Norwich bulletin., 1916-11-22
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vaporinss of an Unreeonstructed Rebel

vaporings of an Unreconstrueted Rebel Mr. Editor: was startled this morning waen I noticed the heading of a letter in The Bulletin as follows: Sad News When Negroes We're Freed" signed A Southerner. con- cluded even before reading a line of the letter that it contained the vapor- ings of an unreconstructed rebel The first thing 1 do after reading. the title of book, pamphlet or letter is, if pos .slble, look up the antecedence ot Ine1 writer. This gives me a better basis for properly digesting the contents. i. So after thinking over who the author was, I proceeded to read this remark able letter. I will agree with the writer that the freedom of the slaves was sad news to theslazy.s indolent,. :. sensual sIaveholder who was holding and keeping human beings as cattle, 'as other property which they owned" as the writer claims. It will be noted that this Southerner says in his letter that they (tie slaveholders) had: as l much right to retain the slaves as any
 other property."& Am I not right in
 saying, since he can make such a statement in this twentieth century, that this southerner is an unrecon- structed rebel? At the end of four years of a bloody war 1t was decided | that no one in this country could hold another man as property" and yet, | here in New England city, writer
 dares to defend the infamous system | of human slavery! Behold how this l and the rebel army, while he speaks with utter disrespect of Butler, Sher-
 man and our army which defended the | Stars and Stripes from rebels and l traitors. @
 The writer of this letter shows that l the south was fighting to retain the ! wicked slave system. When the writer ignorantly brings George Washington forward as an endorser of the Rebellion it is simply a perversion 1 of history, for the fact is that Wash ington in his will directed that his
 slaves should be emancipated at his | death, thus showing that he was more | in line with Lincoln, the emancipator,
 than with Jeff Davis, the traitor
 However, all who srebelled against the government and fought and bled Ito defend the slave system fought and bled in vain, as doubtless the writer of this letter We are reviewing did. He says that "in most cases they (the slaves) were treated kindly" and it was sad news to them that they had
 been set free. What a glaring mis-
 representation of fact For anyone to say that there was any kindness in the
 slave system is simply to reveal their blindness ard hardness of heart against truth and righteousness. It is
 the verdict Of all history and experi-
 ence that slavery is a curse and a
 blight not oraE to the slave but also to
 the slavelT1faer. This Southerner
 daring to fErEe such a letter here in
 New Enslahd, IshlWs why we still nave
 a solid soYth < they still believe in Jeff
 Davis, Lee, Jaci1son and Longstreet Was it Kindness when father, mother
 and child we're auctioned off to the highest bic and hurried off to diff
 ferent part accursed southland. Was it "a k44.Lness when the womer and girl slaves were ravished by the
 sensual shareholders and. their sons , and then their offsprings sold as cat tie? Ask Uncle Toms Cabin. Freder. ick Douglas or Booker Washington i there was kindness in the slave sys . tenn!
 . This country has got to learn t,
 treat all jastly--especially has tn, south to learn this lesson-thatN al ,, men, regardless of race, creed or color must be treated righteously. It wa. . thought at the close of the Civil wa 5 that the sonth had been taught tha every state must stay in the union ant be subject to the national government , the south has never really accepted
 that verdict. The constitution of tn
 United States has been set aside
 rights granted to the negro have bee1
 annul1ed or eyaded, and the souther1 ) states are ruled by rebelIious minor I tty. This thing has got to be righted
 and if 1t should again require force
 as it did in '61, am ready to shoulde , my gun and go south to help the goo, work along.
 E. GEORGE RIDDLE. Norwich, Nov. q, 1916.