The farmers' vindicator., 1874-09-18

and Smut, and Brownie, and Rose,
hollow-horned, lowing piteonsly at the
wicket bars over their NANCY calves,
and "none so poor as to do them rev.
erence."
THE CARNIVAL OF COTTON
was inaugurated, and all the masquer
aders had the toolscap on. Every
freedman to be found, by fair means
or foul, was got into the crop; and we
were unfortunately assisted in this
mania by a Bureau established among
us BY the Government, ostensibIy to
uphold and protect, and reorganize the
labor of the country, but which result
ed in absolute harm to the people to
be protected, and organized, in fact,
throughout the South, agricultural
idleness and nomadic band, upon
whose idle restlessness the grand staple
Of the world, we foolishly thought,
depended. The system of hiring labor
for reasonable wages, the only one the
farmer or the laborer can properly or
successfully permit, was almost wholly
abandoned, and, urged and assisted
thereto by the Freedman's Bureau, the
miserable farn-destroying partnership
or cropping plan, was inaugurated,
while TO induce a halt and some work
from the nomadic bands, the farmers
offered the most liberal, even grossly
extravagant advances Of supplies.
Moreover, the labor hive had too many
drones in it-has too many now-non-
producers of value, subsisting upon the
farmers capital. Strife was the rule
and not the exception among cotton
planters in this wild struggle for negro
labor. Corn, oats, rice, the hog and
COW were all forgotten, in this fools
race for wealth, and in this blind idola-
try to cotton. So ended the year 1866.
What was the resultl The crop was
short, the price low, the means Of the
farmers almost universally exhausted,
morals debased, the skirts of the Chris
tian soiled, the rule of buying for cash,
and buying only what was necessary,
obliterated, positive violation of SOL
emn contracts frequent; aye! and it is
painful to say it, fraud, fraud, fraud,
the result Of this stupendous folly.
And now came the year 1867, and with
it began the
CARNIVAL OF DEEDS IN TRUST,
that peculiarly Southern American le-
gal obligations, unknown among true
and reliable farmers in other parts Of
the world. And when the detestable
deed was signed, gloom settled on the
farm, the hog became rare animal
here, corn.cribs were useless, or could
only boast a few bushels of shrivveled
nubbins, for the gunny-sack had taken
its place debt was master of the situ-
alton, land half TILED, bitches and
fence corners overrun with briars and
shrubs, and nature advancing on the
arrable land, cotton planted in long
and circling patches, invaded on either
side by unsightly gullies, and the ever
waving and moaning sedge
grass no rice, no corn, no oats, no new
rails for the fence; the barns falling
to decay, and no farming; but only the
and discontented laborer,
amidst this desolation, the
foremost figure Of the picture, demand
ing his full share in this wonderful
copartnership, with bis subsistence
thrown in What man among us all
can say, this is not true? Not one.
We must bow our heads in shame and
say it is a true picture. only family
drawn, and only partially showing the
folly Of that timei Was the merchant
,r the laborer to blame for all this
No, sirs, they were only parties to the
which truly considered, is
rhine practiced on our children; the |
blame must rest, should rest, where
he greater part belongs, with the land. |
,wners of the States. Were not the
vears from 1867 to the end of 1873, a
'epetition, not 50 gross perhaps, but
till repetition of our folly then? In |
act, let the full truth come, does this
lay find you wholly emancipated?
While it is true that this Order has
ct up a
LIGHT IN THIS GLOOM,
md hoisted at the road-sides through
ut the State, and in every neighbor-
lood, sign-boards with full directions,
-et like the aged, and weary and hope
orsaken prisoners of the Bastile, the
ull light seems too strong for US, and
re come slowly to freedom and to
Iope. While the reports from Georgia
i've Us the assurance that although "a
he paid for subsistence and stock in
S73, S24, ,000,0 900, this year she win
My pay for the same, $40, 900, 900, /
nd in Alabama a similar reduction;
nd while this Is verv cheering. Il