The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-10-22

think that the landlord ought to let
the guest know in some way that he
lodges you end that the other feIle1
feeds you. knew there was one way
to get even with him, and that was to
do without dinner, which l did.
l like Pine Bluff, though 1 didn't see
the pine nor the bluff. The pine has
been cut down and the bluff caved in,
but it is delightful little city of II, 900
or $4,000 people, mostly black and mu-
latto. The town is we'll laid off and
solidly built up, and the streets paved
and the suburban residences spacious
and home like. New and handsome
houses are going up all the time. The
streets are crowded with wagons loaded
with cotton and the negroes throng the
sidewalks and laugh and joke and
spend their money free. A fine-look-
ing mulatto named Wiley.Jones owns
all the street car lines and is said to be
worth a quarter of a million, and says
he would give it all to be white man.
He is highly esteemed by the white
people, and lends all his influence to
keep peace between the races. This
county sends three negroes to the legis-
lature. Pine Bluff handles more cot
ton and does more business for its size
than any city in the west; everybody
seems to be prosperous and their busi-
ness increasing. I wanted to see Mr..
Howell, one of the eight brothers who
were raised near Rome, and who are
now running eight congresses at tdiffer-
emf points and have made fortunes.
His place of business was pointed out
to me, but when I called for Mr.. How
ell good-natured gentleman said his
name was Howell, but be was not the
man I was looking for-"You wish to
see the Georgia Howell, but I am bet
ter stock than he is, am from South
Carolina" Most everybody here is
from Georgia, or South Carolina, or
Alabama. The native-bcrn citizens
are very scarce and very young.
Now if a man can stand the negroes,
and face the conflict that may come,
Pine Bluff is good place for young
man to come and settle down to busi-
ness, but some thoughtful citizen told
me that there could be no general pros
perity until they got rid of the negro.
Their rich lands would never bring a
fair return until a white population
cultivated them. 1t is all cotton, and
for miles along the railroads you see
nothing but immense cotton fields and
negro shanties. On these farms there
ought to be raised cattle, and sheep,
and hogs, and fruit, and there ought to
be little thriving villages with churches
and schoolhouses; but there is nothing
but miles of cotton and that is badly
mixed with weeds and grass, for the
negroes don't give it but one plowing.
have heard that Pine Bluff is sickly
but I saw no signs of it among her peo-
pie. I never stood up before more
healthy looking audience nor more
cultured one.
And now / am here in Warren,
which is not far from the Louisiana
line. 1t is just 100 miles from Pine
Bluff and it took US just thirteen hours
to make the trip On one Of Jay Gould's
roads. It took US seven hours to make
thirty-eight miles of it and that is the
fastest and the only train he has on it.
But for good company, who were used
to this style of railroads, should have
been desperately mad. Asit is, I could
with great satisfaction, have Jay Gould
tied in that car and made to ride IN it
every day for month. Arkansas needs
a railroad commission badly. Gould
does exactly as be pleases out here, and
cares no more for the comfort of these
people than he does for drove of hogs.
Warren is in a different county.
Only about one. !rd of the population
are negroes, and they give no trouble.
The exhibits at the fair show that
white folks run the machine, and are
improving their stock and emulating
each other in raising corn and oats
and potatoes and hay and fruits of all
kinds. The country is filled up with
good, oldfashioned, substantial people,
who still believe in God and Provi-
dence, and in virtue and temperance
and judgment to come.
BILL ARP.