The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-11-29
BISHOP WILMER ON
UNCLE TOMS CABIN

William c. Butler in the Baltimore Sun.
The seething, vexatious and damaging
troubes-social, political and moral-fo-
mented and focused and foisted upon the
people of the United States for long gem
erations to come, in large part by Mrs.
Stoves book, "Uncle Toms CABIN make
it specially timely just now to lay before
the public pithy and pointed, careful and
logical analysis of that book by distin-
guished southern bishop, the Ri. Rev.
Richard H. Wilmer, still bishop of Ala
bama. The narrative was had years ago
from the bishops lips.
Shortly after the close of the war between
the states and the union the bishop met
gentleman from the north, and In the
course of the conversation was asked
whether he had read Mrs Stoves book.
"Of course. l have" said the bishop. 1T
is very remarkable as work of fiction
Zine irony) for if the book pretends TO
describe the condition of the slave in the
south as generally existing, and not ex-
ceptionally then 1t is pretty much work
of fasehood. And I venture to say" con-
tinued the bishop, "few have extracted its
truest and deepest and most consistent
meaning"
LAS how?" replied the interlocutor.
s.In this way" responded the bishop. "In
the first place, who was the hero of the
story?"
'sWhy, Uncle Tom of course" was the
reply, "a most conspicuous character for
honesty, fidelity and piety; one OF the
finest characters have ever read Of"
Precisely So" said the bishop, "and was
not this man a slave and reared under that
condition, a condition tending to and pro-
ducing Just such elements of character,
fostering by patient degrees in the native
African the instinct of obedience to lawful
and kind authority, out of which instinct
sprang reverence and faith and dutifulness?
$50, according to Mrs. Stoves testimony,
doubtless unattended, but none, the less,
perhaps the more, emphatic and valuable,
slavery was not incompatible with very
high type of integrity and piety in the
slave"
Musing for a moment, the reply was
made: "Of course, I must admit that
much; it is so set forth in the book"
Now for the second point" said the
bishop. "Please tell me who was the con-
spicuous, most loveable womanly character
in the whole book?"
Eva" was the answer, lone of the most
lovely of the sex, gentle, kind, refined,
most attractive, womanly character"
WAS not Eva a Shareholder, descended
from long line of such gentlewomen?'
queried the bishop.
Eyes, she was" was the reply.
'Then you will perceive that this noble
woman represented refinement which was
defended and honored when the fathers
and sons of the south left their homes in
the keeping of the slaves, while they
fought on the battlefields of Virginia, and
the behavior of these slaves over the whole
south belied- the suggesto falsi of Uncle
Toms Cabin. You must admit that wo-
manly refinement and worshipful influence
was not inconsistent with slave ownership"
1T may not deny that was the admis-
sion. "for so has Mrs Stowe announced to
the world"
"Now, once more and finally continued
Bishop Wilmer, "who was the villain of the
plot-the execrable wretch?"
.Why, Legree," hesitatingly and with
somewhat of Indignation, faltered the
northern brother
"And who was this mann" was the next
question "Was he not a northern-born
man who came south and, of course, mis-
managed, and, according to the testimony,
most cruelty maltreated the slaves, as did
not such families as that of Eva?'
st never read the book from that stand
point" was the slowly uttered response. II
never thought of it at all in that way
Gust so,'' was the final answer of the
bishop. "The whole trouble in this whole
matter from start to finish has come from
ignorant or designing righteousness and
selfishness of intermeddling outsiders who
have not hesitated to put bungling fingers
to most delicate civil, political and social
machinery, and the wretched result is be-
fore the world.
almost all of the beautiful resultant of
that by-gone condition Is rapidly passing
away forever-the faithful old nurse, the
decent and comedy servant, reverence,
obedience, Notwithstanding care for
them all in sickness and in health-Uncle
Tom piety vanishing. And what instead?
Conflicts of races, anirnosity and distrust.
suffrage without sense, religion without
morals, service without reverence. the old
war between oppressive capital and discon-
tented labor"