The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-07-27

the civilization OF the Oid South that
must win the admiration of good men
in all climes and times. Let us
cherish the good and forget the bad in
the life our fathers and grandiathprS
llyed. The manly man and the w0-
manly woman, no matter under what
skies they dwell, must ever despise the
the man who, ignoring the virtues
parades the vices of the his fathers
The North can have no respect, the
civilized world can have no respect, the
coming generation can have no respect
Tor the man or woman who born and bred
beneath these skies is not proud to gar
land the graves of our heroic dead.
Let us not blame the old men Of the
South. who, Sitting in the diSmantled
pOrcheS of their homes into which dis
honor has never entered, to which dis
courtesy is a stranger" Ometimes look
WiStfully back to the days that are
gone. Living, as they believe in q
gruSser and more material civilization
| than that which their hands were build
ing, let them look back with regretful
longing to that which Northern thrift
and cunning never bring, that old. fash
ioned Southern hospitality, generosity
and courtesy, that chivalry which chose
honor rather than riches, which pre-
ferred poverty to meanneSS.
But we of younger generation must
face the issues Of the present.
a great work lies before the South.
ern people. What we have already ac
complished is insignificant in compar-
son with that which yet remains to be
done. Our vast forests, our exhaust
less mines, our fertile soil offer untold
riches to those who have the pluck and
the skill and brain to develop them. 1t
is with us a question of lille and death
We must conquer or be conquered.
Since the war, millions OF dollars have
gone from the impoverished South to
keep up pension soldiers at the North,
millions Of dollars have been wrung
from the down-trodden people of the
South for high protective tariffs, thus
swelling the already overlowing Golfers
OF the nahObS of the North. To save
ourselves from intellectual and materi-
al bondage Will require the united ef-
fort OF the most cnivalrous and the
most magnanimouS people on the
American continent. There is not a
great magazine in the South, there is
nota great publishing house in the
South, there is not a great university
III the South that could for one moment
compare with Yale or III ,rvard or
Michigan. There are no great LIBRARIES
IN the South, no great collection Of
paintings, no great galleries. of Sculp-
ture. ! Say this not in spirit Of dep
recitation, but, if possible, to do some
thing TO arouse the people Of South
Carolina to Il sense of their intellectual
and material bondage. 1t is high time
tor the Southern people to assert them
selves, to shake Off the dust and
humiliation Of defeat. Never, while
the South suffers her history to be read
fhrnt, ,rrh hn Ii,,fN Il n,,t, Il
historians at the North, never while she
is dependent upon Northern periodi-
Gals for hearing, never while she is
compelled to send her sons and daugh-
terS NOrthWard for university educa-
ton; never while she puts into the
hands Of her children histories written
10y men without sympathy for her in
stitutions, never while she is compelled
to 60 to the North for skilled labor and
to the West for commodities that can
be better produced under her own skies
and in her own leldS--never again
while she submits to this Can she wear
the lofty look Of conscious lndepcn.
ence."
In the language OF prentiSS. "Burn-
ing shame shall sal its seal upon her
brow, and when her proud sons go forth
TO other lands they will cover beneath
the withrr!ng look Of the stranger"
Look abroad over this country ANA
50" how lamentahle is the cOuGitiOn Of
~" agricultural classes. 1t is Il tact,
though the cause may be naru to fad
that agricultural lie Is at a discount.
Never before in the history of the
world has there been such an innux
from the country to the city as the
last twent y.tive years have witnessed
The great city is becoming crowded
the country depopulated. In our early
history rural life had il fascination for
the American people. In 1910 l.12 Of
our population lived IN cities OF more
than 5000 inhabitants: in 1870 y: in
1860, Is; IN 1870, l-3; in 1850, 4: in 1890
perhaps x.
itwaS no. soln the Oldcn times.
W ashingt on. Jefferson, Calhoun, and
Clay, and the vast ma oritv OF the
great men in our early history, lived
J from choice upon the farm. Today it
is not simply Senators and Congress-
men. the rich and great, but all classes,
high and low, rich and poor. are driven
rs 10y some irresiStabe impulse To for
: sake the farm. Energetic, brainy
young men, as soon as they reach their
majority, bidding adieu To their aged
fathers and mothers, fOrSaliG the peace.
ful pursuits OF the farm and plunge IN
TO the madGening strife OF city life,
some to sail sercney upon the adven-
turous sea OF speculation, bnt the vast
: majority to sink forever beneath its
; pillows. Wcll-to do p"0ple, those who
can live without LABOR, renting their
plantations, or turning them over to
! negroes. llOck into the cities and bring
, ing up their children in IdleneSS and in
d0lence, swell the constantly increasin :
danger of our city population. The
poorer classes, especially those who are
} content with Il merely animal existence
torsake their cabins and mortG age
homeSteads and flock into factories
where, anywhere, To get away from
the farm.
. Now what are the causes of the sad
state into which agricultural parsuils
nave fallen? There is no Disgusting 9
B the fact-I speak as a student of poll.
'icS ana not as Il partisan or politician
-Ihat the tide has been against agri.
cultural life. Speculation, gambling
dealing in futures, controlling the
markets by unlawful methods, theft on