St. Mary's beacon., 1862-04-10
NEGRO EXODUS AT THE WEST

In Ohio. the farming population is as
excited as Governor Harris has been re-
ported to be in Memphis Two thous-
and a day arc sending petitions to the Leg
islature to prevent their ingress into the
State. Aud an Ohio farmer. in plain but
s,lid style, thus writes to the Crisis, why
farmers object to negro immigration
I thought while writing to you on other
business. would tell you some Of the rea-
sons why We think the negro should be
Prohibited from settling in Ohio. And
first We believe it is a duty we owe to the
white men who arc now in the rapks Of
the army. tighing to maintain the Cunsti-
tuition and Laws, to keep their places for
them until they return, AID not permit
their places to oe filled by uiggers while
they are fighting our battles.
Let me illustrate Jim Reynolds, his
wife and four children. were living in a
house which he rented of Mr.. John Ea-
ton. when tho war broke out. The Pres
idcnt called soldiers-Mr Eaton is Un-
ion man and has large farm and much
., operty TO sec to, and cannot enlist. Jim
is full of patriotism and relying on Mr.
Eaton that his family shall be taken care
Of, rushes into the ranks Of the army, for
what? To save the Government and the
property Of Mr.. Eaton--Jim has none to
save. But after Jim is gone, his wife
cannot procure wood, clothing, or provis-
ions she has to leave Mr.. Eaton's house
and move home to her poor old parents.
where by constant labor and anxiety. her
health fails hcr-childrcn become desti-
tute. The war war goes on-in the vicin-
ity of the two contending armies society
became disorganizcd-the slave runs away
from his master, and having been made to
believe that Ohio is pa. adisc for a mig
ger, Of course they camc here. Yes, old
Llack Tom takes the advantage Of the
presence Of the army in which Jim Rey-
nolds is fighting, aud runs away from his
master in Kentucky and comes to Mr..
John Eaton aud others, as Jim used
to DO. .
The war finally closes and.Jim receives
an honorable discharge and returns to
his native place. He finds bis wife
cmaciated and her constitution broken
his children ragged and beggars. lie
thinks, to better their condition, he will
90 to Mr.. Eaton. and rent the house he
left. Mr.. Eaton tells him that he has
rented the house to black Tom, who goi
his liberty when he (Jim) was in the
army in Kentucky. This is hard
stroke o. Jim still he hopes and ask.
Mr.. Eaton If those rails are made yci
that they talked abost before he went
to the war Jim says he has nothing to
DO, aud would like some -four for bis
family. Mr.. Eaton tells him that Tom
has offered to make them cheaper than
the usual price and take coru, and he
let him have the job. Jim asks if he
has no corn to husk, wood to chop, OF
something of the kind foi him to 10
but Mr.. Eaton tells him that the times
are hard, and himself and Tom will have
| to 90 all his work. Jim returns tired
aud hungry to his family the sight OF
his hungry children starts him out to
make an effort for work !; the ncighbors
all tell him the same story-times arc
, hard-they had to hire niggcrs because
, the bigger would do more work for the
same money than the white man could.
jim tells them that this is the reason that
shareholders have niggers in the South.
brcause they think it is cheaper than
white labor. Jim starts to see the over
seer of the poor without any very exalted
admiration of the results oi
the war, SO far as it has affected free
white labor in Ohio. The case here de-
lineatcd will be the case of thousands in
Ohio if the prohibition of niggers is not
attended t..