The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-06-01
BILL ARPS FOUNDATIONS,
A VERY BUSY OLD MAN
He VIII Leave the Negro Problem to
Wiser Heads-Has to Work tho
Garden and Sprinkle the Flowers.

Wiser Heads-Has to Work tho
Garden and Sprinkle the Flowers.
| reckon there are enough philoso.
phers to solve the race problem and
save the country without further as.
slstance from me. and so | will swear
OH Tor the present. | don't care much
whether the negro goes to Africa or
Arizona or stays here. 1.-The stays here
he has got to stop his devilment or
take The consequences, and Pm willing
10 trust the people on that line. But
OF al! the absurd remedies that have
oeen proposed none are moro 40 than q
change OF venue and trial in five days
IN some distant county. County lines
40 not bound the fierce indignation OF
u people horrified and onraged over
such iendish work as that of Sam
Holt and Will Lucas. And besides,
just think Of the machinery that has
TO be set in motion to summons and
convey thirty or forty witnesses to a
distant county, and even then perhaps
no trial, or d mock trial that disregards
tho forms Of law and the rights of the
criminal. No, that is no 'cmedy.
But I've sworn Off. Let tie wise men
settle 1T, tho | confess | was surprised
when read that Governor Gambler had
J'S oioSoFS Cu UllaV Cu uCaIlOH was tno
only remedy that would stop the con,
mission Of these hcinous crimes. Ac.
cording to the statistics of New York
and Massachusetts, taken from their
state prisons and published to the
world, education fosters and increases
crime-not Il little, but immensely.
The Governors theory has long since
exploded. And right here in Georgia
the uneducated negro before the war
and Tor few years after was moral
and l"w-abiding and now there are
1000 in the state and county chain
gangs, 70 per cent of whom can read
and write.
But forboar. | had rather rumi-
nate about pleasanter things, though
must protest against this utterly un-
tcnab bic basis Of all the negroes being
good negroes excepting per cent.
Mr. lnman started it, and | SEQ that
Blshop Gaines takes comfort from it In
his beautiful and impressive sermon Of
last Sunday. 1t is dclusion and a
snare. Nearly 5 per cent. OF their
voting population are now in the chain
gangs, and it is safe to say that If
every one who steals WAS arrested and
punished it would add 10 per cent.
more to the black army of convicts.
Petty larcenies are common in every
household where they are employed,
but they are not brought to court
These little pilfcrings are crimes, but
the crimes are coud0ned-orcrIook
-1or they have some good qualities.
anu their service IS needed. 1t is q
race trait and develops with their edu-
cation, especially among the younger
negroes. The records of the courts
prove that the percentage OF small
larceny and burglary grows faster than
their population increases. City ne
Groes and town negroes are more ad-
dlctcd to 1T than country regroes, for
they have more education and more
The fear OF the law as
1T Is now does not deter them. The
fear OF the lash would. But VIC can
worry along with their little pilferings
on the principle that . cook we once
had declared to me when reproved
her for stealing: You don't miss
what | takes" 1t is the greater crimes
that now give our people deep concern
and these will be quickly and terribly
avenged. Our people, especially the
country people, are in deperate earn.
est, and neither law nor lawyers nor
the horns OF the altar will protect Il
brute In human form, whether he bc
white or colored.
But what makes my thoughts and my
pen glide along on this subject? NV
wife Is calling me now to come there
and bring the stepladder. She wants
the vines OF the trellis tied up, and |
am the boy. That ladder Is old and
rlckety and ! am subject to vertigo
sometimes. I'm afraid Of that ladder,
but never in my life did | admit to her
that was afraid of anything, and so |
will mount that ladder with all the
| can. The time was when |
had black boys and whites ones, too to
wait on me, but now | have to tote my
own skillet and nurse the grandchil.
dren, too. There are two little ones
here half the time and they love me
dearly and have to stop writing whom
ever they say so. They want me in
the garden to get flowers, or pick straw
berries, or make sand houses. or mud
pies or get some water or something
to cat, and | have to follow them
around or carry the little one while
my wl1o 10 making some more little
dresses for them. Their mother has
no servant and let's them come up here
by themselves to be petted, while she
Is sewing or cooking or playing on the
piano. My wife and | do more work
nowadays than we ever did in our
lives, but 1T is sweet work and We like
it. How the children and grandchil-
dren will get along when our tme is
out and we are of duty cannot see,
but one thing | known, "thc Lord will
provide" for " He tempers the wind to
the shorn lamb"
But about these negroes. Hardly q
day passes hut whab / hear some body
say : wish to the Lord that they
were all out OF the country | don't
know about that. The iron makers
and miners and lumber men and rail
road men and the big farmers would
object, for their labor is both useful
and profitable. wish we could scatter
and app0rtion them all over the coun-
try from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
There are at least 500 in this little
town that we would like to spare, but
we would like to pick them. There
are no doubt 10000 in Atlanta-mostly
young bucks and wcnchcs who have
been educated and are now vagabonds
parasites who live Off the labor Of
good working negroes just rs the vaga-
bonds do here. We have many good
negroes here who are good citizens
and give no trouble, and they are our
draymen, our carpenters, carriage
makers blacksmitha horhprs par1en-