The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-08-07
THE Pen IS MIGHTIER
THAN THE SWORD
How Humorous Writers View This Nu
tlIated Declaration of Bnlwer.

Pine Crest Villa. Maitland. Fla, July
2s-T have often referred. but very
briefly IN these letters 10 the garbled
and misquoted declaration: The Zen
is nigntier than the sword. and once
I called attention 10 Mark Twain's
burlesoue story On the subject. But
Harry Stillwell Edwards. the gifted
Georgia writer has given the best
b~urlesque, being Al account OF a ne
gro debating society discussing this
r~erplexing question. Resolved. dat he
Pen am Mitier dan de Sword" This
was published in q leading magazins
n few years ago.
Now m the American Illustrated
Ma gazine formerly Leslies) o. a resent
issue with a similar article. only /. .
a white boys debating club. The
question under discussion was this,
Which is the Mitier, the pen or the
sword?"
Bill Sweet champions the cause Ct
the sword rs follows: The sword is
mightier than the pen. Why. because
it is longer and bigger round and has
a handle I grab :. by. Course it IS. |
should think everybody would know
that. When brave Horatus held he
bridge. what did he do Il with-a PEN
Well, | will guess not bad. How long
could he have stood against three FELL
lers who come al him? What did he
he didn't he pasted him with a sword
ne iab him with a pen? No, YOU bet
didn't. he pasted him with Il sword.
and he had 10 pull three times before
he could get il out. He had 10 put
his foot on his goZZle and then TO pull
like time. 'SpOsen he had jabbed him
with 4 pen, l guess II would come
Observation-Disclosures (a(, ,a,iittai
u easy. Then agen. a sword is made
of steel and until a little while ago pens
were made Of feathers. Did any of you
fellers ever see a sword made of a
feather? Hugh, | guess not.
Great applause and no end of con-
fusion followed this speech and when
order had been restored, "Whack" was
given the floor TO max q reply, witch
he did as follows: "Fellers. it is eTi-
dent that Doc. Don't know what he
is talking about. It amt which =
made of the strongest medal. but which
you can do the most with. When Inc
Pilgrim fathers signed the Declarati0I
of Independence they made the Fourth
of July and they didn't sign it with
a sword, did they? No, they signed
with a pen. And if it hadn't been FOR a
pen. in the hands of them same Pill
grim fathers you wouldn't have n
Fouth of July, o any t~re-crackers.
nor tOrpedoes, nor rockets. nor red
lights. Then again, when Abrham
Lincoln signed the emancipa-
tiGn proclamation he freed the niege:
slaves. millions of them, and they keep
the peo he signed it with in Wilmington.
And where would the niggers be if he
HAD tried to sign it with 2 word? They
would be slaves today.
Bit the swords had another advocate
and Bug Bug made this strong re-
joiner "Whack says the Pilgrim faith
ers signed the Declaration of IndepeE-
dence1 What if they did? They had
to fgIr1 for it afterwards, didn't they?
S'pose' they hadn't done ANYTHING
while the Revolution was going GA bue
keep signing declarations of ind5pea-
dence, while old CornwaElis, and Rene !
dick Arnold, and King George, and
Andre, and those feIlers had been
whackiug their heads off with swords. |
where would Cotton Marner. and Giles !
ey, ;ld John Smith, and George |
Washington been then? | guess they'd |
wished they had used swords. And 1t |.
was just so when Lincoln signed the !
emancipation proclamation. Did that .
free the slaves? What was Gen. Grant /
and Sherman and Sheridan, and Gen J
and Capt Rowen and all the I
other felltrs doingg Signing pr0cfa-
nations? Well. | guess not, TEhy .
was pasting round lively with their |
swords" !
The sword, in this debate as in that |
recorded by Harry Sfiilwelf Edwards. |
won against the pen as II always VIII :.
any fair discussioH-Sisney HerbTt
IN Savannah News. |