CHAPTER XLIX.SOUTHERN AFFAIRS IN SPECULATION.
The Preservation of the Union a Great Blessing.—To Let them “Secesh” would have been National Suicide.—How Immigration has Assisted National Prosperity.—Rescued from the Dynastic Oppression of European Governments.—Showing Good Fellowship towards the Southern People and Aiding them in their Internal Improvements.—The South, Immediately After the War, had Greater Advantages than the North for Making Material Progress.—The Business of the North was Inflated.—The States of Georgia and Alabama Offered Inviting Fields for Investment.—Issuing State Securities, Cheating and Repudiating.—President Johnson Chiefly to Blame for the Breach of Faith with Investors who were Swindled out of their Money.—Revenge and Avarice Unite in Financial Repudiation.
During the war I did all that lay in my humble power to farther the cause of the Union, believing that it was a righteous one, and that the North went into the struggle to maintain, uphold and preserve the best form of government known to man, and certainly the only one suitable to America.
View it as we may, the wisdom of man has yet evolved nothing to surpass the Constitution of the United States. Whether Thomas Jefferson or Thomas Paine was the author of its leading features, is a matter that I shall not stop to discuss, but suffice it to say, that upon it has been established the best government in the world. There is no other system in ancient or modern history that could weld together and bring into the social and political affinity of one great integral harmony the immense variety and diversity of human elements that are dwelling as one large and comparatively happy family in the United States.
What other system could combine so many nationalities, creeds, passions and prejudices, modifying all of them and uniting all for the general good and the perfection of a higher development of human nature in political and social life?
There is none. We must go to the pleasanter pages of political fiction to find a comparison.
This country has made greater strides in each decade towards the possible approach of More’s Utopia or Plato’s Republic than any other country has done in the same number of centuries.
It must be admitted that we are a considerable distance from the happy goal contemplated by the writers named, but we are moving in the direction to show that its attainment is possible. We shall yet accomplish what the world has hitherto considered a pleasant fiction overworked through the highest ideal of Greek art.
This high state of development is what we are coming to in spite of the fact that the average ward politician has immense chasms to cross before the hill tops of his evolution shall appear in sight. When he begins to climb, however, his ascent will be marvellously rapid and he will leave that vehement youth of Longfellow’s, whose watchword was Excelsior, far in the distance. Moreover, his steps will be steady and prudent, and not liable to unfortunate reaction or fatal mishap.
It has been said that revolutions never go backward. With much stronger emphasis it may be asserted that evolutions in a Republic like those I am now contemplating never recede, but still press forward and upward towards the mark of a higher ideal.
A large proportion of the people who come here do so for the chief purpose of getting away from other forms of government that are despotic in their rule and oppressive to their subjects.
These people who come to us are saved and redeemedTheir lives would have been wasted if they had remained in the land of their birth. In this country, they not only add to the wealth of the nation, but they become useful members of the social fabric, with few exceptions, enjoying happiness themselves and bringing up children, whom they teach to admire, honor and revere the institutions of this country in contrast with the land of their own nativity.
This country has thus become the asylum for the down-trodden of every nation, and it is a great gainer by the contrast thus constantly presented to the minds of those who come here. Our own people are also in this way taught to appreciate their privileges and set a higher value upon the advantages they enjoy.
If it were not for the constant stream of immigration to these shores, the people of this country might begin to think that Republicanism was the birthright of all, and forget that they enjoyed especial privileges by birth, and came into this world with a very important start of other nations. I fear that some of them are prone to imagine, especially some of the fair sex, that we suffer here from that long felt want of a hereditary and native nobility. Some of these fair ones have had sad experience, that should have disabused their young minds of these notions not very long ago. The force of these examples will have some effect, at least, in moderating the folly of their mothers. It can hardly be expected that many of the young ladies will learn much themselves, except by a repetition of the same sad experience, but the persuasive powers of the mammas may exercise a deterring effect in many instances where hasty matrimonial alliances to catch the bauble of a foreign title would be the forerunner of much misery and sometimes shame.
I might cite many instances of these from our own city, but the sensational papers will deal with themad nauseam. I don’t aspire to be sensational in this book. I only attempt to state in matters of this kind what may suffice to point the moral, leaving the sensational story-teller to adorn the taleNor do I mean to cast any reflection on such happy marriages as that of Miss Jerome to Lord Randolph Churchill, and others I could mention.
Our expansive territory has enabled the adventurous and energetic of all nations of the world to come here and make homes for themselves, instead of remaining in the land of their birth, where many of them were existing in a modified condition of slavery under other names.
The idea of encouraging this large exodus from other lands, and this freedom of assimilation with our people, has been one of the great bulwarks of our prosperity.
I realized this fact very clearly at the commencement of the war of the Rebellion, and have cherished it ever since.
I therefore felt deeply earnest in my sympathy with the North against the South, whose great effort was to break up the present form of government, attempting to destroy its autonomy and powerful cohesiveness.
The nation would have been split in twain to start with, if Horace Greeley’s advice had been taken, “Let them secesh.” Mr. Greeley’s counsel was well meant, as he thought the Southern people would soon be glad to return to the Union, but it would have been national suicide to follow it.
The two parts of the dissevered nation would have been constantly menacing each other, and kept on a war footing, with occasionally recurring hostilities across the border on every slight provocation. The result would have been that some or all of the European powers would have taken advantage of this state of affairs to plant the standard of despotism once more on these shores, making this fair land a battle ground for Imperial and kingly ambition.
These designs were foreshadowed by Napoleon III., whose actions I have dealt with more fully in another place, and Great Britain was only awaiting the opportunity to avenge Bunker Hill, Saratoga and Yorktown.
In fact, all the powers of Europe would have taken advantage of the chance of acquiring a slice of such a fine domain, where in the event of successful secession only feeble resistance could have been offered to foreign aggression.
In the event of a decisive victory for the Confederate arms, faction fights would have always been springing up, and the tendency would still have been increasing to create a greater number of separate and independent governments.
Napoleon had been looking at matters in this probable light, when he resolved to make Mexico a backdoor, with Maximilian as its keeper, to enable him to gain an entrance to this country when a favorable opportunity for the completion of his purposes should arise.
Having myself been born in a foreign land, where I passed my boyhood’s days, I have a vivid recollection of the workings of the harsh system of a European government, although by the accident of birth I was placed in circumstances where the pressure on myself was not very galling.
I saw enough, however, to make a durable impression on my mind, to arouse my sympathies for others and to excite my lasting indignation against dynastic oppression.
I lost no opportunity during the dark days of the rebellion in this country, to be outspoken in favor of the cause which I had espoused from a firm conviction that it was right. I did all I could to help to promote ways and means for aiding the North in carrying on the war. I went into the contest with my whole heart, and gave my entire and undivided attention to the sale of Government securities to raise the sinews of war.
In this way, I believe, I rendered more valuable assistance to the cause than if I had been performing deeds of valor amid the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry.
I became pronounced in my opinions and made myself active in organizing meetings to celebrate every victory of the Union army, thus inspiring the men in the field and the recruits on their way thither, and sustaining the hearts ofour business men to place implicit confidence in the future triumph of the nation.
It required more courage than many people now imagine to take this stand at that time, for opinion was largely divided in this city on the prospects of the issue, and a strong sentiment in favor of the enemy threatened at one time to become predominant.
Many people were eyed with very strong suspicion during the greater part of the struggle in regard to their loyalty, who had followed the course of extreme prudence in keeping their counsel, being doubtful of the result. I took the ground that citizenship would not be worth much in the event of final disaster to the Union cause. I was also of the opinion, when the war was ended to the glory of the country and the maintenance of the Government on a substantial basis, that the time had come to bury the hatchet.
I believed not only in bringing back the South under the old flag, but also in extending the right hand of fellowship to the people, who, whatever may have been their faults, had been terribly punished.
I believed that no good could come out of a policy that persisted in trampling upon a fallen foe, especially as that foe had, after all, only been an erring brother, and could be brought back again into the family fold to share its mutual sympathy and material prosperity.
I felt, therefore, that I could afford to be prominent in a movement that had this great and harmonious end in view, the more especially as my loyalty had never been questioned in the hour of our greatest peril.
I not only extended the right hand of fellowship to Southern men, but gave aid and comfort to them wherever they appeared in our midst.
My office, therefore, after having been the headquarters of loyal Northern men, and for every project in the interest of the Union cause, became notorious as the rendezvous of Southern generals and Southern people generally, almost as soon as the war was over.
General Beauregard was one of the prominent leaders of the Confederacy to whom I exercised the liberty of extending hospitalities on his first visit here. I relaxed no effort to make his visit agreeable, and show him the sights around the city. I recollect escorting him as my guest to the Gold Room, which was then quite an institution in Wall Street. At this time gold was selling at a premium of about 50.
On our entrance to the Room it was at once whispered around that my distinguished guest was General Beauregard. The President of the Board was at that time outspoken and bitter in his opinions against everything Southern, and had not the good sense and common manners to conceal his animus on this occasion. Others took a similar attitude, and the feeling manifested became as belligerent as if the war had been actually raging.
This exhibition of bad blood and bad manners was very distasteful to me. I was a member of this Exchange, and I thought I knew my rights, and I was disposed to maintain them. I regarded the insult to Beauregard as offered to myself, and was prepared to resent it accordingly. He was my guest, and I had determined to stand by him at all hazards. I informed those who were foremost in manifesting these unworthy feelings of resentment that I should protect my friend no matter what course they should take, as long as he desired to remain in the room. This had some effect in smoothing down the asperities of the most hostile, and we were permitted to depart in peace. I escorted General Beauregard afterwards to the New York Stock Exchange, where he was kindly received, and without a murmur of feeling. I introduced him to many of the members individually, who shook hands with him and interchanged civilities in the warmest manner, giving him a hearty welcome to our city. Beauregard was delighted with this reception at the Stock Exchange, but was greatly chagrined at the conduct of the people in the Gold Room.
After this, many other Southern notabilities from time totime came to the Street, and received at my hands similar treatment. Among others, General Forrest, of Fort Pillow carnage notoriety, paid me a visit.
I could relate a great many other instances, if time and space would permit, showing very explicitly the efforts I have made to help along harmony and reconstruction. I was anxious, in the interest of general prosperity, to assist the South to recover from the dreadful blow inflicted upon her by a fratricidal war as soon as possible.
So, as the work of reconstruction progressed, I became interested in the internal improvements of that section of our country, as my subsequent investments there will fully attest. I thought that the South had experienced fighting enough, as the North had, and that the people of that section would gratefully accept the terms in the main agreed upon under the appletree at Appomattox, between General Grant and General Lee. I had hoped that the peace would be such as to conserve all the interests of the country, including every man, from the boldest and bravest Confederate general down to the lowest of the negro race, without any invidious distinction. I had the hopeful impression that all would go to work and do all in their power to till the soil, or do anything else that would add to the material wealth of the country and the individual happiness of its recreated citizens; that they would apply themselves to every form of industry that would help in any degree to a recovery from the disasters growing out of the war, and the lamentable destruction of property attending it.
The South immediately after the war had greater advantages than most people imagine, if it had only taken hold of them in the right spirit. It had various sources of prosperity, which under prudent management would have enabled it to leave the North far behind in the race for wealth. Its leading staples, cotton, tobacco, and rice, had all a gold value in the markets of the world.
This opportunity of going in to produce at hard-pan priceson a gold basis invested it with an immense leverage against the North, with its inflated currency and war prices, growing out of the large issue of paper money necessary to carry on the war, and consequent over-speculation as a natural result or sequence.
It seemed to me, then, that, while the South had a grand opening for growth in prosperity on a solid basis to begin with, the business of the North was, in comparison, in an inflated position, that must burst before it could get a fair start on a solid foundation. It appeared as if it would sooner or later suffer a temporary collapse, while the South had only to begin and build without fear of any such interruption.
I, therefore, selected for my investments as the best fields in the South the two States that stood the highest in their financial credit, in their character for integrity and enterprise, and that then had the brightest outlook, namely Georgia and Alabama.
These States took my money freely, issued their State securities, their County securities, sold me their bonds, and got me thoroughly interested, and that to a very large extent, and then treated me with the basest ingratitude, repudiating their bonds, and cheating me out of my money and property in every way conceivable.
I attribute the cause of this unjust treatment, however, to Andrew Johnson, who, by accident, through the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, became President of the United States.
Mr. Johnson was a Tennesseean, loyal during the war to all appearances, and for all practical purposes of the Union cause, and he would doubtless have so remained had it not been for the unfortunate circumstance of Abraham Lincoln’s death.
This made him Executive of the nation, for which by ability he was amply fit and qualified, but through bias and temperament, entirely unfit to fill creditably this eminent position for the best interests of the country at large.
The position I took, as above stated, was, that since the war was over, it was a thing to be forgotten as speedily as possible. The finality was seriously delayed owing to the hostility that President Johnson did his best to excite and prolong amongst the people of the South.
Congress, it will be remembered, was leniently disposed in the passing of measures and framing of laws to bring the traitorous States of the South back again into the Union. The members of Congress most cautiously and delicately worked to patch up old sores that were supposed to exist between the victors and the vanquished, but when their bills went to the President they were unmercifully subjected to a wholesale process of vetoing, almost indiscriminately. This produced a condition of chronic hostility between the legislative and executive branches of the Government, and the wider the breach became the stronger and more vindictive grew the spirit which it naturally aroused in the Southern people.
These people were sadly misled by the President, whom they trusted, and his hobbies were humored at the expense of their prosperity.
Johnson made the people of the South believe that his vetoes would only delay legislation until Congress should be forced to find them something better. They, accordingly, reposed faith in him, and were badly deceived.
The feeling of animosity excited by this condition of things so worked on the minds of the people, causing the South to wax bitter and revengeful, that it appeared to people on this side of Mason and Dixon’s line that their Southern brethren had become even more implacable than during the hottest scenes of the war.
It was for the reasons above stated that bonds which had been issued by the South for money invested by the North were, in a large measure, repudiated. As soon as it was discovered that most of the vested interests were owned by Northern people, the spirit of revenge and avarice combinedwas aroused to the point of repudiation. And, unlike the courage of Macbeth, it did not require any stimulant to make that the sticking point. Every method that ingenuity could devise to strike a blow at the North was employed. No opportunity was allowed to slip that afforded any advantage, either material or moral.
Thus, instead of accepting the situation as General Lee had done, they were led astray by every one who had a political axe to grind. They took an active part in politics instead of looking after the various industries of the country and developing its resources. They engaged in political discussions and their attendant broils, to the neglect of necessary enterprises that would have brought them material prosperity.
Thus they became poorer and poorer. Many years were lost in these political turmoils, and the people became more and more embarrassed.
From these circumstances there were many financial victims, but few, if any, suffered more in that respect than myself.
I had over two and a half millions of dollars invested in the State of Georgia securities, and in other ways, a million more at least in Alabama and North Carolina together, all of which was perfectly annihilated, the entire disastrous result growing out of the factious spirit that was created and fostered by the vile and narrow prejudices of President Andrew Johnson, of whom I have still more to say in another chapter.
Most Very Sincerely Robert Garrett
Most Very Sincerely Robert Garrett
Most Very Sincerely Robert Garrett