The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-12

their pay rent and all when the cotton Is sold
The result Is that the negroes do not occupy
the old slave quarters. which IN many cases
have been allowed to 20 20 rain. but they build
Cabins for their tenants IN the cotton fields,
50 that the negro tenant live near to or
directly upon his field This Scatters the faml-
lies. which Is often A good thing. The negroes
vino work well and At all economical %
yCsy well. and the planter owner gets more
than he otherwise would. There are, howsEer-
many bad features The cabins provided are
not even good the old log quarters They
are built Of boards and about twelve hy
fifteen feet have no windows at n! in most 81
them, aud when there any, which = very
rare they have no glass in them. only blinds.
IN these little bare dwellings a whole family
viii be reared Sometimes two families. children
from infancy 10 maturity, grow mp there with
the grown people OF course, there can be no
privacy nor deCCncv OF living and tac morality
ni the family IS injured This must Jc changed
before the negro viii improve morally. / think
they do better almost than white people would
with the same surroundings Living isolated
there are many Of them that never 60 Ia church
OF have any religious teaching. Fortunately
the Southern negroes are naturally Of q religious
turn % mind. and where there Is church near
them some Of them 80. They send their children
TO school remarkably wei however, and. Of
course. they get some morality taught them, but
on the whole they not under good moral
teaching 2S they were IN slavery DAYS. Many Of
the parents have little or no control Of their
children even If they desire to have. and thu
boys especially VIII not work II they do work
their parents rarely pay them ANYTHING and Others
do they often leave home soon they
are big enough TO pick cotton and go where they
are rot under any restraint. They can i've on
so little and really need little, that a few
DAYS steady work viii provide them for some
time. and as often they do not Ike ia woES
they grow Up lOafcFs- 20 that even where there
large numbers OF idle men and boys, II =
impossible 90 get them To 20 TO WORK There
Is WHY OF forcing them TO work The
women do most of the field work. especially III
the hoeine and picking seasons There viii have
10 be a WAY found to compel these idle men 70
work by some law Things can't 90 on this
way many years. These field homes have seldom
any gardens or any pleasant surroundings. and
50 love af home Is not +cstercd. Their landlords
often cheat them IN all manner Of ways and
Try to bring them IN debt, but notwithstanding
all these drawbacks. il Tact that the negroes
are getting into better shape financially Many
nov own their mules and implements and have
70 have less and less advanced them They VIII
soon bIIy land or course. they are the exception
vet If they all treated honestly they would
gain faster In every where they do get
ahead. you see II ,hciY surroundings. 4
better house with two more rooms, garden
patch and few flowers This shows that II
allowed they viii redeem themselves. These
little cabins are going up through this STATE
by hundreds. l counted fity-three cabins
IN fields between here and Selma today either
completed building. The young colored
women 70 sDeI.2 all the money they have
on gaUdy dresses, nat, etc Their WAYS Of get
ting money honest" are Jew and their morals
are bad, and IN trls . the great curse of former
slavery NANTES and II il greater curse 20
the whites than TO the negroes This only
be changed by giving them a chance 20 make a
real home and the whites have got 10 help
the white people generally do rot as Yet com
IJrelend the question. Sci aspect must be IN
cuIcated. and that can on be done IN decent
surroundings