The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-01-09
HE IS NOT BILL ARP's SON.
Joel Smith, of Monticello, Fla
Is No Kin to Him and BE Don't
Know Joel

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Our Christmas is over, but the me.
mory of ii will lingcr long. Most all
the klth and kindred gathered 1T the
OLD homestead and brought love and
gadncss with them. All the far away
boys save one were hero and never
saw them 80 happy before. or course
| we had prepared a Christmas tree for
! the little ones aud Santa Claus came
down the chimney and filled their
stockings and then filled the tree with
beautiful presents and decorated 1t with
gorgeous ornaments. That anxious
expectation and wonder of the little
cnes is all over, but the OIL mansion is
still wide open and running over with
happy children and grandchildren and
Moore's first verse was changed to
""Twas the night after Christmas tho
rooms and the hall
Had the holly and mistletoe still On tho
wall,
The Christmas tree stands in tho parlor
forlorn,
It's beautiful hangings all given and
gone"
Next day we settled down to music
and song and the quiet enjoyment of
all the good gifts that Christmas
brought, including turkey and oysters
for dinner and turkey hash for break
fast every day while the boys were
with us. These boys arc all natural
bonn musicians and what with the
piano and flute and violin and half a
dozen sweet voices we had a choir of
our own, and when they got onto the
"buzzard lope" and other hilartics the
gills formed ring and danced and
pranccd to concord of sweet sounds,
and all of q sudden the maternal an
cestor lost her sclf-control and i)incd
the procession and bowed and curLsicd
and chased all and held out her hands
invitingly to mo. What coulI l do
but accept the uxorlal banter ami as |
was about TO take her hand in mine
and fly round, she flashed her Poca-
hontas eyes and declined my soft ap-
proachcs. She flirted away on her No.
2 feet as gay as a girl and went coquct-
ting with one of the boys. That's the
way she ueats me now in my antiquity
Time was when she was glad enous h
TO take my hand and keep it and dident
dare TO play coquette at my expense.
But now | am discarded, and so L re-
tired from the ring singing that pathetic
old song:
I'm the last rose Of summer left stand
ing alone,
lily lovely companion has left nc and
gone"
But the frolic Is about over and the
children have settled down to the
calm cljoymcnt Of their DOLE and
horns and other toys and are still
happy. The day before Christmas it
was a touching sight TO see some Of
the old men slipping around slyly in
the stores buying pretty things for the
home folks. l met my good brother
Yarbrough waddIing along about dark
with some bundles and under his arm
new umbrella. He said the umbrella
was for IIeZekiah, his faithful servant
who had lived with him all these years,
and was true and tried and had never
owned an umbrella. That was good
and kind and was proof enough that
Brother Yarbrough belongs to our old
set and had slaves to serve HIM "bcfo'
de wah."
But, Mr.. Editor, l am still perplex,
ed. My Christmas pleasure has been
marred somewhat by my pity for tho
poor crcdulous, dependent women al
over the land who are the dupcs Of tha
Monticello man. Every day bring;
more letters from those who have lons
since sent the 1926 to my son at Mon
! ticello, Fla, and got nothing back
| They say they trusted him because h,
was my son. Many of them bcggct
or borrowed the 1926, for they coul,
not get the subscribers, and so the,
made up a list of names from their &C
quaintances and then they went t.
work on the endless chain hulnbug ant
got other women IN to send mor'
more and be duped.
Now, Mr.. Editor, beg you to pu
it IN large type and print it in red inl
that Joel Smith, of Monticello, is nj
son of mine, nor do | know anything
Of him or his paper. saw late issu
in which he boasts Of having dc, 0,O0'
subscribers, which l suppose mean
| &40, 900 that these dependent womc
have sent him. He promised ther
$40 month to write three hours da
and some of them sold their jewclr
and other precious things to raise tn
225. Mr.. Editor, do please lend you
columns to stop this fraud upon on
poor Southern women. And now W
see that another endless chain pap(
has started in Athens, Ga. Thcs
frauds arc bringing discrclit upon til
press and distress upon poor womel
| inclose a sample circular. Pleas
stop it. XIII it. Crush it, 1t ls wors
than the cherry tree swindlc.
BILL ARP.
p. ST. will give $40 to find 0,
who started that lie that the Monticcl
man was my son. / have received
least fifty letters saying, "Your son
Monticello etc. They make n
tired. had three from Texas th
morning. b. A.
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