the other hand, Mr. A. H. Stone (“The American Race Problem,” p. 73) cites several cases of even-handed justice as between the two races, and adds: “There is not a community in the South where such things as these do not constantly occur, but their record is buried in the musty documents of courts, instead of being trumpeted abroad.” Mr. Stone also quotes a remark by Mr. Booker Washington to the same effect.

29. It appears, however, that in many cases the great demand for negro labour operates in favour of the negro who has been guilty of serious crime—he escapes with a fine which is paid by his white employer, and has to be worked off. Here, for instance, is a report from the township of Prendergrass, Georgia: “The Negroes in general are in a bad shape here. There are about eighty criminals here out on bond, some for murder, some for selling whisky, some for gambling, some for carrying concealed weapons, some for shooting, and most of them are guilty, too; but their captain (i.e. employer) takes their part in court. They generally pay about $25 and work the Negro from one and a half to two years, and the Negro never knows what it cost.”—Atlanta University Publications, No. IX. p. 47.

30. “Besides the penitentiary convicts there were in Georgia in 1902, 2221 misdemeanour convicts undergoing punishment in county chain-gangs, of whom 103 were white males, 5 white females, 2010 coloured males, and 103 coloured females.”—Atlanta University Publications, No. IX. p. 35.

“I have seen twelve-year-old boys working in chains on the public streets of Atlanta, directly in front of the schools, in company with old and hardened criminals; and this indiscriminate mingling of men, women and children makes the chain-gangs perfect schools of crime and debauchery.”—W. E. B. Du Bois: “The Souls of Black Folk,” p. 180.

31. Since writing this I have seen an apparently authentic statement that in 1907 the profits from the Georgia chain-gangs had gone up to $354,853, or nearly £71,000.

32. “According to the census of 1890,” says Mr. Kelly Miller (“Race Adjustment,” p. 97), “the negro constituted only 12 per cent. of the population, and contributed 30 per cent. of the criminals.” But he goes on to say, “No person of knowledge or candour will deny that the negro in the South is more readily apprehended and convicted on any charge than the white offender. The negro constitutes the lower stratum of society, where the bulk of actionable crime is committed all the world over.” On the other hand, Mr. E. G. Murphy (“The Present South,” p. 176) 

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