Morning journal and courier., 1883-07-28
THE NEGRO APPRRCIATED.

The negro seems to be appreciated in at least two southern States. At the meeting of the State Grange of South Carolina which has been in session at Marion this week there was an animated discussion of the question, How is the supply of labor to be maintained? Various views were expressed, some of the most prominent men in the State joining in the discussion. Senator Butler took the ground that the labor of the State was becoming more unsettled every year, and at no time since the war had negro labor been more unreliable and worthless than now. He wanted to supply their places with Mormon laborers, and said that 2oO,0O negro laborers could be safely spared. He wanted them to go to Kansas, Indiana or anywhere else, and thought that nothing so greatly impeded the progress of the State as the superabundance of cheap negro labor. His views were warmly opposed, some of the speakers showing that his conclusions were erroneous, the production of cotton having increased 15O per cent. in the State under the present system of labor, and other crops in proportion.
 This speaks we'll for the negro as Q worker They evidently want his labor in South Car olina In Virginia they probably want his labor, and they certainly want his vote. The Virginia Democrats must want the votes of negroes badly to do what they did the other day at Lynchburg. Just think of 8 Demo- cratic convention in a southern State making such declaration as this: The Democratic party of Virginia. having forwarded and or ganized the public school system and origi- mated every act of legislation which secures it's efficiency, pledges itself to it's continued support until every child in the common wealth of whatever color may secure the ben eft of a free education. We oppose the mix ing of the white and colored races in the pub lie schools and the placing of colored trus- tees and teachers over white children, and are in favor of preserving the school organi- zation for the two races separate and distinct as possible, giving the colored people for their schools all the preferences and privi- 1eges which we demand for the whites, in- c1uding solored trustees and teachers, and making no discrimination in the distribution of school funds on account of color, and we pledge the Democratic party to perfect this plan as best for all concerned.
 This is noble stand fer the Virginia Dem- ocrats to take, though it is highly probable that there was not much nobility about the reasoning which led them to take it. Negro votes bid fair to be valuable in Virginia this year, and if the Democrats can convince their ''colored brethren" that they are heart fly in favor of giving them as good an edu- cation as the whites get they may get some votes. Perhaps, though, the negroes of Vir- ginia are not quite ready to Ego back on" the party that has really tried to lift them up. But. whicheveriway the negroes vote, it is 3 good thing to have the Democratic party of Virginia on record as desiring their educa- ton. To be sure, they want the colored children educated at some distance from the white children, but it could hardly be ex- pected that this would be otherwise. That they feel obliged to openly and emphatically favor their education at all is very s1gnif- cant. The negroes can soon tell how sincere they are