The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-29
1.-THE NEW SOUTH"
SHERMAN A CARELESS MAN ABOUT FIRE
---WHAT HAPPENED WHEN LEE SUR
RENDERED AND JOHNSON QUIT.


Specch of Hon. III. w. Grady before
the ssNew England Society" Of New
York.
The speech of Mr. Henry w. Grady, one Of
the editors of til, atlanta (Go) Constitution. at
the dinner Wednesday evening OF the New
England Society Ia New York, was the ien-
ture Of the occasion, and the best, accoralng
to the Sun, that has been delivered IN NE"
York in many years.
i When Mr.. Grady arose to speak he was re-
ceivcd with rattling cheers. lie was the nrst
outand-out Southerner to he invited , 10 to ain,
for "The New South" with warmth ana
frankness. He was repeatedly interrupted
by the cheers of the New Englanders. Among
I'm speaking to the toast with which you
have honored me I accept the term, "Ihe
New South" as in no sense disparaglng 10 Lie
old. Dear to Inc, sir, is the home Of my child
hood and the traditions of my people. Inere
is new South, not through protest asnlnst
the old, but because of new conditions, new
adjustments and; If you pieaSe, new adGress iTeas
myself. ! nsk YOU, gentlemen, to picture II
YOU can, the footsore soldier who, buttoning
up in his faded gray Jacket the parole when
was taken, testimony to his children OF ms
fidelity and faith, turned his face sonthward
from Appomattox in April, 1865. Think OF
| him as ragged, balfstarvcd, heaVy-heartea,
enfrebled by want and wounds, having l0ugne NJ
to exhaustion, he surrenders his gun: wrings
the hands OF his comrades, and. llftlnS MS
tear-strained and pallid face for the last time
to the graves that dot the old Virginia nils
pulls his gray cap over his brow, and begins
the slow and painful journey. What does he
| fnd-let me ask you, who went to your
homes eager to find all the welcome you had
sacrifce-what does he find when he reaches
the home he left four years before he hn9s
his house In ruins, his farm deyastatea, MS
slaves freed: his stock Killed b is oarns eipSS
his trade destroyed, his money worthless;
his social system feudal In It's magnincence
swept away his people without law or legal
status his comrades slain. and the burdens Oh
defeat, his very traditions gone, without
training-and, besides all tits, confronted
with the gravest problem that ever r. met =, oi1c hn.
man intelligence-th establishing OF status
for the vast body Of his liberated slaves
what does he do, this hero in grey, with
heart of gold9 Does he sit down IN suIle1 zen
who had scourged him in his prosperity. In
spired him In his adversely! AS ruin was
never before so overwhelming, never was
the trenches into the furrow horses that had
charged Federal guns marched before tne
plow. and fields that ran red WIN human
blood in April were green with the hnrVeSt IN
Jane; women reared In luxury cut up their
dresses and made brecches for their husbands,
and, with patience and heroism that hts
woman always as garment, gave tnelr hanGs i az
10 work. There was little bitterness IN AL
! this Cheerfulness and frankneSs prevailed
| 'Rill Arp struck the Keynote when he Said !;
"Wel killed as many Of them as they dld OF
soldier, returning home after defeat and
roasting some corn on the roadside, who
made the remark to his comrades: You
may leave the South If you want TO- nuI roise I
more nHi will whip 'em again want to say to
| Gen. Sherman-who Is considered an aoie
man In our parts, though some people think
| he Is q kind of careless man about hre-that
| from the ashes left us In 1854 we have raised
brave and beautiful city; tnat somehow or
other we have caught the sunshine IN the
| bricks and mortar OF our homes and have
builed therein not one single iSnoble preju'
dice or memory. ~
"But what is the sum of our work? We
have found out that in the general summing
up the free negro counts more than he ana as
a Save. We have planted the school house
on the hill top, and made 1t free TO wnlte ana
black We have sowed towns and cities In
tho place OF theories and put business above
politics. We have challenged your spinners
In Massachusetts and your iron makers IN
S4OOOOj,OOO annually received from our cotton
crop will make us rich. Then the supplies
that make 1t are home raised. We have re,
duced the commercial rate of interest rom "A
to 6 per cent, and are floating per cent.
bonds We have learned that one Northern
! immigrant is worth fifty foreigners. and have
smoothcd the path to Southward, wiped out
the place where Mason ana b!Xom,s me useu o,
and yours. We have. reached the point that
marks perfect harmony in every household.
which his own wife ha'tcs are good as those
his mother used to bake. and we admit that
the sun shines as brightly and the moon as
softly rs 1t did before the war; we nave
established thrift in city and country. We
have fllen In 1--we with work. We have re-.
stored comfort to homes from which culture
and elegance never departed; we nave let
economy take root and spread among MS as
rank as the crab grass which sprang from
Sherman's cavalry camps, until we are ready
to lay odds on the Georgia Yankee ms ne
SuuccZcs pure olive oil out OF his cotton seed.
against any Down-Eastcr that ever swappeu
wooden nrtmegs for flannel sausagcs in the
valley of Vermont. Above all. we know that
we have achieved in these piping tlmcs ,,,2 q,
than that which our fathers sought TO win IN
the forum by their eloqucncc or compel on
! the field by their swords 1t is rare privilege,
sir, TO have had part, however humble; IN this
work. Never was nobler duty confided to
human hands than the uplifting and upbui!d-
ing of the prostrate and bleeding South, mis-
Ing. and honest, brave and generous always;
In the record Of her social, industrial and
political illustration we await with conn-
dcnce the verdict of the world.
"When Lee surrcnderel-I don't say when
Johnson surrendered. because / understand
he still alludes to the time when he met Gen;
Sherman last rs tile time Wnen lie ueleIIllcu
to abandon any further prosecution OF the
struggle-when Lee surrendered, / say, and
Johnson quit, the South became, and has
been since, loyal TO this Union. We fought
hard enough TO know that we werc whipped,
and in perfect frankness accepted ms final the
arbitrament Of the sword TO which we had
appealed: Ihe South found her jewel In Il
toad's head. The shacliles that had held her
in narrow limitations fell forever when the
shackleS Of the negro slave were broken.
Under the old regime the negroes were slaves
| to the South, the South was s. slave TO the
/ system. Thrs was gathered in the hands of Il
splendid and chivalric olisarchy the sub
stance that should have been diffused among
the people, as the rich blood is gathered at the
heart filling that with afflpent rapture, but
leaving the body chill and coOrleSs. The old
South rested everything on slavery and agri-
culture. unconcious that these could neither
give nor maintain healthy growth. The new
South presents perfect democracy, the oil
garchs leading into the populer movcmcnt-a
social system compact and closely knotted,
less splendid on the surface. but stronger at
the c0re-a hundred farms for every planta-
tion. fifty homes for every place, and diver
sied industry that meets the complex needs
OF this complex age