New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-06-25
How the SOuth May Prosper.

| conSluer Lhem as nnailtleS.
How the south May Prosper.
From the Grand Army Journal
/ After all the efforts made since the war +
reconstruct the South, and obtain the recoe
milton OF those principles on which alone
Tree country can be prosperous, we are con
stantiy grieved by learning the bitter trutl
that certain districts are disturbed and acri
moniously rebel. For this there must be
cause. and as the South has not kept abreas
! of progress, some cause exists for this also
The condition of affairs in the late insurrec
| tlonary States can not be concealed; though
discomfort and crime be. denied by inter
ested parties. What is wanted is prert
broadly made known, but the reason WHY
| che want has not been supplied is not SC
/ plainly stated.
| No one who watches the course of publ,
events can be ignorant that Southerners
are lamenting the absence of immigration
and capital. On these two subjects there i.
no lack OF impressive writing and speaking
| III We. only had, they say, 1.-THE class Of
men we need to help build up the South
and whose energy and money could be
utilized, we would get on very we'll" And
| doubtless they would if the men and means
were in their midst. Some men with some
means, however, have made the expert
| ment, and having proceeded to the South
with the intention of settling or trading
have unfortunately met with an experience
That experience has not been sufficiently
| favorable to justify them in recommending
their friends to follow their example. To
be stigmatized as ''carpetb aggers" and
''scalawags' was not pleasant. And to be
denounced as interlopers, coming for the
express purpose of seeking office or securing
Torture, was not regarded as welcome
greeting-especially in some instances de-
nunciatiOn has borne fruit, the new corners
having been served with notice to quit by
the Ku-klux, or shot by masked assassins
without time to dispose of their property by
will.
Did it never occur to the South that the
carpet-bagger was the pioneer of the imlni-
grant! The motive which induced him to
change his residence was the same that ac-
tuates us all. Work, with its reward, was
his principal object, and in this he was not
singular Moreover, has it been forgotten
that on his report others would be influenced
at homes The South has defeated its own
hope by causing such men to be sneered at,
attacked or slain. Bold and adventurous
as they were to run such risks, very few
would be disposed to share their fate. No
charm exists in the South unless there is
perfect safety of life, limb, and property
and perfect freedom of opinion. People
from without will not accept the chance of
increasing in wealth as a compensation for
maltreatment or death. Whether the South
understands this matter we are greatly in
doubt. In the old days of slavery no man
could speak openly and be unmolested if be
differed from the general sentiment. To
thejustice and propriety of human bondage
every one was made to bow ..
The very slaves were taught to believe
their condition was a blessing, and they
cunningly seemed to acquiesce. But if some
noble hearted son of the North, who had
been nurtured in freedom, spoke as he felt,
he was forced to leave or was murdered
The sudden disappearance of opponents of
slavery at that period of our history was a
common occurrence. A line in newspaper
recorded the fact, and sometimes the find
ing of a corpse followed. 1t is said that the
sea will give up its dead on the great day
On that same day also will the multitude
be swelled from the swamps and rivers and
forests of the South by the brave and the
true-both of men and women-who could
not@and would not be silent in the presence
of the owner of human flesh and blood! :
Common sense indicates that if the South
expects Northern men within its borders,
it must offer them advantages of similar
character to those they would leave. A
fair field and no favors is all that is looked
for. The manner of life in the North leads
instiDctively to a vigorous taking hold of
whatever may be pressed onward by intel
ligent industry. Northern men have been
to see industry prosper and
labor treated with respect. Thriving COM
munities of industrious people have risen
up all around us. And if the secret of
thrift is to be transplanted to the South, it
must be left free to grow. Men who build
railroads and mills, locomotives and steam
ships, open up mines erect houses, or carry
on farming as a science, must not be SLAM
iered, hindered, or endangered at their
work. The South will want them forever
# it can not guarantee quiet home and
treatment This they deserve,
for they possess that element of gentility |
which has blessed the world and laid it |
under lasting obligation.
Let the South rehecH upon this matter. |
Skill and ability are highly priced every
where else, and must be with it, Evidence |
must be given that the future shall not be |
rs the past. Let the Southern people, as |
luty they owe to themselves and the coun-
ny, undertake the task of securing order |
md obedience to the law. They will find |
uch condition of affairs really attractive, |
md to the mechanic, the merchant and the |
now unwilling to venture
south in consequence of local disturbance
md danger. the temptation will be great to
hasten to help and strengthen every cause |
hat promises prosperity and Improvement.