, 1865-10-28
FREE LABOR.

We commend it to our readers as worthy Of
pcrusnl and careful considers alton =
To The Editor IF tie leader.
The question Of freed labor in the Stare b..
comes pressing. The present crop, such as it is,
is ncurly harvested. and it is time to be arrsne-
ing for better crops next year.
The landowners ACC divided into three main
Nnsses-
LIST, Those who I" damn .hc aigsS," say he
won't work us a freeman, and thkt ,Lc.c must
be slavery of so.ne kind, or ruin. These are
mostly young ncN, or very isoe7.st and bitter
old men. md a minority Of women.
2nt, Those who are undecided, waiting ~ zee
whnt the U. $. Government or Stnte Govern.
mcnt, or their neighbors are going to DO.
Sid, 4 ssaau class sllc are going quietly To
work. selecting choice harris from their own and
other plantations, anI engaging their services
nftcr the present contracts have expired. These
las. vii! do admirably well if not in,c,yc1ed
with by their ncighbors.
The question Of freed lnbor is too wide for
discussion in II. single article, but there arc sons
facts 50 important md SO easily suhs,nntiatcd
that they ar. worth ~ps!a,ins ht the outset. A
second article will ,rral If freed labor n. an in
s,tnsion, it yo,hlcem this urht article nrr,ty
Of publicity in @nr columns.
l. The erptri ~ 50 far canno, hr called n
complete succesSTSg rha, is. the freedmen nad
women have not Io,kci 20 wc!i or 10 probably
as under the old~sluyc system. No sane rnnn
could 1,,cct otherwise, aud no tsu,Afal mnn
can say ",nrrwiscsS 9
\ co,nplc," r.~oIuti,n Of ieli, cnnuot be- Ct.
fcctcd IN Il day or II year, and any one who ex.
poets the run,rar? must lack snyaci,y AMI obsci-
walton. The mnn who has irot,cd undrf The
whip tor Il life time MISSES tina, incentive to Ia.
Dor, End must iearn another. The lnult i. no,
in the freedman who will no. work faithfully
without compnlsion. but rather in the long
course Of. training which made him what ne is
and II il has taken him fifteen or twenty wear.
TO make him what he is. surely he may be al.
lowed two yeara TO make himself wl,s, he
ought to be. 4
But asidc from this, there have beer special
difficulties in the way this year which need no,
occur in :he next. They are
l. The general decentralization OF the country
nj planting ,ia.c. How any crop. came to be
planted. and how any recdman remained BY
ms crop, Is even INV NIL anomaly.
The tcbel troops were energetic cnuush IN
hunting up able bodied men and women, and
plunderins their houses. The white troop. OF
the Union forces made n very clean swccp OF
what WAS left, and last Of oil came Satan also.
III form Of the so-cailcd Z" scouts MANY OF
whom are unfortunately still unhn1.ged, and
arc the most energetic Of nll in doubling the
l uh;lif. al H. IL - -- .--... 81, i.
compulsion. The majority Of crops were late
planted. for the scattered freedmen could no, go
out into the fields in March and April, and
even a, later dates they were liable to very sc.
rioua interruption.
,. Uncertainty Of the future a. rcgnrds per
mancncy Of engagement or security Of pay.
Until the arrangement Of the contract sya,r,n,
nnoat and even now the difficulty CT lists, for
the contracts expire with the year. and arc
very poorly complied with BY both parties.
Still they are better ,hnn nothing.
3. But the great druwbnck has been, Hnd i.
now, the absence of any general Law respecting
labor and pay. which should be at the same
TIME so specific us to bind all officers 10 one
courae of procedure, irrespcctiritiyc OF their
personal prrjudices. Every officer Of high OF
low grade hu, been left mainly 10 his own ian.
cy, nimoDt without supervision and the vari-
Gus forms Of contract made, aud the difcren,
methods OF enforcing :he.n, would DC n curiosi-
ty, were it not for the damage done by un.cru.
pulous or careless or thoughtless officials.
Work has one nspect IT tho table and Preside
Of the hospitable planter. quite another in the
cabin Of the freedman and a published vote OF
thanks from respectable planters il. not always
unpaid for out Of the wages due to working
hands.
Explanations similar to the foregoing might
be Increased aa Mitln,. and examples be fur
ni.hed in their support bu, surely these are
sufficient to entablish the fac, that the expert
inrnt. thus far. has bcen under trying circum.
stances. and that the prc.en. years .hor,com.
inys arc no ground Of encouragement, or doubt
a. To ultim ste succrrs.
II. While the foregoing is strictly ,1ne. i, is
equally true that in the following rcspects the
conduct Of tho freed people ha, been remark
ably trustworthy.