American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-11-20
Commune ltion.

Editor Ct'tSfH-HhOUSanuS oil acres
of land in Madison county, formerly
growing cotton, lie idle, and every
acre in cultivation, by more ihor~
ough tillage can be made to y'e.d a
great advance upon present pros
duction-w.iilst its capabilities IN
der feI tilizing advantages cannot
he estimated. These facts, ou'
sources of wealth and the geniality
of our Cline are patent TO every re-
hecting mind. Yet we realize not
more than three bales OF c,:tOn to
an able bodied hand. worth $40 pei
bale or Si20. The negro gets one
half Of this, which will not feed and
clothe one grown person decenliy,
not to mention those dependent OH
him. The farmers halt will not
more than reimburse his outlay to
produce the crop. cons, quently he
is compelled to demand Il heavy per
cent on advances, to cover inevita-
BILE losses from l.; d labor and not
as profit. A pound Of cotton will
not huy pound OF meat nor IL yard
OF d mestic. There is no money
uutlcr these figures and they are
not ovcrdrawn. What we want Is
population, and that "a lahoring
class that will abide here. To get
this there must be organized effort,
it cannot be done by individuals.
| For ii one man were 10 bring in
any amount of labor that proved
remunerative, his nrighbOrs proba-
bly, envying his success and desir-
ing their own, would induce his Ia
Dor to leave him, thereby rcaping
the reward of his enterprise. Mis-
sissippi should have a permanent
farmers supply agency in distressed
Ireland, whose unhappy people t"
to-day would come To our STATE
with their families ii posted as Il.
our resources and capabilities. The
poorer classes of family such AS VT
need, cannot get here without help.
They could DO brought direct 10
New Orleans aud thence to Canton.
The single ] who come here fol-
low critic work and don't settl,.
as the class described would do.
They would make good tenant farm
ers probably for life as they do il,
Ireland. They are good WORKERS
an Irishman last year told us he
made eight bales OF co: ton and
two hundred and fifty bushels OF
corn on Mrs. SOphronia Browns
farm in this county. Contrast this
with the figures at the opening OF
this article; such work would sOOn
enrich the laborer and the farmer
too. We must improve Cur negro
labor, and to do this, we must
improve ourselves. We must treat
labor kindly, honestly, but firmly.
| We must protect it from the extor
lions Of Shylocks, legal vampires
Esculapian skin-fints, until it is
independent We must be its friend
if we want it to he ours-teach
them how to get money, to spin
cloth, raise their meat, have gar
dens, potatoes, peas, and turnips
in IL word, to keep from Canton
as much as possible. Educate them
to adjust their own accounts, that
they may know they are dealt with
honestly; for nothing is 50 difficult
to deaf with as ignorance, even
when Justly treated. We must
build good, comfortable, weather.
boar ded houses with .ruoved floors
and brick clliinneys. Set them the
example of economy in dress and
eating, to Shut Ilii>key and to-
bacco-pO0r people Cannot afford
many luXurics. The white people
here rum the negro by their exam
t&.u&
bankrupt ii her liabilities were
met. The imperiousuess besotten of
, slavery, has been /, great obstacle
in our dealing with the negro race,
and is one of the mDsG prolific
sources OF arrangement by our
Northern brethren. We must cons
cede to them every right and cour.
tesy belonging to them-freely I'M
GEOGRAPHICALLY, AMI unreservedly,
and disarm opposition by exact
justice; at tue same time demand
faithful labor, and full standard
of reciprocal duties. II we could
get enough more negro or other la.
Dor to force all, our present as we'll
as acquired labor, mp to . proper
standard, we will shoot up the
groove Of prosperity rapidly, and
not Until then; for no country
can ever prosper where labor holds
itself superior to capital. We do not
advocate the control OF capital over
labor, farther than healthy recip-
roo.,l inter-i elation demands.
We do not expect our articles to
bear Immediate results, however
clear the rel. oning and glaring
the facts, but they may set
the minds of many to working Oh
these problems, and when organ
lied action begins, they will be
ready to join the movement and
help to push it on to success. The
farmers of Madison county should
organize either through the Farms
ers' Club, or a medium of their own
to inaugurate these agencies for fu
ture needed prosperity. Politically.
an increased population OF lighter
races would establish q happy me>
dunn, that would bring US back to
honesty ia ballot aud freedom OF
Republican privileges that will
avoid sectional animosities. One
thing is certain, that the Southern
mind must divest itself of many
Iprejuliees and obsolete IDEAS, and
welcome all; and acknowledge the
race OF lie open to all on the basis of
merit and right, or we are a doomed
The ACTS of 1879 ara CON