Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-10
THE RURAL CITIZEN.
HIS EAGERNEss AND HUNGER ron
THE LATEST WAR NEWS.
STRUGGLES TO GET THE PAPERS.
How They Manage IL I'm King George.
Fruit and Vegetables Badly Dam
nged-Morcy-order Department for
the Northumberland

.,tcable than ever the habits and Gus |
.onas obtaining among countrypeople in |
-s,aton to nowspapcrs-habits and Gus !
IONS entirely peculiar 20 rural life, and |
amusing to city-folks, who are unac-
,1a!nted with the "odd ways" Of their
.avsced cousins Comparatively few
.euntry-poople take n daily paper. for
those who can afford such luxury do
not have time 10 read it, so that the
0teklies and seml-weeklies are the pa
.ers read by vast majority OF the rural
citizens. And there are a great many
a,mes 20 which only one paper goes
-ither a big weekly, or the nearest local
.aper-and when there is anything Of I'M
usual interest agitating the public mind
n course. every member Of the household
wants to read the paper nrst" immedi-
ately on its arrival
IT is READ ALOUD.
An cannot read e FIRST" however. but
an get the latest news at the same
me. and this Is the way they do It: The
best reader in the family gets by the
sht' and roads aloud all the news TO
The others who are gathered around, the
.,teuuon. earnestness. and order mean
while being in no way different from that
so family worship. 1t falls TO the lot OF
The wife, tho daughter. or the oldest
oy." 10 read the paper aloud" as Of
TN as IL does TO the head of the family
The best reader" invariably getting the
tob-aud whether done during the noon
rest-hour or between supper and bed
time at night. this is the most enjoyable
Part Of the days programme to many
Woodworking farmer. who gets more real
pleasure from the dollar he spends for his
newspaper than from any other hundred
cents he spends during the year. This
reading aloud" by one member Of the
family is not the practice where several
different papers are taken. Then. again.
there are O. good many individuals and
families who do not take paper at all,
and Vet these want the --latest news
and the same providence that provides
for the game and the lazy" provides FOR
this class. so that they get the news too.
Whether financially unable or too "close-
a. sted' 20 invest q dollar for reading mat
ter. these folk are supplied regularly by
their generous neighbors. who send their
papers out TO those nearest 10 them as
fast as read. Mr.. a. reads his paper, and
then passes Il 10 b.. with instructions
that he read and pass It % neighbor c.,
and 50 on. in this way one paper some
tines serves half a dozen families, and
with such continuous regularity as 10
work 20 the detyimeut of newspaper pub
lishers and solicitors. There are Instances
where papers are not passed around TO
"nOn-subscribers. The matter is worked
thus: on Saturday evenings, raiFr days,
and all leisure hours. the people Of
neighborhood who do not take paper
gather az the house Of some regular sub
scriber and have the papers read TO them.
This Is very common practice in some
communities. TH-se customs have been
30 vogue so long in some rural districts
that they seem as natural and as much
OF matter Of course as any other rou-
tine work
NEXT TO HIS BIBLE.
Discussing the merits. ETC.. Of certain
newspapers the other day. an old. gray
haired eX-COnfederate soldier said: 1.-THE
Richmond Dispatch is next 10 my Bible,
and is the dearest paper on earth to me.
As / grow old I find myself living over
the past especially those days from 1861
90 1866. and some how or other that Con
federate column I'm Tuesdays edition OF
the Weekly makes the dear, old paper as
essential 10 my life now as We're my
blanket and canteen during the war"
IN is expected that work Will soon be
begun on the big light and flag-station
to be erected at Ragged Point on the
Potomac river, for which Congress re-
Gently appropriated 10000.
George Cole. an old colored man Of
this nciehborhood, who was Colonel
Thomas b. Trench's servant in the Con-
Tolerate army. has written q letter to
The Colonel. referring 10 certain war eX-
rerfences. He spoke Of one particularly
battle I'm which ne claims that Colonel
French "immortalized himself" lie
saws that Colonel Frensh told him when
they were last together that there would
De another war. and asks the Colonel
ST. be remembers the prophecy" George
extremely anxious TO get letter from
colonel French. the more so because
General Fitz Lee has written to his old
servant Of war-times.
WANTS TO RESIGN.
It IS reported this week that Mr.. f.
-. Staples. who was appointed post
master at King George Courthouse some
ZINE ago, against the protest or many
.f the patrons, is now anxious TO resign
.s commission. 1t IS also SAID. on
good authority, that money-orcer once
viii very soon be established at that
place. and IL is hoped that the order 10
this effect viii be made without delay
as there IS not a mOney-order Office IN
this county. although the businessmen
here have long felt the need of one.
REPORTS from various sections are 10
,te eject that the snow-storm OF Tuesday
and the freeze which followed played
havoc with the peach crop and seriously
Injured other fruits. Some varieties oil
carly vegetables are badly damaged, ana
t IS feared that a great deal OF the
young. tender clover which was Just
peeriag through the ground, was klIed
iv the hail snow, and freeze. AS re-
suit of the heavy rains and snow the
public roads are said 10 be IN a worse
condition now than they have been LOT
many years. and there IS no little com
iIs.1t AGAINST the contract system under
,h.eh the King George highways are
worked.
Madame Rumor says that DR.. f. r.
Nulc. The popular Treasurer oil thlS
county. and also a successful hleulcal
practitioner. will quit single pIeoseu-
Ieas some time soon.
PERSONAL MENTION
Major Julian j. Mason. Of this neigh
Kraarg the Leading