The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-10-09
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Bill Arp Extends a Cordial Invitation
10 the Nortberners.
atlanta Constitution.

atlanta Constitution.
It looks like everybody is running
over with love about these times in
these parts. The Grand Army brought
down great rivers Of it to Louisville
and overhowed 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 soil and
cause Clara Nicer to rise several inches.
We like this-we all like fraternal re-
lations. Our hospitality is unbound
ed to our friends and the remotest
sign of reconciliation is given wei
come. There are no people as emo
tional and as friendly by nature as
ours. Southern hospitality is pro-
verb. But it must not be abused.
We demand a return Of what we give.
We are the same people we we're be-
fore 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 north
ern brethren and hope it may result
in more harmony between the sections.
If it induces few thousands TO domi-
cile among us it will do good. Moth
ing else will ever convince and convert
a northern man but few years spent
among us in social and business life.
They must get away from their preach
ers 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.
Governor Woodbury., of Vermont,
spoke the New England sentiment
when he said they would still teach
their children that we were wrong in
the fight. And Governor Turney, Of
Tennessee, replied, 'that we would
teach our children that we were right
in the fight, and will go to QUIZ graves
in that faith" Both were honest in
their utterances. The last was pro-
voked to reply and did it manfully.
Sometimes [ have doubted whether
there was>say good to come Of these
gushing gatherings, for howeyer-so-
much the speakeEs may talk of love
and reconciliation. The old bitterness
that eliminated in the late war still
maintains among the masses Of the
people, both north and south. The
braggadocio of the north does not set
we'll on the south, considering that 1t
took 100000 of men four years to
conquer one-fourth that number. If
they were truly friendly and consider
ate they would stop pensioning their
soldiers or else would propose to pen
sion 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
soldiers and help to pension theirs.
Love is good thing but it takes two
to make it. Christianity has never
vet gotten its converts to that heav-
enly frame of mind and heart that
will make them love their enemies.
The best we can do is to say Lord have
mercy on them and forgive them, for
we can't. The truth is, I have quit
trying to forgive some Of our enemies,
for they won't help me a bit. Even
the Lord does not forgive man who
does not repent and these pension
howlers and union savers don't repent
bit. What I want them to do is to
acknowledge that we outfit 'em at
Chickamauga and everywhere else:
Then want them to say you rebs had
just as good excuse for fighting as we
did. Then 1 want them to begin to
pension our soldiers. They ought to
give us back rations, but that would
break the government, 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 so both sides are entitled to
the same rewards. The truth is, that
neither side is entitled to any. Pen
sions are discount upon patriotism.
I don't mean pensions to those who
were utterly disabled by the war and
are on the charity of the public. They
are not one in ten Of the pensioners,
either State or National. Thomas
Hart Benton called the whole system
a new departure when in 184l he op-
posed the grant Of $4,000 to Presi-
dent 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 pro-
tect all the whiskey business to get
revenue enough to pay the pensions.
I saw two of the pensioners yesterday.
I sat behind them in the car and heard
them talking in their broken English:
They were good, solid Dutchmen and
talked about Kennesaw as we travelled
by it's base. One said: "Ivas wounded
right over dare in dose voods," and
when we got to the station the other
said: "Dis is Pig Shanty; dere is a
fine spring over dare an I fill my can
teen and so did all de poys and den de
capcn say: 'Poys, you must double
quick now, for dere will be hell to pay
at de foot of dat mountain. And
shore enuf dere vas-dat vas de hot
test place ever vas in and | got my
pension right over dare. De rebels
fight like de devil for dat mountain,
but we flank EN- every time-dey fight
and We flank. Mine gootuess, l wish
I had dat spring ON my farm.
But we must all love one another II
we can. / am strainin myself all the
time. Love is the best thing in the
world. Love to God and love to man.
Glove rules the camp, the court. the
grove.
"All thoughts, all passions, all delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
All are but ministers of Love
And food uia eaorad haman