Annual report of the North Carolina Department of Labor

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00033934976
FOR USE ONLY IN
THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION
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TWENTIETH ANNUAL REPORT
BUREAU OF LABOR AND PRINTING
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
906
H. B. VARNER, COMMISSIONER
M. L. SHIPMAN, ASST. COMMISSIONER c
RALEIGH
E. M. UzzELL & Co., State Printers and Binders
1906
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/V
^ ^ 3 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
To His Excellency, Eobest B. Glenn^
Cj ^ Governor.
Sik:—In submitting to yon the Twentieth (my sixth) Annnal
Eeport of the Bnrean of Labor and Printing, as provided by law,
T wish to assure you that the information presented is as complete
as it has been possible to ascertain with the facilities available under
existing conditions. In the language of a predecessor, I will say:
"The appropriation is so small that it is impossible to visit the mines,
or to do a good many things that the law requires." However, this
report shows a material advancement along industrial lines in the
State, and actual conditions existing among the laboring classes of
manufacturing districts, indicated by the testimony of the manu-facturers
themselves. These statistics indicate the educational and
financial condition of operatives in the mills and factories of vari-ous
kinds ; wages paid, the hours employed, etc. Also, the author-ized
amount of capital invested, number of spindles and looms in
operation, power developed, and other facts of general interest to
the public.
It will be seen from the reports of the farmers that labor is scarce
and unreliable to a considerable extent. This is largely attributable
to the lack of organization and a just conception of the value of an
education which would j)repare our wage-earners for the high-class
employment demanded by the scientific farmer of this day and gen-eration.
The farmers assert that "wages are high and labor hard
to obtain at any price"—due, they suggest, to a desire upon the part
of the workingmen to engage in other pursuits and professions. The
need of a more adequate knowledge of the duties required at their
hands, and the importance of putting forth every endeavor to elevate
our citizenship should be impressed upon every class of labor, and I
believe a compulsory school law would be a great step forward in the
effort to obtain the best results along the line suggested. By this
means the rising generation could be better prepared to fill the places
of the uneducated and, sometimes, indolent wage-earner of the pres-
'jO ent day.
ir
1^
\<r
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'2 ISToRTH Cakolina Labor Statistics.
Perhaps the most widely discussed proposition that has been
brought to the attention of a considerate people is that of child labor
in the mills. As the public is aware, the Legislature of 1903 passed
an act prohibiting the employment of any child under twelve years
of age in any factory or manufacturing establishment within the
State, and that sixty-six hours should constitute a week's work. This
law has been instrumental in placing hundreds of children in school
who would otherwise have been deprived of that privilege, and I
am glad to say that, in the main, the manufacturers have cheerfully
cooperated with the State in carrying into effect the provisions of
the measure regulating the child-labor question. There may be, and
doubtless are, some violations of this law every year, but my obser-vation
has been such as to prompt the suggestion that there is as little
child labor in ISTorth Carolina as in the ISTew England States, and
some of those west of the Mississippi River, that I have visited in
person. The major portion of the mill men say they are averse to
. the employment of small children in their work, and have put them-selves
on record against it and in favor of a compulsory school law,
which many believe would be the best solution of this momentous
question. Others, although the number is comparatively small, ob-ject
to the provisions of the present law, or any further legislation
in this regard. They appear not to realize the injury to small chil-dren
of constant work '^from early morn to dewy eve," and insist
upon being allowed to use their own discretion in regard to employ-ing
them. However, a number of the manufacturers have already
decreased the hours of labor and others contemplate similar action
in the near future. This is a condition much to be desired, and
will doubtless be realized at no distant day.
There is considerable disinclination on the part of the manufac-turers
to respond to the request of the Department for information
required by law in the compilation of our annual report. Those who
object to filling out the blanks evidently do not realize the importance
to the State of the information they are intended to convey. To make
a personal canvass of the entire State is impossible with the limited
means available, consequently there is evident need for the enactment
of a law which will enable the office to secure rejDorts in the manner
provided for other departments of the State Government. The con-stantly
increasing demand for the reports of this Department indi-
Letter of Transmittal,. 3
cates ilv value to the State of the information it disseminates, and
empl asizfcs the importance of enlarging its field.
The General Assembly of 1901 placed the supervision of all print-ing
and binding executed for the State and approval of bills for the
same, purchase of stock, and all matters connected with that impor-tant
item of expense, under the care of this Department, requiring
that the duties connected therewith shall be performed by the Assist-ant
Commissioner, in addition to his work in the Department of Sta-tistics,
provided in the original act creating the Bureau twenty years
ago. ISTotwithstanding this additional assignment of duties upon the
Department, demanding the services of one familiar with details
connected therewith, no provision has been made for the adequate
compensation of an assistant possessing the qualifications necessary
in the proper adjustment of these exacting requirements. And
although the general work of the Department has materially advanced
during recent years, in every particular, the original appropriation
remains the same, and should be increased to not less than $5,000.
A close observation of the law passed by the General Assembly of
1901, regulating the public printing, has resulted in a saving to the
State of thousands of dollars in the reduced cost of production and
judicious purchase of stock. And, besides, the Legislature is relieved
of a former responsibility which was often perplexing and annoying
to the members. The supervision of the printing alone, considering
the importance of a proper adjudication of the numerous details
thus imposed upon the Assistant Commissioner, justifies a compensa-tion
commensurate with the value of this work to the Commonwealth.
I would therefore recommend an increase of the salary of the
ofiicial upon whom these duties devolve to $1,400 per annum. This
would be only a just recog-nition of an actual service rendered, and
enable the State to retain in its employ one who is sufiiciently in-formed
to meet fully the exigencies of the situation in this regard.
It is to be hoped that the Legislature now in session will realize
the importance of a due consideration of the above suggestions, in
view of which I beg to recommend the enactment of laws embodying
the same.
4 !N"oETPi Caeoli^ta Labor Statistics.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. The enactment of a compulsory school law, or that provision
be made for a submission of this question to the qualified voters of
each county, town, or township at the earliest date convenient to the
authorities and the people, giving due time for a proper presentation
of the subject to those who are to pass upon the question. All chil-dren
between the ages of six and fourteen years should attend reg-ularly
every year the public schools of their respective neighborhood.
2. That no child who is not able to read intelligently and write
legibly be permitted to work in any mill or factory, unless a widowed
mother or totally disabled father is dependent upon the labor of
such child, and has no other means of support. And that no child
under fourteen years of age be permitted to work in any factory
between the hours of 1 P. M. and 6 A. M.
3. That not exceeding ten hours shall constitute the maximum
day's work in the State for all manufacturing establishments. Such
a requirement would be nothing more than simple justice to mill
operatives, and will not retard the progress of any industry in the
State.
4. That all manufacturers and other agencies, of whatsoever kind,
addressed for information by the Department in the compilation of
its annual report, be required to answer promptly each question fully
and accurately to the best of their knowledge and belief.
5. That adequate provision be made to enlarge the usefulness of
this Department; especially would I emphasize the justice of an
increase in the salary of the Assistant Commissioner to not less than
$1,400, on account of the additional and exacting duties required at
his hands.
6. That the law designating the Commissioner of Labor and
Printing as Inspector of Mines be repealed or sufficient appropria-tion
be made to carry out the provisions.
Respectfully submitted,
J^mQ/OtyX^A^AUL^K^
January 10, 1907. Commissioner.
STATE GOVERNMENT.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Robert B. Glenn Governor Forsyth.
Francis D. Winston Lieutenant-Governor Bertie.
J. Bryan Grimes Secretary of State Pitt.
Benjamin F. Dixon Auditor Cleveland.
Benjamin R. Lacy Treasurer Wake.
Robert D. Gilmer Attorney-General Haywood.
J. Y. Joyner Superintendent of Public Instruction Guilford.
Samuel L. Patterson Commissioner of Agriculture Caldwell.
Henry B. Varner Commissioner of Labor and Printing Davidson.
T. R. Robertson Adjutant-General Mecklenburg.
Alfred Williams Assistant Adjutant-General Wake.
M. O. Sherrill State Librarian Catawba.
James R. Young Insurance Commissioner Vance.
A. H. Arrington Private Secretary to Governor Nash.
Miss Lillian M. Thompson Executive Clerk Wake.
George W. Norwood Grant Clerk Wake.
W. S. Wilson Corporation Clerk Caswell.
Miss Minnie M. Bagwell Clerk and Stenographer Wake.
Joseph E. Sawyer Clerk and Stenographer Wake.
E. H. Baker Chief Clerk to Auditor Franklin.
Baxter Durham Tax Clerk Wake.
Miss F. W. Smith Pension Clerk and Stenographer Wake.
W. F. Moody Chief Clerk of Treasury Department Mecklenburg.
P. B. Fleming Teller Franklin.
H. M. Reece Clerk of Institutions Guilford.
Miss M. F. Jones Clerk and Stenographer Buncombe.
Hayden Clement Assistant Attorney-General Rowan.
Miss Sarah Burkhead Clerk and Stenographer to Atty.-General-—Columbus.
A. J. Barwick Chief Clerk to Supt. Public Instruction Lenoir.
C. H. Mebane Clerk of Loan Fund Catawba.
Miss Hattie Arrington Clerk and Stenographer Wake.
Miss C. E. Broughton Assistant Librarian Wake.
R. D. W. Connor Secretary Historical Commission Wilson.
M. L. Shipman Asst. Com. of Labor and Printing Henderson.
Miss Daisy Thompson Clerk and Stenographer Wake.
D. H. Milton Clerk to Insurance Commissioner Rockingham.
W. A. Scott Deputy Insurance Commissioner Guilford.
A. H. Mowbray Actuary Wake.
Miss Ida Montgomery Stenographer and Cashier Wake.
Miss Stella Jordan Bookkeeper and File Clerk Wake.
A. H. Yearby License Clerk Wake.
C. C. Cherry Superintendent of Public Buildings Edgecombe.
L. H. Lumsden State Standard Keeper Wake.
Edmund B. Norvell Enrolling Clerk Cherokee.
E. M. Uzzell State Printer Wake.
CORPORATION COMMISSION.
Franklin McNeill Chairman New Hanover.
Samuel L. Rogers Commissioner Macon.
E. C. Beddingfield Commissioner Wake.
Henry C. Brown Clerk Surry.
Stedman Thompson Clerk to Tax Commissioners Wake.
MissE. G. Riddick Stenographer Gates.
ISToRTH Carolina Labor Statistics.
JUDICIAL department.
SUPREME COURT JUDGES.
Walter Clark Chief Justice Raleigh Wake.
Henry G. Connor Associate Justice Wilson Wilson.
Piatt D. Walker Associate Justice Charlotte Mecklenburg.
George H. Brown, Jr. Associate Justice Washington Beaufort.
William A. Hoke Associate Justice Lincolnton Lincoln.
Thomas S. Kenan Clerk Raleigh Wake.
J. L. Seawell Office Clerk Raleigh Wake.
Robert H. Bradley Marshal and Librarian Raleigh Wake.
Robert C. Strong Reporter Raleigh Wake.
SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES.
George W. Ward Elizabeth City Pasquotank.
Robert B. Peebles Jackson Northampton.
Owen H. Guion New Bern Craven.
Charles M. Cooke Louisburg Franklin.
Oliver H. Allen Kinston Lenoir.
William R. Allen Goldsboro Wayne.
Chatham Calhoun Lyon Elizabethtown Bladen.
Walter H. Neal Laurinburg Scotland.
J. Crawford Biggs Durham Durham.
Benjamin F. Long Statesville Iredell.
ErastusD. Jones Winston Forsyth.
James L.Webb Shelby Cleveland.
W. B. Council Boone Watauga.
M. H. Justice Rutherfordton Rutherford.
Frederick Moore Asheville Buncombe.
Garland S. Ferguson Waynesville Haywood.
SOLICITORS.
Hallet S. Ward
John H. Kerr
Charles L. Abernethy -
Charles C. Daniels-
-Washington Beaufort.
-Warrenton Warren.
-Beaufort Carteret.
-Wilson Wilson.
Rudolph Duffy Catherine Lake New Hanover.
Armistead Jones Raleigh Wake.
N. A. Sinclair Fayetteville Cumberland.
L. D. Robinson Wadesboro Anson.
Aubry L. Brooks Greensboro Guilford.
William C. Hammer Ashboro Randolph.
S. P. Graves Mt. Airy Surry.
Heriot Clarkson Charlotte Mecklenburg.
Prank A. Linney Boone Watauga.
J. F. Spainhour Morganton Burke.
Mark W.Brown Asheville Buncombe.
Thad. D. Bryson Bryson City Swam.
LAW RELATING TO CHILD LABOR.
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 1. That uo child under twelve years of age shall be employed or
worked in any factory or manufacturing establishment within this State:
Provided fuYther, that after one thousand nine hundred and seven no child
between the ages of twelve and thirteen years of age shall be employed or
work in a factory except in apprenticeship capacity, and only then after
having attended school four months in the preceding twelve months.
Sec. 2. That not exceeding sixty-six hours shall constitute a week's work
in all factories and manufacturing establishments of this State. No person
under eighteen years of age shall be required to work in such factories or
establishments a longer period than sixty-six hours in one week: Provided.
that this section shall not apply to engineers, firemen, machinists, superin-tendents,
overseers, section and yard hands, office men. watchmen or repairers
of breakdowns.
Sec. 8. All parents, or persons standing in relation of parent, upon hiring
their children to any factory or manufacturing establishment, shall furnish
such establishment a written statement of the age of such child or children
being so hired, and certificate as to school attendance; and any parent, or
person standing in the relation of parent to such child or children, who shall
in such written statement misstate the age of such child or children being
so employed, or their school attendance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction shall be punished at the discretion of the Court. Any
mill-owner, superintendent or manufacturing estaldisbment. who shall know-ingly
or wilfully violate the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a mis-demeanor
and upon conviction shall be punished at the discretion of the Com-t.
Sec. 4. After one thousand nine hundred and seven no boy or girl under
fourteen years old shall work in a factory between the hours of eight P. M.
and five A. M.
Sec. .5. This act shall be in force from and after .January first, one thousand
nine hundred and eight.
In the General Assembly read three times, and ratified this the 9th day of
March. A. D. 1907.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I—CoNDiTTox of Faemebs.
II
—
The Trades.
Ill
Miscellaneous Factories.
IV
Cottojnt. Woolen and Knitting Mills.
V—FuENiTrRE Factories.
VI
The Staters Newspapers.
VII
Railroad Employes.
Bureaus of Labor.
CHAPTER I.
coi^ditio:nt of faemeks.
The one great problem is the scarcity of labor. ISTegTo labor on
the farm is becoming less reliable every year, and the farmers need
to cooperate with each other in a determined effort to attract a desir-able
class of immigTants to this section. Statistics recently received
at the Department indicate favorable conditions for wage-earners,
and the need for more laborers to meet the demands of the agricul-tural
classes in the State.
The following interesting discussion of agTicultural conditions,
past and present, by J. Oscar Morgan, B. A., of the North Carolina
College of AgTiculture and Mechanic Arts, is considered of sufficient
value to entitle it to a place in this compilation. Professor Morgan
says:
PROGEESS OF AGRICULTURE DUE TO SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION.
In glancing back over the history of our agTiculture, the skilled
observer cannot help being amazed at the wonderful transformations
which have been brought about in this industry during the past cen-tury.
We can truly say at the beginning of the nineteenth cen-tury
agriculture was nothing more than a mere process—a process
which had been handed down from generation to generation without
any material change or marked improvement.
With a rapidly growing population and an increased demand for
the product of the farm, a change in agricultural methods was abso-lutely
necessary. How this change was to be brought about was a
problem which perplexed the world.
It was realized, however, that to make such a change as would bet-ter
the condition of the farming element of our population would be
altogether impossible without a more extended knowledge of agricul-
9,
10 ISToKTH Carolina Laboe Statistics.
ture itself. The realization led to that spirit of investigation which
has been a means by which agriculture has been lifted out of the ruts
of a dead past and placed upon a more modern basis.
Each branch of agriculture had its thinkers.
In entomology the size, the shape, the color, the habits of life as
well as the life-history and modes of development of all the injurious
insects have been determined and remedies prescribed to prevent their
ravages upon the farmers' crops. This also led to a more extended
study of crop rotation and crop management, and it is an unques-tioned
fact that the agriculture of the future will give to entomology
the place it has long deserved.
The fact that plants, like animals, are capable of being improved
by breeding and proper management and by a study of their environ-ment
and adaptations, was also recognized about the beginning of the
nineteenth century.
To-day we have in almost every agricultural section of the globe
investigators studying the soil and its adaptation to plant growth,
studying the climate, the plant peculiarities and the best methods of
cultivation, and above all, putting forth all of their skill and their
knowledge and perseverance in developing those new varieties which
will more nearly supply the farmer's future wants and needs. What
has been the result of all this expenditure of time and money ? A
few instances will illustrate:
Fifty years ago all of the macaroni wheat used in this country was
imported from foreign markets. American wheat-growers said
:
"We can't raise it; our climate is not suitable; our soils are not
adapted to it; our knowledge is not sufficient." Science stepped in
and said, "You can raise it," and what is the result ? Over two mil-lion
bushels of this crop are grown annually on our western farms
which only a few years ago were barren wastes.
The introduction of new varieties of rice in Texas and other parts
of the South has resulted in the production of a crop worth millions
CojS^dition of Farmers. 11
of dollars and the investment of twenty million dollars in this in-dnstry.
A few years ago the cotton in the sea-islands of South Carolina
began to die out. The planters appealed for help. A scientist was
sent. He found that a fungus gTowth at the root was the cause. He
was ordered to spend four years in that locality studying the prob-lem
until by selection and cross-breeding he produced a plant that was
immune to that disease.
The fruit-grower has received his share of this new learning. Prob-lems
connected with the production, cold-storage and marketing of
fruits have been successfully solved. What hastens and retards the
ripening of fruits, the best methods of propagating them, the crossing
of varieties and the production of new varieties. All these methods
have been worked out and given to the fruit-growers during the past
few years.
Another branch of agTiculture which has entered upon a new era
during the latter part of the last century is the animal industry.
While something is known, even to the general public, of the progTess
of knowledge in this field, there are comparatively fevv^ who have
an adequate conception of the vast array of facts which have been
accumulated, and the revolutions which these facts have wrought in
promoting the interests of this industry. The beginning of the nine-teenth
century almost defines the line at which the old and fantastic
doctrines on animal disease began to crumble and to be replaced by
facts and scientific principles. Previous to that time the ideas in
regard to the structures and activities of the animal body were in
nearly every case crude and erratic, and it is not surprising that the
conception of diseases were often distracted and strange when viewed
from the standpoint of our present knowledge. But what is it that
has brought light out of the darkness and order out of the chaos of
the preceding centuries ? We have only to answer that it is that spirit
of investigation, that earnest seeking after the truth which to-day
12 ISToKTH Caeolina Labor Statistics.
characterizes every brancli of agriculture. The microscope was
brought into play and the hitherto nnseen world was pried into. The
true causes and nature of the destructive animal diseases were deter-mined
and remedies put forth to check them.
All of this time the breeder had been busy trying to solve the prob-lems
of improving the quality and increasing the utility of the differ-ent
classes of live-stock. Has he accomplished anything ? Let us see.
Up until near the middle of the last century all of our great stock-producing
States had been the home of scrub cattle for many genera-tions.
Very slight if any improvement could be seen. But later,
when the stockman's knowledge had been sufficiently increased for him
to understand and correctly apply the principles of breeding, then was
the searchlight of improvement flashed upon the live-stock industry,
and to-day Illinois, the great central State of the West, produces a
perfect hog, with sheep and cattle rapidly conforming themselves to
the perfect type.
Dairying has also kept pace with the other industries and has be-come
a specialty in many parts of the country. In fact it is now
regarded as among the most progressive and highly developed forms
of farming. This development has all taken place within recent years,
and is unmistakably attributed to the art of invention, . the teaching
of modern science and the intelligent practice of skilled operators.
There is another improvement which stands out prominently in the
era of progress, and this is soil improvement. At the beginning of the
last century the soil was looked upon as simply a mass of dead, inert
matter, about which there was nothing to know. How different
to-day ! Investigators have shown us that instead of being lifeless,
the soil is a great laboratory in which germ life is found in great
abundance, working either for its improvement or impoverishment.
The soil has also been studied with relation to its chemical and physi-cal
constitution. In the laboratory scientists investigate the relation
of plant food to the growth of the crop, and also what physical condi-
Condition of Fakmbks. 13
tion of the soil is best suited to the particular crop. Again, surveying
parties have been sent out into many States to examine the soil and to
make maps upon which are indicated soil peculiarities. This land
is marked as suitable for fruit, that section as adapted to tobacco, this
for fig, and so on. These surveys reveal the value of the land as well
as its deficiencies, what remedies should be applied, and what use may
best be made of it.
The consideration of these soil investigations leads us to a science
which has been intimately associated with almost every line of agri-cultural
progress for many years past, and is pointing the way to still
greater advancement. We refer now to chemistry. In fact, agricul-ture
has often been termed a chemical science. Chemistry in. its rela-tion
to the technology of fertilizing materials has pointed out the way
for indefinitely increasing the fertility of the soil and of laying for-ever
the specter of starvation which has so often been raised to threaten
the future of mankind. The true composition of the soil and its rela-tion
to plant growth are now known. The methods of utilizing plant
food and of conserving it for the coming years have been fully estab-lished.
The principles of plant growth and the chemical changes
attending it are understood. The laws of animal nutrition have
been experimentally elucidated and by their application economy in
the use of nutrients is effected. The methods whereby organic nitro-gen
is prepared for plant food have been revealed, and some of the
ways in which atmospheric nitrogen enters into organic combination
are marked out. The application of the principles of chemical tech-nology
to the elaboration of raw agTicultural products has added a new
value to the fruits of the farm, opened up new avenues of prosperity
and developed new staple crops.
It is thus seen that chemistry has done a wonderful work in estab-lishing
agriculture as a scientific profession and assuring its future
against the principal dangers which menace it.
14 JSToRTH Caeolina Laboe Statistics,
We have yet to consider that science which is universally conceded
to have done more to transform the v^hole field of agriculture than any
other science, namely, bacteriolog5\ ISTotwithstanding the fact that it
has been only two decades since our scientists have seen the importance
and the gTeatness of this field, agricultural bacteriology is to-day the
advance ground of research. It has been found that these minute
forms of plant life play a very fundamental part in the processes of
nature; that the life phenomena of animals and plants are so inex-tricably
bound up in the functions of bacteria that without them life
processes must soon cease.
A knowledge of the natures of these organisms has been a means of
revolutionizing the dairy industry. The whole problem of said im-provement
is in a very large degree a problem of the control of bac-teria.
The farmer cannot cure and preserve his crops in the most
economical way unless he can bring about such conditions as are
favorable to the development of these germs.
These, and a great many other of the most vital problems which are
coming up before our agricultural communities, the settlement of
which is necessary if agriculture in the future is to hold its own suc-cessfully
against opposing forces, are clearly to be settled along the
line of bacteriology. In fact, we have reached a point where every
educated farmer who wishes to put himself in the proper condition to
make the best use of the means at his disposal and profit by discov-eries
as they are made from time to time, must have at least a general
knowledge of the fundamental principles of bacteriology as they are
related to agriculture. Indeed, it is becoming evident that the farmer,
even more than the physician, should be acquainted with bacteriology.
The physician, in the cure of disease, gains a certain advantage from
his knowledge of bacteria, but the farmer is obliged to make use of
these agents in a great many of his farming processes. From begin-ning
to end the occupations of the agriculturist are concerned in the
attempt to obtain the aid of these micro-organisms where they may be
Condition of Fabmees. ' 15
of advantage, and in preventing their actions in places where they
wonld be a detriment.
We see that the agricnltnre of to-day is not a mere process, but a
philosophy—a science dependent for its success upon the proper appli-cation
of such minor sciences as Chemistry, Bacteriology, Geology,
Meteorology, Botany, Agi'onomy, Horticulture, Veterinary Medicine,
and Animal Husbandry.
When we contrast the condition of agxicultural knowledge of to-day
with the nebulous, empirical and illogical theories which character-ized
it one hundred years ago, the distance we have traversed seems
indeed long, but we should not forget that we are still only on the
threshold of knowledge. The achievements of the next century ought
to surpass, by far, those which the past one looks upon with pride.
'No doubt that to him who writes the story of the progress of agricul-ture
as influenced by scientific research during the twentieth century,
will come a feeling of pity for the ignorance which now surrounds us,
but he will at least accord to our workers the merit of being emanci-pated
from the slavery of opinion and the worship of authority. We
have at least made a start, and to the leaders of progress for the next
century the agricultural world commits its unfinished work, confident
of their integrity and hopeful of the good which they will bring to
mankind.
The tables that appear in the report are made out from the 578
returns of blanks sent out from this Department to the farmers of
the State. The results arrived at represent the opinion of a majority
of these farmers. For instance : If we have five farmers reporting
from a certain county, and three of them report that the value of land
has decreased, while two report that the value has increased, that
county is entered on the report as showing a decrease in the value
of land. The same operation serves to arrive at the other results of
the same table, as well as the tables following.
16 I^OETH CaKOLINA LaBOK STATISTICS.
Average Table No. 1
—
Showing Condition of Farm Land and Labor by Counties.
County.
Value of Land,'
Increased or
Decreased ?
BXi 0)
increased yes
increased yes
increased yes
increased ! yes •
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
no —
yes -
yes -
no —
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes
yes -
yes
yes -
no -
yes -
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
Tendency to
Larger or
Smaller
Farms ?
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
larger --
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
Labor Plenti-ful
or
Scarce ?
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
smaller 1 scarce.
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
smaller scarce
bus
C (LI
yes —
yes —
no
yes -—
no
yes ---
yes ---
no
no
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
no
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
no
yes -—
no
yes —
yes —
-
yes —
yes —
yes ---
yes —
yes ^—
yes -
no —
yes -
yes -
yes -
no —
yes -
s
'-' c
m o
h4 bo
yes.
no.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
no.
no.
no.
same as last year.
Condition of Fakmees. IT
Average Table No. 1
—
Continued.
County.
Value of Land,
Increased or
Decreased ? tea
Tendency to
Larger or
Smaller
Farms ?
Labor Plenti-ful
or
Scarce?
U OS
bos
0.5
CO tH
hJ bo
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
Gates increased -
Graham increased
-
Granville increased -
Greene increased -
Guilford increased -
Halifax increased
Harnett increased -
Haywood increased -
Henderson increased
-
Hertford increased -
Hyde increased -
Iredell increased -
Jackson increased
-
Johnston increased -
Jones increased -
Lenoir increased -
Lincoln increased -
McDowell increased
Macon increased -
Madison increased
-
Martin* increased
Mecklenburg increased -
Mitchell increased -
Montgomery increased -
Moore increased -
Nash increased -
New Hanover ! increased -
Northampton 1 increased -
Onslow^ 1 increased -
Orange 1 increased -
increased .
increased
increased
increased
increased
Pamlico
Pasquotank -
Pender
Perquimans-
Person
no
yes ---
yes —
yes -—
no
yes -—
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes -—
yes —
yes -—
yes —
yes —
yes --.
yes --.
yes —
.
yes --
yes —
yes --
yes --
yes --
yes —
yes --
yes —
yes --
yes --
yes --
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes --
yes —
yes —
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
larger --
smaller -
smaller -
smaller -
- smaller -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce .
scarce -
scarce -
scarce -
scarce .
scarce .
scarce
scarce .
scarce
t—
no -
no -
no -
no -
no -
no -
no -
no
no
no -
no -
no
no -
no -
no -
no
yes - —
yes —
yes —
yes —
-
yes ---
no
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
no
yes -—
yes -—
yes —
yes -—
no
yes -—
no
yes -—
yes —
yes - —
no
yes -—
yes —
no
yes ---
no
yes —
yes —
no
yes —
-
no
yes --
no
* Failed to report; same as last year.
t No negro labor in Graham County.
18 IToRTH Carolina Labor Statistics.
Average Table No. 1
—
Continued.
County.
Pitt
Polk
Randolph -—
Richmond—
Robeson
Rocking-ham
Rowan
Rutherford -
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly
Stokes
Surry
Swain
Transylvania
Tyrrell
Union
Vance
Wake
Warren
Washington
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Value of Land,
Increased or
Decreased ?
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
increased
yes
yes
yes .
yes
yes
yes .
yes
yes .
yes
yes .
yes
no -.
yes .
yes .
no -.
yes -
yes .
no -
yes -
yes .
yes .
yes
yes .
yes .
yes .
yes
no -
Tendency to
Larg'er or
Smaller
Farms ?
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
larger -
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
larger -
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
smaller
Labor Plenti-ful
or
Scarce ?
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
scarce
i.
no yes —
no yes —
no no
no yes ---
no yes —
no yes -—
no yes —
no yes —
no no
no yes —
no no
no no
no yes —
no no
no yes —
no no
no no
no yes —
no yes —
no no
no yes —
no no
no yes —
no no
no yes —
no yes —
no no
^?
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
no.
no.
no.
no.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
yes.
no.
no.
yes.
yes.
no.
Condition of Fakmees. 19
Average Table No. 2
—
Slioic-ing Wages, Cost of Living, etc.
County.
Wages.
Highest
Paid
Men.
Lowest
Paid
Men.
Highest
Paid
Women.
Lowest
Paid
Women.
Wages
Increased
Children. Decreased?
Alamance-—
Alexander -.
Alleghany --
Anson
Ashe
Beaufort
Bertie
Bladen
Brunswick--
Buncombe --
Burke
Cabarrus
Caldwell
Camden
Carteret
Caswell
Catawba
Chatham
Cherokee
Chowan
Clay
Cleveland—
Columbus—
Craven
Cumberland
-
Currituck—
Dare
Davidson
Davie
Duplin
Durham
Edgecombe -
Forsyth
Franklin
Gaston
Gates
yes
yes .
yes
yes .
yes -
yes -
yes
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
yes -
18.40
23.30
23.56
16.00
38.06
23.15
20.63
22.40
21.23
20.70
21.58
21.00
26.39
32.50
19.50
18.36
19.40
18.50
23.08
23.00
14.93
19.29
21.60
20.16
21.56
20.00
28.17
23.85
19.50
23.21
15.75
16.21
20.90
14.88
24.46
20.00
11.30
12.00
13.49
9.75
12.34
17.18
14.50
13.00
14.08
11.25
15.12
13.00
16.66
19.50
13.00
11.92
11.00
10.08
15.00
12.00
9.80
11.44
13.25
14.62
13.32
10.00
21.83
13.76
13.00
14.11
10.85
11.71
13.50
10.00
14.62
13.00
10.30
11.20
11.48
11.17
14.30
13.98
14.00
12.72
13.22
15.00
11.60
14.95
14.69
19.50
13.00
10.43
12.13
12.32
13.00
14.48
10.40
14.06
12.50
14.04
13.00
16.33
7.20
6.88
7.17
8.25
7.58
11.05
9.95
8.50
9.10
8.00
6.45
13.00
8.88
13.00
10.40
5.88
7.50
7.97
6.50
9.14
8.23
8.56
9.35
10.40
8.42
11.53
13-08 8.73
13.00 6.50
12.63 8.17
13.00 10.40
10.37 7.63
8.50 5.75
15.39 10.40
12.50 9.63
7.40
6.52
6.87
7.67
7.80
9.10
8.95
7.98
8.53
10.40
6.11
13.00
7.88
9.10
10.40
7.93
6.25
6.92
10.40
8.48
6.48
7.61
7.30
9.62
8.68
9.13
8.97
9.10
7.59
10.00
6.70
6.65
6.25
9.11
7.13
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
nci-eased.
no.
no.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
20 ISToETH Carolina Labor Statistics.
Average Table No. 2
—
Continued.
County.
Graham
Granville
Greene
Guilford
Halifax
Harnett
Haywood
Henderson—
Hertford
Hyde
Iredell
Jackson
Johnston
Jones
Lenoir
Lincoln
McDowell
Macon
Madison
Martin
Mecklenburg-
Mitchell
Montgomery -
Moore
Nash
New Hanover
Northampton
Onslow
Orang-e
Pamlico
Pasquotank --
Pender
Perquimans—
Person
Pitt
Polk
n! o '^
yes —
yes ---
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes -—
yes —
yes -—
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes —
no
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes ---
yes ---
yes -—
yes -—
yes -—
yes -—
yes —
yes —
no
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes —
yes -—
yes —
Wages.
Highest
Paid
Men.
Lowest
Paid
Men.
24.38
24.13
21.00
18.00
23.50
20.80
26.00
19.71
18. 33
19.70
24.50
23.79
17.46 1
18.30
18.00
23.90
25.74
27.09
24.00
19.60
23.73
27.19
19.45
20.82
15.79
24.27
18.85
22.53
18.63
21.83
20.00
23.40
24.71
21.33
20.16
32.50
16.25
12.87
12.00
8.00
10.47
12.58
14.00
12.56
12.67
11.94
12.30
17.33
11.51
14.50
11.84
15.00
17.48
13.02
15.57
14.20
14.73
18.28
11.63
12.68
10.00
19.07
11.69
13.00
11.10
15.30
13.78
14.30
16.40
10.47
13.15
13.00
Highest
Paid
Women.
12.25
9.67
11.70
6.00
12.87
13. 52
12.50
12.10
12.03
12.52
15.90
13.65
11.92
12.50
15.50
19.48
12.89
14.50
15.80
13.90
17.00
14.00
12. 59
13.23
10.63
13.87
13.38
13.87
10.53
19.50
14.00
11.50
18.75
10.30
13.09
14.50
Lowest
Paid
Women.
8.15
7.70
8.00
6.97
8.55
6.25
7.34
8.97
9.25
10.43
7.80
7.84
7.25
10.33
8.72
8.89
7.87
9.32
9.50
11.90
8.78
8.23
9.62
6.77
11.27
7.61
9.10
7.14
13.00
12.50
9.10
12.80
6.97
8.48
8.40
Children.
7.64
7.53
6.13
8.67
11.35
7.28
6.50
7.30
7.80
7.76
7.45
8.82
7.34
5.60
7.70
11.20
8.18
8.26
8.05
8.75
9.61
9.79
7.08
7.06
5.76
9.90
8.00
8.10
7.78
12.00
7.50
5.75
11.42
5.67
7.15
6.75
Wages
Increased
Decreased?
increased.
increased.
increased.
increased.
no.
increased.
increased.
increased.
increased.
no.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
increased.
increased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
no.
increased,
increased,
increased,
increased,
increased,
increased.
Coiv^DiTiON or Fakmees. 21
Aa'erage Table No. 2
—
Continued.
County.
Randolph
Richmond
Robeson
Rockingham -
Rowan
Rutherford —
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly
Stokes
Surry
Swain
Transylvania-
Tyrrell
Union
Vance
Wake
Warren
Washington-
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes —
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Wages.
Highest
Paid
Men.
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes —
-
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes —
yes -—
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes -—
yes —
-
yes —
yes —
yes —
yes ---
yes —
yes —
'
yes -—
yes —
23.86
18.90
19.81
20.61
23.25
24.00
19.68
16.67
20.26
22.45
20.42
24.20
21.96
28.75
18.18
18.10
25.80
20.00
18.55
24.70
15.92
23.73
20.38
21.25
25.80
Lowest
Paid
Men.
10.74
12.75
12.58
11.56
13.42
16.78
14.05
12.00
12.27
12.44
12.61
13.20
14.60
20.90
11.06
10.00
17.00
7.00
12.45
13.26
10.75
11.66
12.50
10.46
14.20
Highest
Paid
Women
.
14.85
14.55
14.05
11.06
15.86
15.34
13.11
12.67
13.38
10.61
9.58
12.40
12.22
14.95
11.70
9.47
15.70
9.50
15.60
18.75
11.82
12.31
14.23
11.61
12.40
Lowest
Paid
Women.
7.53
10.60
10.10
7.56
4.75
9.79
10.26
7.47
9.10
7.23
7.20
7.32
7.52
9.53
8.43
6.40
10.62
4.50
13.00
8.13
8.23
8.93
8.34
6.04
7.55
Children.
9.45
8.10
7.67
7.94
12.15
8.26
7.56
7.07
7.73
7.78
6.33
6.63
7.17
9.75
7.73
7.80
4.48
4.50
10.00
8.30
5.94
7.73
8.45
5.96
7.73
Wages
Increased
Decreased?
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
ncreased.
22 ISToRTH Caeolijsta Labor Statistics.
Average Table No. 3
—
'Shoioing Cost of Production.
County.
Cost to Produce.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
Bushel
Wheat.
Bushel
Corn.
Bushel
Oats.
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
Alamance
-
Alexander
Alleg-hany .
Anson
Ashe-
Beaufort—
Bertie
Bladen
Brunswick
-
Buncombe -
Burke
Cabai-rus
—
Caldwell —
Camden
Carteret —
Caswell
Catawba —
Chatham—
Cherokee
Chowan
Clay
Cleveland—
Columbus—
Craven
Cumberland
Currituck—
Dare-
40.00
35.00
34.42
29.00
34.00
35.00
29.00
0.84
.77
.81
.85
.73
.63
28.88
40.00
35.00
15.00
30.00
41.00
38.50
37.50
30.14
30.00
29.50
27.60
33.00
0.52
.52
.63
.56
.64
.36
.45
.71
.51
.55
.42
.60
.49
.30
.40
.38
.63
.52
.49
.40
.54
.70
.50
.34
.42
.40
0.39
.31
.34
.34
.30
.28
.41
.36
.33
.29
.40
.33
.25
7.45
6.13
4.00
7.50
6.50
6.75
8.00
7.50
10.00
5.00
5.00
Davidson --
Davie
Duplin
Durham
Edgecombe
Forsyth
Franklin—
Gaston
Gates
29.00
30.00
33.00
40.00
34.00
41.00
36.18
41.77
5.75
8.00
5.92
10.25
7.33
7.65
7.25
Condition of Faemees. 23
Average Table No. 3
—
Continued.
County.
Cost to Produce.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
Bushel
Wheat.
Bushel
Corn.
Bushel
Oats.
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
Graham
Granville
Greene
Guilford
Halifax
Harnett
Haywood
Henderson
Hertford
Hyde
Iredell
Jackson
Johnston
Jones
Lenoir
Lincoln
McDowell
Macon
Madison
Martin
Mecklenburg -
Mitchell
Montgomery —
Moore
Nash
New Hanover
-
Northampton -
Onslow
Orange
Pamlico
Pasquotank—
Pender
Perquimans—
Person
Pitt
Polk
30.83
32.13
30.00
41.00
28.33
45.83
32.00
29.67
30.50
35.66
26.00
30.17
33.75
25.00
31.00
36.31
36.80
32.50
38.43
35.17
34.17
33.00
26.00
33.75
37.50
32.64
28.13
31.50
0.74
.72
.42
.70
.70
.76
.80
.66
.80
.60
.68
.69
.66
.81
.72
.57
1.00
0.54
.46
.48
.46
.67
.48
.40
.47
.52
.42
.30
.49
.76
.29
.45
.53
.53
.48
.36
.41
.48
.63
.57
.52
.57
.50
.64
.57
.69
.40
.42
.35
.44
.45
.41
.45
0.32
.32
.37
.33
.38
.38
.25
.32
.35
.28
.28
.35
.38
8.40
8.20
6.63
6.38
8.75
5.00
5.00
10.00
6.00
11.00
5.00
7.90
5.00
6.00
6.50
10.75
7.00
7.00
10.00
9.14
6.33
6.71
9.00
6.26
24 iN'oRTH Carolina Laboe Statistics.
Average Table No» o—Continued.
County.
Randolph
Richmond
Robeson
Rockingham -
Rowan
Rutherford --
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly .
Stokes
Surry
Swain
Transylvania-
Tyrrell
Union
Vance
Wake
Warren
Washing-ton --
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Cost to Produce.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
37.50
30.75
36.50
31.00
33.17
29.44
31.67
31.00
30.63
31.81
56.60
30.00
30.67
30.00
32.92
33.13
30.00
Bushel
Wheat.
0.60
.50
.75
.82
.72
.76
.70
.92
.81
.77
.79
.99
.82
Bushel
Corn.
0.39
.49
.55
.53
.42
.51
.71
.50
.60
.50
.52
.56
.48
.50
.56
.40
.34
.42
.30
.61
.58
.48
.48
.45
.57
Bushel
Oats.
0.25
.35
.36
.40
.30
.39
.44
.33
.40
.33
.35
.38
.35
.35
.39
.30
.23
.26
.56
.39
.26
.43
.34
.31
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
5.00
18.00
6.83
8.44
6.00
5.67
8.17
6.79
6.44
10.00
16.00
7.00
6.17
6.00
5.50
5.40
6.00
7.13
7.10
7.50
Condition of Farmers. 25
Average Table No. 4- ShovAng Market Price of Crops.
County.
Present Market Price.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
Bushel
Wheat.
Bushel
Corn.
Bushel
Oats.
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
Alamance
-
Alexander
Alleghany
Anson
Ashe-
Beaufort
Bertie
Bladen
Brunswick --
Buncombe --
Burke
Cabarrus
Caldwell
Camden
Carteret
Caswell
Catawba
Chatham
Cherokee
Chowan
Clay
Cleveland—
Columbus—
Craven
Cumberland
Currituck—
Dare
Davidson
Davie
Duplin
Durham
Edgecombe -
Forsyth
Franklin
Gaston
Gates
3
55.75
55.42
57.25
55.00
55.63
53.00
55.63
0.95
1.04
1.04
1.18
1.04
1.00
58.00
56.78
56.67
51.65
56.25
57.75
57.28
58.15
39.70
55.00
55.31
56.50
1.00
1.03
1.13
1.04
.97
1.01
1.06
1.02
1.03
.99
1.00
0.70
.78
.85
.81
.96
.64
.78
.80
.73
.83
.72
.85
.83
.63
.70
.77
.81
.78
.75
.63
.75
.77
.75
.70
.81
.60
0.47
.48
.51
.52
.51
.44
.63
.44
.38
.48
.58
.64
.50
9.10
8.78
12.00
18.75
8.00
6.00
6.00
.00
9.33
11.25
10.00
5.00
8.00
57.75
57.50
55.56
57.50
55.71
.99
1.00
56.31
57.50
56.67
.95
.96
.99
1.17
1.06
.68
8.83
6.00
9.30
8.25
7.67
11.67
7.33
26 iN'oB.TH Caeolina Labob Statistics.
Average Table No. 4
—
Continued.
County.
Present Market Price.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
Bushel
Wheat.
Bushel
Corn.
Bushel
Oats.
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
Graham
Granville
Greene
Guilford
Halifax
Harnett
Haywood
Henderson
Hertford
Hyde
Iredell
Jackson
Johnston
Jones
Lenoir
Lincoln
McDowell
Macon
Madison
Martin
Mecklenburg -
Mitchell
Montgomery --
Moore
Nash
New Hanover-
Northampton -
Onslow
Orange
Pamlico
Pasquotank—
Pender
Perquimans—
Person
Pitt
Polk
56.83
56.15
54.58
56.00
56.10
56.50
56.05
54.17
55.63
56.25
55.38
55.65
57.45
58.50
40.00
58.75
57.43
57.17
56.71
55.44
56.25
57.90
55.33
57.13
54.13
56.50
1.01
1.00
1.00
.93
1.00
1.00
.97
1.03
1.04
1.01
1.04
.97
.99
1.03
1.02
1.00
1.05
1.01
55.43
55.63
.95
.93
1.05
0.91
.73
.79
.73
.67
.76
.95
.83
.81
.72
.70
.78
.78
.74
.62
.58
.74
.58
.77
.75
0.58
.58
.59
.50
.50
.53
.48
.57
.45
.40
.57
.50
.56
.50
.50
.50
.55
.54
.55
21.17
8.67
8.50
8.00
10.00
10.00
9.00
22.50
8.00
8.00
10.00
9.50
5.00
11.25
19.58
8.33
7.00
10.00
8.57
8.00
8.50
12.50
8.33
Condition of Taemeks. 21
Average Table No. 4
—
Continued.
County.
Randolph
Richmond
Robeson
Rockingham -
Rowan
Rutherford-
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly
Stokes
Surry
Swain
Transylvania
-
Tyi-rell
Union
Vance
Wake
Warren
Washington --
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Present Market Price.
500-Pound
Bale Cotton.
58.00
56.56
55.66
58.04
56.68
56.34
56.08
58.57
55.42
56.36
55.63
57.25
56.06
54.50
Bushel
Wheat.
56.50
52.86
1.01
.78
1.00
1.02
1.00
1.04
.97
1.00
1.00
.99
1.05
1.00
1.00
.99
1.00
.91
1.08
.90
1.04
1.03
.99
1.12
Bushel
Corn.
Bushel
Oats.
0.78
.77
.88
.74
.73
.82
.81
.81
.85
.78
.82
.85
.84
.60
.82
.74
.80
.79
.65
1.04
.84
.79
.80
.73
.82
0.50
.55
.57
.53
.49
.54
.54
.50
.51
.50
.51
.55
.53
.43
.53
.58
.67
.55
.51
.53
.53
.53
.52
.46
100
Pounds
Tobacco.
10.00
29.00
8.00
7.91
8.00
10.00
5.75
8.02
7.79
15.75
21.67
7.50
9.00
8.00
10.00
9.50
11.00
8.50
8.36
10.00
28 ISToRTH Carolina Labor StatisticsI
Average Table No. 5
—
Showing Cost,
County.
Cotton. Wheat.
Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Prifce.
i
Profit.
Alamance
Alexander
$ 40.00
35.00
$ 55.75
55.42
$ 15.75
20.42
$ 0.84
.77
.81
.85
.73
$ 0.95
1.04
1.04
1.18
1.04
$ 0.11
.27
.23
.33
.31
.37
34.42 57.25 22.83
29.00
34.00
35.00
29.00
55.00
55.63
53.00
55.63
26.00
21.63
18.00
26.63
Bertie - — 1
1
Bladen - - - - - - - _ .
Brunswick -- - - _ _ _
.85
.73
.95
.85
1.00
1.03
1.13
1.04
.15
.30
.18
.19
Burke - 28.88
40.00
35.00
15.00
30.00
58.00
56.78
56.67
51.65
56.25
29.12
16.78
21.67
36.65
26.25
Caldwell- - .._ -
Camden -.
Carteret _ _ .
.56
.79
.76
.78
.97
1.01
1.06
1.02
.41
.22
.30
.24
41.00
38.50
57.75
57.28
16.75
18.78
Cherokee
Chowan -- _ - . 37.50 55.20 17.70
Clay — __ - .98
.78
.25
.40
.68
1.03
.99
1.00
.89
1.00
.05
.21
.75
.49
.32
30.14
30.00
29.50
27.60
33.00
58.15
39.75
55.00
55.31
56.50
28.01
9.75
25.50
27.71
Currituck — 23.50 -- _ . . _
Dare - - - _
29.00
30.00
33.00
40.00
34.00
57.75
57.50
55.56
57.50
55.71
28.75
27.50
22.56
17.50
21.71
.70
.50
.99
1.00
.29
.50
Duplin _ .
.63
.67
.72
.92
.82
.40
.74^
.95
.96
.99
1.17
1.06
.68
1.01
.32
.29
.27
.25
.24
.28
.27
Edgecombe
Forsyth - _ _ _
41.00
36.18
41.77
56.31
57.50
56.67
15.31
21.32
Gates- 14.90
Graham
Condition of Farmers. 29
Price and Profit on Products by Counties.
Com.
Cost. Price. Profit.
0.52
.52
.63
.56
.64
.36
.45
.71
.51
.55
.42
.60
.49
.30
.40
.38
.63
.52
.49
.40
.54
.70
.50
.34
.42
.40
0.70
.78
.85
.81
.96
.64
.78
.80
.73
.83
.72
.85
.83
.63
.70
.77
.81
.78
.75
.63
.75
.77
.75
.70
.81
.60
0.18
.26
.22
.25
.32
.28
.33
.09
.22
.28
.30
.25
.34
.33
.30
.39
.18
.26
.26
.23
.21
.07
.25
.36
.39
.20
Cost.
0.39
.31
.34
.34
.30
.28
Price. Profit,
0.47
.48
.51
.52
.51
.44
0.08
.17
.17
.18
.21
.16
Tobacco.
Cost.
7.45
6.13
4.00
Price. Profit.
7.50
6.50
.22
.08
.05
.19
.18
.31
.25
.19
.15
.15
.18
.13
.12
.20
.40
.29
.23
.10
6.75
8.00
7.38
6.83
7.50
10.00
5.00
5.00
9.10 $ 1.65
8.78 2.65
18.75
8.00
6.00
6.00
8.00
11.25
10.00
5.00
8.00
11.25
1.50
* .75
*2.00
1.84
2.87
3.75
25.00 I 12.50
.72
.75
.81
.75
.76
.71
.81
.82
.63
.91
.26
.35
.33
.35
.26
.18
.16
.30
.25
.37
.29
.25
.35
.23
.37
.37
.45
.35
.28
.32
.50
.49
5.75
8.00
5.92
10.25
7.33
7.65
7.25
8.83
6.00
9.30
8.25
7.67
11.67
7.33
21.17
3.08
*2.00
3.38
*2.00
.34
4.02
12.77
30 JSToRTH Carolina Labor Statistics.
Average Table
County.
Cotton. Wheat.
Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Price. Profit.
$ 30.83
32.13
30.00
41.00
28.33
$ 56.83
56.15
54.58
56.00
56.10
$ 26.00
24.02
24.58
15.00
27.77
$ 0.72
.42
.70
.70
.76
.80
.66
.80
.60
.68
.69
.66
$ 0.86
.88
1.00
1.00
.93
1.00
1.00
.80
.80
.98
.97
1.03
$ 0.14
.46
.30
.30
.17
.20
.34
Guilford
Halifax —
Harnett
Henderson - _
Hertford 45.83
32.00
29.67
30.50
35.66
26.00
80.17
33.75
25.00
56.50
56.05
54.17
55.63
56.25
55.38
55.65
57.45
58.50
10.67
24.05
24.50
25.13
20.59
29.38
25.48
23.70
33.50
Hyde
Iredell
.20
.30
.28
.37
Jones- - .- _ __ _
Lenoir-- -----
.81
.80
.80
.68
1.04
1.01
1.04
.97
.23
.21
.24
Madison - - - - .29
Martin — -- __ - _ - 31.00
36.31
40.00
58.75
9.00
22.44 .71
.90
.70
.85
.88
.99
1.03
1.02
1.00
1.05
.28
.13
.32
.15
.17
Mitchell -
36.80
32.50
38.43
57.43
57.17
56.71
20.63
24.67
Nash - 18.28
New Hanover -- - -
35.17
34.17
33.00
26.00
33.75
37.50
32.64
55.44
56.25
57.90
55.33
57.13
54.13
56.50
20.27
22.08
24.90
29.33
23.38
16.63
23.86
.92 1.01 .09
Onslow ----- - . _
.81 .94 .13
Pasquotank - -
Pender - -
.72
.57
1.00
.60
.50
.95
.93
1.05
1.01
.78
.23
.36
.05
.41
.28
Pitt — -- 28.13
31.50
37.50
30.75 '
55.43
55.63
58.00
56.56 '
27.30
24. 13
20.50
25.81
Polk-
Richmond
Condition of Faemeks. 31
No. 5
—
Continued.
Corn. Oats. Tobacco.
Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Price. Profit.
$ 0.46 $ 0.73 $ 0.27 $ 0.32 $ 0.58 $ 0.26 $ 8.20 $ 8.67 $ 0.47
.48 .84 .36 .37 .59 .22 6.63 8.50 1.87
.46 .73 .27 .33 .50 .17 6.38 8.00 1.62
.67 .80 .13 .38 .50 .12 8.75 10.00 1.25
.48 .83 .35 .38 .53 .15 5.00 10.00 5.00
.40 .83 .43 .25 .48 .13 5.00 9.00 4.00
.47 .83 .36 .32 .57 .25 10.00 22.50 12.50
.52 .72 .20 .35 .45 .10 6.00 8.00 2.00
.42 .60
.75
.18
.45
.28
.28
.40
.57
.12
.30 .29 11.00 8.00 *3.00
.49 .79 .30 .35 .50 .15 5.00 10.00 5.00
.76 .84 • .08 .38 .56 .18 7.90 9.50 1.60
.29 .64 .35 5 00 5 00
.45 .70
.80
.89
.25
.27
.36
.30
.31
.39
.43
.59
.53
.13
.28
.14
.53
.53 6.50 11.25 4.75
.48 .79 .31 .32 .52 .20 10.75 19.58 8.83
.36 .73 .37 .26 .46 .20 7.00 8.33 1.33
.41 .67 .26 .27 .50 .23 7.00 7.00
.48 .76
.95
.28
.32
.33
.43
.56
.62
.23
.63 .19 11.50 16.00 4.50
.57 .83
.81
.26
.29
.37
.35
.54
.55
.17
.52 .20 10.00 10.00
.57 .72 .15 .41 .51 .10 9.14 8.57 *.57
.50 .70
.78
.78
.20
.14
.21
.64 .37 .50 .13
.57 6.33 8.00 1.67
.69 .74 .05 .37 .46 .09 6.71 8.50 1.79
.40 .62
.58
.74
.58
.77
.22
.16
.39
.14
.32
.42 .37
.10
.36
.35
.48
.50
.50
.55
.11
.40
.14
.20
.35
.44
.45 9.00 12.50 3.50
.41 .75 .34 .36 .54 .18 6.26 8.33 2.07
.45 .80
.78
.35
.39
.32
.25
.55
.50
.23
.39 .25 5.00 10.00 5.00
.49 .77 .28 .35 .55 .20 18.00 29.00 11.00
32 N'ORTH CAEOLINxi LaBOE, STATISTICS.
Average Table
County.
Robeson
Rockingham-
Rowan
Rutherford --
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly
Stokes
Surry
Swain
Transylvania -
Tyrrell
Union
Vance
Wake
Warren
Washington --
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Cotton.
Cost. Price. Profit,
$ 36.50
31.00
33.17
29.44
31.67
31.00
30.63
31.81
37.00
30.00
30.67
30.00
32.92
33. 13
30.00
$ 55.66
58.04
56.68
56.34
56.08
58.57
55.42
56.36
55.83
57.25
56.06
54.50
56.67
56.50
52.86
$ 19.16
27.04
28.51
27.10
24.41
27.57
24.79
24.55
18.83
27.25
25.39
24.50
23.37
22.86
Wheat.
Cost. Price. Profit.
0.75
.82
.72
.76
.70
.92
.81
.77
.77
.99
.82
.73
.70
.50
.62
.75
.78
.71
.63
.66
.79
1.00
1.02
1.00
1.04
.97
1.00
1.00
.99
1.05
1.00
1.00
.99
1.00
1.03
.90
1.04
1.03
.99
1.12
0.25
.20
.28
.28
.27
.08
.19
.22
.28
.01
.18
.28
.12
.33
.40
.33
.33
Loss.
Condition of Farmers. 33
No. 5—Continued.
Corn. Oats. Tobacco.
Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Price. Profit. Cost. Price. Profit.
$ 0.55 $ 0.88 $ 0.33 $ 0.36 $ 0.57 $ 0.21 $ 6.83 $ 8.00 $ 1.17
.53 .74 .21 .40 .53 .13 8.44 7.91 *.53
.42 .73 .31 .30 .49 .19 6.00 8.00 2.00
.51 .82 .31 .39 .54 .15 5.67 10.00 4.33
.71 .81 .10 .44 .54 .10 8.17 5.75 •2.42
50 81 31 33 50 17
.60 .85 .25 .40 .51 .11
.
1
.55 .78 .23 .40 .50 .10 8.09 8.02 *.07
.50 .82 .32 .33 .51 .15 6.79 7.79 1.00
.56 .85 .29 .38 .55 .17 10.00 15.75 5.75
.48 .84 .36 .35 .53 .18 16.00 21.67 5.67
.50 .60 .10 .35 43 08
.56 82 26 39 53 14
.40 .74 .34 .30 .58 .28 7.00 7.50 .50
.34 .80 .46 .23 .67 .44 6.17 9.00 2.83
.42 .79 .37 .26 .55 .29 6.00 8.00 2.00
.30 .65 .35
.61 1.04 .43 .56 .51 *.05 5.50 10.00 4.50
.58 .84 .26 .39 .53 .14 5.40 9.50 4.10
.48 .79 .31 .26 .53 .27 6.00 11.00 5.00
.48 .80 .32 .43 .53 .10 7.13 8.50 1.37
.45 .73 .28 .34 .52 .18 7.10 8.36 1.26
.57 .82 .25 .31 .46 .15 7.50 10.00 2.50
34 NoETii Carolina Labor Statistics.
SUMMAKY.
Following will be found a general summary of the information
contained in the tables
:
Table No. 1 showis an increase in the value of land in every
county. Fertility of land is reported maintained in eighty-nine
counties ; eight report that it is not. Four counties report a tendency
to have a larger farm; ninety-three smaller. Every county reports
labor scarce. ISTinety-six counties report negro labor unreliable ; one
no negTO labor. Sixty-six counties report employment regular ; thirty-one
irregular. Fifty-seven counties favor immigration; thirty-seven
oppose it, and three do not answer.
In Table l^o. 2 ninety-five counties report increase in cost of liv-ing;
two report no increase. Highest average wages paid men
$21.71, an increase of $1.85 per month over last year; lowest
$13.09, an increase of ninety cents. Highest average wages paid
women $13.18, an increase of seventy-six cents per month over last
year; lowest $8.65, an increase of thirty-seven cents over last year.
Average wages of children $8.01, an increase of fifty-six cents per
month over last year.
Table 'No. 3 shows that seventy-three counties produce cotton at
$33.18 per bale of 500 pounds; twenty-four counties do not report.
Seventy-seven counties produce wheat at a cost of seventy-three cents
per bushel ; twenty counties do not report wheat. Ninety-six counties
produce corn at forty-nine cents per bushel ; one county does not
report. Eighty-nine counties produce oats at thirty-four cents per
bushel ; eight counties do not report oats. Sixty-seven counties pro-duce
tobacco at $7.50 per one hundred pounds; thirty counties do
not report.
Table No. 4 shows present market price of cotton, wheat, corn, oats
and tobacco.
Table No. 5 shows cost of production, selling price and profit on
cotton, wheat, corn, oats and tobacco, upon each of which, with few
exceptions, it will be noted that there is a substantial profit.
Following will be found letters expressive of the sentiment of the
farmers of various parts of the State relative to immigration, and
suggestions as to what they think w^ould be beneficial to the laboring
classes.
Condition of Fakmees. 35
LETTERS FROM FARMERS.
Please make any suggestion relative to the needs of wage-earners,
and what, in your opinion, would benefit them. Especially would
I appreciate your views on immigration and the class of immi-g^
rants best suited to farm labor. tt r, ^t H. B. Varner,
Co7nmissioner.
ALAMANCE COUNTY.
Fault of Wage-earners ; Good Citizens Wanted.—If the wage-earners
would be reliable and industrious, so we could depend on them, there is noth-ing
to hinder them from getting along well. At their present wages they
could soon own homes of their own, as the price we pay them includes board
and lodging. The negro has learned to read and has gone to town where he
can be in a crowd, work by little jobs and trifle away the most of his time. If
the vagrant law was enforced it would do him incalculable good—more than
anything that I can now suggest.
I do not know what to say about immigration. If we could get white peo-ple
who want work and who would make good citizens, I think they would
be best for us. But God forbid that the "scum" from the old countries
should ever find a lodging-place in the Old North State !—G. E. Stockakd,
Saxcrpahaif.
Reliable Immigrants Needed.-—Wage-earners need make no cry if they
are willing to work. There is always work to do. They can get good wages
if they will stick close to business. Economy and good management is all
that is needed ; with little education they are safe and doing well.
As to immigration, we need working people. The reliable classes who are
not afraid of open-air work are needed on the farms. If they will obey our
laws they may be helpful to the country ; but if we have a class of immi-grants
whom we must watch as though they were criminals, they would be
of little use on a farm. Deliver the farmers from tramps, hoboes, beggars,
and the like, who will not labor and who are about half-civilized. We have
enough of that class. I don't think it would improve our condition to have
immigrants to this section, unless it be a class who are useful. We need
more labor. We don't need peddlers, fortune-tellers and the like. I am a
farmer.—J. C. Whitsell, EIoh College.
Modern Machinery- Versus Immigration.—For the immediate develop-ment
of the various resources of our country, a good, industrious class of
immigration would be desii'able and beneficial ; but the scarcity of farm labor
is having one good effect, viz., it compels the farmer to resort to the use
of the most improved machinery, which alone causes him to better prepare
36 ISToETH Caeolina Laboe Statistics.
his land and improve the same, giving better results. As evidence of this
I was at Burlington, N. C, one day last week and saw one firm load twenty-five
wagons with farm machinery. With more interest in the way of educa-tion
and home attraction to keep our boys and girls from emigrating and
keep them interested in some useful employment, by the looks of the large
family of small children in nearly every house. I think God's plan of giving
us immigrants will very soon supply our needs without running any risk of
getting a refuse class of wrecks and slugs. As evidence that the morals
of the country are better, with a population of nearly 30,000 inhabitants
our county jail has been standing open for the past two months, and our
last criminal court only lasted one day. But recently the people of Graham
have opened a dispensary, which is much regretted by most of the people in
the rural parts of the country.
—
John G. Clark, Sylvester.
Xeep the Negeo.—To give the greatest need of the wage-earner of to-day,
I should say that it is constancy to his employment. There is no position
but that pays a good dividend if the employee is an expert hand ; but if one
works in the cotton mill one week and the next tries to do carpenter work,
he is compelled to be a failure. The South is needing more men to work
on her farms and in her mills, but I am opposed to the scum of Eastern and
Southern Europe being dumped into our fair, untainted land. Without some
educational qualification as a test for these immigrants, I am heartily in
favor of keeping the negro.—J. P. Wagnek, Eton College.
ALEXANDER COUNTY.
Wants Law-abiding Citizens.—We think the best interest of wage-earners
would be to secure a better education, so as to do intelligent labor on the
farm, for there is a vast difference in the price of intelligent labor and igno-rant
labor. An expert laborer can get employment easier than an ignorant
one and can double his wages. What the wage-earners need is better educa-tion,
better morals and less whiskey and a close application to business ; and
also try to practice economy and save their money, and, if possible, buy a
small farm. If they will comply with these suggestions, prosperity is sure
to follow in the wake.
Now in regard to immigration, I have this to say : We have enough people
in North Carolina to do all farm work if they will do it. We have thousands
of loafers, hanging around country stores, whittling on goods-boxes and pitch-
'ing horseshoes. These men have not been properly raised and trained for
farm labor. The vagrant law ought to be vigorously enforced. Put them
to work. They are parasites, living on the labor of others. They will not
leave the State and we have them to support somehow, and I am in favor
of working them. There are too many immigrants coming over from Europe
here now. They are, to a large extent, criminals and the worst type of
citizens, and if they come here they will be social equals with our worst
citizens and will be a nuisance to the State. So I would rather have one
rattlesnake in the yard than a dozen. I believe in the nationalities of men
as much as I believe in seed corn. It is a law of nature that like begets
Condition of Taiimers. 37
like, and experience has clearly demonstrated the fact that a large per cent,
of the people from the old countries are bad citizens. They come here opposed
to our laws, religion, morals and free institutions. Many of them are inhdels.
In our opinion, the State Board of Agriculture ought to go slow in inviting
this class of people to North Carolina—the scum of Russia, Japan, Hungary,
Sweden, Italy, Sicily, and Spain. The best citizens of the old countries to
invite are the English, German, French, Irish, and Scotch.—F. C. Gwaltxey,
Taylorsville.
Immigrants Who Would Be Pkefekable.—I think the laborer in this coun-try
has all the advantages he needs, if he knew how to utilize them. We
have a ten-hour day, free schools, the usual holidays ; but most of them
prefer a gun and dog and a bottle of whiskey. I think most of them would
very materially improve their own condition by applying themselves to their
work and by economizing and sending their children to school. I think we
need a class of immigrants that would give special attention to farming. It
is almost impossible to hire laborers for the farm. The wages are high, and
one can hardly rent a farm "on shares," as the women and children prefer
to work in factories and the men in saw-mills. Consequently, farms are
growing up in weeds and broomsedge and farm products are going higher
and higher. I think a class of immigrants, with small capital, who are able
to buy small farms, or those willing to work on farms, would be preferable.
—
G. W. Long, LittJe River.
Let the Negro Go.—I hardly know what class of people would suit the
best. The Germans are an industrious class of people, judging from what I
have read about them. We need more farm hands of some sort. I would
recommend only an industrious class, that we could get to take the place of
negroes.—J. B. A. Ellis, Taylorsville.
ALLEGHANY COUNTY.
Machinery Taking the Place of Labor.—Having had no experience at
all with foreigners on farms, I am in no position to say just what class of
immigrants are best suited to farm labor. The mines and railroads take
nearly all our farm help, and our people are meeting the proposition by farm-ing
smaller areas and farming it better ; using all the machinery they are
able to purchase, and in some instances more. Ours is a stock-raising sec-tion
and we are not so dependent on farm laborers as our eastern brethren
in the tobacco and cotton belts.
—
Eugene Transon, Stratford.
Admit Only the Better Class.—In my opinion, it is dangerous to the
morals and general elevation of our people to admit immigrants of low morals
or those who come merely to eke out a living, at any place, condition or
price, regardless of the effect their presence or labor may have upon Ameri-can
people. And while I recognize the fact that no statute can so strictly
guard the gateway of immigration as to exclude absolutely those who will
prove detrimental to American upbuilding and allow only such to gain foot-hold
among us as will, in every instance, prove a blessing to us, I am sure
38 ISToRTH Carolina Laboe Statistics.
the very strictest care should be exercised in this respect. And, as experience
will teach that the tenant is almost in every case below the landlord so far
as the good of the farm, the advancement of education, religion or morals
are concerned, so in like manner immigrants who are among us merely to
labor as hirelings are also below those people who intend to become bona
fide citizens.
—
George W. Miles, Miles.
Not Needed.—I do not think we need the immigration of any class of peo-ple
in our county. Neither do I think we need a compulsory school law for
the colored class of our county. We scarcely have a colored educated man
who wants to or will work in the county.—W. W. Hash, Piney Creek.
The Greatest Need.—The greatest need of our farmers is better schools
and roads. Nothing less than six months of school is sufficient to give our
children the education required for good citizenship, and I think the next
Legislature should increase our taxes sufficiently to have at least five months
school. I favor a compulsory school law. We need no immigrants to this
section.—W. F. Doughton, Laurel S2)rings.
ANSON COUNTY.
Should Be Elevating.—In regard to immigration, will say that I am
opposed to worthless, immoral immigrants coming into our State. If we
would get some people who are willing to work six days in the week and not
spend the Sabbath in drinking, cursing, swearing and gambling, thereby
lowering the morals of the country, it might be of benefit to us. But I am
of the opinion that we will have to get rid of the negro before we can get
immigrants of good morals to move in among us. I am confident that the
sooner we get entirely rid of the negro the better it will be for us.—J. A.
NiVEN, Morven.
Against Immigration.—As a class, the wage-earner is the most contented
and independent class of people there is. They can work half the time and
live, handsomely, and a living is all they seem to want. The most popular
method of farming now is for the landlord to rent the tenant a farm for a
specified rental and the tenant furnish stock, tools, etc. I don't think we need
any immigrants. While farmers claim labor to be scarce, there seems to be
plenty to cultivate all the land, and it seems we have to hold the farmer
down to prevent over-production. We make plenty and to spare, so let the
land rest for our children instead of having undesirable immigrants.—J. A.
Kendall, Wharf.
Heartily in Favor of Immigration.—The conditions here are very favor-able
for the wage-earner. He needs only energy and perseverance in order
to prosper. Labor is abundant, laborers are few and wages are better than
ever before. He who does not do well under these conditions is lacking in
some of the essential qualities of a man. I am heartily in favor of immigra-tion.
The time is right on us when we will have to cut down our acreage 50
per cent, or else obtain our farm hands from foreign countries. The Germans
Condition of Faemees. 39
and the better class of Italians are the best farmers. They usually are trust-worthy,
frugal and industrious. They live within their incomes and are
trained to habits of economy and honesty. The Germans have largely made
the great West what it is. They will be of equal benefit to the Southland.
This cry against "foreigner" is the cry of ignorance. All immigrants are not
rascals and thieves. Nine-tenths of them are honest and intelligent. We
need their muscle and brain, their industry and perseverance, their enterprise
and forbearance. I am anxious to locate a family any day, and others here
are feeling as I do about the matter.—W. F. Humbert, Polkton.
ASHE COUNTY.
Wants Social Equals.—I am not aware who can be had as immigrants,
but industrious and honest white people of American birth are preferable
—
people who will identify themselves with the country and become a part and
parcel of the whole people ; those whom we can afford to treat as we treat
each other, who can send their children to the same schools that our children
attend. In short, people susceptible of development, and who in time will be
an element of strength and peace and good feeling; those whose children will
grow up to honor the trades and professions along by the sides of our own
sons and daughters.—H. A. Eller, Berlin.
Labor Plentiful.—Ashe is a hilly country and very good for grass. I don't
think the farmers have lost much on account of labor becoming scarce and
high, as they can keep their land in grass and raise stock without so much
labor. I don't know what kind of immigrants would suit the State best. As
for this county, we don't need any.
—
Marshall Baker, Crestoii.
Favorable Conditions.—I do not think we need any immigration in this
part of the State, as the people are very thickly settled and if immigrants
were run in here it would cause labor to be cheaper, and that would be very
hard on ovir poor people. There are enough men in this part of the State to
make farming very profitable. If they would quit paying so much attention to
saw-milling and lumbering and turn their attention to farming, this county
could have more than enough to do her and have plenty to sell.
—
Robey Roten,
8ly.
Laborers Should Be Educated.—I think it would benefit the wage-earners
if they would better educate themselves. Learn the lesson well and do their
.
work well, for work half done is not done at all. This progressive age
demands an advance in skill to insure regular and profitable employment.
The wage-earner who takes heed to these improvements will, in due time, reap
a bountiful harvest, with a reward for his employer. If all the wage-earners
were temperate in all their habits, vigilant in their duties and gentlemanly in
their deportment, they would generally meet with a hearty welcome and be
sought after by the best class of society. I think the Germans would be the
better class of immigrants for farm labor. Having traveled through the
Western States for about eleven months, mostly among the farmers of that
section, I learned that the Germans are better skilled and the most successful
40 JSToKTii Carolina Labok Statistics.
laborers on the farm in all that country. Not only did they possess vigilance
and skill, but a will power, wbicb is the great motion of success.—W. J.
Roberts, Grassy Creek,
Laborers Needed.—One great curse is the drinking habit of many of our
people. We need laborers in our county, as most of our young and intelligent
men go to the railroads to work.
—
John Dent, Jefferson,
BEAUFORT COUNTY.
Legislation Enough.—As to the needs of wage-earners I cannot think of
any legislation that would be of special benefit to them. To be industrious,
thrifty, faithful and economical would be very beneficial to many who do not
practice these habits. It would be a very great mistake in cotton planters to
import any large number of mere laborers in order to increase the production
of that staple.—R. W. Wharton, Washington.
"Two Jobs" to One Applicant.—The condition of the wage-earner has never
heen so good as noiv in my section. He never waits for a job, there is prac-tically
two for each man. In consequence, much improvement and the opera-tion
of new enterprises is much hampered. What class of immigrants are best
suited to our needs I could not advance even a guess, inasmuch as we have
never tried any, and any surmise I might make would only be off-hand and
without experience to substantiate.
—
Feed P. Latham, Belhaven.
Favors Immigration When Conditions Change.—The present condition
of wage-earners is such that one can hardly suggest what they need. In
fact, we have very few regular wage-earners in the rural districts. About
what farm labor we get are those who own their own homes and have small
crops on their own lands, or rented, and we get their spare service. My judg-ment
is that large land-owners and investment companies are fast getting in
possession of our lands. This means that it is off the market. When this is
done, I favor an industrious class of immigration ; but as long as small
parcels of land can be had on easy terms immigrants will aspire to domestic
privileges, and, if anything, demoralize or subdivide what labor we now have.
My solution of the matter is, that we should cut down our expensive farming
by using labor-saving machinery and raise hay and stock on our own surplus
lands.
—
John B. Respess, Jr., Washington.
BERTIE COUNTY.
Opposed to Immigration.—At present prices of cotton, labor will take care
of itself. Our farm laborers are all negroes, and they are becoming more
disposed each year to quit working for wages and on shares. Since they
were taken out of politics their methods have greatly improved, and many of
them are buying land whenever it can be found for sale. I am opposed to
immigration, on the ground that this is the home of the negro, and that for-
Condition of Fakmees. . 41
eign white laborers and the negro cannot work and live in the same commu-nitj^
The negro must have our sympathy and protection. Then, too, the
increase in the State's white population will soon need every available acre
of land in North Carolina. I would rather favor building a wall around the
border of the State in order to keep our people at home.—J. B. Stokes,
Windsor.
Wants a Reliable Class.—I don't know much about immigration. All
who have ever been among us here have been worse than nobody ; but we need
a good reliable class of immigrants, if there be any, for laborers.—A. J.
Smithwick, Woodard.
BLADEN COUNTY.
Room for Improvement.—As stated in your report of 1905, we have but
one class of wage-earners, and their greatest need is integrity, honor and a
higher plane of morals. In my humble opinion, Germans, Swedes and Irish
would be better laborers for farm work than those of any other nationality.
Any change would be an improvement on the present system of labor.—C. V.
Hines, Westhrook.
A Thing or the Past.—The question of immigration, labor and education
is of such a serious and vital nature that I do not feel able to discuss it.
But there is no question in my mind but that we are nearing a crisis rela-tive
to the labor problem, and how to meet it awaits the best talent of our
statesmen and legislators. The negro labor is a thing of the past; but who
is to take his place I am not able to say. One of the good ways, I think,
would be to reduce our farms and intensify by highly fertilizing and thor-ough
cultivation with all the late and improved farm implements. We will
have to take the negro's place in the field, and that means better machinery.
—
James Robeson, Tar Heel.
BRUNSWICK COUNTY.
Does Not Want Strikers.—If we could get a class of people who would
work and not give us more trouble than they would be profit to us, I think
it would do to have some of them. But I don't favor a class who would be
on a strike all the time. Of the two evils, take the lesser one. We need
good, reliable hands ; then pay them well and we will get along better.
Elisha Sellers, Supply.
Doesn't Know.—I do not know what race of people would be best adapted
to our wants. But I think if we could get a class of industrious and law-abiding
people they would be better adapted to our needs.—A. C. Meaees,
Calabash.
Labor Needed Badly.—In our section labor is entirely unreliable, and
scarce on the farm, as well as in the factories. Any kind of laborers who
would work and keep out of the criminal courts would be acceptable and
could get regular employment at good wages.—F. M. Mooee, Phoenix-
4
42 ISToRTH Carolina Labor Statistics.
To Better Conditions.—To better the condition of the laboring people we
need, better educational facilities. I think the law in that respect is all right,
but it is not carried out to the best advantage for the sparsely-settled
country districts. There are too many poor children who are too far from
the school-house to attend school at all, and the parents are not able to
board them out, if they could get board at all. I think the school-houses
should be so arranged as to give all an equal chance and have teachers who
are more fit to teach, and I don't think that there would be any necessity for
any compulsory laws at all.—C. C. Little, Makatoka.
BUNCOMBE COUNTY.
Shunning Farm Woek.—^The class of laborers we have are inclined to do
public work. While the wages are some better, the work is uncertain and
irregular, and around cities and towns where they save nothing and work
less than half the time. We need a class of immigrants that will do good
farm work. All our laborers seem to be shunning this class of work. Our
farm products are high.—R. J. Gaston, Hominy.
Ambitious Laboeees.—I am not in position to express an opinion as to the
class of labor best suited to our needs. We need an intelligent class, who
are ambitious to own small homes, industrious, painstaking, etc.—C. P.
Weaves, Alexander.
BURKE COUNTY.
Favorable to the Proper Class.—On general principles I am opposed to
immigration, but if it were possible to get some people who are industrious,
moral and law-abiding citizens, who would buy small farms and settle with a
view to becoming permanent citizens to help develop the country, both morally
and financially, I am sure they would not be objectionable.-—J. H. Hoffman,
Morgant07i.
A Strenuous Kick.—At the present time the farms of this section have
been deserted on account of the high prices paid for lumber. Men who were
prospering on the farm have gone to hauling lumber, and other shortsighted,
lazy fellows have gone to cotton factories to live off of the work of their
children. But better machinery has, to a large extent, made up for their loss.
Timber supply is growing less each year, and when it is exhausted and the
men who are now working at the business return to the farms, our section
will be much better off ; and the sooner the timber is exhausted the better
for the men who do the hauling, as they will return to the farms, live better,
'
and do the country more good. The money made is paid out for mules and
wagons, which are worn out before they pay for themselves. So, it seems,
the destruction of our forest does the country no good, the money in it going
to some shrewd speculator ; and our President and home folks talking of
preserving our forests, and a tariff on lumber, causing our beautiful forests
to be destroyed, and all that is in it going into the hands of greedy speculators.
Condition of Faumees. 43
Take the tariff off lumber, give our people lumber at reasonable prices ; stop
the men engaged in the destruction of our forests and surveying our part
of the State, and we will have plenty of farm help, and will raise our own
meat and bread, our own mules and horses, instead of buying them in
Chicago. The people in this part of the State will some day learn that the
farm is the surest and best way to live, and if each man will build up and
improve his farm, and thereby his county and State, we will indeed be a happy
people.—S. S. Hallyburton, Hartland.
CALDWELL COUNTY.
Makes No Suggestion.—As we have very few laborers here, except our
white and colored native-born people, I am not in a position to tell who would
best supplement our native laborers. The wage-earners need to be better paid,
especially in the shops and factories ; and to accomplish this need the laborers
ought, like most professional men, to be better united.—A. E. Nelson, Patter-son.
Wants the Moneyed Yankee.—I have never been in favor of foreign immi-gration.
I think it will prove, some day, detrimental to our welfare. We
have a great country and it should be populated by American citizens. We
need the hustling Yankee with money to develop the manufacturing interests
of our country, but we do not need the foreigner to corrupt our civilization.
—
A. G. CoRPENiNG, Lenoir.
Against Immigration.—I think we have plenty of labor in my section.
Quite a number of our farmers are getting labor-saving machinery, and that
has necessitated a lot of our laboring people going into other avocations. This
is not a cotton or tobacco growing section, though both can be grown. Our
farmers are taking more interest in grasses than they used to. Caldwell
County, I think, is opposed to any legislation making appropriations to
encourage immigration. This county will soon be crowded any way.—J. A.
DuLA, Lenoir.
Good Citizens Not Likely to Migrate.—As to immigration, I do not favor
it in any way. Immigration is only an injury to our country, and if allowed
will demoralize the country, more or less. As none but the low grade of
humanity is apt to emigrate, the best class do well where they are, and we do
not need the "toughs" of any country to populate ours. It is true, labor is
scarce and wages high, but farmers are getting in shape to do all their farm
work with but little or no hired help. I do not speak only for myself, but for
the surrounding country, as none favor immigration, and I hope immigration
will not be favored or allowed.-—W. P. May, Lenoir.
Attract the Respectable Element.—I have very few suggestions to make,
as I feel that my suggestions would seem very lame in comparison to many
that you will receive from men who have given it more thought. My first
suggestion is, that the wage-earners need, generally speaking, a better educa-tion
than the average laborer of to-day commands, which will enable him to
44 !N"oE.TH Caeolina Labor Statistics.
meet competition in any line of labor that he chooses to follow. This is
getting better from year to year among the boys and girls now growing up to
manhood and womanhood, but not such a marked improvement as I would
wish to see. They need to be taught to be more economical, for as a rule the
wage-earner, whenever and wherever he can get credit and go in debt, is living
beyond his ability and means, and consequently is in debt nearly all the time.
He finally becomes discontented with his lot and retrogrades. The kind
of immigrants we need are people who are sober, honest and industrious
;
whose children can grow up with and go to school with our children, and
make good, laAv-abiding American citizens. The average Irishman, Swede,
German, Frenchman, or Englishman generally make good citizens, and do very
well (financially) in the South. What we do not need is the scum from any
nation, which has already been pouring into America in alarming propor-tions.—
W. J. Lenoie, Yadkin Valley.
Might Incur a Hardship.—I am not in favor of immigration for this
section of the State. I don't think it will be long until the lumber business
will stop, as our timber is nearly exhausted. Then I think farm hands can
be had at a price that the farmer can afford to pay. Then if we had these
immigrants they would be in the way of our own people, and might make it
hard on them ; so I think we had better let immigration alone.—P. B. Bush,
Lenoir.
CASWELL COUNTY.
Immigration Not Desired.—I do not think we will be benefited by any class
of immigrants. In fact, I know the laboring class will not. It will lower the
price of labor, and the lower the labor the lower the prices of farm produce.
—
J. S. RoscoE, Union Ridge.
Laborers Few.—Most of the workingmen have already left this section.
The most of the hands who are here are those who are old, together with
some women ; only a few exceptions. White women work on farms more
than colored ones.—L. L. Rosco, Jericho.
A Serious Question.—The labor question seems to me a serious one now
confronting the farmers throughout this section of my county. Negro labor
is becoming so scarce and unreliable that many farmers can hardly find help
at any price, especially so during the busy season of the year. Lots of farm-ers
furnish houses and firewood to these "birds of passage" during the
winter months, only to find them leaving, when spring opens, for the coal-fields
and railroads of the west, or to swell the loafing element of the near-by
towns and cities. What we need, in my opinion, is a class of laborers who
will stick to the farm throughout the year. A large per cent, of the farm
laborers are renters who work when it suits them, and that only a small
part of the year, say from May 1st until about the middle of October, when
corn is gathered.
—
John P. Harrison, Purley.
Condition of Faemees. 45
Legislate for Landlord.—Suitable labor for tobacco culture is hard to
get. The negro suits the climate and is the best labor, if he is properly man-aged.
It seems that he must have a boss, or he gets indolent and very care-less,
even to his own interest. So legislation giving the landlord all reason-able
power over his land, stock, etc., is both beneficial to the property-owner
and the wage-earner.—A. F. Dillaed, Tony.
Refined Immigrants Wanted.—I think the wage-earner, in the first place,
needs compulsory education for his family. Then he needs many, many
lessons in self-reliance. And they who will not be taught will continue to
be wage-earners. I believe the colored man will suit us better for farm
laborers than any we can get for our present system of farming. We need
immigrants that are refined and energetic to buy and improve some of our
lands.—P. M. Somees, Altamahatv.
The Need of More Industry.—We have no immigrants in this part of the
State, and from what I know of foreigners in time of the Civil War, I don't
think we need any people here except our own. If we had a law to make
all work we could have better times. We have enough here if they would
work and not run about so much to find easy places, and then complain of
hard times. I am now 68 years old and work hard every day and live at
home. I have been County Commissioner for fourteen years and have missed
only two days in that time. I am for better roads, better schools and better
bridges.—J. C. Allison, Allison.
Not a Utopian Dream.—I believe there is plenty of labor in the United
States if it could be utilized ; but a false idea has pervaded all this country
for forty years or more, that of congregating in cities, towns, and so on,
by the educated and uneducated. With the better informed leading, as a
matter of course the others naturally follow. Thus, the beauties, the free-dom,
the healthfulness of rural life have been, as it were, in an eclipse until
it has become second, or real nature. People, as they get better informed and
see a little beyond the over-civilization strain under which we are now
living (perhaps it is well for us to have this period), will see that on the
farm is the only life worth living, where character fit for eternity is builded.
Nature's God seen, heard ; and willing, loving homage is paid to the Deity.
Then the farms will be the place ; no tramps from overcrowded centers, but
citizens—happy, home-loving, working, aggressive and progressive people
—
not foreigners. This is no Utopian dream ; it's coming.—W. C. Swann,
Pelham.
CATAWBA COUNTY.
Invite Good Honest People.—Immigration of the proper class of citizens
is to be encouraged, for I think it is essential to the full development of the
South. With all our undeveloped resources we are the coming part of these
great United States. That is, if we can get the energy and help to effect
good accomplishments. We don't need some of these "garlic-eating" for-
46 iN'oRTH Caeouna Labor Statistics.
eigners, who are a nuisance to any government and a menace to law and
order. But rather, we need to invite those good, honest people, who are
seeking better conditions for themselves and families and who will learn to
love our Southland as the best part of creation.
—
John Sherrill, Gatmvba.
The Negro a Failure.—In my opinion, it is not best to give negroes too
much education. If we could teach him reliability and truthfulness, in
place of too much book learning, he would be much better off. I believe the
only way to reach a certain class of white people and make them attend
school is to make it compulsory. We have had no experience with other
people than whites and negroes ; therefore, have no suggestion to make as
to the kind of labor. The negro has proven himself a failure as a reliable
farm laborer.—E. D. Gamble, Sherrill's Ford.
Should Be Experienced Farmers.—I can hardly tell you about the class
of immigrants we need. I think they ought to have some experience in
farm labor. We cannot get help on the farm any more for love or money.
The farm hands have left and gone to the mills, so we can't get help. But
we are getting cultivators that we can do the work of two hands with. Were
it not for that I don't see how we would get along.—C. M. Burrus, Newton.
CABARRUS COUNTY.
No Bomb-Throwers Wanted.—I think a good, honest class of immigrants,
who are honest and reliable, could find permanent employment at good wages.
But we do not need the pauper-anarchistic-bomb-throwing class.—W. G.
Newell, Concord.
CHATHAM COUNTY.
Women and Children on Farms.—If wage-earners could be induced,
while wages are good, to save their money and purchase homes, if only a
few acres, it would improve the country more than anything else. I have
never known wages so good, and it seems like the better wages are the more
unreliable labor is. If we are to have immigrants we should have indus-trious
farmers, who are intelligent and law-abiding. Women and children
are doing most of the light farm work. You can't hire male hands here.
They are all pretty well on public works. Women and children get about
as good wages on the farms as men used to.—B. J. UtLey, Monctire.
The Best Farm Laborer.—In my opinion, the negro is the best tenant, or
rather farm laborer, that we can get, and as these leave the farm we want
the immigrant that will take their places. I think the Swedes would make
the best farmers.—W. O. Farrell, Pittshoro.
Opposes It.—From what I hear about immigration, I don't see how we
could beat the negro. In fact, I see no use of getting any more labor to
reduce the price of cotton or other farm products. I think less labor to make
cotton, less will be made, and the less made the better the price. Therefore,
I am opposed to immigration.—E. M. Fearrington, Riggsbee.
Condition of Fakmees. 47
An Alarming Condition.—I will say as a farmer and a land-owner, that
we have lots of good land that is lying idle, and we cannot till it without
help, thus making the land useless to us, and we never will be able to culti-vate
it without help. If we could have our land cultivated it would advance
in value ; we have not half the help we need to put our lands in cultivation.
I think, if we could get them, that the Irish or the English people would be
better for us. We have some of them with us, and they are doing well.
They work well and are peaceable. The negroes are leaving us since 1900
and our young men are disposed to go to the towns. There are only a few
old men and children left to till the soil. I don't think it will be any better
until we can get hands to help us. We are having a hard time: our land
lying idle and taxes getting higher and but few people to pay them. I favor
a change as soon as possible. If it were not for the timber that is on it our
land would be almost worthless. Timber has advanced in price 50 per cent,
in the last twelve months, and it is difficult to get hands to work at the mills
to put it on the market. So j^ou see we need hands for this, too.—J. R.
Bright, Stork.
The Remedy.—When farm wages and all other wages were down to fifty
cents for men, twenty-five and thirty for women, then the farm negro would
work regular, because necessity forced him to do so ; then we had no trouble
with the farm labor ; we had an abundance of it and it was regular. But
now, while wages are high, the common negro can make enough in two or
three days to last him a week or more, and so long as that supply lasts he
will work no more. We have no trouble v\'ith the ante-bellum negro. The
trouble comes from the educated young negro. So long as we can manage
the negro he is the best farm laborer we can get. We do not want, or need,
that class of foreign labor that will form strikes under their organizations,
for they can strike and hold out long enough to ruin your entire crop. Our
salvation seems to be in improved machinery on farms ; but it will have to
be sold direct to the farmer, as the agency system puts the machinery so
high that a common farmer who most needs machinery can't pay such high
prices. Now bring the manufacturer and the farmer close together and both
will succeed better and the whole country will prosper.—J. E. Bryan,
Moncure.
More Attractions Needed on the Farm.—I think we need a better system
of education. Our schools are not what they should be ; we don't take the
interest in them we should. We need something to stimulate the parents,
so they will send their children regularly. Most all of our negroes have quit
the farm and gone to public works. The only way to keep them on the farm
is to fix better houses for them and have them farm on shares. And then
they love hunting better than farming. Our farmers are cultivating small
farms and doing the work themselves ; then all the profit is theirs. We can't
depend on negro labor. They work at public works at $1.50 and $1.25 per
day, and make enough in three days to live on a week, so they work three
and play three. The colored race don't need any more education. The white
race needs compulsory education.—S. W. Harrington, Goff.
48 ISToKTH Carolhsta Labor Statistics.
CHEROKEE COUNTY.
Those Who Work and Wait.—I am in favor of immigration, if of a good,
substantial class of people. Those best suited, in my opinion, are people of
high ideals, morally ; those who appreciate the government under which
they live and who are in favor of education in the highest sense of the term
;
those who are industrious and public-spirited, who are content to work and
wait.—J. T. L. Haktness, Ogreeta.
Kind of Citizens Needed.—I think the best thing at present for this
county is immigrants of the right sort—those who are sober, industrious and
intelligent enough to attend to their own business ; buy up our lands that
are owned by non-residents, and by their example teach our people to love
farm life.—J. A. Kimsey, Marhle.
Moral Men in Demand.—I believe the class of immigrants most needed
are home-makers and home-lovers ; men who will make two blades of grass
grow where only one grows now, and who are in sympathy with our form
of government, and who will help to build up and maintain schools and
churches. Good moral men are in demand.—J. S. Carter, Andreivs.
In Cherokee.—I have been farming for forty years, and grow corn, wheat,
oats, and other things suited to our mountain soil. While I have little to
say, in my opinion, we need a compulsory school law and more industrious
laborers on the farm.
—
Craig Phillips, Andreivs.
CHOWAN COUNTY.
Plenty of Labor at Tyner.—I think wage-earners are in very good cir-cumstances,
as their financial condition is improving very much ; in fact,
they are equal with a good many farmers. As to immigrants, I am not in
favor of them at all. Do not think we need them in this section, as we have
plenty of labor that can be obtained at good prices.—O. E. Lane, Tyner.
Passing of Negro Labor.—We need the best immigrants we can get. The
time has passed for the negro to be of much service to the white people of
the South.—H. B. Jones, Tyner.
Prefers German Citizens.—I am glad to report that we are progressing
finely in this locality, having good schools and churches and all classes
enjoying contentment, with the exception of the scarcity of labor. In this
respect I do not feel competent to advise or suggest what is best for us.
My knowledge of the Germans makes them my preference of all immigrants.
We want a class of immigrants who would become home-builders, whom we
could meet as our equals, both socially and industrially. We want no class
who would become our wards, as the negroes are—and I might also add the
Russian Poles and low-caste Italians. I also wish it could be that we could
maintain a nine months' public school instead of five, as we now have. No
doubt we are doing all we can with the means at our command. My idea
Condition of Farmers. 49
is to educate the people—compulsory, if need be. My observations have led
me to see the better educated a laborer is the better results I get.
—
Miles S.
Elliott, Mege.
Impeoved Implements the Thing.—I live in the northern end of Chowan,
and there is no wheat, oats, or tobacco grown in this part of the county.
There is very little hired labor. Both white and colored are looking for
easier work than farming. There is no need of immigrants in this part of
Chowan. It does not take half the manual labor it did five years ago, on
account of the much improved implements to work with ; and people are using
more fertilizer, improving the land, and are in better financial condition.
Elihu Copeland, Tyner.
CLAY COUNTY.
The "Scum" of Foreign Lands Objectionable.—If present good times
and prices of farm products continue, I think the wage-earners will have
as much as is possible for them to obtain in this mountain country, where
farming can never be made profitable as in some counties. As to immigrants
for farm laborers, our own white boys are best suited to the needs of this
section ; but if we must have immigrants to cultivate our farms, give us the
negro in preference to any of this "scum of creation" that comes to us from
foreign countries. What few negroes we have in this county seem to give
entire satisfaction as farm hands, and are a peaceable and moral folk.
—
J. A. Chambers, Hayesville.
Have Enough" Laborers.—I don't think we need immigrants in our part
of the country. But we do need better cultivation of the soil and better
improved lands generally.—W. A. Casada, Hayesville.
Does Not Want Foreigners.—We need a railroad. Do not want foreign
immigrants.—S. H. Allison, Hayesville.
Needed: A Railroad, Etc.—I think a railroad in this locality would prove
beneficial to all classes of people. The people should be encouraged to set
more of their lands in grasses and turn more attention to stock-raising.
Think they should be advised to take better care of their timber and taught
to fertilize the lands they cultivate, plant small crops and make more per
acre. Also, I think the State should provide school-books for the poor chil-dren,
as many of them are not able to buy books. Furthermore, we need a
better grade of stock in our county.—J. V. A. Moore, Hayesville.
CLEVELAND COUNTY.
Small Farmers Wanted.—I would suggest that the wage-earners learn
lessons from successful business men who were once laborers. They can
give them lessons in economy and virtue, that are as essential to success
in this day and time as they ever were. "Little leaks sink the ship." If
a wage-earner means to win a competency for old age, he must save some
50 North Carolina Labor Statistics.
in his youth and before his family gets too large. If we can get Ameri-can,
English, Dutch or Scotch small farmers we would be glad to wel-come
them, but the "riff-raff" and criminals of Europe we need no more
than the Chinaman.
—
Avery G. Higgins, Belwood.
The Greatest Evil.—The blind tiger is the greatest evil for the working
people. If we could put down liquor, everything else would adjust itself.
I am in favor of a mild compulsory school law. I do not favor immigration,
unless it be of the sober and industrious kind.—J. M. Irvin, Elletiboro.
He Doesn't Know.—I do not know what to say in regard to wage-earners
;
wages are good and hands are scarce (that is farm hands). As to iinmi-grants,
I do not know what class would suit farm labor best, as I am not
acquainted with the foreigners.—J. H. Kester, Kings Mountain.
A Sufficient Number to do the Work.—I am not in favor of immigration,
although we are short of labor sometimes ; but there are plenty of negroes
and worthless white people to do the work required in this country. The
most of them would rather work on public works half the time and steal
their living. I hope the time will soon come when we can see everybody at
work, all the negroes back in Africa, and all white people here in their places.
We don't need immigrants here, is my view of the thing, for if we get them
we may have trouble at home some day.—W. F. Logan, Kings Mountain.
Let Well Enough Alone.—I am opposed to immigration, because our
people are contented and prosperous among all classes. The laborer is
getting satisfactory compensation for his labor, and there is a good demand
for all kinds of farm products at living prices. The more immigrants we
get, the harder it will be for our children to own homes in the future. I
believe in letting well enough alone.—A. T. Mull, Cleveland Mills.
More Ignorance Now Than Can Be Cared For.—I would say the wage-earners
of our vicinity could get all the work they can do, and get remunera-tive
wages, if they could be induced, by any means, to work. We have a class
of both white and black who want to stay around the towns and stations,
and they can't be hired, paid nor persuaded to go out on the farm. As to
immigrants, we have more ignorance now than we can handle. What we
need is some way to get those we already have to work, and more money in
some way to school them.—J. M. Barber, Kings Mountain.
A Curse to the Country.—In my opinion, the thing that would be of
greatest benefit (and that, too, in its broadest sense) is education for the
wage-earners, as it is evident that the wage-earners will never amount to
much to the Commonwealth as citizens without being properly educated.
As to immigration, I am opposed to allowing the criminal element, ignorant
element, and unindustrious element to land on our shores, and yet they are
coming into the country by millions, principally from Southern Europe, which
class is a curse to the United States instead of a help. But a good, indus-trious
and intelligent element is greatly to be desired, especially if they are
from England, Germany or France.—A. B. Dorsey, BeUoood.
Condition of Farmers. 51
Labor Is Scarce.—There is scarcely any hired labor in this county for
farming purposes. The laborers have gone to factories and other public
works, and their condition is about as good as that of the landlords. The
greatest trouble with them is they don't save their money.—J. T. Hawkins,
Lattimore.
The Best Classes, or None At All.—I do not know of anything that
would benefit the wage-earners more than for them to "stick to their jobs,"
except for the j'oung to go to school. But our school term in this district
is too short : we had only three months public school this year. I have no
experience with foreign immigration ; don't know what kind of citizens they
make. We need more good citizens in our community who would take an
interest in society and the education of their children. It is next to impos-sible
to hire a wage-hand here on the farm at any price ; though, if we could
get immigrants who would be apt, honest and industrious we would be
better off. We can buy labor-saving machinery and do our own work on the
farm and no doubt be better off in the long run.—G. F. Hambright, Kings
Mountain.
CRAVEN COUNTY.
Afraid of Strikes.—I must say that I do not approve of immigration for
farm labor, as I have seen both Portugese and Italians tried, and they are
like all the rest of immigrant labor, soon learn the strike system and become
worthless.
—
Harris Lane, Cove.
Reduce the Size of Farms.—The only legislation I can suggest for wage-earners
is to put all intoxicants out of reach and not require them to pay
nine-tenths of the road tax, as they do in most places. The old road laws
are entirely out of date and should give way to a more sensible, up-to-date
way ; tax the crowd and pay the worker. I think we need some immigrants,
but think they should be buyers rather than hirelings, at least for the coun-try—
the manufacturing centers could best use those from the towns. If
some of the vacant farms could be cut up and sold to men who would work
them, it would help pay taxes and maybe furnish some labor for adjoining
farms. I think we had best go slow and "cull close." We do not need to
flood our country with cheap labor ; let labor remain scarce and keep down
production so we can get pay for farm work.
—
John Humphrey, Vlark.
Plan Suggested.—Replying to above, will say that I think both laborer
and land-owner could be materially benefited if farmers could secure willing,
intelligent and competent labor among the Germans, or some other class of
good people, who know something of agriculture. I think farmers could
afford to pay competent, reliable laborers, those who are industrious and
willing and know how to do, $1 per day, and they board themselves ; and
then, to make them feel interested, give each family a horse crop to tend, pay
them as suggested above, and one-tenth of all clear profits. I would like
to secure two or more good families on above conditions and plans, and I
believe I could place a dozen or more families in my neighborhood on above
plan. I would like two families who have at least two sons, each able and
competent to work.—G. L. Hardison, Thiirman.
52 ISToETH Carolina Labok Statistics.
Conditions Satisfactory, Personally.—If I were to write from personal
experience on my own little farm (thirty-six acres), I have labor enough and it
is fairly satisfactory. Some negroes are reliable and industrious. I have
one of that kind, so I personally do not complain of labor problems. My
neighbors generally do, and many of them have cause for it. We can improve
our labor by putting a premium on good attention to duties by paying extra
for extra service—my own experience has proved this position. I hardly
believe any class of foreigners would suit our community as well as the
African, unless our large farms were cut up into small ones and induce actual
settlers to come in. This would improve the labor already here and make
the section more prosperous. In my estimated cost for cotton, etc., my esti-mate
is my own expenses, not what it costs generally. I average over a
five-hundred-pound bale to each acre I tend, and can by that means make a
bale about five cents, but where it takes two acres to make a bale of course
it costs much more per acre. Very little tobacco is raised about here, and I
know nothing of its cost or use.
—
Daniel Lane, New Bern.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Negro Labor a Thing of the Past.—I do not know what to say about the
class of labor needed, but it is the general problem of our section at this
time. We cannot get the labor that is needed, and I do not know what to
say about it, not being informed as to the Italians, but think we had better
have them than let our farms grow up in weeds. The labor question is a
serious one; we cannot get much work done at any price. The negro labor
is a thing of the past in most cases.—J. W. Hall, Autryville.
Colored Immigrants.—I will say in regard to wage-earners in this section
that they have the advantage of the employers, as wages are high and the
demand for hands is great. I favor immigration, and think the best class
of immigrants would be colored women in order to get cotton picked and
help crop tobacco and save it. Modern farm implements are fast taking the
place of male hands on the farm.—E. J. Godwin, Dunn.
CURRITUCK COUNTY.
Farms Too Large.—Our farms are too large. If we bad immigrants to
work half of each farm, and had three times as much labor as we now have
to work, then we would have one of the most prosperous States in the South.
We can grow almost anything that can be grown in any other Southern State,
and much more per acre.^P. H. Flora, Tulls.
Needed Badly.—We have only the colored laborer here. The principal
crop is Irish and sweet potatoes; not enough corn grown for home consump-tion.
Reliable laborers are needed badly in this section.
—
Richard Ether-idge,
Powells Point.
Co]N^DiTiox OF Farmees. 53
DARE COUNTY.
Experience Limited.—I rather think the Germans and Swedes would be
best suited to this section, although my experience is very limited on foreign
labor. We are now very much in need of a Chinese laundry.—R. C. Evans,
Manteo.
Lumbermen Needed.—This is not a farming county ; perhaps one-third of
the heads of families own small farms of five to fifty acres and raise some
corn, potatoes, etc., for home consumption, consequently there is scarcely any
farm labor employed. In this, East Lake Township, all labor is fully em-ployed
in the lumber woods and mills at from $1.25 to $2 per day, and twice
as many more could find regular employment at same wages. In other parts
of the county most of the labor is employed in the fishing industry, and they
receive from thirty to forty dollars per month and board. A good class of
immigrants would be beneficial here for the lumber industry, but are not
needed for farming.—J. B. Pinner, East Lake.
DAVIDSON COUNTY.
As To Wage-Earners and Morality.—As to the needs of wage-earners,
they are at present faring as well as any of our citizens, and have all the
legislation in their favor that is necessary for them. I will say that I am
very much opposed to most of the present class of immigrants ; many of
them are exiles and we do not need them, but I would not oppose immigrants
of a moral and industrious class ; yet, I believe w^e would be better off without
them.—J. W. Bowers, Fair Gi'ove.
Wants An "Early Influx."—We need a desirable class of farm hands in
this part of the country, and certainly hope for an early influx of the kind
needed—those willing to work for a living.—M. R. Shoaf, Wallburg.
Do Not Wait.—The industrious laborer now has the opportunity of his
life. The worthless class of negroes are abandoning the farms for town and
city life, and if we can attract intelligent, industrious immigrants let us do
so at once.—J. W. Fitzgerald, Linicoocl.
German Immigrants Preferred.—In regard to wage-earners, I think that
German labor would suit for farm labor better than any other class, if we
can attract the good element. I think the farms should be divided up in
small tracts ; we could raise five times as much per acre then as we do now.
I think the reason so many of our young men have gone to the towns to get
work is because we have been cultivating too much land and the yield per
acre is too small.—R. P. Helper, Lexington.
The Best Suited to Our Farms.—I must confess that I am at a loss to
know what kind of immigrants would suit the farm best. However, I would
say I think the German would fill the bill if he could be induced to come
among us.—H. H. Hartley, Lexington.
54 ' ISToETH Caeolina Labor Statistics.
DUPLIN COUNTY.
Favoes Swiss and German Immigrants.—Let every wage-earner be paid
according to the amount of labor be does in a day or an hour—not tbe same
price for every man whether he does a good day's work or a sorry one. A
man's worli is worth in proportion to what he does, and not what he is sup-posed
to do. My opinion is that not until labor is sold by the, piece, just as
goods and other things are sold, will the employer and the employed get
justice. The "time-killer" should not be paid for the time he has killed, but
for the work that he has done honestly and in a reasonable time. All wage-earners
would be satisfied, or should be, when they have been paid according
to their work. I suggest grades—first, second and third—and that he hold
a certificate of his grade, and that no one employ him until he shows his
grade certificate. This would encourage the second and third grades to
improve themselves. I would recommend as immigrants the Swiss, who have
been brought up under a compulsory school law, for this nation has had
such a law for thirty years. The Germans, I think, would make good immi-grants.—
S. J. Veach, Warsaw.
Unable to Advise.—I am not able at this time to say anything much about
immigration. We need more farm labor, and would like to have the best
obtainable. As to what labor we have, I don't know of anything that would
materially benefit them. They seem to be doing well enough, but need edu-cation.—
G. W. Howard, Hallsville.
Have Regular Employment.—I think the laborer at the present time is
in good condition. The men can get employment outside of farm work. They
can get $1.35 to $1.50 per day, and have regular employment, at lumber
mills.—Z. Blanchard, Sloan.
DURHAM COUNTY.
Not Getting Their Share.—Our system of labor is anything but satis-factory.
The colored laborer who has been reliable is fast passing away.
We need immigrants, if we could get those that are reliable. Don't know
what class of immigrants would be best suited to our needs. I do not think
the working people of the State are getting their share of the prosperity that
we hear so much about.—U. W. Unstead, Stem.
Cannot Say.—I think the wage-earners of this country are doing better
than I ever knew them—have plenty of employment and good prices paid
them ; all produce and prices reasonable. All the farm labor is seeking
public works, as they pay better prices than they get on farms. I think in
a few years the land-owners will have to do their own farm work, and as
they get old and unable to work their lands will go on the market. As for
the best immigrants for the farmer, I can't say. I don't put much faith in
the Japanese or Chinese. The negro is the best laborer, but public works
are drawing them away from the farms and our lands are wasting away for
want of labor.—G. D. Maekham, Durlxam.
Condition of Faemees. 55
EDGECOMBE COUNTY.
Makes No Suggestions.—The wage-earner needs to be more truthful and
punctual. I have not sufficient knowledge to pass on immigrants suited to
farm labor.—V. B. Knight, Laiorence.
"North Carolina foe North Carolinians."—The share system of farming
so exteilfeively exists in this county it is hard to say what are the needs of
wage-earners. The repeal of the crop lien law would go a long ways towards
solving the labor problem and remedying the scarcity of labor. I do not
believe in any kind of immigration except, perhaps, whites from adjoining
States. We are boasting that our State is one of if not the most prosperous
States in the South ; that we are fast accumulating wealth, improving our
farms and building factories. Why invite farmers to help us to do what we
are doing for ourselves. Let's go on improving and leave the heritage, these
improvements, to our children, not foreigners. "North Carolina for North
Carolinians."—R. H. Speight, Whitake7's.
Prefers Negro Labor.—The negro is the best all-round labor we will ever
get. Well managed, he is all right. In regard to question 5, "Is negro labor
reliable?" that depends on the ability the negro has and the man who is in
charge. No labor that does the drudgery work is very reliable. That class of
people get drunk and have a good time, they say.—M. S. Smithson, Battle-boro.
The Negeo Played Out.—I favor immigrants that will be honest and work.
It looks to me like the negro has played out, and by the help of big supply
companies it will not be long before he is completely gone—extravagance and
credit.—J. K. Lawrence, Battlehoro.
As TO Negro Tenants.—The majority of wage-labor in this county is
negro labor, which I think is best suited to the climate and the crops we
cultivate ; although the majority of them are unreliable and will not comply
with their obligations—that is, they will contract to work for you by the
month or the year, and if they can get better wages offered them they will
leave you. But the last Legislature gave us some protection, making it a
misdemeanor, after having contracted, to leave the services of his employer.
Again, the negro labor is unreliable. From my experience and observation,
some farms of one to three hundred acres have been leased or rented to
negroes, and have been almost entirely under their own care and supervision—
the owners living in cities or towns and renting for a certain rent—and in
almost every instance the land depreciates and the negro continues to get
poorer. I do not know what class of immigrants would suit our country
;
therefore, I think if our lands and our climate are generally advertised, it
will be encouragement sufficient to keep a supply of labor here in this goodly
land of ours.—W. W. Vick, Battlehoro.
56 ISToETH Caeolina Laboe Statistics.
FORSYTH COUNTY.
Economy Should Be Taught.—I think the wage-earner is getting a good
price for his labor at present. If there could be some way devised to get him
to take care of what he does make, I think it would be about as good a thing
as could be done for him. I prefer the negro, as a farm laborer, to anybody
else, but they have about all gone to the towns, the mines and public works.
I believe that the Italians would make good farm hands, after getting
acquainted with our way of working, but might be a little trouble to manage.
All foreigners are much harder to manage than the negro, but we need more
labor. However, I am not able to say where they should come from.—R. S.
LiNViLLE, Kernersville.
Favoks the Right Kind.—With the farmer, as with the man with any
avocation in life, the individual is, to a great extent, the architect of his own
fortune ; but legislation in favor of temperance, a system of improved high-ways
and education will be of benefit to all classes. I favor immigration, if
it be of the right kind. Not an alien people, who could not in time be asso-ciated
with and taken up by our own people.—A. C. Wharton, Clemmons.
Suggestion to Legislature.—As to immigration, we need none of it. The
negro is a much better farm-hand than the foreigner. In my opinion, the
greatest danger to the country lies in the landing upon our shores of the vast
hordes of ignorant foreigners, and I would urge the General Assembly to pass
resolutions asking Congress for more stringent and efficient laws.—M. W.
Long, To^accoville.
Room for More Farmers of Means and Industry.—People who are for hire
can get more at saw-mills, brickyards, public roads, factories, etc., than
farmers can afford to pay them. Harvest time now for the wage-earner ; best
prices I have ever known for the wage-earner. There is room for more
farmers, but we think that the only kind of immigration would be people who
had means to buy farms and improve them and become permanent settlers,
and I don't think there are many people who would amount to much as farm
laborers here.—J. G. Fulton, Kernersville.
FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Cannot Advise.—In reference to the needs of wage-earners I cannot tell
what would benefit them. We have never had any immigrants in this section,
therefore I cannot tell what class might suit this county.—J. H. Ballentine,
Bunn.
Opposes Foreign Labor.—Don't think foreign labor would be good for farm
use, as it seems that that class does not care to work on farms. They seem
to prefer living in town. I am not a believer in foreign immigration anyway.
Believe we would have trouble with it sooner or later ; therefore, I don't
want them. If they are to come, let them stay in the towns, where they can
be controlled by the officers of the law. Our natives, whites and negroes, are
Condition of Faemees. • 57
what we want. Wage-earners are receiving higher wages than the landlord
can afford to pay, and if they would save their earnings they could save more
than the landlord, after taking off interest of his investments. But, as a rule,
the wage-earner wants to spend more than he is earning, and cares nothing
for saving.—C. P. Harris, Margaret.
GASTON COUNTY.
To Restore Confidence.—To pass a law to bind them to work out their
contracts and a law to make the employer stand to his, and make all parties
who entice them away liable for all damages, even to working it out on the
chain-gang. This would restore confidence and make the dishonest ones
honest, obviate all fears of the hands leaving; each and every one would
know then that he must act square and be honest. Another good law would
be to repeal the homestead act ; then, and not until then, will North Carolina
be as it was before the war. It would make all honest and restore confidence
between the rich and poor.—B. F. Carpenter, Stanley Creel:.
No Help at Any Price.—The negro laborer has become very scarce, and,
worse still, can't be relied on. Several of my neighbors lost all their help
after getting out their fertilizers and crops planted. They will have to aban-don
their crops, or a part at least. Do not think they can get help at any
pi'ice.—J. M. McIntosh, Lucia.
German and Irish Immigrants.—The farm laborer should be bound to
stick close to his contract and look more after his employer's interest. Some
compulsory law should be enacted to bring this about. As to immigrants, I
cannot say which would be best to have. The German immigrants are usually
good workers, and as I am nearly full Irish I would speak well for them
also.—R. A. Caldwell, Gasto7\ia.
Regular Employment.^—In my opinion, the greatest need for wage-labor
is to get regular employment and stick to it and spend the money economically.
Too many want to work one-half or three-fourths of the time, and dress up
and strut around the remainder. I think wages are good enough if they
would work all the time and take care of their earnings.
—
Moses Steoup,
Bessemer City.
Descants on Government.—After looking over the many excellent letters
you have received and published here, I hesitate. Government seems to be a
problem in which mankind has made more failures than in anything he has
ever undertaken. Efficiency can best be secured in office-holders by long terms
;
safety, by short terms and frequent changes. Manufacturing, especially of
cotton, seems to be the great coming business of the South ; but we certainly
need better laws for the government of corporations, so that some protection
may be had for the minority stockholders. Man is naturally a tyrant and
requires the strongest restraint that law can give to kee