The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-05-12
KKN PKo9 3Ess.

Bourbsnism and lndustrinI Develop
mo { DO Not Go Together.
N. y. tribune.
There is nothing strange in the hostility
Of the fossilized Southern Bourbon toward
liberalization Of industry. The Bourbon
who gets a living from politics, If he has
fair intelligence, must see that his very
existence is threatened by tho development
Of mines, the building Of railroads, the es-
adjustment Of furnaces and mills, the
growth Of towns, and the expansion OF
commerce. All these things require cap.
ilal. The men who have money TO invest
or to lend 20 themselves, or send capable
and trusly men, 10 watch it and 10 direct
lis use. These men 90 into Bourbon bar.
barism TO make money; but they soon
find that in order % make money they
must be missionaries. They find the land
in need OF wiser laws, more efficient gov
eminent, better schools, better roads and
greater security for life and property. In
spite OF themselves, they are forced to favor
q change in local government in order to
make the development Of industry q pos.
slbility. m
These are not mere theories, but facts OF
every day experience at the South. A
capitalist from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
or Great Britain find that he can buy mipes
at the South from which coal or iron can
be taken at extraordinary low cost. He
investigates, finds that great profits are
possible, and invests. To make his work
efficient and prosperous, however, he finds
that he must take with him q few exper-
fenced and skilled workmen. With them
he locates and goes to work. Unskilled
labor Is abundant, willing and cheap. The
mountains are fairly bursting with unde-
veloped wealth. What more does he
iced?
First OF all, he needs decent laws and
somebody 10 enforce them d~ecently. In
vary many parts Of the South he soon dis.
covers that these can be Obtained only by
a political revolution. The Fossilized Bour.
bons have no comprehension OF the need
Of any change They have been enforcing
the laws well enough Tor their purposes,
and have found the lawsgood enough. But
the new coners discover that they MUST
defend their lives and their property with
their own hands. lfthey have gardens or
orchards, somebody else gets the fruit; II
they chance to offend a rough fellow, drunk
or sober; they must fight for their lives; and
the authorities are either too Indifferent or
too n ttirient TO suppress heft,drunkenneas
or III Of violence. Then roads are neces.
safy, but the Bourbons do not want to
be taxed for building and maintaining
roads. Intelligent and capable ~orkmen
demand decent schools for their children,
but the Bourbobs will not support such
schools. They want to get little homes OF
their own, but find that the great land.
owners insist upon sticking TO more land
than they can cultivate, or that legal
sharks have contrived such laws that it is
almost impossible to get clear titles TO
anything. They want fair protection both
for labor and capital, in any case OF contro-
versy, but find that the only laws in many
localities have been framed by white en-
ployers, with a view OF the subsection OF
colored labor, so that equal justice between
employer and employed cannot be ex.
pected in any court.
All these things disgust the intelligent
and capable workmen, and they threaten
to return TO a land where there Is more
civilization and less Bourbonism. But
without some such workmen the invest.
ment cannot be made q success. The in.
visitor, tired Of asking in vain from existing
authorities. tries to obtain a change OF
rulers at the next election. Then he is
Immediately execrated az a "Radical;" JUS
tice and legal protection are denied in the
simplest cases; insults are heaped upon
him; taxes are made unreasonably
heavy for him; or in a thousand
other ways his prosperity Is threat.
ened. All these things have happened,
and are happening now, in different parts
OF the South, some in one locality, some in
another, and many in almost every place
where Northern or foreign capital and en- :
%terprise have been invested. 1t does not
matter whether a man was formerly q Re-
publican, o Democrat or d staunch adher-
ent OF the British Crown: in the South he
is compelled TO become an opponent Of
Bourbonilm in order to keep his industry
from destruction.
The natural consequence is that the en-
ployers and the the employed work togeth-
or for a change o local government, and as
the development OF resources continues in
one county after another they presently
get II. Then in eyery county t~husredeemed
u DetteI btht6 Vi tulDkh ucklub. octttt
schools, better roads, and more efficient
enforcement Of law are found. Men go
thither 10 work rather than elsewhere, and
such points become centres OF revolutionary
influence politically. In time, certain South.
ern States are sure to be redeemed forever
from %Bourbonism, not by any cheap trick OF
political bargaining, but byagradual change
in the controlling elements Of population.
| Wherever mining aud manufacturing are
developed, B%Ourbonism 10 sure to crumble
and decay. The railroads that hasten this
development though they may be managed
by the most obstinate Bourbons extant,
become perforce powerful agencies in tie
political recostruction Of the South. Their
officers may all be Democrats or they may
shave nothing to do with politics., never.
theless every ton Of freight that they take
from a mine or 10 a furnace or factory
~sca,ters Republican seed along the way,
and bastens the overflow Of Bourbon
Democracy. This would not be 80 II the
Democratic pafty,o the South were capa.
bic Of adapting itself to the needs OF q pro.
Pressiye, enlightened and free.labor civil.
ization. But L Is not. The South Is slowly
learning that II must give up either Demo.
cracy or modern civilization and progress.
1t can stick to Bourbonism and barbarism
II It chooses, or It can open the way for
rapid development and diversiacation OF
industry by expellipg Bourbon politicians
from power. But Bourbonism and civilized
progress-those two 1t cannot have,
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