St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1879-11-01
Who 1sa.Aee the Cotton
; Nnf.li, i;rpisi.E. :.

Mr.. Edward Atkinson, If nn,tuu. ha.,
Just published L significant letter II r'-
lnt;nn TO cheap labor uMtl lttc cotton.
The cotton clnns OF ISIS and i>.:i lie pro-
iI"ilnce> tiH' LARGEST ever raised. From
l-:12 IL 1851. !ncuSirr, t!it. crops -lovn
'v slave labor nuDucgeA - 49,, ': - bales;
from $50 to 49,. Intrusive, these pro-
ducpa by free Labor nuni;1"lcu II, ili,itt
bale. showing al. ">rt's, in ton years in
favor II free lahc! oi Il, ll:4,:jtr.; bales.
Mr.. Atkinson r>iI,n;itro :lIr value OF the
ten !a>i crops at no. less than - ,:Np. W*t,-
Nn, and probably M.'arer %:',nH,W00,Wal.
Mr.. Atkinson falls into HE error Of TIL
Northern press 10 Surprising that this
immense increase in the growth Of cot
ton. is ~ ha attributed to tEt nrg1urs.
II -, it would prove that the negroes
arc not the prosecuted. iIl-tr"ateh and
slaughtered people ;hat he Republican
press would make them, bat That Oh he
contrary they alt: doing remarkably wei
at the South. Indeed, the Boston Her
aid, which publishes Mr.. Atkinsun's
statement, says:
The -itu3tinl. il full o! rncotlra cement.
tn" South hes passed Though political
and Industrial rcyoHtlo1. NaturAl!r
enough. reconstruction was HccnmDa-
MED by li>ordrgz. pnt local remrd:p<
appear rs SoU!: as The Pressure "a: the
F"deya1 soyornment * .rnoyesl, and
tIrse are Ouly effective remed!1~.
Throughout nearly the whole Sous'', the
recently cnfranchised frcedpru cser-
cit", unmoleSted. all the d~t,ips Of citi-
zeuship. Twice ~ ushv of them vote.
in mississippi or South Carolina az could
vote in NasSachusetts, for in this State,
rs q condition IF voting, lnau mast
know how to read and write All
through the South Independent movr-
mpats in politics are springiu2 NJ. The
whit" voters arc divided, and are bid
ding for the colorcsi vote. This iuSurea
protection Tor the colored voters. 1t is
not essential that the national govern
ment should be Republican, but it is
essential that al men slioeid be equal
under the law. The negroes are also
improving their material condition. \
large aad rteadiiy increasing number
own real estate. In the city o: Atlanta
they are assessed for &3.GH},lNh. In
hrmDer comfy, Miss, the scene of the
Chlsnim murder. one in tive own land.
In tickshutg one ont ni ten admits own
their lotnps-~:l better average than will
be found in Boston. Iazoo county,
W iitit titi!isffi!I aNt'S Nbt lS'>tH't( tt!Ibf,
has Il dozen Negro planters worth ~1G 800
each. These arr evidences OF = rate Of
progress absolutely marvellous when
W" consider tbs yrTnlution through,
Whicl, The South ha. passed, the bitter
mesa OF defeat in a Srt&; war, and pre-
iudices OF race and color.
Tbi- is admitting" y good deal. Il a,:-
mlls that the S',uth Is more prosperous
and rvaccla! under Democratic rule
than under Republican. )
Mr.. Atkinson has forgotten that Il very
large proportion OF tic black labGG which
formerly went TO tho fields, tilc women
and children, has bep1 Withdrawn, and
that quite 8 larSt percentage Of the men
have "1nere2ated in the city. Some Of
them, like "younS Smith ' have gone
into the mess room of the Fedora! army,
and others of them, like ''yourg tl.as-
tain Cox have migrated nnythwaGl 10
chcke tho people 10 death. The use
fn|nrss of large percentage unrestricted
bv the tails and penitcntiarieS and very
many lave sought the golden apples Of
Hcsperides in Kansas.
1t is white labor that is running the
cotton crop up into the five million
bales. In twenty years VIC will have it
M into the ten million bales, and then
We will have our factories TO spin for
the !.nins, demand, and We will export
immediately from orr cities al that the
world will need.