Year: 1879

The following extract from letter
written to the Evening Wisconsin by a
former Milwaukee man, gives a good
idea of the situation down south in re-
gard to the 'poor down trodden negro.


ORANGE PARK, Fla, May %, 1879
In a recent number of your paper, |
noticed an article written by gentleman
who had spent part of the winter in
Georgia, in which his views and ideas of
the south were quite elaborately express
ed. 1t is one of the prerogatives of
American citizenship to express their
opinions freely, but when expressed to
the public through the press, they be-
come subject to criticism. If ever man
came from the north to the south with q
race" was the one. 1 had the firm i'm
preston that they were yet downtrod-
den and despised race. After living
among them for two years, and employ
ing all this time from ten to forty of
them on my plantation and town work,
from actual experience and observation,
am forced to the conclusion that they
are naturally lazy, shiftless, improvid-
ent class, and while their wages and ra-
tions are low, as general thing it is all
they are worth. They are ''eye servants"
in the strictest sense OF the term. Now,
to say slavery made them so, will per
haps do for theory, but we find that the
younger class, who were never under the
rule of slavery, as field hands or house
servants, are even worse than the older
ores. 1t is their inbred nature. They
are great, overgrown children, providing
only for to-day, and the height of
darky's ambition is to sit on jury or at
tend political meeting. Most of IT, em
would leave a member of their family
unburied at any time to enjoy this newly
developed source of pleasure If either
of these opportunities present itself there
is no condition of your crops or personal
wants that would keep them at home.


1t is this uncertain condition of farm
labor that has bankrupted very many
northern men, who have come south
since the war 20 raise cotton with ''free
labor. 1t simply cannot be controlled,
for the darkies are not able to appreciate
their employers wants when the fast
growing crops demand urgent attention.
Give darkey one days rations and
plug of tobacco, and his wants are all
supplied; he has no desire to work until |
necessity calls after the rations are gone.
Do not forget that I am northern man,
but am compelled to state these facts as
1 find them.


The idea that the negro "dare" not do |
thus and SO is simply absurd. They are
to day more "free" than their employers,
and more Independent in their lives
Their wages are from So to $12 per month
and it is all they are worth. The sra
tons were established as to quantity
years ago, and are all they require.


Now, for a man to hire one, two or
three darkies, lay out their work and be
with them constantly, is very well. 1t is
really cheap labor. But doo't leave them
tothemselves if you expect the work done.
There are exceptions, but they are very
few, and are made examples of, their
wages being Increased proportionately.


1 don't find theft their predominating
vice, but laziness. I have often told my
field hands the reason they only get So |
per month is because it is all they earn,
and when by their work they show their
employers they are good hands they will
pay them what they are worth to them,
for it costs as much to feed a poor hand |
as good one, and it is their way of doing
work that establishes the price of their |
labor


AS to their being permitted to partici-
pate in the exodus, they can go at any
time they wish. No party has the power
or the inclination to prevent them
Furthermore the best friends the negro |
has to-day are the southeners. If the
northern man employs them he wants
things to move faster than they are used |
to, and the old field hands will tell you,
almost to a man, that the northern mas
ter works them harder than the old mas
ter did. So much for the "poor down
trodden."