The Washington herald., 1914-05-13
HISTORY BUILDERS.
The Honor Shown BY Southern Mer-
chants in Post-Bellum Days.
written expressly for The HeraId)
~ On. y. .. EDWARps.

written expressly for The HeraId.)
~ DR. y. ,. EDwARDs.
was chatting recently with q gentle
man who u near Of kin to the late Jan,ss
sussford. who IN the middle part OF the
last century was . merchant Of widely
established reputation whose home ofices
were In New York City. but who main
tained agencies elsewhere In the country
and especially throughout the South. His
business was chiefly with merchants. re-
tailers and Jobbers. In the Southern
States II was always q satisfactory
business. especially. satisfactory because
chants maintained their credit, seeming
10 be especially sentative with respect to
their commercial honor and obligations
M Sussford.. said his relative of q
younger generation to me- found that
his business was considerably Impaired
not merely because of the loss of his
trade In the South at the time of the civil
war. bat especially because of the in
ability of his debtors in the South to
meet their obligations to him.
Long after the close of the civil war,
Mr.. sussford was accustomed to say to
his friends that whatever the political
difficulties and sntasonisms may have
been in the reconstruction epoch which
began Immediately after the close Of the
civil war there was. on the part Of the
great majority Of Southern merchants
who survived the war. . warm desire to
cultivate friendly business relations with
merchants Of the North with whom they
had dealt prior to ISL.
This attitude of the merchants Of the
South was. In Mr.. Sussford.s opinion.
one Of the most influential factors in
bringing about a complete restoration Of
" at
Many of the merchants with whom
Mr.. Sussford dealt communicated with
him after the war closed saying that al
though they presumed they were under
no legal obligations to pay their debts.
nevertheless they felt under moral obli-
cations to do 20. although they prob
ably would be compelled to pay OF by in
stallmerts.
About ten years after the close Of the
civil war. Mr.. Sussford was in Richmond.
Va AS he Was walking along the prn-
cipal business street some one called
him by name. He stopped and was greet
ed by merchant with whom he former
ly had large dealings. The merchant said
to him: Mr.. Sussford. when the war
broke out i owed you about $3.50 for
merchandise. I have not forgotten that
debt. II was my purpose to call on you
when / went to New York and pay tn.
oept- But III you VIII go with me now TO
my office I will pay you in full
within an hour f-r. Sussford received
the full amount Of his obligation. He
often spoke of this as an illustration Of
the honorable spirit manifested by mer-
| chants and business men of the South
| who survived the ravages of the civil
war and who determined to set apart as
| much as possible of their gains, which
at first were slow. toward liquidatins
their obligations with merchants OF the
| North Mr.. Sussford knew of a number
of other instances Of voluntary liquida-
tions by business men Of the South of
| mercantile obligations incurred before
the outbreak of the civil war"
| tCopynght. 1914. BY DR.. Z. ]. Edwards Al rights
reserved)
Tomorrow DIR. Edwards will tell OF
When the Lecture Fad was at Its
Height"