Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1858-04-21

For the Reporter.
Letters from the South.-No. 4.

Memphis, Tenn, Feb. Dist, 1853.
The ''mark of the beast is stamped
upon almost everything in this country
Improvements of every kind are at
least fifty years behind the northern
free States. Slavery is the bane Of So
ciety-socially, politically and morally.
There is no encouragement for intelli-
gent free labor while all the work is
done by slaves. Mechanical ingenuity
and inventive genius IS discouraged
here, because the slave does all the
hard work, and labor-saving machinery
is unappreciated by those who get their
work performed by unpaid laborers.
Society suffers most from this curse.
1t hegets suspicion and jealousies in
families, causes husbands to distrUst
their wives and wives their husbands.
It saps the very foundation of morality
and virtue, and lays the foundation of
vice and encourages the free indulgence
OF all the baser passions among the
youth. Aristocracy is encouraged by
the institution, and a mechanic or la
boring man is looked upon as unfit to
associate with respectable people, or to
mingle in genteel society. A young
lady remarked to me to-day, that there
no love in the South, only the love Of
money; that a person who soiled his
hands or garments with honest labor
was of no account in society, and that
the ability to own slaves was the stand
ard by which to determine the elligibil-
lty to respectable society. She also
remarked that she herself would not
marry a man, however much he might
love her, if he worked with his own
hands, and was not the owner Of slaves.
a curse upon state of society which
determines respectability by such a
standard! Honesty, integrity and IN
dush.y alone should determine the re-
spectabillty Of the man; and although
the garments may be soiled by the dust
of labor, GA mans a man for a that. J"
Feb. 22nd.-I was aroused this morn
ing by the roar of artillery and the beat
ing of drums, i'll commemoration OF the
birth of the "Father Of his Country" ="
The fires of the revolution " burn
brightest on Southern affairs and IN
Southern hearts, and the anniversary OF
the occurrence of important battles,
and of the birth of men noted for mill
tary fame, is celebrated with far great
er enthusiasm at the South than at the
North. And many | saw who mani
tested their patriotism by getting glorl-
ously drunk and cooling off in the pools
OF Eaud and water in the streets. Many
more no doubt would have celebrated
in the same patriotic manner but for
the scarcity of mud holes, in this ex-
tremely dry time, to cool off in.
visited the Memphis Navy Yard
to-day. This is certainly monument
of the folly of great men. The at
tempt was made to keep pace with
Northern and Eastern energy and
enterprise, and to keep the slave
States on a par with the free States in
public improvements. A tract of land
lying along the River in the upper part
OF the city, was given to the general
government by the city authorities. 0
condition that Navy Yard should be
established here; and mechanics and
laborers employed in building vessels
for the naval service and manufacturing
implements and munitions Of war. All
this was done Costly and extensive