The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-08-08
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.

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THE FINANCIAL SITUATION.
Bill Arp Thinks a Division is the Rem
edy-He fs Willing to Divide with
the Banks or any of his Neighbors.
Now is the time for everybody to show
their charity and their good will. Let
US all divide out and help one another
The papers all say that there is plenty
OF money and the banks that have
suspended shave got plenty of assets
and il confidence could be restored
everything would become calm and
serene again. We'll, let us all take ON
confidence and divide out with one
another. A man told me that he knew
| OF one man in Atlanta who lad shifted
all his money into gold and had 800, 600
OF 1t locked up In O private drawer in
one Of the banks and there were lots of
men who had from $1,000 to $4,000
locked up the same way and they were
waiting to see what congress was GO
ing to do with silver. That is all
wrong. That gold ought to be turned
Let us come to a divide until this
! trouble Is over. When the war was
over and everybody was as poor as
Lazarus there were @ few here and
there who had notes on their neig ghbors.
The stay law had prevented them from
collecting, but when that law played
out we poor fellows who owed little
ante-bellum money were suddenly in
vited to pay it and it took us years and
years to do 1t. We were sued and pur-
sued. My friend Bill Fort told me that
1t was an outrage, and it was. All our
substance destroyed and now these
fN hor .sA1~
end, and 80 Fort tried to get up town
meeting and pass resolutions to have q
big bonfire in the middle of the street
and let everybody who had note or q
debt on anybody be called upon to come
forward like patriots and cast the note
or the debt into the fire and then let us
all take a new start in the world. I
thought 1t was q splendid idea, but
when we began'to agitate it it was dis
covered that nobody was in favor of it
except those who owed the money.
Patriotism is one thing and money is
another. They are no kin. But now
1t seems to me is e. good time for every
body to come to o reasonable divide. 1
divide with me, though am in Jim
Perkins fix right now. Jim never had
any money to speak of, but he always
held his head up like gentleman.
One day a poor countryman who knew
Jim and looked up to him took him
aside and begged him for loan of $5
until harvest. Jim seemed very much
distressed and told the poor fellow that
he didn't have that much in the world.
Then the poor fellow lowered his
sights and asked for So, and Jim said
he didn't have that much. "Well, let
me have 81" said he and Jim said
~ 10 k0 la "a
I'll swear before high heaven havnt
had q dollar in month. No, havn't
had dOg-On cent"
The times are awful hard, but if we
will all come to divide nobody will
suffer It's no time to be drawing o. @
man through bank when the bank
wouldn't lend you cent. Banks were
established to help people in Just such
times and Atlanta brags on her banks,
but you can't borrow q dollar through
the front door. They say there is
back door or side door or ground floor
somewhere, but / couldn't find it. l
was willing to take silver, but they
didn't have 1t l reckon. don't like
for anybody to draw on me through a
bank. What has the bank got to do
with man when they won't help him
lap over or bridge over the bloody
chasm. Here am without dollar
and can't buy a chicken or pay the
preacher and ever and anon get q love
letter through the mail saying they
have drawn upon me through the bank
for that little account that has been
running 80 long. Well, as the boy
said to the molasses, "just lett her
run" I'm in a strain just now. It is
the first time in fifteen years that 1
didn't have a dollar in my pocket or
somewhere within reach. I can't feel
like q gentleman. don't go down
town. I'm waiting for something to
happen. Tried to sell some literature,
but they smiled and said they were not
dealing in luxuries now-at least they
were not paying cash, but would give
me a due bill. "What can do with
it?" said I. Keep it," they said,
until things turn loose again." So /
took 1t for better or worse and 7 will
divide it with anybody who is as bad
off as | am. Let us all divide. Now is
| the time q man wants an office-a
salary that comes in every month. Now
| Is the time that these Office holders
| ought to come to divide. If every
man had an Office what glorious
world 1t would be. Great piles of
money to- come pouring in to every
family. That's the way it is up north.
S'o'J coAAoi L'ah Jou hhOOo III OIlo Eodu
has got an office or a pension. Illinois
gets $12 100000 for pensions this year
and then there are the Office holders
besides and the grab at the worlds
fair and we poor miserable sinners
down south not only get nothing, but
have to help pay it all. II Mr.. Clevel-
and had been q little bigger around
his waist he would have given our boys
all the offices as set-off. There are
bowels of mercies and bowels of compass
sion according to scripture and Mr..
Cleveland ought to have them and help
our people out see that The Boston
Herald has figured 1t up and says that
the south has paid to the north $780,
100000 on the pension account, and
that 1t Is likely to run on for half q
century longer. Don't it. make your
blood boil this hot weather to think
about it? Here 1 am without dollar
and can't buy chicken and company
Is coming next week and I owe the
butcher and the baker and the preacher
and my taxes are coming on, and yet
In the face of all these 1 hear the same
old call for more pension money
Nearly every man and woman north ot
the line stands round the public treas
ury with their mouths open like young
birds in nest and say to the paterna
government: Daddy, drop another
bug in here" They greediiy swallow
all the millions that come from pen
sions and the government contracts fol
the army and the navy and nineteenth,
of all the Offices and these niOOs