The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-03-06
4 GOSSIPY SWING AROUND THE CIRCLE
By Rev. R. Fl. Whitaker


reforms which are always being prom
ised, is still = thousand d4ss. and q
fear. VIII always tie Z Thousand days
IN the future. Politicians and -eforrl-
cr5 make such conditions. Gas Old
Hayes did for Browne that after we
have laborei. taiIed and striven. we
fad, a4 We grow weaker under the
burdens We have fo carr--. That
the boon which vs. covel Is stll be-
yond our reacn.
But this can be truthfully said Of
the people: they Try 10 make the best
Of conditions. and keep on struggling
The money men have the country
in their power. and. ever and anon,
they change the conditions 50 as TO
make i harder for the poor TO live.
as old Hayes did for Brown.
| believe there i \ trust on every
thing now but mud. Capital has about
secured all the forests. ana the conec-
qucnCc is a poor man can't build "A
house. The price IT Jumbo il rcgu-
lated b. monopoTists, and m~onopoIist-
can take every labOrcr out Of the farm.
because they can pay higher wages,
and to do that they raise the prices
on lumber. iron. steel, coal. flour.
meal. sugar. coffee. tobacco and every
thing the people bay.
In the hands Of mouopoIists the
common people are very much like an
Arkansas man | read Of. a traveller
going along the roads, in the river
bottoms OF Arkansas. saw a cada-
varous looking man, sitting on a
block. in the hot. broiIing, summer
sunshine. while near by was q good
shade. This attracted the attention
Of the traveller who stopped and
asked:
My friend. why don't you move
out Of the hot sunshine INTO the shade
Of that tree"
4 amt ready, yet. Tho chill amt
gone off" he said IN a voice that had
an ague tone.
How long \have You had hills
the raveIer asked.
About thirty years"
why don't you nov away from
here?" the traveller asked.
I've got nowhere to go" he an
sWered.
I'D go somewhere" the traveller
said.
Il amt going to leave here. I'm used
to chills. But if | go somewhere else
I'll have to got used 10 something else
I amt acquainted with"
"HaVcn't the chills neariy worn YOU
out"
"Been worn out long ago. I can't
DO a drafted thing now but sift meal
and shake down ~perSimmons. I'm all
the time in such a trimble.'
There was philosophy in the fel-
lows idea, that if he left the chill
country he'd find something just as
bad, which has its parallel in our
commercial affairs.
If q man quits farming because the
trusts are bleeding him, and goes to
merchandising. manufacturing, build
ing homes, making collins, OF even dig
ging bitches. he finds the trusts Qil<e
chilIS and fCVefS. measles, small pOx,
pneumonia, consumption, and other
diSeaSeS) are giving trouble every
where. He cant find d place nor en-
gage in ANYTHING in which the trusts
do not give trouble.
Like the Arkansas fellow. / guess we
had better make up our minds TO make
The most We can Of the condition and
if we cannot grow rich and live IN the
fat of the land. We can make out to
sift meal and shake down p-ersimmons.
And, if by so doing, We can manage to
keep soul and body together. long
enough to make our peace. calling
election sure. and finally die and
go to he2Nen-Ne may be certain that
Wen be forever rid of trusts and all
of those heartIess grafters, who, in
their eagerness to become rich made it
so hard for US to live down here.
| hope the President, noW that Till
man. the man of the Ditchfork, has
been knighted and commissioned to
lead the crusade III the Senate will be
able to accomplish something. at least.
in furtherance of a genuine square
DEAL between the railroads and the
people.
But I'm afraid there's a trick in the
matter Of making Tillman the leader
of the rate measure in the Senate.
When | saw it had been done,
thought of q story | once read, of how
two highway robbers. in the days of
Murrell, got an innocent mar into
trouble. They had just killed and
- II ~-I ~ A,A~ - tlNn.
road. With he dead man's pocket
book and money in their possession,
they came to Il oor mans hut. TAX
ing all the money from the pocket
book they gave the pocketbook. con
tanning notes and other papers to the
man Of the hut. To be returned to the
owner, they claiming to nave found it
on the road. The robbers hurried
away, and soon were out of the COM
munity. In a day or two the whole
community had learned hat a man
had been murdered, and men were
trying to find the murderer. 1t lGaked
out that the man living il this hut had
the dead mans pocketbook. He was
arrested. and. although he protested
his innocence, such was the feeling
against him he might have been
lynched. but for 4 circumstance that
came to light just in time to save him.
In crossing a ferry the robbcr paid
the ferrYman i'll Il silver coin which
the murdered man, for some reason, |
had long carried in his pocket, which
he had been heard to say he Woul not
part with for any consideration.
murdered mans son was anon |
those who were securing the country, |
and at that ferry he received in change |
the W~cIl-knOWn coin. The fCrrNman
said two men crossed there. and they |
told him of the murder, and insinu-
atcd thai 4 man living III a hut a few
miles back might be able to tell all
about il. Putting all the circumstan-
CcS togcther-the fact hat two strange |
men passed. at a certain hour. through
the ncighhorho0d Of the murdered
man. and crossed the ferry in less than
hour, II paid To the ferrElnan that
coin; and the further fact the man of
the hut could prove that he had not
within five miles OF where the
murder took place that day, he
was finally released. The opinion was
/ hat inc robbers in order 10 gain time |