Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-09-02
WHAT THIS STATE NEEDS.
Strong, God.fearlug Men from the North Of
Scotland.

A. j. Matheson, of Bennettsville
Possibly there is not citizen of
this State engaged in agriculture
certainly not thinking one-who
has not given the matter of labor
considerable thought.
What with the emigration to the
lumber mills and turpentine farms
of Georgia and Florida and the in
efficiency and indisposition to work
of the growing generation of ne
groes, the problem of field labor is
one of pressing moment-one that
must be met, and, if possible, solved.
am not one of those who regard
the building of factories as an all
unmixed good. Unquc stionably the
mills have drawn and are drawing
from the country large proportion
of the yeomanry of the land-the
hardy sons of toil-and are leaving
it and its health giving occupations
to the negro.
Instead of remaining upon and
tilling our fair fields, drinking the
pure air of heaven and following
those occupations conducive to the
highest moral as well as the physi-
cal development, they congregate in
close factory villages and breathe
only putrid air of crowded houses
filled with machinery. Who that
has seen the inert, pale and dwarfed
factory child but must wonder of
what class will be the generation
three or four removed from the pres
ent
1t must be admitted, too, that the
negro is fast deteriorating in point
of efficiency, to say nothing of his
morals and responsibility. The
"old-time darkey" is dying out and
the younger generation q speak in
all kindness, for have nothing but
good will towards the negro,) shows
no disposition to improve himself.
With due Difference to Booker
Washington and his crusade for the
"Yankee dollar" venture the as
sertion, and such is my information,
that not 10 per cent of the graduates
in the several departments of
manual labor of Tuskegee Industrial
College follow their several trades
after leaving the college grounds.
What, under these circumstances,
shall we do? Abandon our lands,
withdraw our families to the towns
and forsake this, the first as we'll as
highest, noblest and most important
of all occupations Teach our chill
dren other pursuits and make of
them poor preachers, shyster law
yers, quack doctors or precarious
merchants?
While not great admircr of Mr..
Bryan in some of his ideas and falla-
cies, yet there was never a truer ut
terance than when he said, "Burn
down your cities and leave our
farms and your cities will spring up
again as if by magic; but destroy
our farms, and the grass will grow
in the streets of every city in the
country"
Being largely engaged and inter
ested in farming, | have given this
matter considerable thought and be-
lieve that by concert Of action and
the expenditure Of few dollars,
which will in a short while return ten
fold or more, a scheme can be
adopted which will procure many, if
not as many as we need, of the best
agricultural laborers in the world.
Though not "native and to the
manner born" of Scotland, am but
one generation removed, and l have
visited the old country several times,
besides keeping up communication
with several persons there. The
north of that
Gland of the brown heather and shaggy
wood,
Land of the mountain and the food"
is densely populated with class of
people, the finest specimens of man
hood and womanhood / ever saw.
The country is rugged and infertile,
and hence the people as class, are
very poor. Who has read Ian Nc
Laren's inimitable stories but has in
his minds eye picture Of these beo-
pie, poor but proud of their blood
and descent; honest from principle,
not from policy; intensely patriotic,
yet cosmopolitan in the idears re-
ligious, but not fanatic industrious,
frugal and as fine laborcrs as the
world can produce?
Many of these people wish to
emigrate and would, did they have
the means and at times the bare
necessaries of life are so difficult to
obtain that the public authorities
encourage emigration. America is
the land of promise and of plenty to
these hard working people, but here
tofore the colonies of Great Britain
especially Canada and Australia
have received a majority, owing to
the aid given by those colonies and
the effort made to direct emigration