The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-01-29
BILL ARP,S CHAT.
He Says the Northern Papers Fave Laid
Aside the Negro for the Indian-Tho Poor
Farmers In the West.
atlanta Consultation.

attention to their own morals. I like that
The publican's prayer was more accept
able one than the Pharisees, The Coun.
try Gentleman in lamenting the condi-
tion Of the farmers in western Kansas
says that ever 10000 families in one dis.
trict are now suffering for the necessaries
of life, and would perish but for charity
This is an awful state of affairs. Itsounds
like the famines ne sometimes read about
that come over China and India and Ja-
pan.
The explanation given is interesting
and peculiar. There is large territory
lying east of the Rocky Mountains that
used to be called the American Desert,
upon which rain seldom falls. In the
spring and early summer it is covered
with buffalo grass that is green and rank
and beautiful to look upon. The great
railroad companies that were crossing
this desert en- route for the Pacific got
immense areas of this land as subsidies
from the government. Of course they
wanted to sell it, and the emigrants must
be the victims. The companies had their
sweet-talking agents at Castle Garden,
and every foreigner who had S1O0 or 5000
to spare was given a free pass to this
beautiful country in the spring and sum-
mer, and they took the poor fellows
money and located him on quarter sec
tion and patted him on the back snd told
him to go to work and be happy. The
companies seemed to think that Dutch
man could make his crops grow, rain or
no rain. The money-lenders from the
east came right along and loaned the
poor fellow enough mouey to build him
little house and 8 big barn and to buy
some stock and some tools and they took
en.year mortgage and told him to work
like the dickens and pay the interest and
not bother about the principal. But thu
rain didn't come and by midsummer the
grass had dried up and blown away, and
the poor farmer couldn't carry enough
water from his shallow well to water his
perishing crop; and 30 he struggled along
and lived on his garden from year to year
hoping for better seasons, but they didn't
come, and now he can't get away, for be
has nothing to get away on.
The Country Gentleman suggests that
as the railroad companies moved them
there to get their money they ought to
move them back to the eastern States free
of transportation. All that rainless coun-
try will have to be irrigated by water
companies just as California is now, and
the government was urged years ago to
withdraw those lands from the market
until irrigation companies were formed.
This accounts for the suffering among
those 10000 families, and reckon ac>
counts in part for those 10000 farms that
are under ltgage in middle and eastern
Kansas. A Georgian writing from there
says they are the best farmers in the
world, but they are overloaded with debt
and will never get out. When they have
good seasons and the grasshopper does
not come they make so much corn the
price drops to Is cents bushel, and it
won't pay to haul it over the mushy roads
to railroad station.
The New York Evangelist, that great
and good paper that is edited by Henry
Fields, is now troubled about the poor
Indian. 1t says they have been exasper.
ated to mercilcss war by the per6dy of
the white man, and that We would do just
as they have done if we had been treated
as they have been for half century.
They gave up their lands under pressure
and under promises that have never been
performed. Government agents and 9th.
or plunderers have cheated them out of
their money and their supplies and left
them to liDger out a miserable existence
on roots and nuts and the scattering game
that is fast disappearing. In their des-
peration they show fight and our soldiers
shoot down men, women and children all
alike and all that accords with Sherman's
cold hearted idea that the only way to re-
form an Indian is to kill him. That's
the way they tried to reform us when
they were marching through Georgia
burning and destroying and making des-
olate.
Forty.fve years ago Sam Houston, who
was the best friend the Indians ever had,
went to Washington and publicly de-
nounced the men and the methods that
were swindling them, and he got into
fight with Mr.. Stansbury, member
from Ohio, and uauled the juice out of
him on the street, but the same sort of
men and the same methods have prevail
ed ever since, and it looks like the poor
Indian has got to 60.
And all this provokes the inquiry :
Who cheats and swindles the Indian {?
Who cheats and swindles the immigrant
Not our people.
Another trouble with the northern
press is the late report of the commission.
er Of internal revenue, which shows that
during the year just passed there were
exported from this Christian land to for.
eign countries 100000 gallons Of spirits
not ghosts nor "sperits of just men
made perfect" but spirituous liquors, and
all of it but 10000 gallons WAS manufac-
tured from molasses in the lovely city OF
Boston and was shipped to Africa for the
negroes, and the bills of lading called it
New England rum. The shippers are
respectable members Of orthodox church.
es and contribute literally to the cause
of foreign missions. Their idea is to es-
tabljsh the doctrine of mans free agency
to 60 to the African with Bible in