The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-01-21
Farming in South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, January 13.-There are
people, and a great many too, in this
State who believe that South Carolina,
agriculturally, is retrograding, and three
fourths of those who believe this attrib.
ute the agricultural condition of the State
to the lien law, which they say has dis
organized and demoralized the farm
labor. They believe that it has enabled
the common field hand, who is totally
without the capital or intelligence neces.
sary to properly conduct farm, to obtain
credit by pledging as security the future
product of his labor, that this has result
ed in forcing landowners to rent their
lands 10 tenants incapable of cultivating
them as they should be cultivated, and
have thus gradually reduced the produc-
tive power of the lands and consequently
the value of the crops. That there is
some force in these suggestions no one
will r eably deny; but is this the whole
cause of the agricultural ,stagnation
which is said, by some of our people, to
exist? Is the lien law responsible for
the high rents charged for land in South
Carolina? If it has resulted in raising
rents has it not benefited the landlord
as well as the merchant, even if it has
demoralized the laborers? Isn't it pretty
fair interest on the investment when two
dollars per acre is spent in rent for land
valued on the tax books at five dollars
per acre?
In conversation recently with very
practical and intelligent land owner, who
rents all of his arabic land, he said II
only receive about 25 cents per acre rent
when include all of my timber and
other Improbable lands, but if 1 only
consider that part of it which is suitable
for cultivation 1 get So per acre." and
this rented land was valued at S. per acre.
So that he received three fifths of its
value in rent for one year. When sug
gested to him that this was rather high
price for the tenant to pay he said that it
was only very small part of the expense
of cultivation, and that really it was a
small matter to the tenant. How many
land owners in South Carolina think the
same way? Many of them say that the
tenant system is running their lands, but
the poorest system of cultivation would
not utterly destroy it in two years, and
at the end of 1t time, according to the
statement made above, the land would
have paid for itself, and given fair
interest on the investment. | have had
men to tell me that they did not want
foreign white laborers here because they
are not content to remain laborers. They
will be economical, and in a short time
become land owners themselves. But
the negro spends all he gets and is ready
to hire for wages or rent land another
year; and the same men would contend
that the negro is the best laborer the
South can have.
1 believe it is we'll recognized rule of
political economy that labor is the source
of all wealth. II this is true, will it be
seriously argued thnta thriltless, improv-
ident labor is of the class that makes Il
country prosperous? know that many
of our people believe that the negro
cannot be induced to save his earnings,
and that he will make no effort to i'm
prove his financial condition. If this
estimate of the negro character is just,
is he the best laborer for the South?