Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-06-19

that came back to ravaged Atlanta in
December, 1864.
"The people lost no time in re-
pining," he writes. Gentlemen of
the old regime who never knew what
it was to perform mental labor,
stripped their coats and set to knock
ing dead mortar off the bricks. Men
like Judge Collier mixed mortar and
laid brick. There were no idlers and
no labor was too hard or mental for
any Albanian to set his hand to.
The men were no pluckier than the
women. While [ was in Atlanta
in April 1 talked with her oldest citi-
zens, men who had returned to the
town as soon as Sherman left it. l
sought details. I asked them, How
did you get started in the work Of
restoration?
"These questions always gave them
pause. But in the end the reply was
One said, L hauled sand Another
helped Judge John Collier rebuild his
building. Another got a job scrapin G
the mortar off old bricks So they
could be used again. No job was
too mental or too hard.
sweated and Saved
'"These people were right w
against the real thing. They had no
They INDUCED in no windy aspira::
lions to reshape this sorry scheme OF
things entire. They did not sit down
amid the ruins of their blackened and
broken homes and cuss the Yankees
LAS they told me: We just sweat
ed and saved
"Now that is the magic formula OF
reconstruction that 1 have unearth-
ed. 1t is a working hypothesis
proved recipe"
In describing Atlanta of today as
saving time" Mr.. Lowry mentions
grand opera, the ball games, the hum
and hustle on every hand.
"The whole point about Atlanta
that makes her valuable as an illus
tration is that when the Civil War
ended her people quit fighting and
went to work"
Thus he sums up his hint to Eu-
"Atlanta has been and is natural.
born go-getter. That accounts fol
her prosperity. 1t means that the
that affect the prosperity of the
town. They have an alert and sen
sitive civic pride. In any time Of
crisis they appeal to what they cal
the Atlanta spirit. 1t pulls then
IT, ough."
Politics Our Ill Effect
In concluding his article, Mr.
|
only lasting i'll effect of reconstruc
ito days in the south is political
THE south is solid today because o.
the reconstruction policies of An
drew Jackson, Thad Stevens and tn
other irreconcilables in congress il
dead hand of those stupid, misguided
politicians is still lying on tn
south"
AS a concrete, modern illustra
ton, Mr.. Lowry points to Herber
Hoover. Hoover called Democra
would have carried the Democrat
primary held on April Goth withou
question. 1 believe this to be an as
sured statement of fact. Hoover call
ed Republican make men timid t
come out for him openly: tn I'll
impe ding new political reallign
ment that is surely taking place. ]
is only a matter of time before tn
solid south is broken. Hoover coul
90 it this .S year :,;+s When When that that II
littcally and so arranges or control
it's peculiar sectional problem that
can speak it's convictions throug
any candidate, whatever his part!
then indeed the last shred of recon
struction will have been cleare
away.
That is one Of the reasons VIII
Hoover is so significant figure i
the south today. Atlanta abhors
slough as nature abhors a vacuum
She sees Hoover clearly and hi
meaning and value Her peopl
know, ii anybody in the worl
knows, how to face and solve prof
lem of reconstruction and sol
of man it takes to do the job.
struck me as immensely significan
that they had picked Hoover as tina
type of man"