Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-07-25
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OUR COUNTY REPREsENTATTFEs


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OUR COUNTY REPREsENTATIFEs
A QUESTION FOR THE CONSIDERATION Oh
ALL CLASSES.
Editors Memphis Appeal:
The most important question for the
consideration Of all classes in this COM
munity is that0f simple ssaboT by which
the owners of land can cultivate theiI
acres 70 advantage and the dullRess
which reigns over this section Of the
country be changed into eheerfnlDess
The system Of euitivatiDg green crops
instead Of cotton, 80 strenuously advooa-
ted by a portion Of the press, is Ike q
man "cutting of his nose to spite his
face ~ it Injuries the party who performs
the action more than the party against
whom the evil Is directed for it must be
reeollected that a district which devotes
its labor to a production for which
IL has the grestest natural facilities,
will reap richer reward than a district
which devotes its labor to a production
for which it has but few facilities. Thus,
il farmer we're to raise fifty bushels Of
corn to an acre, its value, at 81 per
bushel, would be only $50; whereas, If
/ he were 10 raise bale Of cotton on the
/ same acre, its value, at % cents a pound,
500 pounds to the bale, would be $780,
This shows that our farmers can realize
at least $50 an acre more on the prOdue-
ton OF cotton than on the production Of
green crops; that they can better afford
to fill their pockets with gold by creating
products Of exchange, than to remain ia
poverty by creating products Of home
consumption that it is not only cheaper
but more profitable to raise cotton and
-. IL
yankee seek his cotton elsewhere.
Besides this, the system Of green crop
ping in this section is not only Injurious
TO ths planter, but it destroys CONNER
cial pursuits, and consequently lessons
the prosperity Of cities, which depend 10
a great extent on the traffic Of exchanges
for what may be termed their vitality.
Stop, for instance, the cotton trade Of
Memphis, and how long will it be ere
dullness reigns over her streets in such
black clouds as 10 appal the most wealthy.
For it must be borne in mind that cur
tailment Of our cotton trade would cur
tail the traffic Of our steam boats and
railroads, and q eurtailment Of their traf-
fic would drive numerous mechanics and
labOrers out of employment, thus not
only lessening our wealth, but our popu-
latiOn also. Ali the manufactures we
might establish could not enIiven the
dullness thus created, for even if we pos
sessed the natural facilities for making
all the articles necessary for the comforts
OF life, we could not compete with
either Europe or the North in the marts
of trade, because we could not procure
skilled labor as cheap as they could; and
the consequence would be that by raising
only what we want for food, fodder, and
nd m nfrr~f-,ar. ..nTrr -,
we need for our own comforts, we would
lapse into a state of society as useless TO
the whole country as that Of the Indians.
Now, it is not only question Of pOliti-
cal power, out Of fs0cislhappiness, whether
we shall adopt a system Of simple labor
to make our fields productive. and profit
able, enabling the faEme er to live well the
merchant to carry on his trade, and the
mechanic 70 obtain constant employ
ment, or allow the chasm made by the
eruption of slavery TO grow wider and
wider until we all sink into irredeemable /
wretchedness aud contention, like the
people of unfortunate Mexico. And this |
question should be settled hv
the wisdom Of men who are eonversant /
with the wants OF planters and the prin- /
ciples upon which commerce is governed 1
so as to increase the wealth of commu- F..
mites; for if left to the whims of dema- /.
gogues or the speculatiOns of mere par /
tizsns, nothing but agitation and ili-fsel- |
ing will be the result. It then becomes /
the duty Of every one who desires pros /
perity TO select, in the coming election, I
who are qualified by their .
and abilities to start a system /
Of simple labor that will be adequate to 4
the requirements Of our farmers and ben I
rDrH HF.r y
1t must not be supposed, however, that /
such men will attempt to regulate wages /
or the manner Of hiring hands bv legis- /
iative enactments, for such a system /
would be worse than slavery, as it would .
give neither employer nor en- mplOyee the /
right To make bargain, the very essence /
Of liberty and the life of trade; but they
will either suggest or bring about some
mode OF labor by which the farmer and I
his wOrkmen viii be free agents and 4
mutual benefactors.
In looking over q list Of representa-
uves announced for election on the first /
Of August next / notice one which, /
without the slightest disparagement to
the others, l think every way qualified,
in this time of peculiar emergency, to I
give life TO a new mode of labor by
v hich our nslds may again grow white
with the staple - and our pockets grow
heavy with hard cash" 1 mean the
Hon. w. W. Coleman, a man with a
mind devoid Of mean prejudices and
heart overlooking with sympathy
for bis fellOw-man. A farmer in |
this stare for many years, he knows
what our farmers require in the way of
labor; a merchant in our city for some
time, he knows what action will be
necessary to advance the interests of our
merchants and mechanics. Whoever
votes for him will be doing his section a
service. He is so just 10 the cOlOred
-olks, that servants who lived with him
.ong before the war delight to work for
him now. One black woman has been
thirty years in his service, and says she'll
never quit it until the Great Master takes
her of. Such man as Coleman should
be elected by all classes.
Yours, etc.. j. 3. S,