III. Some of His Characteristics

The Arena (Mar. 1901) Vol. XXV: pp. 308-316

1. Social Life.

Social life is important in any consideration of crime, for it is through this channel that criminal impulses often find expression. The social life of the negro is comparatively crude and simple. I need scarcely say that he is excluded from all social relations with the whites. The line is more closely drawn now than in slavery days. Now it is seldom that whites are present at a negro marriage, burial, or feast; then it was the rule. Upon some of the old plantations, where the semblance of slavery is strongly marked, there is some intermingling, but it is with regret rather than pleasure. The negro has not yet attained the position where he is regarded as a man rather than as a negro. Indeed, this feeling is so strong among the older Southern whites that the negro is still required to come to the back door and stand uncovered in the kitchen. While the whites feel it is their duty to educate the negroes, yet in sympathies and interests they are far removed. It is impossible that a race so recently in serfdom should hold any other position. Economically, morally, and mentally they have been handicapped.

Probably no other generation of Anglo-Saxons could have done more, for it must be remembered they were impoverished and had lost much that was dear to them—and this through the race which they were asked to elevate and protect. No body of men in the history of the world has ever had such a situation to face. There were no precedents, and criticism should be sparingly given if they are but slowly perceiving and responding to its need.

Those advancing the theory of social equality in the South mean quite differently from those in the North. It is not mingling at the white's social functions, or invading his home, but such economic, financial, cultural, and educational conditions as will enable him to maintain similar grades in his own race and to have literature and recreations of equal standards. This requires the interest and cooperation of the whites, which are at present denied. The free intermingling of the two races is impossible, at least for many generations, because of a deeply-rooted social and racial prejudice. It is useless to deny this, for New York and Ohio in the North have recently verified this statement. This will not prevent the negro from reaching and maintaining similar grades within his own race; and when these are established the negro will not demand, as indeed he does not in the South, social equality with the whites. He will find within his own race what he needs and desires.

The social life of the negro centers about the church, for he has few organizations and clubs. Even labor organizations are but slowly finding a place in his life. This lack of organization is detrimental to the negro. The whites are the negroes' best friends, for the black race has not yet ingrained in it integrity and loyalty. This is shown in many ways. Negroes prefer white men on juries, because they accord fairer treatment. There are many negroes sent to prison because of malice. If a negro is undesirable in his neighborhood, and does not remove when requested, his neighbors combine and cause his arrest—and their testimony imprisons him. In the data regarding fear, it is seen that not a few fear their own race more than anything else. The negro has been trained to be loyal to the whites; this virtue still takes precedence. There can be little racial progress without racial integrity, loyalty, and pride. The social life of the negro church is broad, but it is lacking in the fundamental principles that should make it a governing agency. Most of the excursions, picnics, parties, entertainments, cake-walks, and festivals have their relation to the church. The negroes' leisure permits of much social intercourse, and this often leads to an expenditure of money for finery and unnecessaries that keeps the race impoverished.

The other great social center is the saloon, which is of more importance in the towns. Many crimes are the result of fights caused by gambling and drinking. The negro depends greatly upon the saloon. The many varied forms of physical recreation known to the Northerner and the careful management of his places of amusement are unknown to the negro. The negro's gambling is not usually conducted in well-ordered establishments where he is subject to rules and restraints. There are cheating and interference in his game of "craps," which lead to serious fights. Frequently officers furnish money for gambling and later swoop down upon the players. I am not dealing with the question of the propriety of license and regulation—only with the fact that such a system produces fewer public criminals, for it involves restraints that make the more serious crimes less possible. The social life of the negro lacks direction, restraint, and healthy interests. It consumes too much time with trifles, and increases the opportunities for committing crime.

2. Politics

The negro is practically disfranchised, and so revolutionary is the feeling of the whites that any attempt to force a change were useless. Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, and North Carolina have adopted laws, and Georgia and Alabama have made attempts. The nature of these laws varies, but the purport is the same. It may be a poll tax, which the negro is incapable of paying; it may be an educational or property test; it may exclude all except voters before the war and their descendants; or it may be the simple method of not counting votes: but the result attained is the same. This movement is due primarily to the lack of foresight shown by the government when it gave the negro full political power. Influenced and backed by rascally Northern politicians, and lacking both comprehension and judgment, the negroes committed acts that would have aroused any other nation of whites to action. Reactions are always violent, and the whites are now returning the measure with interest. If the negro defrauded and domineered over the white, that is a past condition of which only traces remain.

This movement upon the part of Southern States is open to the just criticism that it is a discrimination against race, not ignorance. All fair observers demand that the tests be applied alike to both negroes and whites. Without condoning the action of the States, it must be remembered that there is a political party standing ready to make the utmost capital out of such a move as disfranchising ignorant whites, and that these laws were passed through the influence of Southern Democrats when a great national issue was pending. Spas­modically, bodies of men do great, noble, and humane things; but in the dealings of routine life the tendency is ever toward weak and cowardly acts. The result of these laws in relation to crime is clear. The race furnishing the mass of criminals has no voice in making the laws, or determining the system of punishment. Education, property, health, business—in fact, all vital interests are affected by the laws in the making of which they have no part. They are dependent upon the will and caprice of the whites. They are handicapped, and are denied the stimulus to national pride and life, which is the highest form of restraint in criminality.

Yet we must recognize that the former negro politician did little for his race; the tendency was downward then, whereas it may only be stationary now. The negro at present has neither the perceptions nor the solidity of character that would enable him to lead his race. While the laws passed are unworthy of the Anglo-Saxon race, they nevertheless furnish the opportunity for the negro to seek education and training that will bring financial and commercial independence; and these will just as surely insure political rights. Meanwhile the whites have taken upon themselves the burden of dealing justly by the negroes, and they are watched by many critical eyes. Just as surely as they fail there will come the interven­tion of a stronger power. It is not an ethical delusion but a practical fact that no part of a nation can long withstand the opprobrium of its fellows and of the world. The social, economic, commercial, and political interests of the world are too vitally related to permit this.

3. Laws

The text of the Southern statutes applies equally to whites and negroes. Notwithstanding the contrary boast, there is inequality in their administration. The negro's life is valued at less; as a convict he is too often regarded as so much revenue to the State, and less time is spent in meting out justice to him. Under another head, a further discussion of this appears, and one illustration will suffice. The pardoning power of the Executives in the South is not equally applied. Data are exceedingly difficult to procure, but the last reports of Virginia and Louisiana show: In the former, one out of every three and a half white men receive a pardon, while only one out of every fourteen negroes obtains such clemency. In the latter, for the whites it is one to every four and a half white men, and one to every forty-nine negroes. In other words, there are 29 pardons granted in a population of 132 white men, and 17 to a population of 843 negroes. There are few or no white women in the penitentiaries, though the average number of negro women in the State institutions is about 60. In the course of inquiry it appeared that convicted white women are pardoned, as the accommodations, food, labor, and prison conditions generally are deemed unfit for them. Justice is often satisfied with the mere sentence, and pardons are rarely protested.

From the preceding statements it will be seen that environmental conditions play an important part. When the facts are given for each criminal, under the sociological division, this will be more evident and the conclusions can be summarized. Before considering State penal systems, there are two general subjects that need a word—the position of the negro woman and negro criminal characteristics.

The negro woman and negro girl, judged by civilized standards, are to a large extent immoral. It is almost impossible to rear a girl under present conditions and avoid this result. There is not yet developed in the race, as a whole, a pride in and honor for its women. First savages, then slaves, with the women in the position of beasts of burden and bearers of future slaves, and with scarcely forty years intervening, the result is inevitable. The removal at an early age of parental influence places the girl at the mercy of both negroes and whites of the male sex. In the Northern reform schools the children coming from conditions similar to those of the negroes show an equal percentage of immorality, so that racial tendencies alone cannot explain it. Unfortunately, statistics are not obtainable regarding the morality of the adults who live in conditions similar to those of the negroes. The negro woman of the lower type still recognizes her subservience to the white man, and yields herself quite as readily now as then. Precedent and habits of associates are powerful factors in directing the action of these women. There are few occupations aside from domestic service open to them, and prostitutes are recruited from this class. The physical senses predominate over the mental, moral, and spiritual impulses. There has never been a demand for the latter. Laws against immorality are laxly enforced. Whites within their own social circles will not countenance immoralities to which they are indifferent in the negro race. The crimes of these women show that the route has been that of immorality. Many of the crimes are committed in questionable resorts, under the influence of alcohol, or through inducements of depraved husbands and friends.

But a small percentage of crime exists among white women. The reasons, which distinguish the North from the South in this particular, may be thus summarized: There is no white servant class. The attitude of the white Southern man is such that the white woman rarely becomes a public, degraded character. In cities, where the younger generation of men pre­dominate, this attitude is less protective. The attitude of the white women is conducive to negro immorality, for they are generally indifferent to the relations of their husbands and brothers with negroes—where a Northern white woman of equal social standing would not be. This is unquestionably due to the practises in vogue during slavery. Thus the "hill tribes" are the only whites in the South from which prostitutes could be derived, and these are a rural population. There are not many cities, so there is but little encouragement in swindling, shoplifting, and crimes requiring organization. Women in the North are often members of "gangs." The attitude of jurists and harsh penal systems prevent the conviction of women and lead to Executive clemency. The plantation system has segregated women from public life, and in cities they do not enter the competitive world, as do Northern women, and are less subject to its temptations and hardships. Many negro women are arrested as "suspects," and get short sentences. This is rarely true of the whites.

The negro criminal differs from the white in some respects. His crimes are usually those of theft and violence, and are simple in their execution. For this reason, though the negro is lower in intellectual and moral acquirements, he appears to be less criminally disposed than the white. Unfortunately, we include in criminality, not only deviations from standards which the individual comprehends, but all forms of underdevelopment as well. The negroes' criminality is that of an undeveloped race. That of the whites is more characterized by a capacity born of development. There are few professionals among the negroes, and there are no truly "great" criminals. They may be "prominent," but the two are not identical. The negroes' crimes show an absence of social and personal responsibility, and are the outgrowth of impulse rather than of well-laid plans and complicated schemings. Even the mulattoes are not "great" criminals. They are only more refractory under discipline and are more petty in their dealings. The negro class contains many who are vicious and depraved, but their cunning and craftiness are of a low order.

There are no well-defined criminal "gangs." Social conditions may be partly responsible for this. People are better known to one another in the South, especially in the small towns; prices are high, but there is an extensive credit system. There is less actual need. In the North, people are not so well known to one another; there is more of the cash system. and there is greater necessity for organization. Wealth in the North is represented by more personal property, while much of that in the South is in real estate. The nature of the property in the North requires a higher order of mentality and physical dexterity to prey upon it successfully. As a prisoner the negro is more obedient and willing, while the white is aggressive, impudent, and quarrelsome.

There are many who assert that the negro is more criminal now than before the war, and far exceeds the white in crime. There can be no answer to the first assertion, because there are no antebellum records. Acts for which the negroes re­ceived chastisement at the hands of a master are now felonies before the State. In answer to the second assertion, there may be cited the following conditions, which are more unfavorable to the negro: There are but three reformatories in the eight extreme Southern States, and no State reformatories. Meas­ures for reform in the penal institutions are not one-half as great as in the North. The penalties are extreme. Life sentences are frequently given for burglary and arson, as well as for murder. This makes a larger constant prison population. A minimum amount of home training, free street life, the small degree of education, and early labor cause the statistics to reveal a much smaller ratio of educated criminals to the edu­cated population than in the North. Statistics are distorted when the number of criminals is compared with the number of educated negroes. There is unquestionably an increase in crime among negroes in the North, but we do not know if they are educated, and we fail to consider that the Northern civiliza­tion is more complex, more advanced, and more difficult to meet. With its advantages come increased perplexities, which the negro has not grasped. The whites cause crime among the negroes by attentions to negro women. The women prefer the white men, and this condition is no small cause of jealousies and assaults. A white man would be deemed jus­tified in committing homicide under similar circumstances. The domestic life is less of a prevention against crime. There is a greater percentage of married convicts in the South than in the North. There are no statistics available to show if the negro is a recidivist to the same extent as the white. There are no systems of identification, and the terms of sentence are so long as to make comparisons doubtful. Georgia has compiled a report of the different States that shows the white to be more of a recidivist, but I cannot vouch for its accuracy. One condition is more favorable to the negro: there are but few "tramps" in the South; so that there is not this source of supply, from roving "gangs," and the youth are not influenced by them.