Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-01-14
The Southern Accumulation.

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than that which existed before the war.
Much needed light has been thrown upon
this subject of late by the publication of
couple of volumes entitled, respectively, "a
Fools Errand." and Bricks Without Straw"
whose author, Judge Tourgee, writes from o
thorough knowledge of his subject gained
through extended investigation, profound
study, and bitter personal experience. His
statements and explanations regarding the
attitude and condition of the South are clear
and convincing. He says, in substance
what many at the North have always held
that the reconstruction acts of Congress were
a sad mistake that the seeded States
ought not to have been readmitted into the
Union until they had passed through period
of probation long enough to allow the blacks
to become strengthened and established in
their liberty by education and the acquire
ment of wealth. so that they would have
'white mans chance" in the race of life, -
long enough to allow the old rebel element
to die out and a new race of whites to grow
up,-long enough, in short, to make treason
forever odious and race oppression forever
impossible that each section of the country
erred in refusing to credit the other with sin
cerity of motive in its course regarding slav-
cry that the freeing of the slaves and ex-
tending to them the rights of citizenship,
thereby placing them upon a level with their
former masters, was always regarded by the
latter as an act of intentional insult to them,
rather than dictated by principle that the
Southerners gained no new idea from the
war, save that the Northerners were the more
powerful; thatthey believe to- day as strongly as
they did before they rebelled, in the natural
inferiority of the African race, that ''niggers
have no rights which white men are bound
| to respect, that slavery was a good and di-
vinely appointed institution, and secession a
sacred right. At the close of the war, there
fore, they no sooner recovered from their
surprise at seeing the general government,
in pursuit of a weak and fatal policy, which
only won for it their greater contempt-relin-
quish its hold upon them and abandon the
| ignorant blacks and scattered white unionists
| to their tender care, than they set about tax
ing measures to regain the lost position for
which they felt that providence had designed
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deprived through no fault of their own. How
completely they have succeeded in their pur.
| pose to regain the control of affairs in Their
own section, the ''solid South" of the present
bears witness. To be sure, as leading mem.
bers of the dominant party are ready to ad
NIT, this state of things is only maintained
by wholesale terrorism and fraud but the
/ e 10 =.
other way can the white race fulfil its imam
ifest destiny" or the blacks be kept 'whert
they belong"
"But, the northerner isready to exclaim, 'ii
the negroes are the most numerous, and car
poll the most votes, what is the reason they
don't maintain their rights and manage af
fairs to suit themselves? We have done al
we could for them, or are called upon to do
by giving them their freedom. If they can
hoe their own row by the side of the whites
they have only themselves to blame" But
according to Judge Tourgee, there is another
view to be taken of this matter. In thu
process of so-called Reconstruction" loyalty
was rewarded and treason punished by per
hitting the ex-rebel planters to retain tn,
I
instead of receiving each his "mule and fort,
acres of land" were kindly permitted It,
use an expressive though inelegant saying
to root hog or die" Under these circum
stances what did the negroes do? They haC
no money wherewith they could buy land
or if there was occasionally one who had tn
necessary means, there was little opportun
ity. Public sentiment would not, and doe
not, with rare exceptions, permit negroes t,
own horses and lands and the white maj
who sells them these is regarded as a publ
enemy, and dealt with accordingly, by hi
neighbors and townsmen. The only thin
which the negro could do, therefore, was +
90 to work for his former master, or som
other white man who would give him EN-
ployment for whatever wages he felt dispol
ed or could afford to offer and when it cam
to voting, the newly enfrsnchised citizen wa
soon made to realize, if his common sens
did not tell him beforehand, that to vote COL
trary TO the wishes or interests of his employ
err was to invite discharge or something ia
worse. The ku.klu1 and whits-lesgues, toe
were enemies whom he could not advantage
ously combat, because oftheir secret character
the isolation of their victims, and the unjul
discrimination of the laws, under which til
conviction of awhile criminal by the evidenC
of colored witnesses alone is practically in
p possible.
But in addition to and aggravating thes
} circumstances, past and present. is the fat
that the whites have all the advantages whio
accrue from education and experience in p,
2 litical and business management. They hay
= been accustomed to rule and direct, while Il
! negroes have been accustomed only to ODE,
4 Under all these circumstances state of thin
Q has been brought about which our wise state
! men of the North, who were in such has
s for reconciliation and forgetfulness of Il
T past either did not foresee or were not bray
I enough to forestall-
D Thus of the blunders and wrong -doings
/. the past are born the problems of to-da
= And for the present false and shameful Co
Q dition of affairs in our Southern States
4 there any remedy which the national author
9 ty, or we of the North, can apply, and if s
what is it? The answer to this question
none, save in the increase and developme
o of the agencies which are now at work, al
r | which have already wrought improvement