Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-08-17
The New South.

The New South.
| On Monday last THE HERALD hat
| the pleasure of call from Mr.. T. c.
Ankeny, who was in the city for few
days visiting relatives. Mr.. Ankeny
was formerly connected with the press
in this state, having edited the Wlscon-
sin Independent, at Viroqua. nlhealth
eau ed his abandonment of journalism
and he went south where he has been
engaged in business the past four years.
Mr.. AnkenY' 5 headquarters are in south
ern Tennessee, but his business takes
him through many Of the southern states
and rs low down as the gulf. During
his four years residence Mr. Ankeny has
had an excellent chance to note the
state of feeling in that section.
As a result of these observations he
is enthusiastic over the new south, its
capabilities and future. In that region
where only slothful Incidence pre-
vailed before the war and stagnation
Immediately after. now everybody
seems imbued with new spirit of in
dustry which IS rapidly building up the
waste places SO far from feeling sore
rness over the result of the war there pre-
walls general feeling that it was in
reality blessing. Many of those, says
Mr.. Ankeny, who before the war were
large owners of slaves over which they
held the masters whip now are ready
to acknowledge that in reality they
themselves were the slaves and the
negroes We're the ones that reaped the
benefit. Capital is eagerly welcomed
in every section which Mr.. Ankeny
visited, Huntsville, Alabama, having
only recently voted a bonus of $4,000
for the sake of securing cotton fac
tory and many other towns are ready
to follow suit.
The southern people have also found
out the folly of depending upon the
north for everything they eat or wear
and in addition to the manufactures
have taken new departure in another
direction and are now raising their own
corn and oats and. in some cases where
the land will admit, have even put in
wheat. Small farming is the general
rule, the large plantations being vely
generally broken up and either sold OF
rented to whites and negroes.
The status of the negro is, according
to Mr.. Ankeny, fully up to that of the
poorer classes in any section. The bulk
of this class are indolent, only working
enough 10 live in sort of hand to
mouth way. The minority, and quite
a respectable one, have either taken up
government lands or bought small farms
and settled down to Industrious habits.
Many of the c9lorcd farmers are well
to do, and in Florida the second wealth.
lest farmer in the state is a negro, whose
draft for a thousand dollars unendorsed
would be good at any bank in that
section.
Politically they do not WELD much in.
fluenee, Notwithstanding their numbers
Mr. Ankeny accounts for that in two
/ ways First the colored farmers who
have acquired some property have found
that the local government was more
economically administered under white
rule than when the negro officials held
sway; rs a consequence they have al
| lowed politics to become, as trade, tho
exclusive property of the whites, or il
they do vote in local fights very gener-
ally give their support to the whites
Again there are many of the negroes
whodonot take enoughinterestin politics
to present themselves atthe pollson cleo
ton day. This withdrawal of the desir,
on the part Of the person of color to have
his race represented in official life ha,
produced a quietude which is rarely dis
turbed. At least Mr.. Ankeny assert,
stoutly that he has not seen in his travel:
or in the neghborhood of his own home
anything Of the bitterness which was Sc
frequently reported some years ago
While to the insinuatlng tissue ballot h,
is an entire stranger
| Although the gentleman evidently
views the situation through rose coloret
spectacles there is solid substratum
visible beneath all, which shows that tn,
future Of the New South is one of tn,
utmost promise. The thorough dcvel.
opement of its recources together with
the new spirit Of industry which ha!
awaked the land from its slumber viii
within the next few decades place tina
section in close rivalry with the othel
and heretofore more interprising por
tons of the Union