The Life of the Tenant Classes 89 



mo ve ofte n. It is the latter landless, well nigh purposeless 

 element which makes the tasks of economic improvement, 

 social betterment and leadership among the Negroes so dif- 

 ficult. 



The following table indicates the shifting tendency of the 

 tenants and especially the share tenants: 



TABLE 12. 



Georgia: Percentage Distribution of Farmers by Term of 



Occupancy and Tenure. 



' All Farmers ' Negro Farmers——* 



Years on Cash Share Cash Share 



Farm Owners Ten'ts Ten'ts Owners Ten'ts Ten'ts 



Under 1 year.. 7.6 25.9 44.6 6.0 20.1 39.8 



1 year 6.5 15.7 17.5 5.5 14.2 17.8 



2 to 4 years. . . . 21.9 33.0 26.3 22.7 35.0 29.1 

 5 to 9 years.... 20.5 15.1 7.7 22.8 17.8 8.8 

 10 years & over 43.5 10.3 3.9 43.0 12.9 4.5 



Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 



(Ratios computed from U. S. Census, 1910, Bulletin "Stability 

 of Farm Operators.") 



Conside rably more than half of the share tenants had 

 been occupying their farm for less than two years, and 

 only 13.3 percent had been occupying their farm for more 

 thanJL^ears. About one-third of the cash tenants had been 

 occupying their farm less than two years, another third 

 from two to five years, and another third more than five 

 years. Of the owners only 11.5 per cent had been on their 

 farm less than a year and considerably more than two- 

 thirds had been there for over five years. This shifting is 

 due more to the tenant system than to racial 'characteristics. 

 This is indicated first by the fact that Negro owners change 

 their residence sn my^h Ip^ fi^«««+1y +l ? r. s h are tenants, 

 and by the fact that the shifting in all farmers, both 

 white and colored, shown in the table, is slightly greater 

 than the shifting of colored farmers. In other words there 

 are proportionately more white than colored cash and share 

 tenants who have been on their farm less than two years. 



Such restlessness is of necessity a tremendous stumbling 



