The Columbia daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1865, 1865-06-06
Labor at the South.

! willing TO accept the new condition of
things brought about by the war, and aid
in establishing q system Of labor on fiee
basis. So far AS We are Informed, and we
have had conversations on this subject
with number of owners of plantations
all the planters are desrous Of securing
hands TO till the soil and perform other
labor essential to the growing of crops
The main difficulty seems to be the pen
chant of the colored people who formerly
did this Work to leave the plantations and
come to the city, under the impression bat
here they can obtain supplies free of cost
from the Government etorc houses.
Now that the supply of rice and corn
which the authorities ordered TO be laid
aside for distribution 10 the poor is nearly
exhausted, these people who have depend
ed on this source for their daily subsist-
unce will begin to appreciate the true
circumstances Of the case and seek employ
ment in the interior, or On the Islands that
border the coast. If {. far crop is not
raised and renp"t between now md the
winter montha. the fault cnnhot be attri-
buted wholly to the white owners Of the
soil. They are reconciied to the fact that,
IN order to secure crops, the men whom
they employ must be paid. They do not
question the right of any u1nn, either black
or white. to live where he may choose,
but they are fully awere OF the Importance
of workin. the lands ns means of suP-
port, not oulv to themselves, but to the
colored race who are among them. The
military authorities in the Department OF
the South have done aud are now doing
their utmost to induce owners Of Planta-
tions and the freedmen to enter into AZ
engagements which shall be Of mutual
benefit.
In a recent ORDER Gen. Hatch advises
the planters to make written agreements
with the freedmen, and submit the same to
the ncares, Post Commander for approval.
Both parties are assured Of the protection
of the United States Government. No
thing is sad-nothur can be said ac pre-
Scnt-with reference to immediate pay to
the lahorers. The Suu,i, il thoroughly
depleted o! means and material, and time
must be given the people to recover from
the pros,ratioa which prevails from one to
the other end of this section Of the coun-
try Should the freedmen persist in
receiving recompense before engaging their
services to the planters. or refuse to labor
unless paid in fill within Il short time and
before the crops can be gathered and
brought To market, then it is nct clear to
Us 10y what means the soil IS to be titled
to advantages this ricsent season. The
planters have not the ready cash, and will
not ..ave i until thy procure 1t iro;n AN
exchange "i the products uI the soil. The
freedmen who labor on the iic...s and
plantations are sure Of being provided with
food and homes, AMI vixen tne fail ap
proaches, they are equally sure of recev
nr pay in full for thci: toll. Not freed.
man who has land Of his own on the
is'au,is between here and Florida can do
better than that
As to the matter of cotton. although
doubtless millions worth of it VIII come to
light when railroad and wagon facilities
are placed at the convenience of The hold
crs, Yet it will be far in ll,e fall season
before these same facilities are pu: into
operation, and the Northern men Of capital
who have visited South Carolina have not
cv;nce'! n disposition as Vet 10 invest
largely in cotton, without having some
guarantee that they can speedily turn that
article over TO the Government. or ship it
to the North In either case, they must
have facilities for transportation.
As the New York I;ibuue wisely sug-
sests, in rcnlarkiis upon the re settlement
of the South on basis OF free labor. "l.ct
Us all help to make the transition as easy
and speedy as possible In order to
speedily ana successfully revive cowmcr-
cial and agricultural! pursuits in the South.
it is important thac an unrestricted inter
course OF trade shou!l be permitted with
the North. The people here not only
want goods from the North but they
want the privilege Of paying for these
goods with the products OF the South.
Until that privilege is oXtc..lel. there can
be no heavy transactions among business
men. and the people who raise products
must be the only consumers.
Chur!eN0M Conlier.