The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1938-05-12

sissippis the io"-
est income per cap
tia in all the country do not figure
in the value Of what we grow and
at home. Mississippians
board at home. live at the same place,
and seem tolerably well pleased with
their surroundings"
Mr.. Graves replies: amen and
amen, Major, but let's not be too
well pleased. We ~Southerners are
not as poor as we are made out TO
be, but there Is no denying that we
are poor and that the whole nation,
including the South, Is promised a
great new market in the defeat OF
Southern poverty, the lifting of South
ern income nearer the national aver
age, the betterment of a standard of
living that may not be a bad as
pictured but leaves plenty to be de-
sired. . and purchased.
And there John Temple Graves hits
the nail right on the head.
The reason the South has Jagged
behind other sections Of the
try generally has been due in part
to the poverty brought about by the
War Between the States. to u lack
for many years Of an inclusive pub
lie school educational system where
the general ~populace could be edu-
Gated and not just a privileged class,
and in part to our inertia and SNUG
se~lf-satisfied feeling.
There's no denying that the pro-
gress Of the South and Mississippi
has been retarded for years due to
that very feeling of smugness and
self-satisfaction. We feel at heart
that we are superior to every section
Of the country, that there Is no sec
ton that can stack up with US and
there ID not one of us who would
trade our life and our way of living
for that OF the westerner or eastern
er.
Yet in our country Of romance
where magnolias perfume the air and
the breczes carry a melody Of song
and happiness we have the hard cold
bitter facts that we r the poorest
section in the country. with the low
est income per capita, whore capital
tnaists on wAgA diffsrentials. whore
any work Is just as hard as It Is
any place else In the country and
monetary rewards less.
We Southerners have talked too
much about wage d~ifferentials and
freight d~ifferentials and every other
kind of d%ifferential.
Why should the south be penalized
to the advantage Of other sections?
Why should our laborers receive
less for their work than they do in
eastern sections? II the laboring
class OF people make the money they J
are going to spend it and business
will certainly get 1t all. So why yelp
30 loudly? The manufacturer adds
his labor costs to the article and
gets more money for 1t.
Why should it cost more to snip
goods OUT of the south than INTO
It? Why should 1t be possible for
southern business men to be able to
buy goods in eastern markets deliver
ed at their door cheaper than they
can buy the same article delivered
at their door by a southern anu
featuring firm?
All this talk about wage differen-
tials, freight differentials and differ
ences in standards Of living Is false
and should be exposed. There arc
many other writer's who feel the same
way but haven't the courage to say
20.
If southern industry is making its
money because OF cheap labor condi-
tons and q cheaper standard Of liv-
ing all we can say is the south will
be much better off without industry.
Perhaps we had better so back to a
farming section and truly live at
home.
II we southerners want our people
TO live well and enjoy IN existence on
q par with like classes Of other sec
lions we viii hush this foolish pratt
tie about the south having to have
q lower wage rate to exist.
We say again. IL southern industry
Is living only because of the capital
gains 1t makes off people. suck
ing their life blood, then It deserves
to die.