The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1879-07-10
SUCH AS Mr.. WILLIAM ARP NOW IS.
From the Atlauta (,onsiitui{on

I was just ruminatng over The 4th oil
July. It's good thing. There's q sweet
memory about if, an clrvating sentiment,
that is to old folks who used 10 shoot guns,
and twist twne balls, and blow horns, and
kick up dust when we were boys, and we
always had one Teller to read the Declara.
ton, and another to make 4 spread
eagle speech, and then everybody
went somewhere and got big din.
ner. Well, we have been tryln fol
several years to git back into the old ruts
but somehow or other the Fourth of July,
and the old flag, and the bird of liberty, and
the high poles have all got mixed up to-
gether with Yankee muskcts until they have
lost their virginity and we can't tell tother
from which. There's nothin' settled. No.
body knows whether we are one big nation
or forty-four States. Nobody knows where
States rights end and Federal power be-
gins. I wish it was settled. It's curious
how things have changed. On the
7th day Of June, '7G, the colonies met
together and tried to cut loose from old
England, but they couldn't quite do it.
South Carolina wouldn't go. She was the
most loyal OF all the colonies. She said the
provocation wasn't sufficient. She didn't
drink tea and didn't feel like raising such
4 hellibillo over little tax on 1t. How
somever, they called another meeting on
the 4ih of July, and Sonth Carolina said she
would stand by her sisters, and she did
that's history. She stood by them until
some OF them treated us heap worse than
ever old England did, and she was the first
TO rebel. Like our forefathers, we all re-
belIed, and we got whipped just like they
didn't.
Now we've all got back into the old
Union, and are doing our level best 10
forget and forgive and rally around the
old flag, and raise liberty-poIcs and shoot
up the Fourth Of July with powder-suns,
but they won't let Us. They keep pegging
away at our treason and calling us traitors
and rebels, and appropriating all the pa
trotism. and won't allow us to have any,
and so we arc getting so we don't care 4
dogon about it. and ii IS powerful strain
to git up Fourth of July sensation with
any boom to if. Sugar is a good thing, but
you can't make game child cat it by
whippin' OF him. Says I to my friend
Rawlins, 81 see you are raisin' liberty
pole here in Rome, and are going to elevate
the stars and stripes"
"Yes," says he, s.some OF 'em are, but
amt. l used to love the old flag but
they've been tryin so long to stuff the darn
thing down my throat With a ramrod that it
makes me sick ut the stomach to look ut it.
They begun it fifteen years ago, and have
kept it up ever since. They look upon
LOYALTY as a medicine for Us to take; and
we keep takin OF it al! the time and hol-
lcrin hurra for tie Union, and they cuss
round and swear we. didn't take it or
hadent swallered it, and was goin to spit it
out or throw it up, and so we have to take
some more, and keep takin it until. by gol-
IL, we are all sallivated-dad blast EN-. We
had q post commandant here in '63--a 1ur-
riner-a sort OF Frenchy Spanyard or
Spanish Frenchyard, I am not certain
which, and bis name was Captain De la
Mesa. We'll, he stretched a iias across the
sidewalk to make our folks walk under it,
but they wouldn't do it. When the women
rot most to it they Just stepped out in the
street and walked round. Then the old
Spanish dirt-dauber made bigger one anu
stretched it clean across the street, ana our
folks had to 60 clean round the square. l
wish Thornton had have cut his throat
when he had 4 chance, for the old vlIlen
was never satisfied unless he had some OF
our people under arrest. You see, he went
out to Thornton's house with couple Of
Dutchmen to arrest him aud make him
pay some money to nigger he
didn't owe, and Thornton had been
robbed OF everything and was about to
perish to death anyhow, and it made him
so mad he seized the b!ue-coated devil by
the throat and backed him UP against the
side of the house and opened his big jack
knife with his teeth, and would have killed
aim if he hadn't begged for his life so pite-
ously. Them Dutch soldiers threw down
their guns and ran two miles without stop
pine-well, he never bothered thornton
any more. No, sir; I'm like William Tell
about that flag. Pm not going to take Oh
nv hat to it marry time, until they let US
alone. Why, can't take mp newspaper
thot mint got some deyilish lie or insult in
II. and its looks like all the patriotism that
was ever in me has dried UP and blown
away"
Now, what's to be done about it. woult
like to harmonize my friend Rawsins, ant
reconstruct him, but / don't believe ca!
do il. Somehow or other he gets the ad
vantage Of me in the argument, and l don
know " hat to say next. wish you Woul'
get some reconstructed statesman or o1ns
holder 10 fix me up a little speech for sue
| folks as Rawlins, and I'll try him agal'
about the next An OF July. Ii the Demo
Gratis elect their President next year .tiwi
help things powerfully. believe we ca
harmonizo the women on thar.
""' - = -. - l''.r ~, BILL ARP.