The Phoenix index., 1940-10-19

n1Sn. incomes IN SuCIl areas are
greater per capita than in other
Southern Agricultural countries,
but lower than in other farming
sections of the Nation. There are
comparatively few urban and vii
lage dwellers and few non-agri-
cultural industries. Families are
large but schools are relatively
small and poor, especially for Me-
groes. Health services are marked
ly deficient. Living standards are
near the minimum level"
Problems of relief and rehabilita-
ton have seriously erected the
rural South, particularly in the
cotton belts Large families a.
mong tenants have been consider
ed advantageous by the plantation
landlords chiefly because the
younger members constitute a
cheap labor supply.
During the 192O-1930 decade
about 250,0O0 persons composing
the excess labor supply migrated
CcCll yCd1 W 4O61OIlo WI1C1C tIlC
industrial demand was expanding.
After 1890 the industrial labor
market began to shrink. Migra-
ton restricted the demand for
labor and intensified the problems
of relief and rehabilitation. the
latest WPA pamphlet explains.
The various types Of landlord
tenant arrangements which are
often confused in the public's mind
are made clear in "The Planta-
tion South Today. Renters who
rent land outright from the own
ers are the least dependent of the
plantation workers. They receive
all the proceeds of their crops with
the exception of fixed rent paid
in cash or crops. Next in order Of
dependency are the share tenants.
These workers own their work
stock and tools. They must usual
ly be provided with food, fertilizer
and a house by the owner of the
plantation. Share tenants culti-
vate a fixed size of land and re-
ceive in return a share of the crop,
usually more than one-half.
"Still more dependent are the
sharecroppers, who furnish the
landlord nothing but their labor
and must be provided with stock,
tools, fertilizer, food and a house,,
the WPA publication says.
"They receive half their crop in
return for working a tract of about
90 crop acres, but all advances
made to them for half Of the
operating expenses, food and other
necessities are deducted, with
interest, from their portion by the
operator when the crop is sold.
There are more of these sharecrop-
pers than any other tyne of planta-
tion labor. None of them have
legal claim on any improvements
they make to the land or the build
ings, and so they have little desire
to conserve or improve them. What
they do is drift from place to place.
looking for better conditions some
where else but usually finding that
they are much the same or worse.
At the bottom of the agricultural
ladder are the wage hands, who
are hired for a fixed wage, and
the casual laborers, who are hired
at peak seasons by the day."
even when croppers and share
tenants clear anything on the
years farming. they usually ex-
haust their resources within few
months and are destitute again at
the beginning of the crop year. The
landlord has to advance them
credit to finance the new crop and
to provide for their living expenses
until the crop IS sold The average
tenant in 1887 was advanced $85
for his share IF crop expenses and
$l04 to live on while the crop was
maturing. Thus the average
tenant borrowed around $780," the
study continues. t