New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-07-31
THE CROP OF THE cOLoRED LABoRERs


Two paradoxes occupy the League
mind. The first is how to live without
the labor of others, and without laboring
themselves. The second to reconcile the
turbulent and disorderly character given
to the colored laborers with the uncom-
monty good state of the crops.
The New Orleans Times disembarrassed
of the obligation to conceal or misapply
facts which would initiate against the
success of political party, quotes cor
respondent just returned from trip down
the coast into one of the BEST portions of
our sugar lands. He reports ''the gen.
eral appearance Of the crops highly en-
couraging. The cane presents an unusual
vigorous growth, and in size, color and
condition is from five to six weeks in adj
vance" Every planter the correspondent
met was sanguine of making an abundant
crop. All anticipate that "the planting
this year will pay liberal profit, unless
some untoward and unexpected event
should prevent it,
To order the planters to discharge their
hands after the advice of the Ohio Creole
OF the Teche, would be one of those I'M
toward events.
The rice also is unusually promising.
While at sugar plant atiOn the correspOn-
dent was witness to quite an animated con-
versation between two neighbOrs, one of
whom had planted rice and the other sugar.
The former was anxious to hire hands, re-
quiring as many as 200 to cut his 300 acres
of rice, the whole of which was remarkably
fine and nearly ready for harvesting. But
the latter needed all his hands, and was
unable even to partially accommodate his
neighbor. With these facts before him our
correspondent inquiries if among the null
titude of unemployed men in this city the
necessary labor could not be had.
Speaking of the crevasses it is said:
There seems to be pretty confident hope
their fields and sugarhOuses in excellent
condition for the next crop, and become
more independent than they have been for
many years.
Here is practical example Of the
League insanity. The sugar planter
needed all his hands negroes, as we in
fer. The demand for labor was such that
the rice planter needed two hundred more
hands than he had. Those that he has
we infer to be negroes. With the great
popularity of the White League, which is,
we are told, absorbing everybody, why is
not this order for two hundred hands
filled? Why does not this League, which
numbers, as we are told, its thousands,
order the peremptory discharge of all
these rice and sugar laborers, and leave
the planters to import white labor before
the rice and sugar harvests? It is ap-
parent that our people are short Of labor
in one part of the State and short of
Offices in another. The Office hunter
wishes the planter to ruin himself to Sc
cure the Office for the hunter Of Offices.
1t would be nice compromise if the ne
gro could be kept at work until the day
before the election and then driven from
the country. But the Leaguers do not
reflect that the election comes in the
midst of picking cotton and rolling sugar.
So that, if driven from the State to save
the offices, there is no guarantee that they
could he brought back again in time to
save the crops
We are glad to know that one other
paper than our own is laboring to prevent
the collision of capital and labor, and in
publishing such facts in regard to the
state of our crops as to encourage capt.
talists to lend our planters money. The
League orders to discharge the colored
laborers can not possibly be obeyed with
out the ruin of the planters. 1t can not
be done.