The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1867-05-23
COLUMBIA.
Thursday Morning, May %. 1857,
From Columbia-Our Labo-ers.;

Ihe New 1Ork deTUu, VI L Eliu"J,
publishes two letters from this city,
written by one of its especial" cor
RESPONDENTS. he writes about the
appearance of the city, sand-hills,
in a very fair spirit; but when he
comes to speak of the inevitable ne!
gro, he IL evidently at sea. or has
been grossly deceived. For instance,
he says that, an many instances, the
negroes have contracted for one-hfth
of what they make on the farms and
plantations. and alleges that the ne
groes are over:rcached by the first
party to the contract, the negroes
believing that the higher the figure
in the fraction, the, greater The
amount, so that third must be less
than fifth in tlIeir estimation. The
laborer, he says, has seemingly made
up his mind to be content with his
hire as it is offered to- him; but he
significantly adds: "Other days
other counsels, perhaps, but now it
is Hobson's choice-that or none"
Our own people know how prepos-
tcrous these statements are; but it is
such letters as these which, in many
instances, induce the Northern peo-
pie to believe that the Southern
whites systematically defraud the
freedmen of their earnings, and that
the latter havo no remedy against
such dishonest practices. AS to any
set of laborcrs on any farm or planta-
tion in this vicinity getting only, in
return for his work, one-fifth of what
he makes, the statement is about as
far from the truth as the other, that
there is one freedman out of five
hundred who, however ignorant he
may be of financial matters, who
thinks or believes that one-ffth OF
the crop is moro than one-third
which the correspondent would soon
find out, if he tried to impose in this
way on thoir ignorance OF credulity.
Again, lie says that although the
negroes in this region nre found tc
do their labor satisfactorily, yet 'it
cannot be said that they are stinnu
lated by tho amount of their wages
SIO month being the largest price
paid" Whilst writing this, we in
quired of q gentleman who we knew
worked farhl in the vicinity of Co
lumbia, and Who had also some freed
men, waSoners, &c. To the hand.
on the farm, he pays $3.50 pei
month. with board and houses te
live in; to the latter, he pays-the,
prcferring the arrangemcnt-$24 peI
month, without board, and this, w,
presume, is about the average rate O
wages paid.
No such fraudulent dealings coult
take place with the freedmen in TIL.
vicinity. They have friends il
almost every family of the forme,
shareholders, and they have sagacity
enough to seek their counsel ant
advice il financial troubles or in an,
other emergency. Ii they are neecet
at all, 1t Is not by these to The mnno,
born, or to those with whom the,
have associated all their lives. Thes,
mlschicvons epistlcs from the South
unjust as they arc TO her people, ar,
OF course read by thousands and be
lieved by many, and it is thus +. la
the whites Of the South are traduced
and thus is the necessity feigned fol
the enlightenment Of Tie freedme.
against the wilcs, seductions ani
hypocritical Establishments, as the,
call it, Of their former masters ani
nclghbors. It would be Il great bless
ing to the country if Northern news
papers would employ honest and
reliable men us their Southern fra
Yelling correspondents. That such
men could be found-when the edit.
ors themselves DO no. visit the Sontb
is proven by the correspondence OF
some of the leading Journals of New
York, such as tile Journal Of Conn
ncrce, ErDrcsS SO on1 ,roro c,,,