Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1866-06-27
For the Advertiser.

Mr.. EDIToR: ask what is to be done? There
is great and growing evil upon US rs people.
mean Freedom as it exists among US in the
present form,-in reference especially to the
! manner in which it is carried out. Why, Sir,
there is no restraint whatever that can sec over
the whole matter in regard to whether your en-
ployce stays with you or no.. 1t is perfectly
optional with him, Notwithstanding his or her
contract. There is O. general stampeding on the
part of the Freedmen in every direction. 1t does
not matter with him whether you, or any other
person, make any thing to live on or not. Free
dom, Freedom, is their song by day and by night.
The idea seems to be that they can live on Free
dom, and strut play, and dance whenever they
it is growing evil, which overy thinking man
will readily admit. ask again what is to be
done under the circumstances: Can We make q
support with these lazy, loafing, rambling freed
men about W.? answer, no.
am glad however to say that there are few
who do very well. But those few cannot support
the rest in their idleness. Iknow whole farms
where the Freedmen have left without any provo
cation. Just because somebody else will hire
them and promise to give them a little more, for
few weeks. Hence, many crops are, in many
instances, entirely lost in the grass. do not wish
to be considered hard on the poor creatures, or
their enemy in thus speaking out my thoughts on
the subject. wish only their general good and
ours as people, and if possible to make free
labor as it now exists, profitable to both white
and black. It does seem to mo that this great
evil could be rcmedied at least in part, as follows:
lst, Let every ncighborhood or community meet
together and form compact todie. with such
boundaries ms may be necessary for the express
purpose of uniting their efforts in the all-impor-
tant point of putting u stop to this great evil.
End, Let all good honest persons assist in this
matter by giving their aid and influence to induce
the Freedmen, if possible, TO stay with their en-
ployers. We may do great acl in this way by
cunciliatory measures. Srd, Let it be considered
u crime of great magnitude for any person, in the
estimation of public opinion, to hire freedman
who hal previously made contract with any
0tncr perSOu, uutll lnat CoulTdCt uAu cSplreu, or
said freedman having obtained permission from
his employer. There is great need of something
being done. Let us get hold of the true policy.
feel interested in the matter. Let US act ut once
cannot close, Mr.. EDITOR, without saying
something, by your permission, about the Stay
Lava question wbiAh nsitates the public mind
very much just Mt this time. confess that it
boars on my min! heavily, (not that it will con-
hic. or Cypress nie individually il any wny that
scc,) but the idea of tho distress it will bring on
tho country in general, makes mt shrddcr. am
not in favoref rcpudiation that would bo wrong.
But I nm in favor of the Stay Law ms it exists;
and I believe that express the opinion of three.
fourths Of the people when Tsay so.
But there nrc some, who tell Us that it is nm
constitutional. Well, really do not know so much
about that; always thought tina. any State had
o right to make its own laws, in reference to its
onn debtp, especially when it did not intsrfsrs |