The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-23


cent date and in reply / wish to say
that the reason / amt writ no news
from this place for the past pair of
weeks Is several, First. amt been
what you would call well. Ye scribe s
wife moved back to town after work .
ing all the kin folks she and me had.
The truth Is / didn't figger that a pas
sci OF them had moved out of calling
distance or shuff1ed off this mortal coil
and her coming was a couple of weeks
prior. It caught me In what some
folks what don't care call hell Of a
hole but of course / don't use sich
| language myself. The boys up to the
A-roads General was down for a lit
tie domino party when the wife walk
ed in and j am much better now,
although there are still several knots
about the size of geese eggs on my no.
! ton department counter And you
know, Scion, a man amt in no con-
dition to write Ticks from Chigger
| Ridge" when he has got to be always
laying down his pen to rub his head.
Maybe you have changed a heap since
! ! knowed YOU as A young man, but
/ Just the same, Scion, I know that you
Will understand and not dock me for
no lost time.
| Scion it's the worst time ever seen
/ down here in Chigger Ridge There
atffit penny III the bunch that the
boys will risk Mt the crack So as YOU
might fgger out, the old crack-a-loo
have bit the sawdust Yes, sir old
| Gin Hickey, who runs the x-roads
| General now, tried to put one over
on me the other day. He's got box
Of cigars up there that he bought for
three and y and has been selling to
me all the time for Ave straight and
when he was feeling good, six for two
| bits Well sir. I went there tbs
other morning and planked down my
nickel and called for my regular morn.
ing cigar and he said owing to the
war tax or some SIGH foolishness
would have to give him six cents hith-
erto, [ called halt then and there
and minded him OF the fact that I
was the only fellow Tn the neighbor-
hood what bought that line from him
and that nickel went or I'd go smack
TO Washington and buy my smokes
there, He bucked UP and told me I
could go to Washington or any other
place where smoke was cheap for all
he cared I smoked out and the next
morning I came In and laid down a
nickel and by goliy he must have
come to his senses over night. He
handed my cigar over and said that
. he reckon he might as well get as
| much nss a nickel for them as so throw
them away. And, Scion, think IL Ia
3 pretty good for a fellow way down
here in Chigeer Ridge TO break the
trust single handed when you rem en-
3 Der that several years ago the gov
. couldn't do 1t.
They are charging six cents for
!. everything they used to get a make
Tor down here. You know that
= youngest boy Of mine, Junior? Well
4 dern If he amt In the combine now
and when his Paw comes home al
night you know what he does? He
asks his Paw for six cents I used tc
get off light. I just had nickel &c
= refuse him; now 1 got to go to the
trouble of refusing him six cents
] | sherman never made no mistake! TIL,
next thing I reckon they will be doins
}. IN TO raise everybody's salary penny
NO, Scion, of course you know I an
Kidding now, for all tho fat folks ant
Y rich folks is I'm n combine ag'in' hon
est folks and ! bet you six cents tina
already they are setting up nights wor
rying how they can still raise price
and keep enough folks alive to sucl
y their blood. Blood suckers, / say
- And by gollv don't care IL Neal I've,
or anybody hears me. / might as wei
g ole Hghtine as starving and fussin,
over pennies You know me, Scion
It's the principle
Then on ton of all that the Ger
mans shot straight last week at sew
t eral boats and sugar have went on
famine. Can't no man get more thai
10 or II lb from any given store
d ] amt tothered tho Scion, cause yo,
know l always did Ike a touch o
iasses in my coffee, What the othe
folks In the family don't get amt go
ing to hurt them. Besides / an
" the boy what has got all this buyin.
l. to do and naturally I amt as muci
put out about the sugar famine as
am them blooming Germans. som
@ OF the boys tell me that they seen II
the papers that they got guns coul,
shoot smack over here, and what
got on mind is that while they i
shooting so straight hope they dom
u nobody tell them what corner / iiv
" on. 1t would he just like that fa
Dutchman what used to run the sa
loon on Main st. to do that TO M
since he and me don't never speak n,
more since I went and voted dry
- This Is certainly wrong time for hu
man beans to inhabit this globe.
just as soon they had arranged to pu
off my event a couple of hundre,
II Years. Scion. But you can beifev
me, II they do pick out my place ant
p bust II into kindling wood there will
l. be one Dutchman what won't get I,
kamerad around no more and pla,
IT. dirty tricks on human beans.
Since writ you last I notice tina
some smart Swede from Boston ha
invented some powerful stun with
a kick in II like a mule what is calle[
0arabed for short but not for n,
d sense That stuff according TO the pa
pers IL going to stop the war Ant
OF course II amt none of my business
y more than anybody else's, but I wan
10 say that the quickest way to stoI
the war would be for somebody to Al
their pockets with 1t and get off OF
. one of them Fioridy islands and th,
> first time they seen the Gulf stream
: try to sneak by Just sprinkle hand
-. full on its tail and IL would natura
9 taFn around to see what allied ftsei
and the chances are two to one thai
II would never get headed back tn,
same. way. Then, Scion, you see thu
v would effect the climate so over Their.
: In Europe, Asia. Arop. etc. to such /
A@4Aut that thov would nit htnw anf