A Study in Economic Progress...

This study was begun as one of the several researches of the Bureau of Social Research of the New York School of Philanthropy, largely at the suggestion of Dr. Samuel McCune Lindsay, the director, to whose interest, advice and sympathy its completion is largely due. Sincere thanks are due the Bureau for making the investigation possible. The material was gathered between January, 1909, and January, 1910, except about four weeks in August, 1909, during the time that I was pursuing studies at the

The city of to-day, the growth of the past century, is a permanent development. Dr. Weber has effectively treated the history, nature, causes and effects of the concentration. He shows [2] that the percentage of urban population has varied in different countries; and that this is due mainly to the varying density of population and to the diverse physical features of the countries which have been differently affected by the Industrial Revolution and the era of railroads. The causes of this concen

The Negro population of New York City has had a history similar to that of other Northern cities. Beginning with a small body of slaves, it has since had its problems growing out of the presence of an increasing number of Negroes in the midst of the environing white group. In 1629, The Dutch West India Company pledged itself to furnish slaves to the Colonists of New Amsterdam. [37] A similar resolution was passed by the colony council in 1648 [38] and by 1664 slavery had become of sufficient imp

In the 2,500 families composed of 9,788 individuals, the sex distribution and age grouping [44] throw some light upon the life conditions of the wage-earning class. That city life does not look with favor upon a large juvenile element in the population is generally believed. That the city draws mainly those of the working period of life is also generally conceded. The number of children in this Negro group under 15 years of age is 19 per cent, below normal for great cities, and the upper age lim

In the New Amsterdam Colony as early as 1628, slaves were sought as a source of labor. These slaves were employed mainly in farm labor. In that year the Dutch West India Company agreed to furnish slaves to the colonists and the Company's largest farm was "cultivated by the blacks." [49] Individuals were at liberty to import slaves for the same purpose. [50] Both slaves and freedmen were used as stevedores and deckhands for the Company's vessels. The slaves were also used in building and repairin

The question of wages and working efficiency are so closely related that they can be better treated together than separately. The material for this part of the monograph has been gathered from three sources, namely: a personal canvass, the records of employment agencies for personal and domestic help, and the statement of union rates published by the New York Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has not been possible to calculate the time loss by the worker, and therefore any estimate of annual income

It is a far cry from satisfying an employer to pleasing the public. The one requires the obeying of the orders of a boss, the other calls for initiative and self-direction. Business enterprise involves judgments of the whims, wishes and wants of prospective customers and skill in buying goods or supplying services to satisfy their demands. The wage-earner needs his labor only. The business promoter must secure capital and establish credit. The employee has only the stake of a present place, and

Indications of the volume of business are in accord with the conclusions from the size of Negro business enterprises. Volume of business was measured (1) by the valuation of tools, fixtures, etc. , used in the conduct of the business, (2) by the amount of merchandise kept on hand, if the business was such as required a stock of goods, and (3) by the total gross receipts of the business during the two years, 1907 and 1908. Wood and ice dealers need to invest very little in tools and fixtures. Fou

The severest test of a business enterprise is its relation to the community, both the commercial houses with which it deals and the consuming public to whom it sells. With the former a firm must establish credit, with the latter it must build up confidence. Credit is established by the prompt payment of bills, the length of time a firm has been in operation allowing time to make a good reputation and its business methods in dealing with its suppliers. The confidence of customers is secured by th

In the first chapters on Negro business enterprises, the several classes of establishments were described in order to present a picture of business among Negroes as a whole. A more concrete idea of the organization and operation of these enterprises, as well as of the proprietors who own and operate them, may be gained from detailed descriptions of selected establishments of each kind. These have been chosen as representing a fair type of the classes to which they belong. On some points there ma

The significance of the foregoing facts is clearly indicated by the summaries following each set of figures. The road to the conclusions is straight. Turning to the preceding chapters, let us see what conclusions are warranted. The urban concentration of the Negro is taking place in about the same way as that of the white population. In proportions, it varies only to a small extent from the movement of the whites, save where the conditions and influences are exceptional. The constant general cau

Bibliography of the Negro American, Atlanta University Pub. no. 10. W.E.B. DuBois, editor, Atlanta, Ga., 1905. Bibliography of Negroes. U.S. Congr. Lib., 324. American Woman's Journal, July, 1895. The Story of an Old Wrong Atlanta University Publications, W.E.B. DuBois, editor. No. 1. Mortality among Negroes in cities, pp. 51. Atlanta, Ga., 1896. No. 3. Some efforts of American Negroes for their own social betterment, Atlanta Univ. Press, Atlanta, Ga., 1898, pp. 72. No. 4. The Negro in Business,