The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-11-27

4 But the JOY OF the Gay - 70 Ue ot.i4o'
1 as The name implies. in giving. Let US
/ give not thanks solely but more sub.
stantial gifts, to those in distress And
| IL. US remember that Ab.lis offering to
| ,lle Lord was acceptable where Gains
was not. because 1t was made in the
right spirit After all, it is the motive.
/ that counts
THE SOUTH.
Some time ago we reproduced the ioi-
lowing para graph from The editorial
columns of the Farnvilie Herald:
..The morality OF the South under
slavery was of a higher order, and the
master minds OF the past 9th county
were found among slave owners rs a
none -11lalSer, slavery was a failure but
strange as it may sound, IS moral and
mental promoter il vas unique 1 ne new
south may be richer in things material,
l,ut is poorer in the highest ORDER o.
manhood and Norlanhood-
This paragraph was rTefaced with the
remark from The Times that the Farm
vile Herald sometimes lays down pro-
positions which it would find difficulty
in proving If brought 10 the test In
reply our esteemed Farmvi!le contempo-.
rary says:
we repeat that the finest type OF
manhood and of wofnanhoed this old
world has YET seen has ftouf4sned III the
old South, and during the days OF sisa-=
....y and now We 80 tuiti1er anu say
without fear Of successful contradiction.
that neither freedom, nor free. schools,
nor liberal appropriations nor all cons
ijined have as Yet developed among the
negroes OF the South or OF the whole
ountry a character to compare IN real
worth TO the typical carriage DRYER
body servant, butter or lauys maid q
the old South.
The Richmond Times intinlates that
We can't prove it. Who denies it, o..
Who can d sl3rove .ito We insist that
General r. Z. Lee was the greatest
soldier Of the aga Would yon have US
prove it, Like a mathematical prob
lem? We boldly state it? Who bold
enough TO deny it,
Wa do not deny that under the old
regime the South had a fine type. of
manhood and wonlanhood, nor do We
deny that the old-time negro Virginia
gentleman was a high type of the col
orcd race. We took occasion in yester-
days paper to pay an atfectionate tri-
butte TO the memory of Governor Tyler's
old body servant, who was one of these
old tune Virginia negro gentlemen, and
we said that there was no Improvement
on him IN the matter of manners and
49,. !, 4 :, t,,s,, --.ltja,, or ne.roac Is
But the proposition which we said the
Earmviile Herald would find difficulty
in proving was that the South vas
poorer in the highest order Of Inan-
hood and womanhood'' The implication
here is that in this respect the South is
degeneratlng. Not So We have as
many noble iinen and women to-day in
proportion 30 the lopulation as ever be-
fore in tie history of the South. We so
farther ana say that the average has
vastly improved. Before the MAR We had
two distinct classes of whites. the rich
slare-oaners, Who constituted a sort OF
:aristocracy, ana the poor white trash
To-day there are no classes in the South.
III SllItii III SiSs anu
social circles. There are grades of So
ciety, and some grades are better edu-
Gated than other grades. But taken as
{, whole. there has been an uplifting of
the white population OF the South with
the past thirty years. There are many
more educated men and women; there
are many more noble and true and kind
hearted and useful men and women than
ever before. The number is increasing
from year to year and there is gen
eral uplift. There are not, perhaps, SO
many men who stand out head and
shoulders above their fellows, not SO
many great orators. not SO many men
who are conspicuous for their great at
taiaments But there are still many
great men in the South and many more
little-great men than there We're in the
days gone by. It is for this very reason
that our prominent men are not SO, prom
We're in other days-because as the
average has been raised there is not
such Ia wide gulf between what Mr..
Bryan, calls the plain people and those
who are IN the higher walks Of life
Our Fa.mville contemporary says that
GcIesM Lee was the greatest soldier Of
tho age. Undoubtedly So We believe
that taken all in all he was the greatest
soldier and the greatest man this coun-
try ever produced. We do not believe
hts equal in all respects is to be found
in the South to-day. or even in the world.
But even that does not mean that the