The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-08-04

yyI,nIc Mattcr---WC can't C0utrOi
rho Labor which We cant Pay.
Ese Who Complains Of not Being
,bIc TO Control Labor Exposes his
own Inability to Manage Farm
Successfully.
Iiltor Press uad Banner:
There has been and is yet great deal OF dis'
cusSion going on about the negro. some say
lie is Il failure, and some say not. In our local
ity there is great deal tDSav about controlllng
him as q laborcr, and innumerable p'i Us
have been suggested.
Several clubs have selected writers TO write
ESSAYS on the subject. So, my ciuD, CONSIST
ing of myself, held meeting anu aitcr lnurii
consideration selected me to write an esSi's
on the subject and as it was the unanimous
desire of the club to have me To 90 so, h;lNe
concluded to accept the honor. so lh9ught
| would seat myself with pen III hahH ana
write YOU q few lines and get You 10 hc!p me
ont. for the Lord knows | need assistance
badly. will state a few OF the di1llcultles
that surround me and my enterprise OF WIFI
ing the aforesaid essay.
flash around SO fast that | can't catch on To
them. and when | do get one Expressed, no
body else can understand IT.. In fact, can /
understand it myself, and then it is so far
around my subject thatiI am unable TO CIR
cumfercncc il. l have been unable, so far, To
distinguish head, tail or foot OF II. l can I
tell the outside from the inside OF 1t, nor the
wrong side from the rig ht side OF It, Nor can
tell The popular from the unpopular Sde oi
1T. and I would be very much embarrassed
and mortified If should get inside or the
wrong side Of the popular side or IL ana o.
fed nv audience which is tho said club
consisting OF myself rs aforesaid.
Here are q few of the ideas ! succccdcd IN
rrtt,np. Now, want YOU to clucidate them
and dress them in their sunday clothes ior
Inc, so they will be fit TO read before my saiG
club.
in the world TO control the negro labor, II you
can control the money 10 pay nm Tor MS 1ecd
while he serves you. If had the money 10
pay them and the provisions to ice" m ,dvc tC the
county, and dig well for every two hundred
yards square in it, and build brick house
with ten rooms in 1t for every Whlte
frame houses for all the negroes i'll the
county. l could build enough churches,
schoohOuSeS, court houses, ana Jalls LOT All
the people, without regard 70 race or PREVIOUS
how can control the money and Will nave
the whole thing in II nutshell and VIII give
you lesson i'll controlling me negro t,i.'i VIA WI
make it so easy that it will make your heao
swim. Just pay him, and feed HIM, ana you
have got him, and all You have TO 40 Is 10
hold your grip, and don't you forget IL.
NV second idea is, to set the negro goou
example as all hands agree that he can D;at
the deuce at initiating. Now. if could only
control my audience, consisting OF myself as
aforesaid, and get it to set te n meSrI an r,to cN-
rs Il desires. and to stick to it through heat
and cold, from Monday morning til Sdtur;
day night. Now if could induce the said
audience to cease fishing, hunting; picnicing
and base balling, and stick to hard WORK on
little pay, poor rations, ana 10 DC easy OF con.
troll, while thus employed, tic negroes miSht
hire himself TO work for himself. ut low WAGES,
and on short ratioHs, and try his level best 70
please himself. verify believe by such an cS-
ample he could and would control the negro
10 7 need hplU ri.rllt here,
Just about here in my essay want to say n
few words about base ball. The white people
have learned the negroes how cntcrtlnlhS tiIe ~
base ball is. and the negroes follow us to q /,
ard good Lord how hate TO see negroes play
base ball, with a good crowd for spectators,
while the grass is getting away WIN our new
ground corn.
My third idea is 10 impress the Importance
on my audience Of controlling his own family.
/ don't believe that Hercules and samson
made into one could control his own family OH
the labor question, if they were born tired
and Inherited the disease. ! know that no
one ever has, nor ever will, control those VINO
arc behind on sleep that was iost as liF I,oK hof
aS the third and fourth generation. IL thcE
inherited this evil from the Sleeping BeautF
it can never be cured.
There is another thing I would have them
broke from, and that is reading yeUoW Dach
pamphlets that tell how red ncadcu .S'!liie
ScruGsinS married dark skinned william
SnookS, and other love stories that would
make mules male ancestor sick. They mix
this delightful reading and sleeping together
and the negroes are following their example,
and what could look worse than sleeping, or
reading negro, while the grass Is growing ln
the potato patch.
And then there are so many picnicS anu big
meetings to attend and cook for That IL con-
sumeS all their energies, anG all ol the ciuD
provisions, and then ride or drive all Oh tne
clubs old poor horses, as long as they are lDle
to be propped up, to saddle or harness. ana
the negro follows their example, and no
tongue can tell how hate TO see 4 negro on q
poor old horse and his crop lUsl lof WauI Vi
blowing and hOcing.
| have known the member OF my club, TO
spend two or three days i'll borrowing ehouSn II
money to control negro for one day, wncn
the weather was hot and the grass tough ana
my ncighborS do the same thing, ana the ne
groes follow their example, and he can 40 ~
to perfection, and the Lord only knows now
hate to see one negro trying TO borrow money
to hire another negro TO work for him.. You
might help me to advise my club on this SUBJ
ject.
There are some defects in the negroes con-
structon, though will only speak Of one Ill
this sitting He is so constructed that he Is
obliged to eat and provisions arc scarce ah4
hard to get about this clubs head quarters.
have known Il few individuals TO attempt 10
get u negro To work on warm water thickcheu
with wigglctailS, but it. was q failure, no pay.
no rationS and no work, and don't you forget
it, If John Wesley Ryiard could invent q
negro of that sort, or even one that coubt iiEc
on swamp mud it would pay better than his
cotton chopper car coupler. and MO-ycar CLOCK
combined, and then if Dr. Don Wilson could
(and expect he could if lie wouid) invent u
mule on the same order, and learn my cup 10
control them, we would make nm ulS posS'
and bottle washer of the community.
My club held q meeting one saturday 10
elect u delegate to write the aforesaid essay,
and to discuss the feasibility Of governing The
negro by certificate. 1t is very NICE plan,
but somehow we have been unable 10 get ING
negro 10 see ii in that light. llcis TO feed ana
clothe himself and be controlled, and when
he sclS through with the job We are 10 give
him a certificate and send him 10 the next
leighbOr in the grass, who is to do likewise.
s'Thou good and faithful servant IS 10 DC put
in the certificate and keep him moving: ON
the next Saturday night the negroes ID, linlt;s-
ton of our club anu held a meeting, oiu SIlpc
Nance on the front scat with his red top DootS
on, (oh, how hate negro mcetingo ana III
troduced similar resolution to ours, lhaI Is
10 get their work done on the certillcate pan,
and are now adjourned to sec what step We
will take next.
Now believe the best thing VIC Gould DO
would be to go to work ourselves, men, wo-
men and children, and stick to IL, ana even II
Clabe and his crowd did not follow INC cNaiii-
pie, believe we would have less trouble III
controlling the negro and less necessity oi
controlling him. Let us 20 to work and set
the negro an example of aiIStaining from fish
in.s, picuics, base ball and club meetings. The
negro IS more likely To follow than we are TO
set the example. IN fine, Mr.. Editor, find IT
about as hard to induce myself Ia go 10 work
as tC control the negro. one thing am sure
Of | will never work on the certificate plan, or
just for the fun of WORKING.
Now, Sir, help me just this one time 10 Or
ganize myself, and to get control Of myself,
something must be done, and that quickly or
we are done for. If some plan IS not lnineal-
atcly adopted to give relief we wlllcithcr nav Z
to work, steal or travel. May the good LORD
strument of the dclivcrance, and | get tie
credit for il. Yours truly,