Our policy of laissez-faire adopted towards the European immigrant can no longer be continued. This war has taught us some great lessons, and probably the greatest of all is the lesson of the necessity for a redefinition of social terms, and a reconsideration of human values. It has made us realize that if we want the nation to stand united in times of stress our policy must be consistent at all times. Democracy we have learned in this struggle, no longer means “each for himself, and the devil take the hind-most.” If it means anything at all, it is that we are “members one of another”, and that an injury to one is an injury to and the concern of all. Our old policy has shown us that the devil has taken too many, and we have come to say, “Halt!” This must no longer continue. We must see that all the elements which go to make up our body-politic are adjusted and placed in their proper relation. Our traditional attitude, this struggle has taught us, is too costly and we cannot afford longer to continue it. We know now that it is not sufficient that a few may have democracy and freedom while the rest are denied economic opportunity. We are also coming to realize that “we cannot hold a part of our fellow-men down in the gutter without remaining there ourselves.”
No exact estimate of the number of Negroes who have come North within the last year is possible. Estimates vary from three hundred thousand to seven hundred thousand. There are probably about two million Negroes now living in the North, and it is of paramount importance that we look into the conditions of these people who although in our midst, are yet so little known to us, and see that they are fitted into their new environment. Our little study of the social opportunities available, and the conditions existing among our Negro brethren may therefore be of great interest, and we are glad to present here some of the facts which were disclosed in our survey of these people who have recently settled amongst us, in order to avail themselves of our hospitality, and industrial opportunities. We have discussed in the preceding pages the immediate opportunities for Negroes in this city as to housing and wages. It may therefore not be amiss to discuss the possibilities of his attaining an advanced political, social and economic status.
Politically, the Negro in Pittsburgh is as free as the whites of the same group. Coming from places where the vote is denied him, he is naturally very glad to receive the privilege in Pittsburgh. It is a well known fact that the Negro vote is often a deciding factor in the results of municipal elections. Although there are a few shrewd Negro politicians, and the Negro vote is frequently “en bloc” there is never an issue made on some particular Negro problem. All candidates seem to assume that there is no special issue that concerns the Negro more than any other group in the city, and unscrupulous Negro politicians are not in the least perturbed. They always see to it, however, that no Negro vote will be lost, that their occupation tax is paid, and that they are registered. This was clearly brought out in this year’s municipal election. Although the Negro vote was a great factor in deciding this campaign, not one of the candidates made an issue of the housing and other problems which are confronting the Negroes at present. It can therefore be stated that in politics, while the Negro has been utilized by all sorts of politicians, he has at least nominally been as free as his white brother in the same position.
However, more and more we are coming to realize that political freedom without industrial opportunities means but little. Democracy must also mean industrial opportunity, and social democracy, as well as political democracy. But the industrial opportunity which the Negro demands is not even the same as is demanded by his more fortunate white-skinned brother. While his fellow-human beings demand a larger voice in industry and business, and a greater share of the product, the Negro is still meekly begging for his inalienable right to participate in industry, to help extend and build it up. It is the denial of this right that confronts the Negro in the North, and makes his problem of paramount significance.
The great majority of the Negro migrants come North because of the better economic and social opportunities here. But even here they are not permitted to enter industry freely. They are kept in the ranks of unskilled labor and in the field of personal service. Until the present demand for unskilled labor arose, the Negroes in the North were for the most part, servants. There were very few Negroes occupied otherwise than as porters, chauffeurs, janitors and the like. The Negro at present has entered the productive industries, but he is kept still on the lowest rung of the economic ladder.
TABLE NUMBER XIII[7]
List of Industrial Concerns Visited in the Pittsburgh District
| NAME OF CONCERN | No. of Negroes employed at present. | No. employed prior to 1916. | % doing unskilled labor. | Wages per hour of unskilled labor. | No. of hours per day. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnegie Steel Co. (all plants) | 4,000 | 1,500 | 95% | 30c | 8 to 12 |
| Jones & Laughlin | 1,500 | 400 | 100% | 30c | 10 |
| Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co. | 900 | 25 | 90% | 28-30c | 10 |
| Harbison & Walker | 250 | 50 | 80% | 27½c | 10 |
| National Tube Co. (all plants) | 250 | 100 | 100% | 30c | 10 |
| Pressed Steel Car Co. | 25 | 25 | 50% | 23c | 11 |
| Pgh. Forge & Iron | 75 | 0 | 100% | 30c | 10 |
| Moorhead Brothers | 200 | 200 | 75% | 30c | 10 |
| Am. Steel & Wire | 25 | 25 | 100% | 28-30c | 10 |
| Clinton Iron & Steel | 25 | 25 | 75% | ||
| Oliver Iron & Steel | 50 | 0 | 100% | 25-28c | 10 |
| Carbon Steel Co. | 200 | 50 | 75% | 30c | 10-12 |
| Crucible Steel Co. | 400 | 150 | 90% | 28-33c | 10 |
| A. M. Byers Co. | 200 | 0 | 60% | 10 | |
| Lockhart Steel Co. | 160 | 0 | 95% | 27½c | 10 |
| Mesta Machine Co. | 50 | 0 | 100% | 30c | 10 |
| Marshall Foundry Co. | 15 | 0 | |||
| U. S. Glass Co. | No Negroes employed | ||||
| Thompson-Sterret Co. | No Negroes employed | ||||
| Spang-Chalfant Co. | No Negroes employed | ||||
| 8,325 | 2,550 | ||||
From a study of colored employees in twenty of the largest industrial plants, in the Pittsburgh district, arbitrarily selected ([Table No. XIII]), we find that most of the concerns have employed colored labor only since May or June of 1916. Very few of the Pittsburgh industries have used colored labor in capacities other than as janitors and window cleaners. A few of the plants visited had not begun to employ colored people until in the spring of 1917, while a few others had not yet come to employ Negroes, either because they believed the Negro workers to be inferior and inefficient, or because they feared that their white labor force would refuse to work with the blacks. The Superintendent of one big steel plant which has not employed colored labor during the past few years admitted that he faced a decided shortage of labor, and that he was in need of men; but he said he would employ Negroes only as a last resort, and that the situation was as yet not sufficiently acute to warrant their employment. In a big glass plant, the company attempted to use Negro labor last winter, but the white workers “ran them out” by swearing at them, calling them “Nigger” and making conditions so unpleasant for them that they were forced to quit. This company has therefore given up any further attempts at employing colored labor. It may be interesting to note, however, that one young Negro boy who pays no attention to such persecution persistently stays there.
About ninety-five percent of the colored workers in the steel mills visited in our survey were doing unskilled labor. In the bigger plants, where many hundreds of Negroes are employed, almost one hundred percent are doing common labor, while in the smaller plants, a few might be found doing labor which required some skill. The reasons alleged by the manufacturers are; first, that the migrants are inefficient and unstable, and second, that the opposition to them on the part of white labor prohibits their use on skilled jobs. The latter objection is illustrated by the case of the white bargemen of a big steel company who wanted to walk out because black workers were introduced among them, and who were only appeased by the provision of separate quarters for the Negroes. While there is an undeniable hostility to Negroes on the part of a few white workers, the objection is frequently exaggerated by prejudiced gang bosses.