The fact that the black man speaks a language understood by the white man is a point in his favor, and that is also a reason why he should continue to be the most desirable common laborer obtainable. The negro at the North is discriminated against in all labor organizations as well as in every relation of life, but in the South he still has a fair chance to market his labor, if he will avail himself of it and will realize his opportunity. So far the very abundance of cheap common labor in the South has hindered the growth of the labor union there and has in many instances defeated its purposes when established. The want of ambition, which makes the negro content with low wages and inferior conditions of living, is sometimes found in common labor at the North, but it is by no means so general as among the black race in the South. Particularly is this the case in the cities, to which the negroes have flocked in great numbers, denuding the plantations of needed help while, in the cities, holding down the wages of common labor,—the only labor in which the negro competition has yet been apparent. The employers of labor in the South should do everything in their power to make of the black man all that it is possible to make of him as a laborer; but, as he has his limitations and as the black man will at times leave the South and so leave an opening for new white labor, the South must use her energies to educate this newly acquired immigrant labor up to American standards—and no work that it can do will bring greater returns than teaching the non-English laborer the language of his newly adopted home. The very fact that union or organized labor is not strong in the South, when compared with the average sections of the North, gives the employer class in the South an opportunity which they may and should utilize in preparing for that time when the contests incident to organization are sure to come. And in this preparation they want to bear in mind the undeniable truth that the quality of the laborer is generally determined by the quality of the employer. In considering the capacity of any body of laborers we are unfailingly considering the capacity and intelligence of the employers in directing their employes. Employer and employe alike have splendid opportunities opening to them in the South, opportunities in many respects unrivalled; and it is of the highest importance that they make a right beginning and understand each other at the start. The union will indubitably grow, and the employer should welcome it if it presents itself as a business body seeking the highest wages compatible with commercial or competitive conditions in return for the best services of which the labor offered is capable.