There  are  many  features  of  life  on  the  mod-
ern plantation,  be  it  of  sugar  or  cotton,  which
suggest  slavery.  Virtual  slavery  is  called  peon'
age  and  many  examples  were  given  me  by
Negroes.  It  is  arranged  in  some  places  that  the
Negro  handles  as  little  money  as  possible.  In-
stead of  money  he  has  credit  checks,  metal  or
cardboard  disks,  which  he  can  use  at  the  general
store  to  purchase  his  provisions.  He  is  kept  in
debt  so  that  he  can  never  get  out,  and  so  lives
with  a  halter  round  his  neck.  Especially  dur-
ing the  war,  when  the  rumor  of  war  wages  was
tempting  the  colored  labor  of  the  South  to  mi-
grate North  in  huge  numbers,  efforts  were  made
to  keep  the  Negro  without  the  means  of  stray-
ing from  the  locality  where  the  labor  of  his
hands  was  the  foundation  of  the  life  of  the  com-
munity. Other  forms  of  peonage  prevalent  iii
rural  parts  is  the  commuting  of  punishment  for
forced  labor,  the  hiring  out  of  penal  labor  to
companies  or  public  authorities.  This  resem-
bles the  use  made  of  prisoners  during  the  re-
cent world  war,  and  is  virtual  slavery.
All  inroads  made  on  the  liberty  of  the  subject
might  fittingly  be  classed  as  peonage — the  de-
nial of  the  vote  to  those  legally  enfranchised,
intimidation  by  lynch  law,  etc.
