The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1896-03-19

bc worstcd but may bo bettcrcd by war
People talk about the caukr, of n calm
world and IL long peace, and one noted
writer says that every country ought
to have war at least once in forty
years 80 as to kill off It's worthless pop.
ulation. This is cold, hard and heart.
less philosophy. If we could pick out
the vagabonds and place them to the
'front.' II might 40, but we can't. In the
last war VIC lost the flower of our youth,
and it Is always SO. The vagubonds
and skulkers and dodgers escape. II
Is general " rich mans war and a
poor mans fight.
But now it is about time that tho G..
a. N.'s wore resembling their action
declining to play with the BOYS in gray
next July in Now York. When the
war with old John Bull was jmmincnt
our Northern brethren were vcro low
ing, ana invited uS to come over, and
SO we hScd up Tor loving reunion Of
patriots in Now York next summer.
and the programme was all made ont
by Editor Dana. But the clouds Of wur
dispersed and our brethren concluded
thoy wouldcnt need US, and broke up
the meeting. But now, there is an,
other war imminent and maybe they
will cal us again. It's mighty bard to
keep friendly with such nciyhbors,
Not long ago | was riding overland
through the country and counted three
double 1enccs in Il trip Of ten miles.
The ncighbors wouldcnt ncighbor.
They were at outs and each built his
own fence. One or the other was a
mean man. One line fence is enough
between ncighbors, and whou yuu sec
two it's bad sign. But | reckon we
can stand 1t If they can. If war does
como op our boys will have to do rig hit
smart of tho fighting and then the pen
sion money will drop down this way,
and maybe that's what is the matter.
We arc glad to SEQ that some of that
money is REGULATING down here al.
ready. That Fitzgerald settlement is
an episode that is rs unaccountublc as
it is sudden. Over 6, 600 ppoElc-fami
lies of pCnsioned s0ldiers--have drop
ped down upon us without warning and
aro building u city in our pine woods.
Their pension money, it is said,
amounts to nearly II million dollars q
year, and their comrades keep coming.
They are said to be good, Industrious
people and sound in wind and limb and
nobody can SEQ from the outside where
the pension business comes in. but ncv-
crthrlcss they are drawing the money
and our folks are bOuud to got some Of
1t. Six thousand more arr Oh the way
and before lo:G they will own the c0un-
ty and be voting the Democratic ticket
SO let them come. ! repeat it, sir, let
them, as Patrick Henry said. They
have settled in the bcst portion OF
Georgia. We didcnt know il until re-
Gently. The pine woods have for half
Il century been under the ban. The
few people who settled thCr. we're con
sidercd half-fcd, sailow faced, long
legged crackcrs WHO raised II few poor
cattle and raZor-back hogs, and lived
on 'tatcrs ana har,i-s he'll reliriun. Bu,
all that wide belt from Lincoln through
Putnam and Houston and Irwin AMI
sumter and Randolph and on wcstwar,
| into Alabama is now known as tn,
| most fruitful and productive region
ana Inc climate rHriect!y delightful
| 1t Is like a fairy 1alc TO read what tn,
| last Ten years have developed in THAI
belt Of country that is underIaid with
| Il clay subsOil and ovcrtlrrssed with
pine forests. In recent years | have
| been Watching the fruit industries o;
Marshalvillo and Cyclonctto and Tif.
ton and Cuth bert with amaz"ment and
delight, and my information is that the
hdJacent 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 ten years, by actual
count, 742 600 fruit trees, covering or
rhards o. 1900 acres. The land deyot-
cd to melons is much moro, and besides
this the growers raise corn and cottOu
and sugar cane and potatoes and groun0
peas enough to sustain all family cX.
pcnses-a thing OF beauty and Joy for
ever, and it is IL fascinating feast to the
eye to travel over this line OF road an
take notes OF tho beautiful improve.
ments THAT meet tho cyo at every sta
tion. Mr.. Sparkle buillcd wiser than
he knew when he was building this
road through Il region that everybody
said was dcsolate and always would be
Dame Nature is GvCr unlocking hcI
treasures and she has only recently un.
locked the pine woods 10 our Southern
friends. But Georgia is not the only
State that has been found by the rcfi-
gees from tho long winters and snow
clad fields OF the icy North. We see
by the papers that the hegira has be-
gun from all 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 Il settler
writes back to his wintry home will
bring ten more, for these people are
surprised to find that We arc kind and
h0spitable, and that the barEarians OF
the South have moved away.
BILL, ARP