On the other hand, the areas in which the negroes have increased more rapidly than in the country at large are found mainly in the southern parts of South Carolina Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and eastern Texas, with nearly all of Arkansas and Florida. In other words, the most rapid increase of the race has been in the south ern and western parts of the region under consideration. There does not appear to be any decided movement into the "Black Belt," which traverses the central part o South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Indeed, the heaviest increas is south of this region. CONJUGAL CONDITION. The conjugal condition of the negroes is set forth for the first time in the report of the Eleventh Census. With the exception of the matter of divorce, it is sum marized in the following diagram (Pl. VII). This shows the proportion of males an females at various ages who were single, married, or widowed. It shows that unde the age of 15 there are practically no marriages among the race. Between 15 and 20 a small proportion, perhaps about 1 per cent, of males were married and 14 per cen of the females. At ages between 20 and 25 a third of the males and nearly three fifths of the females were married, and with advancing age a constantly increasing proportion of both sexes is either married or widowed. It is evident, however, tha the women marry much younger than men. The proportion of widowed first become appreciable between the ages of 20 and 25 years. It increases much more rapidly among females than among males, and altogether the proportion of widows is many times greater than that of widowers, showing that many more widowers remarry than widows, and that they marry largely unmarried women. Comparison of conjugal statistics of the negroes with those of the whites develop two points of difference: First, that the negroes marry younger than the whites second, that the proportion of widows at most ages is greater than among whites The first of these facts is in accord with the shorter life period of the race; the sec ond is a result of the greater death rate of the race. Statistics of divorce show more frequent severance of conjugal relations amon the negroes than among the whites. The proportion of divorced persons to marrie persons in the United States at large among the native whites was 0.59 of 1 per cent while among the negroes it was 0.67 of 1 per cent. MORTALITY. There is no question but that the rate of mortality among the negro population i considerably greater than among the whites. It is not easy, however, to obtain a accurate measure of the relative death rates of the two races. The census statistic upon this subject are unreliable, since the returns from which they are derived ar by no means complete. Were the omissions uniformly distributed between the tw races we might still derive a comparison from them regarding the death rates of the two races, but unfortunately there is every probability that the omissions are much greater proportionally among the negroes than among the whites. It is only in few large Southern cities which maintain a registration of deaths that reliable figures are to be had. In these cities the relative death rates during the census year (1890) are shown in the following table: From these figures it appears that in the large cities the annual death rate of the negroes is very nearly if not quite double that of the native whites. It is probable that in the rural districts the disproportion among the death rates is not as great, since it is probable that a rural environment is better suited to the negroes than the environment of a large city. However this may be, there is no reasonable question. as stated above, that the death rate of the negroes is much larger than that of the whites. CRIMINALITY. The proportion of criminals among the negroes is much greater than among the whites. The statistics of the last census show that the white prisoners of native extraction confined in jails at the time the census was taken were in the proportion of 9 to each 10,000 of all whites of native extraction, while the negro prisoners were in the proportion of 33 to each 10,000 of the negro population. Thus it appears that the proportion of negroes was nearly four times as great as for the whites of native extraction. It should be added, however, that the commitments of negroes are for petty offenses in much greater proportion than among the whites. PAUPERISM. In respect to pauperism, the investigations of the census have been confined to paupers maintained in almshouses and have not been extended to those persons receiving outdoor relief, either permanent or temporary. The number of white paupers of native extraction in almshouses was found to be in the proportion of 8 to every 10,000 whites of native extraction, while the negro paupers were in the same proportion. Lest these figures should mislead, however, it must be added to this statement that in the South but little provision is made in the form of almshouses for the relief of the poor, this provision being confined almost entirely to the northern part of the country, a fact which in itself explains the small proportion of the negro paupers in almshouses. On the other hand, it is a matter of common knowledge to any resident of a Southern city that the negroes form a disproportionately large element of the recipients of outdoor charity. ILLITERACY AND EDUCATION. Of the progress of the negro race in education, the statistics are by no means as full and comprehensive as is desirable. Such as we possess, however, go to indicate a remarkably rapid progress of the race in the elements of education. During the prevalence of slavery this race was kept in ignorance. Indeed, generally, throughout the South it was held as a crime to teach the negroes to read and write, and naturally when they became freemen only a trifling proportion of them were acquainted with these elements of education. In 1870, five years after they became free, the records of the census show that only two-tenths of all the negroes over 10 years of age in the country could write. Ten years later the proportion had increased to three-tenths of the whole number, and in 1890, only a generation after they were emancipated, not less than 43 out of every 100 negroes, of 10 years of age and over, were able to read and write. These figures show a remarkably rapid progress in elementary education. In 1860 the number of negroes who were enrolled in the schools of the South was absolutely trifling. Since the abolition of slavery the number has increased with the greatest rapidity. This is shown in the following table, which relates only to the inhabitants of former slave States. The first column shows the proportion which the number of white children enrolled in the public schools bore to the white population, and the second column the proportion which the number of negro children in the public schools bore to the total negro population of these States. It is seen from the above table that in 1870 the white pupils constituted 13.5 per cent of the white population, and that in 20 years this proportion increased to nearly 22 per cent. On the other hand, the negro school children constituted in 1870 only per cent of all negroes, but that in 20 years it has increased to nearly 19 per cent of all negroes. The proportion of negro school children increased at a far more rapid rate than that of the white school children, and in 1890 had nearly reached it. The following table shows the proportion of such enrollment to population in 1890 in each of these states: 3 |