Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-06-06
Business and Politics.

The Southern States are at last envious
of the prosperity of the Northern States,
and the people confess a willingness and
express desire TO use the means that
brought about such prosperity The cry
of Southern men is LESS politics and
more business and their desire is to
place the South as far TO the front as the
North now is and keep her there. They
feign to believe that the North has left
the South so far behind because of her
pubic improvements because of the con
struction of the great Pacific railroads
and other works of the kind; ana they
urge that in spirit of fairness the same
AID he extended to the South in the CON
/ structlon OF certain great lines of railroad
and In the improvement of her rivers and
harbors. If this is done they are conf
dent that the South will become prosper
Gus and peaceful, and her people exhibit
new interest in the Nation as a Nation.
! Their plea is that the National Govern.
ment, which has done so much for the
! North, should now do a little for the
/ South, or place at its disposal the means to
work out substantial and lasting pros
4 perity. They believe that with great rail
roads and improved water courses the
4 South will spring at once to the plane of
Northern spirit and enterprise, and they
are anxious to try the experiment
Without discussing the question of in
ternaI improvements, we may assume that
certain great enterprises much talked
about will benefit the South, but lust how
much depends upon the Southern people
themselves. Great railroads were the re-
suit of Northern spirit and enterprise,
were the incidents of the forward move
ment of free and tolerant people The
North was prosperous without them, be-
cause of ;he character of its institutions
and the spirit of its people; and it became
more prosperous with them for the same
reasons. A mere copying of the Northern
system of internal improvements will not
materially benefit the South unless the
people receive with the system the spirit
OF liberation and justice that made our
prosperity possible.
There are evidences that many of the
business men of the South see this clearly
! They realize the necessity for social and
political revolution in that section, and
hope to accomplish their ends by uniting
the people in great business crusade,
with " Internal Improvements as the
battle-cry. They hope to lead the people
away from the old narrowneSs and preiu-
dice, and, on the platform of LESS poll
tics and more business" induce them to
forget bad political doctrines and think
more of means to secure prosperity.
This is good rs n first step, but others
must follow. If State asks for National
aid, her people must educate themselves
to a National sentiment and a National
pridt and away from that spirit of sec
tionallsm that is fatal to patriotic instincts
and A Nl al IA inc
results The Northern people are intense.
ly loyal to the Nation: the children grow
TO manhood and wOmanhoOd full of the
National spirit; they come into active life
loyal to great principle; they are vital.
lied by Il great thought current that leads
to united action; they are bound together
by sympathy that breaks down all bar
rierS that separate State from State, man
from man. Educated on this plane their
impulses are right and their actions full
of spirit and purpose. Acting together
as the public, they are enthusiastic, enter
prlsng and energetic, This spirit carries
on great reforms and accomplishes great
undertakings. And this spirit the South
must have before it can Cnjoy the peace o.
rival the prosperity of the North
boy born in Illinois is proud of being
an American, and looks forward to an
active life anywhere in the United States.
Ills mind from the time he begins to rea-
son is full of projects that will glorify the
name American He is alive to every
scheme of National interest, he is proud
of every National achievement. He
broadens out into valuable citizenship,
and forms an atom in the great aggregate
that sweeps forward in the spirit of Ma
tional unity to success.
\ boy born in South Carolina, under
the old rule, was South .Carolinian. and
selt-pride and State pride were encour-
aged until the boys vision was narrowed
to state lines and his patriotism cramped
by preiudiCes. To great extent the
same spirit is manifested today On eY-
cry possible occasion old Confederate
leaders pirate of the glorieS of the lost
cause and enlarge upon the rights of the
State, with SCarCely-COnCealed contempt
for the Nation and Tor National interests.
No wonder Southern merchants and
Southern statesmen are saying LESS
polite, and more business BIT the
politics must not only be suppressed, but
suppianted by better system. The
hearts of the people must be right before
they can succeed in great undertakings,
and their hearts are not right while they
harhor any OF the old narrow spirit The
trouble has been that the Southern people,
stubhornly short sighted, have deliben-e-
y encouraged wrong-headed impulses.
Make The impulse right, leave the old
line OF action, encourage the spirit Of ma
uonality and the sentiment of patriotism,
and business will move with politics, ana
the mole politics they haye-in It's broad
er and better SenSe-the better will it be
Tn a Tyri. IN, ~ w -
country Chicago Inter Ocean.
WHAT adds to the sadness of the