Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-05-10
The Alleged Bad Treatment Of
Immigrants in Georgia.

grants, all mechanics, who recently
landed in New York, had, upon theil
arrival, entered into an engagement with
the Georgia Land and Lumber Company
through an agent Of said company; thai
they came to this city en- route to theil
place of destination, and, both on the
voyage and while here, received the
kindest treatment, and were greatly
elated over their prospects,
but that after leaving here
they were taken to McRae, and
from there were driven out in the coun.
try several miles, placed in leaky shan
ties and left to shift for themselves fol
two days, during which time they saw
no one at all; and after this
treatment they were told to 90 to
work and cultivate piec of ground,
and that negotiations looking to a
sale of the property to them, upon
easy terms, would be entered upon at
some future time. Being mechanics,
however, and knowing nothing of plant
ing, they declined to agree to this
proposition, and, claiming that the con-
tract made with them in New York had
not been carried out, they left in dis
gust
This is the gist of the statement
made by our Cochran correspondent,
although his letter presented the case
in a much worse light than we gave it.
Il viii also be remembered that when
we published the above statement we
distinctly stated that we had
little doubt that the bad treat
ment complained of had been
exaggerated, and that it could be salts
factorily explained. We were led to
this conclusion by the fact that Georgia
desires an influx of thrifty and industri-
Gus immigrants to settle up and develop
her waste places, and that, therefore, it
would be the height of folly to drive off
such immigrants by carelessness, bad
treatment, or lack of consideration for
their interests. Besides this, we knew that
the many prosperous German citizens
already living amongst us were ready and
willing to extend hOspitable welcome
to their compatriots DESTROYS of changing
their homes, and we were sure that they
would not consent to the strangers being
neglected.
1t seems that our conclusions based
upon this reasoning were correct. We
have been shown a letter received by a
prominent merchant of this city from the
Superintendent of the aforesaid company
a few days since, alluding to the COM
plants set forth by our correspondent
and setting the company right in the
matter He says that the fare from New
York to the camps of the company in
Telfair county was paid by the
company for the whole party of
immigrants under contract with them.
Shelter was provided them, not in shan
ties, but in comfortable houses, such as
are ordinarily used in that section of coun-
Try by small farmers; provisions were
furnished in abundance, and after they
were located they were offered land, by
the cultivation of which they could, al
most from the start, have made COM
Portable livelihood, since they had mar
ket right at their very doors, as the com
pany was ready to buy from them, at the
highest prices, whatever they produced.
The gentleman further goes on to say
that a complete refutation of the state
ment made to our correspondent is to be
found in the gradual return Of all the
disconnected ones, while the well known
name of Hon. William E. Dodge, Presi-
dent of the company, and his high
standing in the commercial world is, of
itself, a sufficient guarantee that he
would not allow anything with which
his name is connected to be so conducted
as to leave unpon any transaction the
least faint of suspicion or misrepresenta-
ton.
We most cheerfullY publish the above
denial of the complaint made to US, and
have no doubt of its substantial verify,
not only because it is to the manifest in
terest Of the company to induce immi-
grafton to their lands, but because of the
following corroboration of the Superin-
tendent's statement, which we find in
the Wiregrass Watchman. Abiding to
our article, that paper says:
1.-THE truth of the matter, when sifted,
is simply this: The Georgia Land and
Lumber Company had erected on each
fifty acres of a number of lots of land,
good, neat and substantial twOrOom
houses-far better than a majority of
our good citizens occupy-and gave the
said Immigrants the choice of either i'm
proving the said fifty acres at once or
working for them at far better wages
than they can command in their shops
North, until they might become able to
make the necessary improvements, they
meanwhile occupying the houses erected
for their accommodation and having a
fair time to pay for their homes. These
immigrants. had they been disposed to
labor, could have netted salary of fifty
dollars per month in the employ of the
said company, as many negroes here are
earning more.
1t will be seen that this puts a very
different appearance upon the matter
than it, at first, bore, and we are very
glad that it has so resulted. Our object
in making the publication, in the first
place, was simply to give the company
an opportunity to justify Themselves
we holding that while such complaints
are being circulated, it would be fan
better to have them known and refuted
than otherwise. Disconnected persons
spreading broadcast injurious reports OF
such character can always do much
harm if the press is silent, and
no means are taken to offset
their statements. By publishing them,
however, public attention is called tC
them, and if they can be successfully
refuted, as in this instance, great good
will be effected. Immigrants desiring to
settle in Georgia, or to make contracts
I n