The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-10-18
NEGRO LABOR IN GEORGIA.
That illustrate Zeal OF
some of the Black Men.
From the New York sun.

In a private car passing through West
ern Maryland on the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad the other day was a man who
owns the largest peach orchard In the
world. a Michigan man who has grown
I the best peaches IN the United States.
horticultural professor who gets his coat
or when he gets among the trees and
forgets all about his dignity and salary.
/ the editor Of an agricultural paper and
{ several railroad officials. The party had
! been looking az peach trees on the tops
I Of West Virginia mountains planted in
I place Of the forest. The man with che big
I orchard il a Connecticut Yankee who has
| been trying 20 cover up the state OF Geor-
I g.a with peach trees.
How did you do abous help down
/ SOUTH" asked the Michigan man.
Used the darkies-best people in the
world when you get EN- going properly.
/ l couldn't ask FOR better hands,
but you never employed them up
l North said the editor.
NO; we have Italians They do well. but
I am satisfied with the Georgia labor It's
all right Before l went South l heard
/ that niger and a mule can do more to
raise good corn than white man and
two horses. That's probably 50. but
there's an old darkey and a mule on my
/ place that ! will back against civil en-
/ gineer for doing things straight"
"Hows that?"
well. they saved me the cost Of hiring
/ a surveyor I'll tell you how IL was. My
I trees are set In blocks. Some Of che rows
them straight and engaged an
engineer at s. day and board.
/ Luckily. hired him by the day
1 and gave him a boy 10 carry the in
I struments. He began work on Monday
morning running his lines OF course,
the hands watched every move he made.
I one OF EN- was an old fellow We called
/ Henry Wilson. Henry had been ploughing
over some stubble field where a part OF
the trees were to be planted. That night
/ Henry came up 20 me and says 'Cap'n.
I how much do you pay dat man for lookin'
through cat syp glass and writin' In dat
book? They say he's akin places fer you
TO set out trees
I pay him s. a day. Henry. He's a
| surveyor TO make straight lines
| GIFTS all dat for jest maxim straight
lines Deed. Capn. seems 20 me It's
pow ful lot o. mo ney wasted Why. dat
ole white mule o mine can plough a fur
! row straight as he can do a.
I'm afraid not. Henry. says I. It
has 70 be a mile long.
Oats all pight can. Jest You let me
ard de mule try once and see IL we can't
Well he'd nearly finished the stubble
and so / told him he could start In the
next morning In another part OF the or
chard site from where the surveyor was
| working. About noon ! went over 20 see
how Henry was getting on and you may
not believe Il but he had actually plough
| ed "A furrow which did not seem TO be
a foot out OF the way TO my eye. We at
forwards measured with instruments and
found Il nearly straight That was all
the surveying / needed and al night paid
the engineer and let him go. l asked
I Henry how he did II. Easy nun i Jest
gifts de mule pointed de right way. Den
looks tween de mules ears and gifts a
point on some tree or house or shed Den
] tells de mule to go and We goes"
Il can vouch for the lines" put In the
| professor II have been in orchards all
| the way from Lake Ontario to Florida
aud never saw trees run in straightcr
rows. Why. the superintendent can
smoke his pipe on the veranda roof OF hts
house and see the hands cultivating At
the end Of the orchard between the rows
they are 50 even. But there's another
| thing about the place that's more surpris-
ing. Think Of picking and packing fruit
| 10 music"
Il suppose it's a sort OF music" said
| the peach man. rolling his toothpick in
his mouth. Il found when l started in
that when a darkey r. singing loudest he'll
| work the hardest. so l organized what
| We CALLED the Red Label Band. and dur
ing the harvest time Il plays in the pack
| ing house. The band contains a few
horns. one or two fddles. including what
4 country people call hull fiddle; a mouth
organ or 80. and sometimes a few other
Instruments You can hear II quite n dis
tance out in the orchard. and when Il
starts up a Jig you ought to see those
darkies hustle. They can't keep still, and
each tries TO get ahead Of the other.
/ They rattle the fruit into the packages,
nail EN- and cliuch EN- and rush EN- into
the cars as II they were getting double
wages for hurryiuF. I've got some boys
down there who I'll wager can nail
/ package faster than any other man or
hoy alive. I have one who nailed n box
l Ia nine seconds-more than a nail sec
ond what do YOU think Of that? Those
people love music. II they can't hear IL
from some one theyli make It as well
I they can. Why. I don't know but I get
I double the work out OF them when they
I hear the band than AZ other tmes-not
I tina, they are lazy for never paid wages
/ 20 n more faithful lot OF people. could
I tell another story on that which would
open You eyes. but don't want to talk
too much"
Go on. let's hear IT," said one OF the
railroad men.
zone season just before harvest was
/ sent for by my orchard superintendent in
I New England ! did not want to 20 and
as ] had no one 10 take charge al Fort
Valley while away and Il was a time
l when the trees needed close watching. but
I they wired me that / must come n only
| for a week We had a man who hed been
| on the place all his iife--was a slave OF
I the man from whom bought and he'd
I stuck to his Old master after he was free
I Sam johnson was a sort Of foreman AMI
I really understood the care Of trees about
as well as any negro ever Ind. The dav
went away / sent for Sam and Heary
Wilson. Boys says I, I've got 10 leave
I you a week or 80. and I want 10 know Il
I you viii look out for thirgs AMI keep the
hands working all RICH, while I'm away
7 It's a pretty big thing-ail these trees %
| look after do you think yeu cam
Don't you worry. Capn' snys sam
I Me and Henryil see TO everything ara
I keep dose niggers Eoin'. Jest you start
] ard don mind a HIT we'll feuA Ia