Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-09-07
The conditinn Of the South.

sr-rsFRN SENTIMENT LEARNED on The sFOi'
sorrnrR~ PRESCRIPTION OF NoRTHtRNERs-
TINS XII KLux.-IHE NEGROES 49, THE NEED
OF EDU-kTioN.
Editor Of Fee Press Gad Times
| have lived al the South for nearly two years.
haze bad nothing to DO with politics, except to
watch closely the shifts srd changes Of State
governments: am $ republican as much or more
than auy;hin- elae therefore hope that what
little msy say may he read, as coming from an
entirely unparalleled stand point, from one IN
Influenced by party spirit, and one who sees ter
ribie mistakes male by both sides. There has
been most enormous amount Of ttuf sni non
sense, to say nothing Of downright lying puo-
lshei shout the Ku-Klux Khan. It has oe'n
made political card by one psrtY,snd the tFu'h
Of any portion Of the allegations denied by 'ne
other. There is most certainly an organization
offs political oh iracter in the South, known as
Ku-Kluz. or By other r4m5s. The name makes .
very little difference. Young Mr.. Raymond and
Mrs BeecAar report no Ku-hlux, 81 happiness /
and harmony, the Soatherucrs rather g'al man
otherwise thst there has been war SO tns'
they msv better testify how much they love the
Beecbe7s and Raymonds. 1t is probable that
both the aforementioned persons have heard that
there are 3 great many murders AMI robberies .
committed IN New York city. Did it ever pre- /
vent Mr. Raymond from taking tie Broadway .
STAGE TO his business, or does lie 60 down town
eyery morning with fear and trembling When /
Mrs. Beecher visits New York does she not ride .
IN he- carriage through Fifth Avenue with .
reasonable feeling Of security. But, after her .
pleasant visit does she return to her friends IN .
innocent New Haven, and tell them what a -rr- .
Hsnei place View York Is How she rode in hsp- /
ry security, all through the principal streets, /
AMI even away out TO Central Park, seeing moth /
ing cut pleasant faces and would sou believe it, .
NY dear. even The little children are playing il .
thestrea;s. wi. Mrs B. just trip three squares |
down below Printers Row, step down into one /
Of the cellars where they sell vile lager and .
worse, call for glass aud show a fat roll Of .
greeubacls? fear ouc New Haven friends .
would have a different story, more Illustrative
Of innoceuts abroad D,l Alrr Beccher and Mr..
RAYMOND for a mlmau; think that they would
fud Eu-Klur on the main lines Of travel, or in
the principal ciies3 Can they not see that no
railroad could czis. for moment, ard civil war
would be the immeii4te result in city where
active secret societies Of the kind were in opera
ton From the nature Of the case such out
RACES can only De committed in places whore
they can &c done with comparative IMMUNITY.
Let any lo1therner 60 into one Of the little
towns Of North Alabama and cit down in the
tavern or the grocery, night after night, listen
Ing TO the conversation which he Is sure to hear;
he will not want TO make radical speech, or
express strong radical opinions before his audi
euce. lie will End the position Of Northern
man tetting in the country to he inst his. II
be attends strictly to his business, letting alone
the republican side Of politics, sul has plenty Of
morey, he VIII simply receive the coolest Of cold
shoulders from his neighbors. Should be be ac-
tive in politics. try to organize negro school,
or worse teach one, the mildest punishment thst
will be NEE 5i out TO him viii be to drive him
out Of the country Should he be able to hold
his own for a while, be Will certainly have no
pesce N life, and runs greater risk than any
honest man wishes TO. You hear at the North
Of only the worst cases, or where there is actual
physical outrage COMMITTED These are generally
greatly exaggerated; but you hear nothing Of the
constant terrorism which the ku-Klux exercise.
The papers here will publish nothing Of such
proceedings as these. 1t is only VIXEN some one
is whipped or killed that the community knows
Of it, and then as briefly as possible. with the
whole thing charged upon the radicals The
hatred Of the blacks by the whites is something
astonishing, only to be equaled by their hstrel
Of Yankees. But this last they dare not show.
except in special cases, where it assumes the
shape Of Ku-Hux outrsges. To-day the papers
speak Of the negro as having Just emerged from
"abject slavery" Before the war the zane
papers said that they did no; want freedom; that
the planters, in feeling, were parents to them,
friends to them, that their condition was infinite
ly superior to the factory hands Of Lowell. Pa
rents snl friends indeed Yes th y were, to
the extent Of peck Of meal and three pounds of
bacon a week for fourteen hours work day.
The South is making the terrible mistake Of
throwing every possible obstacle in the way Of
the education of the negro. As clcss they are
very, very far inferior to the common labolers
Of the North, being almost destitute Of either
honesty OF virtue, without thrift and azy beyond
belief. These are the natural fruits of slavery,
and the only hope in the world for them is educs-
ton. They are not profitable lsborers now, |
think | think the South is growing poorer
agriculturally every year and they will continue
TO do so until labor is improved by education.
or machinery lakes It's place.
Yet with these facts staring them n the face,
the people refuse TO assist towards the education
Of a class which is now running them. There is
great deal Of talk in the papers about the ne
ceseity Of improving them, but Southern papers
lie so outrsgeously for the sake Of making poiti-
cal capital, that they misesd all who are not on
the spot.
have lived for SIX months within FIVE hun
drel yards Of a house where reside several gen
tlemen rni ladies. employees Of the government
in the colorei schools. They are apparently c
persons Of cultivation and refinement do not
know them personally, but do know that they I
hsve not the eHfrce Of single Slutherner house,
and that not single S0utherner visits them.
They are As much apart from the real society OF
the place though they lived in the backT5ois
hsve heard them called the yiest names the ]
men characterized thieves aud robbers, and
the women worse. This If practical illustra-
ton Of the amount Of truth 10 the expressed
newspaper desire for the advancement Of the
negro. This is no solitary case j., Is the fact !
wherever coorei schools exist.
The Southerners excuse much Of this unre-
constructed feeling, by saying that the North has
thrust upon them governments composed Of ras-
Gals who have abused them and Impoverished
the country There is great deal OF truth in |
this, and Unlimited negro suffrage Is a tremen- |
dous engine for evil IN the hands Of unscrupu- |
Gus men. have the hsppiuess to know some /
thing personally Of the State governments Of Z
Mississippi snd AlabSma. and the harefacel l
has been Astonishing perfectly as I
founding. K cannot he said to be confined to |
N0rtherners, however
Southern Democratic papers have been and
are waiting patiently to see what the platforms q
If their Northern friends are before committing
themselves They are generally willing 10 accept
Vallandighsm's propositions, with the sub rosa +
agreement that in case Of success, the party 81,
shall move heaven and earth to repeal the
amendments to the Constitution, and in csse of
allure, pass such laws as shall make them
practically useless.
Il il only come five or six years sgo that JEFF
Davis wss booted, derided and cursed, as
My Southerners can curse, throughout nearly
be whole South. To-day he is cheerei snd
etei. The women who accused him Of murder
ng their sons by his stupid folly, now attend
lie receptions. Why this CHANGE To-day
JAWS is political power in the land
A few years ago editors of papers were shak-
ng hands with him, capped Al his speeches and
aid how proud they were Of him, the martyr for
he cause which is never lost Presto-North-
m Democrats don't like bis talk and these
recious sheets now turn about and mildly tell
lr. D. that this sort Of thing will not do. ''Mr
T." they say, d" we know il is all true, and we
lean to live up to it, but some Of our friends
ont ike it, and really you know sir. truth ter
hOuld not be spoken at all times y on will see in