At the afternoon session an address of welcome was made by Commissioner MacFarland, and responded to by the Rev. I. L. Thomas, of Baltimore. And, a few months before (August 17, 1903), this, — which in reality means nothing more than the natural spread of the race, and the danger in the country : — NEGRO EMIGRATION SCHEME Plan is to Have Thousands Go from South to Northwest, and Twenty-five Have Gone Already. (Special to The New York Times.) Tacoma, Washington, Aug. 16. — The Rev. J. F. Davidson, pastor of the Mount Olivet Colored Baptist Church, arrived from New Orleans yesterday with a party of twenty-five colored men, whom he will colo- nize in Tacoma or in the vicinity. Mr. Davidson hopes to be able to purchase a large tract of land upon which he will establish a colored community somewhat co- operative in character. At present a certain part of the wages of the colored men will be set aside every month as a nucleus for a fund for buying this land. Mr. Davidson expects thousands of colored people will come North from time to time. He himself is one of the Western agents of a colored organization, with headquarters in Boston, the object of which is, if possible, to depopulate the South of negroes by in- ducing emigration on a monumental scale to favor- able regions of the Northwest. Mr. Davidson is enthusiastic over the prospects of those of his race who are transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, declaring that under favorable conditions they will become intelligent members of society and prove themselves capable of developing into important factors in civilization in this country. One result of this immense immigration of negroes will be to relieve the labor shortage along the entire coast.
