The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-08-01
THE NEVER ENDING BATTLE,
Bill Arp Declares That Life r. Ono
Continual Struggle With Its UPS
and Downs.
Atlanta Constitution.

; bhu DoWnS.
=, Atlanta Constitution.
Life is continual strugylc-a s,rur-
| Slc TO better our condition--to kccn
!. even with the world or 10 ~ct a G,tlr
ahcad-a struggle to pay these darn
, little just debts, as Sam McCamy used
to call thcm--a struggle to rise w
and educate II family of children
ylatlfy their reasonable desires aud
keep in hailing distance Of society,"
The average young married man has
visions Of getting rich, but by the time
three or four children come along his
best ambition is to keep even. The
struggle is on him. A. young mother
has no ambition to get rich, but she
does wish her child,cn TO rank with
the best at home and abroad church
and school and picnics and parties.
She doesn't mind living III Il cottage,
but must have some nice furniture in
the parlor and the hall where visitors
are wont TO come. When things oct
Old and familiar she hints at Il new
carpet or large square rug or some
lace curtains hanyinG from Gildcd bars
| over the windows, something that is
new and up-to-datc, and her room
needs rcnovannG with the three sp's"
plaster, paint and paper. Why should
MT she That room Is her home, or
it is her prison in some cases. SHE has
to sit in it and sew in il and nurse IN
il every day and her critical eye sees
every sign Of dccay--cvcry spider web
and fly spcck AMI ~" lamp smoke ON
the ceiling every rn'u place III the
| In
| every broken glass or hole in the rlas.
ter that the children have madc. \
good mother can't raise up her children
without some wear and tear of furni-
turc and lincry. II should never be
forgotten bf the young husband 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 made birds 10
sing and studded the heavens WITH
| stars. The average man cares but ht-
tie for these things, and is all absorbed
III the success OF his business whatever
| ii is. II he had been made alonu there
would have been no birds but buHHarh>.
no flowers but dog fcnncl.
"lho world was gad-ihc garden WAS Il
And man, TIC hermit, sighed TIL woman
smiled
But The struggle is on him the
struggle to maintain and please the vile
and the children. The responsibility
is his and he feels it, for The rearing OF
Il family in respectable way is The
biggest undertaking in this hlc. He
can't do this and get rich honestly, and
| I,, a., ;,l,
ally dwarf Il man in his better emo
tons and prove curse to his children.
or course, any shrcwd man can get
rich if he will make Il hog of himself
if he Will do as the rich m.iscr said he
did--"buy nothing that you are
obliged to havc.'
The ambition of every man and wo-
man is to better their condition If pos
sbic. This is laudablc and ri-ht.
| When was young there was no glass
window to our lltllc bedroom only Il
shutter; no cooking stove, no lamp
light, no steel pens or matches, no store
clothes nor sewing machines, but in IL
few years my father bcttcrcd his con-
NitiOn and built Il better house and
| gave his children Il good education, and
then | married and betlCrcd my cOnui-
ton and my wife and undertook to
raise II flock of children on Il higher
plane than we had been raised on. We
have succeeded pretty well, but it has
been Il continual struggle, especially
since the war. 1t is hard to keep even.
There arc SO many new inventions,
new attractions that lessen labor or
gvc pleasure that the temptation is
very great and II 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 didn't owe.
1t is these fixed charges that keep a
man ever embarrassed. Fixed charges
That is what the railroad cumInuIrs
call thcm-cXpCnscS that are regular
every month and do not vary. wa.
ruminatiny about tn" fixed charges il
almost every aspiring family in Il town
or city. My own for example. Ehcrt
are taxes and fire insurance, say Sl2(
per annum, or $40 Il month water
, : 80 gas, $3.50 telephone, s 80
, cook, $40 washing, 50 church an
Sunday school, 81 newspapers, -
, wood and coal, IS ice, say - for Il
, average postage aud box rent, ::
Now, all these make &IG.5O Of liXc
charges per mouth, not including Coz
=, of Keeping a hoIsc and IL COW, a.
= there is ) per cent. for annual repair
q on the dwelling. And SO much nor
than half OF lhc income goes for iiXc
n charges that seem to be unavoidable
20 OF course, we can dismiss The cook an
g., do without the telephone, but we d'
II not wish to, for both are great com
y, forts, especially when company comes
-, We have long since dismissed th'
'a horse and the COW. Now, whclc &c
~ the food and clothing come from, 10
it takes more for the unliXcd thlnG
than the fixed. Then there Is some
e. thing wanted almost every day f"
IN charity. Book agents come almos; cY
a. cry day and excite our sympathy, b.,
he we have long since cut Off that OK
a. pcnsc. One came yesterday that hn
| - f., ,y h1 ,l; iyv