The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-09-27

An Essay Read Before the Summer 5feef;no
Of the State Grange at Anderson, s. o.
on the 10h Of Auguat 1877, 6y Hon
Lrede0 zones, II Rock lY2;;R, lY2;;R S. c.
In every age and in every country the
labor question hAs been a subject of par
amount importance; upon lis proper SO
Iution depends general prosperity. Since
the abolition of slavery and the complete
'disorganization of the labor system O 1
the Southern States, the industries and
agricultural interests of our people have
greatly suffered. But recent political
events foreshadow the dawn of a new
agricultural era in our State, and il be-
comes us to maturely consider and settle
by combined wisdom this vexed and
momentous question of labor in all it's
parts.
In the discussion of that branch OF
labor known as the "tenantry system :"
we do not propose to open the general
subject of the science of agriculture
The production of the greatest weld on
the smallest number Of acres. and the
economy of labor by the aid of machinc.
ry, afford the most interesting and most
important subjects Of thought to the ag-
rlculturists. The history Of thickly set
lied communities, where necessity has
been the mother of invention, will demon.
stratee clearly the immense profits of high
farming; while the experience of our
own people since the war proves that
small tracts of land, directed by intelli.
gent labor, have been cultivated with
success. Bet the large planters have
often been ruined by the effects of dis.
organized, untutored and unfnanageable
.a.or; and the object of this essay, there
fore, will be to endeavor to point out the
safest and most practical plan of arrang-
ing and managing the labor on large
tracts of land.
Subsequent to the war the planters of
The South undertook. to employ large
bodies Of laborers for portions of the
crop. They borrowed money at ruinous
rates of interest and endeavored to man.
age and control this labor az they had
done before the war by the assertion Of
authority they could not maintain
mere Was no P0ToT &c cooc-ce, no law tn
enforce obedience, the authority of the
master had vanished, While the iaborers,
to whom were given shares of the crop.
claimed quasi rights over that interest,
which they. would not permit to be in
vaded and besides these considerations,
the ooligatlon to work from necessity was
not felt by the laborers; the responsible
ity attendant upon their being thrown on
their own resources for livelihood was
not appreciated; the principle of being
driven by interest and necessity was not
thought of. Supplied during the wear
with provisions for their families. they
were. disappointed cn the day of settle.
mert ~ the end of the year, il it required
ali their portions &C :he crop to pay hack
the advances. The general result was
dissatisfaction and failure. The employer
as well as the laborer did not then ap-
preclate the force of managing by means
OF interest. But experience has taught
us now that interest, not fear, is the great
power which drives forward the worlds
industries.
And this induces the observation that
there are but two true theories in regard
TO regulating plantation labor-one is
when the laborer is kept constantly un-
der an intelligent supervision and direc-
ton, or, In other words, hired for wages
the other, where the labor is thrown di.
rectly and entirely upon its own re-
sources, incurring its own risks, and
managed mainly by the force of its own
necessities, or, in othe. words, as tenants.
These two systems can be managed sepa-
rately or combi.ed, according to circum-
stances and, in our opinion, the ccmbi-
nation of the tenantry with the wages
system affords the true theory upon which
large tracts of land should be cultivated.
In the employment of hired labor we find
many advantages. 1t is cheaper, we pay
only for the labor actually performed, we
can direct operations with greater facility,
make improvements, econonlize time,
and reap all the profits Of the enterprise.
This system is not only most profitable
but most satisfactory. But the difficulty
lies in its extension, while the want of
capital 30 often forbids its adoption.
The cropping system, where the laborer
receives portion of the crop for his SER
vices. has been found by experience to be
most unwieldly and unsatisfactory !;
abuse of stock, waste of time, difficulty
OF managing the labor, difficulty of hav,
ing general plantation work performed,
difnculty of making improvements and
repairs, difficulty to prevent the cropper
from inc1rring more debt than his por.
tion justifies, are among the i'll effects of
system, the introduction of which
, among the planters of our State since the
war, we believe to be one of the bad re-
suits of that revolution. The general
poverty of our people, want of money as
we'll as want of experience, induced the
employer to accept oftentimes the terms
of the employed, and submit to all the
attendant inconveniences and errors. To
entrust plantation to intelligent white
labor OH shares Of tho oToP viii. some
times prove profitable investment but
generally Che partnership idea in farming
is nnwise and imperfect.
TO undertake, then, the cultivation of
large areas of our unimproved land upon
safe, economical and practicsl plan,
and thus make these lands profitable, we
are at q loss TO devise better mode than
by means of tenants to occupy and culti-
vate all lands which cannot be titled by
hired labor, and this brings US to en-
deavor To show the advantages and profits
of the tenantry system. To do so, let us
take an example. In many cases the
tenant will give to the land owner one
third of his entire crop as rent. In all
cases not less than one-third fgrain and
one-fourth of cotton. Suppose we reduce
this proportionate rent according to the
practice of some Of our planters, to q
stipulated amount OF rens, vi i,G0Gccc
pounds of lint cotton to each tenant
working ono horse, or in other words to
a money value of 500. Without enter.
ing into particulars too minutely, we feel
confident that this average estimate il
fully justified by experience. The pro.
duce this amount Of rcnt requires the
actual use of twenty-five acres, but as
one.half the land usually lies idle or