The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1900-05-28
Bill Rrp'S LAetter
cwr,,ten for The woody Constitutions

| over 3p0 conventions 10 DC tAAo 49,
in these United states. 1t looks like pup
lie affairs political, religious. asricuitu-
raj and financial are in very unsettled
condition. / wish they would settle
something. There is the Philippine war,
the Porto Rico tangle. the Cuban postai
steal. the negro problem. female suffrage
and women's hats in the churches. There
is the prohibition question. the Presby-
terrain creed. the germ theory. the strikes
among the laborers, the trust monOpolies
and who are to be the running mates for
Bryan and Mckinley. Then there are side
shows of many kinds. but nothing gets
settled When our old cook got sick ana
my wife asked her IL she knew where
We could get another she said. Nome, L
don't: cooks Is gittin pow'ful scaee. Bet
ter git settled oman if you can find one
| desc young, unsettled niggers ain no
count sense freedom cum" Looks ike
there is nothing settled nowadays. neither
labor. nor cooks. nor women, nor meh'
nor theories. nor great public questions.
Well. one thing has been settled at last
and that is 1.-THE Barbara Freetcnle
/ myth" The Boston Transcript OF last
Wednesday has three columns on the
subject and gives up and says TINS Is
| finality 1t publishes a letter from Cen
eral Henry Kyd Douglass, of Stonewaii
Jackson's staff which dsproves the who're
ridiculous story and closes by saying
poetic laudation of a woman, be she ola
or young, nor are we disposed to hold an
| admirer strictly responsible for the accu-
| racy of his language. but from the To-
tomac to the Rio Grande the name oil
our Christian soldier Stonewall Jackson
Is sacred Lift up your monuments 10
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 Sian
| der nailed and It has taken thirty years
| to do that. We thought that Ben I'M
had nailed the Andersonville SANDER In
| his great speech against Blaine, but that
| bobs up every little while and has to he
| nailed again. | know a lady, and she IS
| a lady IN manners and morals. who really
| believes that the federal prisoners at An
| dersonville We're made to drink melted
lead when they begged for water. She
was told that thrty-tive years ago ana
cant get over it.
We cant do anything with those people.
They fought us from prejudice and have
| since been spending millions OF
| money on the the negro from pre-
| judice 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
| wrote my first philippe against the brutes
| and advocated a summary vengeance and
| I stand by it and rejoice whenever
lynching occurs. for an outrage upon 0e-
| fenseless woman. If there is anything
| worse than lynching I'm for that. Let
! the north howl Il they want TO. the pro
| cession viii proceed all the same. The
| farce at Montgomery settled nothing Ihe
negro IS here to stay and he has got to
| behave himself as q good citizen or take
| ba The south needs aim
| and II his presence keeps away the horde
| of foreigners that Europe is anxious 10
| get rid Of II IS a blessing. What Is the
| matter with the negro? l don't know OF
| q race conflict in this region except in the
! large cities. which are a pestilence To
| good morals. truth and the industry OF
the race is improving in the rural dis
tricts where thu white race is In the ma
| jority A few months ago there was a
| call from Mississippi for negro labor and
/ about a HUNDRED went from this neighbor-
/ hood and very soon they were missed and
| our farmers began to make fuss about Il,
| but there was no Pegleg Williams con-
| cerned in 1t and nobody TO get mad with.
| One of my neighbours who had often de-
| clared that he wished they were all out
| of the country got mad about this sud
| den exodus. and said he couldent hire
| 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
! denominations and he was told that II
/ wouldent do for the members were all
mixed up by marriage and he was giving
great offensc. What shall / do?' he
| asked Il am obliged TO abuse some
! body or the people wont come out 70
| hear me" His friend replied. We'll.
| then you had better pitch into the Jews.
| They have got no friends and are not
-,rr~ L
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 ignorant negro who sells
his vote. When Stephen a. Douglass
ran against Lincoln for congress he tried
to degrade him in a public speech by say
ing that the first time he ever saw his
opponent he was keeping saloon N a
oue-horse-town yes" replied Lincoln,
Il remember that. | was on one side OF
the counter and you were on the other.
l was selling and you We're drinking
That is about the parallel between the
politician and the negro. 1 do not feel
satisfied with the sweeping exclusion OF
the present white primary law. l know
q dozen negroes in this town who are
morally. intelhgently and industriaiiy
qualified TO vote and | know two dozen
white men who are not. 1t seems TO me
me might have a commission 10 select Oe-
serving negroes and place their names on
the registration list. This WOULD stimu-
late others To good behavior. 1t would
have tendency TO elevate good negroes,
whereas the present law cuts OF all hope
and an ambition But l wouldent give
one OF them a public office and no friend
of th, south would make him postmas-
ter or a census taken.
But there is nothing settled. The Phil
ippine war has almost ceased to be dis
cussed by the American people We
have ceased to feel any interest in II. Ii
is none of our war. II IS the republican
politicians war and has cost thousands
of lives and millions of money. Recruit |
ing officers inveigled hundreds of our
foolish boys into il and their distressed !
mothers cant hear n word from them
and fear they are dead, ana ! reckon they
are. Some of them write to me, thinking
/ can do something or give them comfort, !
but alas! l cannot. Mckinley don't care.
so he is reelected. Here is Il letter that |
came today from 4 heart-broken mother.
Mrs. Alice a. KILLER. of Valdosta. whose !
SON s. Il. KILLER. went TO Manila with !
the Eleventh United States volunteer cav
airy. troop X. Can anybody relieve her /
mind? She gets no answer to her let
tiers oh these dear. old lOng-Sufferlng |
mothers. Their grief is a bigger thing /
than conquest or Imperialism. 1t was /
just that way with our boys in Cuba.
Their mothers could rot hear from them.
The officers OF every company should he |