The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-04-29


As old Uncle Bob Rogers said. The
Southern people are the most forgiveness
people in the world" They viii suF,r
more and suffer longer, ana ;hcr Il their
enemy smiles on EN- and feeds en- with
a little sugar they will lick his hand ald
forgive him.
l was ruminating about this when !
read Of the Presidents visit 10 Charles
ton, and the grand ovation they gave
him. 1t hasn't been two months sine he
said in public at a banquet shat our
secession anarchy. 1t hasn't been
very long since he wrote in his life or
Tom Benton this sentence. Before JET
fCrson Davis took his place among The
arch traitors, he had already been known
as one OF the chief repudiators OF his
State. and il was not unnatural that to
dishonesty he should add treachery 10 the
! public Mississippi aid repudiate her
| public debt. and 50 did Michigan and some
other Northern States, but Mir. Roosevelt
i singles out a Southern State to give
slam at Mr.. Davis and the South. Now
the truth is that Mr.. Davis had nothing
in the world to do with it. 1t ~as done
before he came into public life or had
| anything to do with public affairs. |
| reckon Roosevelt got it from John Stuart
| Mill's slanderous history when he says
| Mir. Davis was Governor Of Mississippi,
ana yher- the Legislature passed a Till
to pay the reIudiated bonds he vetoed
| it," What a monstrous lie, Mr.. Davis
never was Governor OF Mississippi and
no such bill was ever passed. Again
| Mr. Roosevelt says in his book, The
moral difference between Benedict Ar
mold on the one hand and Aaron Burr or
Jefferson Davis the other is the diff
ference between a politician who sells
his vote for money and one who supports
a bad measure to get q high political
position" What malignant venom there
must be in q man who would class Jeffer-
son Davis with Arnold and Burr; what
amazing ignorance of historical facts to
call him arch traitor and q chief re-
| pudiator when at the very time of the
Reputation he was organizing a rcgi-
ment to fight the battles of his country
on the soil of Mexico. There he was
desperately wounded. and for five years
went on crutches. Our Southern people
regard Jefferson Davis with emotions Of
the highest admiration, and have Su-
preme contempt for the ignorant or ma
lignant historians and politicians who
assail him. 1t gratifies me immensely
that the President and Gen. Miles have
fallen out, and that Miles got the worst
of it, though | don't know who deserves
the most scorn, the President Tor SLAM
, dering Mr.. Davis or Miles for putting
shackles on him.
Now if Roosevelt was man enough to
| retract what lie wrote AMI ascribe it
to ignorance or misinformation, he could
| restore himself to some extent to the
favor of our people, for it is a fact that
we are the most forgiveness people on
| the earth, but | have never vet known a
Yankee politician to apologize for any
thing he did. They are the saints. The
G. A. RS invite our boys to banquet
with them, but they don't apologize, and
| they wouldn't vote US a pension to save
our lives. / don't understand the Presi-
dent and my opinion is he cont under
I stand himself. I don't believe he has
i mind enough to know his own mind
: | If he is really for civil war reform
t and an honest government what did he
$ turn out Evans for and put in a figure
head unless it was to tickle the G. A.
: RS (grab all rascals) and set their in
d fiuence in the next nominating conyen-
/ ton? Perhaps he himself IS the man
: who supports bad measure to get high
political position" Well of course any
# sOn-ofa gun can get pension now and
t some who never had gun. | believe 4
: ing the pension agent. Only last wcef
Il one of our esteemed fellow-c citizens hat
:, business that called him to a city il
). New York State and on being introduced
h to the pension agent as Captain -- hi
k was asked what service he was in. He
r replied In the Virginia army. Sc
e was l." said the agent. ''Have you got.
L ten a pension?" NO said the captain
It "Wcn, let ne make out your applca
It tion; it is time you had one" The cap
tain humored him for some time while
he was filing up the blank. Were yol
> at the surrender:' said he. 4 was,
said the captain Whose command
. were YOU IN them" said the agent
! Gen. Wade Hamptons, said The cap
tain. The devil you say; you were
i rebel. then. Gentlemen, here is the irs
= rebel 1 have ever made out pension
= claim for and he looks lihe such gen
20 tleman, I've a good notiuon to Send j
/ up and get him one" The captain say
X, he could have gotten one as easy
! falling off a log, if he had just lied ;
- little. Newt Tomin told me long tim
, ago that the only way to get even VIII
the Republicans was to grease EN- 0
jne EN- but it was safer TO do both.
But our people Will forgive Teddy if h
, will apologize for the past and behave i
the futul e. He has some GOOD tF3II
which he inherited from his mother. bu
= his impulses and emotions are not vel
: balanced His gun goes off half cocfc
Z and he shoots with the double wabbies
= l think he has about let the niger alon
. and so has the North generally "
- lynched one in Rome the other day an
| have never seen any mention OF 1t !
their papers. Our Governor didn't eve
offer a reward nor has the circuit judg
made any fuss about it. | reckon LII
towns and cities will now sympa thi.
with the country people, for the crime
this case was committed in the very cen
er trc of the city and was the lynchire
a and nobody was disguised. I have bcc