The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-09-07
p1lJnk0fk' SLeff6r

pin Arm has gone to heaven leaving a
memory behind him that makes heaven a
,,e.rer MACE than ever before to the minds
,,c an the children and all the women and
to many men.
1Tnrtv-two wears ago-in the fall of 1851
obanced to be present in the parlor of
Tho old American hotel, then the swell
hotel of Atlanta. standing on Alabama
street. on the corner east from what Is
now Temple Court.
ar steele was then editor of The At
,,nta Jntelligencer, the greatest southern
naner then. as The Constitution is now
S,ftipe over by table was Edltor Steels'
Whitaker, proprietor Oh Inc IN
telliqencer and one other geh'iehlah
whom | disremember Mr.. Steele fead
from the paper. and as he fead several
who were present in the room are" near
or and there | heard the hrst coliliiou
tion Of ELL Arp to the papers beginning.
"Nr. Tinkhorn-Sir: The spring mas 9heu
it, fragrance the summer am over ana
gone and the last leaves Vi au' "'n'i NV
l,iver the earth etc
~, that dav Bill Arp was famous.
20 lie crown and melowed through the
-. ,ilI he was loved as perhaps no
So, man was loved or will be loved Tor
,ono time to come in Georgia and the
o,,tb Since then the generations haNs
hao,d RilI Arp read from the cradle 10 th~
,,1,o The boys and girls have Welconif"
srhe Constitution on Sundays an" 'ne
weekly and to hear Blil arp was t"9'i
6rst and greatest desire. THESE cnilu,V'
,~in,, IA maturity and having chlldreh
O. 4roi. ou,n passed the same deSlres Oh
,1rough the years, till It came a laSe 'ia
~, ~, ~, vas the household favorite' WITH
- rcsnoot to age The prattlinS glflS.
~ ,or,niny bows. the young mothers ana
oId mothers. the young 'others anu o''
f.tl,ars-all conditions were raise" "
catnd into loving and welcoming we
.o,r tbat became a part of the Collstl'"-
tons visits . ~ watch
~ io+tars mat came to Mrs. King ue
"a rtroent-s.Woma Kingdom
i.vn1no Igolrls'-and many times nave
~ no down and contemplated "hat 4"
;..a,,,r.a The Constitution was nulidin7
at+nar for good or for evil. Every SOUTH
o,.,, stata has been represented Tor years
throuoh the correspondents OF lheSe
r,,,trnants and through all these years d
friondshiD has grown for Bil A.p CIV
,nItiDlled according as young PeoPio nav
evolvnd into husbands ana wives am
,,,,,ltf,lied in children. This mulhpllCd
ton of people and the mello"ihg Oh Ni"9
has made Bill Arp close lrleiu "a ~.
o1d and the youns-fathers ana ihotH0i9
learned to love him ard passed tue
ing on down to their children until ~
a,9,lees link Of affection existed at MS
death as long as the years he mas pes
before the public Dr. Talmage visited
w. mailing room, of The Weekly Con-
eti4ntion on one Of his visits TO Atlanta
md waving his hand over the thousands
Of names that were there in s1gnt. ne re-
marked mon what an audience SucIl q
nanar provided why" said the doctor,
I'VE lecturers think it is great to nave
an audience OF two or three thousand
but here We have two hundred thousand
and many read US besides the real SUD
s.rihers" Perhaps a half million people
read Talmages sermons every Week
while they We're published in Sunday
and The Weekly Constitution. So 1t was
with Bill Arp He had an audience every
week running into the hundreds Of thou~
sands and. be it said to his glory, his
efforts were always on the side of MAX
ing people better and happier.
If I had been called to name tha
best man in Georgia 1 should have said
Bill Arp. If I were called on to name
the best loved woanan in Georgia l would
saw Mrs King This afectionate feeling
for these has grown upon them because
Of the character they have reflected
through the great paper. There are
thousands of people throughout this land
that will cherish the memory Of Bill Arp
and of Aunt Susie as long as they
live. and dying the kindly feeling Will
live through the children for generations.
The Constitution itself is held in very
tender memory because of THESE associa
ri. Il 81 hot
The Weekly Constitution is much dearer
TO many a heart than tina it is simply
a newspaper to be read and thrown
away a Texas lady told me that she
looked for the paper as the coming of 4
very dear old friend from her childhood
home in Georgia. 1t enters thousands
of homes as - friend and so it has been
entering for year. and though Bill Arp
is dead they VIII love it still ana cherish
its coming as sweet reminder of the
man
And Mrs Arp. Who does not know
her and how many have pictured her AZ
sweet old woman of the olden type?
And Carl and Jessie-all of these will re-
main a sweet memory and help Us to
bear our own share of sorrow over the
dead when we think Of how much greater
the loss is to these. of these and of all
the world Mrs. Smith is the greatest
sufferer and needs the most of sympa
thy But we think she will be strong
in resisting the crash of this last sad be
reavement. ! think that all the noble
women who passed through our civil
war stronger in the resistance of
sorrow than those who have never known
such trials as we then had
They all got used to sorrow there Scr
row was met upon every highway and it
was found in every home Mrs Smith
was refugee of those times. and this
means that she saw many things sad
der than death and darker than the
grave This Will help her now The man
that was all the world to her is gone.
but he had fought a good fight and has
entered into rest. HQW much lighter is
such a sorrow as this than the sorroNs
that am sure she Witnessed in our war
between the states The matter is over
with her and she has nothing but the
sweetest memories in connection with nec
life of the last fifty years. She has seen
sorrows with the clements Of uncertainty
so intermingled that uncertainty and sus-
pense was the greater part of the grief
This has trained her to bear brief
think better than those who have seen
no SUCH abundance Of sorrow There is
no suspense in the matter of Bill Arms
death. He is gone and he was prepared
to so. and as | have said. heaven will
seem dearey and a different place TO
thousands yet III life.
,.it T,i..