Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-21

SVlll VI ilfS CIOp VI CUitUIl III hiSSiSSippl
and in some localities in the Yazoo coun-
try as much as 10 per cent was lost from
this cause 1t is not a serious matter this
| year, when the crop is so large to bring
| prices down to narrow margin of profit
| but in an ordinary year this waste would
| represents millions of dollars. Various ex
| periments have been tried to secure sub
stitutes for negroes. Carloads of Mexicans
have been brought from the valley of the
Rio Grande, mountaneers from Kentucky
and east Tennessee, and Italians from the
city of New Orleans, with more or less
success.
Negroes Desert the Plantation.
planters complain that he will not work
and that he will not live in the country
any longer; that the colored population of
the country, which formerly furnished labor
for the plantations, is now drifting rapidly
to the cities, which is undoubtedly true.
The same complaint is made of white farm
hands in the north. and of newly arrived
emlgrants from foreign countries. You
hear 1t in England, France and Germany
also. Throughout the German empire the
land owners are having precisely the same
difficulty as the planters of Mississippi.
That government has appointed a commits
sion to investigate the subject and recon-
mend measures to prevent the decrease of
the rural populations. All over the world
the universal tendency of the laboring pop
ulation is toward the cities, where better
wages are paid, greater social privileges
are found and more excitement and diver
sion. That the negroes of the south share
In this tendency seems to me convincing
evidence against the popular theory that
they are not intelligent human beings
Thoughtless people in a discussion of
this subject, do not take into consideration
the very important fact that the industrial
and commercial development of the south
ern states during the last twenty years
mas been much greater than the increase
In population. The number of male negroes
IN the south has increased during the last
twenty years from 3, 290 1896 in 1880 to
3,f35,GC3 in 1880. and to 4,3S6,5I7 in 1900
which is little more than % per cent, and
10 per cent during the past ten years. At
the same time the industries requiring
labor in the same section have increased
in some cases three and four hundred per
cent. There were very few railroads in
the south twenty years ago, while the con-
struction and operation of railway lines to-
day employs hundreds of thousands of
negro laborers. There were no mines or
mills in Alabama twenty years ago, and
now the mineral and manufa curing indus
tries also require several hundred thousand
hands. All OF this labor has been drawn
from the plantations and the change has
been due to the fact that men can make
better wages, see more of life and get
more pleasure in a crowded town than they
can find in a lonely plantation cabin.
If you Will examine the census tables for
Alabama. Mississippi, Louisiana or any
other southern state you will notice a de-
cided difference in the growth of the negro
and that of the white population in the
cities and towns. In most of them the
white popula ton remain about the same
year after year, although there are some
remarkable exceptions. But In every case
the negro population is much larger than
1t was ten and twenty years ago. This
confirms the complaints that one hears
everywhere in the country and shows
serious is the problem that the planters are
compelled to meet - te
Efforts to Attract Labor.
But they are doing very little to solve it.
Louisiana has more enterprise than her
sister states. She has a well-organzed
immigration bureau in the state house here
at Baton Rouge. under the direction of
Mr.. Charles X. Fuqua, who is preparing
and sending out great deal of interesting
printed matter, and making other efforts
to secure settlers The Progressive Union
of New Orleans is also doing good work.
but its attention until recently has been
directed chiefly to manufacturing and COM
mercial enterprises. 1t was designed to
promote the general welfare of that city; to
organize the citizens against obnoxious
local conditions; to foster the social and
ma terial welfare of the community; to adj
vertise the possibilities, opportunities and
facilities for business and investment. But
just now it is engaged in immigration
propaganda, and is trying to awaken pub
lie sentiment and get move on the
| officials of the south to meet this labor
problem.
The definite purpose of the Progressive
Union at present is to secure additional
Italian immigration. There are now about
10000 Italians in this state, and they are
increasing by immigration at the rate of
about 5000 year. But many more are
needed and wanted. They are intelligent,
prosperous. industrious and contented-one
of the most valuable elements of the COM
munity. They are especially successful in
| fruit growing and truck gardening and l
around New Orleans they cultivate nearly
| half of the land. They do not hesitate to
| work with negroes on the plantations. On
| the Ames plantatlon-6,000 acres, immedi-
| ately across the river from New Orleans
| none out Italians are employed They are
| gradually drifting farther away from the
| city. The majority of the counties of the
| state are white today, largely for that rea-
son. and 1t is predicted that there will be
white majority in all of the counties of
Louisiana before the next census
Italians are the most satisfactory labor
| erS In the state, but, nevertheless hear
complaints of them also-the same that are
made against the Chinese They are guilty
of the objectionable virtues OF thrift and
economy They save their money and buy
property, and as soon as they get little
capital they set up shops and take trade
away from white merchants by Offering
goods at lower prices. This is the obiec-
ton raised to the Chinese In the Philip
pines and elsewhere. 1t is also true that
the Italian will not patronize the plantation
stores, which Is another serious offense
Almost every large planter maintains a
general supply store somewhere about his
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