The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-11

discovery that the youth of the country
 were threatened with a perpetuation oi
 sectional strife through the evil influences
 of sectional literature History books
 were complacently presented for adoption
 ty school boards, although infested with
 sectional unfairness. Statements were
 printed in such books which were but hall
 truths. while truths were so adulterated
 with errors as to be no longer true and
 pure while paragraphs were eunningly
 constructed so as to carry concealed the
 deadly dagger of misrepresentation. Ii
 was evident that duty demanded resist
 ance to this corruption of literature pre-
 tending to be historical truth.
 The efforts to strike down the pernicious
 evil have been rewarded by considerable
 success but the strict exclusion of all un-
 fair publications must be vigorously en-
 forced and the books themselves must
 be consigned to the flames of patriotic | indignation.
 Southern authorship is winning high ap- preciation by the public The south is rich
 enough in talents, experience and other | wealth to enter the fields of literature, 1 where the greater success awaits only the l greater endeavor to achieve it. Glaring ] wrongs can be best remedied by the 1 southern writers doing their part In the | literature reformation. If the youth Of l the south shall not hereafter know the | splendid history of their own section, and
 the true value of southern history, that | prfvation will be the fault of their fla 1 thers.
 | The fact is lamentable that the passing | of 40 years have been required to satisfy | the public mind that broad generosity and
 not narrow anmosity should be the 1 pervading spirit of American literature.
 that praise and not obloquy. fair play and | not foul play. should distinguish signally and specially the permanent narration of ! that mighty struggle between the sec tions which closed without the l>>s of i even one essential principle that lessened | the rights and duties of our people. our | states. and our general government. The South Has Achieved Prosperity.
 The southern people of 1861 did not finger long at the tomb of the Confederacy. Their brave soldiers garlanded the ideal sepulchre with their oEn chivalric glory and committed the Confederate movement | to the memory of what it was, and what | it's defenders did to sustain 1t. The south would not live in the past alone. It's people gazed awhile sadly on the rich and radiant glow of the setting sun, but they firmly faced the duties of the coming day The severity of the new conditions were appalling but in battling bravely with their obstacles this heavily burdened gallant people are achieving well deserved success Out of extreme desolatons the hopeful southland citizenry arose majes- tieally by their own splendid achieve ments without capital except credit good a. gold and a land that responded to the enterprise of it's owners. They had genius for honesty in business and fidel- ity to the laws of true trade which so directed their financing that they have never in all history produced financial panic Their energy is clasping with It's glad hand the present opportunities. and Witl honorable thrift tha will preserve their prosperity.
 Behold this Sunny South, See how 1t beams in varied beauty: how it exults In it's temperate climate; how it teens with products that meet the wants of the world Glance at it's stretches of prosper ous domain from Maryland to Arizona, from St Louis to Charleston. from Louls- vile to New Orleansl It embraces + ex- tensive states-more than one-third of the unon-nearly as many IS all the great west contains and thrice as many as
 all the thrifty east Count its 24,0cO0oO ot people. nearly one-third of t/e population of the United States Think of its mar velous natural resources; hear with glad hearts the music of its mills and mines, its commerce and its workshops every where listen to the voices of its rivers and waterfalls, it's fields and forests sing | ing in harmonious chorus the glories of ] the Sunny South!
 Will Solve Problems.
 There are conditions existing at times 1 in special situations which produce prob- 1 lens for people to solve. In our country there are varieties of local problems which | can be solved only by local wisdom. But our form of government is better adapted to settle such problems in the interests of all the people than any other govern ment on earth In our union the re- sponsibilities for good government are shared among the people. the states, and the general government in such a man ner that each of these powers has suffi- cient authority to do the duties required; and therefore when special local prob lens arise the duty of solving them | presses first upon the locality most con cerned.
 The southern states have their own | problems which they desire to solve for 1 the common good. It is true also that | there are other questions not exclusively | southern in which the people of the south are concerned equally with all citizens; l such. for instance as the general ques- | tions of the just relations between, the I states, and between any state and the | general government. But even this gen. | eral question was made local .Sablem | of the southern states and became acute | ly sectional in the years between 1850 and
 
 ! slavery had become an institution was | used to create dangerous southern sit- | uation. After many unsuccessful expe- 1 clients the states in the south fled for
 refuge to secession, and that being denied | they were forced to fight; and having | failed in that, they surrendered without i any settlement by neoti&tions or war. 1 Hence. the old disturbing presence in our country of people of African descent De 1 came more serious than ever because the 1 problem was loaded from 1865 with new i and insupnortable conditions. These ne l gro people in the southern states were 1 merely turned loose with nothing but the power to vote and hold office without l qualifications. They were not offered 1 homes anywhere except in the south, and l they fell as a load on the southern peo- | ple But the south assumed the bur l den and the assertion is here made that
 no body of people in any age of the world l has treated this negro race with real kind | ness except the people of the southern
 states. All nations have enslaved them 1 and not one has trained them into that
 physical, intelligent moral manhood
 which is the indsputable qualification of
 valuable population. The southern
 states have over 6,000000 of this race tc
 care for and the southern people are qual
 flied to execute the trust justly, benevo
 lently and for the general welfare. It l.
 therefore insisted that the hindering in
 termeddling with the purpose to right
 eously solve this problem shall cease; fol
 whatever the motive may be. the inter
 ference has been misdirected, hurtful ant