The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-04-16

the crossroads store. In the rural
south age means wisdom. Merely to
have seen the seasons come and go
is knowledge, and when age talks not
only youth but middle age must be
content to listen. Cultivation is mere
book-learning, hearsay, the rumor of
an unsubstantial truth, as if the book
were not the experience of mans
mind. The well-read and travelled, if
not yet out from under the contempt
OF Immature years." must sit respect
fuEdumb while an old man who may
never have crossed the line of his
county consents to give an hours
homily upon the affairs of the world.
But with age there sometimes comes a
mellow and sweet ripening of that
half philosophical humor which musty
books bound in the hide of some
ancient fatted calf delightfully."- tell us is
almost wholly an Anglo-Saxon heritage
But old Lin had been out of his
county. He had travelled into the
north, the land where every man was
for himself In Chicago he had
bought pair of "gold-rimmed" spec
tacles which some clergyman must
have lost, and in modest little trans
action he had permitted a Michigan
fruit farmer to pluck off a patch of
his well-seasoned skin. And while
these transactions were reckoned
among his accomplishments, they
turned somewhat pale when compared
with the fact that he could come near.
er guessing the weight of hog or the
height of a mule than any man in
North Carolina. 1t is on record that
he was a believer in the Book from
'kiver to kiver," and in his neighbor-
hood 1t is known that once he wall
loped one of the Harvey boys for tit
tering at a baptising. He furnished
the oak slab that had been fashioned
into the mourner's bench at Sloan
meeting house. His wife gave to the
circuit rider more pairs of wool socks
than any other woman in the COM
munity. And the old man himself had
been known not indeed to shout dur
call hogs with more fervor than was
his accustomed habit. Yet, notwith-
standing these unmistakable tokens of
a pious life, he gave to game roosters
devotion that smacked of fanaticism.
Through the wind-howl of winters
night-through the icy thicket he
would shoulder his way, mile after
mile, to be present at a contest. He
lomented the fate of the defeated, but
gloried over the victor. But he never
Wagered a penny That would have
been irreligious. With others the
fighting of chickens was a sport.
With him it was an emotion. So, with
Ills moral establishment we'll known
and with his wisdom unquestioned,
whenever of Saturday afternoon he
there was always an audience wait
ing, not out of respect for his years,
but looking for amusement
"They have about settled the COM
ing election" said he, as he parted the
tails of his brown jeans coat and sat
down. Don't believe I ever saw an
election comm that want already
settled. And it would look like there
wan'n't any use of havin' but one side;
but, yet, somehow the other side al
ways does putty we'll when the votes
are counted. The man that under
stands arithmetic is bad in politics.
He likes to f1gger, and a man that
does usually tiggers too much. It's
an old sayin' that figgers don't lie,
and that may be true, but sometimes
they are found in the wrong place.
Both of the great political parties
are wise, for they always nominate
the right man. And what fine pres
ident he would have made if he had
only been elected. And the minute
the other candidate is elected he
ceases to be a politician and becomes
statesman. But death has made
more statesmen than office ever did.
In this life great reward is offered
to rascality, and that's the reason
there are so many politicians. Enough
votes would make any man great, but
not enough will turn the wisest man
into fiy-up-the-creek. When a man
that is looking for an office begins to |
tell me that he's a sincere American |
believe him. believe he wants the |
place, and in this way the lives of |
some men illustrate an eternal truth. |
They eternally want something. Run |
ming for office is hard habit to break, |
but when man has been beaten a |
time or two for president he cools |
down nightly. Some of our smartest
men have been defeated for president.
and among them was Henry Clay, but
he oughtn't to have expected the of.
flee when old Andy Jackson and the
Lord were against him. And it is
naturally to be supposed that the
Lord still has a good deal of influence
dHrtn' election time, but it is a ques-
tton whether or not He always uses it.
Ever since can recollect the
country has been goin' to ruin. It
seems that the constitution was born
ruined and has been imposed upon
ever since. But it is a mighty hard
thing to tear to pieces. But If the
right man isn't elected this time not
only the constitution but the whole
will have to go on crutches.
Old Uncle John Moss is the Oldest
man in the county and he says that
The world is a failure, and If this is
true America must go along in with
the general no accountness of it all.
But | n0ticed that last year my bot
tom field raised more corn to the acre
than for several years past, and as
ong as this continues to be the case
amt in a fitten frame of mind to be- {
ieve in all the bad news hear. No
natter how much good news you get | t
bad news is sure to follow. Some time {