The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-09-25

/ DR.. Johnson never wrote a sadder
, truth than that. 1t comes home to every
man and woman and family. Neither
kings nor presidents nor laws can give us
peace of mind, good health or happiness
at home, nor can they prevent it, They can
not bring the rain or the drought or the
/ pestilence nor stop it when it comes.
! There are some things in this life so
much bigger than presidents and gov
nors and laws that we cease to rega d
all human oppression. When a family
is broken up by discord or sin or shame
, it is a greater calamity to them than
war is to a nation.
allow very sad and weary is the room
Where love-domestic fove-no longer
nestles;
But smitten by the cruel stroke of
doom
It's corpse lies on the trestles."
What an awful picture is that The
corpse of love shrouded and cofiined in
the family room, but never buried nor
removed. / was Illuminating about this
because | have Il letter from Il GiscOn-
ISOLATE man who upbraids me for telling
the girls not to marry until they arc
sure of a good husband. He says: "Why
not extend your caution 70 the young
men, for my sad experience is that the
girls are more capricious and uncertain
than the boys? l thought that I had
made n happy choice, but my wife has
gone away and left me and the children
that she bore to me and our home is
desolate."
Well, that is bad and sad. but it is one
case among thousand. In fact, it is
the only one / ever heard Of. The con-
trast to it is another letter from dis
tressed mother who begs me to help her
find her boy--her darling hoy-who en-
listed in company b, Twelfth United
States infantry. and was sent to Santiago
and she has heard nothing from him
since the oath of July, when he was
lying sick in the hospital. She has writ
ten him often since then, but never (
line nor a message from MIN. "IIe was
always good to write to me-" she says,
''and loves me dearly, ana now ! an al
most heartbroken. / saw IN the papers
that his regiment had been som to Camp
Wikoff. but where is my boyT
| wonder how many Of those cases
there are and who is responsible for it,.
The darling boy is dead, | reckon, but
have written to n friend in New York
to visit the camp and to learn what he
can. There is nothing left for these
bereaved mothers now but to weep and
wait-wait for death and the resurrec-
ton. The glad reunion of mother and
child in heaven is enough to make any
body get religion.
There is trouble at our house, too,
Just nova trouble that man did not
cause. and we fear that man cannct
cure. | do not like to write a sad let
ter but trouble loves sympathy, and most
everybody loves to give it. Sympathy
costs nothing, and is worth more than
money to those whose hearts are ach-
ing. For four long, anxious weeks our
little orphan girl has been wasting and
burning with a fever that seems i'm
possible to break and the dear little pa
tent child grows weaker every day,
and never complains. For three winters
we nursed her in Florida, anl she was
getting strong and growing In stature and
in girlish beauty-the joy ana comfort
of her widowed mOther-th1 light of our
house. and all who know her love her.
What can we do but prav and pinal and
hope? Already we are trying to see the
silver lining to this cloud-the welcome
that she will give us when we cross the
river if she should die and join the an
gels.
But enough of this. Now what lessons
shall we learn from all the horrors of
this four months war? One occurs to
me: whenever soldier is sick in the hos
pital the officer in charge should be re.
quired to acquaint his family by letter
or card every day Of his condition. and
H. 4i,o NJ
and place of his burial. Every hospital
should keep register of the name and
residence and nearest of kin Of every
soldier received Why should this mother
have to hunt in helpless ignorance for her
son? If he is too sick to write, why
I.should not somebody be detailed 20 write
/ flor him? i am not now arraignlng those
who virtually murdered hundreds Of cur
boys, but there should he some row
army regulations for the next war, or
else the volunteer system Of which the
Ination has boosted will have to be aban-
hdoned. No man who was at Camp Thorn
as will ever volunteer again l hope.
/ hope that Col. Howell will accept the
presidents appointment and take a part in
{ the investigation; no hitter selection
could have been made. He knows from
EtApcIAtuCt w var 49, anu w lldS CdUillS
and hospitals should be. He is a fair
man, conservative and fearle S. / have
| known him intimately from carly man
Ihood, and am bold to say he would make
a competent and reliable juror in any
l case, and would render a just verdict
without fear or favor. If any white
washing is to be done, he will expose
it and the nation will hear of it.
We see that some of the New York
papers are very funny over that negro
wench kissing business that was perpe-
trated in Virginia by Northern troops N
passing through. One paper says they
Itook the eolored wenches by surprise and
kissed and Rugged them ad libitum, and
I it seemed be mutually agreeable. They
! did the same thing here at Gainesville,
+ but the number OF wencnes near the
{ cars was very limited. Not more than
Ehalf dozen received the oscillations and
1 embraces of their Northern friends.
Well. as Mr.. Lincoln once said about
\ the high kicking. Of the ballet girls, >
reckon that those folks who like that
sort of a thing find it to be the very
hthing they do like" Those are the kind