Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1918-08-18

| decreed the death of slavery, and
| slavery. though not the main issue
was one of the potent issues involv-
ed says the Manufacturers Record.
When the war ended the South had
lost all of the capital it had invested
in slavery, just as other sections had
invested their wealth in stocks and
bonds. For four years it had been
drained to maintain its armies, until
there was nothing left but hollow
shell, which crumbled to pieces when
once the "far-fung battle line" of a
thin gray streak, from Virginia to
Texas gave way.
In this struggle the South lost all
hat had been invested in slavery and
in the creation of system of labor
upon which its prosperity had in time
PAST been based It lost every dollar
issued by the Confederate Govern
ment and during four years for the
carrying On of the war and for all the
trade which went on at home. Not a
lestige of capital invested in Confed-
crate money or bonds or slaves was
left as a basis for credit, or as a
starting point on which to rebuild.
This great section was bankrupt be-
ycnd the power of words to express;
its whole labor system had been
disorganized; most of its manufactur-
ing plants had been destroyed; its
railroads were but thin streaks of
rust; its livestock had been so COM
pletely used up to feed the armies
that it was nearly fifty years after
the close of the war before the live
stock of the South equalled in number
what the South had in 1850, and even
today the number Of sheep in the
central South is far less than it was
1T the beginning of the Civil War.
Notwithstanding this indescribably
desperate situation, the South imme-
Giately began to contribute its fun
proportion of the hundreds of mil
lions, which have since run into bill
lions and billions. Of pensions to the
soldiers of the North, without, of
course. a single dollar of pension to
its own soldiers. until after many
years. individual States took up in
part the pensioning of the few re-
raining Confederate veterans.
Heroically. as all Anglo-Saxous
meet such situations, the South asked
no favors, it sought no pensions, it
never asked that the money issued to
tta people should be redeemed
The brief statement of what the
South suffered, of its terrific losses.
of its almost incomprehensible pow
erty. utterly incomprehensible to
anyone who did not live in that sec
ton during the long years of struggle
Ill which its people sought to provide
for Immediate needs is given here
r.erely as the back ground for a 1i'
cussior Of why America and our Al
lies should feel no hesitation wha5
ever. srom any false sense of pity, iii
imposing the heaviest penalties upor
Germany.
Is it conceivable that We should
permit the $3O,OOO,OOO,OOO or more Of
bonds which the German people have
gleefully taken because they expect
ed that success would redeem these
bonds and give the menormous fnan-
cial profit by looting the world, to be
made good by Germany, while Bel
GUM and France and Serbia anu
Italy and England have had to bear
the tremendous loss in lives and in
money for keeping these burglars,
these looters. these murders, these
destroyers of womanhood and child
hood from overrunning the world?