The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Negro Migrant in Pittsburgh, by
Abraham Epstein
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
using this eBook.
Title: The Negro Migrant in Pittsburgh
Author: Abraham Epstein
Release Date: February 6, 2022 [eBook #67349]
Language: English
Produced by: Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by The Internet
Archive/American Libraries.)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEGRO MIGRANT IN
PITTSBURGH ***
A STUDY IN SOCIAL ECONOMICS
PUBLISHED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE
SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
The Negro Migrant in
Pittsburgh
BY
ABRAHAM EPSTEIN
B. S. in Economics
PRICE FIFTY CENTS
PITTSBURGH, PA.
1918
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.--General Conditions Among Negro Migrants
in Pittsburgh Page 7
CHAPTER II.--The Negro’s Own Problem Page 28
CHAPTER III.--The Community’s Problem Page 46
(a) Delinquency Study Page 46
(b) Health Study Page 54
(c) Summary Page 64
CHAPTER IV.--Constructive Suggestions Page 68
APPENDIX Page 71
PREFACE.
The main purpose of this study was not merely the attempt at a piece
of research. The writer undertook it originally in the early spring
as a student volunteer with the sole aim of doing his share in the
development of a more virile civic consciousness in Pittsburgh, and
to contribute something toward the orientation and adjustment of the
newcomers in our community. Thanks to the generous co-operation of Mr.
Walter A. May, the writer was enabled to devote all his time since
June 1917 to the completion of this study. An attempt has been made to
interpret the data from the social point of view. The conclusions are
not offered as final but it is hoped they may serve as the basis for a
practical community program and perhaps for further study.
The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Prof. Francis
D. Tyson for his counsel and assistance in planning and organizing
this study. Without his co-operation, the study could not have been
undertaken or completed. The writer also acknowledges his thanks
to Mr. George M. P. Baird of the English Department, University of
Pittsburgh for reading the manuscript and making many suggestions as to
style. Much thanks is also due to Mr. Edmund Feldman for his valuable
assistance in preparing the tables and making the graphs. To the Irene
Kaufmann Settlement and its resident workers, the writer wishes to
express his gratitude and appreciation for their co-operation and
hospitality.
A. E.
Pittsburgh, Pa.,
December 1, 1917.
INTRODUCTION
This little study of the Negro Migration to Pittsburgh was first
suggested as a thesis subject in a university class in Social Economy
in May, 1917. Our great steel city of the North calls many unskilled
workers to its mills. The migration of Negroes to fill the gaps in
the ranks of this labor force, opened up by the cessation of European
immigration following the war has been under way for nearly eighteen
months. Expanding steel production continues to call for more workers.
From the first labor agents of railroads and steel mills as well as
private employment agencies have been at work gathering in the new army
of laborers.
By last spring newspaper reports of housing congestion, and of
suffering from pneumonia and other diseases, and tales of the increase
of crime and vice were being spread. There was spoken comment of the
new situation on every hand. But these reports were inaccurate; they
gave no concrete estimate of the number and character of the newcomers;
and no definite statement of their life here or the problems of
community adjustment created by the influx of strange people.
It is to be hoped that the attempt at an intensive and supervised
investigation represented by these pages will prove of value to those
members of both races who have already seen in the migration new
opportunity for a people whose need has been bitter, as well as a
chance for manifold human service. Perhaps the all-too-faulty product
may justify the painstaking effort of the investigator who toiled
through the hot summer months and the generosity of the public-spirited
citizen whose interest made the study possible.
The report may be of value also in offering suggestions to those
workers in other cities who are dealing with the same many-sided and
baffling problem, so full of pathos and tragedy and so expressive
of the need of community co-operation. At least they may avoid
the pitfalls upon which we have stumbled. For Pittsburgh it may
well be that the material gathered here will be used to assist in
carrying forward a constructive program for adjusting the new workers
permanently to our community life. Industrial production here in a time
of crisis depends in part upon our Negro labor supply, the stability
and efficiency of which can be permanently secured only by successful
experiments in the fields of housing, health, and recreation.
FRANCIS TYSON,
_Professor of Social Economy_.
University of Pittsburgh,
December, 1917.
GENERAL CONDITIONS AMONG NEGRO MIGRANTS IN PITTSBURGH
CHAPTER I.
The Negro population of the Pittsburgh District in Allegheny
County, was 27,753 in the year 1900 and had increased to 34,217 by
the year 1910, according to the latest United States Census figures
available.[1] The increase during this period was 23.3%. Assuming the
continuation of this rate of increase, the total Negro population in
1915 would be about 38,000.
From a canvas of twenty typical industries in the Pittsburgh district,
it was found that there were 2,550 Negroes employed in 1915, and 8,325
in 1917, an increase of 5,775 or 227%. It was impossible to obtain
labor data from more than approximately sixty percent of the Negro
employing concerns, but it is fair to assume that the same ratio of
increase holds true of the remaining forty percent. On this basis
the number of Negroes now employed in the district may be placed at
14,000. This means that there are about 9,750 more Negroes working in
the district today than there were in 1915, an addition due to the
migration from the South.
A schedule study of over five hundred Negro migrants indicates that
thirty percent of the new comers have their families with them,
and that the average family consists of three persons, excluding the
father.[2] Adding to the total number of new workers, (9,750), the
product obtained by multiplying thirty percent by three, (average
family), we find a probable total new Negro population of 18,550 in
1917.
This sudden and abnormal increase in the Negro population within so
short a time, of necessity involves a tremendous change, and creates
a new situation, which merits the attention of the whole community.
Before this great influx of Negroes from the South, the Negro
population which constituted only 3.4% of the total city population,
lived in a half dozen sections of the city. Although not absolutely
segregated, these districts were distinct.
Because of the high cost of materials and labor, incident to the war;
because the taxation system still does not encourage improvements,[3]
and because of investment attractions other than in realty, few houses
have been built and practically no improvements have been made. This
is most strikingly apparent in the poorer sections of the city. In the
Negro sections, for instance, there have been almost no houses added
and few vacated by whites within the last two years. The addition,
therefore, of thousands of Negroes, just arrived from Southern states,
meant not only the creation of new Negro quarters and the dispersion
of Negroes throughout the city, but also the utmost utilization of
every place in the Negro sections capable of being transformed into a
habitation. Attics and cellars, store-rooms and basements, churches,
sheds and warehouses had to be employed for the accommodation of these
newcomers. Whenever a Negro had space which he could possibly spare,
it was converted into a sleeping place; as many beds as possible were
crowded into it, and the maximum number of men per bed were lodged.
Either because their own rents were high, or because they were unable
to withstand the temptation of the sudden, and, for all they knew,
temporary harvest, or, perhaps because of the altruistic desire to
assist their race fellows, a majority of the Negroes in Pittsburgh
converted their homes into lodging houses.
Because rooms were hard to come by, the lodgers were not disposed to
complain about the living conditions or the prices charged. They were
only too glad to secure a place where they could share a half or at
least a part of an unclaimed bed. It was no easy task to find room for
a family, as most boarding houses would accept only single men, and
refused to admit women and children. Many a man, who with his family
occupied only one or two rooms, made place for a friend or former
townsman and his family. In many instances this was done from unselfish
motives and in a humane spirit.
A realization of the need for accurate information concerning the
Negro migration, and the belief that in an intelligent treatment of
the problem lay the welfare of the entire community as well as that
of the local Negro group, prompted the attempt at a scientific study
of the situation. The primary purpose of the study was to learn the
facts, but there was also a hope that the data obtained might lead
to the amelioration of certain existing evils and the prevention of
threatening ones.
In order to ascertain as many of the facts as possible concerning
housing conditions, rooming and boarding houses, three or four family
tenement houses, single family residences, camps, churches and other
lodging places were investigated. A comparative study of health and
crime among Negroes of Allegheny County before and after the period of
the Northern migration was also attempted.
[Illustration: Storerooms in the Hill District Converted into Family
Residences and Rooming Houses.]
A questionnaire concerning kinds of labor in which Negro migrants
engaged, and wages paid them both in Pittsburgh and in their native
South was prepared; and answers to it from over five hundred
individuals were obtained during the months of July and August, 1917.
Information relating to housing, rents, health and social conditions
was elicited in a similar manner. An effort was made to visit and study
every Negro quarter in Pittsburgh. Data was secured from the Negro
sections in the Hill District and upper Wylie and Bedford Avenues;
the Lawrenceville district, about Penn Avenue, between Thirty-fourth
and Twenty-eighth Streets; the Northside Negro quarter around Beaver
Avenue and Fulton Street; the East Liberty section in the vicinity of
Mignonette and Shakespeare Streets, and the new downtown Negro section
on Second Avenue, Ross and Water Streets.
The information thus secured is discussed in the following pages.
_TABLE NUMBER I_
_Time of Residence in Pittsburgh of 505 Negro Migrants Questioned_
SINGLE MARRIED
1 MONTH █████████████████ 86 ███████████ 58
3 MONTHS ██████████ 51 ██████████████ 70
6 MONTHS █████ 28 ███████████████ 74
12 MONTHS ████ 21 ████████████████ 80
OVER 12 ███ 13 █████ 24
TOTAL PERCENT
1 MONTH █████████████████████████████ 144 29
3 MONTHS ████████████████████████ 121 24
6 MONTHS ████████████████████ 102 20
12 MONTHS ████████████████████ 101 20
OVER 12 ███████ 37 7
Table No. I indicates that the migration has been going on for little
longer than one year. Ninety-three percent of those who gave the time
of residence in Pittsburgh had been here less than one year. More
than eighty percent of the single men interviewed had been here less
than six months. In the number who have been here for the longest
periods, married men predominate, showing the tendency of this class to
become permanent residents. This fact is evidently well known to some
industrial concerns which have been bringing men from the South. Many
of them have learned from bitter experience that the mere delivery of a
train load of men from a Southern city, does not guarantee a sufficient
supply of labor. This is evidenced by the fact that the labor agents
of some of these firms, made an effort to secure married men only, and
even to investigate them prior to their coming here. Differences in
recruiting methods may also explain why some employers and labor agents
hold a very optimistic view of the Negro as a worker, while others
despair of him. The reason why Pittsburgh has been unable to secure a
stable labor force is doubtless realized by the local manufacturers.
The married Negro comes to the North to stay. He desires to have his
family with him, and if he is not accompanied North by his wife and
children he plans to have them follow him at the earliest possible
date. Although such a man is glad to receive the better treatment,
enlarged privileges and higher wages, which are accorded him here, he
cannot adjust himself permanently to the Pittsburgh housing situation.
He meets his first insuperable difficulty when he attempts to get a
house in which to live. Back South, he may have been oppressed, but
his home was often in a more comfortable place, where he had light and
space. At least he did not have to live in one room in a congested slum
and pay excessive rents.
While it is true that the foreign immigrant of a few years ago was
probably not accorded any better accommodations in Pittsburgh than
is the Negro at present, it should be remembered that the foreigner
did not know the language. Everything seemed strange and unfamiliar
to him. He was loath to move to an even stranger part of the city and
preferred to stay in his first new world home and to live among his own
people, even under adverse conditions. It is altogether different with
the Negro. He knows the language and the country; he does not fear to
migrate and when he does not feel content in one place, he proceeds to
look for a better one. We might cite dozens of incidents of men who
have either had their families here or intended to bring them, but have
gone to other cities where they hoped to find better accommodations.
This is certain to continue if cities like Cleveland, Detroit and
Philadelphia keep in advance of Pittsburgh in building or providing
houses for these migrants. The Pittsburgh manufacturer will never keep
an efficient labor supply of Negroes until he learns to compete with
the employers of the other cities in a housing programme as well as in
wages.
The actual situation of the Pittsburgh housing problem for the Negro
is shown by the figures obtained in our survey. Almost ninety-eight
percent of the people investigated live either in rooming houses or
in tenements containing more than three families. Thirty-five percent
live in tenement houses, fifty percent in rooming houses, about twelve
percent in camps and churches, and only two and a half percent live in
what may be termed single private family residences.
_TABLE NUMBER II_
_Kinds of Residences of 465 Negro Migrants Questioned_
+----------------------+--------+----------+-------+---------+
| | SINGLE | FAMILIES | TOTAL | PERCENT |
+----------------------+--------+----------+-------+---------+
| Tenement | 30 | 133 | 163 | 35 |
| Rooming and Boarding | 223 | 9 | 232 | 50 |
| One Family House | 6 | 5 | 11 | 2.5|
| Camp | 36 | 0 | 36 | 7.5|
| Mission | 23 | 0 | 23 | 5 |
| | --- | --- | ---| ----|
| | 318 | 147 | 465 | 100 |
+----------------------+--------+----------+-------+---------+
Of the men without families here, only twenty-two out of more than
three hundred had individual bed rooms. Twenty-five percent lived four
in a room, and twenty-five percent lived in rooms used by more than
four people. Again only thirty-seven percent slept in separate beds,
fifty percent slept two in a bed, and thirteen percent sleep three or
more in a bed.
_TABLE NUMBER III_
NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN BED ROOM
ONE ████ 22
TWO ██████████████████████ 111
THREE ████████████ 61
FOUR ███████████████████ 98
FIVE ████ 22
SIX ████ 19
OVER SIX ███████████ 57
The conditions in these rooming houses often beggar description.
Sleeping quarters are provided not only in bedrooms, but also in
attics, basements, dining rooms and kitchens. In many instances, houses
in which these rooms are located are dilapidated dwellings with the
paper torn off, the plaster sagging from the naked lath, the windows
broken, the ceiling low and damp, and the whole room dark, stuffy and
unsanitary. In one or two instances, these rooms, with more than six
people sleeping in them at one time, have practically no openings for
either light or air.
[Illustration: A Typical Boarding House on Lower Wylie Avenue.]
In the more crowded sections, beds are rented on a double shift basis.
Men who work at night sleep during the day in the beds vacated by day
workers. There is no space in these rooms, except for beds and as many
of them are crowded in as can be possibly accommodated.
There is rarely a place in these rooms for even suitcases or trunks.
Under such circumstances the rooms can be kept clean with difficulty,
and there is apparently no disposition to wrestle with the dirt and
litter. Very few of these sleeping rooms have more than two windows
each, and many have only one window. Only a few are provided with bath
rooms, while a great number have the water and toilets in the yards or
other places outside the house. Many of these roomers complain that
often they are not given any soap, and are never given more than one
towel a week.
_TABLE NUMBER IV_
_Rents Paid in Rooming Houses by 305 Roomers_
+-------------------------+------------+
| | Percentage |
+-------------------------+------------+
| 168 paid $1.50 per week | 55 |
| 103 paid $1.75 per week | 34 |
| 13 paid $2.00 per week | 4.25 |
| 14 paid $3.00 per week | 4.25 |
| 7 paid Over $3.00 | 2.5 |
| | ______ |
| | 100 |
+-------------------------+------------+
The rents paid by these roomers are shown in table number IV. They
varied from $1.50 to $3.00 per week, and in a few instances were as
high as $4.00 per week. In a number of cases, the men also board in
the same place in which they room, paying from five to seven or eight
dollars per week for food and shelter.
_TABLE NUMBER V._
ONE WEEK’S COST OF BOARD PER MAN
$2 PER WEEK ██ 4
$3 PER WEEK █████████████████ 34
$4 PER WEEK ███████████████████ 39
$5 PER WEEK █████████████████████████████ 59
$6 PER WEEK ██████████████████████████████████████ 77
$7 PER WEEK ████████████████ 31
$8 PER WEEK ████████████ 24
AND OVER
The situation in the camps is not better than that in rooming houses.
In one railroad camp visited, the men were lodged in box cars,
each of which was equipped with four or eight beds, or they were
quartered in a row of wooden houses two stories high, each room of
which contained from six to eight beds. It is true that the rents
charged in this camp were only the nominal sum of five cents per
night, or $1.50 per month, but the men had to buy their food from the
camp commissary, using company checks, and also had to prepare it
themselves. Practically every man interviewed complained of the high
prices charged, and that this complaint was not altogether groundless
was evident from the scanty purchases being made by these men at the
time of the investigator’s visit. In another railroad camp, located
near Pittsburgh, which was visited in the early spring, about one
hundred men were lodged in one big “bunk-house”, containing about fifty
double-tier beds. Although there were adequate toilet and shower bath
facilities, the beds were unclean. This company also boarded these men,
making a flat weekly charge.
[Illustration: Box Cars in a Railroad Camp in Pittsburgh used as Living
and Sleeping Quarters.]
The rooming houses with one exception are conducted by colored people,
who act either as janitors or as hosts. In only one case, as far as our
investigation extended, did we find a white woman running a rooming
house for colored people. Many of these houses are in reality run by
Whites, who keep a colored janitor or manager in the House. Several
of the big rooming houses on lower Wylie Avenue, for instance, are
conducted for a local white merchant, who keeps a colored janitor
in each of them, and only visits them to check the books and collect
the rents. In many instances however, houses are operated by colored
people, who either run or lease them. Most of these lessees or owners
are Pittsburghers, but a few are newcomers, who, having brought a bit
of capital with them have opened rooming houses as investments. Some of
these people have become the prey of cunning landlords. In one case in
the down town section, a colored migrant rented an old and dilapidated
shack, paying fifty dollars a month, and was unaware that the contract
signed by him specified that he pay for his own repairs. The Negro
claims that as the house is very old and in such bad condition, it
would cost him an additional fifty dollars each month to keep it
habitable.
_TABLE NUMBER VI_
_Number of Rooms Per Family of 157 Negro Families_
PERCENT
ONE ROOM ██████████████████████████████████████ 77 49
TWO ROOMS ████████████████ 33 21
THREE ROOMS █████████ 18 12
FOUR ROOMS ████████ 16 10
OVER FOUR ██████ 13 8
The deplorable housing of migrant families is shown in table number
VI. Of the 157 families investigated, seventy-seven or 49% live in one
room each. Thirty-three or 21% live in two-room apartments, and only
forty-seven families or 30% live in apartments of three or more rooms
each.
Of these forty-seven families, thirty-eight kept roomers or boarders,
totalling one hundred and thirty-one, or an average of 3.5 roomers
per family. Eighty-one of the total of one hundred and thirty-nine
houses inspected, had water inside the house, while fifty-eight houses
secured water from yard or street hydrants or from neighbors. Only
thirty-four of the total were equipped with interior toilet facilities;
the rest had outside toilets. Of the latter, forty-two had no sewerage
connections, and used filthy, unsanitary vaults.
The rents paid for the “residences” described above appear in the
following table:
_TABLE NUMBER VII_
_Rents Paid by 142 Families Investigated_
$10 PER MONTH ████████████████████ 41
$15 PER MONTH ██████████████████████████████ 60
$20 PER MONTH █████████ 18
$25 PER MONTH ██████ 13
OVER $25 █████ 10
The sections formerly designated as Negro quarters, have been long
since congested beyond capacity by the influx of newcomers, and a score
of new colonies have sprung up in hollows and ravines, on hill slopes
and along river banks, by railroad tracks and in mill-yards. In many
instances the dwellings are those which have been abandoned by foreign
white people since the beginning of the present war. In some cases they
are structures once condemned by the City Bureau of Sanitation, but
opened again only to accommodate the influx from the South. Very few
of these houses are equipped with gas. Coal and wood are used both for
cooking and heating. During the hot days of July, the visitor found in
several instances a red hot stove in a room which was being used as
kitchen, dining room, parlor and bedroom. This, however, did not seem
to bother the newcomers, as many of the women, being unaccustomed to
the use of gas, and fearful of it, preferred the more accustomed method
of cooking.
[Illustration: A Row of Houses Unused for Several Years Until the
Present Influx from the South.]
A few of these families were found living in so-called “basements”,
more than three-fourths under ground, a direct violation of a
municipal ordinance.[4] Some rooms had no other opening than a door.
The rents paid for such quarters are often beyond belief. In one of
these rooms in the Hill District, where only the upper halves of the
windows were level with the sidewalk, lived a man, his wife and their
five children, the eldest of whom was sixteen years old. The rental
was six dollars per week. Another family paid twenty-five dollars per
month for three small rooms on the ground floor. The kitchen was so
damp and close that the investigator found it impossible to remain for
long, because it was difficult to breathe. The ceilings in many of the
houses visited were very low, hardly higher than six or seven feet and
the rooms were often piled high with furniture. That the owners of
these houses cared little about improving their houses was indicated in
several cases by the fact that water faucets and toilets had been out
of commission for months, and no effort at repair had been made.
[Illustration: “Basement” Occupied by a Migrant Family. The Only
Opening in this Dwelling Appears in the Picture.]
Because of these bad conditions many peculiar maladjustments exist. A
certain man lived in a rooming house, while his young wife and baby
lived in another place. In addition to his own rent and board, he paid
ten dollars a week for the keep of his wife and baby. In another case,
a family was forced to pay six dollars a month storage on the furniture
which they had brought from the South, because their new quarters were
too cramped to accommodate it.
A goodly number of the migrants have evidently been accustomed to much
better living conditions than are offered them here, and in spite of
almost insurmountable obstacles, still preserve something of their
cleanly habits. Few of these people intend to remain here unless they
can get a better place to stay. All complained, some with tears in
their eyes, of the bad housing accorded them. As one intelligent and
hard working woman who lived in one room expressed it while packing her
trunks to go back to Sylvester, Georgia, “I never lived in such houses
in my life. We had four rooms in my home.” This woman was earning ten
dollars per week and her husband was profitably employed, yet they
choose to relinquish the comparatively large rewards of the North,
rather than do without the decencies of life which they had known in
the South.
_TABLE NUMBER VIII_
_Ages of the 506 Migrants Interviewed_
+----------------+--------+---------+-------+------------+
| | SINGLE | MARRIED | TOTAL | PERCENTAGE |
+----------------+--------+---------+-------+------------+
| Under 18 years | 13 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| From 18 to 25 | 115 | 39 | 154 | 30 |
| From 25 to 30 | 31 | 63 | 94 | 19 |
| From 30 to 40 | 34 | 101 | 135 | 27 |
| From 40 to 50 | 7 | 66 | 73 | 14 |
| From 50 to 60 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 6 |
| 60 and over | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | 206 | 300 | 506 | 100 |
+----------------+--------+---------+-------+------------+
AGES OF MIGRANTS
UNDER 18 YEARS ███ 14
FROM 18 TO 25 ███████████████████████████████ 154
FROM 25 TO 30 ███████████████████ 94
FROM 30 TO 40 ███████████████████████████ 135
FROM 40 TO 50 ██████████████ 73
FROM 50 TO 60 ██████ 32
60 AND OVER █ 4
Table number VIII is significant because it enables us to shed light
upon one important phase of the migration. It appears that more than
seventy-five percent of the Southern migrants are between the ages of
eighteen and forty. Only ten percent of the 506 people questioned were
under eighteen or past fifty years of age. This fact is significant,
both to the industrial concerns which are in need of a labor supply
and to the community as a whole. For the industrial concerns, it means
that these migrants are the most desirable laborers, men at the height
of their wealth producing capacity. They satisfy the pressing need
which has confronted the local manufacturers since the foreign supply
of labor was cut off by the war. From the standpoint of the community,
it is important to know that the influx lays few immediate burdens upon
the city. There are few minors to be educated and few aged or dependent
ones likely to become a public charge.
The percentage of single people between the ages of eighteen and thirty
is far greater than that of the married ones, which is a natural
expectation. Of the five hundred and thirty persons interviewed, two
hundred and nineteen or forty-one and one-half percent were single;
one hundred sixty-two or thirty and one-half percent were married,
and had already brought their families here, while one hundred and
thirty-nine or twenty-eight percent were married, but were here without
their families. Ninety-eight of the families had children; thirty-nine
of the families had no children here, and seventeen families either
had some or all of the children in the South, while the remaining six
placed their children under the care of relatives or institutions. The
number of children per family of those who had their wives here, varied
from one to ten. Forty families had one child each; twenty-three, two
children each, fifteen had three children each, and twenty had four or
more children each. Nineteen families had one or more children under
twenty helping to support them, but only four had more than one child
assisting in the support of the family. Among the one hundred and
forty-nine persons whose families remained in the South, ninety-six had
children and seventeen had none. Of the remainder a number stated that
they had one or two of their children with them, while others gave no
definite information. Sixty-three of those who had children at home had
no more than two children each, while thirty-three had three or more
children at home. These figures seem to indicate that the migration is
largely that of small families.
The Negro migration from the South into Pittsburgh, while it has
been accentuated and accelerated by the present war, which created a
greater need for labor, is not in reality an altogether new thing for
Pittsburgh. There has been a steady influx of Negroes, though in small
numbers, since the pre Civil War days. Pittsburgh and Allegheny were
important stations of the Underground Railway, and many a Negro came to
Pittsburgh from the near-by slave states, as to a city of refuge. The
Negro population in Allegheny County grew steadily from 3431 in 1850
to 34,217 in 1910. The percentage of Negroes in the total population
of the County has continually increased within the last four decades.
(Two and two-tenths percent in 1880 and three and four-tenths in 1910).
Negroes have always been attracted by the opportunities which this city
with its abundance of work and good wages could offer them in improving
their economic status.
The recent unprecedented influx of Negroes had made the Negro
population in Pittsburgh increase more than twice as fast within the
last two years as during the entire ten years preceding. The percentage
of Negroes in our total population has leaped very suddenly. This fact
is sufficient to warrant our serious study and active efforts toward
the social orientation and adjustment of the new element in our midst.
[Illustration: Wooden Shacks Used as Living and Sleeping Quarters in a
Railroad Camp.]
From the standpoint of Pittsburgh’s industrial and business interests,
however, the migration into this district, has not been at all
satisfactory. Pittsburgh as the steel center of the country, is
naturally playing a more important part than ever in the present
crisis, and has felt a proportionate increase in the need for a labor
supply. The Negro migration in Pittsburgh, it can be safely stated,
has not usurped the place of the white worker. Every man is needed, as
there are more jobs than men to fill them. Pittsburgh’s industrial life
is for the time being dependent upon the Negro labor supply.
In spite of its necessity, Pittsburgh has not received a sufficient
supply of Negroes, and certainly not in the same full proportion as did
many smaller industrial towns. Pittsburgh manufacturers are still in
need of labor, and this in spite of the fact that the railroads and a
few of the industrial concerns of the locality have had labor agents
in the South. These agents, laboring under great difficulties because
of the obstructive tactics adopted in certain southern communities
to prevent the Negro exodus, have nevertheless succeeded in bringing
several thousand colored workers into this district. That they have had
little success in keeping these people here, is acknowledged by all of
them. One company for instance, which imported about a thousand men
within the past year, had only about three hundred of these working at
the time of the investigator’s visit in July, 1917. One railroad, which
is said to have brought about fourteen thousand people to the North
within the last twelve months, has been able to keep an average of only
eighteen hundred at work.
It must be admitted that the labor agents, because of their eagerness
to secure as many men as possible, are not particular as to the
character of those they are bringing here, and there is therefore
a goodly number of idle and shiftless Negroes who are floating and
undependable. On the other hand we must not fail to recognize that most
migrants come through their own volition, pay their own fares, leave
their native states, and break up family connections, because they are
in search of better opportunities, social and economic. As a class they
appear to be industrious, ambitious, pious and temperate, and are eager
to get established with their families.
In the foregoing pages, we have discussed the housing and rooming
situation which confronts the Negro. An examination of the kind and
hours of work and wages received, discloses another reason why many of
these people do not remain here.
_TABLE NUMBER IX_
_Occupations of Migrants in Pittsburgh as Compared with Statements
of Occupations in South_[5]
+--------------------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+
| OCCUPATIONS | PITTSBURGH | % | SOUTH | % |
+--------------------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+
| Common Laborer | 468 | 95 | 286 | 54 |
| Skilled or semi-skilled | 20 | 4 | 59 | 11 |
| Farmer | | | 81 | 15 |
| Miner | | | 36 | 7 |
| Saw Mill Workers | | | 9 | 2 |
| Ran own farm or father’s farm | | | 33 | 6 |
| Ran farm on crop sharing basis | | | 22 | 5 |
| Other Occupations | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | --- | --- | --- | |
| | 493 | 100 | 529 | 100 |
+--------------------------------+------------+-----+-------+-----+
From the foregoing table, it is apparent that ninety-five percent of
the migrants who stated their occupations, were doing unskilled labor,
in the steel mills, the building trades, on the railroads, or acting as
servants, porters, janitors, cooks and cleaners. Only twenty or four
percent out of four hundred and ninety-three migrants whose occupations
were ascertained, were doing what may be called semi-skilled or skilled
work, as puddlers, mold-setters, painters and carpenters. On the other
hand, in the South fifty-nine of five hundred and twenty-nine claimed
to have been engaged in skilled labor, while a large number were rural
workers.
_TABLE NUMBER X_
_Comparison Between Hours of Work Per Day in Pittsburgh
and in South_
HOURS OF LABOR
IN PITTSBURGH
UNDER 10 ████████ 16%
10 HOURS ██████████████████████████████ 51%
10 TO 12 ██████████████ 28%
OVER 12 ██ 4%
NOT STATED █ 1%
IN THE SOUTH
UNDER 10 █████████████ 27%
10 HOURS ███████████████████ 38%
10 TO 12 ███████ 14.5%
OVER 12 ███████ 14%
NOT STATED ███ 6.5%
A comparison between work hours of migrants in the South and in
Pittsburgh, reveals another interesting feature. As against the
twenty-seven percent who were working less than ten hours a day at
home, only sixteen percent are working for a like period here. A
greater number work a ten-hour day here than in the South, (fifty-one
percent as against thirty-eight percent), and there seems to be a
greater number working over twelve hours per day before coming North,
than afterward. This is probably due to the fact that a considerable
body of these men were farm laborers.
_TABLE NUMBER XI_
_Comparison of Wages Received Per Day in Pittsburgh and in South_
IN PITTSBURGH
UNDER $2.00 ██ 5%
$2.00 TO $3.00 ███████████████████████████████ 62%
$3.00 TO $3.60 ██████████████ 28%
OVER $3.60 ██ 5%
IN THE SOUTH
UNDER $2.00 ████████████████████████████ 56%
$2.00 TO $3.00 ████████████ 25%
$3.00 TO $3.60 ██ 4%
OVER $3.60 ███████ 15%
As to the comparative wages paid here and in the South, it appears
from table number X, that the great mass of workers get higher wages
here than in the places from which they come, fifty-six percent
received less than two dollars a day in the South, while only five
percent received such wages in Pittsburgh. However the number of
those who said they received high wages in the South is greater than
the number of those receiving them here. Fifteen percent said they
received more than three dollars and sixty cents a day at home, while
only five percent received more than that rate for twelve hours work
here. Sixty-seven percent of the four hundred and fifty-three persons
stating their earnings here, earn less than three dollars per day.
Twenty-eight percent earn from three dollars to three sixty per day,
while only five percent earn more than three dollars and sixty cents
per day. The average working day for both Pittsburgh and the South
is ten and four-tenths hours. The average wage is $2.85 here; in the
South it amounted to $2.15. It may be interesting to point out that
the number of married men who work longer hours and receive more money
is proportionately greater than that of the single men, who have not
“given hostages to fortune.”
It has been stated frequently that the Negro exodus from the South
is in a large measure due to the fact that the Southern states have
adopted prohibition. While it is true that most of the newcomers are
from prohibition states, our figures, however, do not warrant the
conclusion that the Negroes came North to use the saloon. We are
inclined to believe that the answers to this question were sincere. The
classification of “drinkers” includes all persons who imbibe however
infrequently and those who drink beer only. Out of the four hundred
and seventy-seven persons who answered these questions, two hundred
and ten or forty-four percent said that they drank, while two hundred
and sixty-seven or fifty-six percent were total abstainers. It is
interesting to note that among those who have families in Pittsburgh,
the percentage of those who drink is smaller than among those who are
single or have families elsewhere. Thirty percent of the former class
drink, while seventy percent do not drink at all. The percentage of
drinkers of those with their families at home, is even greater than
those of the single people, which may be explained by the fact that
many of the younger people have as yet not acquired the drink habit.
The church going proclivity of the Negro is well known and is borne out
by our study. Of the four hundred and eighty-nine who replied to this
question, three hundred and seventy or almost seventy-six percent are
either church members or attendants, and only one hundred and nineteen
or twenty-four percent do not attend any church.
Proof that these newcomers are not all lazy, shiftless, and immoral
is to be found in the statements of savings, and of remittances to
relatives in the South. Fifteen percent of the families here had
savings. Eighty percent[6] of the married ones with families elsewhere
were sending money home, and nearly one hundred of the two hundred and
nineteen single people interviewed, were contributing sums to parents,
sisters or other relatives. Most of these contributions, (sixty-five
percent) amounted to about five dollars per week. Fifty-two persons
were contributing from five to ten dollars per week, and seven were
sending over ten dollars per week.
From table number XII, it seems that only a few of the Southern states
have borne the brunt of the exodus. Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina
and Virginia taken together, have contributed sixty percent of the
migrants, Alabama and Georgia giving forty-seven percent of the
total number. Alabama was the native state of more than forty-nine
percent of the married men who have families here. This altogether
disproportionate influx from Alabama, as compared with other states,
is probably due to the fact that our state and the former have similar
industries. Birmingham, Alabama, as is well known, is called the
“Pittsburgh of the South”; and it is therefore natural that the labor
agents from this district should make a special effort to secure the
labor which is more or less familiar with the iron and steel business.
Again, it may be presumed that a great many who were working in the
steel industries or in the mines of Alabama have come to Pittsburgh in
order to secure familiar employment. A considerable number, however,
may have come because of the crop failure and the ravages of the
boll-weevil which have made the cultivation of cotton unprofitable
during recent years.
_TABLE NUMBER XII_
_Home States of 567 Migrants_
ALABAMA ███████████████████████████████████ 177
GEORGIA █████████████ 66
NO. CAROLINA ████████ 38
VIRGINIA ███████ 33
FLORIDA █████ 26
MISSOURI ████ 20
TENNESSEE ████ 20
SO. CAROLINA ███ 15
W. VIRGINIA ███ 15
KENTUCKY ███ 15
PENNSYLVANIA ███ 14
OHIO ██ 13
MISSISSIPPI ██ 10
LOUISIANA ██ 10
ILLINOIS ██ 10
MARYLAND ██ 9
DIST. OF COL. ██ 8
TEXAS █ 4
INDIANA █ 2
Undoubtedly many Negroes have come to the North in response to the
seductive arts of labor agents, who worked on a per capita commission
basis. These emissaries, both in the North and in the South, made
glowing promises of high wages, social equality, and better living
conditions above the Mason-Dixon Line. But these inducements were
probably not the underlying factor of the migration. They merely gave
opportunity for the expression of a growing discontent engendered
by many years of oppression. Segregation, lynchings, economic
exploitation, and the denial of educational freedom, justice and
constitutional right, had filled the Negro’s cup of bitterness to
overflowing. The South was to his mind still a place of bondage for
him and in the North he saw that long dreamed Land of Promise where he
might live more freely.
[Illustration: Typical Dwellings of Negro Migrants.]
Three hundred and ninety-five of the four hundred and seventy-four
when questioned as to who paid their transportation North replied that
they paid their own fare, while only seventy-nine admitted they were
brought here at the expense of railroads and other industrial concerns.
Numerous stories of persecutions by the White South on trumped up
charges of all sorts are told by these migrants. Many of them say they
had to leave their homes in secrecy and at night, and to walk to some
station where they were not known, before they could board a train for
the North. Many reported that they were unable to secure tickets at
home, and had to secure them from the North. If tickets were discovered
in the possession of a Negro, they were confiscated and destroyed by
the police. At times when three or more Negroes were found together,
they were suspected of “conspiring to go North”; some mythical
charge was brought against them, and they were arrested. Threats and
intimidation of all kinds were used against these migrants, both at
home and on the train. One very intelligent Negro of about forty who
owned property in Alabama related some of the persecutions which he
had borne while at home. He told of taking the train at night several
miles away from his own town, and of being accosted on board by a
white Southerner who pointed to the next car which contained several
coffins and said, “Yo Niggahs goin’ to Pittsburgh, eh? We all are jes
shippin’ five of yo back from thah. They froze to death in Pittsburgh.”
It may be interesting to remark that this occurred in June, 1917, when
Pittsburgh was sweltering in the heat of early summer.
Of the more than four hundred men who stated their reasons for coming
North, three hundred and twenty-five said that the higher wages and
economic opportunities here had attracted them. Two hundred and
eighty-eight of these also included better treatment as one of the
factors in their migration. As one of them expressed it, “If I were
half as well treated home as here, I would rather stay there, as I had
my family there and had a better home and better health.” Eighty-five
had no special reason for their coming, and were “jes travelin’ to see
the country”, or the like. Twenty-five were either tired of their work
or wanted to change it. This was the case particularly with the miners
from West Virginia and Alabama. Twenty-seven had either lost their
jobs, were out of work, or had various other reasons for coming. These
figures seem to indicate that the prime causes of the migration are
rather fundamental, and not merely temporary.
The Negro migration is similar to the previous European immigration
because, while dominantly economic, it is also due to social and
political maladjustments; but it is more largely a family migration.
For the number of Negroes who brought women and children with them
is greater in proportion to the total than was the case with the
foreigners. The European usually came alone and sent for his family
after a considerable lapse of time. The Negro either brings his
family with him or sends for it within the first three or four months
following his arrival. The complication of our housing problem is
obvious under these circumstances, for Pittsburgh until the present
time has attempted to meet the housing requirements of only single men
workers of the new labor group.
The short-sightedness of our failure to provide decent homes in the
city, in order to retain the labor which is so essential for the
expansion of Pittsburgh and the growth of its industries, is again
exposed by the figures in our study. Of the three hundred and thirty
single men, or men without families here, answering the question as
to whether they will remain here, return South or move elsewhere,
only ninety-two or twenty-eight percent said they would remain here.
A hundred and thirty-seven or forty-two percent were going back or
somewhere else, while one hundred and one or thirty percent were still
undecided.
As for the reasons why these men would not remain in the city,
seventy-nine or fifty-seven percent were leaving because they could not
get a better room because the rents paid by them were too excessive for
the wages received; thirty-seven or twenty-seven percent, gave family
connections as their reason, and the remaining sixteen percent either
had no reasons or were leaving because of ill health, bad climate or
other unfavorable conditions. The difficulty of securing an adequate
labor supply for Pittsburgh is thus, in part, explained by the very
nature of the economic problems involved.
[1] 13th U. S. Census, Penna. Bulletin, Table I, page 12; 1910.
[2] This average was obtained by dividing the total number of women and
children of the families investigated, by the number of families.
[3] The Pittsburgh Graded Tax Law has, apparently, not been in
operation long enough to produce the results desired by its sponsors.
[4] Pittsburgh Sanitary Code of 1913, Sections 132, 133 and 134, pages
75, 76 and 77.
[5] The differences in the totals in this table as well as in a few
others, are due to the fact that many have given answers to one
question and not to the other.
[6] The cause for many of these migrants not contributing to the
support of their families may be explained by the fact that they have
not been here long enough to get established.
CHAPTER II.
THE NEGRO’S OWN PROBLEM
The Negro migration is neither an isolated nor a temporary phenomenon,
but the logical result of a long series of linked causes beginning with
the landing of the first slave ship and extending to the present day.
The slavery which was ended by the Emancipation Proclamation and the
Fourteenth Amendment of the National Constitution has been succeeded
by less sinister, but still significant social and economic problems,
which are full of subtle menace for the welfare of America.
The intelligent Negro has long believed that his only escape from the
measure of suppression which still exists is to go to the North, and
he has seized the opportunity whenever it was presented to him. The
present unprecedented influx of black workers from the South is merely
the result of a sudden expansion of opportunity due to a war-depleted
labor market in the North. The causes for his migration are basically
inherent in the social and economic system which has kept him down for
these long years in the South. The Negro is beginning to appreciate
his own value and duties, and is proceeding to the North where he
knows he can at least enjoy a measure of justice. This naturally means
a tremendous problem for the North. The race question is no longer
confined to the states below the Mason and Dixon Line, but becomes
the concern of the whole nation. It may be presumed that the European
immigration after this war will not be as great as it was before it.
The Negro is taking the place of the foreign worker, and he is certain
to become an increasingly important factor in our national political
and industrial life. He is already an important political factor in
some municipalities; he is soon to be a basic factor in our industries.
The Negro who has lived in the North has taken advantage of the
industrial opportunities which were open to him, and is continuing to
do so more and more.
Our policy of _laissez-faire_ adopted towards the European
immigrant can no longer be continued. This war has taught us some
great lessons, and probably the greatest of all is the lesson of the
necessity for a redefinition of social terms, and a reconsideration
of human values. It has made us realize that if we want the nation to
stand united in times of stress our policy must be consistent at all
times. Democracy we have learned in this struggle, no longer means
“each for himself, and the devil take the hind-most.” If it means
anything at all, it is that we are “members one of another”, and that
an injury to one is an injury to and the concern of all. Our old policy
has shown us that the devil has taken too many, and we have come to
say, “Halt!” This must no longer continue. We must see that all the
elements which go to make up our body-politic are adjusted and placed
in their proper relation. Our traditional attitude, this struggle has
taught us, is too costly and we cannot afford longer to continue it. We
know now that it is not sufficient that a few may have democracy and
freedom while the rest are denied economic opportunity. We are also
coming to realize that “we cannot hold a part of our fellow-men down in
the gutter without remaining there ourselves.”
No exact estimate of the number of Negroes who have come North within
the last year is possible. Estimates vary from three hundred thousand
to seven hundred thousand. There are probably about two million Negroes
now living in the North, and it is of paramount importance that we look
into the conditions of these people who although in our midst, are yet
so little known to us, and see that they are fitted into their new
environment. Our little study of the social opportunities available,
and the conditions existing among our Negro brethren may therefore be
of great interest, and we are glad to present here some of the facts
which were disclosed in our survey of these people who have recently
settled amongst us, in order to avail themselves of our hospitality,
and industrial opportunities. We have discussed in the preceding pages
the immediate opportunities for Negroes in this city as to housing and
wages. It may therefore not be amiss to discuss the possibilities of
his attaining an advanced political, social and economic status.
Politically, the Negro in Pittsburgh is as free as the whites of the
same group. Coming from places where the vote is denied him, he is
naturally very glad to receive the privilege in Pittsburgh. It is a
well known fact that the Negro vote is often a deciding factor in
the results of municipal elections. Although there are a few shrewd
Negro politicians, and the Negro vote is frequently “_en bloc_”
there is never an issue made on some particular Negro problem. All
candidates seem to assume that there is no special issue that concerns
the Negro more than any other group in the city, and unscrupulous
Negro politicians are not in the least perturbed. They always see to
it, however, that no Negro vote will be lost, that their occupation
tax is paid, and that they are registered. This was clearly brought
out in this year’s municipal election. Although the Negro vote was a
great factor in deciding this campaign, not one of the candidates made
an issue of the housing and other problems which are confronting the
Negroes at present. It can therefore be stated that in politics, while
the Negro has been utilized by all sorts of politicians, he has at
least nominally been as free as his white brother in the same position.
However, more and more we are coming to realize that political freedom
without industrial opportunities means but little. Democracy must
also mean industrial opportunity, and social democracy, as well as
political democracy. But the industrial opportunity which the Negro
demands is not even the same as is demanded by his more fortunate
white-skinned brother. While his fellow-human beings demand a larger
voice in industry and business, and a greater share of the product, the
Negro is still meekly begging for his inalienable right to participate
in industry, to help extend and build it up. It is the denial of this
right that confronts the Negro in the North, and makes his problem of
paramount significance.
The great majority of the Negro migrants come North because of the
better economic and social opportunities here. But even here they are
not permitted to enter industry freely. They are kept in the ranks of
unskilled labor and in the field of personal service. Until the present
demand for unskilled labor arose, the Negroes in the North were for the
most part, servants. There were very few Negroes occupied otherwise
than as porters, chauffeurs, janitors and the like. The Negro at
present has entered the productive industries, but he is kept still on
the lowest rung of the economic ladder.
_TABLE NUMBER XIII_[7]
_List of Industrial Concerns Visited in the Pittsburgh District_
+------------------+-----------+--------+---------+------------------+
| |No. of |No. |% doing |Wages per|No. of |
| NAME OF CONCERN |Negroes |employed|unskilled|hour of |hours |
| |employed at|prior to|labor. |unskilled|per day.|
| |present. |1916. | |labor. | |
+------------------+-----------+--------+---------+------------------+
| Carnegie Steel Co. 4,000 1,500 95% 30c 8 to 12 |
| (all plants) |
| Jones & Laughlin 1,500 400 100% 30c 10 |
| Westinghouse |
| Elec. & Mfg. Co. 900 25 90% 28-30c 10 |
| Harbison & Walker 250 50 80% 27½c 10 |
| National Tube Co. 250 100 100% 30c 10 |
| (all plants) |
| Pressed Steel Car Co. 25 25 50% 23c 11 |
| Pgh. Forge & Iron 75 0 100% 30c 10 |
| Moorhead Brothers 200 200 75% 30c 10 |
| Am. Steel & Wire 25 25 100% 28-30c 10 |
| Clinton Iron & Steel 25 25 75% |
| Oliver Iron & Steel 50 0 100% 25-28c 10 |
| Carbon Steel Co. 200 50 75% 30c 10-12 |
| Crucible Steel Co. 400 150 90% 28-33c 10 |
| A. M. Byers Co. 200 0 60% 10 |
| Lockhart Steel Co. 160 0 95% 27½c 10 |
| Mesta Machine Co. 50 0 100% 30c 10 |
| Marshall Foundry Co. 15 0 |
| U. S. Glass Co. No Negroes employed |
| Thompson-Sterret Co. No Negroes employed |
| Spang-Chalfant Co. No Negroes employed |
| ------ ------ |
| 8,325 2,550 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
From a study of colored employees in twenty of the largest industrial
plants, in the Pittsburgh district, arbitrarily selected (Table No.
XIII), we find that most of the concerns have employed colored labor
only since May or June of 1916. Very few of the Pittsburgh industries
have used colored labor in capacities other than as janitors and window
cleaners. A few of the plants visited had not begun to employ colored
people until in the spring of 1917, while a few others had not yet come
to employ Negroes, either because they believed the Negro workers to
be inferior and inefficient, or because they feared that their white
labor force would refuse to work with the blacks. The Superintendent
of one big steel plant which has not employed colored labor during
the past few years admitted that he faced a decided shortage of
labor, and that he was in need of men; but he said he would employ
Negroes only as a last resort, and that the situation was as yet not
sufficiently acute to warrant their employment. In a big glass plant,
the company attempted to use Negro labor last winter, but the white
workers “ran them out” by swearing at them, calling them “Nigger” and
making conditions so unpleasant for them that they were forced to quit.
This company has therefore given up any further attempts at employing
colored labor. It may be interesting to note, however, that one young
Negro boy who pays no attention to such persecution persistently stays
there.
About ninety-five percent of the colored workers in the steel mills
visited in our survey were doing unskilled labor. In the bigger plants,
where many hundreds of Negroes are employed, almost one hundred percent
are doing common labor, while in the smaller plants, a few might be
found doing labor which required some skill. The reasons alleged by
the manufacturers are; first, that the migrants are inefficient and
unstable, and second, that the opposition to them on the part of white
labor prohibits their use on skilled jobs. The latter objection is
illustrated by the case of the white bargemen of a big steel company
who wanted to walk out because black workers were introduced among
them, and who were only appeased by the provision of separate quarters
for the Negroes. While there is an undeniable hostility to Negroes
on the part of a few white workers, the objection is frequently
exaggerated by prejudiced gang bosses.
That this idea is often due to the prejudice of the heads of
departments and other labor employers, was the opinion of a sympathetic
superintendent of one of the largest steel plants, who said that in
many instances it was the superintendents and managers themselves,
who are not alive to their own advantage and so oppose the Negro’s
doing the better classes of work. The same superintendent said that
he had employed Negroes for many years; that a number of them have
been connected with his company for several years; that they are just
as efficient as the white people. More than half of the twenty-five
Negroes in his plant were doing semi-skilled and even skilled work.
He had one or two colored foremen over colored gangs, and cited an
instance of a colored man drawing a hundred and fourteen dollars in
his last two weeks pay. This claim was supported by a very intelligent
Negro who was stopped a few blocks away from the plant and questioned
as to the conditions in the plant. While admitting everything that
the Superintendent said, and stating that there is now absolute free
opportunity for colored people in that plant, the man claimed that
these conditions have come into being only within the last year. The
same superintendent told of an episode illustrating the amicable
relations existing in his shop between the white and black workers.
He related that a gang of workers had come to him with certain
complaints and the threat of a walk-out. When their grievances had been
satisfactorily adjusted, they pointed to the lonely black man in their
group and said that they were not ready to go back unless their Negro
fellow worker was satisfied.
[Illustration: The Migration in Process.]
From our survey of the situation it must be evident that the southern
migrants are not as well established in the Pittsburgh industries
as is the white laborer. They are as yet unadapted to the heavy and
pace-set labor in our steel mills. Accustomed to the comparatively
easy-going plantation and farm work of the South, it will take some
time until these migrants have found themselves. The roar and clangor
of our mills make these newcomers a little dazed and confused at first.
They do not stay long in one place, being birds of passage; they are
continually searching for better wages and accommodations. They cannot
even be persuaded to wait until pay day, and they like to get money
in advance, following the habit they have acquired from the southern
economic system. It is often secured on very flimsy pretexts and spent
immediately in the saloons and similar places. It is admitted, however,
by all employers of labor, that the Negro who was born in the North or
has been in the North for some time, although not as subservient to bad
treatment, is as efficient as the white; that because of his knowledge
of the language and the ways of this country, he is often much better
than the foreign laborer who understands neither.
Paradoxical as it may seem, the labor movement in America--which it is
claimed was begun and organized primarily to improve the conditions of
all workers, and protect their interests from the designs of heartless
and cruel industrial captains--has not only made no effort to relieve
and help the oppressed black workers who have suffered even more than
the whites from exploitation and serfdom, but in many instances have
remained indifferent to the economic interests and even served as an
obstacle to the free development of the colored people.
Since the East St. Louis race riots in July of this year, and later
on the Chester and other race clashes, the press has been full of
controversy concerning the colored labor problem in the North.
Employers as well as many prominent persons openly laid the blame for
the spilling of the blood of women and little children at the door
of the labor unions. On the other hand, the labor men almost as a
unit have charged the responsibility for these riots to the Northern
industrial leaders who are bringing these laborers to be used as a tool
to break up the labor movement in the North.
The motives of the employers who are bringing the colored migrants
are obviously not altruistic. They are not concerned primarily with
freeing the Negro from the economic and political restrictions to
which he is still subjected in the South. It is not to be assumed that
their interests extend further than the employment of these ignorant
people as unskilled laborers. Indeed the sheer economic interest of the
Northern industrial concerns which are bringing the Negro migrants, may
be illustrated by the following contract, which is typical of many
agreements signed by migrants when accepting transportation North.
“It is hereby understood that I am to work for the above named Company
as ...................................., the rate of pay to be
.................................. The ............ Railroad agrees
to furnish transportation and food to destination. I agree to work
on any part of the .............. Railroad where I may be assigned.
I further agree to reimburse the ............ Railroad for the cost
of my railroad transportation, in addition to which I agree to pay
................................ to cover the cost of meals and other
expenses incidental to my employment.
I authorize the Company to deduct from my wages money to pay for the
above expenses.
In consideration of the ............ Railroad paying my carfare,
board, and other expenses, I agree to remain in the service of the
aforesaid Company until such time as I reimburse them for the expenses
of my transportation, food, etc.
It is agreed upon the part of the Railroad Company that if I shall
remain in the service for one year, the ............ Railroad Company
agrees to return to me the amount of carfare from point of shipment
to ........................... By continuous service for one year is
meant that I shall not absent myself from duty any time during the
period without the consent of my superior officer.
It is understood by me that the ............ Railroad will not grant
me free transportation to the point where I was employed.
I am not less than twenty-one or more than forty-five years of age,
and have no venereal disease. If my statement in this respect is found
to be incorrect this contract becomes void.”
....................
Laborer’s Name.
It is apparent that since the war has put a stop to the importation
of foreign immigrants, the Negroes are so far the only cheap and
unorganized labor supply obtainable. Indeed Mexicans were brought to
work here in the same way, although the experience with them was not as
satisfactory as with the blacks.
While it may be true that the motive for bringing these ignorant
workers is primarily to fill up the unskilled labor gap, and not to
break up the labor movement, it is self-evident that the employers
would scarcely admit the latter motive even though it was paramount.
It may be, that ultimately the employers may use these workers against
the union organizations or against the securing of the eight-hour-day,
which the local unions are aiming to attain. Indeed, the employment
agent of one of our great industrial plants, which underwent a big
strike a few years ago, pointed out that one of the great values of
the Negro migration lies in the fact that it gives him a chance to
“mix up his labor forces and to establish a balance of power”, as the
Negro, he claimed, “is more individualistic, does not like to group and
does not follow a leader, as readily as some foreigners do.” However,
in only one instance in our survey of the Pittsburgh Trade Unions,
was a complaint lodged against colored people taking the places of
striking white workers. This was in a waiters’ strike and was won just
the same, because the patrons of the restaurants protested against
the substitution of Negro waiters. In all the others, there were no
such occurrences. Indeed, the number of Negroes taking the places of
striking whites and of skilled white workers is so small that it is
hardly appreciable. They are, as we have seen, largely taking the
places which were left vacant by the unskilled foreign laborers since
the beginning of the war, and the new places created by the present
industrial boom. No effective effort has been made to organize these
unskilled laborers by the recognized American labor movement. These
people, therefore, whose places are now being taken by the Negroes,
worked under no American standard of labor, and the fear of these
unskilled laborers breaking down labor standards which have never
existed, is obviously unfounded.
The generalization cannot also be made that the colored people are
difficult to organize, for from our survey we have found only one
Union, the Waiter’s Local, that has made any attempt to organize the
colored people, and was unsuccessful. The official of this Union
explains it because the colored waiters “are more timid, listen to
their bosses, and also have a kind of distrust of the white Unions.”
The same official also admitted that while he himself would have no
objection to working with colored people, the rank and file of his
Union would not work on the same floor with a colored waiter. None of
the other Unions made any effort to organize the colored workers in
their respective trades, and they cannot therefore complain of the
difficulty of organizing the Negroes.
In the two trade organizations which admit Negroes to membership, the
colored man has proved to be as good a unionist as his white fellows. A
single local of the Hod Carriers Union, a strong labor organization,
has over four hundred Negroes among its six hundred members, and has
proved how easy it is to organize even the new migrants by enlisting
over one hundred and fifty southern hod carriers within the past year.
The other Union which admits Negroes--The Hoisting Engineers’ Union,
has a number of colored people in its ranks. Several of these are
charter-members, and a number have been connected with the organization
for a considerable time. Judging from the strength of these Unions--the
only ones in the city which have a considerable number of blacks
amongst them--the Negroes have proved as good Union men as the whites.
If the Pittsburgh trade organizations are typical of the present
national trade union movement it would appear that there is little hope
for the Negroes. If the present policy of the American labor movement
continues, the Negroes can depend but little upon this great liberating
force for their advancement. A few facts disclosed in our canvas of the
trade unions in Pittsburgh will bear out our statements.
[Illustration: A Row of Dilapidated Old Dwellings in the Downtown
Section Used as Rooming Houses for Migrants.]
An official of a very powerful Union which has a membership of nearly
five thousand said that it had about five colored members. He admitted
that there are several hundred Negroes working in the same trade in
this city, but his organization does not encourage them to organize
and will admit one of them only when he can prove his ability in his
work--a technical excuse for exclusion. This official was a man who
was born in the South; he believed in the inferiority of the Negro,
deplored the absence of a Jim Crow system, and was greatly prejudiced.
Another official of an even more powerful trade union was greatly
astonished when he learned that there are white people who take an
interest in the Negro question. He absolutely refused to give any
information and did not think it was worth while to answer such
questions, although he admitted that his union had no colored people
and would never accept them. There are, however, several hundred
Negroes working at this trade in the city. White members related
numerous incidents of white unionists leaving a job when a colored man
appeared. Several other unions visited had no Negroes in the union
although there were some local colored people in their respective
trades.
The typical attitude of the complacent trade unionist is illustrated
by a letter which was written by a very prominent local labor leader,
a member of the “Alliance for Labor and Democracy” in answer to
certain questions asked him. This official refused to state anything
orally, and asked that the questions be put to him in writing. His
answers, we may presume, have been carefully worded after considerable
contemplation of the problem.
The letter begins: “While I do not wish to appear evasive, I do not
think some of the questions should have been asked me at this time.”
Questions and answers follow:
Q. Number of white members in the Union?
A. Our Union has had a growth of one hundred percent in the past six
months in the Pittsburgh district.
Q. Number of colored people in the Union?
A. None.
Q. Has there been an increase in the colored labor in your trade within
the last year? If so, state approximately the proportion.
A. Yes, estimates can be made only by the employer, as we do not
control all shops.
Q. Has there been an increase in the colored union membership within
the last year or two?
A. Yes, statistics can be gotten from Mr. Frank Morrison, Secretary,
American Federation of Labor, Washington, D. C.
Q. What efforts does your Union make to organize the colored people in
your trade?
A. Same effort as all others, as the A. F. of L. does not bar any
worker on account of race or creed.
Q. Has any colored person applied for membership in your Union within
the last year?
A. Yes.
Q. Have the colored people in your trade asked for a separate charter?
A. Not that I know of.
Q. Do you personally know of any complaint by a person of color against
your Union as regards race discrimination?
A. Yes.
The official admits that there are colored workers in his trade, that
some have applied for membership, and that there have been complaints
of race discrimination. His statement concerning efforts to organize
Negro laborers would seem to have little meaning in view of his
assertion that the growth of white membership during the past year was
one hundred percent, while that of Negro membership was zero.
It may, however, be interesting to note that a man who joined this
Union about the time this letter was written, said the President of the
Union gave him the following pledge:
“I pledge that I will not introduce for membership into this Union
anyone but a sober, industrious, WHITE person.”
Very often union officials are apt to point to their constitutions
which guarantee that no color line be established, and say that the
colored people make little effort to organize, and that they are really
not trying to get into the Union. “Why don’t the Negroes organize
locals of their own?” they ask. The assertion that colored people are
making little effort to become organized is undoubtedly true, for
it may be presumed that if they had continuously, insistently and
in sufficient numbers knocked at the doors of the trade unions the
barriers would have been unable to withstand the strain and would
have opened to them. But unfortunately the attitude of the trade
unions developed among the Negroes a feeling of hopelessness which is
detrimental to both the Negroes and the labor movement. “What’s the
use?” is the reply usually given by skilled colored workers when asked
why they do not join the unions. They know well enough that they will
not be admitted, and that even if they were accepted they could never
hope to secure a job from the Union. This spirit goes even further, and
is fraught with the most imminent danger. A very intelligent colored
labor official said, that there is developing among many Negroes the
feeling that the most laudable action is to do anything which will
harm or break the labor movement.
[Illustration: A Row of Model Houses Originally Built by a Steel
Company for its Colored Workers, but used by Foreign Laborers at
Present Because of the Protest of the People in the Neighborhood.]
That this fatalistic and dangerous attitude of the colored people is
not groundless is again evidenced from our study of the situation. The
attempt of union officials to becloud or to ignore the issue by saying
that the colored people make no effort to become Union members, and do
not try to organize their own locals is disclosed by the following case:
On January 1st, 1917, a group of about thirty unorganized Negro
plasterers sent the following letter to the Operative Plasterer’s and
Cement Finishers’ International Association of the United States with
offices at Middletown, Ohio.
Pittsburgh, Pa., January 1st, 1917.
“We, the undersigned Colored Plasterers of the City of Pittsburgh, met
in a session on the above named date, and after forming an Organization
for our mutual benefit voted to petition to you our grievances on
the grounds of being discriminated against because of our color. We
therefore would like to have a Local Body of our own for our people.
We also voted to ask you for the advice and consideration of such a
movement, and hereby petition you that you grant us a license for a
local of our own, to be operated under your jurisdiction, praying this
will meet with your approval, and hoping to get an early reply.
This will show that to date we have the support of the men here listed
besides a few more. Officers elected so far are as follows:”
The signatures of the officers and twenty-five members follow.
The International then sent the following reply:
“Replying to your letter, we are writing our Pittsburgh Local today
in reference to your application for charter. According to the rules
and regulations of our organization, no organization can be chartered
in any city where we have a Local without consulting the older
Organization.”
This was signed by the Secretary of the International Association.
The Pittsburgh Local then invited the Secretary of the colored
organization to appear at their regular meeting. When the Secretary
came, they told him he could have five minutes time in which to present
his claims. Nothing resulted from this meeting and no written statement
whatsoever was made by the Pittsburgh Local in spite of attempts to
secure such.
On a further appeal to the International, the Secretary of the Colored
Plasterer’s Organization received the following letter from the
International Secretary.
“Replying to your letter, I enclose a copy of our constitution and
refer you to section No. 34, page No. 8, which means that no charter
can be issued to your organization unless approved by No. 31 of
Pittsburgh, Pa.”
An official of Local number 31 admitted that the rank and file would
never consent to have colored people among them, and attend the social
functions given by the Union, although he claimed they could not
possibly reject a man because of his color, as it is a gross violation
of their constitution. He explained the reasons for his local refusing
a separate charter to the Negroes as follows: First, that if a charter
would be granted to them, they would all become members for the nominal
charter fee while their initiation fee for individuals amounts to
thirty dollars, and this he said would be a discrimination in favor of
the Negroes. But the greatest objection was that the colored plasterers
asked for a smaller scale of wages, ($4.50 a day as compared with $6
for whites). When questioned as to his reason why the colored people
would not prefer a higher wage, he explained that they could not get
work as no one would employ a person of color at the same wages as a
white person.[8]
The Secretary of the short-lived colored organization gave as his
reason for not joining the Union as an individual the fact that he was
aware that the Union, even were he a member, would not supply him with
a job, and that white Union men would walk out were he by any chance to
be employed.
Another illustration of the difficulty confronting the colored person
when he desires to join a Union, is the following: Two colored
migrants, J. D. and C. S., painters from Georgia, had applied to the
Union for membership in November and December 1916, respectively.
Both of these persons have their families here, and claim fourteen
and sixteen years’ experience in the trade, stating also that they
can do as good a job as any other union man. Each one of these claims
to have made from $25 to $30 a week in the South by contracting. The
official in the office of the Union whom they approached to ask for
membership unceremoniously told them that it would take no colored men
into membership. The result was that one of these men was fortunate
enough to find work in his own line in a non-union shop, receiving
twenty dollars per week for eight and one-half hours, as compared with
$5.50 for an eight hour day, the union scale. The second man, however,
was not so fortunate, and unable to find work in his own line, he is
now working as a common laborer in a steel plant making $2.70 for ten
hours per day. That many of the colored skilled people do not attempt
to join the union because they know the existing situation is obvious.
The brother-in-law of one of the above men, also a skilled worker, when
asked why he did not try to join the Union, characteristically shrugged
his shoulders and uttered the fatalistic “What’s the use?”
The following case which throws light on the general situation, and
illustrates the resultant effects of this injustice was related by the
head clerk of the State Employment Bureau of this city.
“In the month of June, 1917, a man giving the name of P. Bobonis, a
Porto Rican, came to our office and asked for work as a carpenter. Mr.
Bobonis was a union carpenter, a member of the Colorado State Union.
The first place he was sent they told him they were filled up, and when
a call was made to determine if the company had sufficient carpenters,
the foreman said that it was impossible for them to employ a colored
carpenter as all of the white men would walk out, but that they were
still badly in need of carpenters. It was then decided to call upon
the different companies recognizing the union, to see if they all felt
the same way. Much to our amazement we found it to be the general
rule--the colored man could pay his initiation fee and dues in the
Union, but after that was done he was left little hopes for employment.
Four large companies were called for this man and he could not be
placed. As a last attempt, a call on the Dravo Contracting Company
was made and as they have some union and others non-union men, they
employed the man.
Mr. Bobonis was not a floater, but a good man. He is a graduate of
Oberlin College and is now working to raise enough money to enable him
to study medicine.”
Although the attitude of the recognized American Labor movement on
the colored question is generally known, the great mass of people are
easily misled and appealed to on race lines. It is unfortunate that
often a race issue is made of a purely labor question. An episode
of the past winter is a case in point. The drivers in one of our
department stores had organized themselves into a union and were locked
out. The department store immediately substituted colored non-union
drivers. Appeals to union people based on race issues were then carried
to the patrons of that store until the department store was forced to
discharge all of its colored drivers and re-instate the white ones.
This was done in spite of the fact that the Union was not recognized,
and was broken up, and although the manager of the store is said to
have admitted that almost half of the colored drivers had proved one
hundred percent efficient.
The difficulties and slow progress made in organizing the laboring
classes generally is apparent to anyone who reflects that in spite of
the long years of continued effort, and in spite of the fact that in
many instances there was no resistance from the employers, hardly ten
percent of the working population of the United States is organized in
trade and industrial unions today. The problem is difficult for the
white men, and it is exceedingly more difficult for the blacks. The
white laboring classes have to contend only with the manufacturers. The
Negroes, however, have to contend with the white trade unions as well
as with the employers.
Until recently, very few colored people in the North were working in
trades where the whites were organized. The great mass of Negroes were
doing work of the personal service character, and acted as porters,
janitors, elevator men, etc. This class of workers is extremely
difficult to organize even among the whites. Within the past two
years, however, Negroes have in increasing numbers entered the trades
which have been organized by the whites. Being refused admission to
most of the white unions the only thing the colored man can do is to
form his own organization. The first step toward organizing the Negro
working man and woman was taken in New York City in July 1917, when the
Associated Colored Employees of America was organized. The bulletin
used by this organization states that its purpose is to give “facts
concerning conditions in the North compiled for the benefit of those
who some day expect or desire to be actually free.” This organization
aims to function as an employment bureau advising members where
particular work may be found, and to give general information to those
workers who are eager to come from the South.
[Illustration: Rear View of Tenement Near Soho Dump. Note Refuse on
Left and Street Level on Right.]
The difficulty in organizing the colored people into a separate
organization along Trade Union Lines was thus explained by a very
prominent Negro leader. The Negro, he said, is escaping from the
tyranny of the South to the freedom of the North. In the North he is
opposed and at times even mobbed by white laboring men. Strange as
it may seem, the industrial captain in the North is the Negro’s only
friend. He at least is interested in him; he goes after him to bring
him North, provides food and shelter for him, pays him better wages
than he received in the South, and in many instances gives him medical
attention, and helps him bring his family here. Can you expect him
under the circumstances to alienate and betray his only friend in the
North, for the trade unions whom he fears and distrusts?
It is obvious that the trade unions will have to make a more
attractive appeal to convince the Negro that they are really his best
friends. Their duty and policy are clear. Theirs is a struggle for
the protection of the working people, in order to secure for all the
oppressed some of the enjoyments of life. Theirs is a continuous battle
for organization, the organization of all workers, irrespective of
race, color and creed.
The Negro’s own problem and his tragedy in slavery and in freedom is
probably best summarized in the following lines taken from the Emporia
Gazette and written by William Allen White:
“If the black man loafs in the South he starves. If he works in
the South he is poorly paid, more or less in kind--chips and
whetstones--and his wife becomes a ‘pan-toter.’ If he leaves his own
estate in the South and goes to work in Northern industry, he is mobbed
and killed.”
“He was brought to these shores from Africa a captive. He is held by
his captors in economic bondage today--forbidden to rise above the
lowest serving class. He is herded by himself in a ghetto, and if,
while he is there, he reverts to the jungle type, he is burned alive.
If he tries to break out of his ghetto, and, by assimilating the white
man’s civilization, rise, he is driven out by his white brothers.”
“If he goes to school, he becomes discontented and is unhappy and
dissatisfied with his social status. If he does not go to school and
remains ignorant, he is then only a ‘coon,’ whom everybody exploits,
and who has to cheat and swindle in return, or go down in poverty to
begging and shame. There aren’t ships enough in the world to take
him back to the land of his freedom; there isn’t enough for him here
except on the crowded bottom rung of the ladder, and there, always, the
grinding heel of those climbing over him topward is mangling his black
hands.”
“Race riots, lynchings, political ostracism, social boycott, economic
serfdom. No wonder he sings:
“Hard Trials--
“Great tribulations,
“Hard trials--
“I’m gwine for to live with the Lord!”
No wonder as he looks dismally back at the forest whence he came, and
dismally forward to the hopeless set to which he is slowly being
pushed, he lifts his plaintive voice in its heartbroken minor and wails:
“Swing low, sweet chariot, comin’ for to carry me home!”
““_Home_” is about the only place he can go, where they don’t
oppress him.”
[7] The figures in this table were secured during the months of July
and August 1917, and have probably been changed since.
[8] The fear that admitting local Negroes to the trade unions would
flood the city with skilled Southern Negroes, was given as a reason by
one Negro for the exclusion of his race-men from the unions, but was
not mentioned by any of the white union officials.
THE COMMUNITY’S PROBLEM
CHAPTER III
_A Delinquency Study of the Negro in Pittsburgh_
An understanding of the conduct and morality of the newcomer and
stranger is essential both for the migrant himself and for the
community upon which he is thrust. The migrant is unknown to us. We
look upon the stranger with suspicion and upon all his habits and
customs as queer and out of the ordinary. It is therefore natural for
us to question his morality and character and to consider him the cause
of the crimes and vices of the community. In the past, we blamed the
Italians, the Slavs, the Jews and the other foreign groups as being
mainly responsible for many of the anti-social acts in our urban
society; but when we come to know them our attitude changes.
The Negro, although with us for centuries, is still unintelligible to
the average northern community. This has been borne out by our present
survey in the Pittsburgh district. Although in many instances the
Negroes live near the whites, even among them, there is very little
understanding or communication between the two races, and mutual
prejudice and suspicion prevail.
With the cessation of the white immigration incident to the war and
the influx of thousands of Negroes from the South the black has become
the stranger in town. We see him crowding in certain districts,
congregating on street corners, apparently amazed at his sudden
transference from country to city life; from his home, a familiar
though oppressive environment, into the glare and lure of the great
industrial city with its apparent freedom for all. The Negro looks with
wonder upon all this, and his reaction to it seems suspicious to the
whites. When they see the police patrol wagon frequently in the colored
district or when some crime is committed in that neighborhood it is not
unnatural for them to think that these strangers are responsible for
all crime and vice. This, unfortunately, is not only the attitude of
the average person unfamiliar with conditions, but is also the theory
upon which the police officials seem to proceed in their work. On one
occasion when a murder was committed in the “Hill” district the police
made wholesale arrests of the Negroes, only to free them in a few days,
having no evidence against them.
This assumption of the Negro’s responsibility for a “wave of crime,
rape and murder” this year was held not only by persons who got their
information from a played-up case in the newspapers, but also by many
social workers and Negroes themselves, as was evidenced by their
expressed personal opinions. A colored probation officer, for instance,
asserted that the juvenile delinquency among her people had at least
doubled during the last year, and she was greatly surprised when an
examination of the records disclosed a very considerable decrease
in these cases, (Table No. XIX). This illustrates how erroneous our
impressions about strange groups in our communities may be, and how
essential are the facts to a clear understanding of the situation.
[Illustration: Wednesday 3:30 P. M. Lower Wylie Avenue.]
In order to ascertain the facts concerning the extent of Negro crime
in the Pittsburgh district, an analysis was made of the police court
records of seven months in the year 1914-1915 in comparison with the
same period of 1916-1917. The periods selected were December 1, 1914 to
June 30, 1915 and December 1, 1916 to June 30, 1917. The first period
embraces the time of the initial war prosperity before the migration
had begun. In the second period the Negro migration was at its highest
point. The police dockets of Station Number 1, the Central Station, and
Station Number 2--which is in the most densely populated Negro section
of the city--were carefully canvassed and compared as to number of
arrests, kind of charges, disposition of cases and age, sex, etc., of
the accused. Tables follow:
_TABLE NUMBER XV_
_Showing Total Number of Charges of Arrested Negroes Brought to
Stations No. 1 and No. 2 from December 1, 1914 to June 30, 1915 and
December 1, 1916 to June 30, 1917, and also the percentage of Increase
during the last Period._
+--------------------+------------------+-------------------+------+
| | 1914-1915 | 1916-1917 | % of |
| CHARGES +-----+------+-----+-----+------+------+ Inc.|
| | Male Female Total| Male Female Total | 1917|
+--------------------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+
| PETTY OFFENCES | | | | | | | |
|Suspicious Persons | 390| 77| 467| 668| 111| 779| 67|
|Disorderly Conduct | 353| 74| 427| 493| 106| 599| 41|
|Drunkenness | 240| 42| 282| 869| 40| 909| 222|
|Keeping Disorderly | | | | | | | |
| Houses | 16| 22| 38| 36| 55| 91| 140|
|Visiting Disorderly | | | | | | | |
| Houses | 92| 29| 121| 217| 76| 293| 142|
|Common Prostitute | 0| 58| 58| 0| 54| 54| --7|
|Violating City | | | | | | | |
| Ordinances | 85| 0| 85| 143| 0| 143| 68|
|Keeping Gambling | | | | | | | |
| Houses | 5| 0| 5| 0| 0| 0| |
|Visiting Gambling | | | | | | | |
| Houses | 31| 0| 31| 0| 0| 0| |
|Vagrancy | 75| 9| 84| 93| 0| 93| 11|
|Other non-Court | | | | | | | |
|Charges | 83| 0| 83| 37| 0| 37| |
|--------------------| ----| ---| ----| ----| ---| ----| |
|TOTAL | 1370| 311| 1681| 2556| 442| 2998| |
+--------------------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+
| MAJOR OFFENCES |
+--------------------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+
|Larceny | 20| 1| 21| 20| 3| 23| |
|Assault & Battery | 12| 0| 12| 13| 0| 13| |
|Highway Robbery | 3| 0| 3| 4| 0| 4| |
|Entering Buildings | 20| 0| 20| 7| 0| 7| |
|Felonious Cutting & | | | | | | | |
| Felonious Shooting | 7| 1| 8| 17| 2| 19| |
|Murder turned over | | | | | | | |
| to Coroner | 12| 0| 12| 5| 1| 6| |
|Assault and Battery | | | | | | | |
| with attempt to | | | | | | | |
| Commit Rape | 5| 0| 5| 3| 0| 3| |
|Concealed Weapons & | | | | | | | |
| Point. Firearms | 2| 1| 3| 12| | 12| |
|Other Court Charges | 9| 0| 9| 6| 1| 7| |
| -------------------| --| -| --| --| -| --| |
| TOTAL| 90| 3| 93| 87| 7| 94| |
+--------------------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+------+------+
GRAND TOTAL 1460 314 1774 2643 449 3092
The foregoing tables and figures reveal many features which are
extremely interesting. The first thing that strikes us is the
disproportionate increase in petty arrests over the increase in court
charges or graver crimes. From the figures obtained it appears that
although the number of arrests on charges of suspicion, drunkenness,
disorderly conduct and similar petty charges have increased from
approximately forty percent to over two hundred percent; the graver
crimes, as a whole, have remained stable in spite of the increase in
population, while in some of the crimes which are usually accredited
to Negroes, we find a marked decline. The percentage of grave charges
compared to the total number of arrests, has decreased from 5% in
1914-15 to 3% in 1916-17. Thus, we find only two more larcenies in
1916-17 than in 1914-15; a considerable decline in charges for entering
buildings and two charges less of rape.
_TABLE NUMBER XVI_
_Showing the disposition of the Negroes Arrested and Brought to
Police Stations Number 1 and Number 2 from December 1, 1914 to June
30, 1915 and December 1, 1916 to June 30, 1917; the percentage of the
total arrests and the percentage of increase or decrease during the
latter period._
+-----------------+---------+---------+-------------------+----+----+
| |1914-15 |1916-17 | Percentage of |% of|% of|
| DISPOSITION |Total No.|Total No.| Total Arrests |inc.|dec.|
| | | | 1914-15 1916-17 | | |
+-----------------+---------+---------+----------+--------+----+----+
| Discharged | 849 | 1716 | 48 | 55 | 102| |
| Held for Court | 93 | 94 | 5 | 3 | 0| |
| Fines | 308 | 532 | 17 | 17 | 73| |
| Jail | 230 | 369 | 13 | 12 | 60| |
| Workhouse | 179 | 334 | 10 | 11 | 87| |
| Otherwise | 114 | 47 | 7 | 2 | | |
| disposed | ---- | ---- | ---- | ---- | | |
| | 1773 | 3092 | 100 | 100 | | |
+-----------------+---------+---------+----------+--------+----+----+
Of the three thousand ninety-two arrests during 1916-1917, one thousand
seven hundred and sixteen were discharged without fines, again
demonstrating the petty character or the lack of evidence on these
charges.
It is not difficult to find an explanation for the tremendous increase
in arrests on charges of suspicion, disorderly conduct and the like.
The colored migrant, timid, friendless and unknown as he is when he
comes from the South, easily becomes an object of surveillance. The
railroads were bringing a train load of black workers practically every
day. Many come to Pittsburgh with the desire to remain here, but the
labor agents want them to go further east. Workers of this class either
try to get away from the labor agent, or, being separated from him in
the general confusion prevailing at the stations, are stranded and
left without resources. As strangers they know nothing about the city
or its ways. They are but lately come out from communities where they
have known only oppression, and in many cases their exodus has been a
secret one. It is not remarkable that men in their state of mind should
be looked upon by the police as questionable characters and arrested on
the charges of being suspicious persons, or should fall into the hands
of the law for various other reasons.
The marked increase in drunkenness is not surprising either. From an
analysis of the housing and lodging situation in Pittsburgh the reader
will realize that these migrants have no place in which to spend
their leisure time except the street corners and in the saloon. In
practically all rooming houses beds are run on a double shift basis.
A man may stay in his room only when he sleeps. On awakening he must
surrender his bed to another lodger and go elsewhere. There are no
recreational facilities provided him by the city. Only one place,
the saloon, welcomes him with open doors, and even this dangerous
hospitality is denied him except in the Negro quarters. That the
stranger should not embrace the only means of relaxation offered him in
his new environment would be incredible.
_TABLE NUMBER XVII_
_Showing the age and sex of the persons Arrested in the two Stations
from December 1, 1914 to June 30, 1915 and from December 1, 1916 to
June 30, 1917._
+------------+--------------+--------------+----------------+
| | Total No. | Total | |
| | 1914-15 | 1916-17 | Total |
| | Male Female | Male Female | 1914-15 1916-17|
+------------+--------------+--------------+----------------+
|Under 16 | 40 | 8 | 21 | 7 | 48 | 28 |
|16 to 20 | 69 | 31 | 112 | 18 | 100 | 130 |
|20 to 30 | 556 | 195 | 1133 | 237 | 751 | 1370 |
|30 to 40 | 398 | 109 | 797 | 96 | 507 | 893 |
|40 to 50 | 232 | 18 | 432 | 35 | 250 | 467 |
|50 and over | 107 | 11 | 192 | 12 | 118 | 204 |
|----------- | ---- | --- | ---- | --- | ---- | ---- |
| | 1402 | 372 | 2687 | 405 | 1774 | 3092 |
+------------+--------------+--------------+----------------+
_TABLE NUMBER XVIII_
_Showing the Number of Married and Single People Arrested; Also
Showing the Sex._
+---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------+
| | Total No. | Total No. | |
| | 1914-15 | 1916-17 | TOTAL |
| | Male Female | Male Female | 1914-15 1916-17|
+---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------+
| Single | 1024 | 194 | 2269 | 256 | 1218 | 2525 |
| Married | 395 | 161 | 428 | 139 | 556 | 567 |
+---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------+
| | 1419 | 355 | 2697 | 395 | 1774 | 3092 |
+---------+---------------+--------------+-----------------+
That there should be a big increase in the visitation of disorderly
houses is to be expected. As we have seen, the migration is as yet
largely that of single men and of men who have left their families
behind them. As with the other foreign groups who have migrated to
America, there is an entire break up of the normal family standard. It
is therefore inevitable that with higher wages and with the prevailing
housing and rooming congestion vice should flourish. The fact that
in spite of the tremendous increase in disorderly houses there is
some decline in arrests on charges of prostitution can be interpreted
only in terms of the laxity and tolerance of the police department.
This also accounts for the fact that while during the seven months of
1914-1915 five gambling houses were raided and thirty-one persons were
arrested for gambling, there were no raids or arrests during the same
period this year.
The big increase in arrests on charges of felonious cutting, pointing
firearms, and carrying concealed weapons, may be explained in a variety
of ways. Since the post bellum days, the carrying and handling of arms
in the South was sanctioned socially. The whites have carried, and in
some places are still carrying these weapons with them. The Negro,
whether because of his habit of imitating the whites or because he
has learned the lesson of protecting and defending himself, has also
acquired the habit of carrying weapons. Being too poor or too timid in
the South to purchase a revolver or similar dangerous weapon, he had to
content himself with a knife or a razor.
Immediately upon the Negro’s arrival in Pittsburgh, and as soon as he
gets off the train, his attention is called to these means of defense
which are profusely displayed in the show windows of second hand stores
near the stations. These arms are tempting to his primitive instinct
of display, and being unfamiliar with conditions in this city--still
thinking in terms of the Southern environment--he considers these
things a necessity. As they can be obtained easily, he manages to
purchase one of these weapons at the first opportunity. That the
lynchings, riots and mistreatments should not teach him a lesson of
self-defense and the need for such weapons would be incredible. It may
also be added that the Southern Negro does not consider cutting another
Negro an offense against the law. Such cutting was frequently practiced
in the South and arrest did not follow. It may therefore not be strange
to learn that on several occasions, when arraigned on charges of
felonious cutting, these migrants expressed great surprise when they
learned that their offense involved a jail or workhouse sentence.
_TABLE NUMBER XIX_
_Total Number of Negro Charges in the Juvenile Court from January
1st, 1915 to June 30, 1915 and January 1st, 1917 to June 30, 1917._
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| CHARGES | Total No.| Total No.|
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| | 1915 | 1917 |
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| Incorrigibility | 11 | 10 |
| Delinquency | 34 | 13 |
| Dependent and Neglected | 18 | 23 |
| Entering a Building | 4 | 1 |
| Larceny | 5 | 8 |
| Violating Parole | 1 | |
| Malicious Mischief | 2 | 1 |
| Assault and Battery | 5 | 1 |
| All other Charges | 3 | 3 |
| | -- | -- |
| | 83 | 60 |
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
_TABLE NUMBER XX_
_Dispositions of Same._
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| | Total No.| Total No.|
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| | 1915 | 1917 |
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
| Returned to Parents | 3 | 4 |
| Detention Home | 1 | 0 |
| Private Home | 30 | 15 |
| Home on Probation | 22 | 16 |
| Thorn Hill Industrial School | 15 | 12 |
| State Reformatory | 4 | 2 |
| Polk School for Feeble Minded | 1 | 5 |
| Other Places | 7 | 6 |
| | -- | -- |
| | 83 | 60 |
+-------------------------------+----------+----------+
Table number XVII indicates that the majority of those arrested are
between the ages of 20 and 40. The large number of women arrested
is rather surprising, although the proportional increase of women
arrested is far below that of men. This may be due to the fact that the
migration is largely of men without families. The overwhelming number
of single people as compared with married ones, is also to be expected,
although the police record based only upon uninvestigated statements of
prisoners, may not be very authentic.
[Illustration: A House in the Hill District Credited with Sheltering
Over 200 Negroes.]
The examination of police court dockets reveals one or two other
significant features. It shows the continuance of the migration by
the fact that a great number are listed as having “no homes.” The
number giving such “address” this year is far greater than during
the previous period; even when the total of those who refuse to give
correct addresses is subtracted, the increase is still clearly shown.
In the records of those who give their addresses as of this city, it
is important to note the close relation of congestion and bad housing
conditions to the police court records. Throughout the docket, a few
houses notorious for their overcrowding stand out very prominently.
Thus, a well known tenement house on Bedford Avenue, which is credited
with having over one hundred families inside its four walls, has given
eighty-four arrests during the seven months of 1914-1915, and over one
hundred during the seven months of 1917. The same thing is true of
several other houses.
Table number XIX showing the Juvenile Court records is surprising. That
there should still be an absolute decline in juvenile delinquency, in
spite of the increase in population, is something the most optimistic
of us would have hardly anticipated.
After the preceding analysis, the reader has doubtless already
realized how unfounded was the popular belief in a Negro “wave of
crime, rape and murder” in Pittsburgh within the last year. The facts
are self-evident. From our analysis, we must conclude that the Negro
migrant is not a vicious character; is not criminally and mischievously
inclined _per se_, but on the other hand is a peaceful and law
abiding individual. He comes to Pittsburgh to seek better economic and
social opportunities. He is in most instances anxious to let others
alone in order that he himself may be let alone.
That the rise in wages is a considerable factor in the decrease of
juvenile delinquency and graver crimes as a whole is probable. That the
Negro becomes a victim of the saloon and the vice elements is evidently
more the fault of the community than of himself. He is often anxious to
rid himself of these associations, but it can be done only by his white
brother’s realization of the social responsibility which he owes to the
community.
HEALTH STUDY
That the conservation of health is no longer the concern of the
individual affected alone, but is the problem of the whole community
is now generally recognized. The relation of cause and effect in our
complex urban life is nowhere more clearly shown than in the health
phase of our group relations. In this aspect of community life at
least, it is realized that each of us constitutes one of the cogs in
the civic machinery, and that the welfare of the whole depends upon the
welfare of the individual. No one in the city, even if he be living
under the best conditions can be certain of immunity from the menace of
epidemic or of venereal diseases and tuberculosis. Infantile paralysis,
and the other contagious or infectious diseases have no regard for
differences of social status or residential respectability.
The Negroes of Pittsburgh constitute a very considerable fraction of
the city population. We have only partially segregated districts, and
the Negroes live near us or in our midst. They are with us on the
streets, in street cars, stores and amusement places. They work side
by side with us in the mills, factories and offices. Their children
and ours attend the same schools, drink from the same fountains and
play in the same yards. Since the beginning of the European War, our
foreign supply of domestic servants has been practically cut off, and
the colored women are the only ones available for this type of work.
These women live in our homes, wash our clothes, cook our dinners,
make our beds and nurse our children. A close inter-relation between
the two races exists, and we cannot long hope to be free from the
diseases to which our servants are subject. Once it is realized that
our own welfare is greatly affected by the welfare of the Negro, it is
obvious that we must see to it that his health is conserved. Our old
ostrich-like policy of comfortable neglect will not serve to protect us.
[Illustration: INTERIOR COURT SCENE
Note Hydrant on Left and Privy on Right which are used by Twelve
Families, White and Negro.]
We cannot remain indifferent to the startling adult and infant
mortality rates among Negroes. Ignorance of and indifference to disease
in any one group will ultimately work harm to the entire population,
and neglected disease in the black race means the increase of disease
among the whites. It is essential, therefore, for our own well-being
that we look into the conditions under which our Negro brethren live;
and ascertain all the facts which may throw some light upon the actual
conditions existing. Hence, we have proceeded to analyze the records
which could be obtained in our city health department, the records
of a few of the larger hospitals in the city, and the records of the
coroner’s office. The tables and discussion of the same follow.
It is unfortunate that the statistical bureau of our Health
Department--whether through insufficient appropriations or
otherwise--does not maintain the standards set by similar departments
in other cities. Our department does not afford the information
necessary for a complete study of the health situation. However, from
the figures obtained, it is obvious that our Negro mortality rate and
especially the infant mortality rate is much higher than that of New
York City, for instance, and that we are facing a grave situation.
_TABLE NUMBER XXI_
_Causes of the Negro Mortality Comparing Periods of Seven Months,
January to July, 1915 and January to July, 1917._
+--------------------------------+-------+-------+
| CAUSES | 1915 | 1917 |
+--------------------------------+-------+-------+
| Pneumonia (all forms) | 64 | 183 |
| Tuberculosis (all forms) | 51 | 51 |
| Bright’s Disease and Nephritis | 21 | 23 |
| Apoplexy | 9 | 20 |
| Meningitis | 1 | 17 |
| Syphilis | 12 | 6 |
| Heart Disease | 23 | 45 |
| Diabetes | 4 | 5 |
| Cancer (all forms) | 9 | 8 |
| Bronchitis (all forms) | 4 | 9 |
| Scarlet Fever | 2 | 1 |
| Whooping Cough | 1 | 1 |
| Diphtheria | 1 | 2 |
| Typhoid Fever | 2 | 5 |
| Measles | 3 | 0 |
| Poliomyelitis | 0 | 2 |
| Peritonitis | 0 | 5 |
| Rickets | 5 | 1 |
| Puerperal Septicaemia | 1 | 4 |
| Uremia | 0 | 4 |
| Asphyxia | 0 | 6 |
| Cirrhosis of Liver | 2 | 0 |
| Accidents | 12 | 16 |
| Homicide | 8 | 3 |
| All other causes | 60 | 110 |
| | ---- | ---- |
| | 295 | 527 |
+--------------------------------+-------+-------+
From a glance at the Negro mortality figures in Pittsburgh during the
first seven months of 1917, (Table No. XXI), we observe the startling
total of five hundred and twenty-seven deaths (excluding still births)
as compared with two hundred and ninety-five deaths in 1915 during the
ante-migration period, an increase of seventy-eight percent. While
it is true that the Negro population has increased according to our
estimate about forty-five percent during the past two years, this
expansion in nowise explains the disquieting increase in mortality. An
examination of the table also reveals the character of this increase.
Pneumonia cases have increased nearly two hundred percent; we also had
a marked increase in acute bronchitis and meningitis, and almost twice
as many deaths from heart disease.
It is often claimed that the Negro is affected by climatic changes.
Transferred suddenly into a northern climate, and compelled to live
in all sorts of dwellings, often with no ventilation and light and in
congested quarters, he may easily succumb to disease. Unaccustomed as
he is to the heavy labor and pace-setting of the Pittsburgh industries,
it can readily be seen how rapidly his health is undermined through
excessive and hard labor. The fact that there has been no increase in
tuberculosis is in accord with the expressed opinion of many colored
physicians interviewed, who claimed that this disease is mainly a city
product, and that the newcomers, especially those coming from isolated
southern districts, are apt to be relatively free from this disease for
a considerable period after their arrival in Pittsburgh.
_TABLE NUMBER XXII_
_Record of Negro Morbidity for a Period of Six Months Before the
Migration, as Compared with an Equal Period during the Migration in the
West Penn Mercy and St. Francis Hospitals._
+--------------------------+-------+-------+
| CAUSES | 1915 | 1917 |
+--------------------------+-------+-------+
| Digestive System | 24 | 29 |
| Respiratory and Throat | 54 | 76 |
| Heart and Kidney | 16 | 10 |
| Brain and Nervous System | 9 | 5 |
| Urogenital Diseases | 35 | 44 |
| | ---- | ---- |
| | 138 | 164 |
+--------------------------+-------+-------+
Table number XXII was ascertained from a study of the records of three
of the largest hospitals in Pittsburgh, as to the treatment of Negro
patients in these Institutions for a period of six months before the
migration and an equal period during the migration. Although this
table proved interesting, as showing the amount, kind and extent of
the hospital morbidity among the colored people, it is not at all
conclusive. That the hospital records give no clue to the sickness
among the Negroes is apparent from the following: Eighty to ninety
percent of the hospital cases examined were ward patients. Very few
Negroes can afford private rooms, and almost every colored physician
complained of the difficulty he had in securing places for his
patients. It is only fair to state however, that one of the largest
hospitals in the city, had no such charge lodged against it.
Aside from possible difficulty in securing beds in the hospitals, there
is another cause for the scanty number of Negro hospital cases. The
Negro not only because of his ignorance, but perhaps even more because
of his inclinations to voodooism and superstition, feels an aversion
to the hospital, where he thinks the knife and the “black bottle” are
frequently used. He is still child-like in many ways, and will prefer
all sorts of patent medicines and quack doctors rather than expose
himself to the surgeon’s knife in a hospital; and chooses to stay at
home among his own people where he may “die in peace.”
_TABLE NUMBER XXIII_
_Comparative Record of the Births and Deaths of Negroes and the
Entire City Population, during the Year of 1915 and the First Seven
Months of 1917._
NEGRO ENTIRE CITY
1915 1915
BIRTHS ███████████ 565 BIRTHS ████████████████ 16,139
DEATHS ██████████ 536 DEATHS █████████ 8,722
FIRST SEVEN MONTHS 1917 FIRST SEVEN MONTHS 1917
BIRTHS ███████ 356 BIRTHS ███████████ 11,013
DEATHS ██████████ 527 DEATHS ████████ 7,657
There is no more striking phase of the local Negro problem, than that
shown in table number XXIII. These figures disclose the astonishing
fact that the death rate among Negroes in this city during the first
seven months of 1917, was forty-eight percent greater than the birth
rate. In other words, while in the city population as a whole, the
number of deaths was thirty percent less than the number of births,
the number of deaths among colored people was forty-eight percent
more than the number of births; thus, for every one hundred persons
born in Pittsburgh in 1917, there were seventy deaths, while among the
colored population, for every one hundred children born, one hundred
and forty-eight persons died.
These figures seem of sinister significance to the Negro race. Even
when taking into consideration the facts that the migration is largely
that of single males, rather than that of families, and that because
most of the women here are doing some work outside the home there is a
definite policy of limiting their birth rate, there still remains the
fact that even during the entire year of 1915, while the birth rate
of the entire city population was practically twice the death rate,
the excess number of births over deaths among colored people was only
twenty-nine in a total of over five hundred.
_TABLE NUMBER XXIV_
_Ages of Persons who Died Within the First Seven Months of 1917._
+---------------+------+
| Under 1 year | 87 |
| Under 5 years | 43 |
| From 5 to 12 | 16 |
| From 12 to 20 | 24 |
| From 20 to 30 | 69 |
| From 30 to 40 | 101 |
| From 40 to 60 | 138 |
| Over 60 | 49 |
| ----- | --- |
| TOTAL | 527 |
+---------------+------+
_TABLE NUMBER XXV_
_Causes of Deaths of Children Under 5 Years of Age._
+-------------------------+------+
| Burns | 1 |
| Malnutrition | 4 |
| Syphilis | 4 |
| Tuberculosis Meningitis | 3 |
| Pneumonia | 51 |
| Tuberculosis | 5 |
| Enteritis | 21 |
| Premature | 9 |
| Meningitis | 2 |
| Bronchitis | 4 |
| Influenza | 2 |
| Asphyxia | 4 |
| Hemorrhage | 1 |
| Convulsions | 6 |
| Diphtheria | 2 |
| Rickets | 1 |
| Heart Disease | 8 |
| Mumps | 1 |
| Poliomyelitis | 1 |
| ----- | --- |
| TOTAL | 130 |
+-------------------------+------+
That the infant mortality rate among colored people is much higher than
among the white groups, is generally believed and it is not surprising
to find that the mortality among Negro infants in Pittsburgh is much
greater than the infant mortality rate for the entire city. Figures for
the year 1916-17 were unobtainable. The records of the Department of
Health show that during the year 1915 one hundred and four children per
thousand born in Pittsburgh, died in their first year.
There were three hundred and fifty-six Negro births in the first seven
months of 1917. During the same period eighty-seven Negro children died
under one year. Of this number fifty-nine had been born between January
and July 1917, which means that one hundred and sixty-six children per
thousand die in their first seven months. This clearly indicates that
the death rate of Negro infants is far above the death rate of white
infants. Table No. XXV also shows the cause of deaths of children under
five years of age who died within the last seven months. At least half
of these deaths were due to preventable disorders, as is apparent from
the figures in the same table.
_TABLE NUMBER XXVI_
_Colored Bodies Received and Disposed of in Morgue, First Six Months
During 1915 as Compared with First Six Months During 1917_.
+-------------------------+------+------+
| | 1915 | 1917 |
+-------------------------+------+------+
| Identified and Claimed | 13 | 32 |
| Identified and Cremated | 5 | 13 |
| Unknown and Cremated | 1 | 2 |
| | --- | --- |
| | 19 | 47 |
+---------------------------------------+
The figures obtained from the Coroner’s Office also indicate an
abnormal increase in the number of colored bodies received and disposed
of by the County Morgue. There were more than twice as many morgue
cases within the first six months of 1917 as during the same period of
1915. That the majority of these bodies were claimed and not disposed
of at public expense, is doubtless due to the high wages paid this
year. High wages at least provide for burials, which are considered
of paramount importance by the Negroes, because of their primitive
superstition, and abhorrence of having their bodies turned over for the
purpose of dissection.
The preceding analysis indicates that the conservation of the
health of the Negro in Pittsburgh is a very complex problem, and is
inter-related with his social, moral, industrial, housing and racial
situation. The Negro is affected by all the elements which render
difficult the preservation of health among whites but in a greater
degree. Many of the factors which work continuously to undermine his
health are to a large extent eliminated among whites; and on the other
hand, much of the effective work done by whites to counteract these bad
influences is entirely lacking among Negroes.
“The Triad of ‘baby-killers’--poverty, ignorance and neglect”--says
Dr. Sobel, of the New York Health Department, “works havoc among Negro
children to a greater extent even than among the whites.”
“The well known relationship between family income and infant
mortality exists among Negroes as among the whites. The crude death
rate is exceedingly high in all Negro districts. There are, however,
well-defined differences in their respective rates, resulting, we
think, from economic conditions. In the districts where the family
income is highest, the death rate is lowest, confirming the opinion
that if we can improve the social and economic condition of the Negro,
an appreciable reduction in their death rate will have been secured.”
(August, 1917 Bulletin of the Department of Health, New York City,
pages 87 and 88.)
While we may admit the claim often advanced that even under the same
conditions disease and infant mortality among Negroes would ordinarily
be higher than that of the whites, because, due to the climatic and
environmental maladjustments, his racial power of resistance is not
as great as that of the white; the Negro is still confronted with
many forces which handicap and work against him, but which are almost
non-existent among the whites.
From our discussion of employment, housing and opportunities for
advancement in Pittsburgh, the reader will realize the difficulties
and hardships which the Negro is compelled to face in this city. Only
a very few of the Negro migrants earn more than $3.60 a day for twelve
hours work. Half of the families here live in one room dwellings.
Practically all of the mothers are doing some work outside the home.
The Negroes have as yet no organization for mutual co-operation. They
live separate and apart from each other. In many cases for instance,
it was found in our survey, that women living next door to each
other for months would hardly know one another, although often they
would both come from the same state and even from the same city. The
Negroes are more exposed and liable to disease because their social,
industrial, educational and moral development is more handicapped than
that of the white man. The Negro is apparently as yet not free even
in the North; he is still held captive in economic bondage, and is
deterred from rising above the lowest servant class. He is, judging
from the present situation, limited to common labor at thirty cents an
hour during prosperous times.
The conservation of health, is as we have seen, no longer the problem
of the individual. It is therefore time that we awaken to the
realization that sickness and a high mortality rate among Negroes is
no longer the problem of the Negro alone. Eventually all of us will
have to pay the price for our indifference, both in money and in lives.
The taxpayer ultimately pays for hospitals and morgues, as well as for
jails and prisons. Our children are not at all immune from the sources
of disease which are ravaging the colored children. This problem is our
problem; we must face it squarely, and see whether any improvement in
this situation is possible.
The significance of such a study and its importance as the basis for
a practical program is clearly demonstrated by the remarkable results
brought about in New York City through a similar study. After a survey
of conditions in the Columbus Hill District, the Negro section of the
Borough of Manhattan the startling evidence of conditions prevailing
there stimulated the New York Bureau of Child Hygiene to take action.
This Bureau has succeeded in reducing the infant mortality rate among
colored people from 202 deaths per thousand children born in 1915 to
193.3 in 1916, and to 180 per thousand children born during the first
six months of 1917.
Dr. Jacob Sobel, Chief of the Division of Baby Welfare, writes as
follows in one of the recent monthly bulletins of the New York
Department of Health.[9]
“The stimulus to our program was given by a study of conditions in the
Columbus Hill District, and it was here that our efforts were first
concentrated. It was our knowledge of the conditions in this district
which led to an effort on the part of the Bureau of Child Hygiene to
institute a campaign against the excessive death rate among colored
infants, by studying primarily the needs of the situation, and by
securing the co-operation of all agencies and individuals interested
in the welfare of colored people. With this end in view, there was
first instituted a preliminary census of the babies residing in the
above district, by house to house canvas, and an effort was made to
have these babies enrolled at the Baby Health Station within said
district. Mothers’ meetings were held at schools, settlement houses,
churches, etc., at which the physicians of the Health Department gave
short talks to the parents of the neighborhood. The co-operation of
prominent colored citizens, ministers, physicians, newspaper men, etc.,
of the district, was secured. Educational slides, containing pointed
references to the high mortality among colored babies, and special
reference to the high mortality in particular sections inhabited by
colored people, were prepared and displayed on the screens of the
various moving picture houses in this and other districts.
“A series of articles on baby care was published in one of
the newspapers read largely by the colored race, namely, ‘The
Amsterdam News’, under the title of ‘The Baby’, and presented short
heart-to-heart talks on baby care. The Department of Health also
published a local bulletin for this district, known as ‘The Columbus
Hill Chronicle’, in which special attention was directed to conditions
among the colored population, with specific recommendations for the
improvement of their health and surroundings.
“In view of the large number of working mothers among the colored
people, a temporary shelter or day nursery for colored babies was
established in this district through the co-operation of the Babies’
Welfare Association, and funds have subsequently been provided, through
private means, for the permanent equipment and maintenance, in the
heart of this district, of a day nursery for colored children.
“The ‘Little Mothers’ of this district was organized, and in this way a
large amount of education was brought into the homes.
“Immediately upon the receipt of notification of births in this and
other colored districts, the Bureau of Records notified the Baby Health
Station, in order that the home might be visited, and the infant
enrolled for care and treatment.
“Special attention was directed to the supervision of colored babies
boarded out in the homes, and wherever a colored baby was found, not
a relative of the occupant of the premises, information was elicited
whether this individual had a permit to board and care for a baby, as
required by the provisions of the Sanitary Code.
“Provision was made for the distribution of free milk and free ice, to
needy families of the districts, through the organized relief agencies
and ice companies.
“Special attention was directed towards securing employment for the
fathers, so as to keep the mothers at home as much as possible.
“To supplement the work of baby care, two nurses were assigned by the
Department of Health to the Columbus Hill and Upper Harlem Districts,
for instruction and supervision of expectant mothers. The Association
for Improving the Condition of the Poor also assigned a nurse to the
Columbus Hill District for similar instruction, so that a beginning was
made to bring the colored expectant mother under the guiding influence
of trained nurses.
“The co-operation of the Tenement House Department was affected to the
extent that special attention was given to the sanitary condition of
the tenements occupied by colored people.
“In a further effort to control the mortality among the colored babies,
the policy of the Bureau to assign nurses during the summer months to
those districts of the city showing a high infant mortality rate and
a high birth rate, was applied with special reference to the colored
sections, and a large force was assigned there, each nurse having under
her direct charge from 100 to 150 babies during these months, keeping
up this complement whenever, through death or removal, the number fell
below the required amount.”
* * * * *
It is inevitable with any group, suddenly transferred into a new
situation, that striking maladjustments should arise. While single
instances of suffering very often are misleading and do not give a just
view of the case, numerous and typical incidents which are by no means
exceptional or exaggerated may help to visualize the problem.
A Georgia farmer who is making $3.60 a day for twelve hours of work
here brought over his wife and eight children, the oldest of whom was
thirteen years of age, to a house which he was fortunate to secure on
Second Avenue. Only a few weeks after his arrival all of the eight
children were taken sick, and two of them, one eleven and the other
six years old, died of pneumonia. Because of the contagion of some of
his children the man was unable to leave his house for eight weeks.
His physician said that the death of the children was due to the
over-crowded condition of the house. This man received no charity and
the money he had saved up was spent to the last cent on doctor bills.
Mrs. E. H. lives on Crawford Street with her three children the oldest
of whom is five years of age. She occupies a small and damp room. Since
there is no gas in the house, a red hot stove can always be found
burning in the room which is at the same time kitchen, dining room,
bedroom and washroom; for Mrs. H’s husband is in jail somewhere in
Georgia, and she does washing all day in order to support her children.
The water supply of the house is in the street, and the stairway
leading to the upper floors is in her room. All of her children were
sick; one had pneumonia. She came here a few months ago as everybody
else was coming. Relatives and charity are helping to support her.
Mr. F. J. P. was born in Jamaica of well-to-do parents, tobacco
planters, and was educated in England as a botanist. He works now as
a common laborer in Pittsburgh for he cannot secure work in his own
field; he is planning to go back to England.
Mr. J. D. has had his wife here for several months, but still has his
only child back in Florida as there is no room for him in his present
place.
Messrs. E. and R. Smith, one living on Penn Avenue, and the other
on Ross Street, worked for a steel plant and construction company
respectively. E. had an eye accident and was in the hospital for four
weeks, while R. had two fingers cut off while at work. The companies
paid the hospital bills for both but neither one of them ever heard or
knew anything about compensation, and never claimed any.
J. G. hails from West Virginia. He has been in town for two days and
has no room as yet. The lodging places he went to asked seventy-five
cents a night for a dirty bed. He stayed up both nights, and expects to
leave the city as soon as he can.
The Case family have eight children. The oldest is a girl of seventeen
years of age who works in a hotel. The mother works every day in the
week; she leaves home at seven in the morning and returns at five
o’clock in the afternoon. A girl of fifteen takes care of the children
in the meantime.
Mr. P. Roberts was a prosperous Negro in Florida. He was an experienced
concrete maker, earning according to his statement more than five and
six dollars a day at home, and owning property in the South. When the
industrial boom began he thought that the wages in his line were much
higher here than in his own home town, and that it would pay him to
come North. He came to Pittsburgh together with his wife, five children
and an old invalid mother who was confined to bed. When first visited,
Mr. Roberts occupied two small rooms, each having one window, in a
rooming house where there were about twenty-five male roomers. This
man could get no work here in his own trade, and was trying to save up
enough money from his $3.00 to $3.60 a day to go back to Florida. When
Roberts was visited again about six weeks after the first visit, his
old mother had already passed away, his wife had died of pneumonia,
while his oldest girl of sixteen who had been taking care of the
four little tots was sick in bed, and the children were playing on
the streets. Roberts was still trying to save from his $3.60 a day
sufficient money to carry him back to Florida, which he still considers
his home, as he owns property there.
These amazing instances of individual maladjustments are bound to
arise in any group which goes through such a sudden and abnormal
transformation. But they are even more frequent in the race which is
still primitive and child-like in many ways, with no one to direct,
guide and protect them.
But the significance and danger of these wrongs are even of greater
importance for the community as a whole, than for the few individuals
affected. The fact cannot be over-emphasized that the community
ultimately pays the price for its stupidity. Indifference to this
problem at present when it still can be coped with and adjusted will
result in an uncontrollable situation later. We have seen above some
of the costly results of our housing and wage conditions. We have also
learned in this war that we can no longer afford to breed and foment
discontent and antagonism among our own people. We must not only see
that the strangers among us are adjusted, but that they also do not
become a menace to the well-being of the community.
It is not sufficient that we bring these people here, give them a
“bunk-house” or a basement to sleep in, and a job in our mills for
twelve hours a day. Once these people are in our midst they become
a part of ourselves, and if we desire them to work in harmony with
our own interests and not become anti-social malcontents we must go
further than that. We must see that they become part and parcel of our
community, that they are educated and made familiar with the problems
that we are facing locally. The man who is here for several days and
stays up all night because he can find no place to sleep cannot be
expected to remain for long a social being. Pittsburgh’s progress will
be greatly handicapped if a certain element of our community has to
take advantage of the saloon and vice resorts for relaxation. Neither
can we afford to let a considerable part of our voting population
remain, because of lack of intelligence, the prey and spoil of
politicians who may jeopardize the whole life of the city for their own
selfish interest. We cannot permit sickness and high mortality rates
among the dark-skinned people. One of our big steel mills had to have
its whole office and plant forces vaccinated, and was even in danger
of being quarantined, when a number of Negroes working in the plant
scattered all over the city after a case of smallpox was discovered in
the rooming house where these men stopped. The Department of Health had
a big task hunting these men, and the danger to which the whole city
population was exposed was obvious. No more can we afford to let the
Negroes become the victims of all sorts of anti-social elements and
feel complacent after we send them for a period of time to the jail or
workhouse. They are a heavy burden upon the taxpayer while they are in
these Institutions and often become even a greater menace when they
are released. Our utmost attention is therefore essential to meet the
maladjustments before they have become acute; and we do not base this
claim upon sentimental grounds but upon the benefits of economic and
social far-sightedness.
Many Negroes in the North seem to understand the situation, and are
striving to do their best to help adjust conditions. Some of the Negro
churches in this city for instance tried to ameliorate the housing
conditions by converting their churches into lodging places for the
newcomers until rooms could be found for them. Besides the Provident
Rescue Mission on Fullerton Street, which accommodated thirty to forty
men at a time during the entire winter, at least one other church
converted the entire building into quarters for migrant families. The
latter church accommodated a number of families until the committee in
charge could secure homes for the newcomers. But the responsibility of
the white people is just as great, and it is indeed in very opportune
time that a prophetic warning is sounded by a colored writer in a
Cleveland paper as follows:
“Let them alone--permit them to grope blindly through the mazes of
startling new environments, and in a few years a social problem will
be created that will require a half century and millions of dollars to
solve.”
“Let them alone now, permit and enforce them to live in unsanitary
districts and homes, relieved of Christian and moral influence, and
what is perhaps a 20,000 responsibility today, will become a 50,000
heavy, crime-breeding burden tomorrow.”
“Let them alone today, permit them to become the flotsam and jetsam
of neglect, or pernicious discrimination--such as they were in the
South--and tomorrow, having inhaled a bit of Northern freedom, they may
become a dark, sinister shadow falling athwart the white man’s door.”
“Let them alone today, permit them to be retired to over-crowded shacks
and shanties where sanitation is an unuttered word, and tomorrow,
contagions, arising from these congested, unsanitary shanties and
shacks, will fly, like the black bat of night, over our fair city, and
in its wake will stalk the gaunt form of Death, claiming thousands of
our best white and Colored citizens as a debt paid for inaction.”
[9] August, 1917 Bulletin of the Department of Health, New York City.
CHAPTER IV.
_Some Constructive Suggestions Looking Toward the Solution of a Race
Problem Through Race Co-Operation._
It would indeed be presumptuous on our part to attempt in this little
study to solve the race problem. Our purpose was to present the facts
as they actually exist and let the reader draw his own conclusions.
However, a few suggestions looking to a constructive policy of meeting
the need caused by the Negro migration in Pittsburgh may not be amiss.
The main problem of the Negro migrant in Pittsburgh, as the reader has
already realized, is his social and industrial maladjustment, his lack
of organization, and absence of intelligent guidance. The National
League on Urban Conditions among Negroes is attempting to meet this
need by acting as adjusting agency, guide, educator and organizer. This
League is composed of white and colored men, whose aim is to secure
co-operation among the races and to act as a social medium between
the two peoples. Within the last year this League has established
eighteen different branches in various cities. Each of these branches
is headed by a trained Negro Social worker, who tries to get in touch
with the migrants as soon as they arrive in the town, and through the
co-operation of local social agencies and business officials, endeavors
to put each man into the right place. The League acts as a socializing
factor among the colored people with the aim of securing closer
co-operation between the two races. The success of these branches is
evidenced by the fact that in some cities the League’s staff had to
be increased three and four times the original number within the last
year, and in some instances these branches were established at the
invitation of Chambers of Commerce.
A representative of the League who has spent some time in studying
the situation in Pittsburgh thinks that it is comparatively easy for
the League’s Secretary here to get in touch with the newcomers as
soon as they arrive, and to endeavor to eliminate a great deal of the
industrial maladjustment which is due to the ignorance of the newcomer.
This can be done, he claims, through the co-operation of the more than
forty colored newspapers in the South, through the various branches of
the League, and through definite arrangements at the Railroad stations.
By keeping in touch with the employers and industrial concerns, the
local Secretary could also succeed in reducing the number of men who
are misplaced and misfits in their present jobs.
Some suggestions as to the work the League could do in Pittsburgh, are
thus outlined by the representative of the League.
“Besides the advertising in the newspapers, and the co-operation of
the League’s branches some Traveler’s Aid work may be done as a result
of the heavy Negro migration to Pittsburgh. Definite service might be
arranged at the railroad stations for directing newcomers to reliable
lodging houses, so as to protect them from unfavorable surroundings.
Likewise aid from the police department can be sought to eliminate a
large number of crooks and gamblers who thrive off the earnings of
newly arrived migrants in the congested sections.
“The industrial work is an essential part of our program, including
general employment, opening new opportunities and vocational guidance.
An important part of this work will be with the industrial plants
employing large numbers of Negro migrants. The Secretary will make
an especial effort to reduce the large Negro labor turnover in the
various industrial plants by noon-day and Sunday talks, by distributing
literature among the men and by assisting corporations in getting the
most reliable type of Negro labor and then seeing to it that this
labor is properly treated and given opportunities for advancement.
Vagrancy must not be tolerated in Pittsburgh especially when work is so
plentiful.
“The Housing work will be broad and cover both an effort to obtain more
sanitary houses for Negroes to live in, as well as less congested,
unhealthy and hence less immoral living conditions in certain parts of
the city. The difficulties might be partially overcome by encouraging
the organization of a Building and Loan Association and by interesting
real estate dealers, builders and owners who handle or own property in
desirable districts to improve the same for Negro tenants; by urging
individual home ownership, and, with more chance of success in the
Pittsburgh district, by convincing industries of the basic necessity
for building family homes.
“Health and sanitation are of vital interest to Negroes and to
Pittsburghers. One of the first efforts will be a campaign to reduce
the high illness and death rates among the Negroes. In co-operation
with the Bureau of Sanitation, physicians and Negro Institutions
and Organizations, an educational campaign can be waged giving wide
publicity to the facts obtained and suggesting remedies concerning,
a. The danger and use of patent medicines; b. Carelessness in dress; c.
Improper ventilation; d. Care of infants, etc. Following this campaign
a general effort may be made to clean up Negro neighborhoods, to obtain
better and cleaner streets and sidewalks, better sanitary inspection,
police service and if possible, a free bath house for the lower Hill
district.”
“The question of amusement and recreation is likewise important, as
they have a direct bearing on good citizenship. Definite co-operation
can be established with such existing organizations as the Y. M. C.
A., Washington Park Playground, Settlements, and the churches which
have the facilities for such work. Boy and girl clubs can be organized
under capable leaders. A supervised community dance can do much toward
helping the newcomer to better adjust themselves socially.”
“Delinquency, especially juvenile crime, should be handled in
connection with the courts, probation officers and schools; the League
furnishing through its office Big Brothers and Sisters with the idea
of organizing this work on a larger scale later on. The penal and
reformatory institution serving the Community should be reached to help
discharged and paroled prisoners to obtain a new start and be reclaimed
for their own good and that of society.”
“A very close relationship must exist between our charity and the
organized charities, because our association does not provide for
relief. An effort will be made to develop co-operation among welfare
organizations already existing in the community, to prevent expensive
duplication of work and to assure good feeling and harmony among
workers.”
“The details of this work may be reviewed from time to time by an
executive committee, which should consist of from ten to fifteen
persons chosen from the membership of the association.”
APPENDIX
_TABLE NUMBER XXVII_
_Increase in Number of Colored Children in the Schools of the Hill
District from January to October 1917, and Number of Children from
Southern States Since January, 1917._
+----------------+------------------+--------------+--------------+
| | Total Number of | Children who | % of Increase|
| NAME OF SCHOOL | Colored Children | Came from | within the |
| +------------------+ Southern | last 10 |
| | Jan. Oct. | States | Months |
+----------------+--------+---------+--------------+--------------+
| Franklin | 69 | 99 | 37 | 44 |
| Miller | 36 | 57 | 17 | 58 |
| Madison | 20 | 28 | 3 | 40 |
| Moorhead | 178 | 222 | 55 | 25 |
| Minersville | 181 | 271 | 97 | 50 |
| Letsche | 91 | 160 | 55 | 76 |
| McKelvy | 88 | 120 | 33 | 36 |
| Somers | 201 | 289 | 45 | 39 |
| Watt | 422 | 529 | 62 | 26 |
| Rose | 129 | 198 | 62 | 53 |
| | ---- | ---- | ---- | |
| | 1415 | 1973 | 466 | |
+----------------+--------+---------+--------------+--------------+
Total Average Increase 40%
Table number XXVII was compiled from the figures supplied by the
principals of the ten schools listed. These schools are located in
the Hill District. The figures indicate the increase in the one section
only, and do not include all the children who have been brought from
the South, but whose parents reside in other sections of the city. The
marked increase in the total number of colored children and the great
increase in the number of children who have come to this city within
the last ten months is significant.
As one would expect the majority of these children are in the lower
four grades. This was the case even before the migration but is
especially true since the migration. Many of the children from the
South either had no schooling at all, or were attending schools with
lower standards than ours.
The problem of over-aged pupils is very significant among the Negro
children. A principal in one of these schools who has recently made a
little study of over-aged pupils in these eleven schools finds that the
percentage of Negro children eleven years and over in the lower four
grades, is far greater than that of the whites (sixteen percent Negro
as compared with four and seven tenths percent whites). This, the same
principal remarks, is in spite of the fact that the tendency of the
schools is often to promote children upon the basis of their size and
age, rather than because of academic attainment. What is more the white
children in most of these schools come from homes where the parents
are not Americans, but foreigners who often do not speak the English
language.
The causes for the backwardness of the Negro children are deep-lying,
and are interlinked with their racial traits, social, economic and home
environments. Practically all school principals stated that in the
first four years the Negro child keeps well up with its white school
mates, but that after the fourth grade, the Negro child often falls
behind and cannot keep up with the whites.
It was apparent from our interviews with these principals that most
of these men and women are quite alert and eager to find some means
of remedying this difficult situation. Many of them have endeavored
for a long time to cope with this problem, and a few think they have
found ways to render more rapid progress of these children possible.
But in the formal character of the school curriculum they have
little freedom to develop their own schemes. These principals have
practically all agreed that a system of motor-education which would
emphasize the practical and industrial side rather than the purely
academic, would not only benefit a large number of white children, but
would prove absolutely invaluable for the colored children who, they
believe, are more motor-minded than the whites. It would certainly,
they think, solve the over-age problem to a large extent, and would
make the children better prepared to avail themselves of the economic
opportunities offered by our urban industrialism.
_TABLE NUMBER XXVIII_
_Detailed Budget Study of Fifteen Families Including the Income and
Expenditures for Seven Consecutive Days During the Month of September,
1917._
+-----+------+----+---------+-----+------+--------+--------+--------+
No. in|Family|Food|Clothing |Rents|Church|Medicine|Luxuries|Insurance
Family|Income| | and | Per | | | |
| | |Household|Week | | | |
| | | ex. and | | | | |
| | | carfare | | | | |
+-----+------+----+---------+-----+------+--------+--------+--------+
| 4 $25.25 $4.67 $2.85 $3.25 .... $0.86 $0.20 ....|
| 3 15.00 7.91 1.20 2.40 .... .50 .05 ....|
| 4 18.00 10.98 8.66 2.50 .... .40 .... $0.45|
| 3 28.50 6.38 9.29 2.50 $1.10 2.45 .30 ....|
| 2 17.00 3.77 19.60 2.10 .... .... .... ....|
| 3 18.00 10.25 4.05 2.00 .... .... .33 .72|
| 3 21.00 7.35 .30 3.50 .... .... 2.10 ....|
| 2 18.00 4.07 8.02 3.75 .... .25 .20 ....|
| 5 23.10 12.78 6.24 2.75 .... .... 1.60 1.50|
| 3 18.50 4.12 26.65 2.00 .... .... .... ....|
| 2 15.00 8.43 1.24 4.25 .... .... .05 ....|
| 2 16.50 9.51 .... 3.00 .... .... .20 .80|
| 3 18.00 6.10 1.07 4.00 .... 1.00 .... ....|
| 5 17.00 13.17 3.00 3.00 .... .05 1.75 .25|
| 5 14.00 7.87 2.48 6.00 .60 .... .... .65|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Table number XXVIII is a study of the budgets of fifteen migrant
families for seven consecutive days. The income includes the earnings
of both husband and wife. The figures on the expenditures are
approximately correct, although it was possible that in some families
there were no big food expenditures the first day, and in other
families food might have been left over after the seventh day.
The wide variation in the expenditures of these families on all the
necessary articles is significant, and is probably indicative and
typical of the maladjusted life and the diversity of the living
conditions of the migrants. The wide variety of food expenditures is
due primarily to the inordinate expenditures for meat, which in one or
two instances reached over eight dollars per week. This is typical of
the lack of balance of the diet.
The few cases of disproportionate expenditures on household goods were
made by migrants who had bought some furniture for their new quarters.
It is interesting to note, however, that these families were compelled
to skimp on their food, as their food bills are the lowest. Under
luxuries we included all expenditures on tobacco, liquor, candy and the
like. The few cases of considerable expenditures in this column are
due largely to the liquor bills. The little use of these articles in
most families is apparent from the table. The table as a whole, also,
indicates the high cost of the living necessities of these migrants in
Pittsburgh and their comparatively low wages.
_TABLE NUMBER XXIX_
_Negro Families Under Care of the Associated Charities with Causes of
Dependency During the Year Ending September 30, 1917._
+-------------------------------------------+------+
| 1. Unemployed | 30 |
| 3. Child Labor | 1 |
| 4. Work shyness | 13 |
| 5. Disability through industrial accident | 2 |
| 6. Tuberculosis | 3 |
| 7. Other sickness | 34 |
| 8. Blindness or sight seriously impaired | 4 |
| 9. Other physical handicap | 1 |
| 10. Feeble mindedness | 2 |
| 11. Epilepsy | 1 |
| 12. Insanity | 1 |
| 13. Other mental disease | 5 |
| 14. Old Age | 10 |
| 15. Death or burial | 9 |
| 16. Alcoholic intemperance | 17 |
| 17. Sexual irregularity | 18 |
| 18. Desertion or non-support | 36 |
| 19. Imprisonment | 6 |
| 20. Juvenile delinquency | 11 |
| 21. Abuse or neglect of children | 32 |
| 22. Debt | 7 |
| 23. Pauperized by unwise charity | 2 |
| 24. Hereditary pauperism | 1 |
| 25. Begging tendency | 8 |
| 26. Illegitimacy | 7 |
| 27. Domestic incompetency | 10 |
| 28. Illiteracy | 3 |
| 29. Domestic infelicity | 1 |
| 30. Bad housing | 25 |
| 31. Non-adjusted immigrant | 3 |
| ----- | --- |
| Total | 303 |
+-------------------------------------------+------+
_Schedule Used in Interviewing the Negro Migrants._
I (1) NAME (2) Present Address (3) Since No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Age (5) S. M. W. (6) Health
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(7) Occupation (8) Employer (9) Hours Daily (10) Weekly Wage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(11) Kind of House (12) Rooms in House (13) Water Supply (14) Toilet
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(15) No. in House (16) No. in Bedroom (17) No. Beds (18) No. Windows
in Room
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(19) How Does He (20) Leisure Time
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spend Money (a) Church
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Weekly? (b) Saloon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(a) Room (c)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Board
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(c) or Family (21) Court Record
----------------------------------------------------------------------
II (a) Former Address (c) Last Employer (d) Hours Daily
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Former Occupations (e) Weekly Wage
======================================================================
(f) Family (h) Weekly
(age) (g) Kind of Work Wage
----------------------------------------------------------------------
W. 2 (i) Why Left Home?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 3 (j) Who Paid Carfare Here?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 4 (k) Will Family Come Here?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 5 (l) When?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 6 (m) Live Where
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 7 (n) When Will He Go Back
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 8 (o) Why?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ch. 9
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Income
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SIGNATURE DATE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
ERRATA
Page 7--Line 1--for Districts read District.
Page 29--Line 9--for contained read continued.
Page 57--Line 5--for anti-migration read ante-migration.
Page 60--Table XXVI--third column headed “Total” should not appear.
Page 71--Instead of eleven schools, read ten.
Transcriber’s Notes
Page 5: “no definite stateture of their life here” changed to “no
definite statement of their life here”
Page 17: “hardly highe than six or seven feet” changed to “hardly
higher than six or seven feet”
Page 27: “to remark that this occured” changed to “to remark that this
occurred”
Page 49: “again demonsrating the petty character” changed to “again
demonstrating the petty character”
Page 51: “he had to contend himself” changed to “he had to content
himself”
Page 52: “Charges in the Juevnile Court” changed to “Charges in the
Juvenile Court”
Page 54: “the most optomistic of us” changed to “the most optimistic
of us”
“After the proceeding analysis” changed to “After the preceding
analysis”
Page 56 and 59: In the table, “Poleomelitis” and “Poliomelitis” changed
to “Poliomyelitis”
Page 61: “his racial power of resistence” changed to “his racial power
of resistance”
“The proceeding analysis” changed to “The preceding analysis”
Page 66: “in an uncontrolable situation” changed to “in an
uncontrollable situation”
Page 68: “to become the flotsman” changed to “to become the flotsam”
“It would indeed be presumptious on our part” changed to “It would
indeed be presumptuous on our part”
Page 72: “would make the chidren” changed to “would make the children”
Page 74: In the table, “Disalibity through industrial accident” changed
to “Disability through industrial accident”
The numbering in Table XXIX skips 2. This reflects the original.
There is no Table XIV in the original. Numbering has not been changed.
In a few cases, obvious errors in punctuation have been corrected.
In a few cases, inconsistent hyphenization has been standardized.
The mistakes mentioned in the Errata have been corrected.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEGRO MIGRANT IN
PITTSBURGH ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the
United States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the
person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph
1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the
Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work
on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format
other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain
Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
provided that:
* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation."
* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm
works.
* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at
www.gutenberg.org
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West,
Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without
widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular
state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
