The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-05-27
TO BRING ENGLISH GIRLS HERE
WILL SOLVE NEGRO SERVANT
PROBLEM, SAYS COL WATSON.

State Immigration Bureau Enterinu
Upon an Experiment OF Great In.
terest Not Only to South Carolina
But to the Entire SOuth-Enghsh
People Brought to This State Last
Month Satisfied and Satisfactory.
Columbia, May 24.-In, the experi-
ment which Commissioner Watson
has started of substituting a high type
of English-speaking household girl
for the negro servant girl he is con-
vinced both from employers and the
girls themselves that he has firmly
laid the foundation for a successful.
practical solution Of the vexed negro
servant problem in this State, and IL
the experiment proves success it
will be "a go'' throughout the South.
After repeated failures during four
years hard work the commission is
now satisfied that success is at hand.
The first experiments along this
line were with foreign-speaking peo-
pie, and in every case this proved a
failure. These are the kind Of for.
eign servants that are being placed to
a large extent in the North. Commits
sioner Watson Their concluded that
this section would have to have a
higher type than is used in the North
To
is daily growing raore useless and
exacting, and that the new servants
must speak English. He was further
persuaded that the newcomers in or
der to be satisfied themselves and rem
der satisfactory service would have
to be in touch with the other mem-
bers Of their families, 80 as to give
them the restraining influence Of the
home touch and alleviate the social
alienation which had made other ex-
periments with English-speaking girls
failures. Accordingly persistent, en-
ergetic work was carried on in the
desirable. farm section OF England
with literature, lectures ana person
ally conducted tours with big vans.
The 33 English people brought here
less than month ago ana located in
and around Columbia, EdgoAeld. Alb
beville. Greenville and elsewhere In
the State. have all written letters to
the department expressing satisface,
tion, and every girl so located has writ
ten letters through the department to
friends and relatives abroad, urging
then to come on to s0u'" Carolina
and live. n
A Columbia case that has proved a
striking success is that In which a
former Charleston lady Of means en-
ployed two English sisters, who have
written numerous letters back home,
urging their friends and relatives to
come here, and whose mistress is
Dragging on them throughout the
town. 1t will not do to mix white and
colored servants in the same house.
hold. This proved a disastrous fail.
ure in Columbia before. This house.
wife discharged her three negro SER
wants and taking in the newcomers
and the result has been perfect sass
faction on both sides. The parenrs
of the, girls have been placed on a
diary farm near Columbia, and by tel
ephone and frequent visits they are
in constant touch with each other
An older sister, who stayed home with
her grandmother, is now on her way
to Columbia. Six other English far
mers located near here at the same
time haev written for their families to
come on to Columbia
The department has suspended all
efforts to get immigrants to come to
the State for the present In the fall
VIGOROUS campaign will be renewed
among the English farming people,
but even then only share troopers and
small purchasing farmers will be ask
ed to come. OF course those people
who may want to come in as a re-
suit Of the experiment mentioned will
be taken care Of
Early in the fall Commissioner Wat,
son hopes to see the new steamship
line from Great Grimsby, England,
direct to Charleston, i'm operation,
which will be a further inducement
for these people to come to this Sec
ton, and locate not only here, but
throughout the South. as Ii is the in
tention to have the ships stop in Gall
weston and Vera Cruz as well as in
Charleston. The principal reason for
failure of the former experiment of a
direct line to Charleston was the fact