The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1875-12-10
CAPITAL AND LABOR.

y
Vance, is full of plain common sense
and practical and useful suggestions
upon the subject of capital and labor
to workers in any department of life
BRAIN manure is our great want
education for young and old, especial
ly in matters pertaining to agricul>
ture. We don't so much need labor>
ers as a proper utilisation of that we
have. Instead of croaking so much
at the negroes, we should work lit.
tie more ourselves. At every depot
and crossroads in the State, you may
see any day crowds of oilers standing
around loose, whiting sticks and
splitting at mark, abusing the negro
as a laborer, lamentirg the scarcity
of money, and hoping for that issue
of $44,000,000 of reserve lately dis
cusSed in Congress and caSsed else
where. There is really no ground
for dependency anywhere. Not
withstanding our great losses by war,
substantially all that we had before
is here. Our mother earth is here,
and our tillers to it are undiSturbed /;
the early and latter rains still fall ac>
cording to the promise, and the ge>
NAL sunshine stills warns and fructi-
fes as of old, whilst the goodness of
God still bestows the increase. The
strength and courage of our people
are still with them ; and though, alas
many of our bravest aud best are not
here, yet all the glorious recollections
of our history remain to cheer and
bless us. And the negro, too, is here,
as good or better than he was before,
if we know how to work him. Don't
despair of finding way to do that
Yeu say he won't work unless he is
compelled-very well, neither will
white men. BIT compulsion is of
different sorts. Formerly you com
PEELED him by virtue of being his
master-now, compel him to work
by force of his necessities. Show him
that you can live without him, put
your own hand to the plough and
say to him, if your will help, well ;
if not, we'll again; enforce the laws
against vagAbondage, and he will
gladly work when he can do no bet
ter. At present he thinks he thinks
he can make living by voting, but
he will come ont of that in due sea
son. On the whole, | am inclined
to think he is the best laborer we
are likely to get in the South ; as he
is the best tool we have with which
to cultivate the soil, let US sharpen
and improve him in every possible
way. And for this great Anglo Sex
on people, whose blood has filled the
earth with the most bene6cent and
unitarian ciyiisation it has ever wit
messed, and strewed the shores of
its oceans with mighty cities, reticu-
lated its surface with steam roads,
covered The wild seas with the white
wings of commerce, and even inva
ded their unknown depths with the
iron shod pathways of The lightning,
for these men to acknowledge that
the wheels of their progress are stop
ped because the negroes won't work
and keep contracts, is sorry spec
tacIe indeed Shame to US, if it be
so
And as to capital, the want of
which makes us Complain so loudly
are we really suffering for that 7
say not. We are suffering from a
want Of capacity to use what we have,
rather. What relief would fresh
issue of government currency do US,
unless we had the equivalent to give
for it? Suppose that forty four mil
lions were given to us, how long
would we keep it, if our consumption
annually exceeded our sales as far
as it does now3 Like water seeking
its level it would soon find its way to
those who had a surplus to give for
it. What is the use of an idle fellow
lounging around with his hands in
his pockets, without a thing in the
world to sell, but who buys his very
axe handle and his cabbage from the
North, abusing Eastern capitalists
for grabbing all the currencyi Let
him raise a bale of cotton, and see
| if he don't rob that Yankee of some
of his ill-gotten gains? Let him
grow his own pork, -four corn, and
hay, and see if that bloated bond
holder don't have to shell out?
To give you some idea Of our cons
dition as to capital, | would refer
you to two or three points in our
State. In Charlotte, which is the
biggest town of its size in the Uni
ted States, we have five chartered
banks, with a capital paid in of
S05O,000. Their deposits will ex>
coed sl,5OO,OO0, on which they pay
6 per cent-total, 2,350,000.-
Raleigh has, learn, over $780,
900 on deposit, and Wilmington
some $500, 900, and their banking
capital is about half their de-
posits-total bank capital in three
towns, about 81 100000; deposits
belong to our farmers such men as
you, down on middle men. and
clamorous for more capital. What
do they do with itl Will they lend
to their neighbors who are in straits
Il