The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1870-07-13
A Story with a Moral.

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the New York World:
The paragraph in your paper Of
this morning, from a Greenfield
journal,s which recites the shock
ing circumstances attendant upon
recent railway disaster on the
Rutland road harly does full JUS
tice to the subject. Permit mc to
state on the best authority sun
dry facts which put in a still
clearer relief tho inhumanity and
the ignorance Of tho region in
which this calamity occurred.
The gentleman killed, Mr.. Al
fred Field, was ono of tho first en-
gineors in Now England, man
holding several positions Of great
responsibility. The wife Of Ar.
Field weut at once to tho scene OF
the accident, and it is from = gen
tlcman who was preseut when
she arrived that | ha7o my iufor-
nation as 10 the state in which
sho found her unfortunate bus
baud. 1t was then the second
day after the accident. Absolute
ly nothing had been done for the
sufferers. Tho railroad company
; had provided neither surgical aid
nor comforts nor succor OF aly
kind. Those whom the careless
ness Of its servants had struck
down it left to die whcIc they lay
like dogs.
The place whore tho disaster
occurred is near TO populous towns
and wcIl-to-do communities. These
scnt forth crowds Of curious and
inquisitive spectators to tie scene
of blood, but not one charitable
soul. Tho people came from miles
to gazo on the exciting show Of
human agony, but they brought
with them neither oil nor balm to
heal tho wounds Of the sufferers.
When Mr.. Fields lay dying a man
had to be stationed before his
door to keep those people from
pressing iu to stare and cape
about his couch. And this in mo-
raj and plous Now England, tho
homo Of Mrs. Stowe, who gropes
in dead mems graves to surprise
somo guilty secret in their hidden
lives; the home Of Wendell Phil
lips aud OF Sumner, who could not
sloep in their bods till slavery had
been stamped out in blood!
1, who listened to this shameful
STORY, could not but remember tho
very differont scene OF which l
was au eyewitness, last February,
in tho "rcbel' State of Mississippi.
was travelling on the Mississippi;
Central Railroad, to Now Orleans.
Near Oxford, in Mississippi, the
train just preceding ours had run
off the track and plunged through
the trestle Of ths road. Some
twenty persons had been killed or
wounded. The district was poor
enough. 1t had never, | suppose,
been rich, but it had been thor
oughly harriod by tho soldiers of
Grant and Sherman, and it is none
the better, as you may suppose,
for their vis;tations. The nearest
house was several miles away
But in few hours after the acci-
dent occurred .he woods were
alive with people, Fastening, not
to stare, but to save. | saw wag-
ons, with mattresses, and beds
enough TO movo twice the num-
ber hurt, sont up to carry tho SUIT
fcrers to the homes of the nearest
planters. Winos, spirits and food
were sent in quantities. The next
morning, tho railroad company
had fresh train brought up from
distance Of nearly 100 milos; and
when we reached a station where
food was obtainable, the detained
passengers were fed at tho cost Of
the company.
Now, that it is still tho fashion
in somo quarters to rcvile our
Southern feilow-c citizens as the
most bard-hcarted and inhuman
of mortals, l think it may posi-
bly, do good to lay before the pub
lie this simple but expressive con-
trast between tho Pharisoes and
the Samaritans.