The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1897-06-09
Letter From Oh DeF0gie.

Mr.. EDITER: This seams to be a time
when Almost ennyboGy writes for the pa
pers. Hit don't seam to mater where q
Teller has ennything to write or emmy
eddicashus ia wrop hiS thouts IN, II he
has emmy. When / was araisin this thing
of writin' for the press was left lntlrely to
the men that had idees of intrust to tho
masses and the ability to word 'em. But
now the hole thing is changed, and q
crate throng of muse paper scriblers Is
rushin' thraw the wide-open gap into the
feald of polembic discussion, as if they'd
bust if they dident rave there say or else
the hole soehal and political fabrick
would drap but for the underplnin' OF
there published wisdom.
The fact ia, I git to wantin' to say
somethin' ever wunst and occasion
mighty bad myself, and sence the gap Is
down I hope l won't be blamed for COM
in in. T write more for the sstisfacshun
of gittin' to Unload than for the desire of
expectsehuu of eddifyin' a culchured and
critickLl publick. I mout appear IN print
offiner if it warnt for the lack Of educa-
shun, Thinkin' comes easy enough with
me, but the trubble is to git my ideei
rugged NO to the standerd of high larnt
folks. The older I git the more 1 see
whar T missed it by marryin' nearly the
fust thing I done when I got out of the
army, insted of gwine to school some
more.
But menny q pore Teller went up the
MATRIMONIAL spout alter the war ended in
bubble quick order just like I did, aud /
reckon they warnt much to blame, for We
was all mighty hungry for coartin'. The
gals that had growed up in them four
years scanned to be the purtyest and
sweetest spesimens Of 'oomanhood we
had ever seed and it amt no wonder that
the most of US was soon securely fastened
in the meshes o flove's net. And it would
be mighty unnatural if the gals warnt as
willin' ceptives as US, for they bad had
about as hard q time endurin' there en-
forced self-denyal in all them foul years
as us.
But the years that has come and gone
has sobered our thoughts and whitend
our locks, and menny of US will soon
have to brake ranks finally from life's
parade ground. I am glad the State is
givin' a hundred thousand dollars to the
neadv old soldiers and I am glader still
that our penshun boards is dealin' rs lib
beraly as they can with all neady apply
cants. This keeps the few from gittin'
much money, but it helps all some, and
that is better 1 reckon. By and by when
the old veterans gifts scaser and scaser
they will git more money and the PEN
sion laws will be made more s~tricter. l
would advise all the old soldiers that is
bard out now by the law to git the record
of their serveaa proved in writin', redy
for the time that will shurely come for
them or there widders to draw penshuns.
The Yankees have no trouble to trace
there record. for the hole thing 10 on file
in the war department at Washington.
but when the ConfederacY fell to slaves
I guess our records was lost. Now and
then Icome across an old soldier that has
clean forgot the company or ridgiment
they was in il they ever knowd, and hit
makes me sorry for 'em, for ONE of'em
hare in there bodies the skars Of onera-
Bile serveas. About all they know about
it was that they follered Bob Lee or Joe
Johnson, and that they fit az the Wilder
ness or kenesaw Mounting. Sich men
and they mead help to do it. I am in ia
vor OF givin' penshuns to as near ever old
soldier as possible, but I reckon the line
| will have to be drawed on the deserters,
the fellers that slept off of the picket line
and went over to the Yankees and maid
light of it when wa all got home, or the
fellers that slipt off home and hid in the
woods. All this is q pity, for some OF
these same fellers was good soldiers till
rite at the last, when they got out of heart
and loft. I say it's a pity for SIGH men
after three yearsNand a half on hard serv-
cas- to be cut off, but suppose we'd all
adone that, our cause would OF deserved
to fale.
But soma discriminashun will have to
be made in favor of the men that, facin'
the Northern boards to the eend, upheld
the oDer of the starry cross and made the
Lost Cause a heritage that money can't
buy.
hope tho public will pardon my intru-
shion. I feel better alter havin' had my
say and if you don't mind, I may be
heerd from agin when the sperrit move
me. If had time and spase I beleave
that's what the nusepaper writer's calls it,
I'd go on and toll what I think of all this
%expensary fuss. Pm q lookin' for liker
to be nee deep all over the State in a few
weaks. What it will aLl amount to is
hard to tell but I reckon things will so
Der up before long, and I rave a noshun
that the cause of p%rohibishun will be the
gamer by ell this rarein' and chargin' OF
each crowd a-tryin' to gitthe other down.
d good menny Tillmen men that had al
,ers voted fer prohibishuu have been
a-standir' in up to the e1pensary for
party sake, but if the whole thing Is
a-gwine TO be trod under foot and the
State drenched in Ticker, they're a-gwine
back to prohibishun. And I have seen
strong antys, good and sober men there
selves, always votin' for Ticker. l think
they will soon git q bate now and be IN
favor of prohibishun.
I rename. very respectfully and truly,
your hum bile servant. OIL DEFosIE.