The sun., 1909-06-22
CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH.

CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH.
Changed Situation Breught About b,
Industrial Dcvesopmest.
To THE EDITOR or TIE sUs-Sr: What
you say about the lower classes Of the
Southern white people as regards their
sntsgonisnn to the negro race is undoubt-
edfy true. Is are the statements In reference
to thS sympathy and kindly feeling held
for the negro BY the descendants Of hia
former masters. I am not at all sure. how
ever. that the antipathy to the negro IL
altogether TO be sscribed to inherited feel
inss. II at ali.
Conditions are absolutely different from
what they were before the war. when the ne
gro was used almost exclusively on the large
plantation. and the poor white scratched his
little patch Of corn or roamed the mountain
sides with his long rife. Then the native
whites or -po white trash. as the slaves con-
te.srssslsly styled them, -wero IS unso-
phisticated and humble as It would be pos-
sible to conceive a white human being to
be. When they visited the plantation
homes out Of curiosity or to dispose Of their
berries they were thrown into contact with
the slaves. who. a. menials trained In an
atmosphere Of refinement and culture. looked
with absolute scorn upon white beings 90
crudely different from their masters and
mistresses. The natives were 20 devoid
Of the qualities derived only from worldly
experience that they looked with awe rather
than anger upon the household slave. per.
haps uniformed and pompous.
This class Of whites till exists In the fast
nesees OF the mountains, or In country dis
tricts far removed from centres OF popu-
lation, but the march of industrialism has
been 90 great and rapid that many OF their
numbers have gone forth to seek employ
ment on public works." Here their in
Eenuousness Is rapidly replaced by worldly
knowledge, and sometimes by gross coarse
ness and vulaarity. When they are brou ght
into contact with the saloon and other evils
Of civilization. they sometimes become
criminals. but their natural tendencies are
honest. They are mostly employed a.
common lsborers. and seldom reach q
higher sphere Of work. This is the class
petition with negro labor. and It Is here that
the most serious aspect OF the negro prob
lem Hes. as the white man does not wisK to
work with the negro any more than he does
to treat him as social equal.
The men who comprise the body OF skilled
artisans, including the locomotive en-
gineers. are generally men of good stock.
whose families have too limited means to
AFFORD their children more than an ordinary
free schooling. They therefore learn some
trade, and as . rule are sober. industrious
and competent. They often start in as
boys on any class of work they may obtain.
and frequently work up TO positions Of con-
siderable importance as mechanics and
ovsrseers. Many Of them are ambitious
to become locomotive engineers: 90 many in
arf hat D kn r1u a - IL 4
be sble TO exercise considerable discretion
IN tho selection OF material for fremen.
It Is entirely natural to expect opposition
from this class Of men toward those who
stand In the way OF their commendable
ambitions for advancement.
therefore assert that II is not In accord
with true principles OF justice 10 employ
negroes as fremen. the absolutely essential
service Of apprenticeship to an engineers
berth, II they can never hope to expect to
handle the throttle. II 10 unjust to both the
white man and the negro. II the railroad
companies feel that 1t Is right that they
should employ q few negroes a. fremen.
It would be better to promote them to Jobs
on switch engines or As 'ostlers, at least.
am convinced. however, that the negro q
temperament 10 such as to preclude him
from being safe a. an engineer on main line
work. It requires qualities that all de-
serving white men do not possess to be q
good locomotive engineer. and I believe
the dissrsceful history OF too numerous
wrecks on American railways 10 due In
large part to the fact that incompetent
engineers. tempersmentally.s sat In the cabs
Of the fstsd trains.
TO return to the eubject from which !
have somevhAt digresssd. The prajudice
Of the ignorant Southern native 10 not by
any msans confined to. the negro. He
looks with malignant feelings upon the
foreign born labor brought here from the
North By some large corporations. who
nnd the native labor either too scarce OF
too worthless to nll their requi rements
There Is certain section Of the South
where many foreigners have been brought
from the North to supply the necessary
labor requirements. the available native
labor being either too scarce or too pooI
In quality to supply the demand. There
have been near riots ss result Of the oppo-
sition caused by prejudioe against the
'daso' labor there. There are other labor
camps where NEGROES and whites are EN-.
pioyed. usually In separate squads where
practicable. but at the place ! have spoke en-
OF the native labor has the negro SO badly
bluhed that its name is synonymous amona
the colored race with q certain other place
to be Stunned by all mortsls. However,
q few negroes have the temerity to accept
positions ss servants. and while they are
sometimes threatened they are seldom
actually molested.
This suggests the fact that the negro 4
most successful fields. where he is least mo-
lested. are house b old service and farm labor.
This is due to the fact that he does not
enter greatly into competition with the
whites In either OF these pursuits. The
natives do not like meuial Jobs, and Il is
almost impossible to secure good servants
from this class. The small white farmer
owns his own patch, and when he isn't
planting or gathering his crop he prefers
to live In idleness. or gets Jobs on the pub
lio works. - he calls all corporate indus
tries. This latter condition causes the
labor supply TO be too erratic to suit the
works manager. who 10 frequently Greeted
In the spring with the remark: wall.
Cap. reckon Ill quit n 90 home m put
In q leetle crap The same remark, with
. word or two changed. falls often on
his ear when the time approaches for
gathering the crops.
There 10 no question that there 10 work
In the South for all the men and women
available. and OF both races In the pro.
fessions or Ia educational callings the NJ exro
can expect work only among the people
OF his own race. but It seems as though there
would be = broad field here for educated
colored people. 1t 10 indeed difficult to
AegrsSats the employment Of the two races
entirely, but the more nearly this condition
10 approached. I believe, the more hsrmoni-
ntsa ~iil hA ths vAhnlks