The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-08-10

uanSer, ana IL SOlLeuS tueiI natui0
and takes away their vanity. They
learn from one another, and like
these commercial travellers, absorb
knowledge by contact The best in
formed people I meet with are the
veterans of the civil war. However
dull and uneducated were the boys
they entered service in 1861, they
were bright and genial when they
came ont. I'll venture that there
was more good sense and more for
bearance, more real reflective patriot
ism and less selfshness in the recent
grand gathering of veterans in
any body OF men ever assembled in
the United States. These veterans
all look alike to me. Hard service
las hammered them down like steel
used to be hammered out of iron.
Their faces, their hearts, their walk,
their solidity, their considerate con-
servatism, all mark them as men who
have been tried and refined in the
crucible of war-the dross expelled
and the pure gold left.
But war is bad thing-the worst
thing in the world. A pbilosophic
friend of mine says no and he argues
that periodically nations must lave
war, pestilence or famine to purify
them, to purge them and to kill of
the unproductive surplus and give
quiet to the government. 1 don't
bel;eve that, but I am not going to
argue about it. John Temple Graves
and Simon Peter Richardson and Joe
Oh! have written strong letters
about war and how it ennobles a
nation. These men are thinkers and
make the best of a bad thing but
still we can fall back and entrench
upon the teachings of the Son Of
Man who said: "My kingdom is
peace" "Peace on earth and good
will among men," Only few
v7nsaths have passed, but there is
many o heart-broken mother now
weeping for her soldier son whose
shallow grave is in a foreign land.
The tears of these mothers are
worth a thousand victories. But
these preachers perplex me. Most
of them are for the war to 60 on
until we have taken all the islands OF
the sea and planted missionaries
there. One of them said, "my friend,
the kingdom of heaven suffereth VIC
lence take it by FORCE" but 1 never
heard before that it meant guns and
cannon and dynamite. I fear that
the zeal of most these preachers is
inspired by their hatred Of the Roman
Catholic religion. I used to have q
horror of that religion myself, for I
had read Fox's book of martyrs and
imagined the Spanish inquisition
was about to be revived, but time
and education have removed my pre-
iudices and made me tolerant OF all
the churches. Observation and ex'
perience have taught me that there
are good people in all the churches
both Jew and Gentle, and if 1 was
far away from home and in distress
Sister Of Charity would perhaps be
nv first visitor. They found my
mother when her parents died of the
fever in Charleston and they took the
| friendless orphan to their hearts and
cared for her; and I have no patience
with these preachers, so called, who
slander them or their church.
But my good old friend Simon
Peter Richardson is nothing if moi
original. He is strong man every
way and our people here like him
and love him for his honest sincerity
he preached, here several years anc
is man of convictions. He is right
" named and would have cut off the
other ear of Malchus if be had beer
there. He belongs to the church
militant and would be willing tt
take his chances for the church tri
umphant. He was telling me once
about great revival he attended
over on the Peedee River, and wher
I asked him how many converts they
took in he said: Mary one, nary
one, my friend; bat we turned seven
teen out and purged the church
The revival was altogether sanitary.
We had great treat at our tow1
this morning; Colonel William j
Bryan with his Nebraska regime NJ
stopped here for an hour and they
electrified everyb body with their pres
ence. 1t is by far the best regiment
we have seen. Thebest looking, the
best behaved and the best equipped
and they love and idolize their colo
mel. They feel elevated. and refine c
by his commanding presence alc
wouldn't do anything that Woule
mortify his pride or wound his feel
ings. What grand and noble mar
be is. How majestic in person; hoN
gentle in manners; how inspiring IL
language and conversation. How
our hearts did burn within US as ht
spoke. I tell you, my countrymen
I would trust him with all my inter
est in national affairs. He is DAME
Webster and Henry Clay combined
May the good L,rd keep him ane
preserve him and return him safe K
his sanity and to the nation. Iht
silver question may pass away anf
be forgotten. The tariff may settl'
down, but other and greater lssue'
will grow out of the war and tn
n.t;on will need BRYAN at the helm