The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-08-02
BILL ARP'S LETTER
The Fight For Mortal Existence
Is One Continual Struggle.
lard TO KEEP EVEN WITH TIE WORLD
The Ups and Downs Of Life Are Many.
Touches Upon Anniversary Of
Battle Of Manassas.

Life is a continual struggle strug
gle to better our condltion-to keep
even with the world or to get a little
ahead-astruggle to pay these darn lit
tie just debts, as Sam McCamy used to
call them-a struggle to raise up and
educate a family of chlldren-to graf
ify their reasonable desires and keep
in hailing distance Of society. The
average young married man has Wis
ions Of getting rich, but by the time
three OF four children come along his
ambition Is to keep even. The strug-
gle is on him. A young mother has no
ambition to get rich, but she does
wish her children to rank with the
best at home and abroad-at church
and school and picnics and parties.
She doesent mind living in a cottage,
but must have some nice furniture in
the parlor and the hall where visitors
are wont to come. When things get
old and familiar she hints at a new car
pet or a large square rug or some lace
curtains hanging from gilded bars
over the windows, something that is
new and up to date, and her room
needs renovating with the three "p's"
plaster, paint and paper. Why
shouldn't she? That room Is her
home, or 1t is her prison In some
cases. She has to sit in it and sew in
it and nurse in it every day and her
critical eye sees every sign of decay
every spider web and fly speck and
the lamp smoke on the ceiling-every
worn place in the carpet or rug or the
mating, and every broken glass or
hole in the plaster that the children
have made. A good mother can't raise
up her children without some wear and
tear of furniture and finery. 1t should
never be forgotten by the young hus-
band that it is woman's nature to love
ornament and beautiful things. 1t
was for her that God made the flowers
and clothed the earth with grass and
birds to sing and studded the heavens
with stars. The average man cares
but little for these things, and is all
absorbed in the success of his bust
ness, whatever it is. If he had been
made alone there would have been no
birds but buzzards, no flowers but dog
fennel.
1.-THE world was sad-the garden was
a wild,
And man the hermit sighed till wo-
man smiled"
But the struggle is on him-the
struggle to maintain and please the
wife and the children. The RESPONSE
bility is his and he feels 1t, for the
rearing of a family in a respectable
way is the biggest undertaking in this
life. He can't do this and get rich hon
estly, and he should not wish to.
Riches generally dwarf a man in his
better emotions and prove a curse to
his children. OF course, any shrewd
man can get rich if he will make hog
of himself-if he will do as the rich
miser said he did-"buy nothing that
you are obliged to have"
The ambition of every man and wo,
man is to better their condition if pos.
sible This is laudable and right
When was young there was no glass
window to our little Deuteronomy a
! shutter; no cooking stove, no lamp
light no steel pens or matches, no
store clothes nor sewing machines, but
in a few years my father bettered his
condition and built better house and
gave his children a good education,
and then I married and bettered my
condition, and my wife and I under.
took to raise a flock of children on q
higher plane than we had been raised
on. We have succeeded pretty we'll
but it has been struggle, especially
since the war. 1t is hard to keep even
There are so many new inventions
new attractions that lessen labor OF
give pleasure that the temptation is
very great, and a liberal man is liable
to get in the fix of the old fellow who
said he was about even with the world
and was ready to die, for he owed
about as many as he dident owe.
It is these fixed charges that keep 2
man ever embarrassed. Fixed charges!
That is what the railroad companies
call them-expenses that are regular
every month and do not vary. wai
Eliminating about the fixed charges il
| almnst everY asnlring family In q tnwr