Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1900-08-15
ARP ON OLD TIMES
People Seemed To Be Better Long
Years Ago.
THERE WAS LITTLE CRIME
Fewer Divorces and Less Grass Wild
ows-Boys We're Obedient and Not
Wild.

Thought moves swiftly these days
How eager we are for news. Two pa
pers day and the people gather at the
postoflice waiting for them. And when
IT comes It's all about war afar off and
crime at home. Murder, suicides, di-
Forces, outrages by negroes, lynchings
Pnd the Atlanta muddle and Kentucky
lnurder thrown in as n side show. Some
of the preachers are taking a hand in
fine general melee and are raising Il
racket in the name OF the Lord. How
different is all this from the good old
times when we got the mail only twice
week and were content to worship
God on Sunday and work on week days
and had time to think and ponder and
talk to our neighbors. When two doc
tors were enough for the community.
and they had but little shop full Of
medicine and there were no durg stores
and no patent medicines, and Jim AL
eXander and his brother Tom. and Glib
Wright and Adam Jones and his be
ther Frank, and | and some other boys
who are now dead. never were ick or
took any medicine except salts or cas-
tor oil for green apple collie. What Il
glorious fellow was Bryant Strickland.
whose hearty laugh could be heard
across the town. He died not long ago
and left his hearty laugh with his
boys. And good cid George lie ter,
who ran against Dr. FELTON, for Con-
gresS. There never was Il better boy,
nor better man. nor a better friend.
| loved him and still remember how
he and ! searched over the potatoe
patch to find some remains OF the stars
that fell in 1898. What change has
come over the world. some things for
the better, some for the worse. and we
must take life and progress as we
find it, Pope said: Whatever is. is
right" but old men and old women
can't help looking backward and re-
gretting that some things have pass ii
away. or course we rejoice in he
many comforts that invention has
brought to us. but take it all in ALL the
average CT human happiness remains
about the same as 1t was sixty years
ago. We had more content then. more
love and fewer divorces and gresS wild
ows. Children We're moro obedient to
their parents andSthere were no ciga's
or cigarettes or BW9 Durham tobacco
or coca cola or cotaInc or hip pocket
pistols. Every town had one or two
saloons where fiddle was played for
the old sOts, but young men did not
20 there. There was not a young man
in our town who ever took n drink Of
whiskey. but nowadays young men con
slider II manly 20 smoke and drink
and even some of tho young women
get drunk on the sly and vainly imaG-
inc that nobody knows it. Our negro
slaves were contented and happy and
not an outrage was committed from
the Potomac to the Rio Grandc. Now
there are 24,000 of them in the cain
gangs of the Southe. n States and 4 l0G
OF them are in the State OF Georgia.
Who is responsible for all this. and
the lynchings that still go on? MiStak-
en- philanthropy and unmistaken ma
lignity. If the South had been let alone
we would have had gradual emancipa-
tion half century ago when Henry
CLAY was its advocate and Henry Clay
whigs were power in the Southern
States. Now we are taking the back
ira k and undoing what our enemies
have done. and hope Georgia will fol-
low North Cardinals lead and that
MIR. Hardwick will try his bill again at
the next legislature. | would amend
1t little. but in the main il is right.
] would encourage the nesToe; ID n b Il
ter citizenship, both morally and intel
leCtually. The county commi sioners
or the srand jury should be authorized
10 examine and make "A selection of
certain moral. Industrious negroes and
give them tho right Of suffrage There
are some in every community that
would trust. There are a dozen On
more in Cartersville. and every com
munity has a few This would create
caste or a social condition in the
race that would have good influence.
would trust such men as Professor
Councill with any political priyileg.,
and there are others.
Frank Carpenter is great traSeler
"a diligent student and a great writer.
il is interesting to read from his pen
the true condition OF the negro in the
Philippines. How the negro captives
are bought and sold. and he was offer
cd four likely ones for $50 by woman
who claimed to be a Mohammedan
Christian. The boys average $40 and
n good looking girl brings from SIS TO
500 This traffic has been going on for
a hundred years. but for the las; half
century has been dull. New England
slave ships had 10 quit tho business
about that time. for the Brazil markc:
was overstocked and English vessel 81
were watching too closely. According
10 history the last cargo was captured
on the coast OF Madagascar in lS4S. |.
was yankee craft and was fitted ont
in Boston. That is why Chief JusticN
Story charged the grand jury that
Boston merchants were STEPPED to
their eyebrows in this infamous bust
ness
But this is all barred now by the
statute OF limitations. Professor Coun-
sill believes it was ordained of God ior
~ ..rw1e 9.
was baptized in blood and inhumanity.