The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-04-11

! tration about these national distur-
| Dances. There are but three classes
of people who want wal, and they are all
heartless set. These are the pro
fessional soldiers-the West Pointers
and regulars, whose profession is to
fight, and who seek glory and promo
ton regardless of who or what they are
| fighting for. Then there are the manu-
facturers, who make army supplies and
expect to get rich like they did in the
last civil war. And last, but not least,
are the thousands of restless, heartless,
unprosperous people who say they can't
be worsted but may be bettered by
war. People talk about the canker of
calm world and long peace, and one
noted writer says that every country
ought to have war at least once in 40
years so as to kill off its worthless popu-
lation. This is cold, hard and heart
less philosophy. If we could pick out
the vagabonds and place them to the
front it might do, but we can't. In the
last war we lost the flower of our youth,
and it is always So The vagabonds
and skulkers and dodgers escape. II
is generally n rich mans war and
poor mans fight.
But now il is about time that the G.
4. RS were resembling their action de-
cIining to play with the boys in gray
next July in New York. When the
war with old John Bull was imminent
our northern brethren were very low
ing, and invited us to come over, and
SO we fixed up for a loving reunion of
patriots in New York next summer,
and the programme was all made out by
Editor Dana. But the clouds of war
dispersed and our brethren concluded
they wouldn't need us, and broke up
the meeting. But now, there is another
war imminent, and maybe they will call
us again. It's mighty hard to keep
friendly with such neighbors Not long
ago / was riding overland through
the country and counted three double
fences in trip OF ten miles. The
neighbors wouldn't neighbor. They
were at outs, and each built his own
fence One or the other was q mean
man. One line fence is enough be-
tween neighbors, and when you see
two it's bad sign. But l reckon we
can stand it If they can. If war does
come on our boys will have to do right
smart Of the fighting, and then the
pension money will drop down this
way, and maybe that's what is the
matter. We are glad to see that some
CT that money Is circulated down here
already. That Fitzgerald settlement
is an episode that is as tnaeeountable
as it is sudden. Over 5000 people
families of pensioned soldiers have
dropped down upon us without warn
ing and are building a city in our pine
woods, Their pension money, 1t Is
said, amounts to nearly 100000
year, and their comrades keep COM
ing. They are said to be good, indus
trious people, and sound in wind and
limb, and nobody can see from the out
side where the pension business comes
in, but nevertheless they are drawing
the III icy, and our folks are bound to
get some of it. Six thousand more are
on the way, and before long they will
own the country and be voting the dem
ccratic ticket. So let them come.
repeat it, sir let them come, as Patrick
Henry said. They have settled in the
best portion OF Georgia. We didn't
know it until recently. The pine woods
have for half century been under the
ban. The few people who settled there
were considered half-fed, tallow-faced,
long-legged crackers, who raised few
poor cattle and razor-backed hogs, and
lived on 'taters and hard-shell reli-
gion. But all that wide belt from Lin
coin through Putnam and Houston and
Irwin and Sumter and Randolph and
on westward into Alabama is known to
be most fruitful and productive re-
gion, and the climate perfectly delight
full. 1t is like fairy tale to read what
the last ten years have developed in
that belt of country that Is underlaid
with n clay subsoil and overdressed
with pine forests. In recent years l
have been watching the fruit industries
of Marshallville and Cyclonette and Tiff
ton and Cuthbert with amazement and
delight, and my information Is 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 ten years, by actual
count, $4,000 fruit trees, covering
orchards of 10000 acres. The land de-
voted t. melons is much more, and
besides this the growers raise corn and
cotton and sugar cane and potatoes
and ground peas enough to sustain all
family expenses thing of beauty and
Joy forever, and 1t is q fascinating
feast to the eye to travel over this line
of road and take notes of the beauti-
full improvements that meet the eye
at every station. Mr.. Sparks builded
wiser than he knew when he was build
ing this road through a region that
everybody said was desolate and al
ways would be. Dame Nature is ever
unlocking her treasures, and she has
only recently UNLOCKED the pine woods
10 our southern friends. But Georgia
is not the only state that has been found
by the refugees from the long winters
and snow clad fields of the icy north.
We see by the papers that the hegira
has begun from all over that frozen
country, and that Alabama and Mis-
sissippi are rapidly filing up with
prosperous immigrants. 1t is the
swelling tide that has but just begun
to overflow the south, and every letter