Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-12-02
BILL ARP
On the Old Ruts.
sunny South.

One time WAS tidNCiHl6 ONSA
bad road with General Black ana
every time / started to try q new
way to dodge mud hole the Gener-
al would say keep in the old ruts,
my boy, keep in the old ruts, IT'S
the safest aud surest." Eve thought
of il many time since and it's
a good maxim to follow in all the
relations of life. These new de-
partures may work for awhile, but
In the long run they most always
come to grief; new inventions aud
new contrivanceS to lessen labor
and increase products are good
things and they don't set aside the
maxim any more than filling up
the mudhole would have done, but
a new departure in science or poll
tics or religion or time honored
Driuciples won't do to bet on.
Short cuts or new roads to acquire
mower or fame or money or happI-
ness or get to Heaven are against
fhe order of nature. The old beaten
track that our fathers laid out when
folks were honest and unpretendlng
is still the only road that Is SAFE.
Mr.. Darwin hunted diligently a
whole life time for a new theory
about the origin of man ana ne
thought he had found it when he
gave us babboons for ancestors Dut
there are babbOons In the world
still and why they haven't been
developing into men Mr.. Darwin
couldu't explain, and so his life
long theory died with him. Bob
Ingersoll made II splendid departure
in religion, his new theory came
mn like the comet and like the com
ct Is passing away. Mr.. Beecher
has made good many departures
and ever and anon gets out Oh the
old r,Its and tries new ones, but
sooner or later he gets back again
and logs along in harmony and
Deace. The MormOns are coming
to grief and spiritualism Is al
ready dead and jesse 1t is In poll
tics. When a man gets office by |
force or fraud or new cuts he over
leans himself and sooner or later
will fail on the other side. Hayes |
is POLITICALLY dead and Arthur Ia In !
the last agOnies and Malone Will
follow suit in due time. was
thinking of all this when the knell
of the Georgia Independents was
rung, last Wednesday morning.
The new departure of impatient
and aspiring men, paid very well
in the short run but il didn't pay in
the long. No man can serve two
no man can ride two horses
at once, except a circus man and ne
can't ride 'em long, and 1t keeps
him awfully straddled and painful
Iy fattigued while he is at it. The
wear and tear on a man who Is
irving to run with the hare and
bark of the hounds, trying to court
the democrats and coquette with
the republicans and fool the niggerS
all at the same time must be awful.
1t takes a mighty smart man to do
IL once and smarter ona 20 do II
twice, but no man can succeed at ii
more than three times, for the peo-
ple, though sure are slow and by
and by they will get tired just like
we get tired of a showman's tricks
whether we understand 'em or not.
The old way is the best way
whether a man gets an Office or
never gets an Office, for 1t is far
better to stay at home forever than
to take a short cut or an independ-
emit line for office. Two years ago L
heard a man ask a member of the
Legislature why he wouldn't vote
or Gen. Lawton, and he said, ,
because he was too dOgOne monOt-
)pous," and when asked what he
meant by it he said, "why these
mere dignified swelled up men like
Gen. IawtOn don't get down off
heir high horses and play around
With the boys a bit: they just go
along the same old way all the
ime and are the same old thing
brewer and ever, and you always
know where to find them, and
What they are doing, and they
never change politics nor religion .
Tor nothing, and get up no excite
nent, and [ don't like 'em. They :
ire too monOtOnous." Jesse. And ,
hats why these Independents sue
,eed for a while. The people take
O a new thing sometimes just for a
hange, but they always come back
o first principles. Shortly after the !
var sent my darkey to mill after
ONE meal, and he was gone all =
light to a campmeeting, and when !,
IL CdIll6 UdCk Il was 40 Ahnu ao q Q
iting dog, and he explained by :,
aging he "jes went off to see 7
whether he was free or still mig !,
er and now he was satisfied and r
go away any mo-" Jes- :
D. There are heap OF people who :
ave a wrong idea of freedom and 7
rant to do as they please about !,
They don't like laws \
or taxes nor summons to serve =
n a jury or work the public road J,
r submit to church government or y y
official organization. To men of =
Ich temperament it seemed a 7
)lendid change to vote "Independ- \
at" for the word is a good word =
nd we all like it, but after while y
lese men found out there wasn't u
luch independentism about it for q
lere was no more choice of candi- n
ates than there was before, and 1t q
as one man all the time and that ~
an nominated himself.
Mr.. f. f. BARNARD, of Nash ~