The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-08-30
BILE ARR.
Help tho Poor In the hour OF Pestilence
and Need.
Atlanta Constitution.

atlanta Constitution.
"The pestilence that walketh in
darkness /" fine was when God
punished his people for their idolatry
by the sword and by famine and pes
| thence. Idolatry was the chief sin Of
the nations-the one most abhored by
| the Almighty-the violation Of the
first commandment. II am the Lord
thy God" and for this he sent upon
them the most terrible of all aflic-
tions. The prophet said unto the
Jews, "Bccause of this, one-third Of
thee shall die by the sword-one-
third by pestilence, and one-third l
will scatter to the winds" That
| prophecy was literally fulfilled.
It seems to me that a man could
risk anything with less danger than
infdelity or atheism or agnosticism.
That is the objectionable sin for
which the jews suffered such awful
curses. They do not suffer for it now
for in the whole race is not to be found
an infdel. They believe in God.
But the world is getting better.
Wherever there is Christian civili-
cation famine and pestilence have
almost ceased to be. Just as Chris
| tianity progresses so does science, and
the time seems to ?e near at hand
when the sword shall rust in its scab-
bard and all the conflicts of nations
| shall be settled by arbitration, just as
| the Behring sea fisheries have been
settled. I believe that the time is
| near at hand when the pestilence that
walketh by night will be annihilated
by scientific remedies-when people
will not have to fly for their lives to
cities Of refuge, and the poor and
helpless will be as safe in Brunswick
and Pensacola as those who have
means to get away.
The saddest feature in poverty's
hard fate is the utter helplessness Of
the poor in the time Of pestilence-a
time when even pity sleeps and char
ity grows cold. We who live on the
highlands open our doors to the refu-
gees and say come and abide with us,
but no message is sent to the poor
who cannot come. Once I saw them
tumbled into box cars by the hundred
and in the dark night they were hur-
ried away from Memphis to 60 they
knew not where. Every town and
city along the line was guarded and
the sentinels said, sSnot here, don't
stop, keep moving" [ rode on the
platform Of a cab all that long and
weary night and until We were stopped
within a few miles of Chattanooga,
where the quarantine o'dcers halted
us, and covertly hid myself in their
car and got away. The train of the
poor refugees was hurried through the
city and on to the mountains of East
Tennessee, but what became of them
1 never knew, It was an awful time
and I hope that such troubles will
never happen again. [ don't believe
they will happen, for as science ad-
vances so does safeguards against all
kinds of danger and distress. There
was time when New York could have
been destroyed by great fire, but not
now. The horrors of fire and sword
and famine and pestilence are gradu-
ally being ameliorated. These horrors
are terrible upon the poor, and are re-
lieved only by death. The rich can
find refuge, but the poor make no new
friends. The State or the city Off
cials may hurry them away from an
infected city, but they find no open
doors, no welcome, no homes for shell
ter.
was thinking last night how much
better off the poor are in the country
than in the cities. What mistake
for a poor man to move to city. He
had better hire out to a farmer and
live in log cabin and let his wife and
children have patch Of corn and cot
ton and raise chickens and breathe
pure air and drink good water. Our
travelling preacher told us last night
about his recent visit to the four
Counties Of Banks and jackson and
Franklin and Hall, where he preached
to the people in country Churches and
broke bread with them in their coun-
try homes. How humble, how unpre-
tending and yet how happily they
lived. Everybody dropped everything
and went to Church-men, women and
children. EVERYBODY in the neighbor-
hood belonged to the Church and
there was no matericl to work on un-
til it grew up and was old enough to
join. Even the babies had to go, and
if they cried in the good old way no.
body took on about it. When it got
right bad the mother took it out and
about that time another began, but
nobody seemed to think it an outrage.
The preacher had to preach little
louder, 80 as to drown out the child
that was all. He says the front seats
are the first ones filled and the young
men help to fill them. Nobody seemed
to fancy the back seats, and they were
only taken as last resort by those
who came late. He says he has
preached in finer Churches, where the
seats were more comfortable and the
lights were brighter and the singing
more harmonious, but he never
mingled with a better people. They
are all farmers and work hard and live
humble and thankful, and would never
have found out there was a financial
panic if they hadn't read it in the
weekly paper. One old man said he
never found out there was panic in
1873 until about two years after itwas
over. These people love to go to
Church. They have nothing else to
go to. They go for the instruction
and entertainment, and not for dis
play. They feel as much at home in
their Church as they do by their fire
sides. II mother wants water for
her child she walks up to the pulpit
and takes it from the preacher
pitcher and nobody is Mortified. The
singing is rather ancient, but is unan-
imous. Everybody sings and they
like hymns and long meter. They sing
every verse of GLOW Firm a Founda-
tion," and are sorry there are but
seven. If the "tune hyster' makes
mistake he tries it again, and nobody
smiles or giggles. They all go there
for business and that business is to