The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1896-08-20
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
THE MAJOR REMARKS ON THE
"HOTNESs" OF THE WEATHER.
Retrospection, Politically and Other
wise, of Old Times.


are making much ado about something
that Mr.. Bryan said about the supreme
court, and even some of the Georgia
lawyers criticised him severely and de-
Tended the court as the best bulwark
OF our liberties, and spoke of it as the
high tribunal that stood like wall to
protect people against the assaults of
passion and prejudice. All that is
very pretty to young man, but old
men have more memory and less conf
dence. There was time, good long
| time, when the court had the respect
and the reverence of the nation, es-
pecially of the south, when John Mar
shall and Roger B. Taney, two south
erners, were the chief justices for q
period of nearly sixty years, but soon
after fancy died partisan politics and
sectional prejudice crept into the court
and it is there yet. 1t has been only
twenty years since members of that
court ruled Mr.. Tilden out of the
presidency and seated Hayes, as clear
an act Of legal fraud as was ever per-
petrated by the most unscrupulous
politicians. Law is said to be the
perfection of human reason. Then
how is 1t that in such great questions
republican judges decide one way and
the democrats the other? It is right
melancholy to recall that stupendous
farce-seven democrats and eight re-
publicans all under oath to do Justice
in this great question, and yet they
drew the party lines to man. That
Tilden was elected all parties now ad-
NIT and history has SO recorded He
was cheated out of the high Office by
three members of that supreme court.
This is the same court that decided the
income tax unconstitutional. Why I
wouldn't trust such q court with any
case that involved great corporations
or sectional questions. Ever since Joe
Bradley was a young man, and up to
1870 he was president or director of
two railroads and several great in
surance companies. He couldent tote
fair with them on one side and the
people on the other to save his life.
No, l am like Mr.. Bryan. I've lost
confidence in the integrity of that
court. will not say that its members
can be bought with money, but their
wills are nodded by undue influence
and ought to be broken. That income
tax was fair and just measure and
would have put into the treasury near
forty millions Of dollars and no doubt
saved the government from the dis
grace of that bond business.
But didn't start to write on poll
tics. The weather is too hot to think
about anything that excites indigna-
tion. We old chaps here in Carters-
vile have been going to school every
night for week, preparing for the
deestrict skule show that was to come
off. The ladies got it up and then
levied on as and put the Oldest men
and women in an infant class, and we
had to toe q chalk mark and learn our
a b on a blackboard, and be taught
to sing 81 want to be an angel" and
we had to speak speech like we used
to speak it away back in the 3O's and
40's Some of us had to walk up and
be licked for our mischief, and we had
a recess and played many, many stars
with the girls and [ got kissed several
times and so forth. The nights were
hot, but we had fun, lots of fun-old
fashioned, innocent fun. Old people are
never SO happy as when recalling the
memories of the old school days. That
is about as far back as we can go, and
it is big landmark in life's history.
Shakespeare tells of the whining
schoolboy creeping unwillingly into
school. That was true picture some
times, but as general thing, we were
glad to go. Charles Lamb writes of
his joyful school days. 1t was most
delightful mixture. With mother to
help us get our lessons and a father to
encourage and teacher to praise us
when we did well, the daily task was
not hard, and then the surroundings,
the frolics, the recess, the din
ner bucket, the good time going
home in the evening, the pretty
branches we had to cross, the red gull
lies where we got chalk, the walnut
trees over in the field and the chestnut
| trees on tue NIL anu tHeu Il6rc were
persimmons and blackhaws and may
pops not far away. We had townball
at noon, glorious old townball that has
been debased and degraded into base
ball. We used to give good balls to
the batter and wanted him to hit it and
knock it mile if he could. Then there
was our old fashioned shinny that was
akin to the modern golf. 1t was hard
game and kept US with bruised shins
and bloody toes, and gradually fell in
to d state of inocuous desuetude.
And there were some pretty girls to
look on and admire, and we had our
sweethearts and loved to stand by
| them at the Friday evening spelling,
and sometimes ventured to hold their
hands on the sly, and would purposely
misspell the word to let them get
above. This was chivalry, pure and
simple. Then came Saturday. long.