The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1892-11-16
BILL ARP.
arp Writes About What he Saw In San
Antonio,
atlanta CbnstH.Ition.

There is no town on the continent that
is so quaint, so antique, 30 curious as San
Antonio. It's tropical parts and plssas,
its narrow streets, It's eyergrsaDs and
flowers, its clean cssy cottage homes and
stately mansions all mixed up In neigh
borly proximity, lis public buildings of
psarly stone that are made to conform to
the old Spanish style, with battlements
and balconies and turrsts, and its mixed
population of all colnrs and many Ian.
guages, cause stranger to feel Ike he
has crossed the Rubicon and gotten into
another country-and he has. Ofcourse
it is ia Texas, but Texas is free and
independent State with impsriums and
impsrious everywhere you 60. In Tyler
you can't buy cigar out of the hotel
sboE-caas on Sunday, but in San An
tonic you can buy anything you want In
the asorss and saloons, for they are all
open aud Sunday Is no more than any
other day, except that there ID more frolic
and more bss', more whisksy, more
shows, more badgsr 6ghta, more atirac-
tions In ths suburbs, than any other
day. Thsrs are snoagh peopls 10 fill the
churches bat tAsysr small proportion
Of the population. Tks Germans and
Msxicaas and negroes prsdoniuate and
they do a they please. They are not
reckless or devillsh or malicious, nor does
1t take many policemen to regulate the
city--not as many IS it doss in Atlanta
in proportion 10 the population, bat the
general idea is 10 do ~ you please pro.
vided you don't impose on anyone else.
There is an old English maxim that says
"custom makes law" and 90 these Ger.
mans are just doing as their fathers have
done for generations. They are thrifty,
frugal, industrious, peaceable people and
are not conscious of doing anything
wrong in the way they observe the Sab
bath. The Mexicans are lower order
of civilized humanity, but they rank with
the negroes or laborers aud citizens, ex-
cept that they are poor cooks, poor wait
ers in the hotels and poor cotton pick
ers. 1t is hard to draw the color line
between 80 many colers. 1t is hard on
the railroads to have to provide sep, ate
frat class cara for the negroes when
few OF them travel except on excul u0.
1 have seen beautiful chair-seated ,ar
occupied by one negro woman for one
hundred and ffly miles while We white
folks were crowded for room in another.
But such il the law.
The cllmat. of San Antonio is just like
balmy spring. I don's wonder that the
hotels are fall Of Northern people. That
is right Let them come and spend their
mouey and mix up with us. Whenever
you SEQ Northern man move South and
invest some money, you may bet that he
is q clever man, a fair man. He is
neither fool nor fanatic, nor has he
bitter prejudice against our people.
Such men are always welcome.
went from San Antonio to Beeville,
lovely little town away down near
Corpus Christi-just think what a name
-"she body of Christ" Bee County
was named for General Barnard E. Bee,
who was killed at tt frat battle of Man.
nassas. This region is called the France
of America, and it is filing up with peo-
pie who grow fruits and vegetables. I
rode out to see some OF the beautiful
gardens. They do not seem to have any
seasons but they plant and gather all the
year round. saw corn that was silking
and equashes that were blooming and
the gardeners were still putting seed in the
ground.
San Antonio is the great market for all
this country and it is growing rapidly.
It Is already the largest city in Texas.
It has been called The wicked city, but I
did not see any signs Of 1t except the
dssscyatien of the Sabbath. Maybe Sam
Jones has reformed 1t for time and I
saw it at It's best. Sam is the town talk
and It is certain that he captured all the
thinking people, including preachers,
and editors, and lawyers and doctors.
On Sunday I went to the Episcopal
church With friend who lives there and
the venerable minister, Mr.. Richardson,
took for his text, "What went ye out for
to see, q reed shaken by the wind?"
After he had explained the text and the
context he suddenly aroused and surpris.
ed his congregation by comparing Sam
Jones to John the Baptist, and he drew
the parallel at great length. He said
"we Episcopalians do not like Sam
Jones's methods nor his eccentricities,
for they are utterly at variance with all
our traditions, but he comes like John
tho Baptist came, and he calls the people
to repentance for many long years. l
have beSn preaching 10 you, but confess
ay inability to draw the outside souls
who are psrishing for the light. My
pr.judices against Sam Jones have all
been dissipated and thank the Lord for
raising up such a wonderful man." Hs
said great deal more In his praise, and
it astonished me, for we all know that the
Episcopalians are the last to yield one
lot OF one title of their time honored and
stately forms of church worship. The
contras: between Sam Joaes's simp;a
forms and those of this service taat
I hoard aud saw was striking, for hsre
were twenty little boys in gown and sur
plics, singing and chanting the ritual aud
sometimes they were front-face, ssd
sometimes right-face, and at the close of
the service their leader took up the staff
with its silver cruci6x and they all fol