The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-06-14
DIXIE Ar SCHOOL.

but here and there 1t turns to US q very pleas.
ant one. Dixie is going to school. He pays
rather high price for the tuition, but he is
learning something which will be Of great val
ne to him. There is no question that the
South has learned within the past year more
Of that which will be Of lasting ase to it than
during the experience Of the previous fifty
years. One of the most painful lessons is that
the world can get along quite as well without
it, and particularly the North. which, it has
always had the fancy, the North was living
upon it. The South has seen the North piling
its solid wealth-outgrowing it in enterprise,
resources, education, iterature-everything
that makes and measures civilization-and
could only account for the fact on the ground
that, by some trick of trade, we had managed
to absorb the profits of its system of slavery.
The Southern people have really believe that
the North and West, which have clothed and fed
them, were absolutely dependent upon them.
They stole from us at one swoop, hundeds Of
millions Of dollars, supposing it would cripple
us, and break US down but they were mistaken.
They have learned or will learn, that while
they, with all their thievlng, have been half
starved, there has been no material augmenta-
ton of prices with US, and no diminuiton of
supplies, and that, in this day Of their sharp
est distress, the North is suffering less than it
financial revulsion. Fs4a
Dixie is going to manual labor school,
With All his his help from the negroes, he has
been obliged to take off his coat, roll up his
sleeves, and hew and build, and march and
run Were it not for the effects of the short
rations, and the tobacco and bad whisky, he
would come out ofthe warvery much improved
physically and with some new ideas on the sub
ject of labor. II is safe to say there has been
more genuine white labor performed at the south
within the last year, than during the previous
half century. They have learned they can
work, learned something of what work can &C
complish They have learned something also
as to what it is to work under drivers, to bend
to the shovel and the hoe, under military
ask.master. The discipline Of the service and
the military subordination which the chivalry
have experienced, cannot fail to do them great
good, Notwithstanding the demoralizing effects
Of camp life.
Dixie is learning his place in the world
Nothing is SO difficult, and nothing so painful,
to many young man, as the process OF learn
ing exactly where he belongs iu the world, as
a man of muscle and man of mental resources.
Some men never learn their place, but they are
blockheads. Some learn 1t only by good
sound Aogging. Dixie has always carried
very high head, talked il 9 loud and dictato-
rial tone Dragged of bis courage and his Prov
ess. and assumed, both in social and political
life the supreme seat Dixie has already had
his hat Knocked over his eyes and his heels
tripped up In short he has been whipped,
and has been shown that he has only swagge--
ed and bulied and brow beaten heretofore, in
safety, because the North was peaeesble and
good natured. He has vapored about himself
before the nations, but he has been foored in
the sight of ell the world, and the world has
learned that he is not the puissant chap which
he represented himself TO be. He has been
Inundated by set of people whom he has
very heartily despised. whom he has called By
low and ugly names, and whom he always fan
cied were almost immesurably his interiors
Dixie has learned, or will learn, another
thing, viz: that a civilization built upon Afri
can slavery is weak and that civilization
based upon free white labor is strong. The
South has always worshiped power, and has |
always ccurted and admired the powerful 1t
had fOndly believed that those who lorded it |
over slaves and led q sporting life, and fought |
duels, and were s'accustomed to the use of fire. |
arms from childhood" and regarded labor as
degrading, were the only men in America Who |
had courage and spirit and genuine personal |
power. They had believed that the swhite |
slaves Of the North" could never stand before |
them--that they were weak, spritless, low |
met the ''mudsills," and have learned that the |
mudsils are their superiors, that they are |
larger, stronger, better fed and more truly |
brave than they. They have learned that |
power, not only political but military, is with |
the North. independent Of its numerical superi. |
ority. They have learned that the North is
the more powerful simply because it is free.
and that they are weak simply because their |
system Of labor and style of civilization have
made them So ef7 q EiHi
Another thing, and very important one.
that Dixie has, learned, or is learning. is.
that politicians arc very unsafe leaders, and |
slaveholders very poor paymasters The South /
has been ruled by slaveholders, who, in turn
have been led by the politicians The number
OF Shareholders the South ~ related to the to-
"a white population, is small; aud this war.
begun and carried on in behalf of slavery, and
in behalf Of the schemes Of selfish politicians.
mas been the ruin pecuniarily, Of that great
soutaern majority constituted by the non-slsve-
holding whites. The soldiers who have fought
the battles OF slavery are mostly those whose
interests are opposed to slavery. Thew have
been led into q fight which never could result
IN anything but damage to them, il successful
Unless the dullest of scholars they have learn.
ed to attend TO their own political affairs and
not allow themselves TO be led by the nose by
ponicians. Arevolntion 1t the North by poi.
iticians. irrespective of the people would be An
The politicians bargained aWay
the North to the South, but the people would.
not stand It, and the traitors ct the North we're
nienced in an hour after Sumter fell. Dixie
viii DO very veil - soon % he learns that his
real enemies are those for whom he has bsen
lighting. -[Spring6sld Republican.
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