Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-05-18
That Section Under the Reconstruc-
tion Era and Later.
TRANSFORMED BY new AGENCIES
The Coming Sound Money Con-
vention at Memphis.
A BUSINESS MEMS GATHERING

'iiS oouhu HiOHey convention to assemble
in Memphis on Wednesday next will be the
most important public meeting held in the
south since the close of the civil war. 1t is
| expected to mark not only certain changes
| IN sentiment in the south on the one over
| shadowing Issue of the day, but a certain
uisenthrallment of the business men of that
| section from the old political leadership
mat has had Its way and laid down the
| law there for a quarter of century. What
| the practical points of the meeting may be
what may be expected from it at the
| polls next year-nobody at this time will
| undertake to predict.
reference is repeatedly made to the new
| south What does the term signify? What
is the real basis of the comparison that has
| Drought the term into existence? and what
the scope and true complexion of the later
| order of things?
The Old South.
| By the old south is understood at this day
| the south of the reconstruction era and
| later, when the orly aim of the people
| seemed to be to restore the prosperity OF
| the ante-bellum planting days. Cotton was
not only again to be made king. but was to
| have no rival near the throne. Old lines OF
thought and action were again pursued
and the old political leadership, after 8
| brief period of stormy exclusion, cnce more
came forward: Thus was established the
solid south. There was a singular unanim.
| ity of opinion on all leading public Ques-
tons throughout the whole section. The
| south became solid not only for white SUI
premacy, but for tariff reform and free
! coinage well. She carried the banner in
the fight that resulted in placing Mr.. Carr
Isle in the Speakers chair of the national
! House of Representatives, which was the
first effective blow struck for tariff reformi
| and she has labored as earnestly in the eff
forts to open the mints to the unlimited
| coinage of silver. Her accepted leaders
have had but one voice on either of those
subjects. and they have lifted it eloquently
| and earnestly every time an occasion Off
| fered. Their campaigns at home have all
| been made without the slightest reservaS
ton or justification on either subject, and
| the results at the polls have all been &C.
cepted as having but one significance.
| They showed that the south was in favor
| of free trade and free coinage, and hat
| representatives in Congress, with but one
| or two exceptions, have in their speeches
and votes governed themselves accordingiys
| New Agencies at Work.
| But within the past few years new agen.
cies have been showing themselves in the
| south. Capital has been coming in from
| the north, and enterprises new to that
quarter have been set on foot. No assault
has been made on cotton, except to the
k,ngship of the plant. That has been OBJ,
Jected to. The proposition has been to es,
tablish republican rule in business. Let
all of the industries have a chance Down
with the hngship of cotton, but un with
cotton as sovereign among the other sow
ereiCns. Why keep the south one vast
iield for planting. when so many other en-
terprises could be established to advan!
tage? Why isolate the south and make her
a seller In the markets of but one COM
modify, when she might appear there with
almost peddlers variety of valuable
things? This movement has been making
headway. and now, it is claimed, so much
has been accomplished that the south has
been transformed. She is enjoyin.r a neuy
with all the business centers of the north
and she is anxious TO keep in close touch
with generally accepted business prin-
ciples. The diversification of her fndus-
tries has made her more national in spirit
and more alive to the necessity Of guiding
by neg lights. She once was lost but now
is round; was blind, but now can see.
A business Mems Meeting.
Wei, the country soon will see The
Memphis meeting will be strictly busis
ness mems meeting. The politicians. in thX
language of the street. will not he in tx
They have not been vigorously excluded bv
the committee on invitations, but the pur-
pose being to get at the business sense Of
business question the presence of busi-
ness men was naturally prepared The re.
sponses show that the attendance will be
good. The commercial bodies in au of the
principal southern cities have appointed
delegates, and the men selected are truly,
representative in the best business view Of
the case. They stand for home as well as
for imported capital, and while they are
southern men in all of their sympa thies,
they look at this money question through
national instead of through sectional spec
tacles. They are not defending any past
views they may have entertained on the
silver question. They are not ASPIRING to
public office AS they state their own case.
they are merely men of business. anxious
to see business question settled accord
ing to business lights, and without regard
to records made ten or twenty years ago
by either ponucai party, when conditions
rorn diesarent frn,, 1,ha, ,ha,, w 10y ~
1t matters not to them what political plat.
forms have called for or how this man or
that man has voted in Congress. They
nave ~ view ohly .Ie staee VI BUSINESS "
uaS, anu what seems heeessaiS ~ iiaihteiA
the pupiic circuit
Politicians Not Convinced.
r,ut tho no,,t;c;aps of tho south ,vere mt
- " - ...s
coh'ihceo ny .iis argument. Vi a'ei.uoe:
Ihey nave their views OF tninss ana are
not disposed to yield leadership on silver
or anv other ouestion They have their
ewes on the pun- They will note with inl
~ >-NS