The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-12-07
ARP'S SICKLY SMILE.
Philosopher Finds It Hard to Re-
joice with Mckinley Men.
Did Not Know Before the Election
There Were So Many-Prosperity
in South CaroIina-MOney in
Tobacco Fields

The Scriptures tell US to rejoice
with those who rejoice and weep with
those who weep. | am trying to do
it, but it is an awful strain. When
meet a Mckinley man | try to smile
but it is only sickly grin ard is only
skin deep. They are pretty thick
around here now since the election,
and SO between mourning with the
Bryan men and rejoicing with the re-
publicans my countenance has lost
its normal and natural condition and
it is hard to tell whether | am crying
or smiling.
We did not know that there were
more than a dozen respectable Me.
kinleyites in the community, but it
turns out that there were scores of
them. Nearly all of the plutocrats
voted that way on the sound money
platform. They lend money and
want it paid back in gold. \ good
many farmers who have some cotton
on hand were led to believe it would
| go up again to 10 or ~ cents if Nc
Kinley was elected, but it dropped
Is points the day after election. But
| it is all over now and the wheels
| keep rolling on. Let them roll. The
millionaires and plutocrats can't eat
their money or wear it out. 1t is
obliged to 90 back TO the tolers, the
people, in some way. The Standard
Oil company has declared dividend
of 40 per cent, but Rockefeller don't
hoard it. He gives away a big slice
to education and utilities the rest.
What blessed thing it is, that a
man can't take his money with him
when he dies. If he could | reckon we
poor folks would perish out in gem
Grafton. After all it is not money
that brings happiness. \ good living.
a competency honestly earned, brings
far more happiness than riches. This
kind of talk is 1000 years old, but
the people don't believe it yet; every
body wants money. big pile of
money; | would like it myself; l
want some for rainy day and some
to give away, but we are not in dis
tress, and never have been, though
for some years of the war and just
after we were on the ragged edge.
Talk about prosperity, | saw it last
week over in South Carolina. There
is nice little town over there called
Prosperity, but l didn't see it. l went
to the old town of Darlington. l was
there IS years ago. 1t was a good
old town then, but it has renewed its
youth and taken Oh new life and l
hardly knew the place. Cotton mills
and oil mills and good farming have
done it. The cotton crop of that coun
ty is 10000 bales and the tobacco crop |
was 6.OO0,O0O pounds and it brought I
half as much money as the cotton |
crop. Fifteen years ago there was
rot pound for sale raised in the |
county. They didn't know it would |
grow there. Now there are three
large warehouses. where it is auc'
toned off every day. 1 attended the
auctions and it was a revelation to
me. The farmers wagons were un-
loading all around and their tobacco
was piled up neatly in long rows and
their names and the number OF
pounds written on card and stuck
in the split end of little white pine
stick and that was stuck in the cen
ter of the pile. For an hour or two
before the auction begins the buyers
from Richmond and Winston and
Durham and Liverpool and other
went all around and eN- 4
lmined the quality of every pile and
ook notes. The auctioneer talked 50 :
asst | could not understand him, but
he buyers did. reckon there were
go or 300 piles in each warehouse and
he auctioneer and the crowd went 5