The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-14
OBSERVATIONS AT TIE SOUTH.
Prosperity Manifest-The Improvement In
washingto Morally and Alphabetically.

UP -
Washington Morally and Realistically.
TO HI EprroR OF TIE suS-sir: ! have
Just returned from a visit TO the South, and
as had not been In those States for five years
before. the changes which hfd taken place
meanwhile were more apparent 10 me than
they would have been to a frequent traveller
through the region. i was struck by tho
evidences OF Improvement everywhere. In
the towns and In the condition Of the farms.
houses. outbuildlnFs and fences Of the
country. The progress OF the South sinoe
the first election Of President Mex lnley ito
go back still farther has been astonishing.
The whole country has a new and a brighter
face; and the transformation since the Civil
War and the old days OF slavery is even more
complete. IL Is like the growth Of a century.
Richmond when IL was the capital OF the
secession Confederacy was q town OF less
than 10000 inhabitants: now its population
exceeds 100. 900. Its limits have been extended
greatly and Its trade and manufactures have
reached IN aggregate OF valuo which makes
Its business Of the period before the war
seem small. OF the Virginia towns. how
ever. / was impressed most by the growth
and Improvement OF Norfolk. With It's
harbor and railroad connections with the West
and South. II seems to me destined to be one
OF the great ports OF the Union. even one OF
the great cities OF the world.
Only In one respect was no change OBJ
servable. ] obtained from conversations
with Southern men no evidences OF any
change in partisan political sentiment. The
.uHe may comeuhay, IL must u "neh
the STUBBORN pohtioal sohoity OF the "hi'e
people OF tine oouth. which mas been hahoeu
GOWN as a relic OF the war, VIII be broken up.
but II has not come yet; and ] have found
no reason for expecting that even the I'M
precedented prosperity which has extended
through the South since the return Of the
nepuohchh party TO power VIII nave any
oohsioeraoie ehect on TINS pemocrauc eoho-
IVY IN leot' signs OF wealth appear on every
s'oe anu a new ana ouoyant spirit OF conn
oehee Is manifest, out the OLD poIitical prrlu-
u'ce remains Inc oouth sun gets its poll
t'cs from its heart' ana NOT is heau'
Actually dld not ma the negro question
a cause OF disturbance, Az the bottom IL
lsslmpiy the LABOR question ana That question
~ less uouDlesoihe az the south IMAM IN otner
regions OF the world. The great Industrial
oeNeiopmeht Is convincing evidence that Tree
negro labor has been a vast gain The pros
perity OF the days OF slavery was a merely
superficial snow as compared with that which
exists to-day: " had not the solid basis which
IL SO apparent now. Among negro servants.
however there preVaI' u custom which
strikes a stranger as quite intoierable. lhey
insist on living by themselves. In drawing
a practical color line. and therefore In going
10 their own homes at night. Household
service as We know II az the North scarcely
exists at the South. When night sets In the
house may be left entirely without servants.
and the door VIII be opened Tor a visitor by
one OF the FAMILY. Naturally. a COOK may be
expected to carry away enough provender
ior her FANNY. but that certainty Is taken into
consideration In the regulation OF her wages.
Another custom at the South was eIhib-
tied TO me in passing through richmond
southwark. A Young man and woman got
on the car In which | was and almost imme-
dlately thereafter r merry oeNy OF young
people rushed into the station and proceeded
TO throw rice and an old shoe at the car.
That my two fellow passengers we're bride
and groom was thus given away very con-
spicuously. and II would have seemed TO
me embarrassingly. but the pair apI cared
to take the proceeding unconcernedly. with
out a RUNE. AS the train moved on the
bride, who sat very near ma began talking
to her mate ana she kept II up necessarily.
In a childish strain. and as II she was address
Ing n partner who had Just been introduced
TO her for a dance. On my return two bridal
couples got aboard and their condition was
announced to everybody by like proceedings
AT the stations. One Of these brides went
out on the platform and secured the white
satin slipper which had been thrown after
her and proudly tied II to the back of her
chair, without the slightest trace Of confu-
sion. or course, ] had seen many times
rice and shoes thrown after "a carriage de-
parting with the welded pair from the brides
house. but this public demonstration in q
railway station was new TO me. though IL
may Toe made elsewhere than az the south.
] should think II would add a terror 10 mar
rage for sensitive souls.
on reaching Washington | was struck. as
I arm always struck AZ our national capital.
by the superior intellectual average Of the
men | encountered in the hotels and on the
streets. Very much has been said Of recent
years about the decadence OF Congress-. but.
after all. a view of the heads and faces Of
these men suggests that generally they are