The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-08-26
AN EMINENT MER-
CHANTS VIEW
Mr. George Williams Does Not
Think That the Election Of Eth
or Bryan or Mckinley Would
Ruin the Country.

AGlA SO0AGIys
To the Editor of The News and
Courier You will see that your old
correspondents is again 10 the quiet and
peaceful valley of .Nacoochee. | feel
it great privilege to once more visit
this
'Child of the Cha.tahoochee,
Bid in the hills sfsr.''
Nearly all the friends and relatives
#of my early childhood have crossed the
river. Since was here last summer
an only brother, Edwin P. Williams,
aged SO, died. Two sisters and col
ored mauma. who Is 100 years old, are
the only ones left of my early compan-
ions. The old must make places for
@the young. None Of rs, however aged
We may be. or however good off in
health are willing to die. Heaven We
all believe to be a very good place, but
we know more Of our earthly home
than we do of Heaven. All are will
ing TO live as long as they eau. 1t is<a
mereiful provision of Providence that
the young or old ever realize that they
are going to die. All want to live.
seven if they have to work so hard and
struggle for living.
The rest in my quiet mountain home
gives me an opportunity to Investigate
the much agitased question of ''gold
and silver"
take up this question almost from
the beginning Of time. We dnd that
ancient Abraham dealt in silver. He
weighed four hundred shekels of silver
to Ephron to pay for the field of Mach
pelah. For long period. the metal
that was used for money was cast into
rude bars and stamped Originally,
go far as l can learn, silver coin was 10
all countries, for long period the only
Scoin which was considered as the stapd-
ard or measure af value.
In England gold was not legal tender
8 for century after it was coined into
money. Before the discovery Of the
mines in America the value Of gold and
silver was regulated in the, different
@mintsi 10 Europe between the proportions
cf I to10. That is one ounce of gold
was worth ten ounces of silver. while
at one timeit was / to 5. For the past
two hundred years it has been about
81 % Is This vexed and much mis-
understood question will have to be set
tied for the good Of the country by the
people aud not by the politicians and
specnlators.
More than $50 years ago DeSoto
marched from Florida to .'Nacoocbee
Old Town. With an army Of Spaniards
and Indians numbering some Eve thou
sand. Here. ia this beautiful country
thea the capital Of the Cherokee Nation,
he establised. in Nacoochee Valley. his
headquarters, sheltered as they were 90
the north, west aud south by mountain
walls, some of them towering Eve thou
sand feet in the air DeSoto had
been ipformed by earlier Spanish ad-
vensarers that great quantities of gold
cenld be found here. he built long
row Of houses aud in g short time is
scofers we're filled with geld.
DeSoto was consequently the frs,
..gold bag" in this country. His fate
IS known to your readers. The reason
the natives are for gold is because Of
the discovery of that precious metal
here in 1928. Notwithstanding the
vast quantity gathered by the Spapiards
and she millions and millions since
1928 by cur people there is still more
gold in "Nacoochee and its surround
ings' than there is in all the vaults OF
the United States. How much it will
cest to remove it from its snug deposits
remains to be seen. The modern i'm
proyemenss in machinery has greatly
{ alessened the expense of mising.
When | was boy here ip my early
teens asd saw the miners picking up
nuggets worth from ose to four thou
sand dollars [ vas q true, true gold
bug. But my father, who was farm
er, was not willing that the agricultural
currency of the country should be dis
surbed. ordered me to the corn field to
make corn, which Was legal tender at
one dollar per bushel and to make
bacon at teo cents per pound, and other
farm products. which had their cur
rency value. was taught that agri-
culture was the true foundation OF all
wealth and labor the power that sup.
plies nations with their annual con-
sumption. And that labor, either With
the hands or the brains, the application
Of ou- gifts to some bepe6cent result,
:. <ho hoe;o rs in0rovomonk ond honn;