The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-11
The Aerald and 0ew5.
PUBLISHED
EVERY THURSDAY AT
NEWBERRT, S. G.
OH! FOR OLD TIMES:
Plunkett Makes Plea for the Babes and
Women-The Old Man Wants to Get
Back to the Ways OF Doing in
the Clden Times.
+ Atlanta Constitution.

fAtlanta Constitution.
Now. don't kick before you are
spurred, ye recent agitators, for what l
am going to say is not intended for you.
It used to be that the church was the
thing. I've walked six or eight miles
to meeting after working hard all the
week; and every other fellow, and the
girls too, that was raised erlong wlth
me have done the same thing, and
there wasn't none of this having fel-
low to meet you at the door to show
YOU a seat and make you feel like a
+ straneer-thar warn't no rented seats
then.
They don't walk now. They have
to offer premiums to get folks to go to
church. Thar's something wrong
somewhere, and if it's not corrected
this will be land of sin and infidelity.
+ If there is any progress in the tendency
of the times to make these societies as
big as the church and as good, 1 can't
see it; but if I say anything they call me
an old fogy and say I've outGved my
time and haint got no sense, and some
times I believe they are right and then
-erein I think they are fools and, all IN
all, I've got to believe that Jordan is a
hard road to travel
I've seed the day when 1t was ef
Young woman's greatest pride to carry
her little baby to church and show 1t
off. and the woman that had twins
was just as proud ergin as the mother
with one; but now it's got so that the
baby must stay at home erlong Win
some careless nurse till its nanny can
rush to church and back. This is a
hardship on the wimin and its e.'ss IS S.
The little ones, and tbs>eonsequences il :
that tths-Siasi1-are the SiGi1 are getting so they
DON'T want no children, and l guess II
5 the children had their way about II
they wouldn't be born.
They used to be proud of the oaoles
and take 'em to church, and the more
the merrier, and I don't see why 1t
couldn't be that way now. Pallets
were made down on the meeting mousse
floor and the babies were put upon It
and they'd lay there and crow and KICK
up their heels while the preacher
preached, and if one OF 'em got to cry
ing too much its NANNY would: pick
itup and 60 out under the trees with II
for a few minutes and there was nobody
disturbed and nobody cared.
These were the old time meeting
houses. The baby boys and the BABY
girls all laid on the pallets side by side'
and as they growed up they sat on the
benches side by side and then arter
awhile they loved and courted and
married and brought more children
to the same meeting house, and thus
it was that you didn't have to otter
premiums to get 'em to meeting, 1or
they loved the old house and the trees
and the benches, and they had nearo
many good thing erbout the ola
brothers and sisters and the sweet little
children that rested in the graveyard
all the associations were dear, and there
was no new departures that could WIN
them from the lessons taught unoer
such surroundings.
When a young woman marrles Vhese
days, before you know it she quits 60
ing to church, and the prospect is that
she wont get to go for years, for the
new tangled fashions don't want oaoleS
at church, and by the time one gets OUT
of the way there's another, and the
poor woman will get disguised Win
the baby business, become estranseo
from the church, gets careless eroou1
religion, and if the world don't gro"
worse under this state of affairs, my
names not Plunkett.
Blythe time er boy gets in hls teens
these days he's looking Ground TO see
what society he will jine. The boys
not to blame, for he sees that he has
got to belong to these societies TO get
erlong in the world. If he wants to be
carpenter he must jine society; II
he wants to lay brick he must Jlne
society; if he wants to be a machlnlst
or railroader, he must jine society; II
he wants to be printer be must Jlne
society; if he wants to be professional
man he must jine society, and II ne
wants to be merchant he must pne
every darned society in the country,
and thus it is that these things are get
ting to be bigger than the church. ana
IFS time the church was seeing 1t, ana
it's time that these folks that call me
fool was seeing it, for [ tell you that
these isms and these societies and
these departures are taking away the
good old religion that used to oe here,
and when it is all gone you will be sor-
ry, for I can tell you that there is no
country and no people that a stand
without high moral standard, such
as the churches alone give under GODS
blessing.
A fellow might as well go to Africa
as to &C. to these towns and try to work
a. any of the trades without belonging
to societies, aud be can be as wicked as
he wants and never so to church; II
he is all right in his society business he
will be more than apt to get erlong.
If there was any end to this l wouldn't
say word, but it's getting so that the
more societies fellow belongs to the
more chances be has, and l don't see
where it will stop.
SelE-defense forces some into these
societies, and they tell me that is why
fDr,paS cooiptI- for