The Van Buren press., 1895-11-02
COME ON DOWN sotJTH.
Bill Arp Extends a Cordial Invita-
ton to the Northerners.

Asks the Lord to Forgive Emile Thinks
II lie Had u Pension He Could Love
Everybody-He Is Against
Pensions, However.
It looks live everybody is running over
with love about these times in these
parts. The Grand Army brought down
great rivers of 1t to Louisville and over
flowed the city. Then it came on to
Chattanooga and flooded the town, and
then to Chickamauga and submerged the
great battlefield, and thence to Atlanta,
and had enough left to moisten the torrid
soul and cause Clara Nicer to rise several
inches. We like this-we all like frater-
nal relations. Our hospitality is un-
bounded to our friends and the remotest
sign of reconciliation is given vel
come. There are no people as emotional
and as friendly by nature as ours. South
ern hospitality is proyerbial. But it must
not be abused. We demand return of
what we give. We are the same people
we were before the war. There is no
change in our politics or our religion,
but we are tolerant and forgiving and
will always meet our foes on half way
ground and shake hands and make
friends. We welcome this visitation of
our Northern brethren and hope it may
result in more harmony between the Sec
tons. If it induces few thousands to
domiciiie among us It will do good. Moth
ing else will ever convince and convert
Northern man but few years spent
among us in social and business life. They
must get away from their preachers and
editors and their school books. Most of
those teach hate instead of love. The
North does not understand us yet and
there were two orators at Chickamauga
who were sincere enough to tell the truth
without disguise. Gov. Woodbury., of
Vermont spoke the New England senti-
ment when he said they would still teach
their children that we were wrong in the
fight And Gov. Turney, of Tennessee,
replied, "that we would teach our child
rem that we were right in the fight, and
will go to our graves in that faith" Both
were honest in their utterances. The
last was provoked to reply and did it
manfully.
s.ometimes / have doubted whether
there was any good to come of these
gushing gatherings, for however-so-much
the speakers may talk of love and recon-
ciliation, the old bitterness that culmi-
mated in the late war still maintains
among the masses of lie people, both
North and South. The braggadocio of
the North does not set well on the South,
considering that it took 100000 of men
four years to conquer one-fourth that
number. If they were truly friendly and
considerate they would stop pensioning
their soldiers or else would propose to
pension ours. We are not only willing
but anxious to make friends, but there
never will be any real good feeling as
long as we have to pension our own sol
diers and help to pension theirs. Love is.
q good thing but it takes two to make it.
Christianity has never vet gotten its con-
certs to that heavenly frame Of mind
and heart that will make them love their
enemies. The best we can do is to say,
Lord, have mercy on r.2em and forgive
them. for we can't. The truth is, !
have quit trying to forgive some Of our
enemies, for they won't help me bit.
Even the Lord does not forgive man
who does not repent and these pension
howlers and Union savers don't repent
bit. What l want them to do is to ac-
knowledge that we outfit 'em at Chicka-
mauga and everywhere else. Then l
want them to say, you rebs had just as
good excuse for fighting as we did. Then
I want them to begin to pension our SOL
diers. They ought to give us back ra-
tions, but that would break the govern
ment, and so we will forgive them that
much. We have gotten along without it
and reckon can do SO again. But most
of their speakers were kind enough to say
that both sides fought on principle for
what they believed to be right, and If that
Is 80 both sides are entitled to the same
reward. The truth is, that neither side
is entitled to any. Pensions are dis
count upon patriotism. don't mean
pensions to those who were utterly dis
abled by the war and are on the charity
of the public. They are not one in ten
of the pensioners, either State or ma
tional. Thomas Hart Benton called the
whole system a new departure when in
1841 he opposed the grant of $4,000 to
President Harrison's widow. Said he:
'"This is new page opened in the book
of our public expenditures, and this new
departure will lead us into the bottomless
gulf of pensions and gratuities."
Well, it is a gulf, an awful gulf. The
government has to foster and protect all
the whisky business to get revenue
enough to pay the pensions. saw two
of the pensioners yesterday. sat behind
them in the car and heard them talking
In their broken English. They were good
solid Dutchmen and talked about Kenne-
saw as we travelled by its base. One
said: II vas, wounded right over dare in
dose voods," and when we got to the sta
ton the other said: 'Dis is Pig Shanty;
dere is fine spring over dare an l fill
my canteen and so did all de poys and
den de capen say: 'Poys, you must dou-
BILE quick, now, for dere will be hell to
pay at de foot of dat mountain And
shore enuf dere vas-dat vas dc hottest
place ever vas in and / got my pension
right over dare. De rebels fight like de
devil for dat mountain, but we flank 'em
every time-dey fight and we flank. Mine
gootness, l wish l had dat spring on my
farm"
But we must all love another If we
can. l am strainin' myself all the time.
Love is the best thing in the world.
Love to God and love to man. Love
rules the camp, the court, the grove"