The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-05

he works, and I may add thai IKE AL
men who write worth while stuff. he
works only when he can't put it off
! any longer,-in other words, when
the thoughts and inspirations rush on
him in one. He strikes hat Oliver
v~iciously, .aen pulls his fingers. You
can tell by the way he cracks those
freckled digits the kind Of copy he's
grinding out, just as the Dutchman IN
Sleepy Hollow could tell the mood Of
Van SOMEBODY by the way he pufed
at his pipe. And no matter what
happened, that story is going to be
FINISHED. When not working, SUCK
is constantly on the lookout for bores,
with a finesse which leaves every
body happier for the m~eeting: but
When he and the Oliver have gotten
together. no trace of his erStWhlle
diplomacy can be seen. on may De
hit with a book OF a pot OF paste
His little volume Tar Heel Tales"
which is a compilation only Of a class
Of the ewspap stuff he has dashed
eff during his Is years Of service, is
received here with an enthusiasm
which should be gratifying to all North
CarolinianS. Champ Clark writes that
he read it from "eend to eend." and
found the fox hunting and negro sto-
ries as good as ever were wrltIen.
Judge Houston, Of Tennessee; Repre-
sentatives Madison and Calderhead. Of
Kansas; Slayden, of Texas. Lever. Of
South Carolina, and many others or
like prominence have read it and
bought dozens Of copies to be sent con-
situents. It has given pleasant hours
in every State in the Union If North
Carolina should let this picture OF her
self-a faithful, ennobling portrayal
of her everyday life-stop with a
few editions. she would be guilty or
another high crime.
For the of North Carolina
has suffered all along not OF
a lack of literary ability among her
children, but because Of an utter lack
State, and for that matter. in all
Southern States, works have been pro
duced which, if produced in New
England, would have given their au-
thors everlasting fame, but which in
fact, are not now known except in
small circles. The history Of Southern
literature is a pitiful record Of unre-
warded ambition and Of roken hearts
But a new day, we are encouraged
to believe, has come, looking through
her files, the State fnds much worthy
Of preservation. and, among the tales
some Of those already written by Red
Buck.
Personally, he is one Of the most
delightful men one meets IN many a
day. A good story-teller, he is the
center Of every group; a good friend.
he hears your troubles and helps you;
a gentleman by instinct. an Observer
man by training. he is never unfair to
any, and his news stories are read
throughout North Carolina as the
truth that endures.
And he Is the last of four to go. Six
years ago-it was in April. not long
after the first violet had appeared to
give. as he said, Easement to the tired
heart"-the first left US, the Journal
~is-philosopher whose genius was bid.
ding fair to place him in rank with
the masters across the seas. Three
years later the Scotchman left us.
leaving The Little White Bride and
October" poems that should live
while the grasses grow above all our
breasts. In 1909, the Chief. the dis
coverer. maker of all, dropped with
a tear histerly pen and went away
hopelessly unWell.
Why should Buck go? The question
is the protest Of all, as it was of me.
"The Old Man" be answered. and
I knew that his old field is just a big
vacancy now.
Best wishes, Buck.
Washington, D. c., June "a, 1910.
GnH1EUF
LITERARY ARDS.