Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-10-23
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Negro Field Han DIS.

HOW THE PLANTERS LIKE FREE LABOR.
The people of North Carolina do not re-
gret the abolition of slavery. They would
not have their negroes back, even if they
could be guaranteed their peaceable pos
session for all future time and a public
opinion throughout the country sustaining
the institution. Here and there in this
state | have met a man who before be
ecu make up his mind to vote for Mr.
Greeley bad to conquer mighty preju-
dice When such men begin to talk about
The sacrifice they make in supporting an
old aboiItjonst, the popular reply is,
3. Wei, perhaps you would like to have
Your uiggers back again p This brings
them to their senses, for | have vet to
find the first man in the state, except the
rice planters on the Cape Fear river, and
those who hired out their slaves in South
Carolina and Alabama, who are not better
off to day than they would have been had
the institution Of slavery been allowed to
remain after Lees surrender. 1t is a
mistaken idea, through prevalent one
among some of the planters themselves,
that the loss Of their slaves property is the
cause Of their present poverty. 1t was
the loss Of capital invested in other ways,
and the destruction of every kind Of bust
ness by the war that made the southern
people 50 poor.
| was particularly interested, to-day,
ID conversation had with one of the
most successful cotton planters in this
ueighborhoOd. He was saying, what |
bad heard 50 often remarked before, that
no sane man in the Sonth desired the re-
vival Of slavery, even he could have it
under the most favorable circumstances,
and | asked him how the profits of farming
with free labor to-day compared with
those Of slave labor before the war. He
replied that if a planter had to-day CAPT
tai to invest in stock and implements, fer
tilizers and provisions, to carry him through
the season he could make more money in
raising cotton with free labor than he ever
could under the old system. Why"
said he, +" | owned all of the niggers |
worked on my plantation before 1865, and,
although had then to pay taxes on
much larger amount of property, my farm
yields me, not only much larler percent
age on the amount of capital invested, but
end Of the year. Many of our people are
just settling up their old debts contr acted
during or before the war. When they
have paid them, and those which grew out
of short crops several years in succession
since. nothing but bad government can
interfere with their prosperity"
" But" said |, " in riding through your
country L see a great many uncuItivated
fields"
' Yes he replied, " but that is not be-
cause planting is Improbable, but because
we cannot get the labor, or have not the
necessary. capital. Free labor costs US
much less than slave labor did. If
wished 10 hire field hand before the war.
had to pay his owner from $500 to $3.50
year, beside giving bond to feed and
clOthe him properly, furnish him prop
er medical attendance if sick, and pay
all taxes due on his account The cost OF
owning a negro was about the same if you
counted the expense of his care and sup
port, taxes, interest on capital invested,
and the expense of supporting the aged
and children. Now | can hire the same
hands tor from $40 to S15 a month, beside
nouse-rent aud rations. To be sure they
don't do quite as much work, but on the
whole, the labor is much cheaper"
The chief objection which l hear the
planters urge to free labor is their inability
70 control it as formerly. If gang of
hands make up their minds to 90 off a day
at any time, they generally go, no matter
what may be the condition of the crop.
Besides this, very few of them, especially
when they live within few miles of town,
are willing to work more than five days in
week. The most of the planters pay
their help weekly one-half of their wa es,
retaining the other half until the crop is
made. The negroes get their weekly al
vance on Friday night, and ere i'll at