The daily Evansville journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1862-1863, 1862-12-31
[From the Missouri Democrat.
''Whatwill you Do with the Negro?,

"hhaJWill you Do with the NegPO?''
Is thee any stronger reason for the re-
moval ofthe negro when free, than when
slave? Ifhe is worth keeping in the
communitsas as slave, why would it not
be as well b retain him as a freeman? :?
/ Liberty doe not take from the negro a
single facult of mind or body, but rather
adds to the v.lue ofeach And yet from
the men, who, are perpetually asking
what We wilith with the negro if free,
we hear not aword in favor of his re-
mOval as SLAVE
1t is IN condtion of servitude that
the negro race is post rapidly multipli-
ed Ahd yet it is rom the advocates of
system which devdops the negro race
to its full capacity of productiveness.
that we hear so muchanxietv EXPRESSED
for the removal of the e1laves, if they are
to be set free.
But why should the n,gro be more OBJ
Jectlonablc among white men when free
than when slave? We lelieve he is OBJ
2 jectionable in either case The chief
answer from the opponents of Emanci-
patton is that as a freeman he will un-
derwork the laboring white nan. But.
if the fact be so, is the negp likely to
prove more formidable riv;l to the
white laborer, when toiling at reduced
prices as a freeman, than whenDerform-
ing the same service, as a slave, without
wages?
AS the apprehension of the de,recia-
tiOn Of free white labor is a standing OBJ
lection to emancipation in the minds of
many, we may as well examine and see
what foundation in fact there exists for.
it. The negro we have, whether he be
slave or free. In which character, thn.
does he become the most dangerous
competitor to the white man? Were We
about to enter upon any field Of labor
and were compelled to encounter the ne.
gro as rival operator, we would say,I
"by all means let him be free" In that
ease the contest would be a trial of
strength and skill between us. if there
I existed no prejudice on account of color,
which when existing, can only operate to
the white mans advantage. If we prov
ed to be superior to the nagro, we would
shove him aside and take possession of
the entire field. If the negro, on the
contrary, proved to be the better man, he
would expell u.s. Now, as the white
I man is in fact superior to the negro in
both physical and mental capacity, we
could not fear the result of such a test.
But suppose that instead Of, the nearn be-
we nave 10 opposeI The slave Certain
ly. as formidable as in the other case, or
, nearly so, but not him alone. The mas
Ater's influence would now be superadded.
1t would be to his interest TO have his
property prevail in the contest. The ne
gro, therefore, instead of standing alone,
would have the powerful cooperation OF
his master wealth and social position.
Against such a combination, we we'll un-
derstand, how few men, armed only with
their hands and brains, would be able
successfully to contend.
Whatever doubt might remain as to
the practical working of this theory, it is
forever set at rest by the actual trial OF
the two systems, which has been made
upon so extensive scale in the two sec
tions of the country where slave and free
labor respectively prevail, as to dispel all
uncertainty In the free North, the
free white man and the free black man
have been brought into competition-in
the slaveholding South the free white
man and the black slave, and with what
result as concerns the interests of the
white laborer? In each section agricul
ture furnishes the leading employments
for labor. and when duly appreciated and
rightly practiced, exceeds in honor all
other physical pursuits. In the North
agriculture, IS well as every other field
of honorable employment, if any species
of labor can said not to be honorable, Is
monopolized by white men, and the ne
gro is forced back into subordinate anC
menial positions In the South. agric,ni
| tu.v-it all It's branches, and every Other
description of labor which the negro car
perform. is reserved to the slave, and BY
him performed, so far as his capacity
goes, in preference to the white man
Every discrimination is in favor of th'
black. No white laborer, who studie
the exemplifcation of the two system, il
the two fields of their development neet
be in doubt as to which is for his III
terest.
If the question be what to do with tn
negro after emancipation, does not tn
state of things we have described go ia
to solve it? Does it not, in fact, max
lile W uOl6 pIOblCAn SiCthi eS
slave. upon slave soil, the negro ma
multiply illimitably, because the whit
laborer is compelled to give way to max
room for him; upon free soil, and as
free man, he cannot multiply beyond tn
space which remains for him, after tn
hand of every white man seeking wor
is Tiled with employment. In othe
! words, upon free soil the phite LAHORE
drires out the negro, and upon stGl
soil the slaUe dYires out the free rhi
laborer. Is this not so? If any ma
doubts it, let him look to the statistics
. the country, and if his mind is open
! conviction, the proofs are at hand. FL
ures cannot lie, and what is their test
mony? In 1860 the free North, with
white population of Is, ,936, ,579 souls, ha
only 237 ,2lS blacks, while the slavehol
ing South, with only S,039,000 white
had 4,435, 709 blacks. Nor had Il
i. South the preponderance in a colort
I population, only on account of her slave
!, | 10 far from snch beinp the case ii