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by the "Labor Law", passed at the last session of the Legislature and if further troops be needed it can be [[crossed-out]] [[?]] [[/crossed-out]] observed almost daily in my office, in the almost endless attempts to swindle the Freedpeople in the settlements for services rendered during the year just closed. It must I think be clear that the Bureau is positively necessary (& if President Johnson will only take his seat in my office for a week I will undertake to convince even him of the fact) and if the Bureau is necessary, Troops are also necessary, as without troops to sustain him, I cannot conceive it possible for a Sub Asst Com to fully carry out his instructions, execute the orders of the Bureau & the Laws of Congress; & if he cannot do that he may just as well be at the "Hub of the Universe", as at his post. In conclusion I would remark that the only way in my opinion to enable the Freedpeople to protect themselves, is to educate them, so that they will know when they are swindled & otherwise wronged, & to this end I would urgently recommend that the Schools of the Bureau be made free, as it is beyond all dispute that many more children & adults to[[too]], would attend the schools, if they could afford to pay the tuition fee, few men get more than $15 per month. Many of them even less than that
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Reopened for Editing 2023-04-15 10:10:57
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Reopened for Editing 2023-04-15 15:10:17