The sad significance of these photographs is all too apparent. Not only
the bank buildings were in ruins, but the financial system of the entire
South. All available capital had been consumed by the demands of the war,
and a system of paper currency had destroyed credit completely. Worse
still was the demoralization of all industry. Through large areas of the
South all mills and factories were reduced to ashes, and everywhere the
industrial system was turned topsy-turvy. Truly the problem that
confronted the South was stupendous.
[Illustration: WRECK OF THE GALLEGO FLOUR MILLS