The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1906-02-06
LETTER FROM
MR.. BEVERLEY
lie Discusses the immigration
Question.
GOOD lA8ORERS FOR VIRGINIA
This the Aim Of Board Of Agrieulturs-Waals
legislature to Make appropriation Tor This
WOrk-Pedicsmsh Of Farmers al Present is
Serious, Etc.

Chance, Va, Feb 3d. 1906.
To The Free Lance:
Referring toyour editorialon immgra-
ton in issue OF Feb lst, you say I'VE DO
not believe the scheme TO import TO \ir-
pinia thousands OF idlers from London Is
practicable" would ask from whence
comes such scheme and who is advo.
eating IL? Ii You willreler 10 the report,
published in The Free Lance some time
since. of the committee on immigration
of the State Board OF Agriculture and
Immigration you will lind chat 10 pro
vides immigrants shall be obtained 'p}
CAREFUL SELECTION from the coun-
tries of the cid World Careful sclec-
ton" certainly does not contemplate
emptying the Sums of London into VII
ginia.
think theinference iromyo editorial
would be that the Neutrality-suspicious. and
the Commissioner are advocating such
a scheme. This is misleading and unfair
aud would tend to discredit and prtlu-
dice the bin before the Legislature Tor an
appropriation for immigration. / am
sure YOU wOuldnOt Intentionally do TINS.
You are entirely right. The farmers oi
Virginia do not want lot OF Idle SUM
mers dumped ON them from London.
New York. fredericksburg or anywhere
else and moreover ii they wanted them
ever so much they cOuli not get them,
for this class Oi peoples gWga1ous. they
live i'm herds on crime and NTH, the pure
air of the country would not suit them
and no amount of wages would tempt
them TO live ia the country. IL is "a Tact
that can be- certified ~ every county in
which The Free Lance calculates. chat
there is a great scarcity of labor much
land is virtually being confscatcd. Tor
laud is of no value when producing moth
inc. This condition i ali wrong; any 81
fort 10 better it should be encouraged.
The Board OF Agriculture and the Com
missioner have given much thought ana
study 70 the matter. We DO not want
buns and summers. but We DO want r.
liable laborers and we believe We can get
them ii the Legislature will provide the
means with which to try.
One OF Your correspondents thinks
farmers would have no trouble getting
reliable negro labor ii they paid them
more than starvation wages. Judge
Welch showed in his article in The Free
Lance that those employed 10y land
owners got a fair remuneration.
insist that ior the quality and guam
titv of work done. farmers oi the Kappa
Hammock valley pay a high price. | have
looked into this matter. aud / hud that
in other sections of the country where
wages are much higher by The day
month or yeaI than here, less money De-
paid for some work than we pay find
that what we pay negro labor for musk
inc. cutting and shocking and thinning
corn. moving hay, harvesting wheat
and almost any farm WOik, estimated
by the acre or the piece OF work. u more
than is paid for same amount Oi WORK lu
sections where reliable white labor is
employed at apparently much higher
wages. and il the slOveniN. wasteiul way
our work is done is considered. we pay
infinitely more Negroes vii. not now
| hire by the year at any price. The ma
| ture of a farmers business makes it
necessary that he can count on his labor
staying the year.
II we farmers are paying starvation
wages, and are the eXtOruOners one OF
your correspondents would imply, why
/ is il we are not all getting rich on me
money we are Withholding from the
laborer? If there is a farmer III tins see.
ton who is piling up riches farming. /
would like to have a look at BIN as "a
curO.
The nature Of the negro is such that
the higher wages he gets the less time ne
will work. There was less trouble 10
Get him to work years back.when he got
much lower wages
Look at negro mechanics in the coun-
fry. carpenters for instance, who get
81. 80 a day and board They work
two or three days in the week and to get
them to finish up job in "a reasonable
time is an impossibility.
The farmers business will not permit
him to depend on the negro OF the pres
ent day. He must get some better labor
or Quit. J. II. G. Beverley