Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-15
DEGENERACY OF NEW ENGLAND
STOCK.

The collection of sanitary and in
dustrial statistics in Massachusetts is
developing some curious and quite I'M
expected facts in relation to the old
Puritan stock. An able physician, ex-
amined by the Board of Health, stated
that farmers wives work too hard for
health. Help is scarce, and the mother,
with her household cares, want of suf-
ficient sleep, and her responsibility,
bears too heavy a burden. Wives are
often worn out By sucking and work
at the same time. There Is a general
want of constitutional vigor among
the families and children Of New
England stock at the present
day,which it is hard to contemplate. 1t
will lead to the extinction of the race
at no distant day, ifnot counteracted."
Many farms in Massachusetts, will not
sell for as much as the improvements
cost, giving the purchaser the land for
nothing, Notwithstanding all their
cities, villages, factories, and high pro-
teetive tariffs and duties. The Yankee
notion of taxing every family into
wealth and comfort, is found TO be a
cheat and a snare to enrich the few, at
the expense Of the many. Protection
which collects enormous national, State
and municipal taxes, enriches a few
contractors and spectators, but not the
masses.
Their condition is made worse, no
matter whether they labor ten hours a
day or only SIX, for high wages or low;
the fortunes of miIionaires come from
the sweat Of their faces. The reeipi-
ents of millions have no millions to
give in exchange, and never in their
lives pay dollar for dollar for what
they consume. American law, at pres
ent, has for its object to make the rich
richer and the poor poorer; and this is
called Republican craftsmanship. 1t
is the highest wisdom and philan-
thropy of the New England 5allot-box
destroying the very race of voters to
uphold political dogma.
Fanaticism is much more harmful
than is generally supposed. 1t cher
ishes the spirit of propagandism with
never-dying zeal as a religious duty.
1t has madly and blindly destroyed the
constitution made by Washington,
Madison, Hamilton and Franklin. The
construction placed on the three new
amendments of the Federal constitution
has reduced the people to a condi-
ton below that of slaves, and is the
great first cause of all our woes. In
the nature of things, this condition of
servitude can and will be not less pain
full and calamitous in Massachusetts,
than in Tennessee and Louisiana.
II is in the constitution Of, natural
law and justice that the great injury
inflicted on the South shall react to the
equal injury of the North; because
action and reaction are the same. The
degenerate animus Of New England
Graves social and political equality with
the negroes of the Southern States. 1t
is a phase in the decadence of a people
who are profoundly ignorant of their
hereditary and growing disease. An
other phase is thus stated in Massa-
chusetts State Report:
I'm the cities and manufacturing
towns, the herding together of tenants
in large numbers and narrow limits has
become wOfully prevalent In a single
building in one of the large towns, %
feet long and 90 feet wide, three stories
high, with attics, 50 people are crowd
| ed; for their use there is bat one pump
and one privy, within twenty feet of
each other
In 1901, less than seven per cent. of
the population was IN towns, now
about 80 per cent. are herding together
as tenants in large numbers"
The studious and thoughtful public
ist can hardly escape the conclusion
that popular sovereignty in New Eng
land, with its protected manufacturing
interests and negro sovereignty in the
old planting States, have started ON a
new career of self government which is
anything but promising. 1t will be
found out at length that the factory
people a thousand miles distant can
not manage hands IN a cotton field;
while the latter will be equally incapa-
bic of legislating satisfactorily for citi-
gems living in different climate, and
bn another part Of the continent. The