The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-04-30
BILL ARP ON ROOSEVELT.
He Says the President Should
Have Apo1Ogizcd When He
Came South.

nc says tie PRESIDENT Should
Have Apo1ogized When Ill,
Came South.
Atlanta Constitution.
AS old Uncle Bob Rogers said, seth
Southern people are the most forgive
ness people in the world" They will
suffer more and suffer longer, and thel
if their enemy smiles on 'em and feed
'em with a little sugar, they will licl
his hand and forgive him.
l was Illuminating about thi, when
read of the Presidents visit to Charles
ton, and the grand ovation they CAV,
him. 1t hasn't been two months since
he said in puolic at a banquet that oul
secession was anarchy. 1t hasn't beer
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 regulators
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 a
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. l
reckon Roosevelt got it from John
Stuart MllFs slandcrOus history when
he says Mr. Davis was Governor of
Mississippi, and when the Legislature
passed a bill to pay the repudiated
bonds he vetoed it," What a 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 a poll
tician who sells his vote for money and
one who supports n bad measure u get
a 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 a regiment to
fight the battles of his country on the
soil of Mexico. There he was desper-
ately wounded, and for five years went
on crutches. Our Southern people re-
gard Jefferson Davis with emotions of
the highest admiration, and [ have gu
preme contempt for the ignorant or
malignant historians and politicians
who assail him. 1t gratiies me i'm
mensely that the President and General
Miles have fallen out, and that Miles
got the worst of it, though L don't
know who deserves the most scorn, the
President for slanderlng 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 u people, for it is O. fact that
we arc The IN > forgiveness people on
the earth, hut | have never yet known
a Yankee politician to apologize for
anything he did. They are the saints.
The &. A. RS 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 w mind. Ii he is really for civil
war reform and an honest government,
what did he turn out Evans for and
put in a fgurehead, unless 1t was 10
tickle the G.. A. RS (grab all ~rascals)
and get their influence in the next
nominating convention. Perhaps he
is the man who supports q bad meas.
ure to get high political position"
Well, of course any son. of-a-gun can
get a pension now and some who never
had a gun. L believe a Confederate
soldier can get N by greasing the
pension agent. Only last week one OF
our esteemed felluw-citizens had bust.
ness that called him to a 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" "Sc
was l." said the agent. Have you
gotIch u pension f' NO." SAIL the
captain. Well, letme make out your
application; it is time you had onc.''
The captain humored him for some
time while he was filling up the blank,
"Were you at the surrender" said he
81 was" SAID the captain. 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. Gennreme
here Is the first rebel. I'nave ever mad
gout o pension CLAIM for and he look
.1hke such a gentleman. I've a goo
notion to send it up and get him one.
The captain says he could have gotte
one as easy as falling off a log, if h
!, had just lied a little. Newt Tumli
told me a long time ago that the onI
wsy TO get ven with the Republican
was to grease 'em or jine 'em, but
was safer to do both.
But our people will forgive Teddy
he will apologize for the past and b,
have in the future. He has some GOO
traits which he inherited from h
mother, but his impulses and emotion
are not well balanced. His gun 90,
off half cooked and he shoots with Il