Besides, the southern soldiers, when returning from the war, did not, like
the northern soldiers, find a prosperous community which merely waited for
their arrival to give them remunerative employment. They found, many of
them, their homesteads destroyed, their farms devastated, their families
in distress; and those that were less unfortunate found, at all events, an
impoverished and exhausted community which had but little to offer them.
Thus a great many have been thrown upon the world to shift as best they
can. They must do something honest or dishonest, and must do it soon, to
make a living, and their prospects are, at present, not very bright. Thus
that nervous anxiety to hastily repair broken fortunes, and to prevent
still greater ruin and distress, embraces nearly all classes, and imprints
upon all the movements of the social body a morbid character.
In which direction will these people be most apt to turn their eyes?
Leaving the prejudice of race out of the question, from early youth they
have been acquainted with but one system of labor, and with that one
system they have been in the habit of identifying all their interests.
They know of no way to help themselves but the one they are accustomed to.
Another system of labor is presented to them, which, however, owing to
circumstances which they do not appreciate, appears at first in an
unpromising light. To try it they consider an experiment which they cannot
afford to make while their wants are urgent.
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