The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-02-23
CONDITION OF THE SOUTH.
soUTaERNER's VIEW OF THE INDUSTRIAL
SITUATION.

perity is coming with accelerated pace from hnan.
cial legislation wish that some OF the magnates
could have been with to have seen the condition
of affairs in the great Mississippi Valley. There
found among the laboring classes almost set
of paupers. They in rags; and when the
bitter cold weather came on they stayed housed for
days. shivering their fires which luckily they
could procure from tho plcnteous supplies of fuel
near at hand in the woods. From my observation
threeourths of these laborcrs did not HAYES month s
supply of provisions nor means to procure them
with. There was not one in ten who had the stock.
wagons, ploughs. &C.. with which to Gull
tivatc any land that they could rent. And
how this class of people were to get
through tho coming year seemed TO me q
problem difficult of solution. They dis
hesrtened. dcmorazcd and destitute Year after year
they had labored steadily making often fair crops
and yet at the end of each successive year they found
themselves poorer and poorer. until now the final
elimination comes in positive impoverishment. They
not educated they do not hear discussion OF polt
cal questions. which could enlighten them and teach
that all this is the natural sequence of financial
bunders and that tho shrnknge OF values year after
year has placed the cost of production at higher than
the market value OF products. especially in view of
the system of supply to laborers which has prevailed
for the past ten years throughout many sections of
tho South.
EFFECTS OF TRANSCRIPTION.
The radical leaders profess to have given the negro
slave the great boon of liberty. On the contrary
they have placed him in n bondage more deplorabe
than he was in prior to the Candid and impartial
observation will demonstrate this to any fair minded
And in addition to this terrible bondage which
dcgradcs and will destroy the negro race 1t is fast
producing results which must entail evil conse-
quences in the near future. There is being created
land ownership and tcnantry like that Of Ireland,
where absenteeism of the owner. the power OF the
agent and the poverty of the people have produced
such disaster to the material interests Of that
try, and has paralyzed the of education. reli
gion and morals by the inevitable degradation Of the
poorer classes.
And in the South it must be remembered that the
aboring classes have been slaves without education
and without tie means of elevating their mental or
moral faculties, and thus far behind the poor
1rishmen. whose suferings have been increased be-
they had the intellect for higher grades in life
than circumstances have permitted.
CHANGE IN THE OWNERSHIP OF LANDS.
During the past six years there has been great
change in ownership of lands South. Those who di-
rcctly after the attempted to cultivate cotton
had been deprived Of their slaves and other
resources and in many instances had mortgages
standing against them for prior debts. Many
of the land owners the children
of planters reared in luxury and leisure not under
standing how to manage and not Injured to labor.
What has been the consequence? There was often
no forethought. calculation. not energy. AS
the fathers used to rely upon the commission mer-
chant, borrow money ut ruinous rates OF fifteen
twenty per cent and still succeed by the richness Of
their lands the abundance of crops and good prices
when the labor cost them only food, clothing and
care tho believed that the system would
prevail when free labor had come in They did not
examine the subject to what tho laws OF supply
and demand inexorably Demand nor tho statistics OF
agriculture. which show that the best cultivation
only produces four to five per cent interest per
annum. Thus year after year the land owners Of the
South increased their mortgage debt. their own per.
sonal expenses and the deficit for interest above
the proceeds of crops; and the result
must have been from the start only
question Of time-when ten to fifteen Der
ceLt of capital is exhausted each year. Tho
merchants have forcclosed taken tho property at
the amount of the debt. because there was nobody
else to bid for land; nobody with money to buy it.
And to such extent has this gone that one com.
mission merchant in New Orleans has absorbed and is
land in Mississippi While tho practical question in
the North has Lecn openly avowcd by influential
Journals to be the purchase of the lands by the rich
and the formation of tenant system. which must
make class distinction of aristocrats and serfs. it is
fast being carried into effect in the South under the
irresistible law Of usurious interest and the sacrifice
of the debtor land owner, And what becomes of
these ruined land owners? There Is no field open for
them to regain independence u livelihood in
the South, and yearly there must be thousands
added to the ranks OF those who will attempt to
drown sorrow and misfortune in drunkenness. and
licves them from further worldly trouble.
CONDITION OF THE FREEDMAN.
Now, on the other hand, what is the condition of
the former slave-the serf ready made for the dom
nation OF the aristocratc and money possessing land
ownersY He had good clothes, well fed and
housed, and well cared for slave. with good
medical attendance when SICK and treated properly
when old age and infrmity rendered him valueless.
How much has the political action of the radicals
benefited him? And how responsible arc the demo-
cratic politicians tor keeping the negro in the
position in which the radicals havo placed himY As
sippi Valley in the hands OF the Philistincs.
Originally not imbucd with moral virtues, nor with
any clucation because of their previous servitude
and debascmcnt 1t could only have been expected
that they would progress IL true craftsmanship and
and guided their way. Radical leadership only taught
them the devious paths OF politics. petty trckcry,
Justification OF dishonesty breach of faith and bitter
hostility to the southern whites. Cordial relations
between the races might have raised up thousands
among the Southern whites to bcfrend the negro
to teach him moral and utilitarian ideas through
which his material interests would have progressed
and brought him competency and comfort instead OF
renewed bondage and hopeless poverty Perhaps the
elimination would not soon have come but for
radical success in finance which has steadily reduced
the values OF production below cost Of cultivation
There one element In producing this result
which material. The South was considered an
III Dorado TOR the class OF traders who had no con-
to profits demanded from ignorant Gus
toners, who Gid not even know how to up their
purchases whether the correct weight was given
so there rush of eagles to the The
ves too. in many places were not aversc to sharing
in the harvest and they did not hold back In the
plucking OF the unwary.
NEGRO MANAGEMENT
When anything pleases the fancy Of the Southern
negro, and he can get IL on credit the question of
price rarely enters INTO tho consideration The most
useless gewgaws and baubles that would delight
the eye of child also entrap the negroes. The
most fabulous prices were marked upon the goods;
rarely being less than one per cent cost the
negroes would be told, when IL lO0 and often
gong up to 2oo or 3oO per cent II WIS tho custom
t. give the merchant mortgage upon tho crop for
the supplies, and he knew how fur hc could 20 after
the rent money was paid. And 80 II came to pass
that negroes could not get medical tendance un-
less the landlord or the merchant would guarantee
the payment.
The negroes raised good crops, and yet they wero
generally in debt when the bills all In. They
made NJ calculation. because their mental
calbrc id not permit 1t, to expendi-
lures and receipts. Give them credit and
they would take all the goods OF New
York In - day. without thought to how payment
should be made. The qualification of tho appetite is
OF most universal prevalence. and they Will spend
the last cent to got box Of sardincs or drink of