The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-03-18
SARGE PLUNKETT.
The Opportunity Of a Long Life to Watch
the Changes.
atlanta Consultation.

Atlanta Constitution.
It is something to live a long life
and watch the changes-the changes
in ideas of propriety, the changes in
scenery, the changes in men and
methods-even the seasons change.
I received a letter last week from
the far-off State Of Kansas and it put
me to studying on the changes. The
letter had many complimentary things
to say of Mrs. Lease and of how she
was reverenced in her own State, with
the additional information that she
would probably very 500 be heard
from in the pulpit. The letter was
we'll written and I feel iattered that
such a good writer should address me
upon a subject over which the writer
seems to be so much enthused, but I
must say hat all the enthusiasm is
lost down in Georgia. Mrs. Lease
may be an angel, for what I know, but
it is a waste of breath to try to con-
vince the average Georgia cracker
that a woman with angelic character.
istics would travel through the coun-
try on a political crusade in company
with men other than her flther, her
brother or her husband. 1t strikes
the crackers that the woman that can
travel around the country as Mrs.
Lease travelled and return to her
home unscathed is fit TO be an angel.
''She is a good one. sure" would be
the exclamation of the average Geor-
gia cracker, n Of whom / am.
But let Mrs. Lease preach if the
people of Kansas, want her to. We
may be a little too old-fashioned down
in Georgia, but we thank the Lord
that We have not arrived at the point
to invite such a thing down here.
Our settlement has had mighty little
experience with things of this sort
and that may account for our want Of
appreciation on this line. Once, and
only once, has a woman of this stripe
ever entered our settlement and we
were all glad when she went away,
and, the truth is, she was mighty glad
to leave herself.
A woman preacher was a great curl
osity in our settlement-the most of
us did not know there were any woman
preachers. She "drawed." She had
a full house in the morning not even
standing room could be had. At the
close of her mornings discourse she
announced that she would speak to
"women only" in the afternoon. This
was a sensation. The women were
carried away with the idea, for there
had been along a short time before a
man preacher that preached "to men
only" and turn and turn about was
fair, they thought, and all were jubi-
liant over the novelty.
The men of the settlement were not
so jubilant. Old men walked around
shaking their heads and the young
men were smuggling each other in the
ribs and winking mysteriously. A
good part of the married men and all
the young men wanted to peep but
there was no chance to do so. Doors
were all locked and the blinds shut
fast and a committee was appointed
to look under every bench, but they
made one mistake. Down under the
organ was a little recess for a man to
stand and pump the organ-Brown
was the organ pumper. 1t is hardly
necessary to state that Brown kept
his eyes open and his ears at the crack
and that every man in the settlement
knew what was said and done in that
"woman's meeting" before the sun
went down.
It would have tickled ever a Kan.
sas man to have seen the sheepish
look of the older women and the GRIM
son blush of the young women when
they found that the men knew the
kind of language they had listened to
and the kind of questions that had
been asked them. From such may
the good Lord deliver the virtue of
our settlement forever and forever
Poor old Brown, the organ pumper.
they did not think of him. He heard
it all and saw it all and he has told
me ali. 1t makes me blush-I believe
there are men even in Kansas that it
would cause to blush if they knew
just what suggestions obtained at this
woman's meeting. And it was done
under the sanction of the church.
But, thank the Lord, it will be done
no more in our settlement. Mrs.
Lease may preach or she may travel.
the keys to the little church in our
settlement will never be turned over
for such a purpose again. Perhaps it
was well for this to come as it did.
It was the straw that broke the
camel's back. 1t put people to think.
ing of the trend and to where we were
drifting, and a halt was called and
now our settlement is getting back to
the good old ways and to the simple
religion of the Lord Jesus Christ and
Him cruciiied.
These new departures are yer! dis.
c%ouraging sometimes, especially to old
folks, but the old can find many com
forts in musing over the observations
of their own life and to note the chan.
ges that have come and gone and to
reflect that all the time there is a
fight of ''change,' all to be regulated
at last in Gods own way. Last week
| watched the sand wagons as they
went and came around Atlanta. It is
mighty common to see sand wagons
and perhaps we see but little in a
sand wagon to ruminate over ordi'
narily, but they put me to studying
over what a fight it is to hold your
place in this world, of how everything
is so warringly fitted and Of how
smoothly nature moves along to repeat
wei and over the same long fight, the
same sad struggle.
Every day these sand wagons are
moving in and out on every road lead
ing to the city-like ants they seem,
so Industrious. The transfers know
how to wind with the hills and find
the flats of sand and gravel. 1t is
not an easy thing to haul this sand,
but there are a plenty Of teamsters.
They FIJI their place and they have
their pleasures. Ihave watched their
eyes twinkle as they would discover a
bed of just such sand as suited their