The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-05-07
sMALLER PARMs THR REMEDY.

The influx needs to be much greater.
l1 SMALLER RARMs THE REMEDY.
The agriculture Of the South, like the ag
riculture Of the North, has got to pass into
thehandsof small farmers; into the hands ol
men whose motto will be, "a small farm
well titled and small barn well
filed" instead OF remaining in the hands
oil baronial set whose aim, like the Brit.
ish aristocracy, is 10 own land that they
cannot and will not utilize. This Is a
change that Is not yet going on to any no.
ticeable extent. The tide OF emigration to
the West, both from the North and from
Europe, Is still too decided to turn in this
direction. It will only be after the West.
ern' wave Is stayed ond turned back that
the overflow Southwark will take place
This will undoubtedly be matter OF wears.
! have particular reference TO such States
as Louisiana and Mississippi. They do
not participate in the change that Is taking
place In such State as Texas, and TO q
less extent In Alabama and Georgia. They
are too much under the New Orleans sys
tenn, or, perhaps / should say, the alluyial
land system. e5
TIE GREAT OBSTACLE TO SOUTHERN DEVELOP
MEST. t
The negro population is another obstacle
to Southern development-it is both .
political and material stumbling block; II
is half.worked and halt.paid population;
its work is not intelligent, nor conscien.
tious, and not thrifty, and 1t is hired and
paid on this understanding. The planter
aims to get the advantage Of the negro and
the negro OF the planter, and they both
succeed. As rule, ten Irishmen or ten
Germans would do as much as double that
number Of negroes. The fact that Irish.
men, Germans and other white people do
cultivate cotton successfully Ia small way,
by the labor OF their own households, is q
proof that 1t can be done. The negro on
the plantations will not work on Saturday
for love or money. Heis the only genuine
Hebrew Of modern times. He will see the
crop rot in the fields before he will do 1t.
In too many cases he not only will not
work on Saturday but he will drink up or
gamble away on Saturday and Sunday all
that he has earned In the week. This ia
bis general status as iaborer on the planta.
tions, and 1t Is a yery discouraging one.
Aud yet he does pretty much all the agri.
cultural work OF the South In this way.
He follows the general fashion Of the
country. He sees that the white people
barely make living and he Is content
when he barely makes living. In only a
few cases has be an ambition to own land
and get ahead in the world. In only few
cases has he anything to show ior his
years work. .li.t IITH.l. ss.,a a.q.s.
n. ILLITERAcY INTHE SOUTH. q
Situated as the, South has been and is 10.
day, 1t could not be otherwise than she
should have in her midst deplorable
amount Of illiteracy. The statistics on this
point, among both whites and blacks, are
startling. Schools are scarce aud poor
But they are neither 30 scarce nor so poor
as they were just after the war. all the
southern states have pulled up in this re.
spect. The evil is great drawback. but it
Is consolation to know that the worst oi
It has been seen. Still, out OF total popu.
lation OF 10 years Of age and upward IN
this state Of 75S, ,69Sf there are Sl5,6i2 who
cannot. read, and out Of a similar total in
Louisiana Of $4,000 there are POI, ,3l2 who
cannot write. This is a good deal worse
than West Virginia, where it is bad
enough, and where out Of total OF 42S. 5S7
40 years old and upward) we have 81 OIL
who cannot read. In other words, the PER
cent. in this state is AZ, and in Louisiana 49,
while in West Virginia 1t is only l2!.
POLITICAL CONDITION.
|! Still another drawback to development
down here .is the political condition Of
the country. ! gave you political resume
several weeks ago, and it Is unnecessary to
say that practically the white people OF the
South are solid against Southern (not
Northern) Republicanism. Indeed there
Is no Republican party down here to speak
OF outside ofa few white politicians and tht
negroes. II there ever was one Il Is dead.
see no signs of.it anywhere. occasionally
meet Northern man or woman who
is Republican, real old time one-bul
they are passive, and for the reason thai
they don't admire and will not affiliate
with such Republicanism as has existed
here. am strengthened in my conviction
that the South must become an independ
ent field in politics and that the colored
man must divide his vote among candi
dates. In this way his vote will BE-
counted, and Malone, Chalmers, and othel
like independents will spring up who will
act with the Republicans In Congress. The
darkey cannot run his machine alone.
As this letter is already sufficiently long
1 will reserve other observations for my