The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-07-18
NEGRO VS.. WHITE LABOR.

NEGRO VS.. WHITE LABOR.
The New Orleans Times Demo.
crat protests against the story, so of
repeated, that there are portions. Of
the South where the whites cannot
live and work and produce good
crops.
There is not word of truth,
says our contemporary, in this story,
and it gives facts and figures show
ing that the industry of the South
is chiefly in white hands. "There
is no part of the country where out
door labor is impossible in summer,
and there is no more danger to the
white man working in the field here
than in the West, as is shown by
the fact that there are ten sunstrokes
north to one south of the line. The
whites can and do work in the
South. The climate is as good, in
deed, better, than that of the North,
and those Northern people who have
settled in the extreme Southern
points of this country have SO de-
clared and shown by their own sue
cessful labor that there is nothing to
prevent them working there"
There is an idea abroad that the
cotton crop is produced altogether
by negro labor, but it is erroneous.
An investigation set on foot in South
Carolina a few years ago by the
Meas and Courier showed that 80
per cent. of the cotton crop was
raised by white labor.
The Mississippi State census of
1880 brought out the fact that over
one-third of the cotton crop of that
State was produced by white labor.
In Texas and Arkansas, where the
bulk of the people are white, the
proportion of the crop produced by
the whites is much larger.
Very nearly half the entire crop
of the South, or some 100000
bales, the Times Democrat estimates,
is now produced by white labor, as
against 100000 bales, or one-tenth
of the crop, thirty years ago.
The Memphis Avalanche, in its
discussion of this matter, expresses
the view that cotton can be raised
just as well by white as by colored
labor, the only practical difficulty
being in obtaining the white labor
in districts congested With the color
ed element.
The Birmingham Age holds like
opinions and points to the circum-
stance that white men worked with
West Indian negroes on the Panama
canal, in tropical climate much
hotter than any part of the South
worked harder, did better, and suf.
fered from much lighter NOR
tality.
The assertion of the Chattanooga
Times that there are large portions
of the South where the whites "can-
not labor and can scarcely live DUR
ing the summer" is pronounced "a
gross libel" A question raised
more than once in the course of
the discussions going forward in the
Southern press is the desirability
from an industl ial point of view, Of
displacing the negro laborer in favor
of immigrant whites.
The Age-Herald, of Birming-
ham, says on this point that the
negro is costly luxury, and cites
the WORKOUT condition of the farm !
ing lands of some Southern States
as proof of the destructiveness of |
his methods The Ismes-Democrat
goes further and says: "The South |
would be more productive, richer
and more prosperous if it were peo-
pied altogether by white men,
These observations are, however,
Of doubtful value. The colored |
race rs in the South and to stay.
Jolored labor is at present indispen-
able in that section, and will SO
for many long years to
come.
The practical problem is to train
md improve it, at the same time
III minating the dangerous quality it
develops under the manipulation of
Inscriptions politicians.
Il