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<br />A5116
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<br />COI\GRESSIONAL RECORD-APPENDIX
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<br />NO\'E::'oIBER 7
<br />
<br />~rnment that you ""m have quite II. tight on
<br />your hand. Ihe nut tlma you roll lor omea.
<br />ThiS b Ihe thought In man)' a man', mind
<br />down h~ta.
<br />H WOn"1 i)t, neCMiiUlry to Rod me on.. ot
<br />the mimeographed .~!lI.b that Om'arnment
<br />omclala are mini!'. We "'an! action and an
<br />""'.'''n"lceOlen Ilte yourself should be out In
<br />the lead Ollhtlllg. All la Want IS lI.ctlon IInd
<br />no !ancyucwu.
<br />Thouunds of troop,! \l\"eu' rfflaplo~'ed hne
<br />rrom the ETOand thera certainly ",B.U\'t any
<br />botUeneck In tile ahlppil1g. The boat ""e
<br />tranled fill catrled ..300 men and om<::en
<br />lit the Army oo.ldes tbe ahlp'a crew, Thla
<br />....IDe 6h:p retun;ed to ilia S:ll.tellll. couple of
<br />"..arka laler with onh 3 ~ men and omcera
<br />and clvlllllna, Ma}'b" 'Ibe reaaon for the
<br />amall". amount gOing to tht' Statu was due
<br />to the inct that they ca..:cd a general bac.!:.,
<br />Tb"'re l~ a lo~ 01 dlllerence betwe<'ll. the dl!;_
<br />tanre from ManUs to Maraellh.'5 and the dla_
<br />tailor" trom FriSCo to Mann..,
<br />Allweult ror!aa I!tUearu<>n.all.d rwoUld
<br />hit" to I.<l" you ,eadlng the nght f"r tbat,
<br />A VUY DlSGVlfTW SUQU:>1T,
<br />
<br />Plantation Parade
<br />
<br />EXTENSION OF REMARKS
<br />
<br />o.
<br />
<br />HON, F. EDWARD HEBERT
<br />
<br />OPI.o01n":SA
<br />1:.1 TIlE BoeSE OF REPRC:;E..'<TATIVES
<br />Wednesdav, NOl;ember 7, 1915
<br />Mr. HEBERT, Mr. Speaker. I feel sure
<br />that you will concllr with me when I rise
<br />with particular pride to call )'oUr atte:J-
<br />tlon, and that of my colleagues, to a book
<br />which has just bf"en lssued,
<br />The volume Is Plantation Parade, b)' Il
<br />nath'e of Louisiana and a former fellow
<br />worker of mint', Harnett T, Kane,
<br />of New Orleans, Mr, Kant', in a few
<br />brief years. has rben to a widely ac-
<br />claimed place as one of the most Impor-
<br />tant of the new AmerIcan writers. HIs
<br />flt'ld Is the South, which I represent 1!1
<br />thh Hou~, and few mf'n of this or any
<br />other dar have receIVed such ~('ncral
<br />praise for his magnlfleent presentation
<br />of thIs re"ion of Amerlca,
<br />~lr. Kane is the author of three other
<br />national best sE'lIers. Four years a~o he
<br />wrote his first book, Louisiana Hayride,
<br />dealin" In pungent and exciting fashion
<br />with LoUisiana politics, Thls bock brcke
<br />all LoUlsl:ma book records, llnd won a
<br />place on the national bl>st seller lists.
<br />Shortly aflE'rward calae his supt"rb book
<br />Th.. Barolls or Lculs!ana, In an entirely
<br />c1lfferent \'ein, a rich and warmly lOVable
<br />volume about the unique :\-:adtan people
<br />of the water-('o\'ered lower Louisiana.
<br />The B,wous of Louisiana E'xceeded
<br />Loublana Ha)Tlde in public and critical
<br />acclaim, LaSt ~'ear Mr. Kane ga\'e us yet
<br />another Jrreat book Deep Delta Coun.
<br />tr)'. deallllg with the str:m"e and beall-
<br />\Jfw land at the mouth or the ~Us.<lsslppl
<br />River. Like the one before It, it exceeded
<br />its predecessor in wid~ P<lpularity.
<br />ThlJ II'ef'k brou;:ht the nallonal publi-
<br />cation of Ur. Ka:1e's Plantation P.1-
<br />rade: and thb book bas Otltslrlpped !Ill
<br />of Mr, Kane's others, It has gonl:' into
<br />!'e"eral printings, made till:' national best
<br />seller U~t.~, and h:t~ broken E'~'ery Louisi-
<br />Hna bOok total. topping each ef Mr.
<br />Kane's preceding v()!ume~. Here is a
<br />
<br />6trlklng Instance of the fact that an
<br />American book cannot only be a rIchly,
<br />beautifully written one, but also 'l\1n the
<br />general public c-pplause. This as I need
<br />hardly remind you, does not always hap-
<br />"''',
<br />Plantation Parade Is Q book that I
<br />call to your attention ror & particular
<br />rea.son, It represents a new, novel ap-
<br />proach to Its subject. It Is a superbly
<br />handled plcturlzation of the dsn of the
<br />grnt cotton and sugar plantations of
<br />LoUiSiana, But It Js not a gu~hy. moon-
<br />light and magnOlia pre.~entation. of the
<br />tux' wh1ch has long alllicte-d the South,
<br />Mr, Kane, a man "1th a sharp sense or
<br />~ocial vlllue" and of economic Infert'S!s,
<br />dolCs not moon and moan o"er the ~-
<br />called wonders of the forgollen past.
<br />You have all heard the story of the
<br />colored mammy who told a northern vis-
<br />Itor. who admired the LoUisiana moon-
<br />'"Honey. the moon Is sure nne tonight;
<br />but you should have seen it befo' de wah;"'
<br />Mr. Kane dot's not fall prey to such sir-
<br />upy oversentlmentality, Plantation Pa-
<br />rade Is, Instead, a brilliant reenactment
<br />ot the human life ot the plantations,
<br />Mr. KanE' offers the people and the place
<br />as they were-the truth that Is often
<br />50 much more strange and fascinating
<br />than the false and made up, Mr, Kane
<br />has seejled hlms.eU in his subject, in-
<br />vestigating old records. checking court
<br />documellts, Interviewing sUn'lvors of the
<br />dar, nn(llng family dlarif"s, He takes up
<br />in turn each of the- white-pillared f'stab-
<br />Hshments of the Slate and tells their
<br />hIstories straight. from their bC"innings
<br />to theIr present da)', their triumphs and
<br />joys and tragt'dles, Its scenes are- tile
<br />Misslsslpl RiVer. False RiVer, the Ope.
<br />lousas rl.'glon; Bayous PJaquemlnc. Teche,
<br />and LaCouehe; Cane Rh'er. Baton RougC',
<br />Donaldsonvllle. the Feliellll1a country;
<br />and other parts of LoUisiana-a pano-
<br />rama of the Statf',
<br />The result Is a hbalomly entertain-
<br />Ing study, All oC us, SDu!herne,:"s and
<br />northerners alike, real;ze that the econ-
<br />omy of that earlier day was based OD a
<br />false and shifting base-thE' social in-
<br />justice of human bondagt'. thp pn~bn('_
<br />rnfnt of one group of mE'n by another.
<br />Suell enslavement Is contrary 10 the
<br />teaching.s of all of our religions; and
<br />today we !Ire all th", bettt'r orr lweauH"
<br />It has end~d, A sound!'r economy. as Mr,
<br />Kane points out. Is taking its Illacl;', In
<br />\lE'U of one man with an ur.chN'kl'd COM-
<br />mand Ol'er thousands of aeres and thoil-
<br />sands or men. the land has been brokE'n
<br />up Into truck gardens or othlCr units,
<br />Crop dh'l;'rslfleatJon_so badly llPl'ded In
<br />the South-h2.S been IntrOduced: cattlC'
<br />and hogs, :sweet -otatoes. and other crops
<br />ha.e taken the piaee of the single staple
<br />crops, An Interesting :SOcial contrast Is
<br />offered. too, :n tht' rise or the oU IOdu."-
<br />to' on the scene of the ollce grcat plan-
<br />tations,
<br />But thE' UIe of those days h~.d :l cer.
<br />taln gusto. a genuine merriment. a s.ens.e
<br />of ident!tlcatlon with the place, Tile
<br />plantaticn dll)' had Its charms: and thest'.
<br />100. Ur. K:l.ne rcallus, whlle ket'plnlt
<br />them in their proper place, Few writers
<br />han- ever ~l~'p.n ~o entertaining. so finely
<br />rendable account of this day, And 9.1sely
<br />he strl'Sses the fact that the plantation
<br />era in Loui.siana, this plarltation parade
<br />
<br />i:ave AmE'rlea some of Its finest arehltec.
<br />ture. In thls parade of the castles was
<br />an IndJgenous building, fltted perrectly
<br />to the dr-mand of its scene, West Indlan-
<br />type residences and Greek revh'al homes
<br />wlt.h wIde galleries, great windows and
<br />doors to admit every brf'ath of wind, ele-
<br />vation to catch the passing breezes, We
<br />have begun to Jose the flne principles ot
<br />arcllltecture which thIs early day fos-
<br />tered,
<br />As Mr, Kane wittily puts It, these
<br />buildinJ<:s were put up to "pro\-ide a maxi-
<br />mum of comfort with a minimum of
<br />persplratlon," For any :Mcmbers who
<br />wish to see semI' of the most ma"ntneent
<br />",x[l.mplE'_5 of home construction in
<br />America I reCOlnmrnd a "i~it to Mr.
<br />Kane's plantation country. to watch the
<br />lines of these buildings,
<br />Plantation Parade is a book that eould
<br />ha\'e been written only by a Louisianian
<br />with a deep s}'mpathy and understand.
<br />ing of his placE' and people, I am proud
<br />to ha.'e worked on the New Orleans news_
<br />papers at the time that Harnett T, Kane
<br />did. Mr. Kane for 17 years was a star
<br />Journallst, a correspondent, and .staff
<br />writer on the New Orleans Item who won
<br />a reputation throughout the South tor
<br />his fine 'l'lrltlnr;s. For a time, to, he
<br />taught at Loyola University. In recent
<br />~'ears he has given his full time to his
<br />book and magazlne writinGS, He Is
<br />known to the readers of Collier's Maga_
<br />zine, Reader's Dir;est, Saturday Re\1ew
<br />of Literature. and American Mt'rcury.
<br />It is not often that we have opportunity
<br />to learn so much. whilE' belng so well en.
<br />tertalned, a.s In the case ot this book.
<br />Mr, Kane tells in various chapters of
<br />the LouIs XIV of Louisiana, who set up
<br />his American ilardens of Versallles en
<br />the MiSSissippi: tht" Creole father who
<br />made sure hJs daughters married prop-
<br />erly by picking out the young mpn him_
<br />self and a.l;klng t'nrh. in turn. '.W!lI }'OU
<br />be my son-In law?": nnd the I3-year-old
<br />Loul.<iana brlde who received n doll for
<br />a wedding prt'sent, and found It stuffed
<br />with jewels.
<br />Other rich characters in Mr. Kane's
<br />plantation taj:J('str}' are the Prince from
<br />Naples who t'staiJlishcd a plantation
<br />here, and astounded the neighbors with
<br />hi.> odd Uking for baked owls and stuffed
<br />sn::.kes: and the Spanl~h beauty who
<br />strode her acres like a man, pla)'ing
<br />cards for plantation... and, once, shoot_
<br />Ing off the hcnd of It man \\'ho threatened
<br />to rob her mansion, Still another Is the
<br />gay Parl~lan who askt'd his IS-rear-old
<br />wHe to run the plantation while he had
<br />hlS ~la\'es row him over the bayous In
<br />n brightly painted boat, strumming lon~
<br />sonss all da)' long, They lived happlly
<br />tOi;ether all C',f their !in:.!', In Planta.
<br />tion Parade, :\1r, Kane weaves a stor)' ot
<br />the old South, \\'lth personages ranging
<br />from Spanish dons to Jefferson D:n'ls.
<br />from p:ratt's to ;'cvered paalarchs.
<br />\\"ith his nc'w work, H~rnett T. Kane
<br />further eements. h:s ~lace as a !eadinz
<br />American writ~r, The Times P:ca~~>1ne
<br />called Plantation Parade "'not oilly Har_
<br />nett Kane's best. but a!~o oneof the most
<br />brlll!antlr re/l.{labll! books to corne om
<br />or the South in m:':cn:. years, with sup.erb
<br />fta\'or. u.st, c!lur-kling hlJmor. and beauty
<br />bcorderin.i; the poetic, It real:::c$ Dla,;::_
<br />nlficently the posslb!1ltJes cf a magntil-
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