Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1898-09-19
WAR HADN'T TOUCHED THEM.
Daclswoods People I'm PennsyIvnnia
Who Had Their Doubts That
War Existed.

War Existed.
A travelling man who visits many of
the out-of-the-way mountainous dis
tricts Of east Pennsylvania says;
81 was surprised to meet so many
people who are absolutely indifferent
about the war. They know very little,
If anything, about the trouble with
Spain. Some doubt whether there is
really a war at all. Ispoke to farmer |
who has n good estate under high |
cultivation. He had just finished putt
ting away about thirty tons of good |
hay. Said he: I stopped read |
ing war news some time ago.
| made up my mind there
was no war. read one thing
one day which was contradicted the
next, so / stopped reading any paper
and have been making hay ever since.
No, 1 am not n bit interested. l know
of no one who has enlisted from our
section, and IL the United States is
fighting Spain for Cuba know nothing
of IL. I'll wait awhile and see.'
81 told the old man all the latest
news fro4n Santiago de Cuba, but he
simply replied: Well, the next teller
that gets along this way may tell me
something entirely different
AT another place / asked whether
anyone from their region had en-
listed. The reply was; Bless you, no.
A few of the young fellows went TO
town to enlist. But they had 10 wait
so long and almost beg TO be taken
that they came home saying they'd be
hanged II they'd be listed like that.
So they didn't go. Maybe nobody
went. People take very little interest
in the war. They did at first, but not
now. It's too far away. We have TO
wait too long and then we amt sure
AT another crossroad, where sew
eral farmers were talking about new
harvester, l asked whether they had
heard anything new from the seat of
war They looked In doubt and an
swered they had not. One of them
asked, What warp Finally the oldest
of the trio said; we can't talk much
about war with strangers. Them
names down in Cuba are stickers. The
other day / talked TO an agent about
Commodore Shelly and he told me it
was Sly, not Shelly, and he showed me
the name was spelled Schley. We
can't remember them Cuban names at
all, and them Spanish ships that
Dewey sunk, and that Cervera has,
and that Camarn took 10 Suez; they
are botherations. No, no one listed
from this district
AT carpet weavers humble dwell
ing on the outskirts OF n mountain
village, the housewife at the fence
hailed me, asking. Say, is IL true that
there's ware / said yes. Look she
answered. Henry Boyer's boy was
along here yesterday and he allowed
he had heard that the war had broke
! out again explained 10 the woman
d what this war was, when she answered'
+ We are getting a paper, but, indeed
/ we have been so very busy the past
few months that we haven't had tint
t. to take the wrappers of yet. Floui
Il has gone up some, but they say whea
% has gone down. Flour is always las
to fall when anything goes on. Ml
, father sold his mules at a good price
= They said the war caused mules to 90
4 up
. another old mountainside farmer
4 said: i don't believe there's "A wal
/ and will not believe IL until see uni
n form. / remember when the war o
- 'G1 was first reported. / would not be
O lieve It. At last ] saw Jimmy Becker
4 who used to go on sprees very much
g coming down the road in blue uni
- form. He was rolling drunk, and salt
he had listed. Wen, he went of, ant
stayed off, and then began TO realiz
there was a war. have not seen an.
uniforms for the Spanish war. Yes
II / read the papers but l would like Il
sec for myself whether the army !
called out. None of our neighbor boy
have listed yet. There is no draft
If and no demand for soldiers abou
d here
% "In the days of 81 newspapers wer
d publicly read at the blacksmith shops
e. shoemaker shops, country stores, etc
sr before whole crowd, and people il
lie the back country districts were eS
cited. Ii is not the case now. 1t ma
IN become more exciting as time passes
n but there is very little said about
e. thus far among the back countr
he farmers. Not that they are no
ie shrewd and intelligent and Of goo
l. common sense. Only the first ripple
Of the war wave had hardly awalSene
"a them to the full realization chat til
re United States was really at war wit
lie | Spain. ~. Y. Sun.
IN