The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1866-01-10
Bill Arp ON the State Of the Coun-
lie So try. -

~
try.
"sweet land of Liberty, of thee rll sing"
Not much don't at this time. If there's
anything sweet about liberty in this part
of the vineyard. I can't see it. The lands
good enuf and wouldn't mind hearin
hyme or two about the dirt I live on, but
as for fndin sugar and liberty in Geergy
soil, it's all "a mistake. Howsumever, I'm
much calmer and sereener than I was
few months ago. I begin to feel kindly
to all people, except some. I'm now en-
deavorinto be great nationallman I've
taken up motto Of no North norSouth.
no East, no West; but let me tell you, my
friend, I'll bet on Dixie as long as I've
got dollar. IT'S no harm to run both
skedules. In fak't, its mighty harmoni-
Gus to do so. I'm good Union reb, and
my battle cry are Dixie and the Union.
But you see, my friend, we are getting
restless about some things. The war had
bekum nifty heavy on us, and after the
big collapse, we thought it was over for
good We have killed folks aud killed
folks until the novelty Of the thing had
wore of, and we were mighty nigh played
out all over. Children we're increasing
and vlttuls diminishin. By close cal
culashun it was perseeved that we didn' t
kill our enemies as fast as they was inn
ported, and about those times I thought
it was pity that some mirakle of grace
hadn't cut off the breed Of furrienera
some eighteen or twenty years ago. Then
you would have seen fair fight. Gen.
Sherman wouldn't have walked over the
track, and Ulysses would have killed more
men than he did-of his own side. /
have always thought that General ought
to be partikler which side he was sacri6.
sin. 91l his
Well, if the war is over, what's the use
of film up our towns and cities with sol
diers any longer. Where's your rekon-
struktion that the papers say is going on
SO rapidly? Where's the liberty and free.
dom2 The fakt is, Gen. Sherman and hi:
caterpillers made such a clean sweep Of
everything, don't see much to rekou
strukt. They took so many libertie:
around here that there's nary liberty left
I could have Reconstructed Thousand
sieh States before this. Anybody could
There wasn't nuthin to do but jest to gt
off and letus alone, We've got plenty o
statesmen-plenty of men for Governor
Joe Brown aint dead-he's waiting
standing at the door with his hat of
I hen what's the soldiers here for-wha
good sare they doin-who wants to Sc
'em any longer? Everybody is tired 0
the war, and we don't want to see an,
more signs of it. The niggers don't wan
EN-, and the white men don't want EN-
and as for the wimen-whoopeel gol
llyl Well, there's no use talkin--whel
the stars fall agin maybe the women viii
be harmonized. That male business
that oath about gettin lettersl Gee tiger
They always was jealous about the male
, anyhow, and that order Jest broke tn
camel's back. Well I must confess tha
it was powerful small concern. I wo'
try to sorter smooth it over, if I know
; what to say, but I don't. If they wa
Altered of the wimin why didn't they sa
SO? Ii they wasn't what do they max
'em swear ferl Jest to aggrayate em?-
Didn't they know that the best way t
harmonic man is to harmonize his Wit
first? What harm can the wimin do b
receivin their letters oath free? The
can vote, nor they can't preach, NOR hol
office, nor play soldier, nor muster, nc
wear breeches, nor ride straddle, nor Gus
nor chew terbacker, nor do nuthin hardl
but talk and rite letters. / hearn that
valiant kurnel madea woman put up hs
!: fan bekause it had a pikter of sBorygar
'poRit. Well, she's harmenized,I L reckon
Now the trouble of all sich is that aftt
these bayonets leave here and go hom,
: these spetticoat tyrants can't come bac
any more. Some Georgy fool will mas
the juice out of 'em, sertin, and thi
| wouldn't be neither harmonious nor hea
: thy. Better let the wimen alone.
!, Then there is another thing I am wal
9 ing for. Why don't they rekonstruct tt
niger if they are going to? Theyh
: give 'em powerful sight Of freedom AN
little else. Here's the freedman S bur
and the little buro's all ever the countr-
. and the papers are full of grand order
and special orders, and paragrafts, but L
bet possum that some of 'em steal m
!, wood this winter or freeze to DEATH
Freedman's buro! freedman's humbug,
say. just when the corn needed plowi
the worst the buro rung the bell and tol
all the niggers to town, and the farme,
: lost their crops, and now the freedman
: gettin cold and hungry, and wants to g
! back, and there ain t tnuthin for 'em to G
: to. But freedom is big thing. HUI
: raw for freedam's buro! Sweet land
: liberty of that [ don't singl But it's a
: right. I'm for freedom myself Nobod
: wants any more slavery. If the abol
q tionists had let US alone, we'd have fxe
them up long time ago, and we can f
, em up now. The buro amt fixed it, an
: it amt going to. It don't know anythin
5 5 about it. Our people have got hea
more feelin for the poor negro than an
abolitionists. We are as poor as Job, bl
Ill bet dollar we can raise more none
in Rome to build nigger church tina
!, they did in Bostown. The papers sal
! ! that after going round for three week
= the Bostown christians raised thirty seve
dollars to build nigger church in S,
: vannah. They are powerful on theol
! ! but devilish scarce in practice.
But it'sn use tllkin. Everybody wi
: know by waitin who's been foold. NJ
johnson says he's gwiue to experimen
! that's All he can do now--;t's ali .nuhoS