The leader., 1905-03-04
THE LAST CALL.


trains, we frequently hear ths
porter from the dining cal as hs
passes through the coaches, cloth
ed in his snowy white linen, call,
ing out, Last call for breakfast,
Last call for dinner, Y etc., sig,
nifying that previous calls have
been made to the hungry passen-
gers and that those who fail to re.
spond to this call will 60 hungry
as far as the railroad company il
concerned. Some one has said
that there are three things when
they are once gone, never return,
|to-wit: The sped arrow, the
spoken word and the neglected
opportunity. Obi how many
there are living today, who wiring
their hands while tears course
their way down their cheeks,
when they think of multiplied op.
portunities which passed their
way in gone by days, but are gone
forever. When / was a young
man, one of my brothers, young
er than myself, was il very feeble
health. On a visit to my fathers
home one day, brother and | got
into a heated argument on an un-
important question, and as he was
getting the better Of me in the ar
gument, | said something to him
in rather sarcastic manner that
seemed to wound him deeply. He
looked at me from those sunken
eyes and began to cough and the
conversation closed. On my re-
turn home ] began thinking Sc
riously over the matter and wished
that | had apologized to him for
what / had said, and thought /
would when / saw him again.
But alasl Only a few weeks had
passed, when a messenger came
and said Your brother is dying,
go at once. /" / hastened to his
bedside and at a glance saw the
death glaze in his eyes, and al
ready the cold damp had settled
upon his brow, and be was not at
all consciuos of anything.
There / stood, with a grief
stricken conscience, and an apollo
#gy upon my lips, and watched
him until the angels came and
bore his pure spirit away to heay-
EN-. And as ] stood on the mar
gin of bis open grave and heard
the heart-sickening sound of the
first clod upon his coffin lid, had
4 possessed a thousand worlds, |
would have freely given them all
for the opportunity Of making an
apology which / felt was due him.
But the opportunity was gone,
and gone forever.
But, Bro. Editor, / did not
gather up my pen this morning to
write a sermon, but to say a few
plain things to the farmers of this
country relative to the opportuni.
ty that is now passing by. ! firm
Ily believe that this is the last call
THAT will ever be made to farmers
for the carrying out t-of such meas.
ures as are designed for theil bet,
terment financially. Farmers
have always claimed that they
were the hardest pressed class
among the children Of men, and
that all classes were seeking to de-
your them. In all the history ot
agriculture in our Southland.
there never have been such oppor,
tunities as are being laid down al
the feet of the cotton growers oi
the South. The farmer can nc
longer say that he is being hunted
down by other classes of men, bul
rather other classes of men are
hunting him up, that they may
lsoothe his sorrows, heal bis
wounds and drive away bis fears.
The merchant, the banker, tht
lawyer, the doctor, the preacher.
the editor, the school teacher, anc
Iamong the very least of all others.
/ may say, the politician, are al
lending a helping hand to pull the
farmer out of the ditch into which
Ithey have fallen with thirteen
million bales of cotton on top ol
them.
The success or failure Of The
present movement for the better.
lment Of the farmers condition de.
pends altogether on their willing
ness TO cooperate with those who
are leading in the matter, and il
they fail to do this, they ale re-
lsponsible for results in the future,
Let me repeat, brother farmer,
that the opportunities that yor
now have will soon become mat
Iter of history. The last call i
being made, and il you fail TO re-
lspond your chances are gone, ane
lgone forever.
j. "A. SCARBOROUGH.
Bogpe Chitto, Miss.