The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-03-27
Ennouncea the Fifty Fourth An
nivaFsary Of His Wedding Day,
HRS ARP IS STILL THE "BOsS,
She Advises William to Let Up on the
Negro Question, (which Was
Settled In Atlanta at a Re
cent Harmony Meeting

less every day and keeps up with the
sensations. Most OF the time she sits
IN her accustomed corner and niles
. her needle and thread, making little
garments for her grandchildren. or
new covers for the cushions OF mend.
ing underclothes OF darnlng stockings
OF something. When she gets tired
she walks in the garden or goes down
to see Jessie and the children. She
went down town yesterday and bought
some thread and some toilet soap and
got weighed and asked the family all
ground to guess how much, and one
uessed It, exactly one hundred and
nifty pounds. She asked me to guess.
but said no-she had her way so Of
ten and SO long that | couldn't come
near 1t. and she shook her fist at me-
Good graciousi when | married her
she didn't weigh a hundred and wore
number two shoes and stepped like
deer. "Tempus fugit" Next week
VIII be the fifty-fourth anniversary of
our wedding day fifty-four-the tails.
manic number made up Of mines or its
multiple, as 3, 6, 9, Is, q. 54-3 and 6
are 9, l and 8 are 9, 2 and are 9,
and are 9. And soon our birthdays
will come along again, the first and
fifteenth Of June, and time keeps roll
ing on.
Ny wife was reading the paper and
suddenly stopped and spoke to me,
saying: We'll, isn't 1t about time to
quit writing about the negro?" "Why
so?" said I. why, don't you see the
whole business Of the race problem
was settled in Atlanta last Sunday?
The mayor and the preachers, black
and white, all made speeches, an
seemed to agree and everything is har-
monious. So if l was you | would
write about something else. Take up
George Washington for a change and
let Booker go dead.
Well, they did play on the harmoni-
ca right smart and l hope the prob
lem will take a rest, for everybody Is
| tired of it, Even Crumpacker is tired,
and now says the negro must work out
his own salvation. hats all right
When they call off the dogs, I'll quit
They are waking up to l. e true char
acter of the negro. A Chicago, man
who has been visiting the prisons says
there are about forty-six thousand ne
groes in that city which is about two
percent of the population, and that the
prison records as shown him by war.
aens, show the negroes to be thirty
per cent of all the criminals confined
and that the negro quarter Of the city
is the rendezvous and the refuge Of
nearly all the white burglars and
thieves that infest the city.
But that's none Of my business, as
my wife says. Chicago needs them
for municipal politics. But I have quit.
Let the negro so along and evolute,
as Crumpacker says I mad rather
look out Of my window and see two
little girls coming up the walk hand in
hand to see me than to write about
anything. And the little boy is COM
ing, too. His nurse Is rolling him in
his carriage and he Will run to me as
soon as he gets in the room, and will
nestle on my knees and say his little
words, and my greatest comfort is
that ali of them love me and won't go
home without kissing me a sweet
goodby. That nurse is a copper col
ored girl about twelve years old, and
she loves that baby and watches him
as carefully as mother. She is the
daughter of our sexton, who is the
janitor of the public school He and
his good wife are exceptions to all
the frailties Of the race and so are
their children If there were many
like them there would be no race
problem. Those three little children
come to see me every day and make
me to forget myse.- and my long i'll
ness, and l find mySel4 whispering,
s. @Suffer little children to come unto
me-" "And a little c-ild snail lead
them" What a pity they have to
grow up and lose their innocence and
see grief and trouble. How sweetly
sad are the memories Of our youth.
a One poet says:
Oh! would l were a boy again,
When life seemed formed Of sunny
years,
And all the heart Lien knew no pain
Was swept away in transient tears