The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-01-20
Uncle Ton1's Cabin
y a NciouS Book.

| ~ - 49, r<ts~ |
Boston Transcript
"'Uncle Toms CABIN" said r. Hopkin-
son smith. In an address before the Newton
club last night .'is the most Vicious book
that ever appeared. 1t compares with Ken
mans FIRST book on Russia could 20 into
the prisons OF tho North today and write a
similar book. The hook precipitatod the war
and made the North believe nothing but tho
very worst Of the South. We are not an In
human people: we are all alike. we are
Americans. II was an outrage TO raise the
North against the South. The book was an
appalling. awful and criminal mistake.''
HIS attitude in regard TO the famous old
book was so novel in this part OF the coun-
Try that he was asked at his room in tho
Hotel Touraino this noon to explain how he
come to take It.
well. Mrs. stowe went down there into
tho South he said with the avowed In
tention OF finding the conditions which sho
described IN her hook, She stayed theirs
only three months. and she told her story az
IT Il WAS all there TO tell. Eut there were
were hundreds OF southern people who he
iieved that slavery was wrong My father
believed II, aud gave his slaves their free
dom IN 1892. And he was a Mrgiuian. n
man who believed in state rights" CIr.
smith said this with some yohemence) "And
ono who would have fought for them, too.
when there was need. For MIs. stowe 20
write that book was as II should come here
ana 80 through your State prison, listen to
/ all the tales Of hardship could gather there.
! then come out and write story based on
those talos as II they were of the sort ia
give fair idea OF the kind of treatment your
! prisoners received. Your people would bs
aroused by that kind of thing And | say
that tho publication Of Mrs Stoves book,
taken 81 conjunction with tho presence OF
! hot-headed Southerners IN congress, prcclpi-
] sated tho war II was an outrage to draw
| line across tho country ani say that people
en- one side were knd-heartcd ana that the
people ON the other side were oruell But
that is what tho hook did. DO you wonder
that aho southerncr In congress were not
much inclined toward compromise after that?
80
''Whor the book appeared q was useless
to Try TO reply to It. No Northern magazine
was open for a reply. Most OF tho learning
was In the North as well as all tho infiuon.
iial publications, and Southern reply could
do htto good IN the columns of n country
newspaper have tried to tell about this
because ! know }bc conditions. lived ia
the South a boy. was brought up among
The slaves, loved my old nanny and huggod
and kissed her as II she wero white: knew
that eho loved me As much or more than she
did her own children. and would do so ne
long as she lived But since tho war I
have lived in New York, and know how
Northern people feel know that tho feel
ing has changed in tho years and chat people
see these things differently now The people
OF this country ere ell alike. They arc all
I Americans. The pcoplo n tho South who
sat down In their patience 10 repair Tho
damage aud TO help each other after that
terrible march 20 the sea did only what
Northern peonlo would have done n tho
} south had been successful. People OF the
= different senttons Of this country have their
: different characteristlcs but at heart they
are all alike.
"opo thing the ncopio un hero never eeeui
TO think OF They noyor seom to remember
tho crinplos and old men and women and
le sick under slavery. what would have
happened II those incompeleuts had been
turned adrfL They Nero not turned adrift.
YOU sec. When man got too old to work
ho had bis cabin ANA he lived in Il aud WIS
provided for, sometimes for yeara without
raising his hand. Tho sick we're nursed the
cripples taken care of. You people forget
that side of H.
Mrs, stowe might have gone down thert
and given a fair statement Of the condi
lions But while tho Incidents she used mas
have been true enough for Individual cases
thoy did not give the right Idea Of the condi.
tons as whole. There was another sid,
which she didn't touch"
"oh yes" he said IN response TO a cues
ton ''there are writer's now who do thu
South justice. Tom Page does SC in Rec
Rock In all his books Harris does IL. Tn
trying to do II in some Of mine: am work
Ing on new ono now, In fact. In which
hope TO do something in that direction"
Another question brought out ths ooh
now I'm not talking about what the eondi
tons might have been. I'm talking ahou
what they were" He went on 20 intimst,
that II the South had been left TO Itself. with
Mrs Stoves book as hrebrand time woul,
have worked out the freeing. OF the slave
without tho suffering caused By the war
just as in the same waY he held that IN
evils OF siberian prieonSr would have beel
corrected Il Mr. KEENAN, had left uuBrittsI
bis arst goidcs Of tnhumsnttes there.
IT went all through Russia year or tw
after Mr.. KEENAN, did" said MI Smith. "
appreciate his fine literary sbility and pow
era a writer. but I believe the Russisi
Prisons are Of tho sort that 1T RUSSIA
crime. And can tell YOU that ono look Il
the faces OF The Russian sovereign and hi
wife ia enough TO give assurance that I
there we're any esils IN thsir prisons ths.
would be remodod.
In tho south. now. the suiferinEs unde
slavery could not DO worse than those dur
ing and since tho war. Yet II the sisve
had been freed without blo3isaed they cou
have started in just where they were q
work their way 10 Independence, Tom
you're free now But You stay right here
J need you. III nay you for your work.
In this way bIr Smith thought the siav
would have Started on his way toward IN
dusra independence, and started right
without great social upheayai and eonsc
quent suffering.
Mr. Saith had 20 leave 10 keep an on
Eageuent TO lecture IN Gardner tonight, am
after the ride down stairs In the elevator, B.
Rsfd impusively as he reached the oflce