The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-27
OBSTACLES TO PROGRESS IN THE
SOUTH.

SOUTH.
Mr. F. B Thurber of New York, in pre-
pairing his address FOR the Southern Indus
trial league, evidently thought the South
ern people needed a little plain talk and
that it was his duty 10 give it to them.
The principal faults of the Southern peo-
ple-the great obstacles TO their progress
are. in his opinion, their failure to APP
preciate fully the benefits of first class
public credit, having repujiated some of
their public obligations. their adherence
to political traditions, in that they re-
fuse to see the advantages that would ac-
crue to the whole country from subsidiZ-
ing steamship lines. and their addiction to
the whiskey drinking and pistol carrying
habits.
We have no doubt that Mr. Thurber is
very sincere in holding the views he does
in respect to the Southern people. But
are his views based upon observations or
gained from the columns of the Northern
Republican newspapers2 We are inclined
to think that he speaks from hearsay,
that his opinions are formed from reading
partisan articles. It is true that some of
the Southern states have refused to pay
bonds which were Ostensibly issued for the
building of railroads, but are they great
~ to blame for doing that? Mr. Thurber
must remember that there was a period
in the history Of the South, directly after
the war when the governments Of the
Southern States were in the hands Of car
pet baggers and nHterate negroes. The
aim of many of these men was TO enrich
themselves a the expense of the already
impoverished people, not 10 build up the
South. Bonds 70 the amount Of millions
of dollars were issued for building rail-
roads. but little or none of the money OBJ
tanned for the bonds was expended in rail
road building. Ii went into the pockets
OF those who controlled the state govern
ments. 1t is pretty safe to say that, in
some instances, there was no intention to
use it in building railroads. The rail
roads which were projected were simply
an excuse for robbing the people. Under
the circums tances it isn't remarkable that
the people, when they got control of their
states, refused to pay debts which were
not contracted for their advantage, and
from which they derived no benefit 1t is
probable that their refusal did for a time
hurt their public credit, but that time is
past. The credit of the Southern states is
now high The bonds of most of them
are far above par, and are regarded as
| gilt-edged securities They have no diff
ffculty in borrowing money when they
want it and Southern banks can get
money at as low a rate of interest as the
banks of the West. As a matter of fact,
| however, the South is not now borrowing
money with which to move her crops Her
banks have all the money they need and
can financier the cotton crop without any
help from New York.
1t is true that the South has always
been against the steamship subsidy
scheme. She has held, and still holds,
| that if our out-of-date navigation laws
| were so changed that ships could be
! purcha sed in the cheapest markets, and the
| protective principle were taken out of our
! tariff laws, it wouldn't be long before there
! would be two ship-yards on our coast
| where there ia now but one, and within a
| very few years American commerce would
! be carried in vessels flying the American
! flag.
1t takes as much skill to build a loco
motive as 1t does to build a steamship
| Without protection the American locomo-
tive has made its way into about every
civilized country of the world. There is
no good reason therefore why there should
be protection and subsidies for American
ships
As for whisky drinking it is doubtful
if in most parts of the South there is any
more of 1t than there is in other sections
of the country. In this state more than
three-fourJhs of the counties are under
the control of Prohibitionists, and in most
of the other Southern states the prohibi-
ton sentiment is very strong.
1t is true that the pistol carrying habit
stll has pretty strong hold in many
parts of the South, but the war upon it
by the press, the pulpit and the courts is
persistent and II is gradually disappearing.
Even now the percentage of people who
carry pistols habtuaTly is very small in
comparison with what 1t was a few years
ago. It will not be long before it will be
a custom of the past, except among those
whose business compels them to visit To-
| NulitAtF NHSiV d piStOi ~ HSCtSSdiS 1Ot
self-protection.
1t is clear that Mr.. Thurber is not as
well acquainted with the South as he APP
pears TO think he is. and not as well as
he ought to be TO give a correct impress
sion of the people of this section of the
country.
-e-4-@
THE CZAR'S PEACE CONFERENCE
Very little was accomplished by the
conference al The Hague in the direction