The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1896-02-21
HARD TIM ES.
Julia Truitt Bishop in N. o. Item.

"They are always talking about
hard times in this country" said the
old lady, as she dropped her knitting
and pushed her spectaclcs to the top
OF her head. Every year it is hard
times, hard times, until | get sick
hearing about it, and now they are
always talking of panics and banks
breaking, and all that. Every man
you meet can tell you just what the
matter is, too. They all know why
the times are hard and the moneys
scarce. But l know one thing. |
know if the people in the South did
their duty, they needn't care whether
times were hard in other portions of
the country or not.
"Why. see how it was during the
war, The men were all gone, the
country was left almost entirely in
the hands OF the women. Our money
wasn't worth anything, and we could
not have bought anything with it if
it had been. You'd IA thought that
was hard times, wcaiddG't yel2 And
vet this whole country was more pros
porous and more Independent during
the war than it has ever been since.
We took the products of the country
and used them right here at home.
We turned our own cotton and wool
into clothes forour People, and for our
soldiers, too. We raised all the pota-
toes and corn ana vegetables we could
use, and what more did VIC want? We
took palmctto and corn husks and
we've our own hats, and made our own
trimming for them.
"Why, we didn't even buy as much
as a handful Of dyc-stuffs. We got our
dye-stuffs from the woods; oak and
hickory barks, sumach, wild indigo !;
oh, there was an endless list Of them! !!
We didn't send North for every tool
we wanted then. We made our own
plows and ax-handlcs ut homo, of
wood from our own forests; and In
every village wagons were made, and
iood ones, too. Why, we tanned the
lidcs of our cattle, and had our shoes
made by some neighbor who had
tken up the work because there was
sd,h demand for it. There was no
mistake about IL, during those four
years we lived at home; and scarce as
money was, the country was prosper
Gus. Many a soldier who served
through the war returned home at the
end of it to find his family and his
farm In a better condition than when
he left them.
but Just as soon as the war was
over, and we began to get q little
money into the country for the sale OF
the cotton that had accumulated,
why, then We must hurry and buy a
thousand and one things from the
North. Our experience hadn't taught
us any wisdom. We have carried this
wastefulness to the greatest excess.
Why, l weht out to visit my son last
summer at the very farm that had
supported us all in plenty during the
war. He had nothing to send of that
farm every year but cotton, and the
price he gets for that doesn't pay him
for raising and picking it. just
looked around there u little, and
found an Indiana wagon, Kentucky
plows, Michigan furniture, clothing
woven In Massachusetts and made In
New York, Pennsylvania. shoes, Bal
ttmore canned goods, Kansas City
bacon and lard and Illinois condensed
milk, besides a thousand other things
that came from the North, and they
were all to be paid for with that cot
ton crop. John was complaining
about the hard times, like everybody
else, aud was laying IL to this or that
party or politician; but just said,
Come, John, that's all nonsense.
| You're making your panic right here
at home; and it'll never be anything
else but a panic until you change your
methods.