The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-12-26
THE SOUTHERN FEELING.
\ Southern Uumorist Gives His Views on
Yankees and Their Settling In the south.


in the South. He is more extensively read
than any other writer in that section. Here
| is one of his recent letters, which probably
comes nearer representing the actual South
ern sentiment than any number Of florid
speeches at Blue and Gray Reunions. 1t
will be perceived at once that while "Bill !"
| accepts the situation, there is still good
deal of bile in his system:
1t looks Ike everybody is running over
with love about these times in these parts.
The Grand Army brought down great rivers
of it 10 Louisville aud Overil0wci the city.
| Then il came on TO Chattanooga and flooded
the town, and then to Cnickamauga and sub
merged the great battlefield, and thence TO
Atlanta, and had enough left to moisten the
tOrrid soul and cause Clara Nicer TO rise sew
eral inches. We like this-we all like frater-
nal relations. Our hospitality is unb0unded
to our friends aud the TemOtest sign OF
reconciliation is given welcome. There
are no people as emotional and ~ friendly
by nature as ours Southern hospitality is
proverbial. But it must not be abused. We
demand return of what we give. We are
| the same people we were before the war
| There is no change in our politics or our
Z
and will always meet our foes on halfway
| ground and shake hands and make friends.
| We welcome this visitation of our Northern
brethren, and hope 1T may result in more
harmony between the sections. If it in
duCes a few thousands to domcile among US
it will do good. Nothing else will ever con-
vince and convert Northern man but few
years spent among us in social and business
! life. They must get away from their preach
| els and editors and their school books. Nest
/ of those teach hate instead of love. The
] North does not understand us yet. and there
were two orators at Chickamauga who were
/ sincere enough to tell the truth without dis
| guise. Gov. Woodbury. of Vermont, spoke
the New England sentiment when he said
| they would still teach their children that
we were wrong in the fight. And Gov.
| Turney, of Tennessee, replied that we
would teach our children that we were right
in the fight, and will go TO our graves in that
| faith. Both were honest in their utterances.
| The last was provoked to reply and did it
manfuly.
Sometimes I have doubted whether
there was any good to come of these gush-
| ing gatherings, for hOw-so-much the
| speakers may talk Of love and reconciliation,
the old bitterness that eliminated in the
| late war still maintains among the masses
| of the people, both North and South. The
| braggadOCiO of the North does not set well
on the South, considering that it took 3 00O,-
| 900 of men four years to conquer one-iourth
| that number. If they were truly friendly
AID considerate they would stop pensiouing
| their soldiers or else would propose to pen
sion ours. We are not onl; willing but anx-
| ious to make friends, but there never will
| be any real good feeling as long rs we have
to pension our own soldiers and help to PEN
sion theirs. Love is good thing, but it
takes two to make it, Christianity has never
| yet gotten its converts 10 that heavenly
| frame of mind and heart that will make
them love their enemies. The best we can
do is to say, Lord, have mercy on them and
| forgive them, for we can't The truth is,
have quit trying to forgive some of our
enemies, for they won't help me a BIT.
| Even the Lord does not forgive man who
does not repent, and these pension-howlers
and Union-savers don't repent bit. What
/ want them to do is to acknowledge that
we outfit 'em at Chickamauga and every
| where else. Then | want them to say you
| rebs had just as good excuse for fighting ~
| we did. Then | want. them to begin to
| pension our soldiers. They ought to give
us back rations, but that would break the
| Government, and so we will forgive them
| that much. We have gotten along without
| il, and, ! reckon, can do so again. But most
of their speakers were kind enough to say
that both sides fought on principle for what
! they believed to be right, and If that is so,
| both sides are entitled to the same reward
| The truth is, that neither side is entitled to
any. Pensions are discount upon patriot
ism. / don't mean pensions to those who
were utterly disabled by the war and are
on the charity of the public. They are not
one in 10 Of the pensioners, either State or
National. Thomas Hart Benton called the
whole system a new departure when, in
1841, he opposed the grant of $25,OOO to
President Harrison's widow. Said he:
'This is new page opened in the book of
our public expenditures, and this new de-
parture will lead us into the bottomless gulf
of pensions and gratuities"
! Well, it is a gulf, an awful gulf The
Government has to foster and protect all
the whisky business to get revenue enough
to pay the pensions. | saw two of the pen
sioners yesterday. / sat behind them in
the car and heard them talking in their
broken English. They were good, solid
Dutchmen, and they talked about Kenesaw
as we Travelled by it's base. One said, L
vas Wounded right over dar in dose woods,
and when he got to the station the other
said: dis is Pig Shanty; dere is q fine
spring over dare an l fill my canteen and so
did all de poys and den de Capen say: Poys,
you must double-quick, now, for deere will
be hell to pay at de foot of dat mountain
And shore enough dere vas-dat vas the
hottest place / ever vas in and / get my pen
sion right over dare. De rebels fight like
de devil for dat mountain, but we flank em
every time-dey fight and we flank. Mine
goodness, wish / had dat spring ON my
farm"
But we must all love one another if We can.
/ am strainin' myself all the time. Love is
the best thing in the world. Love to God
and love to man. Love rules the camp, the
court, the grove"
"All thoughts, all passions all delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
All are ministers of Love,
And feed his sacred flame"
If love could prevail everywhere what q
beautiful world would we have. L saw my
old friend, Judge Richard II. Clark, yester-
day, and he looked cheerful but tired, very
tired. Every day he sits on the bench and
hears cases where there was no love, but
rather selfishness and hate. From day to
day he has to look upon the dark side of
Il L a