The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-12-03
PLuNKET IN
The Old Man Goes to a Political Meet.
inc.

j ne OlQ man GOeS TO a TOIlt1CaI meet
ing.
Plunket was in a meditative mood and
set for some time silent, but, raising his
head, suddenly proceeded:
81 thought I knowed something erbout
confusion, but L didn't, till I seed that
meeting up to Atlanta Thursday night.
"In my school days we had er game
called Skinny and it was rough and
tumble for one side to get the bali erway
from the otaer side. Sims were cracked,
dust flew, and there was s%crambling and
yelling Skinny on your own side, but
that warn't nothing to the scramblLg
these since the-war fellows have to get
the offices.
TIused to think that a row at er corn
shocking, or a rivalry between the settle,
mems as to- who should hole r the loudest
and throw corn the fastest and hold the
Jug ergin one another, Was er sight, and it
was, but IL wasn't er circumstance to the.
scramble those fellows have for the offices.
I've seed the corn err flynn, difing this
one ana that one in the burr Of the ear,
and the elements were filed with fence
rails, and fellows drappeda and fellows
wallowed, and sucks were scattered n
| singers were bowling the corn songs, but,
shoe! that warn't nothing to this meeting
Thursday night-lt took the cake, it was
what the young generation would say, the
whole confectionery.
u used to think hat er regular old
fashioned Methodist camp meeting was
hi broke loose in Georgia-and 1T. was
but it warn't no whar to this meeting.
I've seed the old wimmin er jumping and
er finging their arms and er fainCing and
er falling and er hugging and er shufaing
with the sinners to get en- up to the
mourner's bench, while the Famens,' and
'glory!' glory!' and the singers ringing
Out the old ship of Zion COMPOUNDED
confusion, but it warn't nothing.
"WhenI watched EN- er while I begin
to want to get acquainted with the leaders
and as n would pop up | axed er young
fellow by me:
Who is he-what does he foNow?'
"'He's a lawyer
"Who is that one?'
"He's a lawy er."
Who is this just getting up?
"He's a lawyer
"And then anot2er, and another andan
other, and another, aud another onehoppedS
up, and they were al lawyers. Then |
turned to the fellow by my side and
lowed:
81 thought this was er peoples meet
ingY
"He give the most scornfuI look I ever.
seed, and lowed:
"Well, h'aint lawyers people?
:" What are your [ axed.
"'Im er lawyer
81 hunched Blown and told him that
accounted for it that was the reason of so
much h-l, and Brown lowed yes
"Well, it's all right, [ reckon. It's
politics, and every generation has its own
way of running elections.
1--WE used to have times, butt was out
of doors; it wasn't concentrated like it is
now, and it may be that is what's the
matter,
eff the I'D wings and democrats had
er been shut up in er courthouse together,
there might nave peer times, bad times,
times equal to this, but folks them days
had more sense, and the niger warn't In
it, nor whiskey warn in it, cepting that
it was free-free from tax and free for
all, and the darned stuff didn't cause near
as much fuss running wild as it does try
ing to keep it tame.
eve raised poles them days, and had
barbecues and speakings, and such law
yers as Warner and Trip and Speer and
Peoples and Floyd and Glynn and Cabi-
ness and Doyal would discuss fhe matters
every darned little old lawyer didn't
hop up them days and make more fuss
than a calliope, and preachers could go,
and ladies could go, If they wanted to, but
they kept their bonnets on and you'd have
knowed they were keepers of the house,
"But there was evils in them days, too.
There was a system of kidnapping in
them times. A man in them days who
was low enough to sell his vote got some
thing worth talking erbout for it. A
month before the election come off these
low fellows would be taken charge Of by
ore party or the other-the first that
caught 'em-and fed high and 'watered
strong. It was the business of one party
to steal these fellows from the other
party, and a strict guard was kept over
them. They were usually kept In some
hall at the county seat, and all their wants
cared for till their votes were cast. Many
er time the democrats would feed and
water a hall full of 'em for a month,
and the night before election wings would
get ladders up to the windows and steal
| EN- out and vote 'em the next day, but it
took er mighty peart wing to outsteal a
democrat, and that's what made me smile
when old Hayes got erway with em.
"But them were old times, the unpro-
gressive times, the times that this young
generation would call 'heathenish,' and
yet I lived through all them years and
never seed a meeting that could hold a
light for one of these Atlanta political
court house meetings" SARGE.
LUcKLEss WILD GEESE.