The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-08-10

resteu by him for various of nses aud his DO ks only
The Bu,esu is catvatinga SpSs plaataStSn in this
safe Tor which Y pay ten to Gteen thou aud dollars
renting land on h Uasd STATES When
millons of acres Of pn blic iands e. corr rstions
Major General Absliom Baird is the Assistant Com
mspder Of the Deparme When we Visited i iIe Gs,
Conway.
The facilities for travelling 10 Tex being limited
and the State 50 large we found impossible to make
sE an nVeauea4"n E as w&nd enable rs 70 repott
The headquar Of the bureau Located at Calves
ces sibe and poruous paris the State As to the con-
diiion OF affairs the Interior we were unable to OBJ
bur an or from any other sources We visited K CHI
sGens rom her Districts who we're there IN attend
At Richmond Captain soa l the agent Of the Bureau
Is engaged ~ pantng in connection with his former
army, Captain hitc6sil Captan sloan deuisd under
oath tRat he Tas or eyer had been Interested 9 the
Pearson, commandant Of the troops AZ that ,st, and
fore us that Captain sloan had told them repeatedly he
vas Interested in the farm, had mentioned to them
were made to US by other that Captain sloan
from their plantations aud place them his owa. We
append the testimony taken in this marked &C"
ant G. F Hardenbrook I.tv r. G., agent at Beaumont,
were doing well in bis district and that the dspS.oa
OF the people was fair Most Of the sdmen
fteeg dollsrs month, in coin. II? su6gsquently mem
zo U bI " u1 hau IecSoIy & arrested pI houston GU %
doctor had said he did not regard his pafOe but, and
prisoner he had been obliged to release him This OIL
Ger reported to US other actions Of his own equally alb
urd as his satisfying us that he was utterly ncompe-
Baving heard unfavorable reports from the Brenham
disriet we examined the agent, Captain s. a. Craig,
IIIth IIth Veteran ReseEye corps, whom we also met at
Arnold, OF, the 18th Illinois cavalry had kept no
records, and had left nothing in the office but list Of
contracts and dle Of orders and he could give us no
S 10 ot ms 9Sal aG.s We are salsned that
p i the bureau agents in Texas exercise judicial
in both civil aud crimp al cases. and in the dis
charge these arbitrary and DANGEROUS functions fire.
mere Ium6S Captain sloan the bureau oicsr az
kchmoud beofs sluded to- while q Galveston, ont Of
him in prison on the Plea that he wanted him wit
mes in a case which be Only knewfrom rumOr would
Ten Of tbs thirty Ave agents in this State are Citizs9
in Thornon county, formerly colonel In the rebel
army, and was appointed an agent of he bureau py
state, while still unpardoned.
we haS' many rum,ls with resRect 10 deasfai
vsgs We ceSosd & Fea n y s eW WsPe s
upl9Gnded; While we believe General Gregory to
extreme views and policy produced N feeling and Bit
So far as we saw able to get information in
Texas, the reedmtn were working well and the crops
ing made In specie, were better than in other de-
Brevei Major GeneraIJ B Kiddoo is the present As
slstant Commissioner 4 Texas.
Summary
We of opinion that the close of the war; aud for
men Bureau did good The people Of the south hav-
nE at first no faith in the negroes working ander ree
during the t9mmer Of 1870 judioiou; bureau and mill
mOsy, and inducing he people Of the South to resume
the Snltivaog OF their plantations by employing the
revolution in the sentiments of the people Of the south
sprang up towards the freedman, resulting perhaps
mainly from the CONVICTION that his labor wa desirable
sity o. the bureau then ceased Since then while
1t has been beneficial in some localities 1t has been
i has occasoned ana will lpeTpetuae discord as longas
men Of the nation; The freedmen regard its pesenoe
integrity ard fairness espionage upon the official
uFon the private conduct Of theit cnzsDs Both races
%5cR in the present reorganzed condition OF civil goy
ernmen and society IN the southern States, pOweress
to advance the Interests o. either. .
u R ] Rest y & oT 91 the % & R has in z e rs south is
free dispose Of this at all times, to the highest
bidder, gnshackled by contracts made for him by
moment demand the wages which the high price Of he
products of the South would Justify, dollar per day
and board would be the ruling wages Instead of ten
hey cannot take adyanase Of the denan Tor tn cir
moDtbs through the agency and fRaeace OF the
Freedmen's Bureau The hands 90 the Mis- sissppl
and they arr getting forty dollars per month and ther
board FOR & sb2c less e%SG1g az than that OF PaotaoR
rivers are ttng, the rice pa ntatons from ten to
while the laboIers employed on the Georgia Central
railroad which runs between these streams,
& ting one dollar and half day. Some complaints
nah river that their laborers were discontent~d,
and did not work required by the contracts One of
the planters, PRACTICAL liberal. minded man, ex-
which the negroes were hired. He said, 81 can get
dollar a day and rations, and am paying that and
pect to pay even more | can give thlee dollars day
can out of his res dom, and ne has right to do so
The enlgh ened policy advocated by this gentleman-a
poll cal econOmy-is de eated by the contract system
inauguTated and forced into practica operation ny the
stances of freedmen working for ten dollars month
and rauOns under yearly contracts sanctioned by the
bureau, while in the same field, doing the same work
other freedmen not under contracts were getne one
dollar day and rations In all of the large towns OF
the Mississ ppl valley, during the months of May
and June, planters were offering one dollar day ana
ratons freedmen while under the sanction Of the
government, given by the officers and agents of the
bureau, thOusauds OF freedmen were working under
contract for ten dollars month. If the freedmen
are lett free the dema nd for their labor and
competition among employers Will secure them good
wages aud kind treatment. They will not contract
with who treat them harshy or fail to them,
is abundantly proven by the fact that many plauters
who treated their lormer slaves cruelty unable
to hire freedmen to work Tor them, and have been
o,liged 10 sell or lease their plantations
we are unable to d cover why tn simple rules which
in The northern States should not obtain as well in tue
aboTng 10 sell his labor to he highest bidder IN
one section OF tie country ana appoint IN gent 70 sell
that the freed people OF the Ssuh were not bound Oy
contracts their wages would be NJ least hty per cent
less disconteut among the freedmen than exists,
and far less duty for the agen the 6ureau to perform
almost the only dissatisfaction existing this time
ann nR the freedmen results from the low rates of
at which they have been hired under the inhu and
content makes the freedmen unwilling TO work Their
nduence provokes the planter VINO frequently resorts