The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-10-17
HoYT 81 CO., Proprietor
From the Rural Cdrolinian.
How to Develop our Agricultural Resources


How to Develop our Agricultural Resources
The agricultural resources of the South, when
rightly Considered, are truly wonderful. With
a climate unsurpassed for its geniality, and
which admits of the planting of some OF the
products of the country every month IN 'tne
year, and soil of unequalled fertility, sne
awaits but to be made what nature Designed
she should be, the finest agricultural country
The consideration of this subject necessarily
involves that of the much discussed labor
question: in SO much, as it is mainly by labor
that our great agricultural resources are to De
developed. To develop them fully, is the great
work before us. To accomplish this work sue
cessfully, we need an ample supply Of the best
improved agricultural implements now In use.
To use these implements to advantage, we re-
ouire intelligent, reliable labor-labor superior
both in quality and quantity to that obtained
from our freedmen as they work at present; !
From whence is. this labor to be, obtained, Is
question which ever since the great change
in our. industrial system, has been discussed Dy
some of the ablest writers of the country, but
as yet, none, we believe, have reached solu-
ton of it.. 'Liebig," a contributor to Our
Home .Iour7aoz. in q series of articles upon the
subject, after pretty clearly demonstrating the
impracticability of either Chinese or European
skilled labor for the South, suggests as means
of overcoming the difficulty experienced, since
The war, in obtaining the right kind OF labor,
that those of our people engaged IN agricqitu, !,
raj pursuits, off with their coats and take noia
of the plough handles themselves. This, though
It NAV not be solution of the question, ap-
proximates, we think, a little nearer to one
than anything we have yet seen. So near, In
fact, as to touch the key note to soi1uon u OF OF
the yexed problem. Let each and all OF us
who are tiIlers of the soil, with hearty good
will, lay hold of the plough handles but at the
same time, instead of dispensing with the ser
vices of "Cuffee," as we presume "Lieblg IN
tended we should, hold on to him, and make
him, BY example as well as by precept the
kind of laborer ne need. This plan cd: De
made to succeed, after which the "labor ques-
ton" will have been solved, as we will then
have supply af reliable labor equal to the de-
mand. Such is the magnitude of the work be-
fore us of developing our great agriculture! re;
sources, that vastly more labor is required
than can, be afforded by cur white population,
even though every white man from the Poto-
mac to the Rio Grande we're to become dc
jacto tiller of the soil. 10 MAKE up Ihe aen-
cheney, the negro element of our population Is,
unouestionably, the most available for the pur-
pose. sCuffee' as he works at present, and
has worked since he was made free, Is with,
perhaps, few exceptional cases, far from being
the right kind of laborer, 1. e., one who will
accomplish good days work, and Mt the same
time do it exactly as it should be done. Even
when working on the share system, he moves
sluggishly, idles away his time, and what little
he does is at best but poorly done The bare
presence of his employer or his agent hes but
little effect for the better. II however, his
employer, instead of only directing him in his
work, would lead the way by laying hold of the
hoe or plough, as the case may be, himself. ne
would be a much more reliable and efficient
laborer. Meeting with friend, Just after tue
war, we asked him what scrt of a crop he had;
He replied that he had the best crop ne had
for ten years. :, Upon our expressing surprise at
this, on account of the unsatisfactory manner
in which the freedmen were working, he added,
with significant smile, "I work with my freed!
men, and. the consequence is I get great deal
more and better work out Of them.Y we have
had considerable experience in, the manage ma.
ment of freedmen. = Besides experimenting
them in q sort of play gentleman way, we nave
worked side by side with them,. and can add
our testimony to his in favor of the plan Ihe
effect of the example of.one white lsboTer upon
gang of freedmen, is not very dissimilar to
that Of trle pulling horse or mule upon q
haulky team. The;chief difficulty with horses
notiproperly trained TO pull, is in getting them
to start With one well trained animal, how
ever, to start the wagon, team and all, they not
only, as general thing, do their full share OF
the pulling after the wagon is started, bat u
properly managed will soon get in the way OF
helping to start it themselves. We know too
that soldiers, as a general thing, fight much
better when led in charge by commanding
officer, than when he, remains in the rear and
orders them to make it The habit of the gal
. lant Hampton, in Virginia, was, we are told
always to lead, his men into action instead OF
directing them TO go and do thus and SO. This
doubtless, accounts, in great measure for ms
brilliant aehieyments. The good effect 70, pc
produced by the employer npon MS freedmen ae
BY working with them, is far from being the
only advantage to be derived from the adoption
of the plan. The labor of himself and as many
able bodied sons as he may be so fortunate TO
have, would cost only the wear and tear OF
little muscle, and would be. the best quality.
This is the kind of labor that tells so wonder
fnlly,upon Northern farms. There are, doubt
less. those who still regard labor upon the farm
as degrading. s To; all who thus regard IL we
would say that the idea is ohe OF the olden
time, and was conceived in error.
Agriculture, as has oft been asserted, is the
noblest calling of man, and no kind of labor
connected with it is either degrading or dlshon-
orable Some of the noblest and best men the
world has ever seen, were at times the tillers OF
the soil. The idea that a white man cannot, as
a laborer, stand our hot climate, 'Liebig" as
serts, has been exploded. We can, from expe-
rience bear him out in the assertion. In ante
5ellun, times, we were, perhaps, regarded BY
some as sort of fancy gentleman. We rode
fancy horses, wore kid gloves, fancy hats, boots
and clothes, kept an umbrella stretched over
our devoted Uranium when exposed to the di-
rect rays of the sun, and made love to the
pretty girls in quite sentimental way NOW
we think we are about as near stall horse and
half alligator as was ever old Davy Crockett
and can, perhaps, come about as near "whip-
ping our weight in wild cats, riding on q streak
of lightning or jumping the Mississippi" " as he
hot SUN az any body else. regardless Of "any