The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-06-16

spons;bility." And it is said by a
5reat writer, The North occupied the
succeeding iour years IN vlndlcatlng
the truth OF that proud boast. The
government that had been fashioned
bv southern statecraft was so ad-
nlirable. that the North poured out
rivers of blood and expended billions
OF treasure to preserve 1t. Every
gun that was fired in that great way
was an involuntary tribute to tha,
section that had guided the Union
sixty out OF seventy years OF her
existence"
1t is here that the influence OF the
South in the government, in manner,
ceases. The gathering clouds OF
hate and dissension burst into the
most fearful tragedy that the world
has ever seen. The war was lore
ordained. the battle Of ideas had to be
fought out. the seeds were sown IN
the verv fundamental law itself, and
human agency could not avert the
storm.
The southern man, as a soldier,
needs no eulogy. A hundred vlcto-
ries mark him as without an equal in
the field of battle The God of War
was against him, his proud banner
was lowered, with honor, in defeat.
1t was now that southern states
manship was put to the severest test.
The heel of the alien was Upon his
neck, his fertile fields were devas-
tated, his home burned to the ground,
the earnings of a life time wasted,
and his government in the hands Of
illiteracy, incompetency and dishon-
esty. For ten years, this dread
nightmare hung over the land,
stupefied its people, and locked the
wheels O: progress. But again, the
capacity Of the southern man for
.ale, his hatred of oppression, his
love for local self-government, as
serted themselves, and in a peace
fui revolution, overthrew the reign
of the alien, and put the state back
again into the hands of the virtue
and intelligence of its own people.
Nowhere in the annals Of time is
there found a like achievement with
so little blood-shed. 1t is an ever
lasting tribute to the courage and
wisdom of the southern people.
And yet, ladies and gentlemen, with
her splendid record for craftsmanship,
patience and courage, it is asserted
with a degree of truth, that the
South, with one third of the electoral
vote. is without influence in shaping
the policy of this nation. For forty
years, her voice, the voice first raised
for freedom, the voice that gave the
Declaration of Independence, was po-
tent in the construction of the con-
stitution, and in laying broad and
deep the foundations Of our prosper
ity and happiness-that voice, for
more than a generation has been
without avail, in solving the complex
problems of national life. The coun-
sells of her statesmen have gone un-
needed, their warnings have been un-
heard, their pleadings have fallen
upon the ears deaf with prejudice and
hate. The most valuable asset Of the
nation-the conservatism of the
South-has been cast aside for the
time being. The two sections have
stood aloof and viewed with unfor-
tunate suspicion the acts Of each
other.
But happily the period of hate and
misapprehension is passing with each
day. The war is but q memory, hal
lowed alike by each section, and
priced by the whole nation as her
itage of the splendid manhood and
wonanhood it developed. We are
nearing an era Of good feeling, when
mutual confidence between the Sec
tons, a clearer understanding of the
relative riohts and necrliar problems