The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-06-19
Let the Freedmen Read How 4.
Cotton Tax Operates on Proau.a,'
ton How it Robs the Freedms,

Of Demopotis, Alabama, has with. !.
, letter to the Alabama Republican. {
which he exposes the folly, if not v;.l'
{ edness, Of the tax put on cotton hv q.
Republican party. 1t is the test;mon. ~
Of one who knows whereof he write:.
AN ARGUMENT AGAINST THE. cor,o,.
TAX, By AN OFFICER OF THE rpr,s s
MEMS BUREAU. '-
! DEMoPoLIs, Ala, March 10, Iss7
The erroneous idea that there =.
immense profits in raising cotton =.
undoubtedly, induced Congress = r.,
pose the tax of three cents 4 ponn5
while the actual truth, is, il Il ~.
more profitable than the cultivafian o ~
any other agricultural product. Whstt
made it profitable in former times wa ss
the continually increasing number ana
value OF the slaves who cultivated ths
crop, rather than the proceeds Of tia
crop itself, for it is well known th.t
man not owning slaves never conlS
make q decent living By his own lahor
in the cotton field, and even at Dres .t
prices its cultivation is not more proat s
able than that Of many other apricnltn.
Iral products which are not taxed.
To illustrate One man with
mule, in good cotton season, at q h;eh
average, in the old cotton States. csn
make two thousand pounds Of lint
cotton and about enough corn to feea
his mule. This takes his entire TINA.
for twelve months in the year, This
cotton at the present price will sell for
$500, on which the Government tax Of
three cents per pound amounts to S6O
Now one man with q team in Illino;a
BY working six months id the year. can
make two thousand bushels Of corn
worth at least $500. A tax on this
$500 worth Of corn raised by one man
in, Illinois, in proportion to that impos.
ed on the $500 worth Of cotton raised
BY one man in Alabama, would be 496.
or nearly five cents per bnshel. But e.
it takes only half the labor to make tia
corn that is required to make the cot
ton, the tax on it should be doubled. On
ten cents per bushel, in order to equal
ize the business.
One man in Berkshire County can
provide for and milk twenty COWS, from
which he can make 5000 pounds Of
chees, which will net 81 400. Now !
tax on this 81, 400 worth Of cheese.
which one man in Berkshire can make.
in proportion to the $50 tax on $500
worth of cotton, which one man in Al
ALBANIA can make, would be $l66, or
two cents per pound. How would our
Berkshire farmers relish thisi One
man in any Northern State can take
care Of and provide for enough sheep to
produce Z, 600 pounds of wool, which is
just the number of pounds Of cotton
which one man in Alabama can pro-
duce.
But wool usually sells at double tho
price Of cotton at its home market;
hence o tax on wool parallel with that
on cotton should be six cents per pound.
Yet Congress, instead of taxing wool
until it stands on an equal footing with
cotton, or removing the tax from cot
ton which does not increase the market
value anywhere, and puts q high pro-
tective duty on all imported VOL,
which largely increases the homo value
of the native article. tits well enough
to protect American wool, but why thus
Cypress American cOtt0nf Is it mag
nanimousi Is it just Is it encour-
aging Southern emigration Is it not
rather poor craftsmanship, and blind
sectional legislation!
This, however, is not the worst fea-
tnre of it. This little tax of three cents
per pound on cotton produces actual
destitution and suffering among, the
freedmen. have assisted in the set
Element Of accounts with freedmen, on
perhaps fifty plantations in Alabama
during the winter, and know 1erhaps
we'll their condition. The 6llowing
statement of the situation on one plan
tatiOn will illustrate that on hundreds
Of other. In the latter part of Deeem-
Der l visited one plantation, lying
about ten miles up the Tombigbee Riv-
81, for the purpose Of settling with tho
freedmen. There was made on the
place less than one Thousand poundsof
cotton to the hand, and no corn. It
was an average cotton crop for last
year in this section of the country.
The freedmen were to receive as wages
their rations Of c0rn-lneal and pork,
ane one-fourth Of the crop, which are
the usual terms given this year.
They we're sick some, and had bought
some clothing, little sugar, -four, &C.,
from their employer, promising their
crop in payment. At the settlement it
was found that some had oyerdrawn
tbeir accounts, some come out with FIVE
dollars due them, and one or two as
high as thirty dollars coming to them
for their years labor. All were rag
ged, their children were naked; oil
now without food and many without
Yet the Government tax on
cotton belonging to freedmen on this
plantation was nearly six hundred
dollars, enough to have comfortably
clothed most Of them. Sad, naked and
hungry, they left this plantation to
look for other homes, little dreaming
that the Government that had ret them
free was now actually taking the food
from their mouths and the clothes from
their backs, under the mistaken notion
that it was only making rebels pay .
part Of the national debt.
Such is the actual situation mon
Of plantations in Alabama.
Yet bureau officers are required to
nrge their freedmen to educate their
to save their money in order
70 buy stock and tools with which to
arm on their own account. Congress
has now given freedmen the ballot,
while it takes away much Of their
bread and bacon. Had the freedmen
themselves been given their choice
between the two, fancy they would
AVE chosen the latter. They can not
'at ballots, nor wear ballots, and I
Judge that about the first use they
make Of them win be toward remov-
ng this cotton tax which now bears 80
~ n 4 = ~ ok ,