Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-06-02
TIE TRUTH OF HISTORY.

take the fsme view of the matter as
did TIE GAZETTE. The incident was .
small thing in itself, q slight tempest in .
very small teapot, and yet 1t has probably
been productive of discussion that will
| bring about good results. When the
people Of the south emerged from the
siyil war which had wrecked their homes
and devastated their fields, they set about
the work OF rebuilding their homes and
repairing their broken fortunes, and have
from that time to the presen. been too
busy with the affairs of the
present to give their time to q record OF
the past that should give q faithful his
tory Of events to the generations Of the
future. ImpeIled by patriotic motives in
all they had done, they had no desire in
connection with the histories which
should be written, except that the exact
truth should be told snd, honest and
truthful themselves, they relied upon the
honesty and truthfulness OF the VIZ tiers OF
the north to write Of events exactly as
they had transpiTed.
The first histories that were printed by
the publishing houses Of the north were
full Of inaccuracies and misrepresents-
tions. every natural, coming SO soon
after the war" said the southern people,
1--WE can excuse them. The prejudice
which caused the misrepresentation will
| soon die out and the Ignorance which
Ia responsible for the inaccuracies will
soon be cured. Our northern brethren dc
not intend to do US injustice and will not
when their eyes become S little wider
OPEN" And so they returned to the fields
to raise the cotton and the rice, while the
northern people went on with the work
Of manufacturing the history. Years
have passed. Young men, born after the
surrender ut Appomattox have gone
through the common schools and been
graduated at the colleges and have en-
tered into the active work of their trades
and professions; girls, born five years AZ
ter the close OF the war, are now standing
up in the first flush of womanhood to re-
ceive their diplomas which declare them
to be thoroughly educated in all those
branches Of learning that are requisite to
flash and adoInment OF the female mind,
and yet the histories which they have
studied, even in southern schools,
are 30 full Of bliss and prejudice and
Of sctual, williul misstatement
regarding the occurrences OF '60 to '65,
that they have very little conception OF
the wsr or the causes which brought It
about.
The time has arrived when 1t becomes
necessary for the south to demand that q
fair record be written. The southern
people should not object to northern
writer's clarifying their own cause and
their own people. but they should low
demand that justice be done themselves
and their cause. Let Lincoln be written
down patriot and q statesman, wise,
and honest, and true, but insist that JEFF
ferson Davis be credited with pure mo-
tiyes and patriotic purposes. Let Grant
appear as great general and brave
man, but jnslst that Lee shall be
shown as chivalr. us soldier,
who drew his sword in defense
of principle which ne entertained in all
sincerity. Let Sherman sud Sheridan be
presented as skilliul officers and able
but insist that Jackson and
Stuart shall lose In history none Of the
glory which their genius and valor
achieved. Lstthe atrocities Of Johnson's
Isle, and Camp Chase, and Point
Lookout, and Elmira remain
II they desire It 90. but in.
sist that the story Of Libby and Ander-
sonville be not painted olscker than it is.
Let them tell Of the northern people as
brave and patient snd determined during
the hours of that dark struggle, but insist
that they shall make record of the cour-
age ard devotion Of the sons and
daughters OF the south. And III
northern history manufacturers shall
refuse to accede to these just
then let the people Of the south
refuse to buy their books, let them call
upon their own writer's and their own
houses to furnish truthful ac-
counts Of all that has transpired in the |
last ifty years, that the future genera |
tons OF their country may grow up in
the knowledge that their ancestors were
the brave snd chivalrous and patriotic !
people they are rather than the traitors !
and outlaws that the alleged historians |
Of the north have painted them.
The south has nothing to fear from the
ruth Of history.