The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-02-03
THE NEW SOUTH.
A Full Interview With Senator Joseph E,
Brown.
Nelp York Herald.

A Full Interview With Senator Joseph E.
Brown.
Ncw York Herald.
WASHINGTON, January "A.
asked him what he thought was the
first duty of-the Snuth2 ;.
To get away from politics" he replied
without hesitation, "and to give the time
and attention of her people to practical
matters. Of course, do not mean that
We should abandon any political princi-
pies, but simply that we should not give
sentimental distractions the absorbing
attention they have heretofore had. The
South can make nothing by political ag.
itation, while it can make a great deal
by turning its attention to practical mat
ters. i think if we could have nothing to
do with politics for the next eight or ten
years it might be better for US. Lam
not afraid that the principles OF Democ-
racy will suffer from allegiance. Tbs
question of State rights, for instance,
will, lam satisfied, have the earnest sup.
port of New England, as soon as the
West and South have grown q little more
powerful. Tie Democratic party is based
on essential principles, and they will live
without perpetual agitation.
But hequestion ofpractical advance.
mept," the senator went-on to say, is
pressing one.s We have vast resources,
that are. but partially developed or en-
tirely locked up. We want our rivers
opened, so that our timber and naval
stores can be marketed, and we want
onr superb harbors improved, so that the
productions and commerce OF our own
State and half dozen other States that
seek these barbors can: find an outlet.
Wewant our people educated, their minds
developed, and to these ends our Repre-
sentatives should work. The South IS
prospering, but there are certain agen-
cies of development that must be en-
ployed to hasten and make her full devel-
opment.
sYou think, then, that the South has
made progress in the past few years !"
81 am certain of it. Any man who
rides through our. section cannot fail to
note the advancement. He will see bet
ter fences, better stock, better houses,
better barns, new factories, thriving cities
that were towns few years ago and towns
that were villages. But the South is
just now preplred for real development.
We have just finished smoothing oyerthe
desolation of Ear, rehabilitating our farms
and paving our debts. The recuperation
shown by the South is almost without
parallel. just look at her condition at
the close of the war. She had lost by one
sweep Of a pen about 81, 900, ,O0O, 900 worth
ofslave property, there having been freed ed
about four. million negroes worth $ooO
each. She had lost quite as much more
By equipping and supporting her armies
for four years, for everything was paid
for in Confederate notes or bonds, which
were valueless. She was made TO contrib
ute elargeiy to the support OF the armies OF
the North by seizure of her property wher.
ever they needed it. She lostmillions OF
dollars, worth of property destroyed by
both armies-as houses, stock, fences,
&c. At the close of the war her people
found themselves stripped of almost ev.
erything except their lands, and much OF
that was sold for Federal taxes, their
farms desolate, their homes dismantled the
heads of families and firms dead the old,
order of things subverted and the people
beavilyin debt. We were then not only
given our proportion of the national debt
to paw. but special taxes laid on our cot
ton aud tobacco. These taxes were pure
5ly and simply sectional, as cotton and
tobacco are not raised North or west,
and took millions from our people annu-
ally. The cotton tax was raised alter
several years, during which probably
$40 600, 600 was collected, but the tobac-
co tax. collected almost entirely from the
South, is still levied, and large propoE-
ton of the whisky tax is also paid by us:
Nothing but the courage and industry CT
our people and the enormous incomes
received from their crops would have en-
abled them to have recovered at all from
those crushing losses and expressions,
much less within a single decade"
GETTING RID OF DEBT.
"Haye you about finished paying up
your debts and getting your affairs in
shape?"
ayes, sir; our people are almost out
ofdebt. They have almost restocsed and
refitted their farms, they are using agrl.
cultural implements, have rebuilt their
cities and towns and are now ready Tor
progress and development. Tnei immense
incomes from cotton and other crops
that have been for the past ten or twelve
wears devoted to rehabilitation and settling
no old scores, will for the next ten years,
seek new investment, and it is the high
eat duty of craftsmanship to encourage
measures that will lead to legitimate in
yestment of this money. With this done
the South will in few years bewealthy
and independent. and this is the shortest
road she can take to power and respect.
Just take our cotton crop alone. In 1865
it was 2,22S,9s7 bales; in 1870 it was
1852, ,Sl7 bales; in 1879 it was 5,625 900,
and the estimate for this year is 5000, 900.
If this is correct-and | suppose it
will bet shows that we have nearly
trebIed the crop in fifteen years, and have
increased l, 100000 bales in the last ten
wears. and ought to realize nearly $780,
900 600 for this years cotton crop alone.
40 not claim that the South is alone in
this progress. The whole country. has
done we'll. We have, in 1879, 2,434, 1884, ,5!i
bushels of grain against 1,62S,O27 500 in
1870. al enormous increase IN less than
ten wears. We have now 81, ,591 miles of
railroad against 35,035 in 1865, and 52,-
9I4 in 1870. This marvellous growth
should admonish every statesman, North
and South, that there is higher duty
nnon ns ali than mere abstract politics;
tbat we should address ourselves to prac-
tical questions, and should eng ineer with
oil prudence and intelligence the onward
rnsh of our country for the next decade"
aWhat do you think the course of the
"The first thing that the people Of the
South should do in political wa is to con-
vince the people of the North that they
have have accepted in perfect good M faith the re-
construction measures and the amend,
ments to the Constitution, and will stand