The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-07-14

fered: what they contended against,
what they accomplished. In all the his
tory Of the South nothing so exalts 1t
rs its dignified bearing, its undaunted
attitude: its heroic fortitude through
out the reign Of terror" Of Recon-
struction. The military and political
forces directing and controlling this
reconstruction" Of the disorganiZed
states were the iotsam Of the angry
Northern aftermath of victory over Il
stubborn rebellion When the in
censed North awoke to the sobriety Of
reflection, and the great heart of the
masses Of the people peat in response
10 an appeal for fairness and justice,
the wave of reaction whirled this lot
sam back TO the Sums from which it
had arisen like mud from Il sewer.
One or two paragraphs as to the lit
erary merits Of Dixon's books may find
favor with some of the readers Of the
Messenger. His loye-making in The
CIans1nan" is far better than that in
The Leopard Spots" INC much more
natural. Ben Cameron's counting OF
Elsie Stoneman is delightful, and her
yielding thereto is charming. The Sc
cret which the author lets US know of
the hidden love of poor Marion for Ben
Cameron, without betraying the maids
mOdesty and reserve. IS the triumph of
artistic delicacy. The delineation of
the character Of the old C~Oln1nOner"
Is the chef d%'Oeuyre of The Clans
man.' The description Of the personal
appearance of StOneman fits Oliver L.
Morton, the Wal Governor Of In
diana, very closely, but, of curse. the
"CommOner' is intended to represent
Thad Stevens, of Pennsylvania.
y weaker, more sentimental writer
than Dixon, as he went on with his
work, and domiciled StoneInan in the
village of Piedmont, might have been
irresistibly caught by the temptation
[" convert the grim Old man to the
careless, debOnair life Of the Southern
PEOPLE, in spite of their woes, to purge
his heart Of its baleful fires, and final
/! to make him raise his trembling
hands above the heads Of Phil and
Margaret, and Ben and Elsie, and muir
muir: Heaven bless you, my children,
be happy" But tie author keeps
steadily on the lines of his appointed
task, and the "Old Commoner'' to the
last is consistent to the wonderful
compleXity of political corruption and
private integrity, of party despotism,
'ANA i'OiL tSIiCAS >Stc Willy iLASNt
out Of his depths at the very end by
powerful love for chick and child.
MOI even yet-though more than
forty years have passed since the hand
Of IN assassin flashed the tragedy Of
Il nation around the worlds the
Southern reader prepared to sympa-
thize heartily with DiXon's panegyrics
Of Abraham Lincoln; for, while the
cru of a revolution is as the rush Of
the tempest, it's refllX is measured and
slow, lie Il ahD. tide of Il quiet sea.
i:It i'll the rrIti' le Of fOur decades the
StcrliESl gold of truth has been SOlidi-
fed from tie drOSS of passion and
prejudice: a,id history must give his
place 10 Lincoln rs Il great mal--9reat
Ill brain and heart. great in u~nDendinS
will, stel !faStneSS of purpose, lofty
moral courage. SO. too, of another
foremost actor in this mighty struggle
Of 1861 80. Not one veteran of the
Army of Northern Virginia who limped
away from ~AppOmattoX ever raised his
voice against General Grant, though
the after-the-war fighters in the South
orn press and on the SoutherIi street
orner found no language too sever
for his villification and vituperatiOn.
Eut history shall say of this man that
he was a great military leader, a wor-
thy foe, with his ponderOus battle-aXe
of the NOrsemen, of Lee, with hi;
sword Of the Cavalier.
] am inclined to think that Ben
Cameron, in The Clansman,' is an M
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. to Mr.. Dixon. OF
course-Of Steve Allen in Thomas Nei-
son Pages Re Rock" Allen is the
stronger but not more lOvable charaC-
ter of the two. Both are young heroes
OF the Confederate cause, and both fell
in love with pretty Yankee girls. Then,
too, We cannot read about DiXOn's DR..
Cameron without thinking Of Pages
DR.. Carey. The men are essentially
different in character: but, in their
UniQueness, in their rare personal mag.
netiSm. III their love OF the South, III
their devotion to their people, and III
the influence which they eXerted and
the affection which they inspired, they
may we'll stand as companion pictures.
Pages Ku-Klux, while he did not
eyince the knowledge Ot Dixon in their
aims and workings, are simpler and
more like what they really were than
the fatter'S. There is too much gin
2erbread work about DiXOn'S XII KlTE,
and too much organization. This eX-
trlOrd1nary "Nlan"-Wnlc 10 this Il
is spoken of with bated breath by tie
Southern negrO-aC1ed independently
all over the country, n without any
orders from SO-called headquarters
The chapter or lodge of the Cumber-
land county Ku-KluX Khan was rgan-
lied over thirty-eight years 9 III
Fayetteville, upstairs in Il store on Gill
lespie street, where now stands Mr..
Wooten's grocery. by three men, only
| one of whom is living today. In ore
month its membership numbered
over two hundred men, among the best
and most law-abiding citizens of the
town and county.
The Ku-KIuX Khan was established
in the South to preserve, not break. the
peace, to uphold. not violate, the law,
to check, not commit, crime; to safe
guard, not break down, social order.
IL -- .--AAI- 60. -.,,, NJ