The Republican journal., 1877-06-14
The Effect of the European War Upon the
Southern States.
From DR.. Redfeld's letter to the Cincinnati Con
nj 1

| uIoleldiJ
A moments reflection will show how
and why this war will be a severe blow
to material interests in the cotton States.
The provisions they are compelled to buy
go up, and cotton, which is the only thing
they have to sell, goes down. And the
longer the war lasts the more depressing
will its influences be in the cotton States.
In Columbia South Carolina, | talked
with a coored laborer, an old man, who
told me that he ''wOrked about on extra
Jobs doing whatever his hand could find.
Yet the best wages he got was from fifty
to scventy-tive cents day. II ask seven
| ty-fve," said he "but when | can't get
that | take fifty" Out of this scanty sum
he had to board himself and support his
family 'Its mighty hard" said he :;
''worse nor what it was in old slave
times"
| 81 could sorter get along on fifty and
seventy five cents day, but now work
| has got scarcer and meal has gone up
and up" he continued, in Il doleful tone
| asked him to what point meal had
| reached in Columbia. Thirty cents Il
peck" said he, and still Il risin'."
''What was it il month ago. | asked.
work han't gone up to correspond"
Yes, indeed, and this is where the shoe
pinches the laborer The bread for his
table has advanced and the price of his
labor remains the same or has fallen.
This is one of the effects OF the "revival
Of business" on account of the European
war. Where it helps one man it hurts ten,
and the ten it hurts very bad, for it fairly
may be said to take the bread from the
mouths Of their children.
| asked him if he knew why meal had
advanced. "Oh, yes" said he; the man
| get it Of says there is war between
Europe and Russia, and the soldiers eat
the meal. That's what's the matter
But can't hear that they fight much.
Pears like they hurt the poor darby in
the stomach more than they hurt one
another.
"While we are talking, let me tell YOU
what some of the boys say. They say
that there amt any war in Russia, and
that the spectators have started the
story SO as to put up meal to thirty cents
Il peek and make a pile Of money There's
no telling what people will do these days
asked him if flour was up"
''Ies," he replied; "they say it's seven
cents a pound by the small, but never
buys it, times is so hard This darby
lives on hoe-cake, and it pears like hoe
cake is goin' out Of reach. and then |
reckon We'll die"
He told me that there We're many color
ed families in Columbia who had nothing
to cat but corn bread and cheap molasses
at was hard enough on the darky," said
Ina OF, pta1 Il
now, with work sca'cer and scaccr, and
meal thirty cents a peck, the Lord only
knows whatll become of u.s."
Then he fell into talk of Old times
He did not want his people back in slav-
cry, but as for himself, if he could have
his old master he would rather be back.
Gus old niggers," said he, ''would be bet
ter off rs it used to be, for we had plenty
to eat, whether meal went up or down.
Lord IA mercy, sab, we never heard about
wars in other countries, or whether meal
was ten cents or Il dollar peck. My old
master always had plenty. My belly stuck
out like it had a pumpkin in it, and our
mules were so fat that anigger would roll
off of EN-. Them was high times, tell
you. These times is nothing" He con-
tinued, with a gesture OF contempt: "A
man would give niger half dollar |
for holding a boss. Now he holds him
hissell, if he has one, which is seldom
But with all these advantages of the
old times over the present, and notwith- |
standing the fact that meal is thirty cents |
Il peck, this old man would not say he
preferred slavery, unless he could have
his old master. He didn't want to try
RDt no rr.l and wifi,
parent sincerity, gave it as his opinion |
that they would all be back in time. II
may not live to see it," he said, ''but the |
young folks comm on will. They will be |
put back by starvation. No free niger
can stand it to pay thirty cents I; peek |
for meal. White folks will say there is Il |
war way off somewhercs, and that meal |
is scarce and must go up high, and then |
the poor darky will be starved back into |
slavery, and that's where they'll finally |
land. | don't expect to live to see that |
day, but the young 'uns will, Hits u |
COMM"
\ young man, a mullatto, came to us. |
and this venerable relic Of sold times
who thought meal at thirty cents peek |
would be the ruin of the larkes repeat
ed the opinion. '.No," said the Young |
man IL don't care if meal goes up to
two dollars peck and meat to dollar a |
pound, we'll never go back to slavery" |
The old man replied that time would |
tell how it was and show that he was right |
AS for himself he didn't care He had |
not long to live anyway, and as long as |
times We're SO hard and provisions SO high |
he had about as soon be in slavery as free.
''Freedom amt no easy thing" said he,
''when the belly is empty"
This old man, out of work and out Of |
provisions, took Il gloomy view of all |
things because meal had advanced to
thirty cents Il peck Working for fifty |
cents to seventy cents a day, and not be |
ing able to get work half the time, and |
finding provisions advancing as work fell |
off, can we blame him for imperfect APP |
probation of freedom with an empty |
stomach Poetry and sentiment aside, |
the blacks of the cotton States find that |
freedom to them means the right to work |
about us hard us ever they did, and have
as little to show for it,
1t will be a hard year for them, and, in
fact, for all classes and conditions of peo-
pie in the cotton States. The war in Eu-
rope has brought down cotton and sent
up bread and meat. There is not an in
tercSt i'll the cotton States that will not |
be advanced by this war. \ few men in
the cities who happen to have stocks of
provisions on hand will reap Il benefit,
but how small in proportion to the bur
dens which are imposed upon the great
body of the people.
i