The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-08-10
BILL ARP'S TALK.
The Georgia Philosopher Visiting In
Louisiana.
atlanta Constitution.

l
Louisiana is making progress-progress
| in education and good morals, Alta mon
ey sacrifice of millions of dollars she has
rejected the offer made by the lottery
| company for renewal of their charter.
North Louisiana did it. The yeomanry
of the hill country were marshaled for
the fight by good men in the towns and
villages and they carried everything like
| cyclone. There has not been such ex.
| citement there since the war. There has
never been such mastery eloquence on
the hustings and never did the people
come together with such unanimity on
| any issue as they did on this. White and
black, Democrats and Republicans, rich
and poor all voted together this time and
they have redeemed the State from the
power of the octopus. have been to
Ruston again, where the State Education
al Convention was held, and there |
heard all about the great lottery canvass,
and who were in it,. and how it vas man.
aged, and how it absorbed everybody and
everything. There was enough anti.lot-
terry ,eloquence to make book-a book
Of speeches for the boys and girls to spout
from. DR.. Palmer gave them start last
fall and il inspired orators all over the
State.
Ruston is charming little town off,
600 people, nearly all white. Itisa brand
new town aud quite select. They don't
exactly vote on applications for citizen
ship, but a bad man is blackballed all the
same, and can't get start. There are no
itch people, and no poor people, and ev-
erybody works, and everybody goes to
Church when Sunday comes. There are
no saloons, no jugs, no gambling dens, no
rowdying. They have the best of schools,
and besides have the elevating, refining
influences Of the chsutauqua and the ed
ucational Convention for about month
every year. Distinguished college Pro-
fessors deliver lectures on science and art,
or read essays on the problems of the day,
and these are open to discussion. Women
from the schools take womanly part in
the proceedings, and pretty ga, with
their graduating bushes thick upon them,
make recitationH and sing songs and
make instrumental music at intervals as
q dessert to the intellectual feast. I found
it possible for q scientist to entertain his
audience for an hour upon the "Mosqui-
to-" and my respect for the little con-
temptible insect has greatly enlarged
since I made his more intimate acquain-
tance. If the learned professor could
make so much out of a mosquito, what
would he do with an elephant or Mt. We.
suvius9 A young girl with a pretty
mouth and an alsbsster throat Knocked
the mocking bird soperfsctly that blind
man could not have told the differences
and yet there was no strain, no puckering
no distortion-the music just seemed to
whistle itself.
Ruston is in the hill country and ia
high and dry, and very much like middle
Georgia. in general appearance and in
climate and productions. In going there
from vicksburg you soon reach the over.
flowed region, and then for thirty miles
the road bed is nearly all the dry land in
sight. In many places the iron rails seem
to be resting on the waters surface. Wa
ter, wa.ereverywhere, as far as the eye
can see. This water comes from tho Gre.
vases and it has submerged hundreds Of
square miles, and ruined the crops Of
thousands of farmers. was ruminating
sadly about this when travelling COM
panion said to me: Glow in the world
do your poor people manage to make 9
living on those poor, worh-out red hilll
in Georgia. It looked to me Like they
would perish to death when I was there
Why don't they cut loose and come
out here where they can make some
thing?"
"My FRIEND" said I, "our hills are poor
but just before I left home ne we're try
ing to get up town meeting to raise
some money to send out here to keep your
farmers from starving"
He admitted that it was pretty bad this
year, but declared that they could afford
to lose one crop in five. At Ruston 6
visitor from the sugar cane region whis-
pered to me that it was pity these hard
working farmers in the poor hill country
of North Louisiana didn't have few
acres of good sugar. cane land attached tt
their farms. And 80 it goes, and here
am at home again in North Georgis
ready to make oath that this is the bes
all round region in North America, ant
1 can prove it by our preacher, who has
Just returned from Oregon. There il
something like gravity or magnetism tina
draws people to their homes and keep'
them contented there. It is good trai
and engenders patriotism and binds com
munities together. Patriotism begins a
home by the freside, from there spreads
to the village, or the militia district, o.
the county in which We live; then j
broadens to the State, and last of all
stretches wide its arms and takes the ma
| ton in its embrace.
There is right smart politicians il
Louisiana, and the third party seems It
be making converts. A friend told mt
that must not be surprised to hear tina
he had Joined the boys in their determi-
nation to purify political methods. g.
have not Joined yet," he said, "but I may
for it is the coming power, and young
man must keep in the line ofpromotion.
That seems to be the way to purify. Pol