Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-12-21
A WORD ABOUT NoRrHERNERs.

llt ROUNDS Ol the lrginip press, that Il !
large number Of Northern farmers lately |
settled in that State were selling out and !
going back to New England and Pennsyl- /.
vania, hccausc "thcy could not talk politics I
and vote freely without subiecting them /
selves TO sociaIostracisln by their ncighbors /,
Of the Democratic party"
Our Nashville contemporary doubts that
the reasons given exist, and gives it a- it, .
opinion that Northern men who are os- ,
trDciscd are of those who believe IN the So
cial equality Of races, and ilaunt their OBJ
jcctionahlG opinions in the faces Of the
Southern people. With the Savannah Re-
publican, ,it thinks that under such circmm-
STANCES it would he extremely unnatural
that NOrthcruCrs should hc cordially re-
cciycd into Southern homes
We know nothing about the eases referred
to. The spirit ofthc articles we have seen
show that q very wrong impression prevails
with the writers Us to what Northern men
coming south want, or expect. The whole
trouble i'm such cases is the dclusion such
writers labor under rs to what is the char
acter of Northern immigrants. They ina
gine that Northern men come South in
spirod by but one aim, and that is to grin
an eat'oYtcc into Southern SOcictJ-that So
cicty composed Of the class who are 80 su-
prcmely Cgotistic and deludcd as to ina
ginc that they arc the only refined and ele-
waited mortal~ on earth. Now, if there is
one error more suprcmcly ridiculous than
another, itis this. The fact j., there l. not
q class of men and women living for whom
Northern men and women have 50 much
contempt, mixed with pity, - for this
brainloss, foolish class who imagine they
embody the worth, refinement, or respect
! ability or the South. The men and
! women from the North who come
/ South 10 live, who had any stand
ing or character North, care about
as little for the social ostracism of this class
of Southcrncrs rs about The wind that
! blows. There are two kinds Of social ostra-
csm. The one is the kind To which our
contemporary refers The other kind, and
! that of which Northern mon complain, is
! the demonstration OF mean contcmpti-
! bic spirit towards every new citizen that
/ comes tn their section. simply because of
! their nativity. Their children i'm The
schools ana on tho streets the women in
/ the churches and at public entertainments,
/ the men, in business and fair political con-
/ troycrSy. are all made to feel, in thousand
! spiteiul, malicious way-, how unkind and
/ indecent the spiii, Of this class is. II is
not admission into such circles they seek,
! for such spirits cam bo congenin to no true
/ gentleman or lady; but il IS Of public
sentiment which viii recognize such Il
class ~ of even respectable standing i'm
society or tolerate such an iIlbcral, un-
christian -pirit that they complain. This
cla~- Of Southcrncr~. wilhelm fact, not the
best portion Of it, people, make prctcn-
sionS 70 il, amt ny large, weak minded
class are 50 recognized.
Northern men come South because
they like the climate and believe
its future will be prosperous and favorable
to their purpose. They come because
they have right To come. They ask only
to be treated respectfully and accorded such
II position rs their merits cntitlc them to.
They don't propose 10 have their social
merits or standing Judged by Whippcr
snappers who have no ambition in life
beyond wearing fine clothes and Il diamond
pm, VI ny NhIll'H WHO hliON nbllllnH
. beyond gliding lhemselye, with flashy
! jewclry and gaudy clothes. They have
their religious social and political princi-
pies, which they hold dear and which they
expect to live by. II ANY community, or
class Of a community, shall differ from
/ them, or because of that difference hold
| them unfit for social intercourse, they most
certainly prefer not Ia know them.
This class of Northern men and women
are worth something to the South, because
they have force of character enough to adj
here 10 their own convictions. That other
class of NOrthCrncrs, who would give up
their principles and tOady to foolish aris-
tOcTacy, the latter are welcome To adopt
and call their own, for they had no position
at home and would never get one in any
community where manliness and honor
were a standard for social recognition.
We know of no respectable class of Nor
thCrnCrs who advocate the social equality
of the races. What most Ofthcm dO adVO-
cate, and what very many of them fought
for, is the equal civil rights before the law
of every man i'm the land, and for this they
are WillngtO contend here as well rs where
they came from. If for such principles, or
, for adhcTng to any other convictions they
hold dear, they are 10 be unllindly treated
by any portion of the Southern people,
. well and good, they certainly do not care.
/ But even for such Offences u~ this they are
sstI 4 . 4.