The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-04-15

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I fact. ring word Its dependency upon
the cotton growing states Of this
country, accentuating the acuteness
ssof atsituation already seen and realiz-
Z ed. The farmers Jared well and they
have profiited. Now they realize
their power and their opportunity,
but they find themselves without the
necessary labor, and intelligent labor
they must have. They consequently
want something and want it quickly.
Another phase OF this situation is
the negro question. Our farmers have
always had plenty Of negro labor on
their places. Today they are crying
for labor with which to work their
: crops. Having lost the white tenant
farmer for the reasons assigned, they
have suffered the additional partial
loss of the negro farm laborer. This is
due to the fact that the negro'S ten
J dency, In our State at least, in the
! last few years has been, first, to seek
the larger centres OF population and
commerce. In the cities he finds him
SSSSelf poorly clad, irrcgularly and i'll fed
and a natural victim Of immortality
the consequent sufferer from disease,
which Hend to balance the death and
birth Yate. Again, his tendency is to
seek, railroad construction camps and
to moSe north and east. The exempli-
ticationl of this can be most strikingly
found lip Washington and Baltimore,
and evefS here in New York, the in
crease in Ehe negro population in the
two first $name cities having been
reached in the last two or three years.
All Of th;!se things have combined,
together with the appearance of the
boil weevill in Texas, to awaken the
agricultural interests of the South to IL
realization of she fact that something
must be done. The great need is white
settlers from this country and abroad.
My State has seen the situation, and
that is why l am here. Our farmers
know that the boil weevil, unless an
insect to destroy him is discovered is
likely to cross the Mississippi at any
moment and do what Sully had done
this year, with t1e additional feature
that the effect op prices will be per-
manent. They kno% that if the wecvil
does come prices wilt remain high, and
that the danger of the pest is an ele-
ment in the situation They realize
that they want diversified and intcn
sified farming, and, knowing this,
they have succeeded lin establishing,
near the heart Of the Stale, diverSili-
cation farm No. l. 10y the federal gov
ernmanb, under the boil weevl appro-
priatiOn.
Further, knowing the need of in
tclligent labor, the State has estab-
lished its departments OF agriculture,
commerce and immigration, at the
head Of which ! have bgen placed for
four years, with the view of inducing
desirable Investments and settlers
from north European and American
points to come to South Carolina-the
real garden spot of tbG world, possess
Ing soil and climate pEoducing some
crop the year round. we have thous-
ands of acres of land lying idle at this
time, and it is the province Of the
new department. to bring Gabout their
development. a
The department has beEen fashion
ed upon the best features tof national
and State departments Of pikc nature,
and the scope is for0ad enough to admit
OF It's handling Sany conditions that
may arise atfectinfg industrial develop
ment.
II am here noyy to set the ball in
motion toward g&:tting that which we
so greatly needS Intelligent white
labor of Saxon origin. The work, So
lar Is OF constructfSKe character, but
l trust 1T will be proliTfc of genuine
results. am dealing w,F'thall having