The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-06-07
BILL ARP'S LETTER
Trouble Always On Hand and
Nothing Is Settled.
THE HUMAN RACE IS DISSATISFIED
Barlow Man Hits Upon Two Winners
Out of Seven Chances In
Late Primary.

yet over 0UU conventions 10 De uelu
this year in these United States. 1t
looks like public affairs, political, re-
ligious, agricultural and financial
are in very unsettled condition. l
wish they would settle something.
There is the Philippine war, the Porto
Rico tangle, the Cuban postal steal,
the negro problem, female suffrage
and women's hats in the churches.
| There is the prohibition question, the
| Presbyterian creed, the germ theory,
the strikes among the laborers, the
trust monopolies and who are to be
the running mates for Bryan and Nc
| Kiuley. Then there are side shows of
many kinds, but nothing gets settled.
When our old cook got sick and my
wife asked her if she knew where we
could get another she said, 'Nome, I
don't; cooks is gittin' pow'ful scace.
Better git settled oman if you can
find one-dese young, unsettled mig
gers amt no count sense freedom
cum"
Looks like there is nothing settled
nor women, nor men, nor theories, nor
great public questions. Well, one
thing has been settled at last and that
is "the Barbara Freetchie myth. !"
The Boston Transcript of last Wednes-
day has three columns on the subject
and gives up and says this is final
ity. 1t publishes letter from Cen
eral Henry Kyd Douglass, of Stone
wall Jackson'5 staff, which disproves
the whole ridiculous story and closes
by saying, "We men of the south set
no limit to the poetic laudation of a
woman, be she old or young, nor are
we disposed to hold an admirer strict
iy responsible fo- the accuracy of his
language, but from the Potomac to the
Rio Grande the name of our Christian
soldier, Stonewall Jackson, is sacred.
Lift up your monuments to your
own heroes and heroines and you will
hear no word of protest from US, but
do not cast your clippings and spawls
on the grave of Stonewall Jackson. }"
But that is only one thing settled.
One Islander nailed and it has taken
thirty years to do that. We thought
that Ben Hill had nailed the Ander-
sonville SANDER in his great speech
against Blaine, but that hobs up every
little while and has to be nailed again.
know lady, and she is a lady in
manners and morals, who really be-
lieves that the Federal prisoners at
Andersonville were made to drink
melted lead when they begged for wa
ter. She was told that thirty fve
years ago and can't get over it.
We can't do anything with those
people. They fought us from prejudice
and have since been spending millions
of money on the negro from prejudice.
Every black scoundrel who has been
lynched down south was the victim of
their false teachings and will continue
to 'be-thank the good Lord for His
mercies. Ten years ago I wrote my
first philippe against the brutes and
advocated a summary vengeance and
stand by it and rejoice whenever a
lynching occurs for an outrage upon
defenseless woman. If there is any
thing worse than lynching I'm for
that. Let the north howl if they want
to, the procession will proceed all the
same. The farce at Montgomery set
tied nothing.
The negro is here to stay and he has
got to behave himself as good citizen
or take the consequences. The south
needs him, and If his presence keeps
away the horde of foreigners that Eu-
rope is anxious to get rid of, it is a
blessing What is the matter with
the negro? l don't know of a race
conflict in this region except in the
large cities, which are pestilence to
good morals, truth, and the industry
OF the race is improving in the rural
districts, where the white race is in
the majority. few months ago there
was call from Mississippi for negro
labor, and about hundred went from
this neighborhood and very soon they
were missed and our farmers began to
make fuss about it, but there was no
Pegleg Williams concerned in it and
nobody to get mad with.
One of my neighbors who had often
declared that he wished they were all
out of the country got mad about this
sudden exodus, and said he couldent
hire a man to break up his garden.
We are hard to please and lay too
much blame on the negro. read
about a young preacher who just
spread himself abusing the other de-
nominations and he was told that it
wouldent do, for the members were all
mixed up by marriage and he was Civ
ing great offense. "What shall do?"
he asked. II am obliged to abuse
somebody or the people won't come
out to hear me-" His friend replied,
"Well, then You had better pitch into
the Jews. They have got no friends
and are not kin to anybody but them
selves" Just so, we blame the negro
with the sins and corrupt methods of
the politician, the politician who buys
his vote with money or whisky. The
smart man who buys is worse than the