Twentieth Century Negro Literature Part 54

He was forced to relinquish this work because of other duties. Mr. Hunt is a strong and courageous young man, he is firm in his convictions and believes the royal road to success is attained through the faithful performance of each day's duties. His sympathies are near to the interests of the working cla.s.ses. As a college-bred man he urges his people to become skilled artisans and to build up reliable business enterprises and thus become independent. His kindness of heart and plain honest dealing with his fellow-man, along with his intellectual attainment, have won for him a host of friends and made him a popular man with all the people.

While attending Atlanta University, Mr. Hunt met the girl--Miss Florence S. Johnson, of Raleigh, N. C.--who in the year 1893 became his wife and to whom much of whatever success he has attained is attributable. To them there have been three bright and beautiful children born--two girls and a boy.

In a chapter on this subject it may not be out of place to give some little attention to the early history of the Negro as a farmer in America.

Without stopping to discuss the motives of the sea captain who brought over the first load of Negroes to America, or why the Northern colonists discontinued, at a comparatively early date, the use of slave labor, let us note a few things about the Negro in the South.

The fact that they could easily endure the summer sun of the cotton belt; that they learned quickly the simple methods of farming used in the cultivation of cotton, rice, sugar-cane, and tobacco; that they required but little in the way of food, clothing, housing and medical attention, and the further fact that they possessed a peculiarly happy and light-hearted disposition, all tended to make them especially valuable to the Southern planters.

It seems that slave labor was looked upon, at a comparatively early date, as being not only desirable, but absolutely necessary to the growth and development of the Southern colonies.

For several years after the settlement of Georgia no slaves were allowed to be used in that colony, but, finding that the colony seemed to be doomed to failure, the "trustees" permitted the introduction of slaves and the colony began immediately to prosper.

The following lines attributed to George Whitefield--the famous minister--in referring to his plantations in Georgia and South Carolina, give a fair idea of the feelings of the Southern colonists on the subject of slave labor at that time. He speaks thus about his Georgia plantation: "Upward of five thousand pounds have been expended in the undertaking, and yet very little proficiency made in the cultivation of my tract of land, and that entirely owing to the necessity I lay under of making use of white hands. Had a Negro been allowed I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great many orphans, without expending above half the sum which has been laid out." How different are his expressions concerning his South Carolina plantation, where slavery existed: "Blessed be G.o.d! This plantation has succeeded; and, though at present I have only eight working hands, yet, in all probability, there will be more raised in one year, and without a quarter of the expense, than had been produced at Bethesda for several years past. This confirms me in the opinion I have entertained for a long time that Georgia never can or will be a flourishing province without Negroes are allowed."

With the invention of the cotton gin slave labor became still more valuable, the South more prosperous, and the planters verily believed that cotton was king and South Carolina the hub of the universe.

But, while it is true that the Negro became an indispensable factor in the material prosperity of the South by his work on the plantations, yet he did not at that time occupy a position that could be dignified with the name of farmer. During the days of slavery the Negro occupied a position more closely akin to that of a farm animal than that of a farmer. Of course there were exceptions but we are speaking now of the ma.s.ses.

The Negro having been looked upon by his master and schooled to look upon himself and his fellow bondmen as possessing none of the intelligence and virtues essential to success in life, there is little wonder that a comparatively small number of freedmen took advantage of the opportunities offered immediately after the close of the Civil War to become land owners. Indeed, when we take into account the fact that there was a sort of caste feeling among the slaves, with the "field hands" as the "mud sill," and all glad of any opportunity offered to rise above the despised position, the great wonder is that so many were willing to continue an occupation considered so degrading. The fact is, that it was to a very great extent simply a matter of accepting cheerfully the inevitable that held so many of the freedmen to the farms and to farm life.

Among the positive forces that operated in taking the Negro from the farm there was, perhaps, none stronger than the desire to have his children educated--the opportunity for which being very poor in the country districts--many of the very best and most thrifty among them left the farms for the towns and cities.

But whether on the farm or in the city, only a few years of freedom and its attendant responsibilities were necessary to enable the more intelligent ones of the ex-slaves to see the importance of not only knowing something, but owning something as well, if they were to entertain any hopes or aspirations above those of the "field hand,"

and it was from this cla.s.s of Negro farm hands that the real Negro farmer came into existence. While there were many who showed decided intelligence, sound judgment and shrewd business sense by the manner in which they managed their affairs, still the great ma.s.ses had arisen, if at all, only from the position of the master's farm animal in slavery to that of his less cared for farm hand in freedom.

The condition just described represents the state of affairs during the first few years after the war, as indeed it does present conditions, except that the number of those who may be called farmers is constantly increasing and the number of mere farm hands is growing proportionately smaller. We should keep constantly in mind the distinction between the man who tills his own land and the one who works the land of another, the former is the farmer, the latter the farm hand.

The distinction just noted would seem to be entirely justifiable as ownership of the land is the first requisite for the proper interest in, and love for the work being done, to ent.i.tle a man to the name of farmer.

In order to properly appreciate the opportunities and advantages of farm life to himself and his children, there must be that love for the farm itself, its rocks, its woods, its hills, its shady rills and its meadows that can come in no other way than through the proud sense of ownership. There must be the feeling of kinship for the very soil itself; the birds, the bees, the flowers must all be held dear to the heart of him who would know nature's choicest secrets and reap rich harvests from her beautiful storehouse.

In no field are the prospects brighter for the negro than in that of agriculture. There are thousands of acres of land in the South and Southwest that may be purchased upon terms so favorable that the land being purchased, may, by proper management, be made to yield sufficient income to meet the payments.

In the combination of a mild climate, cheap land, with easy payments, ready markets and previous training of the Negro, G.o.d seems to be offering special inducements for him to come out from the condition of a landless tenant--that may grow into a serfdom worse than slavery--to that of worthy, independent and self-respecting land owners.

There is no field in which he meets so little of the unreasoning and unreasonable prejudice as in farming.

The products of the farm are the necessaries of life and people do not stop to question too closely as to whence they come or by whom produced.

Owing to the growth of manufacturing in the South, especially of cotton goods and the consequent removal of large numbers of the poor whites into the cities and towns, just now would seem to be the high tide of the Negroes' opportunity to become an independent cla.s.s of citizens; and we should be careful to seize it at its flood, or all the rest of our life's voyage may be bound in shallows and miseries more distressing than those already pa.s.sed.

The opportunity for buying land, becoming independent and even wealthy, are, indeed, grand, but the fact must ever be kept in mind that the present favorable conditions will not obtain indefinitely.

Let the tide of European immigration once turn southward and compet.i.tion immediately becomes sharper, and the further progress of the Negro decidedly more difficult.

If the Negro would put himself in position to successfully withstand this compet.i.tion that will inevitably come, let him begin now by purchasing his stronghold--the farm--and fortify himself, or he may awake, when it is too late, to find himself without a home or the means with which to secure it.

Let us note just here one of the most solemn obligations resting upon those who stand as leaders of the Negroes, viz.: The duty of impressing upon the ma.s.ses the absolute necessity for purchasing land and the great need, yes, the absolute necessity of doing so _now_.

It is not the purpose of the writer to create the impression that the leaders of our people are neglecting their duty, or that the ma.s.ses are letting their opportunities for material betterment pa.s.s unimproved, but rather to arouse both leaders and followers to the necessity for greater activity in their work. Indeed when all things, favorable and unfavorable, are taken into account, there is much to be thankful for and hopeful over in the present condition of the Negro farmers.

In almost every community in the South there are to be found Negro farmers who are not only making a decent living, but buying land and improving it, building comfortable dwellings, improving the grades of their farm animals, giving liberal support to their schools and churches and bringing up their children in a manner that is altogether creditable and calculated to make of them good citizens.

It is encouraging to note the increased interest on the part of many young men on the subject of farming, as evidenced by the increasing popularity of the agricultural and mechanical colleges, and the lively interest taken by them in the farmers' conferences held in various parts of the South. The number of Negro farmers who read agricultural journals and make intelligent use of the bulletins issued by the agricultural departments of the various states and the United States, is constantly increasing.

Lest there be some doubt as to the truthfulness of the favorable conditions just mentioned, let the figures speak. Since last year the Negroes of the single state of Georgia have purchased 66,000 acres of land and added $380,000 to the value of farm lands. (Prof. W. E. B.

DuBois in The Independent, Nov. 21, 1901.)

Indeed it seems that if in one particular line of work more than any other the Negro has won for himself a place in the history of this country's progress that work has been upon the farm. If one section of the country has profited more than another by his toil, that section is the South, whose forests he has felled, whose roads he has built, whose soil he has tilled, whose wealth he has created, and whose prosperity he has made possible. Then let us not be discouraged, but turn our faces to the sunlight of heaven and put forth our very best endeavors, confidently expecting to reap the full rewards for our labors and attain the full measure of manhood as a race in this "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

TOPIC XXVII.

THE NEGRO AS AN INVENTOR.

BY H. E. BAKER.

[Ill.u.s.tration: H. E. Baker]

HENRY E. BAKER.

Henry E. Baker is one of the most useful men in Washington.

His life stands out in strong contrast to that of so many of our educated colored men who have come to Washington, obtained positions in the government service, and shriveled up so far as public usefulness is concerned. He is an active member of the Berean Baptist Church, being its treasurer, an office he has held for several years. For ten years he has been secretary, the executive officer of the Industrial Building and Savings Company, and a director of the Capital Savings Bank. His most notable characteristic is his public spirit, having been connected with almost every well-directed movement in this city for the last fifteen years, looking to the betterment of the condition of his race, especially in the matter of opening up business opportunities for them. The estimation in which he is held by those who know him best is attested by the fact that he is almost invariably called to the position of treasurer in every organization of which he is a member. Born just before the War in Columbus, Miss., he attended the public school of his home and also the Columbus Union Academy. He pa.s.sed the entrance examination at Annapolis, and was admitted into the Naval Academy as cadet midshipman in 1875, where he remained nearly two years. In 1877, he was appointed "copyist" in the United States Patent Office, where he is at present employed, and where he was promoted, through the several intervening grades, to the position of Second a.s.sistant Examiner at $1,600 per annum. He attended the Ben-Hyde Benton School of Technology in this city from 1877 to 1879; entered the law department of Howard University in 1879, graduating in 1881, at the head of his cla.s.s, and from the post-graduate course in 1883.

He was married in May, 1893, at Lexington, Ky., to Miss Violetta K. Clark, of Detroit, Mich., who graces a cozy home at 2348 Sixth Street, N. W.

It is quite within the mark to say that no cla.s.s of men of modern times has made so distinct a contribution to what is popularly called "modern civilization" as have the inventors of the world, and it is equally within bounds to say that the American inventor has led all the rest in the practical utility as well as in the scientific perfection of his inventive skill. Within the century just past the inventors of America have done more than was done in all the preceding centuries to multiply the comforts and minimize the burdens of domestic life. What Washington and Grant, Sherman and Sheridan did for the glory of America was done, and more, by Whitney, Morse, Thompson, Howe, Ericsson, Colt, Bell, Corliss, Edison, McCormick, and a host of other Americans, native and naturalized, to promote the progress of American inventive skill, and thus firmly to establish this country in the front rank of the enlightened nations of the world.

The true measure of a nation's worth in the great family of nations is proportionate to that nation's contribution to the welfare and happiness of the whole; and similarly, an individual is measured by the contribution he makes to the well being of the community in which he lives. If inventions therefore have played the important part here a.s.signed to them in the gradual development of our complex national life, it becomes important to know what contribution the American Negro has made to the inventive skill of this country.

Unfortunately for the seeker after this particular information the public records of the United States government offer practically no a.s.sistance, since the public records distinguish only as to nations and not as to races. The Englishman and the American may instantly find out how each stands in the list of patentees, but the Irishman and the Negro are kept in the dark--especially the latter.

The official records of the United States Patent Office, with a single exception, give no hint whatever that of the thousands of mechanical inventions for which patents are granted annually by the government, any patent has ever been granted to a Negro. The single exception was the name of Henry Blair of Maryland, to whom the public records refer as "a colored man," stating that he was granted a patent for a corn harvester in 1834 and another patent for a similar invention in 1836.

It is altogether safe to a.s.sume that this Henry Blair was a "free person of color," as the language of those days would have phrased it; for the government seemed committed to the theory that "a slave could not take out a patent for his invention." And this dictum gave rise to some rather embarra.s.sing situations on more occasions than one. For instance, in 1857, a Negro slave, living with his master in the state of Mississippi, perfected a valuable invention which his master sought to have protected by a patent. Now, in law, a patent is a contract between the government and the inventor or his a.s.signees. The slave, although the inventor, could not under the law be a party to a contract, and therefore could not secure the patent himself. His master applied for the patent, but was refused on the ground that inasmuch as he was not the inventor and could not be the a.s.signee of a slave, he could not properly make the required oath. The master was not satisfied with this interpretation of the law by the Commissioner of Patents, and at once appealed from the latter's decision to the Secretary of the Interior, who, in 1858, referred the case to the Attorney-General of the United States. This latter official, who was Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, of Pennsylvania, confirmed the decision of the Commissioner of Patent, and neither master nor slave was ever able to get a patent for the slave's invention. This case reported on page 171 of volume 9, of "Opinions of Attorneys-General, United States."

Another instance of a similar character occurred a few years later, in 1862, when a slave belonging to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, invented a propeller for vessels. He constructed an excellent model of his invention, displaying remarkable mechanical skill in wood and metal working. He was not able to get his invention patented, but the merits of his invention were commented upon approvingly by a number of influential Southern newspapers, and his propeller was finally put in use by the Confederate navy. With the barrier of slavery cast aside, a new opportunity was opened to the Negro inventor, and the purpose of this article is to show what use he has made of that opportunity.

It must still be borne in mind that the records of the United States Patent Office do not show whether a patentee is a Negro or a Caucasian, and that to ascertain what the Negro has accomplished in the field of invention other sources of information had to be utilized; and finally, that the very omission from the public records of all data calculated to identify a given invention with the Negro race completely destroys the possibility of arriving at any definite conclusion as to the exact number and character of negro inventions.

Judging from what has been duly authenticated as Negro inventions patented by the United States, it is entirely reasonable to a.s.sume that many hundreds of valuable inventions have been patented by Negro inventors for which the race will never receive due credit. This is the more unfortunate since the race now, perhaps, more than ever before, needs the help of every fact in its favor to offset as far as possible the many discreditable things that the daily papers are all too eager to publish against it.

It appears that no systematic effort was ever made by the government to collect information as to the number of inventions by Negroes until January, 1900, when the then Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Charles H.

Duell, undertook the task. Previous to that time the United States Patent Office had received numerous requests from all parts of the country for information on that point, and the uniform reply was that the official records of the Patent Office did not show whether an inventor was colored or white, and that the office had no way of obtaining such information.

Notwithstanding this fact, however, an employee of the Patent Office had undertaken to collect a list of such patents, and this list was used in selecting a small exhibit of Negro inventions. First, for the Cotton Centennial at New Orleans, in 1884; again for the World's Fair at Chicago, in 1893; and, lastly, for the Southern Exposition at Atlanta in 1895. But it was reserved for the United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900 to make the first definite effort to obtain this information, and at its request the following letter by the Commissioner of Patents was addressed to hundreds of patent lawyers throughout the country, to large manufacturing establishments, to the various newspapers edited by colored men, and to prominent men of the race: