The Opelousas courier., 1883-07-14

vs. Rich on the Whisky
Question = Griffin "Star"
Fitch. HIS "reminiscences OF
the Wicked Past. He has
Quit going to Atlant@-the Ba@
Place tees IN Afcadta,
BrjmtuN Of Bliss. Bill and
Fitch DroWn their Grief ut
Parting, in q Cup cf"AuM
Lang Syne."
No fence and no whisky seem
to be encroaching upon the
State-spreading out together
and taking county after county.
| was down in Middle Georgia
not long ago, and / asked an
old darkey how he liked the no
fence law and he said, II like
him fust rate, sir, now we got
him, but | voted agin him every
time, sur. | wanted a fence,
sur, to keep oder peoples stock
often my truck, but [ forgot all
de. time dat de oder folks have
got to keep up der own stock
too; yah, yah, yah" 1t looked
very strange to me as | travelled
along the big road to see the
corn and cotton growing right
close up to the edge Of the high
way and no fence between.
Good solid farmers told me that
everybody was satisfied with the
working of the new system.
Timber is getting scarce in those
old settled counties, and now
they don't need it, except for
fire wood. Well, | did see two
OF three farms protected on the
side next the road by a single
barbed wire stretched along
posts about twenty feet apart.
This was to prevent the droves
of mules and beef cattle from
straying on the growing crops.
But wire is cheap now, only
half a cent q foot, and a thou
sand feet costs only five dollars.
We have been out-voted twice
here i'm Barlow and three times
in Floyd. Now if we can get
only a piece of the law we do
very well-if we can vote the
hogs out we can get along with
the cattle, for a fence with two
wires will keep the cattle out,
and that won't cost half as much
as rails. Small chestnut or
postoak posts set twenty-five or
thirty feet apart will make a
good support, and two men can
plant them and stretch a thou
sand feet in a day.
The darkeys always vote solid
against the no fence law. They
have very little interest in it,
for most Of them are tenants or
hirelings, but they have an idea
that it is a rich mans law, a
democratic law, and is going to
hurt the niger in some way.
And for a similar reason a good
many poor white folks vote
against it sorter like they felt
about the late war-that it was
a rich mans war and a poor
mans fight. There is more or
less jealousy everywhere be-
tween the poor and the rich.
And that is the main reason
why poor folks and niggers vote
against prohibition of whisky.
It is encroaching on their rights
and privileges. They say that
a rich man can always get it,
law or no law, but a poor man
can't. They wouldn't vote to
abolish snakes if rich man was
allowed to keep one in his back
yard. Mr.. Nunnally says he
finds that most everybody would
vote to prohibit everybody from
drinking except themselves.
One man said he would vote it
out of every county in the State
except his county, and he would
vote it out of all of his own
county except his district. It's
like folks who have children at
school, they are willing for the
teacher to whip everybOdy's
children but theirs.
/ travelled with Fitch the 9th
er day. Fitch who immortaliz-
ed the Griffin STIR about fifteen
years ago. Fitch is now run
ming d farm in Alabama, and
says he is happy. Fitch is a
trump always liked him, for
he is q candid, outspoken man,
and has a great big heart in
him. Fitch used to run up to
Atlanta every few days and get
hilarious. / was glad to meet
him on the train, and we sat
down and talked of the old
times, when we were in political
frntahlnc SAYS he &c thank