The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-12-17

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force 70 her statement
In the matter Of Fashionable Fast
ness"-the Yankeeization Of the South
Is so marked that ali men. and especially
all high minded women. readily recog-
Mise it. Bear IN mind that we make a.
WAYS a distinction between Northern
ers" and yankees Ii would be fol-
" to assert that a few miles OF latitude,
North or South. could work any percep-
tible degree of difference in human pa
ture.
But it is certainly true that there has
grown up in the North a very large
class. whom we call yankees and
whom the better classes of Northerners
do not affiliate with. This Yankee"
element Is a conglomerate of the worst
features OF all Nations, English. Irish,
Scotch. French. German. Italian, Turk,
and African. and is not truly Ameri-
can. because il is TO be found mainly in
the coast cities. the great ports OF entry
for immigrants. Ike Portland, Boston,
New York. Philadelphia. and the States
to which these ports are the feeding
mouth. II you recall any ism" any
.fanaticism," any sharp practice any
Sociallapse or looseness. you Will find
that it originated in this Yankee con-
glomerate, which old '.Humbug Bar
| num-" delighted to boast Of as the uni
| yersal Yankee Nation"-too cute for
any thing!
Now. Southern civilization has defects,
| particularly in the lack of Business en-
terprise. and personal energy; and orr
| people have had such a shaking up by the
War. with its o~bliteration OF planting
| methods, and family fortunes. that it is
natural we should look upon the busy,
rushing. prosperous North as our best
model for the new order of things. Let
Us 1aukeeize the South us now the
cry.
Here comes the wrong. People who
look upon the surface see great wealth
and apparent .'clviiization." at the
North: but they fail TO see how much
this is the result of accident or situation,
the influx Of foreigners, and the unjust
legislation which empties the products
of the South into Northern pockets,
Nor does the surface view show the vile
ness beneath! No man can read the
great dailies Of the North. Boston,
New York. Chicago, St. Louis. Circin'
natl, Philadelphia. ETC., without feeling
thar all the wealth and prosperity o
Yankeedom would be dearly bought i
the price were to be the lowering of Tux
personal, social and Business character
of our people to such a plane;
Yet how fast we ale coming down
Many of the worst phases of "Yankee'
civilization have been introduced amon9
US. little by little, under the eXcuse of
Fashion, For example, we know
that our Baptist mothers, Methods
mothers. E~piscopalian mothers, Pres
byterian mothers, and well bred moth
ers OF other faiths, do not ike to hav,
their Is year old girls spend the night a
public balls nor their older girls dance
the Rocket" or make a spectacle 0
themselves in other public displays, o
parade the street with the ''arm-clutch.'
Yet all Of this is done. and excused b,
simply saying-''Oh its all the rage il
the best society at the North. NJ,
daughters are lively and f%un-loving if
don't let them 60 with the 'Dancin:
Set they get little attention, and theI
you know a person doesn't like to seen
odd or prudish by Directing to the Fash
ion.' They forget, or perhaps neve
knew, that the leaders of fashion
FeahtfayT am 5sqfeepe 5e,1ehPHnsAht t II Yah
keedOm is in no sense the Best SOcie
ty." 1t is the rapid set the notorie
ty-seeking-set-the of the con
glomerate pot into which has been pour
ed the otf-scourings of all Nations 70
100 years. brought over by shiploads a
the rate of TO- 900 per week. togethe
with all their ignorance. vice. licentiOus
ness, crime. and the atmosphere thereof
Grant, though, that some respectable
people adopt the fast style: that would no
warrant its introduction Dere. Southern
races and Southern climate are u~nsuiteC
for personal taniliarities that appear FIRE,
and easy in Canada, or Sweden.
Alas! that We should need to say it :
the proof Of the peril Is the record it ha.
already made. 1t Is but twenty year
since the Old South died, and To-. tn,
changed The increase ii crime, in busi
ness frauds, in social scandals. 10 ali man
: ner OF rascallty, has been a thousand pei
cent. We have heard since the Exposi
ton began (and no one in Raleigh lead.
a more hermlt-like life. with less taste
for such thlngs) stories staining the lives
OF girls OF the first social circle In each oil
the three largest cities In North Carolina.
and not one girl only. but several Ii
one or two cases the scandal was to the
best OF our knowledge and belief untrue.
or greatly exaggerated; in other instances
the proofs We're too plain. 1t is also vel
known that fully one dozen of the leading
families of the State have sons whose
lives have been blasted By crime within
the past ten years, while several cases
OF Official s~tealage have been suppressed
to save the feelings of Influential conpec-
tions.
In the feature of Tittle-tattle all our
towns are becoming peotiferous. Towns
like Raleigh which have the phases of
city life without the vast population
which conceals family affairs become
the hot bed for all sorts OF stories. Stories
relating to father and daughter, to man
and wife, to wife and her mother in-law.
and the Lord knows what Nay, the
Devil knows most. for he is i~nstigator of
many of these tales; manufactured out Of
whole cloth. 1t has gotten to such a
pitch that a young man cannot be seen
with a lady on the street Of an evening,
and especially if strolling in the public
square without setting scores of tongues
a~-wagglng. 1t may sound personal, but
1t illustrates the subject, when We say that
we know an editor who has been reported
about to marry" etc., etc, at least
fifty times in his life; although Ienever in
his life asked a lady to marry him, and
has always said lie would never ask such
a question until he had a home 10 offer