The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-02-09
70 THE EDITOR OF THE NEWS.

employment as their former method OF
lie renders practicable. The mechanical
kclass are complaining Of want Of employment |
| SO that the broad fields Of agriculture seemto
Fbe the only fruitful source of complaint
tThis, IN the face Of s,5oo,00o bales made In
/ the nth year of the most devastating war
Known to civilization. We say this not unad-
ylsedly. For. with every dollar OF bank capl-
tai destroyed; railroads worn out OF torn up;
river transportation in q great measure dlssi-
pated; $4,000, ,Ooo 900 Of mortgageable or sale
able slave property wiped out; the whole organi-
zation of industry disrupted by drum-head re-
organization, or a, '.dohn Browns spirit march
ing ON" the value 81 real estate sunk from 80
ito s5 per cent. political reform-reyoluttonargi
radical, rapacious, gnorant-crownlng the
fearful aspect of affairs, 1t is wonder that
one stone standeth on another.
That we are vouchsafed this much, we owe
to no man or man-maker, but to God, to the
habltude of accustomed liberty, to the wide
wilderness of territory we occupy, and to
the physical hindrances afforded thereby, to
the scrutiny and persecution OF venal and
malignant tyranny.
The boundless forests waive still their ban
ners or freedom despite martini Law, and
chant their requiem over the graves OF the
fallen brave and the homes of the fallen
free. The South is free despite the
rkase from Washington, the "orders" OF
satraps the dogged sullenness Of the truly
loiln harpies. Nature stands out against the
nation" in all Its folly and might. Society
proclaims its sovereignty jare divino, and
de 1acto government, independent Of 'legisla-
tive halls, governs without sheriff or JAIL pro-
cess or pretor. In the condition through which
we have travelled, that there 'is life In the
old land yet" that she "llves and moves, and
has her being" under Cod discovers avitality
born of wide resources and social grouping
of civilized and hardy manhood, which dares
to be free so long as the sun shines and the
rivers run.
That the South has thus struggled up to COM
paratiye power Is plain. When we behold her
mighty railroads urging their way far and near
over the face OF the country, the fact is stri-
kingly and irresistibly suggestlve OF Wnas , ue
| labor present IN the Soulh can eueets "heh
Every dollar tina. could be borrowed has
4 been strained 10 recuperation In this regard,
! and In oil the towns appliances OF commerce.
Agriculture, however, Win ner s5uo,oOV,gUV OF
exports, mends no county roads, builds no
fences. makes no farm improvements. Sue
struggles from hand to mouth, from year to
year, trembling befOre'eVery financial crisis.
| It Is only necessary to 60 through the fields
and homes Of the South to admit this shiftless
hopelessness brooding over the country.
Now, there is strange inconSruity mere,
the cause of which should be sought. Planters
! In their distress see their crops swept away by
| the swift and costly lines Of transportation and
no return made. The merchant, the railway,
the drayman, the storehouse, the wharf, the
steamer, all must be paid; but the planter,
bearing them all on his mighty shoulders,
eroans In his agony and grapples again and
| again with his cruel fate, his grotesque mas
terry. No less is this the case with the laborer,
| In the long run, than the employer. It Is IN
possible to have an unsuccessful employer and
q we'll paid and well housed aborer. The Ia
| Dor, inefficient and Indifferent, may be costly
even at low IL Is %bSS Is,
makes labor dear or cheap. Even when
the planter complains Of his labor and the
| losses accruing from the cost Of production,
! 1t does Xot appear that the laborer Is paid too
much. It may be that he Is half paid, and
halt-hear led, and passes Into condllon OF
indoent sell-dependence and Vasabondase,
which makes him unwilling for work, ana
only fourth OF man In productive eftclency,
whilst he must incur the expense Of whole
mans food and raiment. Whatever this eX-
pense must be, the employers must bear IT IN
some way or forego the labor Let us Illus
| trate. Here are ten farms with aVal!aDle
lands for hundred hands. With ef1icient,
willing. well fed, we'll clothed, well paid, hrst-
and day out, with appointed days OF recreation
and merriment, with well appointed homes
and ample comforts surrounding them,
these laborers could cultivate from 1000
to 1900 acres Of cotton, with ample pro-
vision crops. manufacture the greater tel,
part of their clothing OF the most substantial
and suitable kind, besides raising the utmost
| abundance of flesh, vegetables and fruits.
| Time and again this has been done in the
South. on small as well as large farms, when
well conducted. All spare time was put to
nse; when the laborers worked they worked;
when they played they played: Potent, profit
able earnestness stirred the blood OF employer
and laborer. and master and man, alike, telt
! the glow of industry, the gladness of success:
| Nature responded to every manly effort, and
| stretched wide her profuse bosom to her honest
sons, to succor their wants ana sweeten their
labors with a thousand charming rewards,
| glttering from the developed foWereCto Inc
| bending fields OF grain.
Now, institute such industry as this, accom-.
plishing $500. acres OF well-cutlvated land, al
| lowing each able-bodied laborer 81 per day,
clothing and TODD to laborer and family being
| furnished from the farm ALLOW rates.! All the
food, consisting of bacon, beef. syrup, whe at
| or rice vegetables and fruits freel and p0ta-
| toes, could be raised on the plantation. This
| for man, his wife and family, supposing them
! to consist in all Of five, would amount to 25
per month; the clothing. made on the farm, OF
various domestic material, would amount to
tl00 yards to family, which at 36 cents
average, would be $36, or s. per month.
Rent Of house, well appointed, with
! garden, s. per month. All these items
| would amount to $3l in 26 working days Of the.
! month, and the pay of man and wife to s52.
which would leave q cash balance la their ia.
vor Of $2l, or sl0a apiece Now, with ample
provision crops for stock. &C., and family use,
we are prepared to r,se the cotton crop for pur-
cheese OF comparative luxuries, making farm
improvements, and developing the system OF
| planting to its most profitable conduct. Now,
| let each farm plant, besides Its other Indus
| tries, l20 acres cotton, cultivated In the most
| improved manner. The payment Of hands
! calls for 1890; the deduction Of Sl20 tor LOST
| time and sickness leaves $1,000. Now this l20
acres. at 250 pounds per acre, yield us 60 bales.
of,500 lbs, which, at 15c., gives s45oo leaving
margin Of $4,000 for other expenses and family
use. BY expendtng $1,000 more of this towards s
| other employees, repairs, &C., we nave SUN
left $4,000. With half this crop In bad seasons,
we have 80 bales at rs cents, S3750, ana mar.
| Gin OF $3.50. At 20 cents, We have S3000 and
a margin OF $1,000, after paying wages gand