The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-07-20
War Hasn't Touched Them.

War HASN'T Touched Them.
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 war at all. Ispoke to farmer
who has q good estate under high cul-
tivation. He had just finished putting
away about thirty, tons OF good hay.
Said he: Il stopped reading war news
some time ago. made up my mind
there was no war. / read one thing
one day which was contradicted the
next, 80 stopped reading any paper
and have been making hay ever since.
No, am not q bit interested. know
of no one who has enlisted from our
section, and if the United States is
fighting Spain for Cuba 1 know moth
ing Of it. I'll wait while and see.'
81 told the old man all the latest
news from Santiago de Cuba, but he
simply replied: well, the next Teller
that gets along this way may tell me
something entirely different
cat another place l asked whether
any one from their region had enlisted.
The reply was: Bless you, no. A few
of the young fellows went to town to
enlist. But they had to wait so long
and almost beg to be taken that they
came home saying they'd be damned
if they'd list 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 toe
far away. We have to wait too long
and then we amt sure
cat 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: I'VE can't talk much
about war with strangers. Them
names down in Cuba are stickers
The other day 1 talked to an agent
about Commodore Shelly and he told
me it was Sly and 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 Ger
vera bas, and that Camara took to Suez
they are deliberations. No, no one
'listed from this district
"At carpet weaver's humble dwell
ing on the outskirts OF mountain vii
lage the housewife at the fence hailed
me, asking, Say, is it true that there's
warp said yes. Look, she answer
ed. Henry Boyer's boy was along
here yesterday and he allowed he haC
heard that the war had broke out again.
l explained to the woman what this
war was, when she answered, "We are
getting paper, but, indeed, we have
been so very busy the past few months
that we haven't had time to take of
the wrappers yet. Flour has gone uI
some, but they say wheat has gone
down. Flour is always last to fal
when anything goes on. My fathel
sold his mules at good price. They
said the war caused mules to 60 up
"Another old mountainside farme
said: 81 don't believe there's wa
and will not believe it until see uni
form. remember when the war o
'61 was first reported. 1 would not be
lieve it. AT last saw Jimmy Becker
who used to 60 on sprees very much
: coming down the road in blue uni
: form. He was rolling drunk, and SAT-
he had listed. Well, he went off an,
stayed off, and then begin to realiz
there was war. 1 have not yet seel
any uniforms for the Spanish war
Yes, I read the papers, but woul
like to see for myself whether the arm
is called out. None of our neighbo
boys have listed yet. There is n
draft, and no demand for soldiers abou
here.'
Gin the days of 81 newspapers wer
publicly read at the blacksmith shops
shoemaker shops, country stores, etc.
before whole crowd, and people il
the back country districts were excited
This is not the case now. 1t may be
come more exciting as time passes, bu
there is very little said about it thu
far among the back country farmers
Not that they are not shrewd and in
telligent and Of good common sense
Only, the first ripples of the war wav
have hardly awakened them to the full
realization that the United States i
really at war with Spain. New Yor
| Sun.