The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-08-15
WRITE LETTERS
TO COMFORT THE OLD ONES YOU
HAVE LEFT 1T HOME.
Apps Advice to Wandering BOys-The JOY
of an Old NJ other on Receiving Mes
sage from Her Child.

| l was Illuminating upon the presidents
message and have come to the conclusion
| that perhaps | am the only reading man
| in all the country who does not understand
| the question. The trouble is | read both
| sides and have got all tangled up. If
| man wishes to preserve his peace of mind
| and his self conceit he should read only
| one side of politics religion. This may
| make him wrong in his path, but he is more
| contented and more Jealous. He can just
| rip around and raise Cain in politics and
he can go it blind for his church and his
preacher. An intelligent friend who is just
from Washington told me yesterday that
Mr.. Cleveland was the grand impersonation
| OF the national government; that he was
greater than parties or platforms and would
run the machine Independent of all re-
straints. 'If," said he, Grover Cleveland
should die tomorrow the country would go
| to ruin in thirty days Another friend
said the message was an abortion and Mr..
| Cleveland was a huge mistake-the most
| overrated man in the nation.
| But l. am not going to worry about it.
| III there are not enough Drains among the
statesmen at Washington to fix up this
money business L can't help it. SO let it
rip. read the message on my way home
| from the postofiice and when | reached the
piazza where Mrs. Arp was sitting | said:
Here Is letter, a message from the
| president, would you like to read it?'
No. She said Did you bring me any
letters from the boysY'
| "None,' said |.
81 am afraid they are SICK" she said.
| They haven't written for three or four
| weeks. They never write when thew are
sick ~
| There it is. A letter from son or
| daughter who is far away is bigger thing
to mother than Grover Ceveland's mes
| sage everywhere. all over the land the
| ,.od folks at home" are waiting for letters
| them sitting on the piazza or by the fire.
| side with a shade of sadness on their faces
and as they look dreamily away | know
what they are thinking about. There is
| n3thlnS sadder IN life than the separation
| OF aged parents from their children. DR..
Samuel johnson said: Il have always
| looked upon it as the worst condition of
| mans destiny that most persons are torn
| asunder just as they become happy in each
| others society,"
If this be true concerning the friends
and companions of our youth, how much
| more iouchingly does it apply to the aged
ones whose children have removed far
away from the old homestead Love and
memory IS about all their earthly capital
| ana from day to day and week to week
| they look for letters--kind letters, loving
| letters from the absent ones whom per
| maps they will never see again, but hope
y" meet-Fes, nope to meet-on the other
| side.
Letters from the children are the next
| best thing to their presence and the chill
| ureh ought to write thcm-write them
| often-.Write regularly. While | was ru-
| mnatng about this l heard the sweet
s sur III N or mat pretty song, Il Sent Let
| Ter TO My Love- and then I got to think
ing what blessed contrivance these LET
| ters We're, the daily mail, the government
posi-, 'ne SWIFT messengers that like Mer-
Jury speed over sea and land to com
Tort us. Memory went back to
the time when | was oway
from home for long long wear
ana how happy l was when a letter come-
| q le''eI from nome especially when there
| was Il httIe money in it. Heard a college
| hPIne with money i'll it was the best letter
and the best money in the world. Parents
are sure to write them and to send a little.
money when they can, and 50 when the
parents grow Old and feeble the children
should pay them back and let no sad
memories make burrows on their brow. 7
would plead with the boys everywhere to
comfort their old mothers with kind and
loving lettcrs-the good old mothers who
have them and nursed them and comfortnd
them and took their part i'll all their troubles
never let mother feel the truth of the
proverb, How sharper than 4 serpcnts
tooth it is to have thanklcss child" l
have heard of boys going away to the far
west to seek their fortune and not writing
a line back home for years. ! have scea
aged parents who had not heard from their
boy so long they had given him up for dead
They had written TO where he was last
but had no answer. But he was not dead
and in one case he came back after eleven
years OF absence-camc back and comforttd
them for he had SOWn his wild oats and
reapcd the crop and was tired. Boys don't
do that way, please don't, write letters,
lattn
treasures, they are read and rcread. ]
know where is bundle now, big bundle
tired around with tape and it gets bigger
the years roll on. If the writers should
get killed or die from sickness the tape
will be united and the letters read again
while tear drops mere and there upon the
open leaf
Writing letters regularly to kindred and
friends reacts Upon the writer and makes
him better, genter, kinder They take but
little time and cost only two cents to send
and really the most valuable things for
the cost that can be found in the world
a good loving home letter that cost only
ten minutes in time and , cents in money
IS worth ten dollars to any mother who loves
her child.
The mails are blessed privilege, and
one that was almost unknown to our faith
erS. One hundred years ago there were
but Scyenty-fve postofices in the United
States, now there are nearer 10000. 1t
is not generally known that Ben Frank
lin was the first postmaster general in this
country, and held his office for twenty-one
years under the British government One
mail IL week was considered quite enough
between the large cities | remember when
one mail week was the allowance in our
country towns. By and by we got it twice
a week and felt our consequence. -Four
times Il day we have it now in CarterSville.
| remember when the sound of the stage