American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1867-02-09
SOUTHERN RELIEF.
Meeting at Cooper Institute Speech oi
Horace Greely.

men, there are so many things that
it is wise not to say on an occasion
like this, that / appear before you
exceedingly embarrassed, laughter,
indeed fear that what we may say
here in perfect truth, and in perfect
charity, may seem to wear Phan-
sale and self righteous aspect, unless
we are exceedingly careful. l would
not desire, then, to reopen at all,
any political or social differences
which may have divided and aliena-
ted, in times past, the North and the
South. | would look solely at this
one question Of human suffering, for
know that New York, whatever its
shortcomings, never was deficient III
the quality Of mercy; never failed to
turn generous ear to every appeal
on behalf of suffering and hungerIng
and thirsting humanity. | W0uld
endeavor. then, SO tar as possible, to
keep this single aspect before me,
lest even in giving charity, we might
convey it with words which would
seem to have something Of bitter
ness, where we mean only to be kind.
There are to-day, think, quarter
of million widows with children III
the South-widows whom this great
war has made. These women and
children were not accustomed to
work. They are now willing and
anxious to work for living, but the
means and facilities for so dong
do not readily present themselves.
Again, there are a quarter OF mil
lion more in the South Of manned and
crippled men, most Of them heads OF
families families whom once they
were able to support, but to whom
now, because of their aitliction, they
are no longer help, but rather a
burden. The soldiers of the Union,
the lamed and crippled, very properly
and justly, have pensions, which do
something to mitigate the sufferlngs
IOf their families, which would other
wise be as severe, probably, as the
suffering of the South. We had great
charitable funds throughout the war
mitigating its severity not only tt
the soldiers in the front but to thell
families at homes. These, owing tC
the lacks Of means, were very much
more scanty at the South, and the
crippled and bereavcd and desolatt
have nothing answering to our pen
sions. Then the seat of war was sub
Stantially in the South, very little o
it in the North. Almost entirely th'
war passed over Southern fields ant
Southern homes.
Now, unless you have scantlll
scanned this subject, You cannot re
alizc how mighty is the difference
that it makes, whether the WaI is b,
vour Observation-Disclosures it trampIe
down your fields, or those of some
;. body thousand miles away. N
army marches and the country
- stripped of all sustenance, destroyed
eaten out, trampled down, and LEI
Z with scarcely anything to suppol
life. An army resting for the nigh
burns up even the fences for mile
around. The soldiers cannot lie an
y shiver through the cold and rain
" nights, they must have fires and the
9. must take that drywood which come
handiest to them. They have II
il, time for digging coal or chopin
down waving forests, and they pu
down the fences. ! am not conten
plating acts of unjuStifiable rava"'
am asking you to consider the ta'
-. that when an army marches there
> necessary desolation but in tins cas-
there was unusual deSolatiOn, becauS
wheIevtr there were factories an
foundrics which necessarily contrl
uted to the support ot the rebellion
and they were burned or otherwl>
destroyed by our officers as meal
of putting down the rebellion.
And thus at every place thousand
especially of women and chlldre
were turned out of those eStabIlSI
/. meuts wherein they were earnn
/ coarse and humble bread, but ear
ing living, and the means wherel
e they lived have not been replace
The cotton, the principal wealth
!. the country, was burned 10y one arm
. and bv the other, and where 1t W;
= not burned it was generally stole
daughter. Our Government 2
very little of it. and the people =
Nerv little Of it. And thus, the Soul
stood out unreasonably, | think, lol
after any hope of success remalne
until the last possibility uf eNisten'
4 was gone. When that oeculre
nearly every part of the country lla
d been traversed hy armies, tramphn
down. devastating, devouring, d,
Z stroying, until there was Scarce
s ANYTHING left but the naked conntr
10 with people, all of whom, the Whit
?, especially, had been dragged into Il
r armies, and a very large portion
+ them either killed or wounded,
g that the physical possibility OF lars
IS IN producing food had departed wh'
d the rebellion was over. Nearly Ia
the ability ofthe whites to work IN
n been destroyed by the war; the Ia
tories had been burned. the tenc
were gone. and even in the one h;'
last necessity of man-Sced To Pla
there were millions OH millions
dollars lost last year, because I
: seed which they put into the groui
IN being several years old, was 50 m
/. eralhle. that nothing could be pi
1,,.aI t-nra If