The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-02-22
BILL ARP LOVES CHILDREN
THE ONLY HAPPY CREATURES

The Presence of Children Is n Grea
Comfort and They Sweeten Life
With Their Franks.
The best earthly antidote for melan
choly is to mix up with q lot OF innO
cent children and join in their little
sports. l. have the blues sometimes
and this always gives relief. They
make me forget myself. l don't know
how man gets along without them.
When little troubles make me sigh,
Or feeling sad a::d can't tell why,
These children bring serenity.
George Francis Train Ia now an old
man and has seen lots Of trouble. He
was all eloquent, gifted crank and made
quite noise in the world thirty and
forty years ago, but was never q sue.
cess, and 80 he soured on the world and
swore of from it. He declared that man
was a fraud, hypocrite and woman
was weak and helpless and that little
children were the only happy and un.
contaminated creatures in this wicked
world and the only society he should
mingle with rs long as he lived. 1t has
now been about twenty five years since
daily habit has been to visit some park
basket Of confections or fruits and all
his pockets full and make Headquarters
on the same purk bench and gather
around him score or two of little
folks and feed them ard play with
them and listen to them as they laugh,
and romp and frolic. They all know
him and love him and run to him wnen
he comes like little chicks run to the
old hens call. saw him once and drew
near with q friend to hear what he was
telling the children, but he spied us
and stopped talking and soon moved
away to another seat and the children
followed him. Before the civil war
heard him make an outdoor speech at
Rochester to very large audience and
he advocated the policy of the govern
ment Issuing ten Thousand millions OF
money so that every man could have
his pOck cts full and every woman her
bosom full and then, said he, we would
build railroads and canals and docks
and churches and ships and steam boats
and monuments and live like kings and
princes. The government has the righ ht
to issue it and has the presses to print
1t and why don't they do it and give it
away to the people and make every body
happy" just then countryman cried
out: But hold on Train, would ent
there be collapse aftor awhile 2"
Train looked at him with contempt as
he replied: "Why, of course there
would. ANY fool would know that. but
the railroads and docks and canals and
churches wouldent collapse. They
would be there, Wouldent they ?" And
the crowd yelled: Hurrah for
Train !" 1t was hard to tell whether
he was q fool or a philosopher. His
redeeming trait is his fondness for
children.
These little chaps that come to nv
mousse arc my daily annoyance and my
oally comfort. They make trains on the
nor with my books and mess up nv
taole ana draw ponies and dogs or make
me 40 ". one of them turned over nv
and said "Grau'pa, 1 go sorrv. hag1
my pardon. won't do it any moreS
will :" and che put nor little around
my neck and kissed me. She made ma
glad that she had spilled the ink. soma
OF them are making speeches now and
will back up against the wall and make
q bow and 90 through "Orphan Annie1
and "Mary's Lamb" and "Annie Bell'
like n schOolboy, and then I love to
glance at the mother to see the sweet,
proud look upon her face. That look
seems to say that Is my child; isn't he
smart? And then glance at my wife,
tho grandmother, and her contented
look seems to say: "My grandchild {;
IL 1t hadent been for me that child
wouldent have boen here" Well,
that's fact. There ia never any
doubt about who Ia the mother OF q
child.
Blessed children what do they caro-
about our world OF trouble-whether
Goebel lives or dies, or the war in
Africa or the Philippines, or how many
negro postmasters Mckinley appoints
They don't know how grieved I am
that Senator Morgan is likely to be
defeated that great and good man
whom the nation delights to honor
Yes, defeated by machine politics and
unclean methods. Verify, 1t reminds