The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-04-17
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
ARR Asked to Contribute TO a Monument
to General Sherman.
atlanta OlnatikNttoa.

Atlanta Constitutton.
Mr.. Slickman-Sir: I received your
letter asking for 25 cents to help build
monument to General Sherman, the
hero Of the march to the sea, and
wanting me not to break the chain,
etc. will 60 as far as any rebel So
called to keep the peace and bury the
past and be friendly; but you must
excuse me I have lived all my life
in the path of that march to the sea,
and for thirty years have been strain
ing my mind to see the heroism in it,
and I can't do it. It just shows how
blinded we poor mortals are. All the
hero;sm I see is in the retreat of Joe
Johnston, who, with 10000 men, re-
sisted that march of Sherman with
three times that number and killed
more, man for man, than he had sol
diers. There is where the heroism
comes in. But we will make fair
compromise with you. If you and
your boys will contribute rs cents
| each for monument to Joe Johnston,
the real hero Of the march to the sea,
| we will let you build one to Sherman
and say nothing about it. We thought
that the time was about out for brag-
gring, but if you are determined to
keep it up let's tote fair. It seems to
us that it requires good deal Of cheek
to brag about an army of near three
| millions of men whipping an army Of
| three-quarters of million in four
| years time. I wouldent mention it if
i were you. We are very tired Of all
this ridiculous gush about the Grand
Army of the Republic, especially when
you know or ought to know that you
have on the pension rolls more men
than we had in our army during the
war. You can't knock the truth out
with monuments. We will help you
build monument to all the brave sol
diers who fought on either side and
we will bury the tomahawk and say
hurrah for Americans, but We take no
stock in Tecumseh Sherman, nor any
other Sherman that is kin to him.
We would if we could, but somehow
or other we cant. So you will please
excuse me for breaking the chain.
Some of these days, when this ever
lasting panic is over, we will build a
monument to old Joe Johnston that
will tell the truth and commemorate
the heroism of that march to the sea.
This reminds me of old John Sher.
man, the statesman, so.called, and Of
little paper-covered book that is
called "Coin's Financial School, and
is going the grand rounds on its silver
mission. It did not come from our
side Of the country, but it is captur-
ing the people. I don't know who is
behind it, but do know that it is the
brightest, clearest and most attractive
book on the silver side that has been
placed before the American people,
| and if not answered in an effective,
convincing way will sweep this west
ern country as fires sweep the prairies:
It will not do for the gold standard
folks to say, "Oh, it is all bosh and
is paid for by the silverites.' - The
book must be answered. Maybe it
can't be. I don't know. I can't an.
swer a position in it and I am an aver
age man. The truth is, I am afraid
to believe all that is in it for fear
somebody will call me fool. [ asked
Joel Chandler Harris about it yester-
day and what he knew about W. 81:
Harvey, who wrote it. He smiled and
said: Harvey is silver crank, just
like I am. They call me crank, but
nobody can answer the argument on
the silver side, and hence their only
reply is that the book is humbug-a
deceitful snare and all that, but the
book is taking the western and south
ern country. They cannot print them
as fast as they are called for. You
will find them on all the railroads, but
as yet they have not got in the book
stores. It is said that 250, 900 copies
have already been sold. The simple
colloquial style of questions and an
swers and the illustrations capture the
common people.
Now, there are whole lot Of us
who have been reading both sides Of
the newspapers for year or so, and
we have got all mixed up and come to
the conclusion that nobody knows
much about it. But this little book
has told us more than all the news
papers, and if somebody don't publish
reply to it I'm afraid We will all
slide down the silver toboggan and
stay there. Coin says that the value
of all the property in the United
States is s25, 1000, 600, 900 and the in
debtedness of the nation is ST., ,0OO,-
900, 900, and he gives all the figures
in detail. Well, if that's so, we are
busted and the appointment OF ma
tional receiver is in order. He says
the railroads alone owe $4,000, 900, 900
to Europe and the annual interest is
$24O, 900, 900, payable in gold. he
says that every kind Of property has
been shrinking in value since the
crime Of 1873 that old John Sherman
was the author of. The crime of de-
monetizing silver by an act passed be
tween midnight and day, when every
body was drunk or asleep, and even
General Grant said he dident know
that he had signed any such an act.
It takes twice as much property now
to pay a debt as it did FIVE years ago,
and as we all owe nearly as much as
we don't owe, the country is about
bankrupt, and few thousand million
aires will soon own the whole corncern.
This is the picture he draws, and to
read it and believe it makes a man
feel like taking his double-barrel shot.
gun and joining the army of bread
winners. The masses Of the people
are in debt and while property shrinks,
the debts swell and takes increase
until they are burden. The people
realize this. Not long ago l sold
piece of property for $500 that l re-
fused $1,000 for three years ago. !
was forced to sell to pay debts and
taxes. Some so-called statesmen say
that wheat and cotton and other things
have come down from overproduction
or from cheaper methods of growing
and harvesting. But Coin says how
about wool that has not increased in
quantity but has decreased 60 per