The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1899-11-22
CQLOR5SD LABOR IN RELATION
TO THE PROSPERITY OF TIE
SOUTHERN FARMER.

: The PAST few years have ,beon note
: for the great, amount ofa disconter
among all Iaboring and produotiv
classes. The agriculturist has con
: planned much and with good reason
for he has suffered much. The poo
returns had by him have been sufficen
r grounds for outcry. He has appeale
TO legislation for relieH, hut his cry ha
been unheard. The utility OF fur
ther appeal is evident to every one
The farmer must be his own hes
friend. All of the suggested remedie
have been tried and have failed. III,
is as much the victim of combination
and trusts today as before he cstab
hshed the "Grango" OF left the ole
political parties to fern third. 1t i,
so because capital is SO much more
easily combined than labor, anc
especially this form of labor which is
50 evenly distributed, and can from its
very nature have no great centcrs.
These conditions are OF temporary but
permanent. The farmer need no: hope
ever to be able to cope successfully
with all the varied forms of combined
capital, not to find relief from them by
law. Ills only hope for larger profits
on the farm lies in his ability to make
lhe farm yield more in proportion for
what he spends for his product and
'h"n to sell mat product in the best
market he can find. In other words,
larger returns from the same cXpcndi-
lures will help the farmer and this
alone will.
The farmers expense account is
principally made up Of interest on the
original investment, fertilizers, farm
ing implements and labor. OF these
the most fixed in price and most varia-
bic in quality is labor. Some laborcrs
are the best investment at high prices.
Others are loss, however chcaply en-
ployed.
Labor affects the farm itself. ANY
farm can he improved OF injured by
POOR labor or good. The quality of
the labor affects the expense of the
farming implements. Improper use of
these results in breaking or damaging
them and rendering them useless.
Especially is this true of the more
costly labor-savlng machines. Also
good care of them when not in use will
prolonS their period Of service, while
uDsklful treatment will allow them to
be eaten up with rust and shorten their
term very decidedly.
But the most important thing to the
farmer is the product or the farm.
Labor affects this first in the proper or
improper preparation of the ground
for the seed in the careful or ncgli-
gent planting of the seed or setting of
slips in the skilful or unskilful plow-
ing or hoeing of the growing plant
in the frugal or wastcful harvesting of
the ma,urcd product in the attention
paid to il while awaiting the time for
the slle aud attractive or unatlracl-
i've way in which it is prepared for
market Thus at every day of its his
tory The product of the farm is inhu-
cnccd by the labor employed, and all
will agree thet it is better for the farm
er to pay good price for trained labor
than a smaller one for poorer quality.
The Southern farmers labor supply
is the colored population. That this
will be the case fer long time there
is little reason to doubt That this la
bor at present is very unsatisfactory all
farmers testify. TO improve the quail.
itY of this labor is u task TO which ev.
cry farmer IN the South should address
himself.
How may this be done?
AS for that great army OF laborers
in our Southern fields already, hardly
any answer can be returned. AS for
the future supply of laborers, the
question is more easily answered, viz:
give the young colorcd people tram
ing in agricultural and industrial
schools, and thus equip them fully to
do this better class of work. 1t is
good sign that at this time so much
attention is being paid to this kind of
education for colored people. Could
these schools be SO multiplied as to in
cludc much larger per cent of the
colored population in the circle of their
influence, the labor on our farms would
in two or three years begin to in..
prove. A school in which a young
man is taught how 10 farm sklfully !;
how to produce the most at the small.
est outlay how to utilize everything
about the place how to attain as
nearly as possible to that ideal Of farm
ing where all of the varied operations
complete. .one great circle where moth
ing is lost.-a school like this is loun-
tain of blessing TO both the farmer and
the laborel of this land. This kind of
school does not educate away from la
Dor, as so much Of the education gwen
TO the colored man has done, but edu-
Gates for labor, for any man loves to
do what he can do well, and what he
can command good wages IN doing.
The good results of these schools is
evident TO all who have any knowledge
of them. But they are as yet reach
ing such small proportion of the
colorcd population that their influence
is comparatively small. A large in
crease in tile number of IL csc schools
would g realty hasten the result of an
abundant supply of first-class labor for
the farm.
These schools are the least expcn-
sive of any form of training. They
can be made in large measure self-sup.
porting. since an individuals labor can
nearly always be made to defray his
necessary expenses. One competent
superintendeut. who can be had fOl c