"
"Great Scott! Is that woman's brother going to spend this money? Why,
are you daft? See here! American cotton-spinning supremacy is built on
cheap cotton; cheap cotton is built on cheap niggers. Educating, or
rather _trying_ to educate niggers, will make them restless and
discontented--that is, scarce and dear as workers. Don't you see you're
planning to cut off your noses? This Smith School, particularly, has
nearly ruined our plantation. It's stuck almost in our front yard; _you_
are planning to put our plough-hands all to studying Greek, and at the
same time to corner the cotton crop--rot!"
John Taylor caressed his lean jaw.
"New point of view to me; I sort of thought education would improve
things in the South," he commented, unmoved.
"It would if we ran it."
"We?"
"Yes--we Southerners."
"Um!--I see--there's light. See here, let's talk to Easterly about
this." They went into the next office, and after a while got audience
with the trust magnate. Mr. Easterly heard the matter carefully and
waved it aside.
"Oh, that doesn't concern us, Taylor; let Cresswell take care of the
whole thing. We'll see that Smith does what Cresswell wants."
But Taylor shook his head.
"Smith would kick. Mrs. Grey would get suspicious, and the devil be to
pay. This is better. Form a big committee of Northern business men like
yourself--philanthropists like Vanderpool, and Southerners like
Cresswell; let them be a sort of Negro Education steering-committee.
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