Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the SouthFortune, Timothy Thomas
History
Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the South
Fortune, Timothy Thomas
African Americans -- Southern States; Southern States -- Economic conditions; United States -- Race relations
Q. 4. What division is made between labor and capital of
their joint production when you work on shares?
--A. I doubt if there is greater liberality shown to
laborers in any portion of the world than is done under this
system. The proprietor furnishes the land and houses,
including dwelling, stables, and outhouses, pays the taxes,
makes all necessary improvements, keeps up repairs and
insurance, gives free of cost a garden spot, fuel, pasturage
for the stock owned by the laborer, and allows the use of
his teams for hauling fuel and family supplies, provides
mules or horses, wagons, gears, implements, feed for teams,
the necessary machinery for ginning, or, in short, every
expense of making the crop and preparing it for market, and
then divides equally the whole gross proceeds with the
laborers. In addition to all this, the proprietor frequently
mortgages his real estate to obtain means to advance to the
laborers supplies on their portion of the crop yet to be
grown, thus mortgaging what he actually possesses, and
taking a security not yet in existence, and which depends
not only upon the vicissitudes of the seasons, but the
faithfulness of the laborers themselves. Under this system
thrifty, industrious laborers ought soon to become
landowners. But, owing to indolence, the negroes, except
where they are very judiciously managed and encouraged, fail
to take advantage of the opportunities offered them to raise
the necessaries of life. They idle away all the time not
actually necessary to make and gather their corn and cotton,
and improvidently spend what balance may remain after paying
for the advances made to them.
Q. 5. When you rent, what division is made?
--A. Where the laborer owns his own teams, gears, and
implements necessary for making a crop, he gets two-thirds
or three-fourths of the crop, according to the quality and
location of the land.
Under the rental system proper, where a laborer is
responsible and owns his team, &c., first-class land is
rented to him for $8 or $10 per acre. With the land go
certain privileges, such as those heretofore enumerated.
Q. 6. How many hours do the laborers work?
--A. This is an extremely difficult question to answer.
Under the wages system, from sunrise to sunset, with a rest
for dinner of from one and one-half to three hours,
according to the season of the year.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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