It is a part of the tragedy of war that its termination is followed by a period of painful reconstruction. Every war ever fought in the world's history has had its inevitable aftermath of readjustment--the return from the abnormal to the normal. In some instances this has been so imperceptible as to entail but little hardship upon the people who have suffered the terrible effects of armed conflict; in others, the harshness of the conqueror to the conquered and the brutality of the victor toward the vanquished have left traces of hatred and lust for vengeance that have survived for generations. In the study of the history of the Anglo-Saxon race, there are two reconstruction periods that stand out in marked contrast. One was the reconstruction of the Southern States following the Civil War, and the other was the reconstruction of South Africa by the British government immediately after the Boer War. The former was handled in a stupid, ignorant, and insane manner, and based upon the lust of spoils and upon the most wretched of partisan politics. The latter was disposed of in a wise, sane, and statesmanly fashion, with impartial consideration for the welfare of the British Empire and the peace and good will of the Boers. The reconstruction of the Southern States following the Civil War was utterly stupid, and Americans of our generation--regardless of Northern or Southern birth--so consider it, and know that the manner in which the situation was handed was a political mistake. The activities of the "carpetbaggers" and their negro allies after the Civil War were not confined merely to the looting of the public treasuries. Vicious white men organized the negroes into societies and stirred up their hatred against the white people, with the result that unspeakable crimes were committed in all parts of the South. Perhaps the most notorious of these organizations was that known as the "Loyal League," which operated in all parts of the South, and which was composed of negroes and low white men. I quote from Mr. Wilson's work, the following clear and well-worded summary: