St. Tammany farmer., 1905-12-09
FARMER AND PLANTER.
SOUTHERN LABOR.
IN Ever-Present Problem For
Which Various Solutions
Are Being offered.

Are Being Onered.
It is G significant circumstance that
leading southern newspapers have COM
menced to argue the desirability of
Chinese and Japanese immigration for
the southern ctates. The Charlotte OBJ
server says it is ready to commit itself
to the advocacy of such immigration.
1T if be true" it says, ''that the south
needs more labor-and everybody says
It does-what foreign labor half so
good as that it could secure from the
orient, except for this exclusion law?
We would chance it ten to one in
preference to that we might secure
from Europe"
The Charleston News and Courier,
while not ready to commit itself to
orienetal immigration, is heartily in
favor of better treatment Of the Chi
nese, recognizing a possible state Of
affairs in the future that might rem
der Chinese labor quite desirable in the
south. Other southern newspapers
consider the subject worthy of the
most serious consideration.
That the south has a labor problem
on its hands, none can deny. Unless
Cur great cotton industry is to suffer
greatly, the time is not far distant when
the labor question will have to be set
tied. It is clear that there is possible
trend of both whites and negroes from
the farms. The negroes, for one rea-
son or another, are, however, leaving
the farms in great volume. Already
it is difficult to obtain cotton pickers
in Texas. and 1t has come to the point
where the negroes have little to do
with the cotton except pick it. The
planting and working is done now al
most entirely by the whites. Similar
conditions prevail in some of the other
Gotten growing states, and in the black
belts of Mississippi and Alabama, large
planters are beginning to secure Eu-
ropean labor to take the places of the
negroes.
There is no way to compel the ne
groes to- remain on the farms, and if
they prefer to leave, which is their
right, other labor will have to be Sc
cured to take their places The negroes
are not being forced away. They are
simply getting tired of hard work and
prefer the ease incident to living by
their wits. When they leave the farms,
however, they are surely cutting the
ground from under their feet.
The cotton industry is going to be
maintained in the south It is in the
beginning of its development In a
few years the world will demand 25,-
100000 bales, and before the century
is half gone, probably 5O,OO0,0OO bales
will be necessary. Tho south is going
to supply the demand, however great
it may become, and this means that
the south is merely in the beginning
of it's labor problem. This labor will
have to come from southern Europe or
from China or Japan. There is no
doubt about that, and as matters look
now the orient seems to be the surest
source of supply.
The anti Chinese sentiment on the
Pacific coast will be strong enough to
keep the orientals out for awhile, but
there need be no fear that when the
choice is between admitting the ORR
entails or sacrificing our cotton, the
voice of the nation will be for the ad-
mission of the orientals.
Is 1t not strange that in the begin
ming Of the labor problem there should
he protests against showing the negro
out Of his rigatful employment. The
fact is, however, the negro is show |
ing himself out. If he is to continue |
his p:imacy in the labor establishment
Of the south, there will have to be a
great change in present conditions. The |
outgoing negro tide will have to set |
in toward the cotton fields again, and |
The change can not come too soon to
save the situation for the negro. Men
may say the negro will always be with
Us. and will always constitute our
principal labor in the south, but the
assertion is puerile in the presence of
the concrete fact that the negro is
farm labor in all parts
# the south, and the planters are pow
ar1ess to keep him at work.
The Post prefers that the first ex-
perinen with foreign labor for the
southern farms be made with Euro
oean labor. If we can not induce the
Europeans to come in sufficient num-
,ers, We may eventually be driven to
he Chinese labor market.
Wien Europeans or orientals take
he places of the millions of southern
legrces, what is to become Of the lat
er? That is another question. For
he present 1t need only be said that
he south will have her cotton industry.
Farmer.