The leader., 1900-04-25

a. -~-.f@as tttuRltu tuhbltQ I0em 10
40 great good In feeding and clothing
.ne destitute families, as well as furnish
inE clothing to soldiers In the Geld. Not
witnstandlng every member Of the com
war was declared they &c contributed ; y With With
o gu. stunt TO the lost cause. Colonel Yves
ff or wifi, wife should come 70 him
getting it. He kept that promise most
sacredly. Their ability to furnish them
WIN nour and bacon was circumscribed
20 tne msnts OF the army; but during the
smons the. families 166,0o6 pounds Of
nonr. Having two plantations near the
rsllrosd, they exchanged the corn on
nose a pIantstions with the quartermaster
Turned over to the commissioners for
the poor with prescribed rules for dis
trioution. Last, but not least, OF their
Soon st sapR Ply nos ahe people Tte o s1
Wesscn set about establishing another
manufacturing enterprise, and organized
= company for that purpose. While he
was east buying machinery, other mem
eers were out looking for u suitable place
Tor the location of a new factory. Going
10 Coplah county, they selected the pres
ent site OF Wesson, situated on the New
orleans, st. Louis and Chicago Railroad,
OF Its founder. Wesson, like her sister,
Bankston, was a wilderness before being
touched by the magic wand of industry.
They had the town Incorporated. They
prohibited whisky; seventy-fye opera
lives houses were built and in 1866 the
Nesson Mills began operation, and. as
was very appropriately said In sketch
OF Colonel Richardson's life, The ami
mated rattle OF thousands Of spindles sue
cceded 10 the melancholy moan Of the
pine forests which envlrOned WessOn.'
After the burning of Bankston the
company still had enough left to have
made good beginning under civil gov
eminent But deSpotism and enterprise
are directly ankr gOnistic. and when you
make 1t military despotlsm no enter
prise can live under it,, as was fully
proven, for every enterprise in the state
OF NJ ssisslppi was consumed: not one
was left to tell the tale. Colonel Wes-
featuring under civil government, but
1t was all consumed under military des-
potism, and at 80 years of age he was
again left without a dollar. He even
gave up his dwelling house (which Cap
tain Oliver now occupies) to pay the
debts OF the company. but, Ike all other
bankrupt estates, the effects, though
ample, for the want of management,
failed to pay the debts.
In 1865 Colonel Wesson was In the
eastern states, and was thrown in con
tact with all classes of the community
the hotel Keepers, street car drivers, con
ductors, mechanics in the shops, opera
tlyes in the factories, the owners of the
mills and machine shops. bankers. com
mercial and political men; in fact, he
was thrown In contact with people IN
them with reference to their feelings
towards the rebels" and saw that poi
son itself was weak, diluted compost
tlon In comparison to the hatred and
south would have to drink the cup to
the very dregs, and common sense taught
him that It would be best for her people
to realize the situation and to make
hn Of "a al cfaf, in ish
they wire placed. With these views,
and a deep feeling of the responsibility
which rested on all intelligent men to
act promptly in order to save the south
ern people from still deeper degrade
ton, he went to Jackson and submitted a
letter on the situation to the late Judge
William Yerger, Hon. L. Barksdale and
others probably. His views received
prompt reconstruction upon the terms
prescribed in the constitutional amend
ments. To convince the people that this
course was the true policy, he wrote a
earnestly co-Operated with him in its
editorial columns. Soon afterwards let
ters embodying similar views were pub
lished in that paper from Judge YeTger,
w. p Harris, Fulton Anderson and 7.
J. Wharton. Their authors brought
down upon themselves storm of abuse.
Following VI the plan, Messrs. 4ereer,
Wharton, Barksdale and others organ
lied what was called a Conservative Re
Instruction Club at Jackson. Judge
Yerger was president of the club, and
General W. F. Fitzgerald now of Vlcks-
burg, at that time scarcely of age, was
secretary. The authors of the movement
received but little ENCOURAGEMENT at
the time, but they afterwards had the
satisfaction of realizing that the entire
white population of the south saw and
confessed the wisdom of their counsel
Their advice, however, was disTegdrded
at the opportune time, and the cons !
tutional convention, which might have
been controlled by the best men of the
state, was turned over to carpetbaggers
and ignorant negroes. This convention
adopted i constitution SO odious that
when it was submitted to the people 1t
was rejected. but the convention had
Irovided for such a contingency by en-
falling upon itself a committee to sit
until the vote was taken, and, in the
event that II was voted down, to throw
out votes enough to change the result,
which they very easily did by summonlng
a few negro Witnesses and examining
them privatel y-refusing all opponents
TO be present or to cross examine the
witnesses. The constitution was SO obi
Gus that even the extreme radicals at the
north refused to sanction it, and con-
gress passed law authorizing the presi-
Objectionable features and refer 1t again
to the people. Colonel Wesson saw the
president. took him copy Of the consti-
tuition and pointed out the most odious
features IL IL, anu used MS influence TO
get him to strike them out and re-submit
1t to the people, and 1t Is the one now ia
force.
When the mills at Wesson passed into
other hands, Colonel Wesson located at
Bogue Chitto, on the Illinois Central
Railroad. where he is now actively en-
gagged in a large and prosperous lumber
business. Having had the misfortune
to lose by death the companion Of his
earlier years, in January, 1877, he mar
ried Mrs. H. c. Collier, with whom he
is enjoying. the pleasures of contented
and bappy home