The Life of the Tenant Classes 91 



On account of the mistaken apprehensions concerning the 

 increase in tenancy in the United States, the fact that own- 

 ership as well as tenancy is increasing cannot be too greatly 

 emphasized. This indicates that the iijcxease of tenants is 

 re cruited from the inferior labor class rather th an from 

 the su perior owner class. Thinking in terms _of the individ- 

 ual Negro, it is evi dent that he would prefer, if possible, 

 to leave the^st atus of laborer and en ter any of the tenant 

 clashes, to leave the statu s of share tenant and become renter 

 or ow ner, and to leave W status of renter and become 

 ow ner. _ The pressure of individual motive is in this direc- 

 tion. Th e obstacles are, unwillingness of landlo rds to rent 

 o r sell land, and inability of the individual, th rough mis- V' 

 fortune or shiftlessness, to accumulate the necessary capital 

 for t he transition . 



Such a powerful motive at play in the N egro population 

 suggest s itself immediately as possibly a princip al factor in 

 mig ration. In a region of static agricultural c onditions, 

 wh ere plantations continue to follow, as closely as possible 

 the^old w ay, it is evident that young Neg roes, as they grow 

 u p, must move off the fa rm. There is no opportunity for 

 them except as their parents die. In many sections, how- 

 ever, the movement has gone so far as to cause an actual 

 decrease in the acreage cultivated. Th e pla nters have in- 

 sisted on conditio " 3 so uafagatahla +n, thf f orrr> popula- 

 tion that their labor supply h ag gradually dwindled, or they 

 have worn out their lands with exhaustive cotton culture 

 a nd prefer to let them lie idle. The~frJegroes from these 

 regions have mny p/ * 1 *" f " th* g^tion s where the agricultural 

 opp ortunities are better T and many of them have become 

 det ached from the soil and have gone to th e city. The fol- 

 lowing chapters are devoted to the relationship between 

 these changes in rural organization and the movement of 

 population. 



