> The titanic struggle of which the Confederate flag is the symbol, and the > noble qualities it called forth in a brave, conscientious and chivalric > people, must ever command the interest and respect of all generous minds. Claiborne, The problem we have in Missouri is that we are not dealing with "generous minds." The poem brought me to think of the line in my book where I say that for every three Southerners who went off to war, only two returned. That is a huge loss, around 33 percent overall. I emphasize that as great a loss was the loss of the elite class of Southerners, probably at a percentage exceeding the overall rate of deaths. Thus, the greatest mental resource of the South in the area of organizational skills was lost to a great degree. Considering much of the South's infrastructure was shattered and its cities laid waste, it was no wonder it took the South so long to restore itself. And to add to the burden, the North sent carpetbaggers into the area, who cared nothing for its welfare, and refused to let white Southerners into the Southern legislatures, which were formed of blacks, nearly all of whom were totally illiterate. Most or all of this you already know, but I feel compelled to express it anyway. Don G.