The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-11-16
Till NEED or LIeRf.
Let Darkness be DispelIed, and Let the
People Assemble in the Light.
Contributed.

one thing up to this time the city has
neglected to do, and that neglect is to be
found in failure to properly light the
public square. We have a beautiful pub
lie square Of which our people have just
reason to be proud, but where Is the
pleasure of having a beautiful public
square, If 1t is to be clothed in a pavilion
Of darkness? Why should citizens adorn
and beautify the grounds around their
honest Why should the city build i'm
posing monuments surrounded by plats
Of living greene Why should the people
build magnificent temples? Why should
elegant public structures-the court house
and the city hall-have less light than is
displayed In the attractive store fronts Of
our city2 II our business houses think
the expenditure for Lights Is q good one,
and an investment that draws trade, why
should not the city fathers take the same
view as to the advantage Of lights? The
city owns the city hall. Law Offices are
rented there. The opera house-the
greatest attraction of the city-is an i'm
portant meeting place within whose walls
great multitudes of our people frequently
assemble. The opera hall is rented for
a price. The lessee of course expects to
make a profit for the risk Of his money
no less than he expects to be paid for his
labor and trouble Of keeping open a place
for the entertainment of those who may
choose to attend the plays.
1t is true the lessee pays but q nominal
rent for the ill-lighted property. The
business which a poorly lighted house
brings may warrant nc higher rent, But,
whether better lighted grounds around
the opera house should add profit to the
city or whether the cost Of the needed
lights is a clear loss or a source Of profit,
the pride and the good conduct OF the
city would require the lights. The
morals and the high tone Of our people
demand better lights. The opera house,
to be attractive, should be a place Of light
and brightness-not a dark and gloomy
place.
Shall we not look to the town council to.
make the needed expenditure for lights?
In case the town council should persist in
having the grounds 30 poorly lighted
that in passing men and women can
scarcely recognize, each other the Civic
League, it seems to us, might take up the
matter Of lights, even as they have labored
to beautify and to adorn the city. Where
is the good Of planting grass and growing
flowers, II we cannot see them? But
flowers and grass are as nothing when
compared to the loneliness Of Dur
beautiful women and the valor Of
our splendid young menu It is
natural and it is right that the young
people should meet together, and it Is
eminently proper that they enjoy the
theatre together. Such association ele-
Yates and makes life worth living. But
some mothers are a little careful OF their
daughters, and in that motherly care they
may object to their daughters, even with
the best Of escorts, assembling with all
sorts Of people In n Of the poorest lighted
parts Of the city. And it Is presumed that
no one will contend that the opera house
grounds are properly lighted. II, there
fore, any good mother should very proper
ly object to her daughter assembling
with q multitude in the darkness, then
the opera is injured to that extent. In
steadof being possibly the darkest spot
of ground on the public square, it should
be a scene OF brilliant light and beauty.
Nothing is more pleasing to the sight or
more conducive to good manners than the
light which shines on brave men and fair
women.
One night last week the Seaboard Air
Line Road brought a train load, Of the best
men and women Of Greenwood to see q
play In the opera house. On the same
night the Southern road ran an extra
train, bringing the prettiest women and
the most gallant men from Ware Shoal and
other places along the road. This writer,
speaking for himself, was heartily as
named Of the darkness that enshrouded
the opera house grounds. And beside the
railroad people, great numbers Of the
prettiest girls came from parts Of Able
vile County to be ,ushered into a great
cloud Of darkness, amid a living mass Of
moving and pushing humanity. So to
speak, it seemed that every escort Of a
pretty girl realized a feeling Of embar-
rassment when he brought his hearts
idol squarely up to a great pile OF dark
ness.
The cloud Of darkness IN that night,
when a great company Of honored guests
were expected, was just as dense, just as
black and just as binding as it is on Or
binary occasions when no body was ex-
pected to come. When the sun went out
that night, the stars closed their eyes In
sleep, while the noon may be said to have
shed only a pale light OF the scene.
Unless the town furnishes reasonable
lights when we expect pretty women to
come to see us, we need not be surprised
if they seldom come. Light is about the
cheapest and the most desirable thing on
this earth. II we can do nothing more, 1t
seems that we might borrow a tallow
candle and O match or two to dspel the
gloom and the darkness on state occasions,
when distinguished company Is present.
The light OF a pretty girls bewitching eyes
may light the soul OF her lover, but as a
means Of lighting dark sections Of the
city bright eyes, are not especially reco m
mended.
Rut. whether prudent and cautious moth