New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-04-24
AN EXODUS OF LABOR.

colored people TO OLhel l;raa and |
ny mr. military government eiIneI
- r. ,fb;cb ,nust be conceded by all Woulu 10
Ja+r;mantaI TO the interest OF the otaVe'
Mr., Pinchback repeats what was some
time since intimated from reSpohsloie
source-that the fear Of their lives ana the
negation of their rights may drive the COL
ored neople to seek a market for their
lobor in some other part of the country
It's q noted fact that the persons prlnci-
naI1v concerned in our political agltatlons
ara in no sense owners or cultivators OF
the soil. TLey are not, therefore, other
wise interested in that mother industry
except by the indirect relation OF mercan-
tile or professional men. or as possible
Office holders to be paid salary from the
proceeds Of field labor. But there IS
class deeply and directly concerned IN the
cultivation of the earth. That class holds
lands. in part under mortgage. requiring
constant and heavy labor, and subject 10
the regular decline Of deficient means and
dilapidated buildings.
1t is only necessary to state two facts 10
convince that class that all their substance
and subsistence depend on the immediate
reconciliation of capital and labor. The
first fact is that only one acre in twelve OF
our open land is in cultivation. The Sec
ond is consequence of the first, that the
assessed value of our real estate has 6een
reduced. The cause of. this is the deh-
cheney of labor. II is labor that, like the
blood, flows through, strengthens and
animates the industrial system. The loss
of labor, like the loss of blood. leaves
that system feeble, tiaccid and impotent.
Now, are our landholders prepared to
risk the possible loss of labor? They
have embarked in this years crop Fac
tors have advanced their money: They
have already borne the cost OF preparing
the land, and a period approaches when
the grand combat commences between
the crop and the grass. The hunter OF
Office is, like any other hunter, wholly In
different to the 1abors Of the farmer, and
looks upon all Enclosures as a VexatlouS
impediment to q glorious sport. 10 the
politician, then, the field, silent and
abandoned of it's labor. yielding to the
rank growth of pestilent weeds. has no
significance.
Nor is the empty stable. the idle mill.
OF the vacant sugar house subject OF con-
Germ. To the planter this is deso,atlon
As he beholds this sight all his obligations,
past PRESENT and to come, rush upon him.
They culminate in forced sale of all he
possesses and dismiss him to personal toll
the remnant Of his days. The laborer
holds in his power capacity 70 retallate
upon the political agitator and the land
holder who without one thought obeys his
| commands. q vengeance which may. with
out bloodshed, depopulate this State OF
all her presen. landed proprietors. This
vengeance would consist in the removal
of the colored people from Louisiana to
Texas, Arkansas. 0, wherever lands
as fertile and we'll adapted for staple cnl-
ture as our own may be offered them.
There are historical examples Of labor
ing people driven by intolerance from
their native homes. The Egyptians were
suddenly deprived of their field and me
NAL labor by the departure of people tt
whom they had denied all the rights O
humanity. Spain abolished her prosperlt!
for centuries with the Jews and thei1
wealth. The French monarch and priest
hood prosecuted the HugUenots into exile
The burdens and oppression Of European
Governments send annually 70 America {
population equal to half that of Louisiana
Do we need an example at home o
what men will sacrifice to fear or free
dom? Remember the AlOrmOnS, driver
by natural adherence of their infamous
institutions, marched across the Rock,
mountains and sought refuge in the mac
cessible gorges Of Az inhospitable desert
The same people now propose the aban
donment of temples. fields. habitation
and all the physica! objects that We're dea
TO them. With such evidences Of deter
mined sacrifice. il is not safe to ASSUME
that the negroes, esteemlnS themselve
the object of such persecution and inius
tice as is proclaimed by them to tn
. world will not send pioneers, as those i'll
tending to emigrate have always done
l.. and move in one unbroken body TO som
Ian. which will gladly give social recoe
milton and political right, il exchange fc
the best hcly cf :. = ..oo. tie .:v!.!Ia
, world ever h..sT..
. These views are intended TO pra.sn; I'll
!. possibility Of such calamity as the move
ment of the whole body OF labor. If
! begins as movement it will continue q
flight If colored majority can NJ
V protect itself from injustice or violenc
L what would be the position o that mlno
i ity which might be left behind in partii
7 emigration Has the laborer more to n
tract him to the soil OF Louisiana than 1
; Ireland or Bavaria: Not even as mucl
Y He rarely lAbors on the same farm tw
g years in succession. he is in the field th
2. month, on the river the next, on the levt
:. the month afterward. This population
B impeded by no ownership of anything
: may. at days warning. take their trifin
effects; and, if any agent from anotht
State will furnish them :ations and tran
:. portation. they may leave Louisiana .