The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-03-09
THE SOUTH'S ATTITUDE ~
WARD CAPITAL
nv WILLIAM MORGAN BECKNEH'

'o H.'Io, tbo patriarchal system preva
= ,t -, Tho South prior to the civil wa
iond and slaves were ITS chief element
~ wealth. Of these, one had disap
neared forever when the thirteenth
amendment was adopted. The othc
has ceased to be what it was, because
the world is no longer as dependent a
Il used to be OH that region for staple:
whose production it then almost mon
opolizcd. When the struggle with thu
North came it quickly became cvidcn
that the lofticst courage and creates
aptitude for arms are of little avail il
such conflict when not supported by
commerce and manufactures or tho
money they produce. The South hao
been slow to realize that she had al
the time had within her confines
sources of wealth far richer than
slavery could furnish or than could be
found even in her enormous crops OF
cotton. The practical Yankees, who,
as soon as her doors were open, began
to survey her possibilities, cared far
more for her timber, her coal and iron
and her watcr-powcrs than they did
for the great plantations and the lordly
mansions, Ol "lllCh 'h1ii "" ii''"
been so proud. AS a result mines
have been opened that have supplied
coal TO our steamships, and even to
Europe, and coke to the shops and fac
tories of the North; furnaces and
steel plants have been located that
have made iron aud its products
cheaper tha3 they can be produced
elsewhere in the world ; saw mills have
been constructed from which lumber
is shipped to Boston, New York and
other great cities of the North, and
even to Europe and Africa, and cotton
mills, with the raw material at their
doors and with convenient fuel or
streams to run them as powerful and
constant as the Mcrlimac, have dis.
tributed most astonishing dividends.
And yc. it is evident that the dcv"!-
opmcnt Of the South has but begun.
Her timGer resources, her mineral de-
posts, and, greatest Of all, her ayricul-
tural and horticultural possibilities
have so far hardly been invcntoricl
The gcologist has barely begun his
work. The reports of engineers rs &c
the Improvement Of her rivers and
harbors are still incomplete. The value
of her native fertilizers IN rendering
productive her soil has had slight con
stcration. In The main her cattle are
scrubs, her horses plugs, her hogs
raZor-backs and her sheep of the cheap
est grades. And yet her people are OF
the most robust blood that the world
contains. They are descended from
Saxon and Hugucnot ancestry, and
there has been little immigration to
weaken strains SO worthy. Ncvcrthc-
less 1t Is easy TO see that they have not
made such progress as have their
tcllow-countrymcn in the Eastern and
Middle States.
In large part this has been because
they lacked The capital, which does not
go where it receives cold welcome or is
inadcquaIcly protested. TO be sure,
the people have been too busy with
problems OF more moment than COM
mercial or material development to
study economic questions rs their lead
ere used to do. The settlement Of race
supremacy and the struggle to secure
honest local government have made
them disinclinod to favor the coming
of those who, from mistaken syinpa-
thy, might strengthen the bad clc-
ments with which they were contend
ing. But at last the Spanish war has
made North and South one country
and each star in the flag again shines
with equal lustrc. The land of Wheeler
and uubsOn is Just as free rs is that Of
Shaftcr and Dewey. There is now II,
more fear of federal interference fol
political reasons when brutal Ignorance
is suppressed in North Carolina THAI
there is when it is not allowed TO dis
turb conditions III Illinois. This BEN.
so, the old terror has passed away, an,
the time has come for the South [
broaden its point of view and to Uui
the ranks of discomfort and apprchcl
sive unrest. 1t should fumgatc again.
socialism,, agrarianiSm and populisn
and study the arts that will draw tt
wards it more than ii has ever had bt
fore OF the surplus capital with whc
the world at present so much ab0undS
Its opportunities and rcsponsibililic
have been wonderfully increased b,
the result OF the war with Spain. Tn,
two great West Indian colonies thai
We have freed from her yoke lie withi
easy reach OF our Southern shores. Tn,
Nicaraguan canal, which is now Ger
tainty, will wonderfully stimulate the
commerce Of Galveston and New Or,
leans and be materially beneficial to
Charleston, Mobile, Savannah, vii.
mlngton and Newport News.
Sanitary reforms in our new terri
tory viii rapidly minimize the danger
OF the yclIow-fcver cpidomics that
nave been such drawback 10 so great
a portion Of the South. Climate and
al natural conditions iavitc immlgra
ton and the investment Of capital
Their movement will be slow and eau
nous, however, if their wclcom,
te not generous and cordial. ",
nave listened so long to the dcmagopu,
and the quack political doctor tia
some OF our people act as if they be
heVe money 10 bn the root of all evil
and that those who have it are i
league with Satan. OF course, sue
TcEl.nQs a. thcsc a-c IA acI ~ ;,., -. - ,