Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-01-12
SCARCITY or LABOR

/ Do not understand me to say. or to
mean, that there are few people able to
work, or very few who need the money
that labor will bring. 1 can go down on
the streets of Gainesville almost any
day and find squads of men, able bodied,
who stand idle in the market place and
who wouldn't go out TO the farm and
/ pick 100 pounds of cotton, with the pay
hung before them on sIrIng until the
/ 100 pounds were picked
/ l notice in todays paper where a large
planter in lower Georgia offers to make a
present to any one who will pick 80 bales
of cotton, now in the field only asking
1 that the seed out of these bales shall be
broadcasted in his field after the cotton
Is ginned, and yet nobody offers to pick
! his cotton.
/ i have seen soma cotton fields this win
/ ter where not a boil was picked up to-
1 the beginning of this terrible wintry
weather. The storm-beaten stuff has
now had nearly all it's value taken out,
but there was great difficulty in getting
i people to pick any of it before the rain
and hail tore it out from the stalks, as
/ it is now doing.
There is no scarcity of people who
must labor or starvey but the fact re-
mains that they will nearly starve in
town before they will so to the cotton
fields and get ready money for their
work.
/ have no remedy to propose, and if 1
did propose, nobody would adopt it; so
the farmers must try to guage their crop
to their own force and be independent
of loafers and stragglers.
STRANGER THAN FICTION.
In southern state soon after the civil
war, lived a prosperous farmer. That
year he had been blessed with good
crop. He had in a large acreage of
corn and fodder was ripe. In order
to save it in time he engaged some of
his peighbors to help in the harvest.
They worked early and late and Satur-
day at noon found the task completed.
/ To show his appreciation of their enter
gies, as we'll as neighborly kindness, he
invited them before they left to join him
in a social chat under the friendly
shade of some large trees. He had some
whisky and that was set out and each
invited to have a social glass. couple
of hours were spent in telling jokes,
i experiences in the war, hunting and fish
ing The proprietor related an amusing
! incident, where his cousin who was pres
/ emit, was the chief character. II caused
much merriment and he became angered
4 and dared his cousin % repeat it. He
! had imbibed too much barley corn to
be very sociable, which accounted for
his bad temper His cousin not dreaming
of the extent of his anger, repeated the
joke. The other arose. stepped in the
house, took from the gun rack gun,
stepped out on the ground and before
/ any one could realize what he intended
shot his cousin dead.
Before he realized, what he had done
/ and still under the stupor OF his >whis-
ky, he was arrested and lodged in jail;
When court set his case was called, he
was convicted of murder and sentenced
to death so days hence. His mother was
widow and lived in factory village. Her
nearest neighbors was a lady who had
two sons, apprenticed to the master ma
chinist in the cotton factory. The two
ladies were warm friends, and the moth
err of the prisoner was often there be-
moaning the fate of her wayward son.
Her grief touched the hearts of every
one, especially the young hayward boys,
and they began to devise plan for him
to make his escape. His mother visited
him frequently to take him clothing and
extra food, The apprentice boys asked
her to find out from her son how many
widows there we're in the cell, the size,
and how many bars there were in the
window and the size. When she returned
she reported No windows but 20-inch
square hole had been left in the stone
wall which was crossed by four inch and
/ q quarter square, wrought iron DdTS 10
prevent escape. These young machinists
had mades~ tempered and tested saw
to sever the bars. 1t was a small affair
and delivered TO the prisoner by his
/ mother with instructions how to use it.
He took hope and soon found that 1t
would do the work intended. He had to
be careful less the jailer. who often
visited the prisoners, detect him. He
worked much at night and kept piece
of blanket hung over the hole to hide
i what he had done. The saw worked well
and soon he was ready to make the
trial. The bars were all severed but
Just enough to hold them in. rope
had been smuggled in and the time ar
rived. Around the jail was 12-foot stone
wall with glass pieces set in the top
| to impede the progress of any who
might try to escape. Night game and
after the turnkey had made his
rounds he fastened the rope to some
thing inside and let himself down. 1t
was 20 feet to the ground. He CROPPED
his way to the wall and found a pile
of cord wood stacked against it. This
he mounted and was in reach Of the