The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-07-05
MAKE SATISFACTORY woRkMEN.
sti THE souTH-coNTENT
WITH LOW WAGES.
LIVING EXPENSES ARE NOT HIGH
IN THE SOUTH AND THERE
ARE NO UNIONS TO MAKE
DEMANDS.

I
DEMANDS.
Occasionally correspondent
writes to ask me II there is a chance
for employment In the South. s.i
The chances are few. The negro
has affected the conditions, and 1t Is
hard TO see that they win ever be
suuch different Sometimes you will
he told that colored labor Is nnsatis.
factory. Let me say that nothing
lasts for three hhndrd years II it ii
mot good. Negro slavery commenced
in The colonies almost that long ago
To-day in the Southern States are al.
most eight million negroes. OF these
MI nut the small children and the very
old are workers. Boys and girls be.
GIN TO work early: and they work un.
I'll they are SO old that they can do
nothing that will bring a return. They
work long hours, and have few holi-
days, as compared with the holidays
Of the workers Of the North. The col.
cred field hand arrives at 4 o'clock in
tlIe morning and stays until 6 at night.
Tint is the regular day. II sweet 20.
tatoes are to set out, or cowpea hay
70 get IN, or any emergency demands.
there is no time limit to the day.
There are no unions to demand any.
thing.
For nearly three centuries the ne.
gro has been the toiler of the Southern
states. AS the FACE increases in mum.
beers, more mouths to feed will re.
quirs that more hands viii be en-
pioyed. II is apparen. that the negro
VIII continue to be the man who en-.
gages the heavy tasks Of the South.
It cannot be said that he is more in
efficient than any other laborer of the
Fzrle class. Some of the younger
ones lack thoroughness Of training.
but that will be remedied by the in.
dustrial schools that are multiplying
nn the South. The negro understands
that technical training makes him
command better wages. The white
man realizes that the trained worker
Is Of mere use thantEe unframed one.
A community Of interest win compel
The training of the worker because it
pays. The negro Of tomorrow will
therefore be more satisfactory work.
CT thar the one of today. 81
Wages are low In the South for sew.
oral reasons. The climate is SO mild
that the cost Of living is less than in
the North. Tie clothing required
costs much Tess, the fuel item is small.
the house that is suitable in the South
xmlial he impossible at the North.
Fond s more easily obtained South
timn North The COW, the. chickens
and the pig can provide for themselves
nearly the whole year. A garden will
DO the rest and the garden is won
aerful success In the South. 1t Is do.
ing something at least ten or eleven
mnnths Of the year Where all the
expenses OF living are less than at the
North labor Is sure to be satisfied with
less of an income because the de.
mzuds are proportionately fewer.
The method Of operation gives ne
colcred family bettar chance to
/ mass the income that the white fam
ily has in the North The father,
mother and al the children tbut the
very small ones) engage at work away
from home The Yankees have given
j great impetus to wages in those
parts OF the South to which the North.
erner has drifted A few years ago
sixty cents day was good money for
ordinary labor. Now 1t is hard to
hire q competent man for less than
4 sesentysfire cents. Women who work
n. The fields are getting the days
WAGES up 70 fifty cents. Boys can
earn from fifteen to forty cents a day
and girls nearly as much. Women for
hg1sescE are able to command from
2 dtIIlSr snd a half to more than that.
cliored carpenter can easily find
wurk at a dollar and a quarter. The
mason can do better. The pIrraber
ttAst Aic..sys dog) gets more than two
doKars- He is of The aristooracy.
These prices are not tempting to the
4 lnan from the North who wants to find
a job In the South.
Bur beyond the matter of price is
another feature. The social question
Is always arising. In the North any
youns white man may engage with a
farmer. or with any other employer
q labor; and be regarded with the
highest respect by his neighbors. In
ne South the everlasting and inflex.