Note 54 — Chapter VIII · THE NEGRO IN INDUSTRY
Reading edition
"In many cases the Negro does not dare ask for a settlement. Planters often regard it as an insult to be required even by the courts 'to go to their books.' A lawyer and planter cited to me the planter's typical excuse: 'It is unnecessary to make a settlement when the tenant is in debt.' As to the facts in the case, the landlord's word must suffice." From report by W. T. B. Williams in Negro Migration in 1916-17, p. 104. Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Negro Economics.