The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-06-11
OF, FOR OLD TIMES!
PIunkett Makes Plea fo1 the Eabes and
Women-The Old Man Wants to Get
Back to the Ways of Doing in
the Olden Times.
r Atlanta Constitution.

TAtlanta Constitution.
Now. don't kick before you are
spur-ed, ye recent agitators, for what L
am going to say is not intended Tor 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 with
me have done the sane thing, ana
there wasn't none Of this having tel-
low TO meet you at the door to show
Won q seat an'l make you feel like
.stranaer-thar warn't no rented seats
then.
They don't walk now. They have
TO offer premiums to get folks to go to
chnrch. Thar's something wrong
somewhere, and if it's not corrected
this will be a land of sin and infdelity.
If there is any progress in the tendency
of the times TO MAKE these societies as
BIG as the church and as good, l can't
see it: but if I say anything they call me
an old fogy and say I've outlived my
time and haint got no sense, and some
times I believe they are right and then
ergin 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 it was er
Young woman's greatest PRIDE 10 carry
her little baby to church and show II
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 with
some careless nurse till its nanny can
rush to churc'. and back. This IS a
hardship on the wimin and its cruel TO
the little ones, and the consequences IS
that the wirnin are getting so they
don't want no children, and L guess II
the children had their way about II
they wouldn't be born.
They used to be proud Of the oaoies
and take 'em to church, and the more
the merrier, and 1 don't see why II
couldn't be that way now. Paltets
were made down on the meeting mouse
floor and the babies were put upon II
and they'd lay there and crow ana kicA
I'D their heels while the preacher
reached, and if one Of 'em got to cry
ing too much its nanny would PICK
it up and go out under the trees with II
for few minutes and there was nobody
disturbed and nobody cared.
These were the old time meeting
houses. The baby boys and the oaoy
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 offer
premiums to get 'em to meeting 1ol
thew loved the old house and the trees
and the benches, and they had heard
many a good thing erbout the olo
brothers and sisters and the sweet little
children that rested in the graveyard
all the associations were dear, and there
was DO new DEPARTURES that could wlh
them from the lessons taught unoei
such surroundings.
4.
When a young woman maffles Cnese
days, before you know it she quits 90,
ing to church, ard the prospect IS tna'
she wont get to so for years, tor the
new tangled fashions don't want babes
at church, and by the TINE one gets ou1
of the way there's another, and the
Door woman will get disgusted Wild
the baby business, become estfanseu
from the church, gets careless erbout
religion, and if the world don't gro"
worse under this state Of affairs my
names not Plunkett.
Bv the time er boy gets in his teens
these days he's looking Ground TO see
what society he will jine. The ooys
not to blame, for he sees that ne mas
got to belong to these societies to gel
erlong in the world. If he wants to oe
q carpenter he must jine a society; II
be wants to lay brick he must Jlne q
society; if he wants to be machinlst
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 a society, ana II lie
wants to be merchant he must Jlne
every darned society in the country,
and thus il is that these things are get
ting to be bigger than the church, and
lis time the church was seeing 1t, ana
it's time that these folks that call me
fool was seeing it, for I tell you that
these isms and these societies and
these departures are taking away the
good cid religion that used to be>here'
and when it is all gone you will be sor-
~, for I can tell you that there is nc
country and no people that can stand
without.a high moral standard, such
as the churches alone give under Gods
blessing.
A fellow might as we'll go to Africa
as to so to these towns and try to work
a. any of the trades without belonging
to societies, and be can be as wicked as
he wants and never go to church; Il
he is all right in his society business ne
will be more than apt to get erlong
If there was any end to this l wouldn''
say a word, but it's getting so that the
more societies a fellow belongs to the
more chances he has, and [ don't SET
where it will stop.
Self-defense forces some into these
societies, and they tell me that IS why
the farmers have formed society fol