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Sugar Planter [West Baton Rouge, LA], March 24, 1860
The relative position in point of comfort and good treatment of the slaves at the South and the poor oppressed white operators of the manufacturing districts of New England, seems to be realized by the shoemakers now on the strike of Lynn, if we can judge from the following colloquy, said by a Boston paper to have occurred there at a recent meeting:
First Shoemaker—What is the use of our making such a fuss about the slaves of the South? I tell you we are almost as much oppressed as they are. In fact, in one sense, we are worse oppressed, for they don’t work so many hours in the week as we do; and they get a living, while most of us could’nt live, with our families, if we could’nt get trusted for necessaries of life, which we never expect to be able to pay for at this rate.
Second Shoemaker—We are worse treated than the slaves of the South, in every sense, so far as I can see.
Third Shoemaker—You know, gentlemen, we are not a quarter as bad off as the slaves of the South, though we ought to be. They can’t vote, nor complain, and we can. And then, just think of it; the slaves can’t hold mass meetings nor “strike,” and we haven’t lost that previllege yet, thank the Lord.
First Shoemaker.—That’s so; but what’ll those privileges amount to, if they come to nothing? You see gentlemen, the superiority over that of Southern slaves is, we have got the manufacture ourselves out of this strike. Shall we fail, or shall we assert our superiority over Southern niggers?