The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-06-05
BILL ARP'S LETTER
Gives the Young People Pointers
Concerning Correspondence.
bothered Again with the Chain-Let-
ter Busin ess-HeIped Raise FUNDS
to Mark Confederate Graves
at Fredericksburg.

Kind friends, please forbear. know
that the time for compositions and de-
bates and essays is near at hand, put
am sick and cannot help you this spring.
am weak and don't want to strain my
mind. / haven't been out OF the house
but twice in three months. My VIE
and the doctor watch me and won't let
me go. A few weeks ago / slipped OH
to my daughters one pleasant evening
and had to be hauled back in a buggy,
for it is uphill to my house, and was
weaker than thought. You see, had .
sunstroke last June and have never re-
covered from it. Every night, II the
weather is bad, have to get up about
midnight and sit by the fire and cough
for an hour or two. But can answer
letters, and have from a dozen to
score every day. 1t pleases me 10 an
swer the letters of the young folks, Tor
many of them need help. know that
did when was away off at school. My
father was an old school teacher, ana
knew how to help me. He wrote near
" all of my junior orators speech, ana
i got credit for it, though only crossed
the It's and dotted the is and put my
name to the end of it. But there are
hundreds of boys and girls who have no
help. and am sorry for them. and so
for many years past l have trieo 10
help them. Some of them just want
help a little, a few ideas, but others
want the whole thing. In fact, one boy
asked me TO write him two, so that ne
could take choice. Most of them for
get to enclose stamp, and my postage
account got to be such burden that,
as Rip Van Wrinkle said: Il swore on
and quit answering such letters. 1t is
bad manners to write to man on busi-
ness that does not concern him and ex-
pect him to pay the return postage.
receive many long manuscripts with
request to read and criticise and return
| and tell where to have published ana
| what the writer will probably get paid
| for them. have two on hand, Just re-
ceived-no stamps enclosed-one Is a
grammatical curiosity. Hardly line
that does not contain bad grammar OF
a misspelled word. 1t takes nearly hall
a line for the word "spectacles" and II
has II letters in it. The word angel is
spelled angle, and yet the writer ex'
poets to get paid for the story.
/ The other manuscript is an inquiry
into the race problem-nos tamps-ano
il contains II questions for me to an
swer. Another long letter on foolscaI
writes of the good old times, and say:
in conclusion that if l will answer
he will write me again and put his name
to the next letter. There is no name t.
this. He is an Irishman, l reckon. On'
other request wish to make about let
tiers. Please place your post office ad
dress plainly at the top and your nam
plainly at the bottom. Many a time
have passed letter all around the fam
ily trying to decipher the signature
| Sometimes have cut the signature OF
and pasted it on the back of the reply
thinking that probably the postmaste
at the writer's home would recognlz
; it. If the post Office address is omitte
and the postmark on the envelope
blurred, as it frequently is, it is impos
sible to know where reply should D
sent. and if I guess at it and CUES
wrong it goes to the dead letter of1c'
Now, you young people must not forge
these little things, for they are IN
portant, especially the stamps. Some
times we literary men are greatly PEI
picked to know what to do with som
. letters One more request. DO nc
, write to me at Atlanta. do not Inv
there. My home is in Cartersville, IAN
| l thought that everybody knew it b