The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-01-08
he is NOT BILL ARp's SON.
Joel Smith, Of Monticello, Fla, is
nc Kin to Him and he Don't
Know Him.
Atlanta Constitution.


old homestead and brought love and
gladness with them. All the far away
boys save one were here and I never
saw them so happy before. OF course
we had prepared Christmas tree for
the little ones and Santa Claus came
down the chimney and filed their
stockings and then filed the tree with
beautiful presents and decorated it
with gorgeous ornaments. That anx-
ious expectation and wonder of the lit
tie ones is all over, but the old man
sion is still wide open and running
over with happy children and grand
children and Moore's first verse was
changed to
'TM .as the night after Christmas =
the rooms and the hall
Had the holly and mistletoe still on
the wall,
The Christmas tree stands in the par
lor forlorn,a
It's beautiful kngings 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 are all natural
born musicians and what with the
piano and flute and violin and half
dozen sweet voices we had a choir of
our own, and when they got onto the
"buzzard lopez and other hilarities
the girls formed a ring and danced and
pranced to concord Of sweet sounds,
and all of sudden the maternal ances-
tor lost her self control and Joined the
procession and bowed and curtsied and
chased all and held out her. hands in
vitingly to me. What could I do but
accept the uxorial banter and as I
was about to take her hand in mine
and fly round, she flashed her Poca-
hontas eyes and declined my soft ap-
proaches. She hirted away on her No
2 feet as gay as a girl and went coquet-
ing with one Of the boys. That's the
way she treats me now in my anti
guilty. Time was when she. was glad
enough to take my hand and keep it
and dident dare to play coauette at my
expense. But now am discarded, and
so I retired from the ring singing
that pathetic old song:
"I'm the last rose of summer left
standing alone,
Ny lovely companion has left me and
gone.''
But the frolic is about over and the
children have settled down to the calm
enjoyment of their dolls and horns and
other toys and are still happy. The
day before Christmas it was touching
sight to see some of the old men slip
ping around slyly in the stores buying
pretty things for the home folks. l
met my good brother Yarbrough wad-
ding along about dark with some
bundles and under his arm new UNI
brella. He said the umbrella was for
Hezekiah, 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 had slaves to serve him
''befo' de wah.''
But. Mr.. Editor, / am still per-
picked. Ny Christmas pleasure has
been marred somewhat by my pity for
the poor, credulous, dependent women
all over the land who are the dupes of
that Monticello man. Every day
brings more letters from those who
have long since sent the S25 to my son
at Monticello, Fla, and got nothing
back. They say they trusted him be-
cause he was my son. Many Of them
begged or borrowed the S25, for they
could not get the subscribers, and SO
they made up list of names from
their acquaintances and then they
went to work on the endless chain
humbug and got other women IN to
send more and be duped.
Now, Mr.. Editor, beg you to put
it in large type. and print it in red
ink that Joel Smith, of Monticello, is
no son of mine, nor do I know any
thing of him or his paper. saw
late issue in which he boasts of hav-
ing 10000 subscribers, which | suppose
means $40, 900 that these. dependent
women have sent him. He promised
them $50 a month to write three hours
day and some of them sold their jew
elry and other precious things to raise
the s25. Mr., Editor, do please lend
your columns to stop this fraud upon
our poor Southern women. And now
we see that another endless chain pa
per has started in Athens, Ga. These
/ frauds are bringing discredit upon
the press and distress upon poor
women. I inclose sample circular.
Please stop it. Kill it. Crash it. 1t
is worse than the cherry tree swindle.
Bill Arp.
P. 81 will give SO to find out
who started that lie that the Monticel-
10 man was my son. l have received
at least fifty letters saying, Your son
at Monticello" etc. They make me
tired. I had three from Texas this
morning. q. a.
| f;.u. a.nuea,r luarhr,lTtnsl =;