The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-14
IS THE NEGRO A FAILURE ?
AN ABLE AND SCHOLARLY REVIEW OF THE
QUESTION.
Views of Hon. w. c. Benet. of South
CarOlina---The Brother in Black
and His Future---The South needs
a Yeomanry, not a Pcasantry.

Carolina..-The Brother in Black
and His Future-.-The South needs
n YeOmanry, not Pcasantry.
augusta Chronicle.
ABBEYILLE S. c.. March 81.
Editor Chronicle: Your letter of 18th inst.
was duly received. 1t calls to my attention
the conversation with Prof. White, of the
University of Georgia. on THE Negro as q
Failure" published in recent issue OF the
Chronicle: and you ask my "opinlon aoou'
'.the negro as a laborer, and or the race as d
"peasantry for the South" And you 1urtheT
ask if "believe that We must look for new
class to supply his place on the farm ana II
scientific and intensive farming, ana North-
ern and foreign immigration are the best SUD-
stitutes for the present labor system OF TIE
South" 1t gives me pleasure to comply with
your request.
First, then, as to
THE NEGRO AS A LABoRER.
Prof White does not say the negro is fail
rre as q laborer. He does pronounce nlm a. l;tll-
IRE as a skilled laborer," and in this no
doubt he is correct. Nor would he go far
wrong if he said that the 1eld-laborers OF
France, England and Ireland-three couh'
tries he mentions-were failures as skilled ia
borers. Having some acquaintance with the
peasantry of those European countries, can
not agree with the Professor that they arc
"scientific laborers." Intelligent they may
be-very many Of them are-much more SO
than the negro; but surely not scientific. Is
it. really necessary that farm laborers should
he scientific or skilled? That the farmer him
self should be so, needs nc argument; just as
the ship captain must be skilled in the science
of navigation, whether his crew be SO or not
1t is the duty of the crew and Of the farm Ia
borers to obey the orders Of the captain, TO
carry out the directions Of the farmer
"Theirs not to reason why; theirs not to make
reply" And the captain and the farmer
must see that heir commands are obeyed.
AS a laborer pure and simple, do not re-
gard the negro failure. On the contrary
when under the supervision Of the white
man,
HE IS AN EXCELLENT LABORER;
but white supervision, constant and efficient,
firm if kind, the white man must exercise
over him. His fine physique enables MIN 10
stand hard work; and, easily satisfied, easy
to manage, light-hearted and simple, ne IS
never so happy as when let alone by dcma-
posues and philanthropists and suffered to Go
his days work and eat his frugal meal. En-
ployers of labor in other parts Of the world
account the Southern States fortunate in pos
sessing in the negroes a laboring class whose
docile and contentcd disposition prevents
them from combining in strikes and UNIONS
while the white laborers Of the North ana O.
Europe, with mach turbulence and violence,
are forming themselves into grand army OF
the discontented.
OUR SOUTHERN CLIMATE
must not be forgotten in this discussion.
What white laborer can take the ncgro's place
in, the sweltering rice-tlelds. the steamin%
corn-felds and blazing cotton-feds of our too
sunny South? The negro is the child OF the
sun and the swamp, and he thrives and
grows sleek where the fair-slinneu white
man shriyes up and dies. There IS much
truth in what Sir George Campbell says in his
"White and Black in the United Statcs."-
(pp. 16O-l.)-
"The American blacks are in fair way OF
"becoming a comfortable, wcll-to-do popul;'-
"tion to degree found in very few countries,
"a condition which may compare very favor
"ably. not only with the Indian ryot, the
"Russian serf or the Irish tenant farmer, but
"also with the Dorsctshire laborer. l doubt
"whether. on the whole, a better laborlng po
"nulation. more suited to the climate and
"country in which they find themselves, Is
.'anywhere to be found
Your second question relates to the
NEGROES AS a PEASANTRY
for the South.
Prof. White is reported as having said that
"the great necessity of Georgia was peasar'
try" meaning by that term "intelligent and
Asscientific laborers such as France, England,
"and even down -trodden Ireland have" l!
such be his meaning, no wonder he says "the
country is absolutely without peasantry.
have already ventured to doubt If there be
such a peasantry in France, England or Ire
land.
What is peasautry? That class Of rural
laborers who do field and farm work. 1t does
not include farmers or employers of labor.
Properly speaking, pcasantry is of the same
blood and race as the rest of the inhabitants
of the country. The Irish peasant is kith
and kin to the Irish peer; the Duchess OF
Devonshire is Of the same blood as the De
yonshire dairymaid. In this respect the
South has no peasantry, and l rather fancy
she never will have: for the negro takes the
place Of peasant in the Southern States. No
doubt he is not like that "bold peasantry,
their country's PRIDE" sung by Goldsmith; ;
but here he is-some seven millions of him.
What is to be done with him? He cannot do
without us, and fear we cannot get on with
out him. But, supposing we should try with
Prof White to supply his place on the farm
by the introduction of white pcasantry from
the North and from Europe, what Shall we do
with the negro? Shall we ask him to
EMIGRATE TO AFRICA?
This he could not do even if he desired to
return to the land of his fathcrs-which he
docs not. If the bridge Of boats spoken of by
Horny CLAW were to stretch across the Attain
tic Ocean from shore to shore, and a continu-
uus procession Of negroes were TO Keep steadl-
ly marching day and night from Georgia to
the Guinea coast the daily blrtl-ratc among
tie negroes of the South would moro than
keen mace with the number daily departing.
But he has no desire to depart.
The Red Indian pines into annlhliauoh
when deprived of his native forests ana 1ar-
reaching hunting grounds; but the negro
leaves behind him Afric's sunny fountains to
roll down their golden sands with scarce re-
grct, and he makes himself equally happy
and at home with the Engishman or the
Frcnchman, the Portuguese or the Spaniim,
the Arab or the Turk. The Sioux and the