Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-07
Saturday Morning, Jan. z, 1882.

THE SOUTH CAROLINA NEGROES. The Charleston Nea0s and Courier is, like
 several other southern newspapers, doing
 some plain talking nowadays. An important
 exodus of negroes from South Carolina has
 been and is going on, and the Neo0S has per
 ceived that it is 8 bad thing for the State.
 It therefore says, among other things
 ''There are six hundred thousand colored
 people in South Carolina and only four hun
 too steadily kept in view Any policy which
 ignores the colored people and proceeds, as 1t were, upon the hypothesis that only the
 whites are to be considered, will be melan- choly ana disastrous faiIure.'' This is good doctrine. but the Neaos is little late in preaching it.
 An investigation of the exodus shows that it was the result of plan, dating back to September. Three men went out to look for suitable location, and the report of the two who returned was strongly in favor of an interior portion of the State of Arkansas, which they described in a way to fire the minds of their hearers. The recruiting went
 
 time for departure from Augusta, but the actual setting out from their homes began four days earlier. The people sold every thing they could and in many instances burned household furniture and utensils which they could not transport sell. Their agent who was to have arranged for trains from Augusta was not there, but after a1o Io4o ment after detachment sent forward. The total number of ''exodusters" thus far is var iously estimated but it seems to be clear that it is at least ,OOO Edgefeld county has suffered most severely, It is said that great deal of land in that county, not less than twenty thousand acres, will have to go uncultivated during the next year, land the railroad towns, county seats and crossroads stores will suffer to an incalculabIe extent, and it is predicted that there will be many business failures during the next sixty days. The merchants have large stocks of goods on their shelves, and the terrible depletion of the ranks of their best customers must go hard with them. The farmers who have stock and are unable to get labor will have to sell at a sacrifice, and, although the necessi- ty may be delayed for a year or two, the large farms of the county will in the end have to be subdivided and sold for whatever they will bring The abundant supply of labor in the past and the great desire to SC cure property on the ridge belt ran the farming lands of this section of the county up to very high prices, the values ranging from $2O to $50 an acre. The labor disap- bearing the price of these lands must go back to ante bellum figures, which ranged from $1. 50 to BIO an acre' To these evils must be added the injury to education among the people caused by the enforced employ ment at labor of the children of the poorer class, and also the loss of $10,0 or $20, 900 in debts owed by the emigrants.
 But while the exodus will interfere with the prosperity and happiness of the whites, it may be good thing for the negroes who go and also for those who stay behind. Among the reasons given by the negroes for are that they enjoy no political rights that they cannot vote at the elec- l lions, and if they do vote that their ballots 1 are not counted that they have no repre- l sentation in the government, and that their l rights are in the keeping of hostile political | party. Another complaint is that the rent | of land is so high and the prices of provis- ions so exorbitant they cannot make living, | and another is the passage of the stock law, | which requires the fencing in of their farms. | They will probably be better treated in Ar kansas than they have been in South Caro- ina and those who remain in the latter State | will perhaps discover that the whites have learned something. If they have not they | will have other lessons in the course of time. |