The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-04-20
Is the Negro q Failure.

question from the pen Of the Hon. W.:
c. Benet, of Abbeville. Mr.. Benees
views, we are sure, embody those Of =
vast majority Of thoughtful men at the
South. The initiative Of the discus
sion was made by Professor White, or
Georgia, who is Of opinion that as
laborer, the negro is failure, and that
the great need Of the South is to obtsin;
better class Of peasantry and more
skilled laborers.
This question must be treated prac-
ticaily. We must look ut matters as
they are, and not as they might have
been or what we would desire. The
negro is here with us in the order of
Providential dispensation, and here he
will stay, both from necessity and from
choice. He could not get away il he
would and would not if he could. He
is joint occupant with US Of the coun-
try. and has no desire to give up the
only hope Of improving his condition
and working out his destiny in contact
with superior rasc. Hais unfortunate
i'll having been brought too prominently
before the eyes of the nation as the pet
Of philantropists, and the tool Of dema-
gogues and in the uphcaval Of social
order following the war, elevated to-
positions Of trust and responsibility, far
beyond his abilities and his moral
strength. That was not his fault but
in that was his failure, and no one
knows it better than himself.
The negro as class must be content
to remain q laborer, whether in the
fields or in thss werkshops, until By
education, accumulation Of property,
u more providentiaI habit, and the ex-
ample Of the white man, he can work
out his own elevation: Treat him kind
Iy, give him all his Just rights and help
him when he wants help, but let him
work out his own civilization on the
plan he prefers and which he knows will
be best for him.
If then, we consider him an unvoid-
able fixture here, Is his presence disas-
trous to the South. hindrance to agri-
cultural progress
Those who have lived in the South
crn States, who understand the traits of
the negro. his docility of character, his
peculiar initiative faculties, his adoption
to the climate, his freedom from malsr.
ial influences which are fatal to the
white man, will be ready to agree with
us, that there is no other race which
can so we'll take the place of peasan-
try IS the negro. But he needs super--
vision and direct. He needs the con-
trolling intelligence of the white race
to produce the best results. As sim
pie laborer, he has no superior, but he
is unable to stand alone, he cannot plan
for the future, nor use his labor to the
best advantage without intelligent
aid.
What we do need, is yeomanry Of
small farmers. We want our large un-
profitable areas Of land broken up into
small farms which may be purchased
for moderate sum. Then ownership,
home and all the advantages and COM
forts Of home will attract thrifty set
tiers, who with their churches and their
schoolhouses around them. and per-
sonal interest in the good order and
prosperity of their region, will furnish
the best population a country can
have.
The present system of leasing plant
ing lands for short periods. generally by
the year, is most disastrous to the pros
perity Of the country, and stands as an
impedimsnt in tho way Of progress.
The hired hand like the hired horse,
must pay for its present use without re-.
gard to future consequences. In the
hands Of unthrifty laborers, who have
no interest in its Improvement, and are
mostly unable to expend anything in
Improvements, it is worn to the last
point of productive energy and becomes
worthless. But with ownership and a
home, all this is changed, and the goose
is not killed for the golden egg.
4 The system Of small farms will also
be beneficial to the negroes, inasmuch
as they will be more scattered. Every
Southerner who knows the negro, un-
derstands this. When thrown togethel