The Negroes of Clarke county, Georgia, during the Great War

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II Professor of English, Southern College, Sutherland, Florida

Sometime Phelps-Stokes Fellow, University of Georgia

Kntered at the Post Office at Athens, Ga.. as Second Class Matter, August 31. 1905. v.nder Act of Congress of July 16th. l'JOl. Issued Monthly by the University.

Serial No. 302 n '

CHANCELLOR'S FOREWORD

During the academic year 1912-13 there was established in the University of Georgia a Fellowship for the study of Negro problems in the South. The resolution of the Trustees of the Phelps-Stokes Fund in creating the Fellowship reads as follows:

"Whereas, Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes in establishing the Phelps- Stokes Fund was especially solicitous to assist in improving the condition of the negro, and

"Whereas, It is the conviction of the Trustees that one of the best methods of forwarding this purpose is to provide means to enable southern youth of broad sympathies to make a scientific study of the negro and of his adjustment to American civilization,

"Resolved, That twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500) be given to the University of Georgia for the permanent endowment of a research fellowship, on the following conditions:

"1. The University shall appoint annually a Fellow in Sociology, for the study of the Negro. He shall pursue advanced studies un-Jer the direction of the departments of Sociology, Economics, Education or History, as may be determined in each case by the Chancellor. The Fellowship shall yield $500, and shall, after four years, be restricted to graduate students.

"2. Each Fellow shall prepare a paper or thesis embodying the result of his investigations which shall be published by the University with assistance from the income of the fund, any surplus remaining being applicable to other objects incident to the main purpose of the Fellowship. A copy of these resolutions shall be incorporated in every publication issued under this foundation.

"3. The right to make all necessary regulations, not inconsistent with the spirit and letter of these resolutions, is given to the Chancellor and Faculty, but no changes in the conditions of the foundation can be made without the mutual consent both of the Trustees of the University and of the Phelps^Stokes Fund."

I appointed as Fellow under this foundation for the year 1918-19 Mr. Frank T. Long, A.B., a graduate of Mercer University in the Class of 1904, and placed the work under the direction of Professor R. P. Brooks, of the department of History. The present study is published in pursuance of the requirement in the second condition attached to the Fellowship.

DAVID C. BARROW, Chancellor, University of Georgia.

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PREEFACE

In this study I have attempted to follow up the previous investigations of the negro problem conducted under the auspices of the Phelps-Stokes Fellowship at the University of Georgia by inquiring into the spirit and attitude of the negroes of Clarke County during the Great War. If the study lacks depth and breadth of basic material, I hope its timeliness will in some degree atone for any deficiency of this kind. The greater part of the time from November 15, 1918 to June 4, 1919, was used in the direct and careful investigation of all sources of information available. Despite the difficulties that confront everyone who gathers data from sources where the records of whites and blacks are not kept separate, I have endeavored to learn in each case the definite facts and to confine myself strictly and impartially to them. In the case of interviews I invariably visited a sufficient^ number of persons in each instance to be sure that the opinions as finally recorded were vitally representative, many interviews similar to those included in the study being omitted.

It is with many thanks that I acknowledge the aid of numerous helpers, both members of the faculty of the University of Georgia and others, in the compilation of this thesis. I wish in this way to express my gratitude to Chancellor David C. Barrow, through whose suggestion the subject was chosen and by whom a lively interest has been manifested throughout the investigation; to Professor R. P. Brooks, whose wise and skilled guidance directed the research practically from its inception; to Professor H. D. Dozier for early encouragement and suggestions; to Professor H. A. Inghram for invaluable aid in the compilation of statistics; to Professor and Mrs. C. J. Heatwole for much inspiration and general aid; to Mr. W. T. Forbes, secretary of the Athens Y. M. C. A., and his assistant, Miss Annie Foster, for patient and most helpful information concerning war activity campaigns; to Miss Corinne Gerdine for unfailing assistance with reference to Red Cross statistics; to Mr. W. Woods White, of Atlanta, for much helpful statistical material, and to many others who have encouraged me and have given me practical aid. FRANCIS TAYL0 R LONG.

Athens, Ga., June 4, 1919.

CLARKE COUNTY XEOROES DURING GKREAT WAR

Chapter I. Operation Of The Selective Service System

By general consent man-power is regarded as the first requisite in time of war, for without recruits from whom to select and train both the officers and the men of an army, other resources, no matter how varied or how inexhaustible, amount to little. It is, therefore, proper to begin this study of war conditions in Clarke County with a consideration of the response made by the negroes of the county under the requirements of the selective service system. In the consideration of this, as is true in the examination of practically every other phase of the study, the parallel contribution of the whites is always in the background and insistently presents itself for comparison. The comparative basis of study will, consequently, be employed freely, because there is no better way in which to show clearly the sharp contrasts which are so often discovered in the analysis of this question. The registration statistics, the only reliable basis for a contrast between the man-power contributions of the two races to the direct military activity of the nation, are presented, first, in detailed form for information* second, in consolidated form for comparison.

TABLE I.

Registration of June, 1917 1

Number Registered Inductions Delinquents White 1,028 187

10 64

Deserters 1

■ 331

TABLE II.

Registration of June and August, 1918

Number Registered Inductions Delinquents White 68 17

TABLE III.

Registration of September, 1918

Number Registered Inductions Delinquents White 1,369 58 13

TABLE IV.

Showing a Consolidation of the Registration Number Registered Inductions Delinquents White 2,4(;r, 262 24

For a full and clear understanding of the significance of these tables certain explanations are necessary. The excess of black inductions over white is due to (1) the considerable number of whites

Deserters

Deserters

Deserters

1 8 i These statistics were secured from the Clnrke County Local Board.

OLARKE COUNTY NEGROES DURING GREAT WAR

who volunteered and are not included in these figures; and (2) the fact that the negroes are not evenly distributed over the country but are concentrated in the South. In order, therefore, that the negroes might be made to bear their proportionate part of the burden, it was necessary to call a larger number from the South than would on the surface seem just. The Local Board in calling up whites and blacks acted on orders from the Provost Marshal General at Washington, who designated in his orders the number of each race he desired.

Delinquents are those who failed to make out questionnaires or to appear for physical examination. Such cases are reported to the Adjutant General of the State. The Adjutant General then mails a notice to the delinquent, requiring him to show cause why he should not be inducted. If he does not report within a certain number of days, he is then automatically inducted and his name is sent to the Adjutant General of the United States. He is then classed as a deserter. This is the only class of deserters handled by the local boards. The local boards have nothing to do with the men who desert after induction.

In the registration for September, 1918, the large number of delinquents is due to the fact that in sending out questionnaires, the young men eighteen years of age were included with those who were thirty-seven years old and with all the men who came within the age limit of the registration. Subsequently the men who were thirty-seven years old, as well as those who were older, were relieved from making out questionnaires, that is to say, the questionnaires were recalled after the signing of the armistice. This brought about confusion, because the young men who were eighteen years of age, in a number of cases, interpreted the recall as applying to themselves also. If the registration had been completed (the armistice stopped it), there would probably have been only five delinquents, of whom four would have been negroes. The relatively large number of white inductions in the September. 1918, registration, is accounted for by the fact that most of these were members of the Student Army Training Corps at the University of Georgia.

It is necessary, in order to see more clearly the relationship between the number of white and the negro registrants, that the population of the two races be compared.

TABLE V 1 .

Showing Population of the County by Races

Population Percentage

On the basis of population it is evident from this table that the negroes should have furnished somewhat more men for the army i Abstract of the Thirteenth Census, p. 608.

than the whites, because the negro population of the county is a little more than fifty per cent of the total population. But there is a notably larger number of white registrants than black. From this it would appear that there is a larger number of white people in Clarke County now than black. This is doubtless true and will account in some degree but not altogether for the great difference. The other probable causes of this difference will be considered in the analysis of the table which gives a comparison between the population and the registration of the two races.

TABLE VI.

Showing a Comparison of Population and Registration

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An examination of this table shows that the negroes, though slightly more numerous, failed considerably in even equaling the number of registrants furnished by the whites, the registration of blacks having fallen 453 short of whites. At first thought it would seem that this surplus of white registrants is due to the student population in the Student Army Training Corps of the University of Georgia, but a more thorough examination of the matter fails to justify this opinion. In the first place, two of the registrations, the ones for August and September, 1918, took place when the University was not in session. Consequently there was no non-resident student population in the city. In the second place, the non-resident students who registered at the University during the other two registration periods, according to the registrar of the University, who was officially appointed by the Local Board to register these students, invariably registered with their home boards by having the registrar send their cards to the local boards of the towns and cities in which they lived. In the opinion of the registrar there was not one exception in the approximately 125 students whom he registered. Even if all of this number were subtracted from the 453 surplus white registrants there would still be a surplus of 328, which is out of all proportion to the percentage of population.

There are three probable explanations of this unusual majority of white registrants. In the first place, as has already been indicated, it is doubtless caused in part by the more rapid increase of white than black population in the present decade. According to the census of 1910, there were a few more blacks than whites in Clarke

County, thereby causing it to remain by a slight majority in the Black Belt. It is very likely true now that there is a majority of whites. In the second place, this increase of white population seems to have been accentuated by negro migration, which has been marked since the outbreak of the Great War. While the migration of negroes to munitions and other plants of a similar nature has not affected all of the county, it seems to have affected the city of Athens to a marked degree. Practically all of the mer. who migrated were of such ages as would come within the limits specified in the selective service laws. In the third place, it seems that the broadening educational advantages offered by the University of Georgia are increasing not only the non-resident but the permanent white population of the city. Parents who are in a position to do so are more and more coming to Athens to reside permanently in order that their sons and daughters may enjoy the educational advantages thus afforded. There is no corresponding school here for the negroes. The negro schools in Athens are of a kind to attract students who are too young to come within the age of registration. Doubtless each of these causes has aided in bringing about the difference noted in the white and the black registration.

Other phases of the comparison are likewise invariably in favor of the whites. The number of the white registrants exceeds that of the black by 4.42 per cent. The number of registrants inducted is greater by .8 of one per cent for the blacks than for the whites. The delinquency of black registrants is greater by .75 of one per cent than that of the white, and the number of deserters, though remarkably small for each race, is greater by .06 of one per cent for the blacks than for the whites.

If a further analysis of the service rendered by these recruits were made, it would doubtless be discovered that many of the negroes were employed in the less responsible work of the army, such as that of labor battalions and kindred service, work, however, which is just as essential to the army as that of the infantrymen. There were, of course, far more officers commissioned from among the white recruits than from the black. All of the negro recruits received several months of training in the various army camps, and some of them went to France and saw active service at the front. Judging from the general character of the negroes of Clarke County, the negroes who entered the army from Athens measured up well with the average of the soldiers of their race. As soldiers they doubtless rendered as good service as the average negro soldiers did in the army.

S UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Chapter II. Records Op Various War Activity Campaigns

After an examination of the man-power contribution made by the negroes of Clarke County during the Great War it is well to turn next to the contribution of funds for the training and support of these men in the field. These two things, the army and the material support of the army, are invariably thought of together. There is a tertium quid, the very essence of patriotism, the spirit without which neither an army nor the resources for the support of the army are possible; but for the purposes of this paper the presence of this spirit will be gauged in a practical way by the presence or absence of a concrete manifestation of it in one or both of the two first named elements. As the army and the resources of the army are so necessarily linked together, the consideration of the second of these two component parts will form the basis of this chapter. The contrast between the respective contributions of the two races in this phase of war work, as will be shown more in detail later in the chapter, is indeed sharp and well defined. Probably few other comparisons in this study, if any at all, will show greater divergence than this. Though at best little could be expected of the negroes in this particular, even that little has not been realized.

Before consideration is given to the contributions of war funds by the whites and blacks, the relationship between the amount of property owned by the members of the two races, which is the economic basis and source of these funds, will first be shown. In order to present these differences as fully and as clearly as possible, recourse has been had to the Tax Digest of Clarke County, which offers the most dependable statistics available. Only a few of the items listed in the consolidation found in the Tax Digest have been omitted, these items being the ones in which no comparison can be made because there are no figures given for the negroes. No important item, however, has been left out. This rather complete survey of items is given so that all the important forms of property may be compared at a glance, but careful comparisons will be made only with reference to the most important items.

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In this decided preponderance in the value of the property of the whites, which is shown in figures in each phase of the itemized statement of tax valuations in the foregoing table, is to be found an indication of the degree to which the contributions of the whites surpass those of the negroes. Several items are entirely omitted from the tabulation, because in these items no basis of comparison is given. That is, no figures at all are given for the negroes. Among these items are "the market value of shares in any state or national bank of this state, etc.," and "the market value of cotton, corn, annual crops, provisions, etc." Relative to the first of these items, market value of shares in any state or national bank of this state, the whites of the county are credited with the return of shares to the amount of $834,000. The property of the whites noted in the second of these items is returned at $35,405. These statistics are offered without further comment.

Selecting from this detailed array of statistics four items that are probably the most representative, a comparison will be made within this more restricted and more vital range of the relative ownership of property by the two races. In the matter of land, for instance, it will be observed that the whites own 87.14 per cent, while the blacks own 12.86 per cent of the total. This means that the whites own about six and three-quarters acres of land to every acre owned by the negroes. In the value of this land the whites have additional advantage, for the total valuation of the land of the whites is a little more than eight times that of the blacks. If one were, therefore, to compare the war contribution of the whites with that of the blacks on the sole basis of the valuation of land owned in the county, the ratio would be established.

If the aggregate value of the total property of the whites is considered with that of the blacks, the contrast is even more unfavorable to the negro; for the value of the total property of the whites is somewhat more than seventeen times as much as that of the negroes. This epitome of the most prominent points shown in the preceding tables prepares the way for the consideration of the part the negroes of the county played in the support of the war activity campaigns.

Complete responsibility for the raising of all the popular funds connected with war activities — Liberty Loan, Red Cross, War Savings Stamps, United War Work, and all the other related efforts — ■was assumed by the whites. All the organizations for this work were originated by the whites and were placed in operation by them. It was understood that the whites would raise the quota asked for in each instance. If the aid of the negroes could be secured, it was well. If the negroes gave no aid in any particular campaign, the whites thought nothing of it but went ahead and subscribed the entire fund. If any of the white subscribers failed to pay, other white subscribers took up these pledges and paid them. If any negro subscribers failed to pay — and they did fail in nearly every instance to pay all they pledged even in the few campaigns in which they took part — the whites also made good these pledges. It was the white man's burden, and the white man bore it in Clarke County cheerfully and most successfully.

At the outset one is confronted by the fact that the negroes contributed nothing to some of these campaigns. An examination of the list of the fourteen campaigns which will be made the basis of this chapter discloses the fact that there were as many as seven of these, fifty per cent of the total, in which the negroes took no part. In some cases there are extenuating circumstances for this remissness of the blacks; in others there are none. It is true, for instance, that in some of these phases of war activity the negroes were not asked to take part, because some of the campaigns were conducted so rapidly and so successfully that the results aimed at were obtained even before more than a very few of the whites had been canvassed, or because a rapid and enthusiastic canvass of the whites insured the success of the given campaign without an appeal being made directly to the negro population. The prosecution of the First Liberty Loan is an example of the former of these two conditions; the Food Conservation Campaign is an example of the latter 1 . But the fact cannot be well escaped that even when vigorous canvasses were made of the negroes in the more important campaigns that the response received from them was not enthusiastic. No demands were made upon the negroes in some of the later campaigns, not because the whites were not anxious for the cooperation and help of the negroes; but because the organizers of these campaigns had already learned that much energy was wasted to secure a few pledges among the negroes and that in every campaign the greater part of the pledges made remained unpaid. The response of the negroes as a whole to these concrete demands of patriotism may be characterized as disappointing, not only with reference to the negro subscriptions themselves but also as regards the comprehension by the negroes of the increased moral and spiritual responsibility placed upon them by the war.

It has been observed oftener than once by leaders, both white and colored, in the war activity campaign work among the negroes in Clarke County that the zeal and enthusiasm with which the negroes began the consideration of a subscription varied much from the final results that were obtained. The amount of their pledges did not equal the fervor of their emotional enthusiasm. Their interest was apparently easily aroused, but it manifested a tendency to subside just as quickly. This serves to explain in part why even when they finally enlisted in these campaigns their contributions were so pathetically insignificant. It doubtless serves also as a partial explanation of why there were so many war activity campaigns in which the negroes did not participate at all.

i see Table IX and the explanation following it.

TABLE IX.

Showing Summary of War Activity Campaigns in Which Negroes

Did Not Participate

Campaign Amt. Subscribed No. Subs. Ave. Sub.

First Liberty Loan _ _$357,200.00 (Not available) Second Liberty Loan _ 266,000.00 759 $350.45

First Y. M. C. A.

Second Y. M. C. A.

War Work _ _ _ _ 32,452.61 (See explanation below) Second Red Cross- _ 33,000.00 2,200 15.00

Armenian and Syrian

Food Conservation — 97 per cent of white people of Athens pledged in one day. Negroes were not solicited.

In securing accurate and complete statistics for Tables IX and X much difficulty was experienced. This was due to several causes, two of which should be mentioned. In the first place, it was found that in nearly every instance white and black subscriptions, if kept separate at all, .were often confused in final tabulations made by the leaders of these campaigns. It may, therefore, be that some small subscriptions made by negroes to some one or more of the foregoing campaigns have been overlooked. In the second place, on account of the fact that many of these pledges are paid in instalments extending over rather long periods, some of the subscribers fail to complete the payment of their pledges even after having made some of the payments. Consequently the totals are being constantly revised and corrected. In either instance, however, any inaccuracies that may have occurred would not appreciably change the ultimate results.

In further explanation of the fact that the negroes did not contribute to any of these campaigns it may be said with reference to the First Liberty Loan that this campaign for funds was not only about the first one instituted but also that it was restricted almost entirely to the banks and various corporations of the city of Athens. Most of the subscriptions to each of the Liberty Loans were made in Athens, but the four succeeding loans were better distributed throughout the county than the First. The fact that the bulk of the subscriptions in each of the loans came from the city is natural, because Athens is not only the one city in Clarke County but also represents a great amount of the county's population and wealth. It may be readily seen that in the First Liberty Loan the number of subscribers was small in comparison, for instance, with the Second Liberty Loan, or with any other loan of the series.

It will be observed, however, that the Second Liberty Loan was a more general loan than the First. It came considerably later in point of time, and much greater enthusiasm in the prosecution of the war had been aroused than had characterized the first loan of the series. More publicity was given to it, as will be manifest from a glance at that part of the foregoing table which shows the number of subscribers, 759. Yet there is no record of a single negro subscription to this loan.

Two of the three large Y. M. C. A. campaigns for funds had been completed before the negroes made any subscription to this worthy cause. The fact that almost as many subscribers participated in the First Y. M. C. A. campaign as in the Second Liberty Loan will serve to show how general was the solicitation made for funds in that campaign. The large number of subscribers who contributed to the Second Y. M. C. A. campaign gives adequate indication of the widespread nature of the appeal in that campaign in Clarke County; for, excluding the War Savings Stamps and the United War Work campaigns, no other organized effort of this nature secured such an individual response.

In Table IX the figures given for the amount subscribed for the Second Y. M. C. A. War Work Campaign represent the total for the Athens District, composed of several counties, and not of Clarke County. On account of the fact that Athens oversubscribed so heavily its quota in the First Y. M. C. A. War Work Campaign, no canvass for funds was made in Clarke County at all but the remaining counties of the district were left to make up their just subscriptions to this fund. The only part of this amount that should be credited to Clarke County is $250 voluntarily sent in to the fund t a large public service corporation of Athens. Consequently no number of subscribers is given with the amount subscribed as listed in the table.

In the foregoing table is given a resume of what may be termed the negative phase of the activity of the negroes in Clarke County in the war work campaigns. This is a negative consideration of the matter, because the number of campaigns in which the negroes did not take part made it seem necessary to present this phase of the matter before taking up the positive achievement. Without dwelling too much on these negative statistics, a more complete examination will now be made of the positive side.

TABLE X.

Showing Summary of War Activity Campaigns in Which Negroes

Participated

Campaign Amt. Subscribed No. Subs. Ave. Sub. First Red Cross —

Third Liberty Loan —

Fourth Liberty Loan —

F'fth Liberty Loan — ■

War Savings Stamps —

United War Work —

Jewish War Relief —

Black _ _ _ _ 75 (Not available)

There are some interesting conditions presented in this table. With reference to the data for the two Red Cross Campaigns, it will be observed that only one of the two is presented in this tabulation. The statistics for the other one are to be found in the preceding table. The figures for the First Red Cross Campaign show that the whites subscribed twenty-five times as much as the negroes. The comparison of the value of the total property of the two races, it will be recalled, showed that the whites owned seventeen times as much property as the blacks. There were 422 more colored subscribers than white, and the average subscription for the blacks was only one thirty-third of that for the whites.