The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-08-31
ECONOMICS OF PLANTA TON.
Bv urich Phillips in History the Univ
Of

since the end Of the civil war there
has been In the south tendency toward
the multiplication Of small holdings OF
land, which has been thought to promise
the disappearance Of all the plantations.
But q more careful study If the general
problem will show that the tendencies
IN the unsettled periods Of reconstruc-
ton and later were probably OF tempo
rary character, and that something ike
the old plantation will be established as
the predominant type Of agricultural or
ganization in the south for the future.
The plantation was evolved in early
colonial Virginia as the most efficient
system for growing tobacco. That was
before African slaves were imported i'll
any appreciable numbers. The negroes
were soon found to fit in admirably with
the plantation ARRANGEMENTS. similar
system was established in the Carolina
districts producing rice and indigo. aud
I'm the sugar cane fields of Louisiana.
Finally the invention Of the cotton gin
and the extension of cotton culture into
the uplands carried the plantation into
the whole of the staple producing south.
Wherever the land was adapted to to-
baEco, rice, indigo, sugar or cotton. the
plantation wo nthe victory over the small
farm. 1t was the survival of the fittest.
The involuntary servitude of the laborers
was merely an incident. There is no es-
sential reason why the freedom of the
slaves should destroy the plantations.
Conditions of the Problem.
The conditions of the problem in south
ern agriculture were and remain as fol-
ne In nd
crops. with uncertain money returns. B.
Ignorant and unenterprising labor, and
T. A large number OF efficient managers
of agricultural labor. who are usually
also the owners Of the soil and of such
capital as exists. The problem is how
to organize this labor under the existing
conditions to secure the best returns
In former times the plantation system
was developed as the most efficient Tor
the purpose and today it is not at all
clear that the usefulness of that system
has departed.
The plantation system was the appllca-
ton of manufacturing or capitaiistic
methods to agricultural industry. He
owned the land, he planned the work of
the year and he saw to it that the WORK
was done. His problem was to lay out
the fields for the best return, to Keep
his laborers proftably at work in all sea
sons, to guard against the oVerWorking
of his laborers or his mules, and to watch
receipts and expenditures with an eye
for economy If the planter failed in any
of these requirements. he lost his wages
of superintendence. If he allowed eX-
penditures TO exceed receipts, he lost first
his profits, then his rent and finally his
capital BY overworking his land. his
n llho a
he might secure greater return for one
year. but was sure to be the loser in the
long run.
In a normal period a small farm could
not compete with a we'll managed plan
tation in the production of the staples
4 man who is able to manage a small
farm to advantage is usually able 10
superintend the labor of others in his line
of work. Wages of efficient superintend-
ence are always much higher than the
wages Of mere labor. The tendency.
then, in the staple regions where add
tional labor was to be had, was for the
successful farmer to establish himself as
a planter When an independent artisan
becomes a foreman in factory or ad-
vances further TO the ownership and SUI
perintendence of mill. he does no
wrong to the other artisans or to the
factory operatives. BY ms tHlClelll WORN
on the large scale he serves the whole
world better than before. The advance
of a plowman into efficient plantation
management and ownership causes Il net
increase in prduction with a lowering
cost, and usually also means a better
ment for the laborers under him.
No Hardship for the Negro.
The plantation system in the south can
ne no hardship for the negro. If his
wages are low and the wages of super
intendence high, it is because the laborer
is careless and slovenly and the risk
of loss is great The capable mulatto,
and even the exceptional negro under
present conditions, may hope to advance
bv thrift from the status Of a hired pioW-
man or an independent farmer to become
an overseer OF the owner and a mana
ger OF a plantation.
In the reconstruction period there was
a complete upheaval in the system of
southern industry With the manager
dead in battle. with labor disorganized,
and with capital vanished from the land,
some new arrangement had to be de-
vised. As a rule the negroes became
tenants. either on the basis of giving a
share of the crop for the use of the land