The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-08

expenditure The planter suffered q good deal
from noblease Oblig-. Ills forefathefs had lvtd
II such AND such s'a A." h nad aon os s such and and suehh
depuhdantS and he thought II necessary 10 the
credit Of the family that he should 90 hA'Nihe.
How heavy, ny load OF noblcsSe o6llRe mas ~
which forms n part u the court records IN every
county blow the Mason aud Dixon line
i rs no. generally nndrfs,o1d Of; "a al I Isai,;
that though the result u the war deprived NE
Southern planter Of his chattel interest IN ms
slaves. II did not deprive him 81 Tie burden oI
them. He did not own them any more. but theif
labor wa, vitality necessary Ia The ullagt ol MS
lands, be- had to pay them wages he had 10 house
them aud he had 10 feed them. OF 10 see that theys
got food These things cost money lie had
no money, but, In spite Of everything, money
mus, be forthcoming. So he borrowed OF the
commission merchant and the mortgage was
Practically the mental attitude Of the planter
toward his former slaves, aud the children oi 'hnse
slaves, IN unchanged today; lie does NOT pay
taxes on them. II one Of them Il executed i4t
murder, he IL not entitled 10 recover one hall hls
value from the State. He. regards Them sun
~ dependents. however Mot often he names
arbiter and Judge In their disputes ~ they are
rick he z vrs them medicine, ard his wife and
daughters nurse them II tho battle with death pc
q hard one Each Christmas morning a. w
the old time, they como up 10 the big h9usr,
dressed In their best, To yell Christmas CIR ana
get their presents. II one Of them wishes cave
4 Of hDS"nct ITDm inc Uldltilhlu, HV ~
ques, it az deferentiaily and hopefully ~ In The
days before the wal. II refused, he returns quiet
ly TO hts labor. muttering a little and rolllng ms
eyes viciously toward any other "fiel nlsser
who may b. laughing at him
II IL not by any means an inireQuent siRht
In 1900 70 see a planter IN the hsld on h9t'epaSs
are ,oiline. He Is overseeing" them, Just as IN
1850 his fathers " rseer ovtrsaw Them one
OF the negroes, a bury buck, weighing 200 POUNDS
Of bone and muscle, will b" lazy ne ~in iaG
| habtnh hla com, M nInna aud tuIn n deal ear 10
aIjuraions Then will ihe platter swing him
self from the saddle, throw ,he reins oyer ms
horses heal take a whip of rawhid, in his night
hand and belabor the recaictrant hooman night
heartily, When he thinks that enough PUNISH
ment has been administered. he gets back on rs
horse and the negro resumes work with a no'aole
accelerau0n of speed lie may dance atnut ana
yell while the lash is applied but he WI never
think II resisting lie will lower his bull head
and butt the soul out Of any companion who pre-.
sumes 10 taunt him with his cha ,tlSenent' Du'
tow ard the planter he has the attitude OF a re,
pentant child which knows that u has deserved
correction Indeed, grisly legends to The con
iecuonable feature Of slavery. An excess OF II
was The negro, a. a chaltel, was
much too valuable all animal TO be injured cauSe-
lessly. Stories VI whippings excelling the bas-
tinalo in brutality and equalling the Siberian
knout were almost always baseless, Just as were
the stories Of negro slaves being hitched ~ ploughs
and forced 10 at a. beasts Of draughL
Ii stood W Reason that no sane man woulI EN-
plOy 81, 900 worth Of negro ~ do the work oil S-oo
worth Of mule, and II stood TO reason that a sane
man would not seriously iniure, nor permit 70
cold cash AZ IL stood.
The negro Of the Louisiana fields, Of nnmiSed
blood and uRedHcaied' oilers u rHaieshliiISd i r3th
a child's primal instincts, u child's caPahiity
ot affection and loyalty, a child's love of praise
and pretty things, ,s Ssiis 'ne Wfnn h. is se eiss.
tised as n child he 90 rrles no more recruitment
than a child. always, surpTles a northern
man, with the ideas uf the schools, 10 be Told,
as he often Is, that there is no sdch thing in the
South as "A race problem rs that phrase Il IN
dcrstood where II originated. Tina, Is, there ~
no such n thing rs a problem comprising Tie SUB
races in amity, the M lection u whites. from over
numbering blacks, the settlement Of political cues
his iorTer owner lie i, liked, and tie many
capacities for good in him are recognized tl!or,
ouglly, There Is affection Of a genuine KIND
on both sides; The races, coneideTlhS, thelr
~lyncling here or threat Of a black uprising
there are merely sporadic ard not iomnaian.e
Of the North. The whites, even in the most
densely shaded parts Of the black belt are not
in need Of any protection, The Anglo Ssxpn
otter races, even when numerically much in
ferior, and the whites If lhe south N Thule are
straight Anglo-SaN"u ~ Scu,chlri'h. IN readl
ness and ability TO dominate other peopleS lhere
Is little difference IL the breeds. Political queN
tons have been seeded 10y separating the negro
from all hope Of State. county or municipal office,
Barred from offca. cnu!ument and what Is
dearcr to him still o.icial importance. the plan
tafion negro does not care one am ioT al We
politics between The Fad cities ard Lake ltasca.
There are two forms Of race rr"tlems In NE
South and only two, One t. what to do with
the negro, how to keen him steadily emrloYed'
how 10 guarantee to him existence in exchange
Tor lis work: how to educate hin. IN 80 far as
he is tOmpelent Ia receive education, how to pTp.
duce In him a due moral ;onsc how TO- maAc VI
him an industrious, ana suber rlllen. ne other
Is a speculative problem and II concerns NE uiu
mate fate Of the negro whether he viii I've de
ported en- masec. which no one here wants, or
believes: whether he will be eventually absorbed
into ,he white tide around him, which every ore
here recognizes as a manifest Gb.urdIgyi whether
he will continue 10 live for hundred. Of NrrfS
under present conditions, which Is not POS ihlc;
whether, because Of har! fo,d and lack OF santa
ton, he will die under The pressure Of the ,auCa.
sian, a. tie Indian has died, or Whether he vii
gradually separate himself from the land of his
Birth and bc,ake himself 10 other lands, to our
new possessions IN the tropical regions OF the
other side Of the world, or 10 The West Indies or
1t is the settled belief Of men who have spcnt
their lives in this region that the South is the
next objective Of the tmig rating hordcs OF Europe.
The 'orth, tn" >~urtheaNt, the ~orthwest are As
Of tho far West susceptible 10 farming the best
lands have, been pre- empted,, To the South tlcTs
people, boiled over the nm IT the continental cal.
dron, will naturally, nlN. Rich lands thinly
settled and an equablc climate with twelve work
ing months in the year are the estimated at
fractions.
1t is believed by Southerners. too. that the final
disposition 81 the negro will be- brought about
by These future Inning rant. When they arrive
he will he placed in Omp titinu with that thing
Of which he has been hitherto monOpulist namely,
labor. lie will BE- Brought into CONT, ttion with
n more Intelligent and more thorough labor than
his own. lie viii b. batting with a whit people
who have fared hard conditions OF existence,
with a g~rasping grinding. SAVING fecund rrupls
who have no understanding OF his happy go
lucky philosophy and no sympathy with his
desire 10 play the banjo when he ought TO by work
lug his crop.
The end Of this competition, from the view
point ~ the SOutherner, Is not difficult To See.
The negro may help himself By emigration, or
he may b. helped nationally to cmisratr, but it
Is not thought that he eau DO mad" 10 develop
qualities which h. hasn't got, qualities which
will be patamOuntly i'm IOrtant 10 his success
in so long and bitter a contest. As the white
peonls Of the Pacific slope wer' Threatened with
restitution from Oh. cheaper and more patient
labor Of the Chinese, 50 the Southern nsgr ~ Is
threatened by a stronger and NOR patient labor
from Europe, Ii is pointed out that but for the
Chinese exclusion act th" negro would have been
In bad case now So far a. Louisiana IL con
cerned, for when that act was passed cooli' labor
had been imported 10 several huge plantations
and had given notable satisfaction. The l5el-
gian, a. t~ypifyiug the European man with the
hoe, is the ogre whose shadow falls across the
path Of the American-bOrn black.
TestIng Rutter nv photOpruuhy.