Omaha daily bee., 1881-08-15
A Correspondents Pleasant EE-
pGri0nC0 in the CarOlinaS and
Southern Virginia.
The Southern People Ex-
tremely Social and Whole
Souled.
The Most Severe Drought Elk
perlenced Since 1915 De-
stroys the Fruit Crop.
The Political Situation Viewed
From an Unprejudiced Mind.
Correspondent Of the Bee.

drought mentioned III a previous let
ter, and extending over the Carolinas
and southern Virginia is the severest
since 1916. There is practically no
fruit crop whatever, and that too in
sections where large supplies of
peaches, grapes and apples are gener-
ally raised. Corn, which, when |
first went south in the early part of
July, was from one to three feet in
height, shows no signs of growth, ex-
cept that it has headed out and the
stocks have matured, but with no
ears, and there can but be much suf-
fering among the poorer classes the
coming winter, as corn hominy is
their regular standby diet. This,
supplemented by hog meat and
chicken, seems to be universally used
among all classes. Indeed L would
advise lovers of ''spring chicken to
go south. They will meet it regularly
there twice a day, and will find dark
les peddling it between meals, at rail,
road stations. The negroes penchant
for fowl can easily be accounted for
on the ground that whatever is most
plentiful is easiest to get. / had ex-
pected to luXuriate somewhat, while
south, in fruit and vegetables but
was sadly disappointed. The hotels
depend upon neighborhood supply,
and don't have enterprise enough to
import from more favored districts
I heard remarks more than once from
southern guests of this import: eff
we had a live Yankee landlord he
would fix the place up and give us
better fare" There are good hotels
south, In the cities, but rs far as my
experience goes, what are known as
country and summer resort hotels are
miserably MANAGED.
| left the mountains of North Caro-
lima, after a three weeks visit, with a
good deal of regret. 1t is certainly
The most beautiful country in summer
and with the finest climate l have ever
met. At no time were the days UNI
comfortably warm and the nights were
simply perfect, there being no fall of
dew, such as renders the famous
mountain resorts of West Virginia and
farther north of New York and the
White Mountains chilly andunhealthy.
The guests at the hotels were mostly
lsoutherners and were an extremely
social and whole-souled people. 1
soon found myself at home wherever
l visited and l am sure have a better
appreciation and knowledge of the
south, and especially of the social and
political relations of the people there
than ever could be gained from north
ern newspapers. L met and talked
with all classes of people and have
somewhat reconstructed my ideas of
southern politics and southern ques-
tions. l can only limit my observa-
tions to the section of North Carolina
that l visited.
AS far as politics are concerned, l
found that with solitary exceptions all
the best elements of the people were
democrats, and the ministers, the
business classes, the lawyers, and in
deed all the respected people in the
community seemed to be solidly dem
ocratic. This was an anomaly to me,
for both in Nebraska and in New
England, my former home, a portion,
at least, of what are called substantial
people are of an opposite political
faith. In Massachusetts,, for instance,
the bulk of the democratic party is
on,N,1.nl &c thn 1anat nlnnnNol a,1
the most undesirable class of citizens,
and the balance of unusually intelli-
gent and useful men. But in North
Carolina it is just the reverse, only
more so, for / was assured that only
here and there was a republican who
commanded any respect at all. View
ing the south IN this light, then, it
seemed not only natural but right
that the political power should be
held by the democratic party. The
former rule of the republican party
then in most of the southern
states was an inverted condition OF
society, waving the question OF nu-
merical majorities, and perhaps while
not justifying the fraud and violence
used to overthrow that rule, yet, as a
dernier resort, does not merit the
wholesale condemnation received at
the north. In North Carolina the
democratic party recovered the state
government some years since, and but
little violence was used; but in South
Carolina it was for the reverse. ]
conversed with several democratic
politicians from that state, and they
freely admitted that the election OF
lS76-when Hampton was the candi'
date for governor-was carried by
fraud and by the shotgun policy; that
they cared little for Tilden, but that
the people were determined TO ''rur
out" the state republican officials a
any cost; and they justified theil
course by citing the enormous rate o.
OF taxation, the huge steals and the
universal corruption of the re
publican state officials. TIL,
general sentiment seemed to b,
that they cared little whethe.
a man was a republican or not, bu
Just as soon as he attempted to ruI
''nigger politics and to thrust him
self into power by Trigger" votes ant
to associate with them, then he wa
an ostracised man socially and other
wise. As matters stand now tn
southern question has lost its interest
and probably will not enter int
another presidential campaign. TIL
democrats are in power in all tn
southern states, whether rightly 0
wrongly, and as far as 1 can Judge
elections south are as free and opeI
as anywhere. The republican office
holders, under the carpet-bag regime
have disappeared, and with then
the necessity for the violence Of tia