The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-04-17

L never NOlSu LOT any war. ulH
gwne to fight / amt done nothin' to
nobody and nobody amt done nOthin' to
me. | amt mad wild nobody and how
can a man fight widout he's mad. Mr..
Alderman and Mr.. Crawford got me
into dis scrape and dey must git me out.
| wonder if dey is gwine to de war;"
Last Sunday L saw Il gang of ne
groes standing around a preacher and
he was reading the big headlines Of The
Constitution to them. There is a large
pictorial recruiting poster lin the post
office and they stand off and look at iC
with serious alarm. But they are not
going from these parts, neither are the
white people going right now. Old man
Ingram was Il good fighter in the last
war and seemed TO like the business and
he says he wouldn't tmind going if
they will let him fight under General
Lee and wear gray clothes. My friend,
Captain Dobbs he will go along
with DIR. CAL Id will skirnish
around awhile 9 sick and get the
doctor to give Il discharge at the
end of three months and then he will
come home and draw pension all the
rest of his life.
We'll if it has TO be war Mr.. McKin-
ley had better turn it over to General
Lee to fight it,
Big things are piling in ON us just
now. The state canvass for state Of
dcials is now going on and getting red
hot. and it takes nearly all our time to
keep up with that and the war too.
Maybe we shall need another war g.y-
ernor. and if we do Colonel Gambler
has had more experience in that line
than some other folks.
Colonel RenfrOe could take care Of the
negro convicts and march them to the
front just like old Joe Brown did the
200 convicts in the penitentiary when
Sherman came along. Governor Brown
went down there with a wagon load Of
gray clothes and made them take off
their stripes and he gave them all guns
and had them to elect their officers
and then made them a speech and
said:
Gentlemen, Fellow Citizens, Soldiers:
1t doesn't follow that because you are
convicts you are not patriots. Now is
the great opportunity of your lives to
redeem yourselves and wipe off the dis
grace from yourselves and your kindred.
The enemy is at your doors and you
must fight him-yes!
Flight till the last armed foe expires.
Fight for your affairs and your fires,
God and your native land"
And they hailed their freedom with q
shout and they marched forth like new
men, and they did fight. Just so, Colonel
Renfroe could marchc the 1000 negro
convicts forth and under his lead they,
too, will fight
Then here is the cold wintry blast
! IL
ed our fruit and vegetables and para
lyzed our hopes. Our most forward
peaches are not killed, but our potatoes
are utterly Frustrated. They will come
out again and | think will make us q
good crop. Two years ago mine were
killed down to the ground, but they
came out again and / never had a
better crop. This leads me to think
that maybe they had better be cut
down early and then they would make
more fruit and less vines. My wife
threw all sorts of old clothes over her
MaFeschal Neil rose vine that was full
of buds, My neighbors covered up
their beans and beets, and some of
them spread newspapers over their pO-
tatOeS and saved them. i was away
down in Greensboro the coolest might
and it was not cold enough there to-
kill anything. y few degrees Of latti-
tude makes u great difference. Mr..
Marbury, the weather man. fOretold US
of this coming freeze and I have great
faith in him. When the weather bureau
was first established we thought it was
Il humbug. but long observation has con-
WINGED the world that the winds and
the waves and the weather are not
the mystery they used to be. Science
has revealed their courses and their
and the telegraph tells it truly
many hours beforehand. jThe scrip
lures say: THE wind bloweth where
1t listeth and We hear the sound thereof,
but We cannot tell whence it cometh nor
whittier it goeth.'
But we can tell now and can tortify
against disasters ON land and perils o..
the deep. Verify, there is something
new under the sun.
| was Illuminating about the classic
town of Greensboro, one of the oldest
towns in the State. What a beautiful
roads and streets. What attractive homes
and pretty mansions. What wealth of
lovely flowers. / saw wisteriaS there
growing wild and towering upon old
lead trees. Many of these stately ante
Delhm mansions still have the tall
huISp NOluiiilS anu lut IOOlS
hat were so common in the olden time.
saw the old Cone mansion and the
house where William c. Dawson lived.
went to college with the Dawson boys.
Jut they are dead and left no sign. /
heard their father make a speech in
1919. lie was the first Wing who ever
represented that district in Congress. He
vas United States Senator in 1S47. He
vas universally popular-kind, courteous
md gentle, he worked his way from
humble life up to many eminent posi-
ions and never lost Il friend. Dawson
county was named for him, but none
was named for Toombs or Stephens.
They were greater statesmen, but they
made enemies while Dawson, by his ex-
'eeding courtesy and gentle manners,
made friends. Young men, if You aspire
o political honors, you had better re-
member this. When Stephen Girard
vas asked the secret of his success he
'eplied, ''Civility" BILL ARP.
If the patient has faith i'll the doctor
he doctor should reciprocate by trusting