The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-12
NOT ENTIRELY FAm.

Mrs. Rebecca Harding Davis, who is a native of Virginia, but has for number of years been a resident of Philadelphia, thus writes on a question of which she has seen both sides. in letter to The New York Independent:
 These sentimental objections to "the provincialism of the South fade into nothingness in the face of the great fact that the negro to live must find work, and that his old masters will give him work, and his new friends in the North will not. The trades unions here shut him out. But there Is not town In the South today where black mason or carpenter or blacksmith cannot find work and wages. The real difficulty there in his way is that. as a rule, he will not work steadily Every capitalist who has operated in the Southern States will tell the same story of the negroes who would work for a week, and as soon as they were paid would Hay off to rest up'' for fort. night. It is this unconquerable habit Of the negroworkman that has closed fac tories and phosphate works from Caro- lima to the gulf.
 On the other hand, you will scarcely find a town or village in the South that has not its industrious, shrewd. success full negro-a mechanic, a trader; an em- ployer of other men. seif-respecting and respected by his white neighbors.
 It is worthy of note that all unpreju- diced observers who have had opportunity to acquaint themselves with the environ ments of the negro. North and South, all take the same view. To all of them is borne the truth that in the South the ne- gro is given opportunity to work for his living. with no social equality. while up North he received a semblance of social recognition. but is practically barred out from chance to do honest work and live an honest life.
 Mrs. Davis, however, somewhat over- states the case when she practically as- serts that the negro, by which she evil dently means all of them. twill not work steadily" So far as that applies at all, it is only true, we suspect. of the negroes employed in factories. mills and other indoor labor which requires constant con- finement and application. The negro, as a race, is averse to confinement He likes outdoor work, where he can get plenty of air and sunshine, and, above all, where he can see and hear what is going on. Put a negro to work in a factory, where he can see nothing from morning till night but his fellow-toilers, where he has no chance to gossip and exchange jokes, and where he hears nothing but the hum of the machinery and the orders of his employers, and that negro. in at least seven out of ten cases. will be restless and dissatisfied, and will get out of 1t as soon as possible.
 The average negro wants to be out in the open. He wants to see what is going on and be at liberty to talk and joke with others of his race. Thus situated, he is not so unreliable as some would make him out. In Montgomery there are many negro mechanics. porters. draymen and other workers who are far from quitting their work at the end of week and lay ing off to rest a fortnight. As a class they are not as reliable as white mechan' ics, but they work fairly well. and, unlike | their brethren in the North. they always have the opportunity.