The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-04
THE NEGRO IN THE SOUTH.
The Kind of Encouragement the Black
Man Needs There.

j. NJ. f. Erwin, in the Outlook
Most Northern men who have invested
in Southern plantations have lost money
few years ago Mr.. Austin Corbin, of
New York, and his associates bought
Sunnyside, a plantation on the Mississippi
river, in Arkansas. They determined to
have the finest cotton plantation in the
United States, and probably did have
before they got through. But their cotton
was like Horace Greeley's potatoes. MIR.
Greeley said he raised mighty fine pota-
toes his farm, but they cost about
dollar apiece Mr.. Corbin's people built
a plantation railroad fourteen miles long,
at a cost of 5000 per mile, equipped it
with two locomotives, and then discovered
that one mule on a cheap tram could
pull everything they had to haul They
thought Italians would be better than
negroes to raise cotton, so they imported
about LOO Italians, and got rid of
good set of negroes to make room for the
Italians. Most of the Italians had never
seen a cotton plant or a mule. There
was trouble with the mule. They got rid
of the negro but kept the mule for the
Italian to manage. In two or three years
most of the Italians were sent home to
Italy at the expense of the company, and
they tried to get the negroes back.
Millions of acres of fertile wild alluvial
a few dollars an acre When in cultiva-
ton, government statistics show that the
money yield per acre from these lands is
greater than that from any other lands in
the United States on a staple crop.
The negro can put these lands into Gull
tvation at less cost than any one else.
His health is good where the white man
would die or be unfit for work most of the
time II necessary. he can live without dis
comfort four pounds of bacon and one
peck of corn meal per week. In clearing
ha iS He 70 yyr1
and burns the growth under six inches in
diameter, cuts a ring around the larger
trees with his ak, and lets them die, rot
and fall The first year he plants his
crop in practically a forest. Every year
after harvest, in his leisure time, he piles
and burns the fallen trees. and sets fire
to the stumps; the decayed part will burn.
In a few years his land is in high state
of cultivation. and nature has done large
share of the work
This looks shiftlesS 10 the Northern white
man. He is a revolutionst. He cuts down
and rolls off those big green trees, yanks
out the stumps, spends about four times as
much money as is necessary, gets malaria:
and moves back North, convinced that
Southern lands are a poor investment The
negro knows he can raise just as much
cotton as his Northern white neighbor by
letting the stumps alone and using a little
more land: where land is so cheap this is
a small item.
Legislation has not supplied. cannot sup
ply. the great need OF the mass OF negroes.
Legislation made the negro citizen in
law but did IL make him a citizen in fact ,
Legislation gave him a legal right 10 vote.
but did il make him a voter In fact2 En-
force the law" you say. How? There was
a time when troops and United States mar
shals were all over the South for this pur-
pose. l can tell you OF an instance where
United States troops were at the door, a
United States marshal was in the room,
and the ballot box was stuffed. The man
who did the stuffing was engaged most OF
the time in pleasant conversation with the
marshal. The marshal was conscientiously
striving to do his whole duty.
Again quoting Uncle Zeke. II amt 'cidin
nuthin.'' / am only stating a few facts