River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-06-16
How the South is Abused by Unscrupul-
Gus StOrekeepers
Southern Correspondence of the Ne'
Tribune

Southern Correspondence of the New York
Tribune,
One of the worst features of the ex-
isting condition of things in the South
is to be found in the character and
methods of large number of men who
sell goods in the smaller country towns
and villages, and at the crossroads and
headings almost everywhere. These
men are mostly foreigners or Northern
men, but of late there are, in some parts
of the country, q few native Southern
ers taking up the same kind of business,
as good Southern sitizens now and then
confessed to me with shame. These
merchants, or storekeepers, are as rapa-
cious as pirates, entirely destitute of
principle, conscience and honesty. OBJ
serve, do not say that all these small
merchants or dealers in country places
in the South are ofthis character. but
the class is very large one, and it has
its representatives almost everywhere.
These men are growing rich faster than
any other class in the Southern States.
They sell goods to negroes and poor
whites at 200 or 300 per cent. profit, and
much of the time they simply take all
that man has. A large part of their
business is conducted in this way. A
dealer of this class makes an agreement
during the winter with a negro or
white laborer to run him for the season
That is, the merchant furnishes the
''small planter" with all his provisions
and supplies of every kind for the
Spring, Summer and Autumn, agri-
cultural implements and every thing
III Ill al,
be paid for out of the crop, when it is
matured and gathered. Each dealer
may thus supply. or run" a dozen,
twenty, or fifty men. During the sum-
mer and all the time that the crop is
growing, the dealer rides about and in
spects each mans crop, or sends some
competent man to do this, so that he
can estimate the probable product. OF
course an experienced Judge can do
this very accurately. Thus, when the
cotton is ready to be picked, the mer-
chant knows exactly how much has
been produced by each man that he
has run" All along through the sea-
son be has, of course, entered on his
books each article furnished to his
planters. Now he goes over his books
and puts down the price of each article
the amount the customer is to pay for
it; and the price is SO arranged that
the aggregate charge for the seasons
supplies will exactly take the planters
whole crop. The poor laborer is thus
left, at the end of the season, absolut-
ly penniless.
There are often stormy scenes on
settlement day." Such a merchant
will submit without resistance to the
bitterest cursing a wronged, disappoint-
ed, enraged negro can utter. Often
there would be violence, but the mer-
chant is armed and his dupe is cowed.
The end of the result of all is usually
that the dealer makes the man cheap.
snowy present, and arranges TO run"
him again the next year. But some
times, when a negro is concerned, the
outcome is different. The merchant
buys cotton. In many cases he has
gin of his own or cotton press. This
gives the wronged, helpless negro an
opportunity for revenge. The gin or
press is fired some dark night; there
is deduction from the dealers profits
for the year; the negroes of the region
exult among themselves, and there is a
new political outrage" for the news
papers and politicians.