Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-01-05

was rented III this way. Inc SOIL IS
very thin, and without heavy fertil-
zing will produce nothing like a fair
crop.
To give an example Of how the
system has worked, 1 will mention
the case of an industrious, hard
frugal negro farmer, who
rented during the past year, forty
acres of land, the stipulated rent
being four bales of middling cotton,
weig ching four hundred and fifty
pounds each. He was required to
use two and a half tons of CONNER
cial fertilizers, for which he had to
pay 1,125 pounds of lint cotton, or
two and halt bales. He paid $40
for mule to plough his crop, bought
his own provisions on time, giving a
lien on his crop to secure the same,
furnished his own labor, and made
seven bales of cotton. The yield
was very little short of an average
crop, and at the end of the year he
had half bale of cotton to pay for
his mule, his lien and his labor. The
natural conclusion is that
the rent was too high, and
that this farmer who operated
under the tenantry system, and whose
condition affords fair illustration
of many of his class, either had to
steal or starve.
In the section of country which
has suffered most severely from the
exodus, this system of tenantry has
prevailed. In other sections, where
the one third. or share, system has
been in operation, altogether differs
ent results have been reached. Un-
der this system the planters furnish
the stock and implements. the ne
groes do the work and receive one
'4taird of the crop. They are prosper
Gus and contented. Very few of them
have joined the exodus. Under
this system tie planter furnishes the
laborers with supplies at liberal
prices. In the case of the tenant
farmers the supplies are furnished
by the merchants,the profits charged
not being less, on an average, than
40 per cent, and in many instances
running as high as 60, 70 and Is per
cent. Now that the stock law has
been passed, the negro tenants
claim that they would be compelled
liz the future to procure their whole
living from the store>keepers at
these enormous rates of profit, and
they have, therefore, given up in
despair.
the consequences that must newt
ably result from the exodus are dis
couraging. Crack Drained philoso-
piers may congratulate the country
and show by many statistics that the
departure of "a few thousand negroes
cannot affect the material interests
of the country; but there is no sound
reasoning by which to sustain SC
preposterous proposition. Polite
ally speaking there are far too many
negroes in South Carolina, but from
an industrial standpoint there is
room for many more.
This is frank and no doubt truth
full statement, made in one of the
leading Democratic dailies of tht
South. The trouble is, we appre-
bend, that in this as in many othe,
sections Of the South, the planters d.
not yetfully comprehend the changed
relations Of the colored people. The,
cannot forget that these people wer'
once their chattels, and they ye
feel that in some way the,
are not only entitled to the labo
Of these people, but that the.
have a right to control them abso
lutely iii eyerything-especially il
social and political affairs Henc
we see according to the statement
of this correspondent, the employer
of the colored laborers not only re-
fuse to accord to them politica
rights, but they manage to get thei
labor for almost nothing, and, if the,
do make anything, the merchants rol
them by selling them goods at al
immense profit on eut-throat mort
cages.
The colored race are proverbial TO
their forbearance, but even wit
them, patience sometimes ceases t
be d virtue, and this exodus fror
South Carolina to Arkansas is only
peaceable rebellion against the pc,
sistent violation of social laws, an
one such exodus will do more to ed
ucate the hard headed and hard
; hearted planter, than hundre
Democratic victories at the ballot
box. These moving caravans, tel
antless plantations, empty cabin
uncultivated acres and empty pocI
cts are only the proclamation of til
gospel of truth TO men who woul
receive it III no other way.
fTrIU rApTSrTVl