The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-10-07
AmAprBnu DmtelItneucer.
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
Philosopher Takes time to Talk About
Grandchildren.
atlanta Constitution.

drouth broke up. Cobe is man Of
opinions. / asked him one day how
his nabor, Mrs. jenkins, vas, and he
said, "She is powerful sick-she is,
shore. If she lives till morning shall
have some hopes of her, but if she
don't I believe she will die" The
long drought has broken at last, and
we are all grateful, even if we are not
happy. Hard times are on US and a
hard winter just ahead of us, but old
folks can look back and say it is not
as bad as war. thought that this
full moon in conjunction with the
equinox would bring us rain, but |
wasn't counting on quite so much con-
junction in family affairs. The au-
tumnal equinox brought telegram
from Florida announcing the birth of
another grandson, Ralph, Jr., and
before T could answer the dispatch
here came the little girls over the hill
all out of breath and wild with ex-
citement- Mamma has got another
little boy, whoopee! the sweetest little
boy. Oh my, amt you glad, grand
MAJ" Why of course we are g lad.
When four girls come right straight
along in row its time for q b"y-a
boy to grow up and wait Oh them and
,lefeud them and protect them. Two
grandsons brought by the same
equinoctial gale. Just think Of it and
ponder. And the old COW has found
heifer calf, besides-a little faw-
eyed jersey. What's in the wind :?
And so this little chap over the hill
answered the Florida telegram and
said: "Willlam Aubrey, Jr, sends
greetings to Ralph Smith, Jr, and
savs hello how do you like it? Your
little cousin" And so it goes, multi
plying and replenishing according TO
scripture. Two more for parents to
love and cherish and work for aud
pray FIR and hope for. Two more to
fight the battle of life and have some
school boy fights, too, reckon. Two
more to have JOY and sorrow mixed,
aud to bring grief or gladness 10 their
parents. Well, its a hard time TO
have an increase in the family, for
nowadays even an infant is right
smart expense, but Cobe says "every-
thing is adopted and there never was
'possum born into the world but
what there was 'simmon tree close
by." So let them come. "Hang out
your banners on the outer wall, for
the cry is sill they come!'' We are
getting old, my wife and I, but we
can welcome few more grandchildren
I would like to live on few years for
their sake and chide them when they
do wrong and praise them when they
do right. Sometimes my chiding
hurts their mothers feelings, but l
don't care. Mothers spoil the boys
and fathers the girls, and so it takes a
hardened man like me to express my
sentiments regardless of feeling. Line
upon line, pref ept upon precept, here
little, there little Some time ago
I threatened to spank little grand
child to. make her behave. and she
looked astonished and indignant as
she replied, mamma say me too little
to 'pank." And she was, but the
threat did her good. When school
days comes it takes power of watch
ing to keep the chilren straight. They
not only lave their lessons, but soou
catch on to all the slang and bad
words and devilment that other child
rem know. In fact a fond muther who
has the worst boys in town told me-
her greatest trial was the association
that her children had with the bad
children of the public school. Poor
woman-mistaken mother 1t would
be dangerous to hint to her that her
boys were the talk of the town. ! re-
member that about thirty years ago
an exacting fraction teacher thumpeh
one of our boys on the head with a
book and called me numbskull. 1t
didn't hurt him much, but it hurt his
mother, and she hasn't got over it yet.
1 don't know which made her the
maddest, the "numbskull" or the lick.
That is one good thing about the pub
lie school systematic teacher is not
afraid of the parents, and it is one
bad thing, for if he is partial teacher
or fractious man he ought to be
afraid.
A few mora weeks of politics and
then we will have peace, at least for a
season. How many lies have been
told no man knoweth, but they are all
recorded and st. Peter keeps the books.
I read the New York Journal and
the Constitution every day and when
I get through I know that Bryan will
be elected. Then 1 read-unwillingly
the World and my faith weakens
and my props are knocked from under
until the next day. And so it goes
I elect Bryan and Sewall every morn
ing and un-elect them before dinner,
and its hurting my digestion. But
I'm mad with these gold debaters who
keep preaching honest money and
talking about repudiation. Dog-on-
'em, confound 'em! They have depre-
ciated my little property 30 per cent.
already. 1 borrowed $500 on town
lot three years ago when it was worth
$1,000 easy, and now I can't get half
that sum for it. 1t has shrunk from
an acre to half an acre. 1t won't pay
my debt, and 1 can't hardly get the
money to pay the simi-annual Interest.
That's fact. Everything is shrunk
but debts and grandchildren. Now,
Just put me back where was-pou ur
it back in the jug, and stop all this
talk about reputation and honest
money. Do the money lenders want
the earth 4? This strife is between the
borrowers and the lenders-the poor
and the rich-and all we ask is q res
toralion of the currency-an equal.
ization ofvalues. Reputation, indeed
Money represents values and the debt
OF class will gladly surrender as much
property as the debt calls for, If the
property is valued at what it was
when the debt was made. After the