Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-06-14


.aaad true. In the Cincinnati Commercial
of the 18th, we find the following: :.
The accounts Of cholera in the cities
and villages Of Tennessee ere somewhat
I'm xed Private advices do not agree with
those of the public prints, as the following
extract from private letter to gentleman
in this city, under date Of Chattanooga,
June IL, viii show. The writer says:
"The cholera has made its appearance in
our midst. The city authorities and the
physicians are trying to conceal it, but we
had eighteen deaths last night. The Nash
vile papers report that twenty-five died OF
it Saturday, and thirty-ope Sunday last,
but Tom KeIcheval has called the City
Council together, and says il will be an
epidemic unless sanitary measures are
adopted Immediately.
81 saw 3 telegram this morning from a
prominent C tizen, which stated that twen-
ty. six died last night after dark, near Viii
son Spring, rear Nashville, and over fifty in
all yesterday"
In pioneer times young bloods were eau
toned, "Don't holler before you get out oil
the woods" The disposition of human
nature to "honer, loud and strong,when it
thinks itself out Of Danger, has been at ali
times remarkable. The oravest soldier in
the heat Of the fray can give no such har-
rowing description of the carnage as the
chap that gets demoralized and HES to the
rear. For grandiose effects and horrifc &C.
tails, give US the astory.teller that didn't
wait to smell gunpower. There are two
reasons for this: first, be is drawing on bis
own demoralzed imagination, instead Of
facts; and, secondly, he must, above all
things, justify his own scampering flight.
Self esteem is a sly rogue, and men act on
these motives unconsciously. They mean
TO be truthful and honest perhaps, but they
lack calmness. And so we may expect ex-
aggerated reports to spread rife throughout
the country wherever Nashville refugee
can find an audience.
There is another class left here at home,
whose only business at any time seems to
be the discussion of their neighbors' fances,
foIiies and failures. They do nothing from
day to day throughout the year, but sauut-
or the street asking each other, swell,
what have you heard ?" The present visi-
tation is godsend to this class. From
morn till night they industriously trudge
srou d, eagerly gathering all the horrors Of
the day, and disseminating them broad
cast. They waylay the busy man at every
corner, and seem to take morbid delight
in dishing on. to him the very latest ru'
mors. How many victims they have
simply scared to death, must of course re-
main unknown.
In other quarters, too, where more dis
cretion is expected, we have noticed NOR
bid desire for creating sensation. And we
have seen cases of sickness set dcwn as
cholera that were noteri0usly no such
thing. This is wrong-more, It is crimi-
ma, for human life may be the cost of the
qualification the sensation mon0er.
The first to recognize that the disease
whatever it may be, was in our midst, We
have faithfully recorded its progress from
day to day, as indicated by the undertakers'
books grim but faithful chronicle. 1t i:
matter too serious for the indulgence o.
artistic coloring or newspaper dSsh. We
know that any effort TO suppress it would
have rebounded in a worse panic; but we
know also that the public accept whatever
the papers say, and the least tendency t.
establishment only serves to feed the
q INES Of unhealthy, death-breed'ng excite
ment. Our readers in city and country cal
rely on it that our figures from day to da!
are as exact as conscientious diligence cal
make them-nothing added-nothing ex
tenuated. We have the moral courage t
tell the truth, cost what it may. We hav
not the c)urage in this matter to changeth
fraction of q figure from the daily record
We dare not. .5
SOmE HINTS FOR THE OCCASION
To the Union and American:
ST. LOUIS, No, June II, 1871 an
and have been for years constant reade
of your excellent paper. At the presen
time, when the cholera scourge seems to b
affecting you, l read it with deep an
nainful interest. As known to you, hav
travelled in almost ali countries and climcs
from regions of psbAr cola to the burnin