Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1868-11-18
Our Traducers.

/ country : saved, according TO the Rau-
ical patriots North and South, we
may reasonably hope that the misrepre-
sentations from which we have soslong
suffered, may atlast;cease. How much
this species of insidiousswarfare has cost
the South, it would be difficult to esti77
mate. We speak not now of Uncle
Toms Cabin which gave an immense
impetus to the Republican party,--nor
of the poems, essays and sermons, innu-
merab1e, which were circulated as tracts,
all over the North and West, and con-
tributed their share in fomenting the
war; we refer more specially to the
swarm of.lying newspaper correspon-
dents, who were sent cut here from the
surrender of Genera Lee up to the date
of General Grant election. These men,
with very few exceptions, were obscure
Bohemians, ignorant, fippant, and ut
terly devoid Of principle. They were
sent for specific purpose, and knowing
that the surcst road to favor with their
principals was to paint men and things
in the most glaring colors, they set to
it with a will, and spared not the
brush. 80
This line of action subseryed its pur-
pose admirably contributing no. mean
share in nstrengtheningthe Radical ranks
in the elections two years ago: The
policy of NE. johnson was condemned
by the "voice of the nation, aswas the
fashionable phrase Of that day, the four
teenth amendment was ratified. Next
came the reconstruction acts, and with
them the great hegira Of the carpet
baggers; from whose ranks the staff of
newspaper correspondents was constant
ly recruited. A stronger motive was
now added-interest, ambition, cove
tousness. Three Of the strongest pas
sions of the human heart goadcd these
gentry to the perpetration of the gros-
sest injustice on an innocent people;
the love of gain, the lust of power, and
abject and cowardly fearsss the latter
from consciousness Of the great wrong
they were daily and hourly inAicting
upon a people who harmed them not:
The object was tc carry the Presiden-
tial election, and now that it is over,
I" let us have peace.
Not only were we traduced IN the
Northern prints of every description,
the newspaper, the illustrated weeklies,
the literary magazines and reviews, and
the ponderous tones, but their misera7
bic caricature was accepted as a faith
| Iful portrait, by their own people, the
people of England, France Germany,
and the rest of the world. MIR. Adams
his recent s..e-e,ty.zsffel
| Of Of this. He said that he had met peo=
pie from the South all his life, and they
were much like other men. Yet in his
schoolbooks he had learned they were
semi-savages; in the y illage newspaper
! he read of their cruelties and barbarism;
and though an intelligent and an edu-
Gated man, one who ought to have
known better, he confessed that these
constant iterations produced their eff
feet, even upon his mind. He gave us
the picture Of the traditional Souther-
ner, clustering, bullying, tobacco chew
ing, pistol brandishing.
! Mr.. Vernon. Harcourt, one of the
leading men in England, better known
las " Historicus" of the Times, few
weeks ago, at the Social Science Con-
eress; in Manchester, said:
Gentlemen who had travelled in the
FSouthern States have often seen persons
sit down to peaceful dinner with re.
volver in each coat tail pocket. Oh
course, it was only for the purpose Of
self-defence, but then it very frequent
ly happened that before dinner was
over two or three were shot
In France and Germany, particularly
among the Liberal" party, we find
the same ignorant prejudice against us
Our immigrant agents have met with
little success in consequence. They had
not -onlytoecon with the current
literature hostile in its tone, but found
vet more. formidable obstacles in the
numerous paid agents from the North.
west who spread Infamous falsehoods tc
our prejudice, in order to induce emf
grants to go to Indiana, Illinois, Iowa
&C., and not to South Carolina We
hope that this warfare will now cease
and that the hand of time may be per-
mitted to break down this thick wall o.
prejudice. A fair race-justice-is al
we ask. We claim no exemptions, nc
special favors; only that which is oul
rightful due,
We have been so long accustomed tc
these calumnies, that we fear some oi
our people have at last begun to accept
as truth the verdict of their detractors
We are glad therefore that Commodore
Maury, in recent address before an
Agricultural Fair in Staunton, Va,
took pains to look into this subject, and
nobly vindicated the Southern people
from these foul aspersions.
He said there is nothing more COM
mon than the assertion that the South
ern people lack energy. 1t. is. mis-
cbieyvous error. The North. is appar-
emily more prosperous, because it is
Z manufacturing and commercial, the
I South agricultural. In all manufactur,
inc and commercial communities pro
ducts are concentrated, and there. is a
show Of life and activity never seen in
agricultural communities, because labor
is there difused.
Another reason is, that the statistics
showing the rewards of labor at the
!. North and South are not quite fairly
presented. For instance, suppose that
one of your neighbors, in giving you an
acccrnt of his earnings during the year