The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-05-10
CH ARLE S TON.
MONDAY MORNING, MAY 10, 1869.
Northern Men in tho South.


Mr John w. Forney came, saw, and wrote
letter to his two papers-the Washington
Chronicle and Philadelphia Press which
he related his experience Of Charleston and
South Carolina. With his face glued to
window, he passed through as much of the
State as is traversed by the Wilmington and
Manchester and Northeastern Railroads,
and was able, Of course, to familiarize him
self with the composition of the. soil, the
peculiarities of the climate, and the inside
and outside nature of the people. Twenty
four hours enabled him to do what his COM
patriots failed to accomplish in thrice
twenty-four years, and, in his own opinion,
Forney is now marvellous proper person
to applaud or abuse the South. With
one hand he pats approval of the fer
tility of the land and the quiet which every
where prevails. With the other he waves ap-
proval of political piokpockets and cOndem-
nation of the old slayeholding aristocracy.
Bitter and sweet, truth and falsehood, are
curiously combined in his Charleston letter,
But throughout the whole there is one
strain Of which he never tires.a lugubri-
GUS lament that sthe old residents have no
sssocial intercourse with the Yankees"
| II would be easy enough to give reasons
why there might be an invincible, prejudice
4
against strangers, and particularly against
strangers like Mr.. Forney. There would
be no difficulty in showing that foul
mouthed Radical, who curses and reviles
the South until the hope Of profitable land
speculation bids him cease, can never
enter within the portals Of an honest South
ern home. But this does not touch the
| root Of the question, which is that the whole
subject Of social and personal Intercourse
must b regulated by each man for himself,
and not by his neighbors or the epistOlary
Forney. Mr.. "A, B or G has NO right to be
the personal friend Of any man or set Of
men merely because he was born in this
place, or was not born in that. The new
conner may be active and enterprising, up
right in all his dealings, an excellent per-
son to know on the wharf or in the count
ing-room, and yet not one with whom his
business acquaintances would desire to have
their wives and children familiar. 1t is Of
little consequence whether his birthplace
is in Louisiana or Massachusetts,. The
man must prove himself or. be proved by
others, and even then it will depend upon
individual tastes whether he will be admit.
ted to that social Intercourse which Mr..
Forney Graves. There are very few North
erners, it is true, who become our familiar
friends. This is because Of the general
worthlessness of. the Bohemians who seek
to ovsrrun the State. The New York Times
speaks Of 'the adpsnturrs who have gone
s.ipto the South" and Harper's Weekly
says: "One wonders that the South does
'net rebel anew when he considers the
miserable Vrmin who have been sent down
"there IS government oficials;" aud the
Chicago Tribune, another Radical sheet,
denounoes "the earpet-6s0grs-the stroll
'fng, pilfsring political 0laek1egs Of the
F"North," ,"-by whom the South is "ridden
sand robbed" And it is these "adventu-
| "rers," these "vermin," and these "blsck-
slege," whom Mr.. Forney would have US
claspto our breasts as ct companions for
sister, wife and children. No thank you!
Mr.. Fornsy.
As we said, this is matter which every
man must regulate for himself. Each one
should and will choose his own companions
and select his own friends. There is
free trade in friendship, at least, and, the
principle here shall be to think of o man as
we find him.
And we have no fear that the bugbear of
''social exclusivencss" will have any effect
in preventing the influx of Northern capi.
tai. If Northern man, or any other man,
comes to South Carolina, it is because he
sees chance of making money. Not one
will come for the sake Of going into $50
"ciety." 1t is plain calculation, simple
question of dollars and cents-as it ought
to be. The sweetness Of the Southern fire.
side will not console the stranger for fail
ing trade and consequent loss of capital.
Nor will the absence Of this private inti-
macy rob fortune of its charms. The
merchant, or the broker or the professional
man who immigrates to this State, does
so because he believes that he will make
more progress here than he could do
at home; and he will not, if he has any
sense, be deferred from coming by any
dread Of being barred out from some par
ticular class Of "sooiety." As time rolls on
the new arrival is understood and appreci-
ated according to his worth, and, if he is
not, the loss will be to others rather than
to himself When he has become, in fact
as well as in name, part Of the State, in
terested in its progress and concerned in
its good government, he. will have friends
and acqusinsnces enough, and will have
made for himself 'tsociety" which will be