The Van Buren press., 1875-08-31
Capital and Labor.


recently delivered In North Carolina be-
fore council of Patrons OF Husbandry
by Ex Gov. u. b. Vance, is full Of blain
common sense and practical and useful
suggestions upon the subject Of capital
and labor to workers in any department
OF life:
BRAIN mature was our great want
education for young and old, especially
in matters pertaining to agriculture. We
don't so much need labor a. proper
utilization ef that We have. Instead OF
croaking 30 much at the negroes, we
should work little more ourselves. AT
every depot and cross roads in the State,
you may see any day crowds of idlers
standing around loose, whiting sticks
and splitting at mark. abusing the negro
as = laborer, lamentisg the scarcity of
money and hoping for that issue Of &44,
900 600 Of reserve lately syiseassed IN
Congress and eassed elsewhere. There
is really no ground for tsespondency any
where. Notwithstanding our great losses
by war, substantially all that we had be-
fore IL here. Our neither is earth is here,
and our tilers to It are undisturbed; the
early and latter rains still fall according
to the promise, and the genial sunshine
still warns and fructifies as Of old, whilst
the goodness OF God still bcstows the in
crease. The strength and courage Of
our people are still with them, and
though, alas many Of our bravest and
best are not here, yet all the glorious
recolleetions of our history remain TO
cheer and bless us. And the negro, too,
is here, as good or better than he was be
fore, il VIC know how to work him Don't
despair of finding way to do that. You
say he won't work unless he is compelled
very well. neither will white men. But
compulsion is Of different sorts. Former
ly, you compelled him by virtue of being
his master-now, compel him 10 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
you will help, we'll, il not, well again;
enforce tho. laws against va.abondage,
and he will gladly work whel, he can do
no better At present he tiaks he can
make living by pofing, but he will come
out Of that in due season. On the whole,
am inclined to think he is the best Ia
borer 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 Saxon people whose
blood has fill d the earth with the most
benefcent and utiltarian civilization ii
has ever witnessed, and strewcd the
shores Of its oceans with mighty cities,
reticulated its surface with steam roads,
covered tho wild seas with the white
wings Of commerce, and even invaded
their unknown depths with the iron-shod
pathways Of the lightning. for these men
to acknowledge that the wheels Of their
progress are stopped because the negroes
wont work and keep contracts, is sorry
spectacle indeed! Shame to us If 1t be
so!
And as to capital, the want Of which
makes us complain 30 loudly we
really suffering tor that2 say not We
are suffering from want OF capacity to
use what we have rather. What relief
would fresh issue of government cur.
rency do us unless we had the equivalent
to give for it? Suppose that forty four
millions were given to us, how long
would we keep it il our consumption an
nually exceeded our sales 40 far as ii does
now2 Like water seeking its level it
would soon find its way to those who
had surplus to give for it. What 10 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 currency Let him raise
a bale of cotton, and see if he don't rob
that Yankee OF some of his i'll gotten
gains? Let him grow his own pork,
flour, corn and hay, and see it that
bloatea bondholder don't have to shell
outl To give you some idea of our con-
dtion 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 United States, we have five
chartered banks, with capital paid in Of
SS50,000. Their deposits will exec d
81 500, 900, on which they pay per cent.
total s2,350,000. Raleigh has, learn,
over S600,00 on deposit, and Whining.
ION SUING RcOofpops AHu theii DaHAHik
capital is about half their deposites--to to
tai bank capital in three towns about
1850, 900, deposits S2,900,000, Now
seven tenths Of these deposits belong to
our farmers-such men as you, down on
middle men. and clamorous for more
capital. What do they do with it? Will
they lend to their ncighbors who are in
straits and havn't got well on their feet
since the war, and secure it by mort
gage at 6, s or ten per cent? Not one
ia ten. You haven't confidence in your
ncighbors, though he mortgages his farm,
: but you put it in one of these banks on
long call at per cent, and your neigh
bors go to the bank and borrow it at Is
per cent, to raise the wind for the next
crop. Or he goes to commission mer-
chant and buys his supplies on credit,
at cost Of over so per cent over cash
prices and mortgages his crop in advance
to pay tor them, and when that mortgage
is foreclosed, your crop gone, no sup
plies on hand and the same process to be
gone over again next year, you say, its
want Of more capital! Oh my brother,
take no offence pray you at the wounds
of friend, when | say it is q want o!
common sense and common charity to-
ward each other. Make your own sup.