The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1903-12-12
FARMER AND PLANTER.
THE LABOR PROBLEM.
Conditions That Are Constantly Be-
coming of Greater Importance
to Southern Farmers.

4
There is now much agitation Of the
farm labor question.
For some reason or other there
seems to be fewer available laborers
for farm work than there were q few
years since. It is the universal cry
that there Is scarcity of help to cul-
tivate crops. This is not only true of
Georgia and other cotton states, but
is the condition in all sections.
There are two explanations that may
be offered that may help solve the diff
1culty. The first is that the scarcity
is more apparent than real There are
as many hands engaged in raising
crops now as there ever were. Indeed,
1t is not certain but that there are
more. There is fully rs per cent. more
crops grown now than ten years ago,
and this increase could not possibly be
produced by diminished supply of la
Dor.
With cotton selling at five cents, the
acreage Is somewhat reduced, and this
reduces the demand for laborers, but
with the price from eight to twelve
cents everybody wants to plant as
much cotton as possible, and majori-
ty really does plant more than they
have help to cultivate, trusting to get
day-help to pull them through, with
the result that everyone wants day
help at the same time, and all bidding
for what few hands are unemployed,
puts the price of labor out of proper
ton to the crops grown.
The second explanation may seem
paradoxical when it is stated that in
stead of being too few laborers there
are really too many. 1t is not a ques-
ton of whether there are enough Ia
borers to cultivate all the available
land, but whether the crops these la
borers can grow, will sell for remunera-
tive prices.
The average Georgia cotton laborer
now receives $132.72 as his annual
wages, while the average laborer in
Georgia manufacturing establishments
receives $685. Until the farm laborer's
wages is increased to level with his
brother in factory or shop, there will
be too many farm laborers. The land
owner can not afford to pay more with
present prices of farm crops. These
laborers only produce $202 worth of
crops, and as a matter of course their
wages should he in proportion. But
be encouraged to go into other work
until the amount of farm crops are re-
duced to the point where they will sell
for higher prices.
The percentage of the total popula-
ton engaged in farming in Georgia is
too large. There are too many pro-
ducers and too few consumers. Take
the state of Massachusetts, for COM
parison. Less than rs per cent. of her
total population is engaged in agricul-
ture, and the average wages paid farm
hands in that state is $355.6S. This
amount would be more, but crops pro-
duced in states where greater per-
centage Of population is engaged in
agriculture acts as hindrance
The proposition is being made now
to bring in Chinese laborers to COM
pete with our native laborer in the
production of cotton. These parties,
who are large landowners, propose to
ruin their neighbors who are de-
pendent on their own labor for liv-
ing, and for the education of their
children. One man says in the Atlanta
Constitution that he has made 300
bales of cotton this year, but he could
have made thousand more if he had
had the labor. He wants Chinese la
borers brought in, so that he can Gull
tivate all his land, and thus quadruple
his cotton crop. He seems to overlook
the fact that any considerable increase
in the cotton crop which would result
from the importation of Chinese Ia
Dor, would reduce the price Of cotton.
He sees ten and twelve cent cotton
with the race problem that we now
have, but wants to introduce another.
He does not care what becomes of the
future, for he says so, but is greedy
to pile up for himself now.
Another proposition is to adopt the
plantation system. This means that
we should have few large farms,
rather than many small ones.
1t is proposed to cultivate these
large farms by labor which can be bet
ter controlled, and which will be more
efficient. This system is virtually in
effect in portions of Oglethorpe and
other central Georgia counties at this
time.
It may be admitted that this system
has some advantages, but these are 50
overbalanced by disadvantages that
the system should not be thought of
for minute.
The south has made rapid strides
since the negro was freed and the
plantation system was broken up. 1t
would be a decided backward step to
check the present tendency towards
small farms-W. L. Williamson, in
Southern Cultivator.
.