The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-03-17

| ing, and invited us TO come over, anC
so we fixed up for loving reunion o
patriots In New York next summer
and the programme was all made ou
by Editor Dana. But the clouds of wal
dispersed and our brethren concluded
they wouldent need us, and broke ur
the meeting. But now, there is an,
other war Imminent and maybe they
will call US again, It's mighty hard to
keep friendly with such neighbors
Not long ago I was riding overland
through the country and counted three
double fences in a trip OF ten miles.
The neighbors wouldent neighbor.
They were at outs and each built his
own fence. Ono or the other was q
mean man. One line fence is enough
between neighbors, and when you see
two it's bad sign. But l reckon We
can stand 1t II they can. II war does
come on our boys will have to do right
smart OF the fighting and then the pen.
| sion money will drop down this way,
and maybe that's what ie the matter.
We are glad to see that some OF that
money is circulating down here al
ready. That Fitzgerald settlement is
an episode that Is as unaccountable as
II 10 sudden. Over 5000 people-fami.
lies Of pensioned soldiers-have drop
ped down upon us without warning and
are building city In our pine woods.
Their pension money, 1t is said,
amounts to nearly million dollars
year, and their comrades keep coming.
They arc said to be good, industrious
people and sound in wind and limb and
nobody can see from the outside whore
the pension business comes in, but nev-
ertheless they are drawing the money
and our folks are bound to get some OF
1t. Six thousand moro are on the way
hRf0ra bau ~ l,a
ty and be voting the Democratic ticket.
SO let them como. l repeat it. sir, let
them, as Patrick Henry said. They
have eettled In tho best portion Of
Georgia. We dident know It until re-
Gently. Tho Pine woods have for half
q century been under the ban. The
few people who settled there were con-
sidered half-fed, ssllow-faced, long
legged crackers who raised few poor
cattle and razor-back hogs, and lived
on 'taters and hard-shell religion. But
ell that wide belt from Lincoln through
Putnam and Houston and Irwin and
Sumter and Randolph and on westward
into Alabama is now known as tho |
most fruitful and productive region,
and the climate perfectly delightful. |
IL 10 like fairy tale to road what the |
last ten years hsve developed in that |
belt of country that is underlaid with |
q clay subsoil and overdressed with |
pine foreets. In recent years have |
peen watching the fruit industries OF |
Marshallville and Cyclonette and Tiff
delight, and my information 10 that the |
adjacent country Is equally productive |
and delightful. The Georgia Southern
railroad splits this region right in the
middle, and along its line has been
planted within ton years, by actual
count, 742, 900 fruit trees, covering or
chards OF IL, 900 acres. The land devot-
cd to melons is much moro, and besides
this the growers raise corn and cotton
and sugar cane and potatoes and ground
peas enough to sustain oil family ex-
penses-a thing OF beauty and JOY for
over, and 1t is fascinating foast to tho
eye to travel over this line of road AMI
take notes OF the beautiful improve
ments that meet tho eye at every sta
tion. Mr.. Sparkle builded wiser than
he know whom he was building this
road through region that everybody
said was desolate and always would be-.
Dame Nature 10 ever unlocking her
treasures and she has only recently un-
locked the pine woods to our Southern
friends. But Georgia Is not the only
state that has been found by the refu-
gees from the long winters and snow
clad fields Of tho icy North. We see
by the papers that the hegira has be-
gun from oil over that frozen country,
and that Alabama and Mississippi are
rapidly filing up with prosperous i'm
migrants. 1t is the swelling tide that
has but just begun to overflow the
South, and every letter that a settler
writes back to his wintry home will |
bring ton moro, for these people are |
surprised to find that we are kind and !
hospitable, and that the barbarians Of |
the South have moved away.
BILL ARP.