New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-08-06
The Race Insanity ia Louisiana

persons OF the late slaves, as ITeclIlcl anu
voters, is antagonistic to the wishes of the
malignant and non-producing whites, who,
being too lazy to work, desire to hold the
offices. This class is endeavoring to inaugu-
rate a reign of terror, through which the ne
groes will be driven from the State and the
planters become impoverished.
The New Orleans Weekly Republican has,
in series of earnest able articles, made
prominent the fact that the negroes are, as
class, sober and industrious and that the ma
terial interests Of the State have been we'll
developed by their faithfulness as laborers.
The conclusion cannot be avoided that the
negro in Louisiana is indispensable and that
the attempt to get even with the Union
sentiment by running the planters interests
is wild and dangerous.
We take the following, as bearing on this
subject, from the New Orleans Weekly Re
publican:
"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
disOrdered character given to the cOlOred la
borcr with the uncommonly-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 a
political party, quotes from correspondent
who has just returned from a trip down the
coast into one of the best portions of the
sugar lands. He reports the general APP
pearance of the crops highly encouraging.
and in size, color, and condition is from Eve
to six weeks in advance" Every planter
the correspondent met was sanguine of max
ing 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 voice of the Ohio Creole of
the Teche, would be one of those untoward
events.
"The rice also is unusually promising.
While at sugar plantation, the correspond
ent was witness to quite an animated CONVEX
sation between two neishbors, one of whom
had planted rice and the other sugar. The
former was anxious to hire hands, requiring
as many as 200 to cut his 800 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 in
quires if among the multitude of unemployed
men in this city the necessary labor could not
be had"
Speaking of the crevasses it is said:
''There seems to be a pretty confident hope
among all that they will be able to put their
fields and suSar-houses in excellent condition
for next seasons crops, and become more
ipI than they ha va haan fOr many
years."
Here is a practical example of the League
insanity. The sugar planter needed all his
hands-negrOes as We infer. 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 ara told, absorbing
everybody, why is not this order for two
hundred hands filled? Why does not this
League, which, we are told numbers its thou
sands, 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:
1t is apparent that our people are short of
labor in one part Of the State and short of
offices i'm another. The Office hunter wishes
the planter to ruin himself to secure the Of
flee for the hunter Of Offices. 1t would be a
nice compromise if the negro could be kept
at work until the day before election and
then driven from the country. But the
Leaguers do not reflect that the election
comes in the midst of picking cotton and roll
ing sugar so that if driven from the State
to save the Offices, there is no guarantee that
they could be brought back in time to save
the crops.
We are glad to know that one other paper
fbon o,,rO 10 1oh IN wont tho rnlli.
sion of capital and labor, and in publishing
such facts in regard to the state of our crops
as to encourage capitalists to lend our plant
ers money. The League orders to discharge
the cOlOred labOrers cannot be Obeyed with
out the ruin of the planters. 1t cannot be
done.
The White Leagues pretend that labor will
be performed by white people on the planta-
tons. The opportunity for the whites to la
Dor has not been wanting. OF land in Lou
isiana we are told that there is an abundance.
Enough even to give employment to all the
idle white men in that State, in addition to
the plantations now under cultivation by
black labor. Why not demonstrate the sin
cerity of the pretension of the White League
by going on the land that is lying idle
Surely the general welfare would be largely
promoted by the increased industry of the
people of Louisiana. BY such devotion to
industry, crime would be diminished and a
better state of feeling all around would take
the place of conduct that is a disgrace to the
civilization of the age.
If the white people of the South would
take a lesson in industry from the outraged
blacks, prosperity would soon occupy the
place Of retrogression in that section.
The defeat Of the Republican party in the
South, would be the stepping-stone to ruined
plantations and the exodus of capital. Moth.
ing but blind fanaticism can effect this. Can
the southern planter resist the Vaccinations
of the demagogues who are through an UNI
profitable prejudice working their ruin :