The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1899-04-27
BILL ARP AS A PESSIMIST.
HE is GLOOMY AND mOROsN.
IrouDlcd About the Situation in tho
Philippincs--Whnt the Matter
With the World 4?

best. Malus pcjor pessimus---had,
worse. worst. remember that much
Latin. Some days we arc optimists
and look on the bright side and think
the war is about over aud the millcn-
lum will begin with the now century.
Then again the news is bad VIC arc Oh.
liged to be pcssimists until it changes.
am pcssimist right now, Cor every
thing looks dark and gloomy abroad,
though the genial spring sun Is shin
ming and everything is lovely at home.
What is all this ABOUT one hundred
thousand more men wanted to suNduo
| the FllipinO3 and our soldiers saying
they didn't enlist TO light negroes and
| what about the SamOans amOuShing
our boys and cutting their beads OF
and parAding them through the stree :
and what about rupture with Ger
many while our navy Is all engaged
over there in those far distant islands?
J If Germany is lighting mad, what bet
| ter opportunity does she want than TO
turn her navy loose upon Us right
now ? and how do We kuow that Johnny
Bull would help us.
| And then again there seems to be no
real peace in Porto Rico, for one Of
their late papers says, We observe
| with sorrow that the Unitcu States
troops arc &. mass Of base and shumu-
| less people, q drunken multitude who
daily bullet and maltrcat our suffering
people. They rob our servants ;,s they
go to market; they enter our rcstur-
ants and take what they want by force
and then break UP the crockery they
rob the pcddlers and refuse 70 pay the
cabmcn and steal everything in sight:
! they insult our women like SAvuMcS,
and to complain to headquarters is
| like barking at the moon. / this is
our destiny, would that we could sink
this fair island in the depths Of the
sea-"
Another paper says: "Our people
arc daily insultcd 5y these rui.ians, and
VIC have not the patience Of JOB nor
the mcckncss Of the Man Of Calvary
to bear these things without rctalIat.
ing"
Another paper says: We suffered
much under The Spaniards, but our
new liber&tors are committing greater
oifcn.es and expressions than did our
former masters, and We cannot submit
quietly to this new tyranny. Never
bc1ole has thrrc occur: ca II Ponce
such outrages as arc happening today.
There is safety nowhere, and our ladies
are at all times exposed 10 the insults
Of drunken sOldicrs.'
How is that for the American soldier,
the brave patriots whom We land in
sung AHt SIciy NDI uC " 4 nave 10 20
to Porto Rico to fad Lhum. O1iy IL
few days ago a New Jersey regiment
was mustered out at Grcynvii!l, s. G.,
and immediately began their iuvilmcnt
and their journey h1ma was Il rCign OF
terror. ~ negro writes to me and wants
to know whOroin the cUiurUu troops
were worse than the whites.
What is the matter with This genera
tion, white and black ? What is the
matter at Iana, and why cant the two
races work together in peace What
| is the matter at WcthCrsford, Conn.
and why won't the white people there
let the negroes build Il home for o.u
and invalid negroes =? Carrie Steele, :.
cOlorcd good Samaritan, rOj2ctCu IL
similar home for negro orphans IN AT
lanth and the whites badc hur God
speed and subscribed lbcrally and
nclp. d her, and it is doing good work
that is commended by All our people.
Have the Yankees forgotten what they
| fought for, Or pret ended TO fight us
for? And besides all these things
there are more fires and awful casual
ties and drOwnings and suicides and
murders than ever before known in so
| brief time, and it is enOugh to make
Il hopeful man almost despair Of peace
and good will ever returning to this
81lcted land. This is why am a pes.
simist today, but | live in hope and
maybe | will be an oDtimist next week.
Hope is q blessed thing. The first com
posiOn | ever heard read in school WAS
written by a tall, frecklCd faced rcd
headed girl and it was on " Hope" and
| the first sentence was Hope is IL
good invention, and if it were not for
hope man wound die and woman would
give up the ship I" Not ONLY so,
but also" said Jim Alexander, ana
George Lester whispered d part Of his
speech
" Hope for a season badc the world fare
we'll,
And Freedom shrickcd when Kuscusko
! fell
And Rcnnc!y Butler quoted line
from his sps cch " Hope springs ctcr-
nal in the human breast" Aud had
to lift up my voice, OF course, as re-
pcatcd
"'rwas ever thus in childhood S hour,
| I've seen my iondcst hopes decay.
We smart boys had power Of fun over
that rcd-hcadcd composition, and it l.
still, prOvcrb among us that " Hope
not utterly despair, but live in hope. I
worked in the garden ycslcl dny for it
was blessed day. have boor sick.
My back achCd and my left kidney was
on Il boom and my legs were On a. strike
and wou!dcnt carry one with a.acrity,
but work in the garden got luc uli in Il
sweat Of pCrspirGtiOn and ! feel better.
My wife said would ana she know.
She has got but two laws for me. Olu
is, must work in the garden If am
well, and the other l. | must be we'll
The war dursrnt bother me whiIc ! am
, at work, but | moo and dig and pOudur
| ~ ~ | Al ~ ,l.,< <.,l, i,l