The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1866-06-21
SHALL RELIEF BE AFFORDED THE DEsTrrUrEa


charity but at the same time there is an imperative
demand for concerted efforts on the part of such as
are able to relieve temporarily the want, suffering,
and absolute destitution among the poorer classes
of this section. There is no exaggeration in the
statement that there are hundreds of people in this
District actually destitute of the necessares of life,
and there is scarcely day passes that we do not
hear and the nconsestible proof of the decara-
tion. In the case of many, they have been strug-
Cling with advcrsity until the wheat crop might be
harvested and their susenance be derived from its
proceeds; but in numerous instances these falla-
eous hopes have been far from being realized in
consequence of the crop proving 50 fur short of
general expectation, and the scantiness of the past
is only ten-fold increased for the future. Months
will elapse before the corn crop is forthcoming, and
in the meantime, with additional numbers, the des
titue of the District must toll and struggle for the
bare sustenance of life and strength, and in the
end their prospects may possibly be far more
gloomy and doubtful than Mt the present moment
We place this appeal upon the broad ground of
universal charity that godly quality " which vaun-
teth not itself" There is a moral obligation rest
ing upon all alike to every cndcavort to mitigate
suffering and want, and whenever whoever Of
Gods creatures may be brought to the door of star
vation, there is solemn duty, imperative and un-
yielding, for each of us to contribute Z" the widows
mite if need be, to alleviate their helpless cond
ton. But we have particular class in this COM
munity, in whose welfare and comfort there shall
be an all-absorbng interest manifested, and whose
ordinary wants in life should earliest claim our
close attention. 1t is hardly necessary to add that
the class alluded to comprises the widows and or
phans of our dead heroes-the weeping wife of him
who went forth to battle in defence of principles
oil held sacred, and the helpless children of that
father who SO nobly perished in the maintenance
of those principles. Among this class there are
many alas too many who have been deprived of
every resource by the and its results, and they
are left to brook the cold charities of merciess
world, and engage in the strife for an honest live
lihood, almost forgotten by those who cheered the
stay and support of the family to risk his life for
our common veal But they not forgotten for
single moment by the comrades of those men who
now sleep in nameess graves upon far-of battle
fields. No. thousand times no! And though
others may forget and overlook the wants and ne
cessties of their poor orphans and helpless women,
the true and worthy soldier of the "ost cause" can
never hesitate to raise his voice in their behalf and
rebuke the Pharisaical spirit which would pass
them by on the other side!
From among this class, we ore reliably informed,
there are scores of instances where the actual want
of bread to sustain life is sorey felt, and the worst
| of win will
find them still uncared for and unprovided with
food and raiment Now is the time to prepare
against that emergency, and to the noble, glorious
women of our District-those who were ever fore
most in the prosecution of means to sustain our ar
mics in the feld-the appeal is confidently made,
not only relieve temporary suffering, but provide
against the contingency of probable desttution du-
ring the coming winter. BY the memory Of all
that was deemed holy and sacred but o few months
back-by the recollection of the privations and
sacrifices of those men who shed their blood in
YOUR cause-by the tender emotions which are
ever uppormost in your warm, trusting hearts-by
all that is reverenced and esteemed in the past, and
whatever is worth living for in the present, let it
not be said that you were faithless in the discharge
of that duty which all alike owe to the surviving
families of our departed heroes. Men may become
absorbed in the new duties under which they labor
to the exclusion of their full share of responsibility
in the care and protection of these homeless and
comfortless women and children but Heaven for
bid that the women of our country shall so soon
become engrossed in the nurture of fashion, in the
tinsel and gewgaws of display, that they shall e1-
c)ude from their minds the hundreds of their sex
who are daily perishing for the want of food. Men
| may neglect to exercise that all-suhcient charity
which covereth o multitude of woes but pure and
| lovely woman-she who was "lnst at the cross and
first at the grave" of Him who taught mankind to
display this virtuc-cap never forget the task as-
signed her in ministering to the wants of the needy
or comforting the distressed.
The opportunity is now presented for the ladies
of this District to prove themselves worthy of the
exalted estimation in which they arc held. The
wives and children of your own countrymen are
the sufferers, and upon your exertions depend
their succor and relief. In the common wreck,
others cannot assist by their means; the whole
South, with few exceptions, stands today in this
condition and it is, therefore, absolutely essen
tial that the work be entrusted your own hands.
When the South was prosperous, these appeals
were not necessary, for there were few or no pau
pers in our midst. When the struggle for inde-
pendence ensued, the cause was universally ap-
plauded throughout this section, and it then re-
ouired simple declaration to secure oil the as
sstance for the families of soldiers that might be
needed But the case is far different at this time,
and those who labor to maintain the sinking
hearts and desolate lives of such as lost their oil
in the Confederate cause, are surely working for
the survivors of principle that is contemned and
detested throughout this broad land of boasted
freedom. The effort is far more praiseworthy now