ining to
return to the South even on the advice of a physician. Thus, a certain
minister is said to have refused to be sent home when his physician
had told him there was a possible chance for recovery in his home
in the South. He said that he preferred to die and be buried in the
North.

By the summer of 1916, the exodus from Florida had grown to such
ungovernable bounds that the more stable classes of negroes became
unsettled. A body, representing the influential colored citizens of
the State, wrote the editor of the _New York Age_:[51]

Jacksonville, Fla., August 10, 1916.

To the Editor of the _Age_:

To be brief, I beg to state that the (----) of this city, in
a regular meeting, voted last Monday that I write your paper
asking advice on the subject of migration which is large and
really alarming to the people of this State, for thousands
of people (colored) are leaving this State, going to
Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and New Jersey, where it is
stated they are wanted as laborers in various pursuits. In
your mind and to your knowledge, do you think it is the
best thing for them to do, and are they bettering condition
financially, morally and religiously; even in manhood,
citizenship, etc. Our ---- has been asked by the white and
colored people here to speak in an advisory way, but we
decided to remain silent until we can hear from reliable
sources in the North and East, and you have been designated
as one of the best. So to speak, our city is in a turmoil--in
suspense. You have doubtless heard of the great exodus of
negroes to the North, and we presume you have given it some
thought, and even investigated it. Please give the benefit of
your findings and reasons for your conclusion.

Thanking you in advance for a prompt and full reply to the
corresponding secretary, Yours truly,

Corresponding Secretary.

Caught up in the wave of enthusiasm that swept over the South, these
migrants could not resist the impulse to leave. The economic loss
resulting from their reckless departure expressed in terms of
dollars and cents is another story, and probably can never be even
approximately estimated. What seems of most interest here is that they
were in the frame of mind for leaving. They left as though they were
fleeing some curse; they were willing to make almost any sacrifice to
obtain a railroad ticket and they lef