Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1905-05-25
SCARCITY oFLABoR.
Vagrancy In Cities a Chief
Cause: Mayor Hoods Com
~ndable Move.

Cause: Mayor Hoods Com
m~ndable Move.
There is considerable complaint
about the scarcity of labor on the
farms, and some of our farmers say
that unless conditions improve they
will be compelled of necessity to re-
duce their acreage not only In cotton
and corn but other products, in order
that they may be able to give their
crops proper attention, and depend
alone on the labor of their own house
hold.
This is indeed serious state of
affairs. Why this scarcity of labor?
Is it because there is no one to do
the work, or because the price offered
is too Insignificant?
Not so. There is plenty of labor
Fand the price offered now is at least
tone-third more than was paid few
years ago. Then you could hire a
splendid farm hand for $8 .OOa month
and board, and now from IS to 75cts
la day is offered and labor cannot be
secured at that. On many farms in
this county the grass has taken the
crop and there Sc ems to be no help
for it.
Can this state Of affairs, be over
CONT? Of course it can. Everybody
has TO eat, work o. play, and the
question naturally arrises, where
does a certain class of people get
som ething to eat and wear, who
are never known to work a lick, and
who have no visib means of sup
port?
Why they beg it, or steal it, and
in many instances live on half enough
j ist for the sake of loafing around
town. Il is hard work ON the farm
mi they want to live easy, and it
| u ttel 5 not how they get a living
,ince they ils.ve a good time.
We nave vagrancy law, and it is
,le Of The best laws on the statute
,oohs ii il was only enforced. Now
he-enIy way to make these people
20 to work and stop loafing, is to en-
force this law to the letter and you
have solved the problem.
1t is common thing to see big
able bodied men hanging around
these negro restaurants and street cor
ners half clothed and half starved,
trying to live easy.
OF course thsy don't loaf around
the MOTEL or city hall, but go down
in Little Washington, and in these
back alleys and restaurants and you
can find them-plenty of them. And
ask one if he wants job and he is
grossly insulted at once.
An idle person is ready to yield to
all kind of temptations. If he fails to
get square meal during the day he
will enter some honest, hard-Work-
ing mans pantry while he is resting
from the days toll and steal every
thing in sight, or enter a chicken
coop and steal nice fat hen, and he
won't have any trouble in getting
lnis stuff cooked after he has stolen
it, either.
II So the greatest reason why labor
is SO scarce is because the vagrancy
law is not properly and rigidly en-.
forced. Not only is this applicable te
Goldsboro but every town, both
large and small, in the State. En-
force the law to the letter, make these
big, mean, lazy negroes-and some
whites, too go to work, either a
the mills, on the farms or on th'
county roads, and labor will not b.
SO scare and crime in this state viii
be greatly decreased.
1t will not only be far better fo
them, but better for all concerned.
Again wesay, let the vagrancy Law
/, be enforced to the letter.
One negro was sent to the road
yesterday by the Mayor for 80 day
for vagrancy, and Bud Balm, an
Iother welI-known negro loafer, wa
n arrested and locked up this mornin
land will doubtless serve 80 days o
is the roads, also; but there are other
: still, and we hope the Mayor wi
.el not stop until the whole town is ri
ri L.