The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-03-01

|
it is not meant to be dishonest,
but it really is so. We must all re-
member that bushel Of good inten-
ton and good meaning plus a little
fraction of sincerity will never equal
strict honesty.
! If our employers will have patience
| and foresight, and think little SER
iously about the families which their
employees have, and also of the posi-
tive demand upon all men to live hon
astly and honorably, there will be
very few cases of this kind with the
average negro worker whether wash
erwoman, cook, nurse or farm labor
| er
There is one thing which has caused
the scarcity of negro workers, the re-
sponsibility for which scarcity | must
place at the door of the white people
themselves, and / think you will all
agree with me.
Here is Il farmer who hires a man
for year. He has him to sign con-
tract which he thinks is n guarantee,
certain and sure that the laborer will
serve him for a year without regard
to future consideration and conse-
quenccs. The laborcr has actually be-
gun to work, and has worked for sew
eral days. Maybe he has not worked
at all, but at the time he signed your
contract you advanced to him IS, $40,
$15, 500 or $25 as the case may be.
Now that man has taken your money
and spent ii, and he does not feel as
much obligation to you as he would
feel if he had had no advanced mon
ey. You feel as if he is bound and
consistent with your feelings you treat
him SO. He feels just the other way.
He feels that he is loose, and consis-
tent with his feelings he acts so. He
certainly has the advantage Of you
here for he has your $25 or has had
! it. | do not believe that the employ
er himself in the majority of cases Of
advanced money, feels safe i'll doing
so, but he advances his money because
! he is cheap mann AID, somehow, he
hopes to hobble through his crop with
this cheapman. This cheap man almost
invariably turns out to be the dearest
man you have ever had on your farm
after all. OF course, this man ought
| never to treat his employer in that
manner. He is dead wrong for doing
so, and I, for one, have no sympathy
with him at all; but do you not see
that the employer has committed the
greatest error and the biggest blundcr
at all in advancing his money when
it is the next thing to all absolute cer-
tainty that he will surely lose his
money? 1t seems too plain for hon.
est questioning. Now I really think
this advanced money system ought to
be done away with. All experience
teaches that it is productive Of bad
results. OF course you send the man
to the county chain gang for 40, so
or 100 days, but that is poor pay for
the farmer while in this particular
case for such worker, it is the prop
cr place for him. The farmer himself
is poorly compensated for he is out Of
$25 which he never gets again; more
over, he is paying that man for every
day he works for the county when he
needs him so much on his farm.
The way to do it. ii seems to me, is
to hire man >traightout. Take him
under contract if you want to.
There is certainly no objection to
that. A contract rarely, if ever,
hurts an honest man. Pay him pre-
ciscly as agreed upon whether by the
day, week, month, three months or
year: but this cheap man and this adj
vanccd money man, il is well and best
to let him 90 on his way rcjoicinng.
For the common laborer, the me-
! chanic and the professional man, !
have long believed that the south Of
fcr> the very best opportunity. lie
! certainly starts with this advantage
that he has the great masses Of his
own people with him, thing that
will be the ease for the next 1000
years despite any efforts to the con-
trary. He has also a great number
of friends among the whites who will
surely help him to make the most and
best Of his opportunity. It will not
ALWAYS be charged to these friends