Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-04-02
DO WE DESIRE THE TRUTH N
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DO We OE61EE TIE EEuTA IN
HIsToRxq
Here are the words Of a wise man.
namely. the most important lessons a
nation can learn from its own history.
are found in the exposure OF its own
errors. Historians have sometimes
done more evil than court flatterers.
when they have gone about TO glorify
the errors OF their own people. and TO
make wrong appear right. because an
Engiish government talked the public
opinion OF the time. into confusion Of
principles"
This was written by a noted Eng
lish writer concerning what is known
as the Opium war. with China: and the
English government did a great wrong
20 the people OF China. who were desir-
Gus Of curbing the sale Of the drug,
but English rulers-I mean the men in
authority were determined that the
English opium merchants should be
continued in their unholy profits. On
March 3. 1913. five huge wagons each
OF them drawn BY four horses. and the
whole guarded by a regiment OF Brit
lsh soldiers. arrived in front OF the
british Mint The wagons were filled
with boxes-and each box was crammed
fun Of silver coins. issued in China
Day after day more wagons drove up,
and unloaded. until four ana half mill
lions OF pounds (about IS to the pOund)
were extracted from poor old China as
q war indemnity. and this. did not in
cIude another million and a quarter
paid before over in China" Not only
we're the poor Chinese beaten in bat
tie. but forced to pay this money ran
som 10 recuperate rich old England for
what was spent in protecting the val
liable money making trade in opium
As usual. England magnified the
glory Of the Incorporated the gen.
erals and the soldiers-and yet ii was
known all over the British Isles, that
a more unsfghtly war was never pushed
on a helpless people.
Everybody understands now, 20 years
afterward. that England was distinctly
in the wrong The British soldiers ran
over the celestials and the British gov
eminent made China pay the piper
and il was akin TO heresy to intimate
that the British government had done
any wrong-so the papers glor1fleo the
heroes-and the generals got badges OF
honor. and the wool was pulled over
TIE eyes of the plain Englishman-
The time is surely coming when the
historian OF the secession movement IN
the south viii make il plain that the
southern states rushed into civil war
when we were not prepared for the
struggle. and we viii be gravely told
mat we lacked craftsmanship when we
failed TO set the negroes free and rid
ourselves OF the thing that was running
our chances for self-government as q
newly set-up Confederate government
TIE value OF negro slaves was entirely
below the value Of the white men who
died for the lost cause one value
should never have been placed in posi-
ton as against the other value To be
entirely candid. negro slavery was moi
worth the sacrifice OF the tens OF thou
sands OF white men and boys who died
on cruel battIeheIds and in the hospit
ais or the civil war and which filled ths
land with orphans and poverty-stricker
widows and loss without limit
An I not right in this copclusion'
Negro slavery. nevertheless, disappeared
and the south was dragged through q
valley Of humiliation and defeat be
cause there was not sufficient wisdom
and statesmanship among US 10 rise W
ana say. Negro slavery had better go
4 thousand times. rather than plungC
our people into a bloody four years
war
We reached a place where the Con
federate government issued a cOnscript
act that made every man liable to mil