any other work in common plumbing. I am sorry 1 cannot give you a more interesting sketch. A man must have a good head to rim that trade for himself to make anything out of it. I have, a home, and I like the farm and the country the best. I have no idle time through the year, for when J am out of the shop I am in the field." Marietta—Plumber. "I have worked at the trade for ten years, and have found many discouragements. It is a, known fact that the whites do everything they possibly can to prevent a Negro from getting into the plumber's trade', and after he gets in he can get no employment in a white shop. I have been doing business for myself as a plumbing and tinning contractor for 2% years and have had as much work as I can do." 31. Illinois. The state of Illinois had 57,028 Negroes in 1890 and 85,078 in 1900. Over a third of these persons (30,150) live in the city of Chicago. The census of 1890reported the following artisans: Miners, Barbers and hairdressers, Engineers and firemen, (stationary) Boatmen.caiialmen,pilots and sailors, Steam railroad employees, Street railway employees, Telegraph and telephone operators, Apprentices, Tiakers, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brick makers, potters, etc., Butchers, Cabinet makers and upholsterers, Telegraph and telephone operators, Apprentices, Cotton and other textile mill operatives, 556 Carpenters and joiners, 702 Coopers, 243 Harness, saddle and trunk makers, 78 Iron and steel workers, 243 Machinists, :i Marble and stone cutters & masons, 4 Painters, 22 Plumbers, 17 Printers, 103 Saw and planing mill employees, 85 Tailors, 69 Tinners and tinware makers, 32 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives, 15 Wood workers, 128 19 9 (>7 27 110 79 1C 29 20 8 54 26 FEMALE. 1 2 Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, 329 Printers, 5 Tailoresses, 2 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives, 2 The Negroes are found in the trades as follows in various towns: In Chicago there are carpenters, bricklayers, blacksmiths, stationary engineers, plasterers, butchers, coopers, etc. They are slowly gaining in the trades. The lack of leading contractors and the restrictions on ap prentices keep the Negroes out of the trades, as well as their own lack of appreciation of the advantages of mechanical trades. In Springfield there are over 400 Negro miners and a number of hod-carriers, plasterers and barbers. In Centralia, Streator, Pontiac, Bock Island and Danville many Negro miners are reported; at Alton there arc hod-carriers and a few fire men and masons; at Peoria, barbers, building laborers and firemen; at Galesbiirg, building laborers. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 1^5 3v. Indiana There were 45,215 Negroes in Indiana in 1890, and 57,505 in 1900. Over a fourth of these persons live in Indianapolis, which has already been spokeu of in § 22. The census of 1890 reported the follow ing Negro artisans: MALE. Miners and quarrymen, Harbers and hairdressers, Engineers and firemen (stationary) Steam railroad employees, Telegraph and telephone operators, Apprentices, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brickmakers, potters, etc., Butchers, Cabinet makers and upholsterers, Carpenters and joiners, Carriage and wagon makers, Coopers, 185 699 154 128 2 24 81 31 130 12 18 133 9 11 Cotton & other textile mill opera tives, 34 Glass workers, 56 Harness, saddle and trunk makers, 5 Iron and steel workers, 162 Machinists, 15 "Marble & stone cutters and masons, 92 Millers, 12 Painters, - 40 Plasterers, 90 Printers, 14 Saw and planing mill men, 124 Tailors, 7 Wood workers, 39 Tailoresses, 2 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives, 1 Wood workers, 2 Stenographers and typewriters, 1 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 0 Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, 161 Indiana has hut a small number of Negro artisans and the opposition of Trade Unions is strong. A report from Mount Veruon says there are several bricklayers, masons and engineers there and that the Negro is gaining in the trades. The chief obstacles are "prejudice among the masses and the hostility of organized white artisans." There is some dis crimination in wages and Negroes are barred out of the unions. Before the war there were no artisans in the place. Since then artisans have come from the South, the most conspicuous one from Alabama. "He is a very fine mechanic and engineer." 33. Indian Ter 'tory and Oklahoma. These two territories hail a Negro population of 21,609 in 1890, and 65,684 in 1900. Oklahoma* with 2,873 Ne groes in 1890 had the following artisans: MA LK. 1 18 I II 2 o 1 F1CMALK. Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, etc., 1 A report from Ardmore, Indian Territory, says there are not many skilled Negro laborers there; the leading ones includes blacksmiths, 4 carpenters, 2 printers, 2 shoe makers and a type-writer. The Negro me chanics are gaining, however, and young men are entering the trades. Only lack of skill hinders the black artisan. There are no trade unions and "white men have been let out of jobs for colored mechanics of greater ability, "t Engineers, (civil, mechanical, etc), Barbers and hairdressers, Steam railroad employees, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brick makers, Butchers, Carpenters and joiners, Confectioners, Marble and stone cntters, Masons, Painters, Plasterers, 'There WHS no report for Indian Territory. tRepoit of Mr. S. T. Wiggins. 126 THE NEGRO ARTISAN 34. Iowa and Kansas. Kansas had 49,710 Negroes in 1890 and 52,003 in 1900; Iowa had respectively 10,685 and 12,693. There were the following artisans reported in the two states in 1890: Miners, Barbers and hairdressers, Engineers & firemen, (stationary) Steam railroad employees, Telegraph & telephone operators, Bakers, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Butchers, Carpenters, joiners and coopers, Carriage and wa on makers, Harness, saddle trunk makers, Iron and steel workers, 815 Lead and zinc workers, 108 637 Machinists, 7 91 Marble & stone cutters & masons, 284 287 Millers, 25 4 Painters, 43 2 Plasterers, 151 151 Printers, 27 27 Tailors, 1 37 Tinners and tinware makers, 14 157 Apprentices, 5 3 Brickmakers, etc., 13 10 Saw & planing mill employees, 10 45 Stenographers and typewriters, 1 Dressmakers,millmer6,seamstresses, 141 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 9 Printers, 2 In Atchison, Kansas, there are very few Negro artisans, and they are chiefly blacksmiths. Nevertheless, the Negro is gaining and numbers of young people are entering the industrial schools. In Kansas City there are a*number of stationary firemen and beef-butchers. The trade unions are the chief obstacles: In Iowa there are a large number of Negro miners and many in the building trades. In Ottumwa there are hod-car riers, steel and metal workers, plasterers, carpenters, and miners in con siderable numbers. 35. Kentucky. In 1890 there were 268,071 Negroes in Kentucky and 284,- 706 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported the following artisans: Lumbermen, raftsmen, etc., Miners, Barbers and hairdressers, Engineers and firemen, Steam railroad employees, Blacksmiths' and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brickmakers, potters, etc.. Butchers, Cabinet makers and upholsterers, Carpenters and joiners, Coopers, Apprentices, Boot and shoe makers, Cotton and other textile mill opera tives, 114 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 225 076 Harness, saddle & trunk makers, 19 657 Iron and steel workers, 240 350 Machinists, 27 2,402 Marble & stone cutters & masons, 586 36 Millers, 77 592 Painters, 181 143 Printers, 401 Saw and planing mill employees, 80 Tailors, 20 Tinners and tinware workers, 886 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives, 160 Wood workers, 19 240 27 586 77 181 23 312 10 31 857 51 FEMALE. 7 Dressmakers,milliners, seamstresses, 29 Printers, Tailoresses, Tobacco & cigar factory operatives, 57ti 1 2 162 The chief artisans are miners, tobacco workers, hod-carriers, marine firemen carpenters, railway men, etc. At Paducah there are many arti sans' the 22 leading ones include 9 carpenters, 3 bricklayers, 4 plasterers, 3 painters and 3 blacksmiths. The black artisans are gaining here. In Lebanon there are carpenters, blacksmiths and masons, but they are losing o-round on account of inefficiency. "Old artisans are dying out and no SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 127 young men are taking their places." At Danville, Ky., the leading arti sans include carpenters, masons, painters and plasterers. They are gain ing as a result of industrial training and the entrance of young men into the trades. In Georgetown the leading artisans include 2 contracting carpenters, 4 contracting masons, 1 cabinet maker and 1 paper hanger. Young men are entering the trades and the Negro is gaining. In Louis ville there are perhaps 500 artisans of various kinds. They are not gain ing perceptibly. 36. Louisiana. There were 559,193 Negroes in Louisiana in 1890, and 650,804 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported the following artisans: Lumbermen and raftsmen, Engineers (civil and mechanical) Barbers and hairdressers, Engineers and firemen (stationary) Boatmen, caualmen, pilots, sailors, Steam railroad employees, Apprentices, Bakers, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Butchers, Cabinet makers and upholsterers, Apprentices, Bakers, Cotton & other textile mill operatives, MALE. 484 Carpenters and joiners, . - - , 1,611 37 Coopers, 605 369 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 263 309 Iron and steel workers, 30 660 Machinists, 24 1,503 Marble andstone cutters and masons, 766 100 Painters, 280 145 Printers, 39 (3)9 Saw and planing mill employees, 438 Tailors, 70 141 Tinners and tinware makers, 44 111 Tobacco & cigar factory employees, 530 FEJIALE. 0 Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, 656 18 Tailoresses, 45 22 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives, 21 In New Orleans there are large numbers of artisans in the building trades and in shoe making, cigar making, blacksmithing, coopering, etc. The impression seems to be that the Negro artisan here is either gaining or at least not losing. There are about 4,000 Negroes in the trade unions. The influx of white mechanics is increasing the competition, however, and "the brief life, so far, of the industrial school among the colored peo ple will not permit one to see any large results as yet. It is promising, however, and ought to be encouraged." There is no apparent discrimina tion in wages in this city and the trade unions are open to Negroes in most cases. One report says: "There is no way of telling the number of Negro artisans in this city. The directories do not distinguish them from others. Before and since the war they have built some of the best structures of our city. They work in various shops and in cigar factories,but have been lately crowded out of machine shops. The new stone library of Tulane University is now being erected by Negroes entirely."* Another report says: "The city of New Orleans comprises among its population Negro artisans who receive recognition in their respective trades, are widely employed and paid remunerative wages. Contractors of public buildings and private work appreciate the Negro workmen and a majority of the most imposing structures in the city were built by col ored men. The number of artisans has increased since the war, and their Report of Mr. F. B. Smith. 1II I1, ,. II 128 THE WEGBO ARTISAN condition is better. A large proportion of them are property-holders."* Baton Rouge is said to he "an exceptionally good community for Negro artisans" and they are gaining there. "The old slave time plasterers, masons and carpenters trained up an array of youngsters to fill their shoes and they are doing it most admirably."** Among the buildings erected en tirely by Negro mechanics are a $25,000 dormitory, a $25,000 public school building and a $10,000 bank building. There are many strong Negro trade unions in Louisiana, especially the Longshoremen's Benevolent Association, the Screwmen, the Cotton Yard men, the Teamsters and Loaders, the Excelsior Freight Handlers, the Bound Freight Teamsters, etc. At Shreveport there are carpenters, hod-carriers and bricklayers organ ized in unions. On the whole the Negro artisans seem better organized and more aggressive in this state than in any other. The colored secretary of the Central Labor Union says: :'By amalgamation of organizations and through International connections we expect to have the color line in work removed." 37. Maine and Massachusetts. These two states have a comparatively small proportion of Negroes: Maine had 1,190 in 1890, and 1,319 in 1900; Massachusetts had 22,144 and 31,974. The report of artisans in 1890 for both states was: Lumbermen, etc., Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.) Barbers and hairdressers. Engineers & firemen (stationary) Boatmen, eanalmen, pilots, sailors, Steam railroad employees, Street railway employees, Apprentices, Bakers, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brickmakers, potters, etc., Butchers, Cabinet makers and upholsterers, Carpenters and joiners, Stenographers and typewriters, Boot and shoe makers, Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 04 l)ressmakers,milliners, seamstresses, 271 MALE. 83 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 89 12 390 53 156 83 9 15 11 34 159 18 20 2T 103 Gold and silver workers, 2 Iron and steel workers, 22 Leather curriers, dressers,tanners,etc., 42 •''••• * .tfi Machinists, Marble and stone cutters, Ma_sons (brick and stone) v I'ainters, Paper mill operatives, Piano and organ makers, Plumbers, Printers, Rubber factory operatives. Tailors, Wood workers, I'EJIALU. 3 Printers, 38 Rubber factory operatives, 1C 30 11 Ofi 28 4 9 Straw workers, Tailoresses, the unions and In Portland, Maine, there are five skilled workmen in tliev stand well. . In Massachusetts the meat handlers, longshoremen, and building trades are represented and a great many are in the unions. In Boston the Ne- 'n-oes are in the building trades, cigar makers', meat handlers', and a few in thn machinists' unions. In Springfield there are masons and mason tenders and barbers; but not many. They are good workmen. Brockton has a few electric linemen, stationary firemen, boot and shoe makers and laun dry workers. In the smaller towns there is here and there an artisan. "Report of Mr. 15. Hones. * Report of Mr. A. II. Colvvell. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 129 S8. Maryland. There were 215,657 Negroes in Maryland in 1890, and 235,064 in 1900. There were reported in 1890 the following artisans: MAI/K. Miners........................................139 Barbers and hairdressers... ....... 480 "Engineers and firemen (sta.) .....220 Boatmen, eanalmen, pilots and sailors................................... 1,085 Steam railroad employees.........467 .Street railway employees........... 4 Apprentices...... ......................... 57 Bakers............ ........................... 21 Blacksmiths & wheelwrights.....206 Boot and shoe makers............'...155 Brickmakers, potters, etc........1,143 Butchers.................................... 180 •Carpenters and joiners............... 96 Cotton and other textile mill operatives.. ............... ............ 57 Iron and steel workers............... 68 Machinists................................. 13 Marble and stone cutters and masons................... ....... ........231 Millers.................. ........ ............ 76 Painters.................... . ............... 59 Plumbers............................. ...... 13 Printers..................................... 27 Saw and planing mill em ployees.. ..................... ........... 230 Ship and boat builders............... 96 Tailors .. .................... ............... 22 Tinners and tinware makers...... 68 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives...... ......................... 18 I'EMAI/K. Apprentices................ ............... 9 Confectioners ............................. 3 Cotton and other textile mill operatives........ ...................... 10 Dressmakers, milliners, seam stresses, etc............................ 990 Hat and cap makers.................. 1 Meat, fish, and fruit packers, canners, etc............................. 19 Tailoresses................................. 7 The Negro population of this state centres in Baltimore, where over a third of the colored people live. Here the Negroes have had an interest ing industrial history.* Before the war the Negroes made brick, shucked •oysters, loaded ships and did the caulking; there were also carpenters and blacksmiths. Then came foreign competition and the war until gradually by skill and prejudice the Negroes were more and more forced out. There are still painters and building laborers, brickmakers and other artisans, but the trades unions have largely confined these to job-work. The hod- carriers are still strong and there was a strong union of caulkers in 1890. The brickmakers, too, are well organized and have white and black members. There have been in Baltimore some interesting experiments in industrial co-operation, the most noted of which was that of the Chesapeake Marine Railway. There was a brickmakers' strike after the war which led to colored men organizing a brick yard which flourished awhile and died. A strike against colored caulkers and stevedores followed which forced most of them out of work ; as a result the Negroes raised $10,000, bought a ship yard and marine railway and several hundred caulkers went to work. The capital was soon raised to $30,000. The venture was successful until it was found that instead of having been purchased out right the yard had only been leased for 20 years and at the end of that time the yard passed into the hands of whites and left the Negroes with nothing hut the two or three dividends that had been paid. Brackett: Notes on Uw Progress of the Colored People of Md.. etc., J. H. D. studies, 8th series, 1890. 130 THE NEGBO ABTIBAN As an example of the situation of Negro artisans in the country districts in Maryland \ve may take the village of Sandy Spring* with ahout a thous and Negroes. There were here hi 1900: 2 barbers. 6 blacksmiths. 2 carpenters—$1.25 a day. 3 engineers—$12-$24 a month. Five of these own their homes. I miller. 3 shoemakers. 1 shingle maker. 2 masons—$2-$2.50 per day. 39. Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Michigan had 15,223 Negroes in 1890 and 15,816 in 1900; Minnesota had 3,683 and 4,959 in those years, aiul Wisconsin 2, 4 and 2,542. The following artisans were reported in thesr states in 1890: MALE Coopers....................................... :>!> C'ton & o'er textile mill operat's 6 Harness, saddle & trunk makers 8 Iron and steel workers................ 28 Machinists.................................. 15 Marble & stone cnt'rs & masons..lll Millers........................................ 3 Painters..................................... 55 Printers...................................... 1<> Saw & planing mill employees ... 82 Tailors............ ........................... 9 Tobacco & cigar fact'y operat's... 7 Wood workers............................ 13 Lumbermen and raftsmen... .....235 Miners........... ........................... 4 Barbers and hairdressers...........731 Engineers and firemen (sta.),.... 85 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots and sailors................. .................... 82 Steam railroad employees......... 5(5 Blacksmiths & wheelwrights..... 40 Boot and shoe makers................ 18 Butchers........................ .......... 19 Cabinet makers & upholsterers... 7 Carpenters and joiners...............122 Carriage and wagon makers...... 2 Telegraph & telep'ne operatives.. Cotton & other textile mill op- eratives. ...................... ........... Dressmakers, milliners, seam- stresses, etc...... ....................... 19-1 Printers......... ............................ 1 Tailoresses.. ................................ 3 Wood workers............................ 3 In Michigan there are about 500 barbers, engineers, plumbers, brick layers and coal-miners in the unions. In Grand Eapids there are build ing trades laborers; in Detroit there are longshoremen, engineers and car penters. This is one of the few cities where there are several colored motormen and conductors on the street railways. They were forced in by political influence but have proven excellent workmen. In Sault Sto. Marie there are several good mechanics. "We have no toughs in the race here." There is an excellent Negro plumber at Flint, and several good mechanics in Ann Arbor. One in the latter city does considerable small contracting. In Kalamazoo there are bricklayers and masons. In Minnesota there are few Negroes and fewer artisans; there are a number of barbers in the twin cities, a few cigar makers, printers and carpenters. In Wisconsin there are few artisans except barbers here and there, fn Milwaukee there are a few cigar makers. *Ct C. S. Bulletin of the Department of Labor, No. 32. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFEBENCE 1;JJ 40. Mississippi. There \vere 742,559 Negroes in Mississippi in 1S9<> and 'J07,630 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported these artisans: MALE Lumbermen and raftsmen....... 192 Barbers and hairdressers......... 326 Engineers & firemen (sta.)...... 203 Boatmen, canalrnen, pilots and sailors............................ 275 Steam railroad employees........2,736 Telegraph and telephone op erators............ ..................... 1 Blacksmiths & wheelwrights... 665 Boot and shoe makers.............. 130 Brickmakers............................ 355 Butchers.................................. 128 Carpenters and joiners............1,476 FMT Basket makers.................. ........ 26 Cotton and other textile mill employees......... ..................... 8 Charcoal, coke &lime burners. Cotton and other textile mill operatives...... ....................... Machinists............................... Marble and stone cutters and masons.................................. Mechanics................................ Millers..................... ............... Painters...... ............................. Printers................... ................ Saw & planing mill employees. Tinners and tinware makers.... Wood workers................. ........ 94 7(i 41 (53 153 22 1 ,387 16 53 Dressmakers, milliners, seam- stresses, etc............................ 759 Printers......... ........................... 5 A report from Westside says: "Our population is mostly rural, but the towns are growing constantly in number and importance; and, whereas heretofore few skilled artisans were needed in Mississippi the demand for them grows constantly. "As there are no trades unions in the state to interfere colored mechanics find work without difficulty. There appears to be few labor organizations in the state; there is one at Vicksburg. I presume it was instigated by white mechanics, who induced colored men to organize with them in order that they, the whites, might then more easily obtain work where they were thrown into competition with colored mechanics. They thus pro cured work through the aid of colored men. There is no trouble whatever on the part of colored men to obtain work in this state as carpenters, blacksmiths, brickmasons,brickmakers,shoemakers, painters or plasterers. "There is a brickmasons' union at Meridian, Miss. The colored masons are allowed to join it, there being only two such masons in the city. There is somewhat of a dearth of colored masons in the state. This fact being- appreciated by the authorities of this institution arrangements are now being made to give instructions in brickmaking and brickmasonry." A report from Ebenezer mentions blacksmithing as the chief trade and thinks the status of artisans is about the same as in the past although they "may be gaining." There is general lack of efficiency, but students from industrial schools are entering the trades. There is some color dis crimination in wages. In Woodville the leading- 14 artisans include two builders and contractors, two carpenters, four blacksmiths, one smith and carpenter, three machinists, and two painters. They are competing with white labor and are gaining. The effect of industrial training is apparent ; but there is a lack of leading contractors with capital. In all lines but brickmasonry there is discrimination in \vages. There are so few white masons that the differences do not extend to this trade. Gloster has a number of carpenters, blacksmiths, painters, engineers and bakers. The 132 THE NEGKO AKTISAS writer of the reports "cannot say the Negro is losing as an artisan, but his gains are not satisfactory." There is a demand for better artisans, but there are no industrial schools near and young men are not entering tin trades. There is very little discrimination in wages. "We have no or ganized unions but the colored men generally confer and have certain mutual understandings with each other." The great drawback is lack of sufficient skill and education to follow plans and specifications and do the highest grades of work. Mound Bayou has a number of blacksmiths, engineers, surveyors, carpenters, printers and masons. The artisans are gaining fast here. "This is a distinctively Negro town and colony com prising 2,500-3,000 inhabitants, with 20,000-30,000 acres of rich land. We have three cotton gins, two of them with saw-mill attachments. There are three blacksmith shops and one printing press. These are handled exclusively by Negro labor and Negro managers. The settlement was es tablished about 1887 and the inhabitants are chiefly cotton-growers."* At Holly Springs many young men from the industrial schools are en tering the trades; there are several carpenters and masons. There is dis crimination in wages. At Grace the Negro artisans are gaining. The leading artisans include 3 carpenters, 1 engineer, 4 masons and a black smith. Young men are entering the trades. 41. Missouri. There were 150,184 Negroes in this state in 1890 and 161,234 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported these artisans: Lumbermen, raftsmen, etc.........157 Miners............................ ...........915 Barbers and hairdressers............909 Engineers and firemen (sta.>......321 Steam railroad employees..........703 Street railway employees........... 7 Apprentices................................ 25 Bakers........................................ 13 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights...206 Boot and shoe makers................ 52 Butchers.................................... 65 Cabinetmakers & upholsterers... 12 Carpenters and joiners...............263 Coopers....................................... 22 Harness,saddle & trunk makers.. 8 Iron and steel \vorkers ..............177 Machinists................................. 19 Marble and stone cutters............ 50 Masons............ ...........................231 Millers................................. ...... 35 Painters......... ........ ................... 66 Plasterers...................................262 Printers........................ ............. 32 Saw & planing mill employees..-233 Tailors........................ ............... 9 Tinners and tinware makers...... 11 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives................................222 FEMALE, Stenographers & type writers.. 2 Telegraph & telephone opera tors................................. ...... 4 Cotton and other textile mil] operatives............................ 106 Dressmakers, milliners, seam stresses, etc...........................1,835 Printers........ ........................... 59 Tailoresses............... ............... 294 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives ............................. 199 There are some three thousand Negroes in the labor unions of Missouri— hod-carriers, teamsters and barbers, miners, and a few printers, carpen ters and masons. In St. Louis the Negro artisan is losing; "he does not keep pace with the times in efficiency and is besides crowded out of em ployment by the trade unions." As to industrial training "there has been -"-Report of the mayor, Mr. A. P. Hood. BKVENTII ANNUAL CONFERENCE 133 a manual training- department in the colored schools for more than ten years but I have not heard of any thus trained who have g-ot positions thereby." In St. Joseph, on the other hand, there are 65 or 70 Negro artisans and they are gaining. The nine leading artisans include one paper hanger, one kalsomiiier, three carpenters, one painter, one mattress maker, one plasterer and pne tailor. "Trade unions have to a great ex tend hindered the Negroes' progress" and they are barred from nearly all the unions. At Kansas City Negroes are reported by a leading trade unionist to "have done good work at bricklaying, plastering, painting, carpentry and paper hanging." Only the hod-carriers, however, are in the unions. At Joplin there are a few masons and stone cutters; at Com merce there are carpenters, blacksmiths and engineers, but the Negro is losing. The chief obstacles are "trade unions, prejudice and the lack of capital among our people." 42. Other New England States, (N. H., Vt., It. L, and Cuiut.) The states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Khode Island and Connecticut had alto gether 21,246 Negroes in 1890, and 25,806 in 1900. Over half these Negroes live in Connecticut. The census of 1890 reported the following artisan*, in these states: MALK Miners and quarrymen............... 7 Barbers and hairdressers............159 Engineers and firemen (sta)....... 36 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots and sailors ................. ......... ......... 30 Steam railroad employees.......... 31 Apprentices......... ...................... 15 Bakers........................................ 9 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights.. 38 Boot and shoe makers.............. 54 Brass' workers............................ 39 Butchers.................................... 31 Cabinetmakers and upholsterers 18 Carpenters and joiners.............. 76 Clock and watchmakers............. 2 Cotton & other textile mill op..... 82 Gold and silver workers............. 8 Gunsmiths, locksmiths, bell hangers............ ....................... 9 Hat and cap makers.................. 12 fron and steel workers............... 44 Machinists.................. .............. 21 Marble and stone cutters and masons.....................................142 Metal workers............................ Ifi Painters...... .............................. 59 Plumbers.................................... 10 Printers............ ............. ........... Ifi Rubber factory operatives......... 8 Tailors........................................ 15 Tool and cutlery makers............ 4 Woodworkers............ ................ 15 FEMALE Cotton and otlier textile mill Paper mill operatives................. 2 operatives............. .................. 38 Printers...................................... 1 Dressmakers, milliners, seam- Tailoresses..... ........................... Tailors........................ .............. 63 Tinners and tinware makers...... 27 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives............. ..................192 Wood workers............................ 25 FEMALE Stenographers and typewriters... 4 Box makers (paper)...... ............. 2 Cotton and other textile mill operatives................ ............... 11 Dressmakers................................674 Glove makers............................. 4 Milliners.................................... 5 Printers.................. .................. 7 Seamstresses......... ................ ...215 Sewing machine operators......... 11 Shirt, collar and cuff makers...... 17 Tailoresses................................. 17 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives...... ......................... 8 In New Jersey the following artisans were reported in 1890: MALE Miners........................... ............ 14 Engineers (civil & mechanical).. 3 Barbers and hairdressers...........257 Engineers and firemen (sta.)....... 61 Boatmen, canalrnen, pilots and sailors....................................... 89 Steam railroad employees..........102 Apprentices................................ 14 Bakers....... .............................. 4 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights.. 20 Boot and shoe makers................ 56 Brick and tile makers.................755 Butchers.................................... 26 Cabinetmakers &upholsterers... 29 Carpenters and joiners...............103 ('otton and other textile mill operatives......... ....................... 17 Glass workers............................. 10 Harness, saddle and trunk makers.................................... G Hat and capmakers................... 3 Iron and steel workers............... 61 Leather curriers, dressers, etc... 19 Machinists............... .................. 6 Marble and stone cutters and masons.....................................102 Painters......... ............................ 49 Plumbers...................... ............ 15 Potters............. ........................... 9 Printers........................................ 14 Tailors......................................... 7 Tinners and tinware makers...... 8 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives.. ............................. 14 FEMALE Apprentices..... .......................... 1 Boot and shoe makers.................. 1 Box makers.................................. 1 Cotton and other textile mill operatives........... ..................... 5 Dressmakers, milliners, seam stresses, etc..............................238 Printers...................................... 1 Tailoresses................................... (> Tobacco & cigar fact'y operat'es. 3 The mass of the Negro population of New York is centered in New York City. Here the artisan has had a thorny path to travel. As late as 1830 a well-to-do Negro was refused a license as drayman and the riots of 1863 had an economic as well as a political cause. The ensuing enmity between Irish and Negroes and the absorption of the Irish into the industries kept SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 135 the Negroes out. In 1890 about 10% of the working Negroes were in skilled trades as follows:* Tailors.................. .................... 45 Engineers and firemen............... 84 Building trades......... .................147 Apprentices................................... 10 Railroad employees.................... 84 Printers...... .....*.......................... 29 Cabinet makers............ ............. 28 Tobacco workers..........................187 Sailors............ ........ ...................132 Barbers......................................166 Painters........................ .... ........132 Machinists................................... 12 Shoe makers................................ 12 Blacksmiths............ .................. 13 Bakers............................................ 11 Making something over a thousand in all besides some 700 dressmakers and seamstresses. Since 1890 "artisans have not perceptibly increased on account of the trade unions and the indifference of employers." In Albany and Troy there are two tailors, one electrician, 1 printer, 1 carpenter, 1 blacksmith, 1 civil engineer, 1 mason. The Negro is not gain ing here. In Rochester there are two stationary engineers. At Bing- h amp ton there are a few barbers and building laborers. At Auburn there are a few horse shoers, stationary engineers, and building laborers. A few are in the building trades in Middletown,a machinist at Hornelsville, etc. In New Jersey there are a few more artisans but not many. From Newark we learn of a few artisans buf'the trouble with the colored people here is that few of them have trades," and they "are backward about getting their boys in as apprentices." Three engineers, three masons, three lathers and one carpenter are mentioned. Trenton reports a cooper, a paper hanger, a shoe maker and a cigar maker. 44. North Carolina. There were 561,018 Negroes in North Carolina in 1890 and 624,469 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported these artisans: Lumbermen and raftsmen........... Miners.................... .......... Barbers and hah dressers............ Engineers and firemen (stationary). Boatmen, canalmen, pilots & sailors. Steam railroad employees............ Telegraph and telephone operators.. Blacksmiths and wheelwrights..... Boot and shoe makers............... Brick makers, potters, etc........... Butchers.............. .............. Cabinet makers *.- upholsterers.... . Carpenters and joiners............... Cotton (Mother textile mill operatives Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses 810 Carriage and wagon makers....... 278 Coopers............................ 482 Cotton and other textile mill op- 432 eratives.......................... 816 Iron and steel workers............. 3,534 Machinists............ ............ 3 Marble & stone cutters & masons. 831 Mechanics......................... 384 Millers........................... 443 Painters............................ J44 Printers........ ................... 53 Saw and planing mill employees... 1,789 Tobacco* cigar factory operatives. 127 Tailoresses..................... 705 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives. . 49 . 304 . 564 88 . 46 . 827 . 74 . 158 . 297 56 .1,992 .2,779 8 .1,462 Charlotte is a city of 18,091 inhabitants (1900), 7,151 of whom are colored; the suburbs covered by the city directory brings this total up to 25 or 30 thousand. In 1890 the city had 5,134 Negroes. A special report from this city gives the following artisansf: Sec the "Black Xorth," a series of articles in tlic New York Times, 1901. •fMtide by the kindness of Mr. 11. A. Hunt, of Birtille University; the iirtisuns wore ascertained from the ilirectories. 1.J6 THE NEGRO ARTISAN ABTISANS IN CHAKLOTTK, N. O. Ib85 | Bakers...... ............................................... Basket makers........................................ Bridge builders........ ......................... .... Blacksmiths....... ................... ......... ......... Collar makers. ................................. ....... Firemen................................................... Machinists............ ......... ........................ Mattress makers......... .................... ......... Plasterers............... ................................ Tailors.................................... ................ Tinners......... ..................................... ........ Upholsterers........................ ...................... Total.................................................. 1 21 1 33 1 4 20 1 6 8 17 1 6 3 6 129 3 1 2 15 1 1 36 25 9 1 1 37 2 33 16 9 16 7 3 1 214 Although the artisans are more numerous than formerly still they are losing in relative importance. This is in a measure due to inefficiency,and the great growth of the South, "but more largely, perhaps, to prejudice— the prejudice incident to competition as well as race prejudice." Young men "are not entering the trades very largely as journeymen * * * 1 find comparatively few young men following trades learned in school, ex cept in the art or trade of printing." The obstacles in learning trades are "the inability of colored men to have sufficient work to keep apprentices, and the unwillingness of whites to employ apprentices." The chief obstacle in working at the trade when learned is "prejudice." There is discrimination in wages, arid some of the trade unions bar Negroes; other unions, like the bricklayers, have a considerable Negro members hi}). Directly after the war three Negroes were tlie leading bricklayers and plasterers, and were so acknowledged by all. To-day a Negro "is and has been for years the best bricklayer and contractor in town; he is able to follow plans and conduct a contracting- business in an intelligent and profitable manner. He has built some of the best buildings in and around Charlotte—not small houses, but large ones, as, for instance: the City Hall, several churches, school buildings, etc." The leading Negro artisans of Raleigh include 1 tinner, 1 blacksmith, 3 carpenters, 2 wood and iron workers and 5 masons. The black artisan if losing here, largely on account of indifference. Few young men enter in dustrial schools "with a view to making industrial pursuits a life-work.1 SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 131 There are no Negroes in the Ealeigh unions aiid it is doubtful if they could get in. In Salisbury the artisan is losing also, for the older artisans are not contractors and employ no apprentices. There are, nevertheless, several good artisans; the leading ones include three tailoring establish ments, 5 carpenters, 2 plasterers, 2 bricklayers, 2 shoe makers and a painter. As to young men, "my opinion is that the schools do not make good mechanics, i. e., practical mechanics. It is almost impossible to give a good mechanical arid literary training in the time allotted by our manual training schools." Eace prejudice and their own unreliability are the Negroes' great obstacles. Often special efforts are put forth to attract and employ white mechanics in preference to Negroes. "In some places Negroes and whites work together as artisans. Tri other parts of the state whites refuse to work with Negroes."* The leading Negro artisans of Asheville are three plasterers, three brickmasons, two blacksmiths arid a carpenter. The Negro is gaining- here in the trades and a few young men are entering. The trade unions in most instances receive Negroes. At Goldsboro the Negro artisan "is holding his own; he is not losing." The leading artisans include 4 masons, 6 carpenters, 1 wheelwright, 2 blacksmiths and a painter. "Two young men who attended industrial schools work at their trades; one at carpen try, the other at cabinet making; two other young men who have riot been away from home to any schools have good trades as masons, arid are reg ularly employed." There is very little discrimination in wages, chiefly due to the fact that there are no unions here. In Winston-Salem the unions have Negro members. In Hillsboro the leading artisans are two carpenters, a painter, a plas terer arid two masons. These artisans "hold their own as they are the best in the little town." A few young men are entering the trades but "not as many as I could desire." The Negro is his own greatest obstacle here as there is no discrimination in wages and no unions. "The Negro artisans here are less in number than before the war. The young men seem not to care for the trades of their fathers. What few artisans \ve have get all the work that is to be done. They take contracts, and work colored arid white hands together without friction. On all skilled work in my town a Negro has, in nine cases out of ten, been the boss. Some young men think that the trades are hard work, so they take to school teaching, hotel work, barbering, etc."t One enterprise deserves especial mention: "The first experiment with Negro labor in a cotton factory was made about three years ago in the city of Charleston, S. C. The outcome was unsatisfactory and the factory soon closed down. However, this test was not made under favorable circum- stancea .... "A more decisive test of the fitness of Negro labor for cotton mills is now being made at the Coleman cotton mill of North Carolina. The mill is owned and operated by Negroes. The site is in the Piedmont section of the state, one mile from the city "From President W. II. Goler of Livingstoue College. tEeport of Mr. L. P. Berrv. 13S THE NEGRO ARTISAN of Concord. The capitalization of the mill is $100,000, of which $00,000 has been paid in. The subscribers to the stock are scattered throughout the state and number about 350. The subscriptions vary from |25 to $1,000, and are payable in installments. "When the mill started up in July, 1901, all of the employees were inexperienced. Mr. A. G. Smith, of Massachusetts, the superintendent, and the only white person connected with the work, had to train each employee for his or her task. "The Coleman plant consists of 100 acres of land, one three-story brick building, SOx] 20, two boilers of 100 horse-power each, and a complete modern outfit of looms, spindles and other machinery necessary for spinning and weaving. The weaving capacity is 40,000 yards per week. A dozen or more very substantial tenement cot tages have been erected and rented to the employees. "The writer has visited the mill and viewed the operatives at work, and was agreea bly surprised to find that only one of the operatives was inclined to go to sleep. The superintendent expressed himself as entirely satisfied with the progress of the work ers, and stated that he felt confident that the enterprise would prove a financial suc cess. 'Several of the operatives, he said, had been "caught napping," but, he added, that such occurrences were not uncommon even among white operatives in Massa chusetts. The operatives, so far, have been very prompt in coming to work, and have shown no disposition to drop out. .... "This cotton mill venture will be watched with interest, and if it succeeds, no doubt other mills will be started up with Negro help. The operatives in the Coleman mill are paid about one-half as much as the same grade of workers would receive in Mas sachusetts. The capitalists of the South will have a rich harvest if they can suc cessfully operate with this cheap labor."* 45. Ohio. There were 87,113 Negroes in this state in 1890, and 96,901 in 1900. The census of 1890 gave the following artisans: Miners............................... 578 Quarrymen..... ...... ............. 42 Barbers and hairdressers............1,372 Engineers and firemen (stationary). 295 Steam railroad employees........... 355 Telegraph and telephone operators.. 9 Apprentices.......................... 28 Bakers........ ............... ...... 29 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights..... 258 Boot and shoe makers............... 97 Brick makers, potters, etc........... 152 Butchers............................ 59 Cabinet makers & upholsterers...... 20 Carpenters and joiners..... ........ 277 Carriage and wagon makers... 23 Coopers.............. ........... Glass workers........................ Harness, saddle and trunk makers.. Iron and steel workers............... Machinists.............. ............ Marble and stone cutters & masons. Painters.............................. Plasterers............................ Printers................ ............. Saw and planing mill employees Tailors.. ............. ..*... ...!... Tinners and tinware makers........ Tobacco and cigar factory opera tives ....... ....................... Wood workers....................... Oil IS 8 * > 51 280 207 285 19 57 18 3S FEMALE. Paper mill operatives. Printers............... Tailoresses.. ......... Stenographers and typewriters........ 3 Cotton & other textile mill operatives. 8 Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses.. 393 "In those callings which are classed as skilled very few workmen of the dark complexion are to be found. I mean such trades as printing, cigar making-, molding, machinists', etc.; vrhile of course the number of Negro barbers is somewhat large."t Cincinnati has by far the largest Negro Professor Jerome Dowd, ill Gunlon's Magazine, sept. lUOi -flioportof the Secretary of the Stale Federation of Lnhor. SEVENTH 4NNUAL CONFERENCE 139 population of the cities (14,482). Conditions here are such that Negroes are practically excluded from the unions save a few who got in in earlier years and who are usually so light in complexion as not to be easily rec ognized as of Negro descent. On this account Negro skilled laborers are decreasing in number, although there are many doing job work. There are some 300 Negro hod-carriers, 8 union men in the building trades and "outside of organizations Negroes working at almost every trade." In Cleveland there are about 100 skilled artisans and they are not dis criminated against to any large extent. In Oberlin, there has long been an interesting colored colony. They have among their leading artisans an excellent mason, three painters, two building contractors, and a carpen ter. Compared with the past, however, the Negro is losing. "Our young- men are not entering trades. Those who work at a trade have not an eye to become skilled." There is, too, considerable prejudice from the whites and the unions.* At Xenia, there are at least 40 Negro artisans. Among the leading ones are a marble cutter and letterer, two carriage makers, a stationary engineer, a boiler setter, two contracting plasterers, a carpen ter, a contracting mason, four blacksmiths (two of whom are expert horse shoers, and other "the best blacksmith in the city") two tile-setters and a cigar maker. The number of artisans is decreasing because the young men do not enter the trades. One of the carriage makers, Mr. Lewis Sydes, "believes he is the first man in the United States to make the double felly in the carriage wheel. He has worked at the trade more than 50 years."** In other localities there are a few artisans, as firemen in Mt. Vernou, engineers, bricklayers, and hod carriers in Youngstown, blast-furnace workers in Ironton, and longshoremen in Lorain. 46. Oregon and the North West. ( Ore., Ida., Mont., N. D., S. D., Neb., U., Wasli., and Wy.) These states had in all 5,212 Negroes in 1890, and 5,982 in 1900. There are very few artisans in this region, only one Negro carpenter being mentioned in Salt Lake City. The census of 1890enumerated the fol lowing colored artisans—which includes Indians and Chinese—how many of the last two is uncertain: Lumbermen and raftsmen. ......... 61 Miners........ ......................2,417 Engineers (civ'l and mechanical)... 3 Barbers and hairdressers... ........ 564 Boatmen, canalmeii, pilots, and sailors............................. 82 Engineers and firemen (stationary). 23 Sceam railroad employees........... 1,183 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights...... Bakers.... .......................... 11 Boot and shoe makers............... 19 Brickmakers and potters.... .... 135 Butchers.............................. 31 Carpenters and joiners............ ... 83 Machinists....... ..................... 3 Marble & stone cutters and masons.... 67 Meat.fish,fruit packers and canners.. .518 Painters............... ............... 18 Plasterers.............................. 80 Printers............................... 17 Saw and planing mill men.... ....... 189 Ship and ooat builders................ 5 Tailors............................ . 250 Tinners and tinware makers.......... 7 FEMALE Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, etc. . 112 Report of Mr. Elins V. Jones. Report of Mr. J. SI. Summers. 140 THE NEGRO ARTISAN 47. Peimayleania and Delcvware. There were 107,576 Negroes in Pennsyl vania in 1890, and 156,845 in 1900. Delaware had 28,886 and 30,697 in these years. The census of 1890 reported the following artisans in Pennsylvania for 1890: Lumbermen, raftsmen, etc....... .... 04 Miners............................... 849 Quarrymen............... .............206 Barbers and hairdressers............ 1,477 Engineers and firemen (stationary).. 186 Steam railroad employees............ 520 Apprentices........... .............. 04 Bakers................................ 35 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights...... 137 Boot and shoe makers................ 133 Brickmakers, potters, etc..... ....... 027 Butchers............................. 53 Cabinet makers and upholsterers.... 76 Carpenters and joiners............... 152 Cotton ifc other textile mill operat'es. 77 Glass workers........................ 19 FEMALE. Stenographers and typewriters....... 6 Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses.. 3 Apprentices........................... 12 Printers............................... 4 Boot and shoe makers................. 4 Tailoresses.................. .......... 12 Cotton & other textile mill operatives. 9 Tobacco and cigar factory operatives. o In Delaware there were in 1890, according to the census: Iron and steel workers............... i95 Leather curriers, dressers, finishers.. 68 Machinists......................... .. 2!) M arble and stone cutters............. 102 Masons.......................... ... 211 Millers............................. . 19 Oil well employees................ r> Painters............................... 57 Plumbers.................... .... 17 Printers.............. ........... 75 Saw & planing mill employees... Tailors.... ....................... Tinners and tinware makers....... Tobacco & cigar factory operatives. Wood workers............ ........... 51 58 41 16 Barbers and hairdressers.............. 51 Engineers and liremen (stationary)... 27 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots and sailors 55 Steam railroad employees.............. 88 Telegraph and telephone operatora.. 1 Apprentices...... .................... 3 Bakers................................ 1 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights....... 23 Boot and shoe makers................. 23 Brick makers..........................146 Butchers.............................. 7 Cabinet makers & upholsterers........ 4 Carpenters and joiners................ 20 Carriage and wagon makers.......... 1 Apprentices .......................... 2 Cotton and other textile mill operat'es 2 Cotton & other textile mill operatives . Cron and steel workers ................ Leather curriers, dressers, tanners ... Machinists ............................ Marble and stone cutters and masons. Millers......................... ........ Painters. .......................... . . Plumbers ......................... Printers ............................... Saw and planing mill employees... .... Ship and ooat builders ............ . Steam boiler makers.. ............. . Tinners and tinware makers ...... Wood workers. ................... 15 18(5 75 3 37 0 0 I 1 34 34 Dressmakers, milliners, seam- stresses, etc .......................... 32 Over a third of the total Negro population of Pennsylvania resides in Philadelphia. A detailed history of the Negro artisan in this city has been published.* The chief trades represented are barbers, cigar makers, shoemakers, engineers, masons, printers, painters, upholsterers. There are probably some two thousand Negro artisans in all. Carlisle has a few masons. At Washington there are about 50 Negroes in the tin plate anil glass factories. In western Pennsylvania there are numbers of Negro miners and iron and steel workers, but no detailed report has come from this region. "'The Philadelphia Negro, Ginn & Co., 1W)6. .^ee Chapters IX and XVI. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 141 48. South Carolina. There were in this state 688,934 Negroes ill 1890, and 782,321 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported these artisans: Lumbermen and raftsmen........... 104 "Miners.............. ................ 715 Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.).. 26 Barbers and hairdressers............ 380 Engineers and firemen (stationary). 344 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots, sailors.. 381 Steam railroad employees............3,052 Telegraph and telephone operators.. 8 Apprentices........ ................. 255 Bakers. ............................. 123 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights....: 832 Boot and shoe makers............... 35:5 Brickmakers, potters, etc............ 28(1 FJSi Steam railroad employees........... 19 Apprentices. ........... ........ 48 Bakers............................... 7 Butchers. .......................^.. 274 Carpenters and joiners..............2,730 Coopers............................... 294 Cotton & other textile mill operat'es. 369 Machinists.......................... 42 Marble and stone cutters............. 90 Masons...................... ........ 793 Mechanics........................... 58 Millers............................... 108 Painters............................. 482 Printers........................ ..... 57 Saw and planing mill employees.... 452 Tailors............................... 172 JtE. Cotton & other textile mill operat'es 22 Dressmakers,milliners, seamstresses. 2,193 Tailoresses.. ........................ 21 Charleston with 31,522 Negroes has always had a large number of arti sans. Here, at the Vesta Cotton Mill, Negro labor was used in cotton manufacturing. The president of the mill said in 1900: "I cannot say the Negro is a success as a mill operative, lest I deceive somebody, or the statement eventually prove to be untrue. Nor am I willing to say he is a failure." The eventual giving up of the mill and its removal to Georgia was due to many reasons, of which the matter of securing competent help was only one and, it would seem, not altogether the decisive reason. It is thought that the Negro artisan is gaining in Charleston and that many young men are entering the trades. Eace prejudice is still a hin drance and there are many lines of work into which a colored man cannot enter. There are 75 or 80 union masons and 12 to 25 non-union. There are several hundred carpenters, and many blacksmiths, painters, wheel wrights and plumbers. There is some discrimination in wages: masons receive $3 for a 9 hours day, and carpenters $1.75 to $2.50 for the same. In Columbia Negroes are employed in a hosiery mill and a report gives 386 skilled workingmen in all in the city. The colored artisans are gaining.* At Anderson there are 15 carpenters, 10 masons, many blacksmiths, ma chinists, plumbers, 6 shoemakers, and 10 painters. The Negroes are slow ly gaining. At Aiken there are 35 carpenters, 4 contracting masons and 25 journeymen under 30 years of age, 2 tailors, 4 blacksmiths, etc. The Negro is steadily gaining and forms the sole membership of the only local union—the masons. The Negro is reported to be gaining in Green ville where there are 40 carpenters, 50 masons and plasterers, 15 black smiths, 15 shoemakers, and 14 painters, besides tinners, plumbers, harness makers and other artisans. There is some color prejudice but young men are entering the trades. "Quite a number of young men are entering the trades and are doing well" at Chester, where again the black artisan is gaining. The leading artisans include 5 masons, 4 painters, 2 tailors, 2 carpenters, and 1 upholsterer. There are no unions here, and the whole -'Report of 3d Hampton Conference, p. 18. if 142 TJIK NEGRO AKTISAN growth has been since the war, as there were practically 110 artisans here before.* 49. Tennessee mid Arkansas. There were 430,678 Negroes in Tennessee in 1890, and 480,243 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported the following artisans: MALE. Harness, saddle, trunk makers...... 13 Iron and steel workers............... O.S2 Machinists ......:.............. .. t!(i Marble and stone cutters.......... . 20!> Lumbermen and raftsmen........... 150 Miners............................... 769 Quarrymeu........................ - 482 Barbers and hairdressers............ 871 Engineers and firemen (stationary). 558 Steam railroad employees...........4,039 Blacksmiths and wheelwrights..... .1,032 Boot and slice makers............... 348 Brick makers............ ........... 849 Butchers.... ........................ 132 Carpenters and joiners.............. 1,361 Coopers.............................. 111 Cotton & other textile mill operatives. 201 Masons... .................... .... 1,160 Mechanics. Millers.... Painters... Plasterers. Printers... Saw & planing mill employees. Tinners and tinware makers.... Wood workers.................... FEMALE. 1 Dressmakers,milliners,sleamstresse.s. 2 Printers............................. Tailoresses........................... 18 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives.. 4S . 130 . 287 . 324 . 43 .1,040 148 Stenographers and typewriters... Telegraph Painters............. ................. 85 Plasterers.............................. 63 Printers............... .. ........... 11 Saw & planing mill employees...... .1,114 Tailors............................... I Wood workers.............. ......... 28 FEMALE. Telegraph and telephone operators... 1 Dressmakers, milliners, seam- Cotton & other textile mill operatives. 5 stresses, etc......................... '-Mi Memphis has already been spoken of in §19. "Jonesboro is a very small place and the Negro gets very little to do here." There are a few carpen ters and masons who are kept busy. Trade schools would help our boys to learn trades, otherwise almost all of them will be common laborers, v The leading colored artisans of Clarkesville include 2 masons, 2 carpen ters, 1 cabinet-maker, 1 engineer, 1 plumber, 2 printers, 1 blacksmith, and 1 cooper. "The Negro is capable of doing any skilled work but has no op portunities to develop his skillfulness." For this and other reasons, "as a rule, the Negro does not learn his trade thoroughly, that is he does not be come a master workman." The demand for Negro workmen being thus curtailed there is little incentive for the young man to learn trades. Ne- *Most of the South Carolina reports were submitted by Mr. \V. W. Cooke of Claiiiu University, t Report of Mr. r. I.. Lai'mir. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 143 groes "cannot get employment on many large contracts—the whites prefer to hire white artisans, unless they can employ colored workmen at great ly reduced wages."* Twenty years ago the Negroes of Jackson were chiefly railroad brakemen,flremen and common laborers; today the lead ing artisans include 7 engineers, 6 brickmasons, 5 plasterers, 5 brick- molclers, 6 carpenters, 3 blacksmiths, 4 printers, 3 meat-cutters, 1 milli ner, 1 upholsterer, 1 painter, 1 candy-maker, and 2 cabinet-makers. While the Negro artisans have increased however they have not kept pace with the growth of the town, and this is clue mainly "to discrimination in fa vor of white workmen and also to the fact that young men have not en tered the trades." The chief obstacles before Negroes are "Labor Unions: they do not receive Negroes as apprentices and when Negroes are em ployed as helpers they prevent them from receiving promotion according to merit."t At Bogersville there are about 12 artisans—4 carpenters, 2 blacksmiths, 1 paper-hanger and painter, 2 masons, 1 engineer, 1 tanner, etc. There are no unions and the black artisan is holding his own. There is little discrimination but the outlook is not encouraging because the young people clo not enter and stick to the trades. "The leading mer chants of our town were erecting a bank building a short time since. They wanted the work completed in a certain time. They employed colored carpenters to assist. The white carpenters complained. They dismissed them all and employed all colored. .............. The colored engineer referred to above stands ahead of all in the town as a plumber and electrician. "The Negro has the ability to succeed along all industrial lines; what he needs is more faith in himself and in the opportunities before him."t In Columbia the Negro artisans seem "to be losing, somewhat." This is due in part to the great industrial advance of the South, in part to prejudice, and in part to the fact that "the young Negro is not patient— will not stick long enough to become master of a trade." The leading- colored artisans of the city include 4 carpenters, 1 shoemaker, 2 black smiths, 1 wheelwright, 2 stone cutters, and 2 masons. The Negro is gaining as an artisan in Jefferson City, although there are few artisans there. The leading brick mason "stands high with the white citizens and gets more work than he can clo. The very finest jobs are generally offered him in preference to the white masons. He has been working at his trade over twenty years and owns some good property."§ In Nashville there are eight leading Negro contractors—a painter, 4 masons, 8 carpenters; there is also a prominent tailor and a leading black smith. "I think the whole number of skilled workmen as compared with the Negro population is less than before the war. Those mentioned above are contractors, own good homes, have other good renting property, and Report of Mr. R. L. Yaucy. tReportof Rev. Mr. A. R. Merry. JReport of Mr. VV. IF. Franklin. ?Report of Mr. G. N. Boweu. 'I' 144 THE AKTISAN are men of force and standing."* In Murfreesboro the Negro artisan "is gaining very fast," and "is in great demand." The leading artisans in clude 5 shoe makers, 2 masons, 4 blacksmiths, 2 engineers, 3 painters and a number of carpenters. "The young men are entering trades more now than ever" and industrial training is enabling them to take and execute contracts; this latter ability was the deficiency of the older artisans. The general condition of Negro artisans "is much better than in the times be fore the war, because the demand is greater, and more diversified; this sharpens the appetite for advancement and the artisan now uses his own head instead of working from dictation."! In McMinnville, also, the Negro is "gaining, not by under-bidding, but by prompt attention to bus iness." The leading artisans are 7 masons, 4 blacksmiths, a plasterer and a carpenter. Young men are entering the trades but they are apprentices and do lot come from industrial schools. There is no discrimination in wages, and there are no trade unions here. "There are more Negro arti sans here now than there have been at any time before in the history of the town. Those here are well situated, owning their own homes—some of the nicest homes in town; they are good and law abiding citizens and are well thought of by both races. This town is the county-seat of War ren county and has a population of about 2,000. Negro artisans build all the bridge-piers in this and adjoining counties."i In Maryville the black artisans have suffered "some loss; that is, we have fewer carpenters and blacksmiths now than 20 years ago." This is chiefly due to "the neglect of parents and guardians in not impressing the im portance of a knowledge of the industries upon the minds of sons and wards." On the other hand a small town like this does not demand many artisans; there are some ten masons, blacksmiths and carpenters. "Some few young men in a casual way and of necessity are entering the above named trades, but the outlook for wages is bad and our boys seem to prefer doing nothing for nothing."The difficulty with most of the local artisans is that they cannot intelligently plan their work and make specifications. "White men in the same trades use the influence of a white skin to take away trade." "The Negro artisans of Maryville are chiefly those who learned their trades before the civil war. There are some younger men who were taught by their fathers or by the aforesaid ante-bellum men. There is no union or agreements as to hours of labor or price and every man is guided by his own judgment as to any particular piece of work. There were before the civil war about the same number of artisans as now—mostly slaves. These men now own their own homes, with but two exceptions, and from their trades derive a living, though not much more. Intelligent, up-to- date artisans could have all they could do in this section if only they could go in and assume a contract, giving bond for faithful performance "Report of Dr. J. A. Luster. fReport ol F. G. Cariiey. JKeportof Mr. A. C Maclin. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 145 of obligations, &c. An industrial training school for Negroes is in course of foundation."* In Knoxville there are a good many skilled laborers; they "are gaining in the variety of trades followed, but losing when one considers the in- The leading artisans include: Stone cutters........................... 2 Printers.......... ..................... 1 Tailors......... Boiler makers.. Millers..... ... Carpet makers. Contractors .... Tinners......... Furniture repairers. .......... .. 1 . . ......... 1 .. ......... 1 ............. 1 ........ 1 ..... 1 ..... .. 1 Tanners.... ~............................ 1 crease of population here since I860.' Carpenters.................. .... .15 Blacksmiths...................... .12 Masons........................ .. ... .10 Puddlers............................ . 9 Dressmakers...... ..................... 6 Telegraph linemen ........ ........ .. 5 Shoemakers.................... ....... 5 Painters................ . .. .... . ... 5 Plumbers........... ..... .. .........5 Plasterers.... ........... ............. 4 Jewelers............. .................. 3 There are also numbers of iron and steel workers. Young men are entering the trades, "or at least trying to do so," but are hindered partly by prejudice, partly by "inherent vices resulting from the former bondage of the race," and particularly by trade unions which "in but few instances" admit Negroes.t In 1900 "iron workers are being paid more for labor in consequence of the increased demand for iron and the inducements offered to local workingmen at the Carnegie Works in Pittsburg. Quite alarge force from Knoxville went there in the early spring. A large iron furnace has been opened up at Bristol, Tenn., employing Ne gro laborers, and several smaller industries at Harriman, Tenn., employ ing Negro laborers exclusively, "t Chattanooga is a center of Negro artisans and they have had an inter esting industrial history. Unfortunately, however, it has been very diffi cult to get hold of detailed information or reports from there. The unions report a number of artisans in the building trades, and in the large estab lishments there are 382 skilled men reported, chiefly molders and foundry men, with some skilled saw-mill hands: Molders, 110 Saw mill men, 20 Molders and foundry men, 52 Total, 382 Stove makers, 200 This is a great increase over anything in the past and has been brought about by a persistent battle with the trade unions in which, so far, the Negroes are victorious. Few detailed reports have been received from Arkansas. The state has considerable numbers of barbers, blacksmiths, brickmakers, carpenters, and masons, and many semi-skiljed workmen on the railroads and in the lumber yards. In Tjittle Bock there are very many Negro artisans and they are "gaining all the time here." The artisans are "not from trade schools but have been apprenticed as a rule." The leading artisans include 6 carpenters, 2 masons and a blacksmith. There are, of course, many others. Their 'Report of Mr. George E. Braliham, who Is the founder of the proposed school. tEeport of Mr. J. W. Manning. tReport of Mr. C. W. Cansler to Mr. A. F. Hilyer. 146 THE NEGRO ARTISAN greatest obstacle is "want of capital to overcome prejudice." They oau join some of the trade unions. "There were few artisans here until recent times, but now the number increases yearly."* 50. Texas and the Southwest, (Tex., Ariz., N. Mex., and Nev.) Texas had, in 1890, 488,171 Negroes and 620,722 in 1900. The census of 1890 reported the following artisans: Lumbermen and raftsmen, 268 Miners, 197 Engineers (civil, mechanical, etc.) 6 Barbers and hairdressers, 816 Engineers and firemen (stationary), 212 Boatmen, canalmen, pilots, sailors, 45 Steam railroad employees, 2,658 Telegraph and telephone operators, 4 Blacksmiths & wheelwrights, 537 Boot and shoe makers, 85 Brick makers, 466 Butchers, 174 Carpenters and joiners, Cotton and other textile mill ope ratives, Harness, saddle, trunk makers, Machinists, Marble & stone cutters & masons, Millers, Painters, Printers, Saw & planing mill employees, Tailors, Tinners and tinware makers, 917 3SO i 41 34 133 22 1, 1 20 19 FEMALE. 4 Dressmakers, milliners, seam- Telegraph and telephone operators, Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 9 stresses, etc., 425 Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada had in all 2,786 Negroes in 1890, and 2,416 in 1900. There were reported the following artisans, including Ne groes, Chinese, and Indians: MALE. 45 529 89 Lumbermen and raftsmen, Miners, Barbers and hairdressers, Steam railroad employees, Telegraph & telephone operatives, Blacksmiths, Brickmakers, Boot and shoe makers, Butchers, 12 Cabinet makers & upholsterers, 9 Carpenters and joiners, 17 251 Cotton* other textile mill operatives, 6 1 Marble and stone cutters & masons, 10 12 Printers, 4 15 Saw and planing mill employees, 72 14 Tailors, 6 FEMALE. Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, etc. 15 Texas has already been treated to considerable length in Mr. Holmes' report (§20). There are not many artisans in Dallas and they are losing on account of inefficiency. The city directory gives 20carpenter's, 5 black smiths, 4 painters, 4 printers, 3 masons, 2 engravers, 2 plasterers, a roofer, a contractor and builder, a shoe maker, a tailor, a furniture maker and a machinist. Young men are not entering the trades. The artisans "do not contract for very large jobs; they work mostly for colored people and on small jobs for whites. During and before the war most of the skilled labor was done by colored artisans."t In Navasota the number of skilled laborers is not large but "it is my opinion that the Negro is gaining con stantly. ..... Prejudice and trade unions are the barriers that usually obstruct his path as a mechanic. There are few instances in which colored men are permitted to join the trade unions at all. They are gen- •erally barred from this privilege entirely. Sometimes discrimination in wages occurs; colored men possessing skill equal to white men, and work- *Reportof Mr. W. Mdntosh. fReport of Mr. Charles Rice. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 147 ing with them on the same building, have, in some cases, been paid smaller wages than the whites." There are in this town 4 Negro blacksmiths, 5 carpenters, 2 painters, a wheelwright, a mason and a jeweler. "These men are doing well in their trades and securing considerable paying work both from white and colored people."* In Georgetown also the Negroes are gaining and are at work as carpen ters, blacksmiths, masons and barbers. In Bnnis they are "standing still." They are barred from the unions and discriminated against in wages. In Richmond the Negro is gaining in the trades but is barred by the unions. In Bryan he is losing because of lack of properly trained men. 51. Virginia and West Virgi ia. Virginia had 685,438 Negroes in 1890, and 660,722 in 1900. The census of 1890 gave the following Negro artisans: Lumbermen, raftsmen, etc., Miners, Quarrymen, Engineers (civil and mechanical), Barbers and hairdressers. Engineers and firemen (stationary). Boatmen, canalmen, pilots, sailors, Steam railroad employees, Telegraph & telephone operators, MAT,E. ] ,091 Carpenters and joiners, Apprentices, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brickmakers, potters, etc., Butchers, Basket makers, Cotton and other textile mill operatives, Dressmakers, seamstresses, mil liners, etc., 1,700 577 16 835 , 521 812 7,648 7 186 1,554 849 1,213 231 187 1,412 .—j,.,-,.^ „.,„ Jui,lci», 2,017 Coopers, 403 Cotton & other textile mill operatives, 462 Iron n.ni\ stppl wrm-Vc.™, *"*° v/^uu^in^uLiier textile n Iron and steel workers, Machinists, Marble and stone cutters, Masons, Millers, Painters, Plasterers, Printers, Saw & planing mill employees, Tinners and tinware makers, 793 61 168 745 212 206 524 44 2,541 39 i mners and tinware makers, 39 Tobacco & cigar factory operatives, 4,419 Printers, Tailoresses, Tobacco and cigar factory oper atives, West Virginia had, in 1890, 32,690 Negroes, and in 1900, 43,499. census of 1890 reported the following artisans: o 30 2,572 The Lumbermen, raftsmen, etc, Miners, Engineers (civil & mechanical), Barbers and hairdressers, l^ngineers and firemen (stationary), Boatmen,canalmen, pilots, sailors, Steam railroad employees, Telegraph and telephone operators, Apprentices, Blacksmiths and wheelwrights, Boot and shoe makers, Brick and tile makers, Butchers, Carpenters and joiners, Cottun and other textile mill opera tives, "Report of Mr. R. P. Ncal. 2,016 MALE. ] 0 Charcoal, coke and lime burners, Coopers, Glass workers, Iron and steel workers, Leather curriers, dressers, tanners. Machinists, Marble and stone cutters, Masons, Millers, Painters, Printers, Saw and planing mill employees, Tailors, Tobacco and cigar factory operatives, FEMALE. Dressmakers, milliners, seamstresses, 1 Tailoresses, 36 22 1,401 6 5 97 39 22 7 51 336 20 1 13 57 2 16 60 4 29 5 21 2 2 [ill I I I 148 THE NEGRO ARTISAN Bichmond is a great center for Negro skilled labor. The Third Hamp ton Conference reported.* "The colored people of Bichmond are employed principally in all branches of the tobacco business, with the exception of cigarette making, cigar making and cheroot rolling. About 8,000 men, women and children are employed in tha factories; of this number about 2,000 might be classed as skilled laborers. Perhaps 2,000 more are em ployed in the iron works." The census of 1890 reported 1,346 tobacco workers, 293 skilled iron and steel workers, besides 139 blacksmiths, 123 shoe makers, 150 carpenters and 166 plasterers. The Alien & Ginter branch of the American Tobacco Co. employ 18 tobacco packers and por ters at an average weekly wage of $6.53 and 208 stemmers and machine hands at $4.09. The T. C. Williams Company employ Negro labor almost exclusively; "our experience with this labor has been very satisfactory." The P. Whitlock branch of the American Tobacco Co. have these Negro employees: 167 leaf tobacco strippers, $3.50-$4.00 per week. 42 " " bookers, 5.00 " '' 22 helpers, 6.00 " " "We have been working Negroes in the above capacities for a number of years, having found them very efficient in this class of work." The Bichmond Stemmery of the American Tobacco Co. employs 1,000 Negroes at an average of $4:.50. "For the class of work for which we employ them there is no other help in the world so good." The Continental Tobacco Co. employs "at times from six to seven hundred Negro employees and we consider this class of labor quite satisfactory.' 't The Hampton conference thought the skilled Negro laborer losing in this city but a report of 1902 says: "I think he is gaining on the whole, inasmuch as his skilled labor is of a higher order. They are to-day doing some of the high grade work in this city." As to efficiency the report says: "Colored workmen, as a rule, are not efficient here. The exclusion from labor organizations, the general unwillingness of white workmen to work with Negroes, and the consequent loss of hope of employment furnishes the explanation of slow progress." Industrial training "is doing something for the race, but the many skilled laborers of Bichmond received their trades by the old method of apprenticeship. The fact is the industrial school is yet an experiment." Many young men are entering the trades. There is discrimination in wages "but this is the price Negroes pay if they get any employment at all from some employers." Nearly all the unions exclude Negroes, but they have unions of their own in the tobacco industry and among long shoremen. "During the last 20 years the number of shoe makers, black smiths, carpenters and plasterers have increased. .... Many of these artisans have more work than they can do."i The directory tor 1902 gives the following Negro artisans: 59 Printers, .? 55 Iron workers, Carpenters, Blacksmiths, Plasterers, 63 Upholsterers, *Iu July 1899; printed report, page 19. tFrom personal letters to Mr. A. F. Hilyer, 1900. tEeport ol Mr. J. R. L. Diggs. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE Shoe makers, Dressmakers, Coopers, Millers, Glazier, Masons, Engineers, Butchers, Pavers, Photographers, Decorators, Cigar makers, Tailors, Carriage makers, 84 24 25 ] 1 18 4 14 2 6 2 1 9 1 Painters, Candy makers, Bakers, Umbrella maker, Dyers, Plumbers, Regalia maker, Cabinet makers, Broom makers, Contractors, Tinner, Wheelwright, Machinist, 149 11 5 9 1 4 2 1 2 5 4 1 1 1 There are manifest omissions in this list—as in the case of iron workers, carpenters, etc—but it illustrates the diversity of trades. At Danville the Negro artisan is said to be gaining in spite of the fact that "very few young men are entering the trades; the most of them want to be dudes." There are 19 masons, 21 blacksmiths, ll plasterers and 4 painters. There is some discrimination in wages and most of the unions are closed to Negroes. Some interesting news came from Lynchburg in 1900: "The bricklayers especially are experiencing a decided improvement in their work. Several years ago colored bricklayers were excluded entirely from all work oil the principal streets of the city, and their opportunities generally to follow their trade were very limited in this community. "A change has gradually taken place in the last year or two which has brought them well to the front. No colored mechanic was employed to lay pressed brick in this city several years ago. He was thought to be utterly incapable to do high grade work of that kind. But now colored bricklayers are seen constructing churches and business houses on the principal streets of the city, requiring the best skilled labor necessary to do such work. The first Presbyterian church (white) constructed in this city recently at a cost of $35,000 of pressed brick was started by white mechanics. After they had carried the walls up some distance, they struck for more wages. The contractor, who was white, declined to make any advance. The white me chanics quit. Colored mechanics were employed and they finished the brick work. It may be said that they built the church. It is one of the handsomest church structures in this city or section. "One of the largest as well as most difficult buildings ever constructed in this locality is the addition made to the cotton mill here within the last year. It was built by Negroes and the great difficulty of putting the machinery in place was all supervised by a colored mechanic with entire satisfaction to all concerned. "In asking this very efficient mechanic a few days ago about the outlook, he re marked the situation is growing brighter every day. It is simply a question of capacity and reliability. Said he to me, 'I am about to be offered the largest job I ever had to build one of the largest structures in the state.' "The colored mechanics have been asked to join the white trades union with the distinct understanding that the white mechanics would not work with them. This request was declined with thanks. "The lesson of the year in this city is, that colored mechanics ought to fit them selves thoroughly to do the highest grade of work in their line, so that when white mechanics strike they may be able to take their places without causing the work to suffer in the least."t tReport of Mr. Geo. E. Stephens. 150 THE NEGKRO ARTISAN In Manchester the Negro mechanic appears to be losing. There are among the leading artisans 1 dyer, 7 shoemakers. 7 blacksmiths, 2 en gineers, 5 plasterers, 2 painters, a carpenter, a printer and a tinner. The unwillingness of young men to enter the trades and the opposition of trades unions are the chief hindrances. There is some discrimination in wages but not as much as in some places. "Frequently white and colored artisans work on the same job."* Newport News lias about 100 skilled Negro workmen and the Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company are receiv ing Negro mechanics and apprentices. They are not admitted to the unions. Norfolk lias "many competent and reliable colored mechanics."+ In West Virginia a report of 1900 says:i "There are about 8,000 or 10,000 colored miners in the Flat-top coal fields and about the same number of white miners. "These colored miners are admitted on the same terms with white miners to the United Order of Mine Workers. About half of the firemen on the Pocahontas di vision are colored, half the trainmen, and 90% of the yard men. There is a gang of 20 colored men who do common labor about the round house. "None but the miners are admitted to the labor unions. While the other colored men get the same as white men for like work in the divisions mentioned, they are debarred from the unions because they are colored, and are plainly told so." At Blueflelcl the artisans are gaining; there are a number of railway firemen, masons and blacksmiths. Trade unions are a hindrance to Ne gro workmen and the lack of responsible contractors able to give bonds. "There were not more than 000 Negroes in this section previous to the war and but two skilled laborers. Immediately after the war both these left the section, leaving the section without any until 1 '5-85, when Negroes having various trades came, brought by the opening of the coal mines of this region, in which several thousand Negroes find employment to-day. In the building of this town Negroes were em ployed equally with the whites and entrusted with the same kind of work, being made foremen on buildings or given the more finished parts of the work to do. I have been assured by their employers that they gave satisfaction."*; At Parkersburg the black artisan is gaining but there are not many me chanics there. 52. Summary of Local Conditions. The statistics given are far from com plete and of varying value; the opinions reflect different personalities and different opportunities of knowing. On the whole, however, there is evi dent throughout the nation a period of change among colored artisans. For many years after the war the Negro became less and less important as an artisan than before the conflict. In some communities this retro gression still continues. It is due in part to loss of skill but primarily to the great industrial advancement of the South. In many communities th is industrial revolution has awakened and inspired the black man; he has entered into the competition, the young men are beginning1 to turn their at- *Eeport of Ecv. D. Webster Davis. tReport oJ 3rd Hampton Conference, p. ]9. JFrom JVfr. Hamilton Hatter. gEeport of Mr. E. E. Sims. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 151 tentiou toward trades and the economic emancipation of the Negro seems approaching in these particular communities. In the light of these two counter movements it is interesting to compare communities by tabulat ing the cases where the artisans are reported as gaining or losing. We must, of course, remember' that such reports are based on opinions and that the personal equation must be largely allowed for :* NKGBO AKTISANS BEPOBTED TO BE "GAINING" AND EFFICIENCY. IN NUMKEB State ' | Town | Total Pop. | Negro Pop. | Remarks Ala. Ark. W. 0. Ajmiston. Birmingham. Montgomery. Tnskegec. Little Rock. Washington. Fla. [Jacksonville. fin Ulanta. Marshallville. 111. Ind. Milledgeville. Washington. Chicago. Indianapolis. Ml. Vernon. I. T. Ardmore. Kau. Atchison. Ky. Danville. Georgetown. Paducah. La. Baton Ronge. Miss. Mo. Pa. 8.0. Te'nn. New Orleans. Ebenezer. Gloster. 9,09r> 3, 9 ,415 30,340 2,170 3 ,' 7 278,718 28,429 89,872 879 10,575 17,229 14, 86,702 10,230 35,727 4,219 2, 3 ,-{,800 1 ,69S,575 109,104 5,132 5,6X1 15,722 4,285 8,823 19,440 11,209 287,104 170 1,601 Grace. Holly Springs. Mound Bayou. Woodville. Jefferson City. St. Joseph. Carlisle. Pittsburg. Charleston. ( Columbia. 1 Hiattanooea. Knoxville. McMinnville. 1 M urfreesboro. Tex. 'Georgetown. I Houston. Navasola. Richmond. va. Danville. Newport News. I Richmond. W. Va. Rluefield. _ _ 1'arkersbnrg. 2,815 287 1,043 9,004 102,979 9,020 . 321,610 55, 7 21,108 1, 0 3,999 ,154 32,0:>7 2,790 44,633 3,857 16,520 19, 5 85,050 4,044 11,708 2,1 o:i 30,150 15,931 2 1 ,153 2,5 1,918 1,677 5,814 0,590 Absolutely if noi relatively. "All the time." "blowly." "I think." 77,714 "At least holding his own." 1,559 "May be." "Not satisfactorily." 287 "Assuredly." 1 ,822 0,200 1,14 17,040 31 ,522 9,858 2,248 13,122 7,359 14, 2,105 6,515 6,798 32,230 754 783 "b lightly." Absolutely not. relatively. • "Very fast." "Constantly." "The population given is for 1800. 152 THE NEGKO ARTISAN NEGRO ARTISANS REPORTED TO BE "LOSING" IN NUMBERS OR EFFICIENCY. State Town Total Pop | Negro Pop. | Remarks Ga. Ky. Miss. Md. Mo. N. Y. N. C. 0. Term. lex. Va. Albany. Greensboro. Lebanon Junction. Westside. Baltimore Commerce. St. Louis. Troy and Albany. Charlotte. Haleigh. Salisbury. Oberlin. Xenia. Cincinnati. Columbia. Jackson. Maryville Memphis. Nashville. Bryan. Dallas. Manchester. 4, 1,511 "599 508,957 588 575,238 154,802 18,091 13,646 6,277 4,082 8,696 325,902 6,052 14,511 102,320 80,8«5 3,589 12,638 9,715 2,903 72,258 35,516 1,578 7,151 5,721 2,408 641 1, 14,482 2,716 6,108 49,910 30,044 1,515 9,035 3,338 ' "Beginning to do better " ? (contradicted). Relatively to growth. "On the whole." Somewhat 1 'roportionately. "I think." NEGKO ARTISANS REPORTED TO BE "HOLDING THEIR OWN" AND NEITHER GAINING NOR LOSING. State Town | Total Pop. | Negro Pop. | Remarks Fla. Ga. Ky. Mass. N. Y. N. C. Pa. Tenn. Tex. Pensacola. St. Augustine. Tampa. Savannah. Augusta. Louisville Boston. New York. Goldsboro. Philadelphia. Joiiesboro. Rogers ville. Rnnis. 17,747 4,272 15,839 54,244 39,441 204,731 500,892 3,437, 5,877 1,293,697 854 1,386 4,91B 8,561 1,735 4,382 28,090 18,487 39,139 11,591 60,666 2,520 62,613 1,057 Relatively, not absolutely. "Standing still." In the villages and smaller towns of the South where there has been some industrial awakening the Negro artisan has advanced; in others he is standing still or losing his place in the trades; in the larger Southern cities he has in some cases gained, in others lost. Much of this loss, however, is apparent and relative rather than absolute: when,for instance, Augusta, Ga., was a small town the Negroes did all the skilled work; now that it is a growing manufacturing centre the Negroes do only a part of the skilled work; nevertheless there are probably more skilled Negro arti sans in Augusta today than formerly, and they are following more diversi fied trades. This view is further borne out by the fact that a count of the Negro artisan ten or twenty years since by the defective, but nevertheless valuable testimony of the directories, proves in most cases that there is a larger number of artisans now than formerly. There is good ground for assuming that in many cities like St. Louis, Mo., Charlotte, N. C., Balti more, Md., and Nashville, Tenn., relative retrogression on the part of the Negro artisan compared with the growth of the community, is ueverthe- SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 153 less absolute advance in numbers and skill so far as the Negro is concerned. This is not true in all cases but it certainly is in many. In the great Northern centres of industry, on the other hand, the Negro had no foot hold in the past and is gaining none at present save in some western communities. His great hindrance here, as at the South, is lack of skill and general training, but outside of that it is manifest that the black me chanic is meeting strong resistance 011 the part of organized labor; that in.both South and North the trade union opposes black labor wherever it can and admits it to fellowship only as a last resort. B3. The Negro and Organized Labor. It would be interesting to know if Crispus Attucks, the Negro who fell as the first martyr in the Revolution, was a member of that roistering band of rope walk hands whose rash ness precipitated the Boston Massacre. If so, then the Negro's connection with organized labor, like his connection with all other movements in the history of the nation, dates back to early times. There appeared, too, in early times that same opposition to Negro workingmen with which wfe are so familiar today.* This oppo sition came chiefly from the border states where the free Negro me chanics came in contact with white mechanics. On the other hand in the actual organizations of workingmeii which began in the North nothing is usually heard of the Negro problem except as the labor movement avow edly made common cause with the abolition movement. The Evans brothers, who came from England as labor agitators about 1825, put among their twelve demands: "10th. Abolition of chattel slavery and of wages slavery."t From 1840 to 1850 labor reformers were, in many cases, earnest abolitionists; as one of them said in 1847: "In my opinion the great question of labor, when it shall come up, will be found paramount to all others, and the operatives of New England, peasant of Ireland and laborers of South America will not be lost sight of in sympathy for the Southern slave."! "Indeed, the anti-slavery agitation and the organization of the mechanics of the United States kept pace with each other; both were revolutionary in their character and although the agitators differed in methods, the ends in view were the same,~viz~ the freedom of the man who worked.") Along with this movement went many labor disturbances which had economic causes, especially the series of riots in Philadelphia from 1829 until after the war, when the Negroes suffered greatly at the hands of white workingmen."§ The civil war with its attendant evils bore heavily on the laboring classes, and led to wide-spread agitation and various at tempts at organization. "In New York City, especially, the draft was felt to be unjust by laborers because the wealthy could buy exemption for $300. A feeling of disloyalty to union and bitter- CS. pp. 15, ifi. tEly; labor movement, p. 42. JMcNeill: Labor movement, pp. Ill, 118. Po\vderly: Thirty years of labor, p. 51. hiladelphia Negro, ch. IV. 154 THE NEGRO AKTISAN ness toward (lie Negro arose. A meeting was called in Tammany Hall and Grreley addressed them. Longshoremen and railroad employees struck at limes and assault ed non-unionists. In New York Negroes took the places of longshoremen and were assaulted."* The struggle culminated in the three days' riot winch became a sort of local war of extermination against Negroes. There had been before the war a number of trade unions—the Caulkers of Boston (1724), the Ship-wrights of New York (1803), the Carpenters of New York (1806), the New York Typographical Society (1817), and others. There had also been attempts to unite trades and working-men in genera) organizations as the Workingmen's Convention (1830), in New York, the General Trades Union of New York City, (1833 or earlier), the National Trades Union (1835) and others. In all these movements the Negro had practically no part and was either tacitly or in plain words excluded from all participation. The trade unions next began to expand from local to national bodies. The journeymen printers met in 1850 and formed a na tional union in 1852; the iron molders united in 1859, the machinists the same year, and the iron workers the year before. During and soon after the war the railway unions began to form and the cigar makers and masons formed their organizations; nearly all of these excluded the Ne gro from membership. After the war attempts to unite all workingmenand to federate the trade unions were renewed and following the influence of the Emancipation Proclamation a more liberal tone was adopted toward black men. On Aug. 19, 18C6, the National Labor Union said in its declaration: "In this horn-of the dark distress of labor, we call upon all laborers of what ever nationality, creed or color, skilled or unskilled, trades unionist and those now out of union to join hands with us and each other to the end thai poverty and all its at- lendant evils shall be abolished forever."t On Aug. 19, 18(57, the National Labor Congress met at Chicago, Illinois. There were present 200 delegates from the states of North Carolina, Ken tucky, Maryland and Missouri. The president, Z. C. Whatley, in his re port said among other things: "The emancipation of the slaves has placed us in a new position, and the question now arises, What labor posilion shall Uiey now occupy ? They will begin to learn and to think for themselves, and they will soon resort to mechanical pursuits and thus come in contact with white labor. It is necessary that they should not under mine it, therefore the best thing that they can do is to form trades unions, arid thus work in harmony with the whites."J It was not, however, until the organization of the Knights of Labor that workingmen began effective co-operation. The Knights of Labor was founded in Philadelphia in 1869 and held its first national convention in 1876. It was for a long time a secret organization, but it is said that from the first it recognized no distinctions of "race, creed or color."II McNeill, ]). 1-26. tMcNelll, p. W-2. JMcNeill, p. li!6. p'owderfy, p. 4«fl. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 155 Nevertheless admission must in all cases be subject to a vote of the local assembly where the candidate applied, and at first it required but three black balls to reject an applicant. This must have kept Northern Negroes out pretty effectively in most cases. On the other hand the shadow of black competition began to loom in the horizon. Most people expected it very soon and the Negro exodus of 1879 gave widespread alarm to labor leaders in the North. Evideiiqe of labor movements in the South too gradually appeared and in 1880 the Negroes of New Orleans struck for a dollar a day but were suppressed by the militia. Such considerations led many trade unions, notably the iron and steel workers and the cigar makers, early in the eighties, to remove "white" from their membership restrictions and leave admittance open to Negroes at least in theory. The Knights of Labor also began proselyting in the South and by 1885 were able to report from Virginia: "The Negroes are with us heart and soul, and have organized seven assemblies in this city (Richmond) and one in Manchester with a large membership."* So, too, the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners said about 1886 that they had Negro unions as far South as New Orleans and Galveston: "In the Southern States the colored men working at the trades have taken hold of the organization with avidity, and the result is the Brotherhood embraces 14 unions of colored carpenters in the South."t Even the anarchists of this time (1883) declared for "equal rights for all without distinction to sex or race."i By 1886, the year "of the great up rising of labor," the labor leaders declared that "the color line had been broken, and black and white were found working together in the same cause."|| That very year, however, at the .Richmond meeting of the Knights of Labor, ominous clouds arose along the color line. District Assembly 49 of New York had brought along a Negro delegate, Mr. F. J. Ferrell, and he was the source of much trouble in the matter of hotels and theatres and in a question of introducing to the convention Governor Fi tali ugh Lee. Mr. Powderly had to appeal to the chief of police for pro tection, the press of the nation was aroused and the Grand Master ork- man issued a defense of his position in the Richmond Dispatch: "You stand face to face with a stern living reality—a responsibility which cannot be avoided or shirked. The Negro question is as prominent today as it ever was. The first proposition that stares us in the face is this: The Negro is free; he is here and he is here to stay. He is a citizen and must learn to manage his own affairs. His labor and that of the white man will be thrown upon the market side by side, and no human eye can detect a difference between the article mannfactured by the black me chanics and that manufactured by the white mechanics. Both claim an equal share of the protection afforded to American labor, and both mechanics must sink their differences or fall a prey to the slave labor now being imported to this country. * * * "Will it be explained to me whether the black man should continue to work for starvation wages? With so many able-bodied colored men in the South who do not Ely, p. 8ii. tMcNeil], p. 171. JManifesto o International Working People's Association, anarchists blacks : Powderly, p.603. IMcNelH, p.aeo. 156 THE NEGKO ARTISAN know enough to ask for living wages it is not hard to guess that while this race con tinues to increase in number and ignorance, prosperity will not even knock at the door, much less enter the home of the Southern laborer." ****** "In the field of labor and American citizenship we recognize no line of race, creed, politics or color."* This was high ground for a labor leader to take—too high, in fact, for the constituency he led, since the history of the labor movement from 1886 to 1902, so far as the Negro is concerned, has been a gradual receding from the righteous declarations of earlier years. The Knights of Labor, after a brilliant career, having probably at one time over half a million members, began to decline owing to internal dis- sentions and today have perhaps 50,000-100,000 members.t Coincident with the decline of the Knights of Labor came a larger and more successful movement—the American Federation of Labor which has now nearly a million members. This organization was started in 1881 at a meeting of disaffected members of the Knights of Labor and others. Prom the be ginning this movement represented the particularistic trade union idea as against the all inclusive centralizing tendencies of the Knights. And al though the central administration has grown in power and influence in recent years, it is still primarily a federation of mutually independent and autonomous trade-unions, among which it strives to foster co-opera tion and mutual peace. The declared policy of such a body on the race question is of less importance than in the case of the Knights of Labor, since it is more in the nature of advice than law to the different unions. The attitude of the Federation has been summed up as follows: "It has always been regarded as one of the cardinal principles of the Federation that 'the working people must unite and organize, irrespective of creed, color, sex, nationality or politics.' The Federation formerly refused to admit any union which! in its written constitution, excluded Negroes from membership. It was this that kept out the International Association of Machinists for several years, till it eliminated the word 'white' from its qualifications for membership.! It was said at one time that the color line was the chief obstacle in an affiliation of the Brotherhood of Lo comotive Firemen with the Federation. The Federation seems, however, to have modified the strictness of the rule. The Railroad Telegraphers and Trackmen have both been welcomed and both restrict their membership to whites. "In a considerable degree the color line has been actually wiped out in the affiliated organizations. Great Unions controlled by Northern men have insisted in Southern cities on absolute social equality for their colored members. Many local unions re ceive whites and blacks on equal terms. Where the number of Negroes is large, how ever, national unions usually organize their white and their colored members into separate locals. In 1898 the Atlanta Federation of Trades declined to enter the peace jubilee parade because colored delegates were excluded. "The convention of 1897 adopted a resolution condemning a reported statement of Booker T. Washington that the trades unions were placing obstacles in the way of *A Richmond lady wrote inviting Mr. Powdcrly to replace her black coachman "as vou are so much in sympathy with the Negro. Powdcrly, pp. 651-62. Public Opinion, II p. I. tEeport of Industrial Commission, Vol. XVII, p. XFX. JAs a matter of fact it practically excludes Negroes still. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 157 the material advancement of the Negro, and reaffirming the declaration of the Fed eration that it welcomes to its ranks all labor without regard to creed, color, sex, i-ace or nationality. One delegate from the South declared, however, that the white people of the South would not submit to the employment of the Negro in the mills, and that the federal labor union of which he was a member did not admit Negroes. President Gompers said that a union affiliated with the Federation had no right to debar the Negro from membership. "With increasing experience in the effort to organize the wage earners of the South, the leaders have become convinced that for local purposes separate organizations of the colored people must be permitted. President Gompers said in his report to the convention of 1800, that here and there a local had refused to accept membership on account of color. In such cases where there were enough colored workers in one calling, an effort had been made to form a separate colored union, and a trades coun cil composed of representatives of the colored and the white. This had generally been acquiesced in. In some parts of the South, however, a more serious difficulty had arisen. Central bodies chartered by the Federation had refused to receive dele gates from local unions of Negroes. The Federation had not been able to insist that they be received, because such insistence would have meant the disruption of the central bodies. President Gompers suggested that separate central bodies composed of Negroes be established where it might seem practicable and necessary. The con vention accordiiigly amended the constitution to permit the executive council to charter central labor unions, as well as local trade and federal unions, composed ex clusively of colored members."* The attitude of the American Federation of Labor may be summed up as having passed through the following stages: 1. " The working people must unite and organize irrespective of creed, color, sex, nationality or politics." \ This was an early declaration but was not embodied in the constitution. It was reaffirmed in 1897, after opposition. Bodies confining member ship to whites were barred from affiliation. 2. " Separate charters may be issued to Central Labor Unions, Local Unions or Federal Labor Unions composed exclusively of colored members." This was adopted by the convention of 1902 and recognizes the legality of excluding Negroes from local unions, city central labor bodies, &c. 3. A National Union which excludes Negroes expressly by constitutional pro- msion.may affiliate with the A. F. L. No official announcement of this change of policy has been made, but the fact is well known in the case of the Railway Trackmen, Telegraphers, and others. 4. A National Union already affiliated with the A. F. L. may amend its laws so as to exclude Negroes. This was done by the Stationary Engineerst at their Boston convention in 1902, and an (unsuccessful ?) attempt in the same line was made by the Holders at their convention the same year. The A. F. L. has taken no public action in these cases, t Report of Edgerton & Durand in Report of Industrial Commission, Vol. 17, pp. S6-7. f'The Stationary Engineers are organized under the International Union of Steam Engineers," Frank Morrison. Sec. A. F. L., Dec. 22,1902. The Steam Engineers are affiliated with the A.F.L. IThe above statement has been submitted to the President of the American Federation of Labor for criticism Up to the time of printing this page no reply has been received, if one is received later it will be printed as an appendix. 158 TUB NEGRO ARTISAN This is a record of struggle to maintain high and just ideals and of retro gression ; the broader minded labor leaders, like Samuel Oompers, have had to contend with narrow prejudice and selfish greed; it is a struggle paral lel with that of the Negro for political and civil righ ts, and just as black Amer icans in the struggle upward have met temporary defeat in their aspira tions for civil and political rights so,too,they have met rebuff in their search for economic freedom. At the. same time there are today probably a larger number of effective Negro members in the trade unions than ever before, there is evidence of renewed inspiration toward mechanical trades and a better comprehension of the labor movement. On the other hand the in dustrial upbuilding of the South has brought to the front a number of white mechanics, who from birth have regarded Negroes RE inferiors and can with the greatest difficulty be brought to regard them as brothers in this battle for better conditions of labor. Such are the forces now arrayed in silent conflict. If we carefully examine the various trade unions now in existence, we may roughly divide them as follows: 1. Those with a considerable Negro membership. 2. Those with few Negro members. 3. Those with no Negro members. The first two of these classes may be divided into those who receive Ne groes freely, those to whom Negroes never apply, and those who receive Negro workmen only after pressure. 54. Unions with a Considerable Negro Membership* follows: These unions are as Trade Unions Journeymen Barbers' International Imion International Brick, Tile and Terra-Cotta Workers' Alliance. International Broom-makers' Union. United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Carriage and Wagon Workers' International Union. Cigar-makers' International Union. Coopers' International Union. International Brotherhood of Stationary Firemen. International Longshoremen's Association. United Mine Workers of America. Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Pa per-hangers of America. International Seamen's Union. Tobacco Workers' International Union. Brotherhood of Operative Plasterers. Bricklayers' and Masons' Union. Negro Membership 1800 200 50 240 0 1,500 33 1,500 18CO 800 200 1,000 BOO 200 2,700 0,OOO 20,000 109 1,000 Total Membership 1901 8,672 1,500 '380 20,000 2,025 33,954 4,481 3,600 20,000 224,000 28,000 8,161 6,170 7,000 39,000 These unions represent the trades in which the Negro on emerging from slavery possessed the most skill, i. e., the building trades, work in tobacco, and work requiring muscle and endurance. Mostof these unions deny any :--Th ic figures as to Negro membership are reported to us by the unions. The figures as to total membership arc minimum estimates made by the A. F. L. and based on actual fees paid. See Report of Industrial Commission. SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 159 color-discrimination,although the secretary of the carpenters merely says, "None that I know of;" the carriage and wagon workers: "None that has been reported;" the coopers: "If any, it was many years ago;" and the painters'secretary: "I do not know." The carpenters and coopers both admit that local unions could refuse to receive Negroes, and the carpen ters and plasterers are not certain that the travelling card of a Negro union man would be recognized by all local unions. The following note in the barbers' official journal throws light on the situation in that craft: "At a previous convention of our International Union a resolution was passed, call ing upon our General Organizer to make a special effort to organize our colored crafts men in the South. To-day we have, at a fair estimate, about eight or nine hundred colored members. My experience with them, both as (ieneral Secretary-Treasurer and President of a local, has shown that when they become members they at once become earnest and faithful workers. I find, however, that during the past term an unusual amount of friction lias taken place in the South and that some of our white mem bers, who still have the southern objection to a colored man, have sought to bring about class division. It is, of course, known to all of us, that the labor movement does not recognize class, creed, or color; that the black man with a white heart and a true trade union spirit is just as acceptable to us as a white member. Hundreds of letters have reached me asking if the colored man could not be kept out of the union. In every case I have answered that if he is a competent barber our laws say that he must be accepted. If below the so-called Mason, and Dixon line where the color line is still drawn, they have the right to form them into separate unions, if above that line they can join any local. ' "A question of the color line, and one which must be acted on,in some way by this convention, is the trouble now existing in Little Rock, Ark. Bro. Pinard was in that city in February of last year and organized a union of colored craftsmen. No white union could, be formed as they would not attend a meeting;. In October following, however, a white union was formed. From that time on there has been trouble. The whites want to control the situation and want our colored local to adopt their laws. The colored local, however, was organized first and refused. This has brought on a heated correspondence and when the photo of dele ates was asked for, the delegate from the white union stated disti nctly that his photo must not appear near any colored man, as he was a white man and must not be placed near any burly Negro. In a number of places he refers to them as black demons. I know nothing definite as to their trouble, as it is a question of law and as such comes under the jurisdiction of the General President, but I felt that as No. 197 is a union in good standing in the International they were entitled to protection." The trouble is not confined to the South; in Northern cities barbers are sometimes refused admittance into unions, and one secretary in Pennsyl vania writes: "We have to recognize them to hold our prices and short hours, but we find it very hard to get along with them." The Negro membership seems, however, to be increasing rapidly and members are reported in nearly every state. The secretary of the brick-makers writes: "We have had a number of strikes where the colored man was imported to take the place of any man, therefore, there is more or less prejudice against them but we hope that will be removed in time." 160 THE NEGRO ARTISAN They have but few of the large number of colored brick-makers. The secretary of the broom-makers writes: "I am informed that some organizations refuse membership to the Negro. I con sider it a serious mistake, as white labor cannot expect the Negro to refrain from taking their place unless we will assist him in bettering his condition." Nine-tenths of the black membership of the carpenters is in the South and mostly organized in separate unions from the whites. In the North there are very few in the unions; there are a few in the West. In great cities like Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York and even Boston it is almost impossible for a Negro to be admitted to the unions, and there is no appeal from the decision. The cigar-makers' is one of the few unions that allows its locals little discretion as to membership: "Our constitution makes it obligatory on the part of local unions to accept jour neymen cigar makers as members. Any journeyman cigar maker who has served three years at the trade can come in, and by paying his initiation fee in installments, if he wants to, he is regarded as having been initiated. It requires no vote; the con stitution makes it mandatory." Colored cigar makers can be found in small numbers in nearly all Northern cities and in large numbers in the South. Florida alone re ports 2,000. The secretary of the coopers' writes: "We have local branches composed entirely of colored coopers at Egan, Ga., Nor folk and Lyiichburg, Va. At New Orleans, Hawkinsville, Ga, and other places they work together in the same local union." Practically no Negroes have been admitted to Northern unions—Tren ton, N. J., alone reporting a single union Negro. The stationary firemen in 1899 requested the St. Louis union to stop color discrimination and they have organized a number of Negro locals, espec ially in the mining regions. They assert that Negroes are received in all locals and this would seem to be so in most cases. Among the longshoremen, who may be classed as semi-skilled artisans, the Negro element is very strong. From the great lakes a secre tary reports: "We have many colored members in our association, and some of them are among our leading officials of our local branches. In one of our locals that I can call to mind there are over 300 members, of which five are colored; of these two hold the office of President and Secretary; so you can see that nothing but good feeling pre vails among our members as regards the colored race, and when you consider that our people average fifty cents per hour when at work, you can readily imagine that our people are not half-starved and illiterate." From the gulf another writes: "In New Orleans we have been the means of unity of action among the longshore men generally of that port, both in regards to work, wages and meeting in hall to gether. I believe that we are the only craft in that city who have succeeded in wiping out the colored question. Our members meet jointly in the same hall and are the highest paid workmen in New Orleans." Still the color question arises here and there: SEVENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 161 •'In 1899 a color line difficulty arose among the longshoremen of Newport News, Va. The local unions there of longshoremen were composed entirely of colored men. White men refused to join them. The colored men were finally persuaded to consent to the issue of a separate charter for the white men." The membership of Negroes is very large; Florida alone reports 800; Detroit, Mich., 60, and large numbers in Virginia, Louisiana and Texas. The United Mine Workers receive Negroes into the same unions with whites, both North aud South; Secretary Pearce testified before the