Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1912-05-22
An INTERESTING LETTER
FROM 8 MIS- lSSlPPI


n. G. Hlohstrom, Former Resident Of
County, Writes q Letter From
His New Home Locality
in the South.
Centervlle, Miss, May u, 1912.
Editor Willmar Tribune:
I feel that I must write q few lines
or else you will think the food has
taken us. The food is going on as
yet and IS worse than ever. We had
mo trouble on the road from New
Orleans before last week, and it is
stated that the food is just as bad
yet, flooding the country from 20 to
100 miles wide. When this immense
territory is under water, one can I'M.
derstand what loss Of life, sufferings
and loss Of property, homes and crop
it will cause. We are not living in
the food district, this part Of the
district being from to 4 feet above
the sea.
They say that we have had an un-
usually rainy winter and sprin~ this
year and the spring work and crops
are four weeks behind time. But as
far as l can see they keep ON plant
ing and harvesting here all the time,
except In December and january,
and even in january they plant their
hot beds for tomatoes.
Potatoes and tomatoes will be-
ready for market this and next week.
There are about 500 acres planted
i In tomatoes around this neighbor-
hood. One man has IS acres in to-
matoes. Others run from 2 to IS
acres. After tomatoes and potatoes
are harvested corn and COW peas are
planted on the same ground. In Au
gust and September potatoes are
again planted for winter use and for
seed for the coming spring, because
those that are raised now will not
keep over winter. We have also to
plant our gardens again in August
and September if we want to have
any vegetables during the winter.
Our family has now sid all it's
holdings in California and my sons,
Theodore and Alex, with the latter's
wife and child, came here about April
LIST. 80 H.
Someone has been asking me about
the negroes. Well they are all right.
We do not know how we could be
without them. > They are strong,
healthy, good natured and seem to be
contented. Good many are even re-
|1igiols. That is the case in this part
of the state. How they may be in
other places / could not tell.
The negro question seems to "e
|settled in the south. The line between
the whites and colored people are
closely drawn. They are well sep
arated from each other everywhere.
On depots, in railroad travel, hotels,
|schools, churches, in white people $
houses, there is no mixing. Both
have their separate places. On sire 1t
ears they are separated by a sign
board, the colored having the hind
and the whites the front. Neither
race infringes on the others parts.
both are under the same law. Even
on the convict farms they are sep
arated. The state has four big COM
lvict farms and each county here has
| its convict farm, SO the law breakers
have to earn their own board. The
state farms gre under state board
supervision and the county farms
|under the county supervisors aud
grand jury. A couple Of months ago
II read a grand jury report Of the
lcounty farm. That report was not
Ia withdrawing one, but condemn
ed both the supervisors and the man
lager, and the judge said he wished
he could post copy Of the report on
every court house door Of the state.
The state convict farms had a sur
plus last wear of $500, 900 to pay in
to the state treasury.
Well, the negro knows his place.
: He never enters q white mans house
unless invited, stopning at the gate
if it is near the house or outside the
porch. He works for rs cents day
and boards himself. He has hereto
fore worked only in the cotton fields.
One must be near where he works OF
else he forgets what or how to work.
One Of them told me eve don't know
anything outside Of cotton. corn, a
2 mule and hoe and 6-inch pillow.
4 In the north I heard much talk. Of
that the negro was by law disfran-
chised in the south, but that is not
50, at Least not In this state. That
would be violation of the United
States constitution, as far as can
understand. The law in this state is
that anyone, white or colored, wlly
does not pay his taxes before the
first day Of February each year can
mot vote. The poll tax is also In
cluded In those taxes, and as the ne.
gro thinks more Of his $500 than the
ballot, he keeps his money. A good
many blacks have their own farms
and those, of course, cannot avoid
the poll tax and if they pay their
taxes in time they can vote. At the