The Bossier banner., 1909-02-18

ii
As many of our readers know, Mrs.
j. S. Alison, who lives some miles south
of this place, is Historian for the Louis
lana Division of the United Daughters
OF the Confederacy, and member Of the
special committee which was appointed
by Miss Matte McGrath, President of
the Division, to investigate and report
on the essay of Miss Boyson of Minne-
sofa, who was awarded the 500 prize
offered by the Daughters of the Con-
federacy for the best essay on the South.
The award was made by President
Alderman of the University of Virginia
and DR.. Smith of the University of
North Carolina. The Daughters are
Justly indignant over the award. Here
is Mrs. Alison's report on the matter:
l have sat in sadness and pondered
over the cruel calumnies of Miss Boy
sons prize essay and wondered how such
ignorance regarding the South could be
valued by educators of presumable in
telligence at $1OO.
l thought to keep silent. I would
scorn to even try to refute such base
Misrepresentation, if only the present
generation was to be considered. But
when we think of the incalculable wrong
meted to the people Of the dear South
land Eve know the things to be false)
but how about the coming generations?
How many of us will be here to refute
such charges, if we permit Miss Boy
sons essay to be accepted as an estimate
of the South, either past, present or
future? I belong to that "period OF
dense Ignorance" so am asking "from
what source the lady procured her in
formation?" Were some of her ances-
tors governesses or tutors in the homes
of the Southern gentryP Did they hand
down, as a tradition to her, a story Of
the dense ignorance of the South? Why
did they not try to enlighten the be-
nighted land? thus leaving the people
better for having known them or at least
make them feel their children had value
received for the money expended.
True, we had not school at every
crossroad, as Mr.. B. claims for the
North, simply because there was nc
special need. The Southerners for the
most part preferred to educate theil
children at home. To this end, tutors
and governesses were employed. Many
came from the North, receiving fine SAL
aries. Truly, if they did their duty
such dense ignorance could not have
prevailed before the war.
intellectually, the South was prac-
tically dead" That point has been SC
thoroughly dissected by Mrs. Lucy
Green Gerger, feel can add nothing
to what she has said. For instance, Mrs
Greger advises the lady 70 investigate as
to who wrote the Declaration of Inde-
pendence? who were the trainers of the
Constitution? who threw down the gage
"Liberty or Death?" and who wrote the
bill of rightsP copied fur and wide BY
people of the period of which Miss
Boyson writes were descendants O.
these men. % j.,
Surely during the period that elapsed
from that time until the period of which
the lady speaks the South could no
have fallen into a state Of "dense igno
rance" nor have been practically dea'
intellectually"
It can be proven that some OF tn
brightest representatives in Washington
are of Southern blood, lineal descend
ants of these same "densely ignoran
people," Look over the statistics OF tn
War Between the States, and see tn
names of those whose honor, courag
and military genius "shall go soundin
down the ages"
We, the United Daughters OF tn
Confederacy of the Louisiana Division
feel "grateful" to the young lady II
her true estimate of Gen. Robert
Lees character. She only portra!
those virtues of which we OF the Sout
I were cognizant from the time he donne
the gray and prepared to battle for tt
"now conceded rights of the South
J land, even down to the present day, al
r while our heads are bowed in reveren'
, and our hearts filled with love for O.
, noble Lee, we are not willing to conced
4 nor have our children, nor our children
: children concede every honor to Il
peerless Lee. For we know that l.
a could have done but little but for t
e efficient aid given him by his suboro
n nate officers and the fighting ability
+ the privates upon whose shoulders t
Il brunt of many hard-fought battles fel
d "The Western leaders we're always
d competent" From whose statistics
a Miss Boyson gain tnat informatio
e History makes mention of many gala
v competent generals that managed to
d in some good fighting to the detrimt
is of their Northern foes. And one
these same Western generals won d
: tinction for himself in the SPANS
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