The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-09-28
The 1,bor Question Again

The labor Question Again.
The Widespread interest manifested
in the southern labor problem, as
! shown by the comment OF the newspa-
pers of :he country and by the COM
| munications which have from time to
! time appeared Ia these columns, is
| certainly full and sufficient warrant
for devoiing 50 much OF The Constitu-
tons space to the subject. The facts
going to show scarcity of farm labor
in this and other states of the south,
the various remedies that have been
ggested-embracing as they Go the
bringing in of European and even Chi
nese immigrants-and the strong ar
gument Of Professor Philips in his
two papers fay oring a return to the
plantation system have called forth a
great deal of comment.
In another column Of todays issue
there appears letter from practical
dairy man of Harmony Grove, who
takes issue with Professor Philips
and gives at some length the reasons
for the faith that is in him. In Sun
days Constitution Mr.. Sanders. Of Pen
field and Mr. Adams. of Jacksonville,
Tex. give their Endorsement to the
principles underlying the argument Of
Professor Philips.
Mr.. Adams believes there are obsta-
cles. almost ;nsurmountahlc, in the
way Of the general adoption Of this
method Opposition. he contends, will
90 Ia To- nov nF
our population whose livelihood ,meS
from trading and trafficking with the
small fry" and he sees no relief until
a successful mechanical cotton picker
is invented. AS for immigration, he
thinks no large proportion of white
immigrants would long remain on the
farms, certainly not as Wage-earners.
Mr. Sanders, on the other hand, CON
tends that if the owners of cotton
lands adopt the wage system instead
Of the tenant and cropping system
the result would be generally benefi-
Cial. This. as We understand it. is one
Of The things for which Professor Phil
ippS has been cOntenGing.
The letter Of Mr. Williamson. pub
lished today. takes the othe.' side Of
the question. He seems t. think that
the small farm system is better for
the development Of the state than any
thing like the plantation system, and
ne contends that "practica, serfdom"
would result from the adoption of the
plans set forth by both Professor Phil
ipps and "a Georgia Farmer" who has
had q good deal to say about the value
OF Chinese as labCrers. This may in
a sense be true Of the suggestion of
the gentleman from Houston county,
though the experience of Hawaii is
that the Chinese who are there as con-
tract laEorers upon the grea. sugar
plantations are so much better off
than they have ever been, or ever can
be. in their own country that there is
not much occasion to sned tears over
them. With regard to the argument
of Professor Philips, however. the
charge OF return to serfdOm" Ger
tainly cannot possibly apply. Profess
sor Phillips has made it clear that the
use of the term plantation system
does not in the least imply anything
like slavery. This is a mistake made
by those VINO seem to believe there
could be no plantation system with
free labor. When he argues tor the
adoption of modern business in the
cultivation of The staple crops of the
south, he means ,he substitution of
wage system for the tenant and crop
ping system now so generally in vogue
and which he believes. studying the
question from a broad economic stand
point, is needlessly wasteful. And he
believes in cotton farming on large
scale
For Mr.. Williamson to say that "a
Georgia Farmer has no right to have
more land than he can iinl labor to
cultivate seems to us begging the ques
ton involved in this controversy. The
land is there and ought to be cultivated
The owner of the land is anxious to
have 1t cultivated: he says he has the
money to pay fair wages, but cannot
get the labor. To ho.d tat it is In the
interest Of farm labor that there
should be less of it so that wages may
be highe~ will strike goa many peo-
pie as some.Llng like reductio al al
surdam when the great money crop
course true that better wages can be
had in the mills and factories than on
the farms, which explains the present
trouble in getting the adequa'n supply
of labor to make the staple crops
about which there is no little COM
plaint: it is to find way to fill the
gaps, and al the same time to put
plantation expenses at the minimum
so the margin Of profit may be the
largest POSSIBLE that Professor Phil
lips. "a Georgia Farmer" and others
are seeking.
Mr.. Williamson writes from the
standpoint of dairy farmer. The 9th
er gentlemen have been writing with
reference to cotton and the other sta
pie crops, cotton especially, as they
are produced on the larger scale of the
present plantations CT farms.
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