, 1875-09-06

NO haVo repeatedly referred to tho fhiluro
Of tho South to take any practical steps to-
wards tho division Of liz soil among tho.
masses al ono Of the surcstsigns Of tho do.
cay Of craftsmanship in that section. There
arc plenty OF precedonts In French and Ger
man legislation, bnt they aro all unimprovod
md probably unknown to tho mon who chattor
State Sovereignty and shut their eyes to
Slate self-destr1,ction. Willie an American
community mny we'll shrink from tic e1.
irene Governmental interference involved In
such measures. but 1aws providing for tho
ready transfer Of landed property and enforc-
ing its division in cases Of intostacy would
surely not DO open to this objection, and
would tend 10 bring about that ern Of small
farms which will 10 tho era Of prosperity
Tor tho Impoverished South. When Tue
TR1nuNE frat urged these facts upon public
attention, an indignant planter in Arkansas
wrote lis TINT wo wero wholly ignorant OF
whae NO wore trying to write about. because,
forsooth, he Ind already sold pars of hia lands
to six negroes. Even journalistic omniscienco
might he pardonel for not keeping IN cyo
upon every individual Southern farmer. The
t4Out40 ~ t4IAk AAE IEAAlAAG3 VI puE EUl@
respondents class havo not dono like him.
We aro glad to SOC, however, that otlr articles
are not without effect. Southerncrs arc be-
coming alive to tho absolute necessity Of in
viting immigration. Some Of tho richest lind
in the world lies absolutely idle because tho
impccunious planter cannot bear to strip him
self Of part Of his ancestral acres for tho
cnhr ~$ 3n~ In $1Hf,J
other land, capable Of yielding heavy cropa
under the care, industry, and skill that
peasant proprietorship always calls forth, is
barren now for the eanlo reason. There arc
vast plantations In noarly every Southern
State which would pay their embarrassed
owners far batter it they wero cut up in small
farms and every other farm were given away.
Some slight conception OF this truth seems to
be stirring in Southern brains. Alabama bas
made really hopeful beginning. 1t has
Board Of immigration which ia apparently
doing good work. Two years ago, German
colony waa founded In q fertile section. Tho
land It occupied was then worth 10 or Ii
cents an acre. 1t now brings 81 to Sc. Tho
lands occupied paid tho State, in 1879, So.3O
l
colony is rapidly growing, and several profta-
bio branches Of industry have been intro
duced.
Georgia md Texas hayo both done some-
thing iu tho way Of promoting immigration.
Prot. FnANo1s l.. WALNERs maps show TINT
parts Of Texas me- rs thiokly settled by for
eign-born citizens as Illinois is In South
Torr1tnn m NH
The Tax-payors' Convention of last year mp
pointed M Immigration Commissioner, but
the debates in tho Convention showed that
immigrants wero wanted for their voting CO.
pacity, and were looked upon as sort Of s1-
perior cattle, who could bo ruled politically
ns tho poor whites sYero before the War.
Dcspisiug labor ia not tho why to allure ]a-
Dor. Tho press Of the Palmetto State is
now taking more sensible view Of the Sit
uation, and is encouraging immigration by
every means within its power.
Aa matters stand now, tho average South
orn planter Is In the han1s OF tho "factor :"
who loans him money on the pledge Of his
future crop, and generally manages to absorb
nearly, II not quite, an tho profits, SO that
tho planter works for baro subsistence, md
sometimes rims In debt for TINT. II he
should sell half or tlrec-quarters of Lis land
to his ex-slaves at low rates md on instnlI-
ments, he could probably cultivate the 7est
without borrowing money, md would mako
tho profits for himself, not for tho fnctor.
There would DO vast increase In the nggro-
gate crops, and the South would at Inst pro-
t1,1ca Fnr hnrsn1f {ha 1venff1, n1,o ef, eei1v