The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1903-03-25
STUDYING COTTON.
A German Lieutenant Sent Here by
the Berlin Komite.
HE ISPLEASED WITH TIE SOUTH
The Mexican H'eevi! is injurin9 the
Texas Crops Very Seriously,
Views OF the Negro La
hor Question.
HE IS PLEASED WITH TIE SOUTH

Lieut.. c. f. A. Wcydig, an officer
in ;hc German army and an official of
the Agricultural Komite of Berlin, is
registered at Wright'S hotel lie is
here for the purpose of Investigating
the cotton industry in this country
and comes with a strong letter IF re-
ference from the secretary OF agricul-
ture at Washington. commencing him
to the courtesy Of the planters and
manufacturers in the south.
Like many Of the officers in the Ger
man army Lieut.. Weydig is distin-
guished looking fellow, being more
than six feet in height and as straight
as an Indian. His life has been one
Of adventure and he seems to have
formed d passionate attachment Tor
southernerS. He intended to leave
the city yesterday, but was persuaded
not to Go so by the city editor OF The
State in order that he might visit the
Olympia mill. He isat present locat-
ed at SAM Bay, East Africa, and has
charge Of the experiments that the
German government is making IN that
country in cotton growing. For the
past five months Lieut.. Neydig has
been travelling in the south inreStlga-
ing cotton conditions, and the result
of these observations are more than
ordinarily interesting.
The SOUTH said the lieutenant,
need never have any fear that any
country in the world can grow cotton
that will IN any way hurt her inter
eSts. It is perhaps Supcrliuous for me
to say that her sea island cotton is
the finest in the world and she has
lands enough to grow millions ol more
bales when she has mastered the iab"r
question
Your lab)rer in Africa is nearly
all negroes, is it not?" was asked.
rs. NigserS, niggers: we have
them everywhere. l only wish we
could send you Il few million OF them.
The German government. as is well
known. has no such sentiment about
the negro as that which brought on
the war between the north and south.
In German East Africa there are some
5000, 900 negroes and about 900 white
men. The negroes are nevertheless
under absolute subsection and for the
smallest infraction Of the laws of the
colonies are most severely punished.
They are freemen by courtesy and are
paid small sums for their laborS, but 1t
is doubtful if any slave masters ever
handled negroes as do the German Of
icials. For all that it is exceedingly
difficult To make them work, and
Lieut.. Weydig said that the south
had his sympathy in its labor battles.
I have,;' said the lieutenant,
travelled more than 900 miles in
Africa without seeing q single white
man, and l know the niger.
The negro in South Africa would be
absolutely uncontrolling il it were not
for what is called by courtesy the
law. AS a. matter OF fact the law is
few Gatling guns that now and then
NOV them down like sheep il thev
don t make cotton.
But that is neither here nor there.
and it was not a matter that Lieut..
Weydig cared to discuss for obvious
reasons. He only smiled knowingly
when the subject was broached and
said that they were freemen, but
:twere made to work. TO the south
ern negro of today this will perhaps
be a novel idea of freedom. Lieut.
Weydig had recently visited Booker
Washington at Tuskeegee, and he
said he thought he was a fine man.
He did not explain why he visited the
negro educator and the writer did not
press the subject, but he gathered
that it was matter OF curiosity to
see an educated negro more than any
thing else, rs it has not been reported
that the German government proposes
to attempt to educate the millions OF
negroes she now has under her rule.
It is not that sort of Il government.
The German idea is that the negro
needs work
Lieut.. Wcydig was greatly inter-
ested in his recent visit to Texas.
The Mexican weevil is the most
serious thing that menaces the south, "
said the lieutenant. 1t is making
great inroads in Texas and it is only a
short time when it will work up in
Tennessee and in other parts OF the
south, | fear. The Texas State gov
ernment has already offered $4,000
for Il remedy for this evil, and l think
in time something will be found that
will do away with the pest. 1t is
certainly a very serious matter. In
the State of Texas alone l lind that
it caused Il loss of Sll 100000 last
year. II is a fine State and a great
pity that it should be handicapped BY
the pest. =
Mr.. w. B. Smith Whaley extended
the courtesieS Of the mammoth Olym-
pia mill Friday afternoon and great
was the admiration of the German Of
ticial, not only for the big Institution
itself but for the tireleSS energy which
has enabled Mr. Whaley to build l9
cotton mills, among them, this one,
the largest in the world-more than
the great German government has
even contemplated building:
Where is the largest cotton mill in
Germany" the lieutenant was asked.
In Salesia.'
What is its capacity"
Forty thousand spindlcs.
Mr.. Whaley modestly informed tie
German Official that the capacity Of
the Olympia was 100, 300 spindles now
and that he contemplated making it
just eight times as large as it was.
The latter was very quiet for the
next little while and when he and the
writer had parted from Mr.. Whaley
,1 jpI,,irnT1 yiniSly Wh3f