The Opelousas courier., 1894-05-05
THE BRAINS OF THE SOUTH.
a Southern Woman Discusses the
Charge of Intellectual Inferiority.
From The Nov York Sun.

10 inc Luitt1 ti It Dul-bli. L AC
oft-repcated assertion that the south
always Was and now is intellectually in
ferjor to the north has induced me to
make a careful investigation Of the mat
ter. The result furnishes an array OF
facts at once startling and convincing,
that is, convincing to any n not hide
bound by scctionalism and prejudice.
do not pretend to cover the whole
ground, but hope that the instances
enumerated may tend to a settlement
of the veXea question, or, at least, in
duce those who make sucl, statements
to consult history before giving them
to the public.
The south, although in a numerical
minority ,..controlIed;the general.govern-
mcnt for the first eighty years OF its ex-
istcnce. Eight out of the thirteen pres
idents we're from the south, four OF
them serving tNo terms.
OF twelve vice-presidents four were
from slave states. Under eleven adj
ministrations the south furnished four
teen secretaries Of state, eleven secre-
taries of war, six secretaries OF the
treasury, nine secretaries of the navy
and eight postmaster generals. OF tit
tv-ive presidents pro TEN. OF tho senate
thi1ty-nine were from the south. OF
thirty-nne speakers Of the house, TWEEN
ty-tWO we're sOutherncrs. Vi five chief
justices two of the most eminent were
from the south. OF twenty-nine asso-
| ciatc Justices seventeen were from the
south. OF twenty-ono attorney gener-
| ais fourteen hailed from this section.
"Tllc first resolutions" says B. f.
Warde, of Mississippi, "decIaring the
rights Of the colonies to be free and i'll
dependent were introduced in a south
ern Legislature by a southern man.
The first resolutions TO the same effect
were presented in the colonial congress
by another southern man, and took
form in the H1claIatlon of %independ,
ehce, under the matchlcsS genius OF sui
another southern man. A southern
man led the patriot armies to victory
and established the possibilities of the
Droudest nation on earth. A southern
mar was prime mover of the cOnven-
ton that framed the constitution.
When the government had been Great
ed its organic law was still an uneX-
planned book, Il ponierous oar in I'M
skilled hands. 1t was left for the great
est legal mind Of The age. Il southern
chief Justice, to a~nalyZr and stamp
pDou it the construction which will be
accepted as long as the constitution is
respected. A southern man framed the
ordinance for the organization and gov
eminent Of the great northwestern ter
ritory, an instrument Sccont only IN
importance to the constitution Of the
United States. A southern man was
the auiiinl If the republican theory of
popular government which prevailed
during sixty years OF our greatest pros
perity, peace and happlness.'
OF 1Sj foreign ministers, ninety-nine
were southern men.
The south furnished the most bril-
liant officers in the revolutionary war
and The VA; with Mexico. 1t was dur
ing III. administration oil a southern
president that tie war Of 1912 was in
augurated and brought to Il triumphant
conclusion. The master spirits OF the
great struggle were sncli men as Clay,
Calhoun, Monroe. Grundy, Lowndes
and Crawford, while only five senators
norti, at iit Delaware voted 10 sustain
it. Florida WAS acquired from Spain
and Louisinna from bgatIrc h} a south
ern president, through the skill and
courage Of Il southern diplomatist- The
pluck ard patriotism of a southern pres
ident gained the independence OF Tex
as and added New Mexico to the ma
tional domain, thus extending the boun-
Diary line to the Pacific and opening to
the world the golden gates of Cali
fornia.
Coming down t" tie more modern
times, we find Matthew T. Maury. a
southern man, holding the proud title
of "Philosopher Of the Seas" He it
was who mapped out the geography of
the seas, explained their secret phe-
nomena, biazed out on the trackless
ocean the shortest and safest highways
for the N of the world, and by
his wind and current charts and his
sailing directions saved the United
States millions of dollars annually on
outgoing tonnage alone.
Where shall we find another Admiral
Semmes, who, with Il single ship swept
from tie seas the commerce of n great
nation
The medical records show that two of
the greatest surgeons that the world
has ever known were j.. Marion Sims,
of South Carolina and Ephtiam Nc
Dowell, of Kentucky. The enlightened
world recognizes them as leaders in the
realm of surgery.
Another southerner, Judah P. Ben
jamin, went to England after the merid-
ian of life, and became one OF the
queens counselors and the leading ju-
rist in that land Of great lawyers, hav-
ing on his docket at one time half of
the appeal cases in the kingdom.
The, first steamship sent across the
Atlantic, May 90, 1919, was the Savan-
nab, equipped and sent over by a few
philosophical and practical men of
Savannah.
The first railroad in America was a
short track in Broad street, Charleston,
simply to demonstrate the idea.
The first canal in America was the
Santee, in South Carolina.
The first patent for a steam pillow was
granted to Mr.. Bellinger, of Barnwell,
S. C.
The first fire alarm telegraph, patent
ed by MIR. Gamewell, Of South Carolina.
was erected and tested in the city OF
Charleston.
1t is a we'll established fact that Og-
den Holmes, of South Carolina, and not
Eli Whitney, was the inventor Of the
cotton gin.
Indigo, rice and cotton were first in
truduced and cultivated in the state OF
South Carolina.
South Carolina was the pioneer in
silk culture. In the year 1855 Mrs,
Pinckncy, the same lady who ten years
before had introduced the indigo plant,
"took with her to England a quantity
of excellent silk, which she had raised
and spun in the vicinity of Charleston,
sufficient to make three complete dress
es. One Of these was presented to the
princess dowager of Wales, and another
to Lord Chesterfield. They were allow
ed to be equal to any W. imported"
The first use of tidewater to run
heavy machinery was in South Carolina
in 1868.
4-o- Gu ~ c.