The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1909-04-28
NEVER SEPARATE.
ffr. William C. Dreher, of Berlin, Ger.
many, Writes Strong Card
AGAINST Annexation.
To the Editor of The Dispatch:

to send me, I see with regret that
there is movement on foot to detach
the Dutch Fork, or part o! it, from
old Lexington and unite it with Rich
land.
While I have been living for a long
time outside of the old county and
may perhaps have no moral right to
express my views on the question,
still I have feeling that some of my
old friends might like to hear how the
proposed change strikes an old Lex
ingtonian who was born and brought
up in the Dutch Fork-how it strikes
one that looks at the matter from a
long distance, and more from the
standpoint of old associations than
from that of the more practical ad-
vantage of one section Of the county.
lido not know what the arguments
are that have been brought forward
for the division, but it ap arspefrom
the number of The Dispatch sent me
that some of the separatists think that
old Lexington is not progressive
enough, and that if the Fork were
Joined to Richland better roads and
better schools would result. That re-
ally does not strike me as the right
way to be progressive. That is .hav-
ing progress engrafted upon you as an
alien growth, and I. cannot believe
that the result will be good fruitage.
Progress must spring from within,
not imported from without; and sure
ly nobody needs to break up the good
old county in order to be progressive.
Better and longer schools are undoubt-
edly needed, and so are better roads;
but the m way isanyl for the people
of the Dutch Fork to get them
through their own efforts.
Now my great objection to this sep
aration proposal is that it ruthlessly
ignores old associations that ought to
be dear to every son of the Dutch
Fork. We of that section are bound
to a great part of the people of the
south side of the Saluda river by ra-
cial tie that we should never forget.
The same German settlement which
began first in Orangeburg, then moved
along up the Congaree and Saluda
rivers, finally overfowed into the
Dutch Fork. The very names on
both sides of the river are in part the
same. Many persons and families in
the county have lived part OF their
lives on one side of the river and a
part on the other. Many of the school
teachers-at least those of the gener.
alton to which I belong-scattered
the seeds of wisdom on both banks Of
old Saluda. And what a host of
names will rise to the memory of ev-
cry old Lexingtonian which are still
household words both in the Dutch
Fork and south of the river!
Why disturb the memories and as
sociations that cluster about all these
facts? Why desert people of whose
flesh and blood we were born, in order
to cast in our lot with another county,
composed, doubtless, of people just as
good as we are, but still varying con-
siderably from the German type that
prevails with US?
Upon a recent visit to my old home
my heart was saddened by finding
some mounds of earth in the church
yard marking the places of some of
the dear old people slept who had
gone to their rest during my absence.
This older generation of parents, un-
cles and aunts is rapidly passing
away. The lips from which we
younger ones have heard 80 much of
the, common history of the two Sec
tions of the old county, anecdotes
about the quaint old characters who
lived farther back than the record of
our memories reach, customs of the
older times-those lips will soon all be
mute. Now all those old people can
be counted on as witnesses against
the separation of the county. can
more than guess that the old folks
still living are against it; and if those
thathave passed away cane d still inter-
est themselves in our mundane affairs,
they would assuredly regret to see us
disturbing the old landmarks to which
they were accustomed. Many of
those old people brought home their
brides from the opposite shore of old
Saluda, but very few of them from
across Broad river.
Some practical man may answer
that this is looking at the matter
wholly from the sentimental stand
point. My reply to him shall be this:
Do we not get all our greatest enjoy
ments in life out of our sentiments?
Proper sentiments must be respected,
not trodden under foot. What mat
ters it that the ride to Lexington
Court House is longer and more tire
some to some than to Columbia? Is
small question like that to be allowed
to disturb sweet old associations and
to draw dividing line through the
only old German colony in South Car
DINA?
can only hope that the supporters
of the separatist movement will take
a second thought and give up their
scheme.
Yours for united old Lexington,
William @. Dreher.
Berlin, Germany, April IA, 1909.