The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1905-09-27
Our Virginia Letter.

Our Virginia Letter.
We were all very much shocked at
the news of the death of Mr.. j. W.
Kleckley. Had I been in my former
sscdy at White Rock, I could have
seen into the ginnery in which it
happened. 'tIn the midst of life, We
are in death" He was an industrious,
honest man, in the prime Of life, with
8 faithful wife, and gve tender chill
dren dependent upon him, but death
is no respecter of persons. How can
any of us live ce.e.essly when death
may come TO any of Us at any time!
The partition wall that separates US
from the unseen world is as thin as a
spiders web, and as easily broken as
q bubble that floats upon the water.
To the bereaved family, our tender
est sympathies are extended.
Amongst other things, this sug-
gests that I say I am much interest
ed in the dispensary agitation now
going on in South Carolina. I hope
that every ybody is honest and sincere
in his convictions in the part they
are now taking in this fight. What
kind of answer will We give before
the great white throne for the record
of our lives? Will our Influence and
our vote help young men to high and
clean lives, or will they drag them
into cutters and ruin7 Money and
politics, or popular favor should haze
nothing to do with the question.
One mans soul is worth more than
all the gold and silver Of the world
Let me give you the result of little
observation: I came up here six
months ago. We have here local
option on the whiskey question. By
vote, Wythe county, that is, this
county, is ''dry." No whis key can
be "a :.ere legally. Our place has
eight hundred people. I have just
last week attended the County Fair
I have mingled freely with the people,
and have seen them by the thousands,
at church, at courts, on the streets,
in fairs, in wet and dry, at night, at
day, yet in all this I have, since I
left S. c., seen only two persons
under the infaenee of whiskey.
They were rot drunk. but visibly
effected by it. The stuff simply is
not sold here. DR.. w. W. Buck, one
of my best friends, an extremely
popular man, who knows the county
well, and will likely represent her in
the next legislature, says whiskey
simply is not sold in the county. I
know about every shed in this place,
and have never seen the slightest
sign OF blind tiger. You can i'm
agine what relief that is to place.
I have heard only few oaths, and
have not even seen quarrel, much
less a fight. The plea of blind tigers
fourishing under prohibition does
not work here. In one case, prohi-
bition against whiskey selling is just
as effective as prohibition against
killing, stealing or any other vice.
It is no pleasure for me to make this
comparison with my old home. 1t is
because I love her that this is writ
ten. I am sure if some of my friends
would see how prohibition works
here, they for the sake of their boys,
would want to try it. doubt. if
single substantial citizen of this town
would vote to have whiskey sold here.
There is something better in CON-
munit7 than money. I an sorry
that unkind things have been said
that stir up fsctional politics. This
involves a moral principle, and as
such should rise above politics.
I said I attended the County Fair
last week. Feeling the need of a
day off, especially for Mrs: B, we
went to Wytheville last Friday to
see how such things were managed
up here. One of my old school
mate is president of the organization.
Being limited to the county, it was
small, but clean. I saw no drunken
ness, nor cursing, not even coarsness.
A So,~k sso,o tho oofno1 ,,rooro rnmo