The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-08-25

.dnulattuTeTS NeCOlu, bdltiiiOiS')
After four years OF desperate war
,ainst overwhelming odds, never
Die to Increase its armies more than
,out ope-fourth OF the opposing
mics. she Confederacy collapsed,
nd Grant marched into Richmond.
uring that four years of struggle
lie South was completely cut of
ON all intercourse with the outside
orld BIZ sea, as well as from the
orth and west by land. 1t was shut
10 to ;Iself and within itself; it
ad male no preparation Tor war;
had to create over night a gov
nment and an army and fiscal
fstem it had TO create the m
ustries needed for the making OF
ar sutplies--practically from the
,undatDn up. Every port from the
hesape * Bay to border line OF
Iexico vas blockaded.
For four years, despite these ap-
arently insurmountable obstacles,
lie South with an army OF about
| 10000 is the total number engaged
lring t.,e war fought against armies
1ur timrs as great in number, back
| by tie tremendous resources in
lonev. IN foodstufis, i'll munltion-
laking facilities OF the Union. which
ad the commerce OF the world open
} if. Moreover. the sentiment OF
large part Of the world was i'll
lvor Of the Union because civiIiza-
on had decreed the death OF slav-
nv. AMI slavery. though not the
lain issue. was one of the potent
sues involved.
So Lost All Capital.
When the war ended the South
had lost all OF the capital which
had invested in slavery, just as
ther sections had invested their
1ealth in stocks and bonds. For
our wears it had been drained to
,aintain its armies. until there was
iothing left but hollow shell,
,hich crumbled to pieces when once
ne "far- flung battle line" of thin
ray streak, from Virginia to Texas,
ave way.
In this struggle the South lost all
hat had been invested in slavery |
nd in the creation OF system of
,bor upon which its prosperity had
4 time past been based. 1t lost
very dollar issued by the Confeder-
.te Government and during four
ears for the carrying on of the war
nd for all the trade which went
n at home. Not vestage OF capt.
al invested in Confederate money
r bonds or slaves was left as
asis for credit, or as starting
oint on which to rebuild. This
reat section was bankrupt beyond
he power of words to express;
s whole labor system had been
most of its manufac- ,
lring plants had been destroyed;
S railroads were thin streaks OF (
lst: its livestock had been so COM
letely used up to feed the armies {
lat it was nearly fifty years after {
,e close OF the war before the live +
ock Of the South equalled in num- c
er what the South had in 1860, and c
ven today the number OF sheep in /
ie central South is far less than Y
was at the beginning of the Civil
Iar. c
Notwithstanding this indescribably a
esperate situation, the South i'm 9
ediately began to contribute its
Ill proportion Of the hundreds of
illions. which have since run into
lions and billions, of pensions TO
e soldiers OF the North, without,
course, a single dollar of pension
its own soldiers, until after many
'ars. individual States took up in
Irt the pensioning Of the few re-
aiming Confederate veterans.
South Asked No Favors.
Heroically, as all Anglo-SaXons
eet such situations, the South
ked no favors, it sought no pen
ms, it never asked that the money
ued to its people should be re-
emed.
This brief statement of what the
nth suffered of its terrific losses,
its almost incomprehensible pow
", uttedly incomprehensible to
yone who did not live in that
,tion during the long years OF
uggle in which its people sought
provide for immediate needs is /
en- here merely as the background
discussion of why America
our Allies should feel no hest
ion whatever. from any false
se Of pity, in imposing the heav
penalties upon Germany.
S il conceivable that we should
init the $4,000, ,Ooo 900 or more
bonds which the German people
'e gleefully taken because they
,ected that success would redeem
Sc bonds and give them enormous
ancial profits by looting the
I'D, to be made good by Germany,
lie Belgium and France and Ser
and Italy and England have
to bear the Tremendous loss in
s and in money for keeping
sc burglars. the looters. these
these destroyers Of
manhood and childhood, from
running the world'