Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1864-02-05

- ~ WV SAsA~S W. AVACkACO " Gl0 LAW
that Mr.. DeBow, of Review notoriety, deci-
dedly the most ingenious reasoner in Dixie,
had recently recanted his views, and admit
ted that Cotton was not King, and that slave
ry was dead; and that for this offense his
periodical had been suppressed, and himself
imprisoned. We had not then seen the ar
ticle which incurred the displeasure Of JEFF,
but have now before US copy.
The writer tells us that he has written
much to prove that Cotton was King; and
that slavery was the true basis of all well
regulated society; but that in these things
he was mistaken, and unlike some others, he
is not unwilling to acknowledge his error, as
no one can gam anything by clinging to a
falsehood. He says:
''Shall we not learn from our enemies p
What are the causes Of their prosperity p
Why do even the laborers of the North live
with degree of comfort often unknown to
the wealthy planters of the South
1.-THE statistical reports which accompany
the census Of 1860 establish fully the results
of material conditions: and, if we admit
that the people Of the North really hardly felt
the war up to this point, we must look to and
examine the material conditions which sur
round them"
He then says that Henry A.Wise and John
Brown killed slavery; or what was equiva-
lent, rendered it burden rather than q
source of prosperity, and then adds:
ave have taken to raising cereals, and
have succeeded so badly as to make it mat
ter Of doubt whether We will not have eaten
everything before the time of greens, which,
when boiled with jowl, are so priced by the
First Families of Virginia. -,
"In the meantime, the production of cotton
is slipping away from US, and We have already
slipped away into unknown depths, and are
drifting to q fearful and to an uncertain flu
"If the negro will not raise enough to feed
himself and master, what is the use of the
negro? If we are not permitted to avail
ourselves of the high qualities Of the negro,
and found a superior civilization upon Elm,
why should we not accept the civilization
which belongs to q people in general, founded
upon the dignity as we'll as usefulness flabor?
1.-THE people Of the North live comfortably;
more SO, indeed, than the majority of the
slave owners in the South. They educa te
their children, and teach them that there is
no dishouor ia employing either their hands
or their heads; and say boldly, even against
our prejudices, I think they are right in that
This is coming down greatly since the day
when, in the era Of Southern prosperity, Mr.
DeBow argued that the legitimate relation
between capitalists and laborers was that Of
master and slave. He has been taught q
lesson by the war. like thousands of other
over-zealous men and he has candor enough
to acknowledge it. Who will despair now,
when the great high priest of the fre-eaters
pays a tribute to "Nor,hern mudsiIls admits
that they live more comfortable than slave
holders, and were right in honoring labor p
The era Of miracles has passed, or we would
class this conversion with that of Saul of
TarsuS.
He then argues that the single item of mich
cows has greater influence upon society
than cotton and the colored man combined.
He used to ridicule the assertions of North
ern political economists, that any of the pro-
ducts of that section, even the most impor.
tant, was of equal consequence with king
cotton; indeed, the combined products of
Northern industry sunk into insignifcance
before the one staple of the South; but now
he admits that even one of the smallest of its
interests has greater influence on civiliza-
ton, than the chief product of Dixie. He
continues:
SIN the North the ratio of increase of mich
cows was slightly in excess of the ratio of in
crease Of population between the years 1850
and go. In the South there was an actual
deficiency in the ratio above stated of 431, SOL!
In proportion to the ratio of increase of pop
ulatioRthe chivalrous State of South Carolina
is def ciert in mich COWS 64,766! As her
decadence is far greater than that of any
otherState, and her deficiency in the ratio Of
mich cows to the population is the greatest,
may we not suppose that either the deficiency
indicated: or some cause coincident to it, has
been the ruin of that State?
"People must drink something. If they
cannot get milk naturally they take to whisky,
and we may well lament the result. The
subjoined tables show plainly that the de-
crease of mich cows in proportion to the pop
ulation indicates a precarious condition of
society and if it has not led directly to the
rebellion, the causes of the decrease of mich
cows are coincident and analogous, at least,
to it.
'In the slave States, tabulated in 1850,
there was mileh cow to every 3 persons
In the free States, tabulated, one for every
81 persons. In 1860, in the slave States,
one for every persons, and the free States
one to every 3.6 persons, or slight gain of
the proportionate number of mich cows.
"The want Of good meadow lands in most
Of the slave states, the poor and insufficient
quantity of food usually given mich cows,
the unsheltered condition in which they are
kept and the neglect of them by the ne roes,
would make the yield of milk less than one
half per each COW of those in the northern
states. This appears to be shown by the
amounts Of butter and cheese produced:
Total amount OF butter produced in -.-.
ten free states In 1860 307790771 pounds
Total smouns Of butter produced I'm in GOV"
ten slave states in 1850 53,9605l5 pounds
| Or about 2s pounds per year for each COW
states In 1850 % pounds
| Average yield Of cheese per COW in ton slave
states In 1850 2pounds.
Mr.. DeBow then gives the rebel leaders
some home thrusts, Of which the following
are specimen Of the whole: s-.q g.
| "We see in the above our road to progress
cotton has failed or will fail US the negro
has failed or will fail US; it is idle to hope
longer to enjoy peacefully the proceeds of his
labor when at this moment eighty taousan
of his color are organized and hold arms in
their hands to free their fellows. The long.
er the war is protracted the more violently
will slavery be destroyed. For two years and
half we have waged war, and lost more tina,
half the territory over which We asserted
jurisdiction the supply of cattle no longer