The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-30
BILL ARP ON ROOSEVELT.

He Says the President Should
Have ApO1ogized When He
Came South.
Atlanta Constitution.
AS old Uncle Bob Rogers said, s.The
Southern people are the most forgive.
ness people in the world" They will
suffer more and suffer longer, and then
ii their enemy smiles on 'em and feeds
'em with little sugar, they will lick
his hand and forgive him.
was Illuminating about this when |
read of the Presidents visit to Charles
ton, and the grand ovation they gave
him. 1t hasn't been two months since
he said in public at a banquet that our
secession was anarchy. 1t hasn't been
very long since he wrote in his life of
Tom Benton this sentence, Before
Jefferson Davis took his place among
the arch traitors, he had already been
known as one of the chief repudiators
of his State, and it was not unnatural
that to dishonesty he should add
treachery 10 the public" Mississippi
did repudiate her public debt, and so
did Michigan and some other Northern
States, but Mr.. Roosevelt singles out
Southern State TO give a slam at Mr..
Davis and the South. Now the truth
is that Mr.. DAVIS had nothing in the
world to do with it.. 1t was done be-
fore he came into public life or had
anything to do with public affairs. /
reckon Roosevelt got it from John
Stuart Mlll's slanderous history when
he says &C Mr.. Davis was Governor of
Mississippi, and when the Legislature
passed bill to pay the repudiated
bonds he vetoed it," What mon
strous liel Mr.. Davis never was Gov
ernor of Mississippi, and no such bill
was ever passed.
Again Mr.. Roosevelt says in his
book, "The moral difference between
Benedict Arnold on the one hand and
Aaron Burr or Jefferson Davis on the
other is the difference between poll
tician who sells his vote for money and
one who supports bad measure ID get
high political position" What malig-
nant venom there must be in a man
who would class Jefferson Davis with
Arnold and Burr; what amazing igno-
rance of historical facts to call him an
arch traitor and a chief repudiator
when at the very time of the repudia-
ton he was organizing regiment to
fight the battles of his country on the
soil Of Mexico. There he was desper-
ateiy wounded, and for five years went
on crutches. Our Southern people re-
gard Jefferson Davis with emotions of
the highest admiration, and [ have SUI
preme contempt for the ignorant or
malignant historians and politicians
who assail him. 1t gratilies me i'm
mensely that the President and General
Miles have fallen out, and that Miles
got the worst of it, though don't
know who deserves the most scorn, the
President for slandering Mr.. Davis or
Miles for putting shackles on him.
Now if Roosevelt was man enough
to retract what he wrote and ascribe it to
ignorance or misinformation, he could
restore himself to some extent to the
favor Of our people, for it is fact that
we arc the IN forgiveness people on
The earth, hut have never yet known
Yankee politician to apologize for
anything he did. They are the saints.
The q. A. r. invite our boys to ban
quet with them, but they don't apollo.
gize, and they wouldn't vote us a PEN
sion to save our lives. don't under
stand the President, and my opinion is
he don't understand himself. don't
believe he has mind enough to know
his own mind. Ii he is really for civil
war reform and an honest government,
what did he turn out Evans for and
put in fgurehead, unless 1t was TO
tickle the G. A. RPS (grab all rascals)
and get their influence in the next
nominating convention. Perhaps he
is the man "who supports bad meas
ure TO get high political position"
We'll, of course any son. of-a-gun can
get pension now and some who never
had gun. L believe a Confederate
Soldier can get one by greasing the
pension agent. Only last week one of
our esteemed fellow-citizens had busj-
ness that called him to city IN New
York State and on being introduced to
the pension agent as Captain - he
was asked what service he was IN. He
replied, "In the Virginia army" $50
was l." said the agent. Have you
gotten pension 2" "No," said the
captain. Well, let me make out your
appllcatlOn; IL ls time you had one. "
The captain humored him for some
time while he was filling up the blank.
"Were you at the surrender9" said he.
"I was" SAID the captain. g Whose
command were you IN then?" said the
agent. General Wade Hampton's, -
said the captain. "The devil you say
you were a rebel, then. Gentaeme 4
here Is the first rebel I-have ever mad,
out o pension CLAIM for and nc look,
like such gentleman. I've a goot
notion to send it up and get him one. >
:. The captain says he could have gotter
/ one as easy as falling off log, if h,
, bad just lied a little. Newt Tumlir
told me long time ago that the onl,
| wty to get even with the Republican
was to grease 'em or jine 'em, but i
was safer to do both.
But our people will forgive Teddy
he will apologize for the past and be
have in the future. He has some goo
traits which he inherited from hi
mother, but his impulses and emotion
are not well balanced. His gun goe
off half cooked and he shoots with tn
q "a - n 90 RT