The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-04-11
Farm Labor.

:; eASA " " Ns', - ~" ASSG''
Farm Labor.
Such demand for farm labor has never been
known in this country. Many of our fields are
lvineiio}e Sof the want of hands to cultivate
theri, Some of our houses, lots and fences are
aroine TO- waste for the wan. of repairs. Sorry
plouSh gear broken wagons, the dusty remains
of old carriages, and the scattering fragments
of mouldering timbers, show unmistakable
SIGNS of labefaction. Weeds and grasses,
briers and bushes, thorns and thistles, are visl-
ble proofs that the forest is making encroach-
1neats on the Fightful domains OF previous
industry. .e
But few clearings are made. New grounds
IRE generally small. Not many long fences OF
fresh appearance meet the eye. Expansion Is
The agricultural policy in these days. No OBJ
lection if the land is made SO much the richer,
if every acre is required to produce proper,
tional increase and the whole farm made to yield
,,s:much as in former times. But rs this is not
the case, except in few instances, it shows
that the; same quantity of labor has not been
,empIoyed.e, The hands have died orcgone to
other sections, or engaged in other business
more agreeable to their feelings OF lucrative to
iheir purses AS consequence, farms dwindle
in size, original outfit decays, and the mind
broods IN melancholy reyerie over the ruins OF
former wealth. = -
Many who once labored IN the field are work
ing in shops, in factories, or on railroads.
More hands are employed, more means con-
sumed, and harder efforts now made to build
railways than at any former period of our his
sorry. Almost every newspaper gives account
,,f some road spanning river. tunneling
mountain; OF reaching a city, where such an
,andertakine few years ago would have been
considered absolutely infeasible Let them go
with speed and power, wealth and fame, inter
licking every town and neighborhood with the
arms OF commercial interest, and difusing 9
spirit Of enterprise and intelligence among all
hepeople for aught we care. Ali we wish
they were more numerous finished IN better
ityls, paying larger dividends to stockholders,
and making our country the glory OF all the
saYth.
But what are we to do meantime for farm
labor? How are we to raise and educate our
chiadren7 IF the plow stops what is to become
OF schools, factories, railroads. and all our 9TH
et institutions? Will they not give way, col
lapse, and fall back to fragmentary heaps, like
Ahe costly piles Of Greece and Rome, when the
,tillsee of their fields stopped? This reasoning
is SO plain, as well as some of the signs already
mentioned, that many of our wisest men see
the danger, and are introducing every plan they
can to save the country from it. Perhaps some
of them will find the secret of success. The
solution of the problem is not impossible. Ii
they will unite, work in concert, and persevere,
they win accomplish their end. Combinations
achieye victories that individuals cannot win.
am the multitude of connsellors there is safe
w." .-...,s,,-,
Success In this case does not depend on one
thing. The dsy of single feats is gone. Once
as;nele combat decided the fate of a nation,
but such is not the case at the present time.
once solitary wanderer, SIS Abraham, became
the founder of an empire but now, if a new
country, as California, is to be settled, colonies
come from every part of the civilized world.
We must have hands, white and black, native
and foreign, laying to and working with ener-
~. before our mountain slopes and rolling
Dlains will ever produce the immense crops OF
corn and cotton, that the God of nature de-
coming, when burdened Europe, Asia, and the
isles Of the ocean, will pour their emigrants
into New York, Philadelphia, and all our
ports send them up our rivers, along our rail
roads. and through all our neighborhoods and
find homes for them to sell goods, to work in
shoi,s; and to develop farms, until this land
viii tsem with such an intermixture OF races,
such productions, and such wealth, as future
historians viii never record but once.
Tn the meantime; the labor of the colored
nan must not be underyalued. He can stand
the climate better thar any man OF far skin
md straight hair. His experience ls also
y7nrth something. Our staple productions are
fsYnil;ar to- him. How long would 1t take
No., from a transatlantic State to acquire the
esnia Knowledge? What would he be worth
Sn-;no his pupilage7 As much as the negro
Not unless his superior mind compensates TOR
~ j;fTarance. But, the fact that the black
,nen,s intellect Is net so angular, nor his per-
art,sI . ambition SO great as the white mans, is
enc - !the reasons why he is so suitable for the
,nenial labor of s. farm. Born to ignorance,
;a;sed to coarse fare, and used to plain talk, 1T
;s:natural for him to yield obedience to higher
talert and attainment As the laws OF nature
a,s superior to acts of, Congress, ne must yield
this obedience in one form or another, as long
ss5sha lives. Ali the political levers in the
S,orIS cannot greatly elevate his status. Give
Simsthe elective franchise, put him on throne.
er,5 f;ll his excheguer with the golden sands OF
s,,o;art Pecf0lus. and it would not much effect
i,;s ,ormai condition. This being true, as
tararSt T ching. we should control his labor as
r. ID tyacaIa with wisdom and discretion. He
VIM staaies his nature closely, and controls his
iabor wisely, will be the most successful farmer
in the country.
Considering all things that go to make up
efficient labor, the coiored man is the cheaPest
s hand We can employ. Needing food, clothes,
ho,1se ~ and all the outfit for comfortable living,
hSWili il be be, easy to pay. Unable to cope with
h;s S S White e brother, in law, medicine, and the
fine ru arts-practical, theoretical, sesthetical-
ra;sine G cane corn, or cotton, potatoes, peas, or
,a;nSass rs VIII be the means Of his daily iveli-
bood,' The number may not be as large as we
wish, nor sufRcient to supply half the demand, Ind
s,,,t s, 9bers win always be some to hire on rea-