Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-10-12
WATTERSON On DIXIE.
AN ELOQUENT STATEMENT OF
ITS GROWTH.
Northern Capital Shown the Folly of Its
COyness in Investing in Southern En-
terprises-The War Benefit-How the
south Proved Its ManIiness.

Northern Capital Shown the Folly of Its
COyness in Investing i'm Southern En-
terprises-The War a Benefit-HOw the
south Proved Its Manliness.
LOUISVILLE, Oct. u.-In the Bar lcrs'
Convention to-day, after the other busi-
ness was concluded and the officers for
the ensuing year elected, Henry Waiter
son, by invitation, addressed the convcn-
ton. After some very pleasing allusions
to banks and bankers. which put the con-
yentiOnm goOdhUmOr, Mr.. W PATTERSON said: :
1t was not, however. to hear of banks
and bankers and banking that you did me
the honor to call me before YOU. am
told that to-day you are considering that
problem which has so disturbed the poll
ticians ofthe South, and that you wish me
to talk to you about the South. 1t is no
problem at all. l thank God that at last
we can say with truth it is simply
a geographical expression. Applause
The whole story of the South NAV be
summed up III the sentence: She was
rich and she lost her riches she was
poor and in bondage; she was set free
and she had to 90 TO work; she went to
work and she is richer than ever before.
hers. God passed a rod across the land
and smOte the people. Then in His good
ness and mercy He waved the wand of
enchantment, and 10, like a flower. His
blessings burst FORTH Applause. In
deed, may the South say, as i'm
the experience of men, it is rare
for any to say with perfect sincerity,
Sweet are the uses of adversity.' Ap-
plause. The South never knew what
InIDnnnInnHn ~ ha far
by subjection to subdue herself. We lived
from hand to mouth. We had our debts
and our niggers. Under the old system
we paid our debts and walloped our mig
gers, but under the new we pay our Mig
gers and wallOp our debts Laughter
and applause. We have no longer any
slaves, but we have no longer any debts,
and can eXclaim with the old darkey at
the camp meeting who, when
ever he got .happy, went about
shouting: Bless the Lord, Pm get
ting fatter and fatter.' Laughter.
The truth is that behind the great rufile
the South wore to its shirt. there Law con.
cealed superb manhood. That this man.
hood was perverted there is no doubt;
that it wasted its energies upon trifles is
beyond dispute; that it took pride i'm
cultivating what it called the vices of
gentleman l am afraid must be ad-
mltted, but at heart il was sound. From
that heart tlswed honest Anglo-SaXon
blood. and when it had to Law aside its
brOadclOth and put on its jeans it was
equal TO the emergency. great ap-
plause and the women of the South
took their place by the side OF
the men of the South, and with the spin
ming wheel and plOwshare. together
they made a stand against the wolf at
the door. That was fifteen years ago,
and to-day there is not a reward offered
in single Southern State for wolf skins.
The fact is the very wolves have got
ashamed of themselves and gone to work.
Laughter and applause. | beg you to
believe that in saying this my purpose is
not to amuse or to mslead YOU. Al
though my words may seem to carry
with them an unbuSiness-like leVtV.
/ assure you that my design is
wholly busineSs-like. You can see
for yourselves here in Louisville what
the South has done and what the South
can do. If all this has been achieved
without credit and without your power
ful aid am now addressing myself to
the North and East, which have feared to
come South with their mOney-What
might not be achieved if the vast aggrega-
tions of capital in the fiscal centres should
add this land of wine, milk and honey to
their fields of investment and give us the
same cheap rates which are eniOYpd bV
nearer, but not safer borrowers. The
future of the South is not a whit
less assured than the future of the West.
Why should money which is freely
loaned to Iowa and Illinois be refused to
Alabama and Mississippi: ! perfectly
understand that business is business. and
that capital is as unsectiOnal as unscnti-
mental. | am speaking from neither
spirit. You have money to loan. We
have a great country to develop. We
have given hostages to fortunes and our
works are before you. know that capi-
tai is timid, but what are you afraid Of:
Is il our cotton that alarms YOU, or our
corn, or our sugar: Perhaps it is our coal
and iron. Without you, in truth,
many Of these products must
make slow progress. While the others
VIII continue to lie hidden in the bowels
OF the earth with you the South will
bloom as a garden and sparkle as a gold
mine, for whether you tickle her fertile
fields with straw or apply more violent
Utilization to her fat mountain sides she is
ready olaugh a harvest of untold riches"
Prolonged applause.
At the conclusion OF WattersOn's speech
the unusual! compliment of a unanimous
rising vote of thanks was accorded him.