The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1906-07-12
The Southern Situation.


customs and opinion Of the past than
the people Of the North of more mix
ed descent Hence it takes a long
time 10 convince the white people Of
the South. intelligent. clear-headed
and energetic a they are, that the
crv Of negro domination. so often
raised by politicians among them. Is
merely for the purpose of solidfying
their vote on the Democratic side
and has no real justification in fact.
As long as the years Immediately fol-
i0vtng the war, their agriculture Ian
eoished, their mines remained IN
opaaed, their factories were few 70
namber, and the prosperity Of the
country seemed confined TO that part
Of it lying north Of Mason's and Dix
on line, il was easy, by appeals TO
recolleetIons Of the civil war and the
unfortunate sequence of reeonstruc-
ton. TO flI the ranks Of the Demo
cratic army and maintain the solid
ity of the South. But now, during
the last decade. an unprecedented pc
riod Of prosperity has come for the
fair Southern States. Their great cot
ton crop has vastly increased and the
prices at which it has been sold have
been high enough to fill the pockets Of
the farmer with well-earned gold. The
iron and the coal mines have been
opened and have brought forth
wealth hardly dreamed of a quar-
ter of a century ago. Manufactures
have sprung up in every State. and
the primacy Of New England as the
headquarters for making cotton goods
has been threatened. In the prosperity
which has deservedly attended the IN
terprlse. industry and energy Of the
South. the bitterness of old recol-
lections has passed into oblivion and
with the patriotic feeling inspired by
the sentiments evoked during the
Spanish war, we have become again a
thoroughly united country. Under
these circumstances, It is not to be
expected that the sensible. clear-head-
ed business men of the South do not
perceive the tremedous disadvantage
under which the Southern States la
bor in having only one party with
any voice In their State government
and in being herded together always
| as the hidebOund support of the Dem
ocratic party of the country, no mat
ter what wild fallacies it may adopt
in its platform nor what candidate it
| may put before the country to in
vlte the suffrages Of the people. Time
was when the sole source of wealth
IN the South was the cultivation of
cotton and when the arucment that
the system of protection was one
| from which the North only derived
a benefit. could be made with much
apparent force and eloquence. but
new that Southern minig and South.
ern manufacturing interests have in.
creased as they have the Demo
cratic cry that the tariff is ROBBERY
merely evOkes smile from the thOus-
ands. laborers, skilled and unskilled
and employers. great and small whose
welfWe is bound up in the success
Of Southern manufactures.
The effect Of the change of in
dustrial conditions in eliminating the
cry Of negro domination from the
politics of the former slave-ownine
States has manifested itself first il
the border States. West Niroins
has become permanently Republican
and Maryland and Missouri put them
selves in the Republican column il
the last Presidential election. while
Kentucky nearly brought forth work
1nee for repentance in the first Me
kinney campaign The Democracy o
the States further South. however
&C ntinues unbroken in national elec
tions.
The Question For the South.
The question which should address
itself to the great business interest
OF the South is how much longer The
spectre of things past is to hold then
to 4 political allegiance that doe
them no good in national politics ant
0errives their communities of the in
estlmabie benefit Of the presence il
local politics of two parties, each O
Which if it docs wrong has a rea
chance of being punished for its mis-
con9uct. The possibility of a chang
of party control for such cause il
the best security of good government
Distinguished Southern Senators, re
ferring to the States of this section
have deplored in Congress that ether
are some ten or twelve or more State
IN the American Union which have no
proper representative relation t
thlS government through official rep
resentatlves III the higher spheres o
political life - If this is true. it /
undoubtedly due to the fact that tn
Southern people have not manifesto.
politically the same enterprise. tn
same independence of action. the sam
progressive spirit and the same re2ar,
for future development as they hav
in agriculture and in business. Ha
they kept up with the times, had the,
at the ballot-box expressed their rea
sentiments on the livin~ issues of tn
day instead of allowing themselves t
be frightened by a spectre and
shadow of the past, their political i'm
portance as communities and tb
significance of their views upon meas
ures and men would have been vastl
enhanced. Carried in the pocket @
the Democratic party for reason
which long ago lost their force, VIII
should any attention be paid by eithc
party to their views in national mat
/. ters as compared with the views G