The Forrest City times., 1909-08-13
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Writes More Fully of the Barbecue and Also Gives Some
 Interesting Palestine Items.
Memphis, Tenn, Aug. <. l4o7.

EuilOE lIHltSs
 A days outing in the country to q city w0fkingman is d pleasure to be looked forward to. and the pleasure is tWo-fold when the objective point is where one k to meet and mingle with hosts of friends and ac- quaintances from all parts of St Francis county. We had anticipated only a gathering of the faithful with the others of the immediate com munity and never figured the crowd any larger. Imagine then. our sur prise on reaching Forrest City on our way to Palestine, to see the depot platform, side streets, railway right of-way and other available spaces filled with people .waiting for our train. The train from the west ar irving little later at Palestine brought equally as many, while wagons and buggies from all directions came piling in laden with people. The little city was completely deluged by the crowds and the committee in charge began to worry over the prob lem of how to feed them, with only twenty-six carcasses barbecued. Alp parently every one got something to eat for the writer heard no complaint along that line.
 Being a Socialist gathering it was expected the doctrines and policies oi this party would be exploited. And they were, and ably. w R. Snow, of Huntington, Arkansas, the principal orator of the day, spoke at length on the subject, and in a masterly way presented his side of the question and to the entire satisfaction of all the followers of the Markian theory of government. We must pause here to hand to Judge Remley, of Forrest City, and others who spoke against socialism. a bouquet of roses. They were able speakers, entertaining. etc. but were very poorly informed on the question they were arguing against. A successful debater must be well versed on both sides. The Judge should thoroughly post himself before the next picnic, and the writer will guarantee that the committee will give him all the time necessary to tell why socialism is wrong. The Judge may say we are trying to trick him into investigating the question in hopes of making "an anarchist" out of him, but he will admit we are right about fellows inability to argue against something he knows lnothing about. And it is true many of our ablest champions were converted through Investigating the question.
 But enough about the picnic was big success any way you take it, and if we go on writing about it the editor will chop us off, and we have much more to Say-wheat for instance. "Old Man" Simmons told us people would think We had gone datfy on the question, and while we were talking wheat he was giving us thunder for calling him "old man" but closed the argument by saying that he was going to plant. Everybody we talked to is. Ii was as big wheat picnic as it was socialist.
 The visit made us feel good fine crop prospects, everybody, including Squire Cayanaugh, planning to raise their own biscuit another year, so- cialism booming, the country healthy in fact it all combined to make us feel like life was one sweet song.
 Palestine is on the improve, among those noted being first class meat market and ice house run by John Young: one of the handsomest little drug store to be found anywhere in town twice it's size, and we might use the same adjective in connection with the proprietor. At least, the girls all agree that he is handsome. The writer is under obligations to Will fU special fayors while there
 Our trip down there will long be a pleasant spot in our memory, to be re- peated at the first opportunity or when the socialists have another powwow of any kind. In the mean time the writer expects to let those good people hear from him oftener