Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1918-02-27
WALfIaLIA, $. g.:
WEDNESDAY,, FEBRUARY ~, 1913
THINK TWIcE-OK THRICE,

or thricc-~befOre you speak And If
yOn are in doubt. after careful
thought, as to the patriotism or wis
dom Of what you have in mind, keep
silent lll-adviscd speech or utter
ance to-day is unpatriotic, dangerous,
bordering on disloyalty to our gov
crnmCnt.
We have in mind an article that
appears in this weeks issue Of The
Courier, from the pen Of one OF our
good WOmcn--onr. we feel sure, who
has let some Inconvenience that has
come to her warp her mental vision
ana prompt her to voice sentiments
not normally hers. In these times no
risht-thinking person should con-
slider for one moment the throwing in
of personal convenience or ease or
comfort to try to balance the scale
against the just sacrifices that must
bc made to meet the needs Of our
armies in the field. the armies OF our
allies, and the welfare Of the civil
populations. We thought twice be-
fore we decided to print this letter.
tceming with unpatriotic thought
briS'linr throughout with rcbelliOus-
ness. saturated with venom for each
OF the worthy causes fostcred by our
government and by our people at
~. oul HISL llllpNiSc WIS 10 con-
sign this letter to the waste basket:
second thought prompted us to put it
before u discerning public like that
nf Oconcc. and let the people see in
cold type a fair sample OF some Of
the unpatriotic thought that is being
voiced in some sections. 1t is such
tank as this that. last year when men
ana women were canVaSSing our
county 10 plead with the farmers to
plant more foodstuifs, made some
timid and fearful that their govern
ment, after they had raised the stuff,
would step in and take it from them
It is such talk as this. unrebukcd,
that is creating disscnison and disSat-
ssfartion in certain quarters. result
ing in failure on the part Of other
wise good and loyal people to rise to
the occasion and exert every energy
TO the doing OF those things which.
deep down IN their hearts, they feel
and know it is their duty to do. Such
speech or writing as this letter to
which we refer, and to which we di-
rect attention. with the appeal that it
be considered as a thing to be shun-
ned and spurned. is calculated to con
fuse and bewilder some who DEPEND
largely upon others to formulate
their beliefs and lay the base for
their actions.
When one comes to you, person
ally or In print, with the proposition
that our government has "allowed"
any OF its citizens to starve, or al
lowed men TO suffer after being rob-
bed, ask that one to cite case, and,
failing to do so, brand the statement
then as false, unpatriotic. unworthy a
citizen OF this free country
That there may be waste at camps
IS doubtless a statement OF more or
less truth. When the statement is
made as iustifying refusal to do your
part, ask the complaining one to un-
dertake the feeding Of 100000 men
III dozen or more military camps
without waste. The problem would
stun the ''croaker" instantly, and
were he or she to undertake the lob,
shere would be instant brainstorm.
When the grumblcr comes to YOU
with complaints Of unjust taxes, ask
him or her to point where the inins-
tice comes In. Neither he nor she
can do il. The taxes are uniform;
there are no direct taxes. save the in
come taxes. and only the rich pay
those, or at least those sufficiently
we'll OFF to Justify paying on incomes
that preclude a condition Of pcnuary
VI lhdbllltS W pay.
When the fault-iindcr comes to you
with the story that the poor mans
sons arc fighting while the rich mans
sons are not, ask that one to go to
the military camps and there see the
sons Of mllionaircs drilling and
working side by side with the sons Of
men Of meagrc mcanS---thc tenant
farmer, the mill operative, the law
yer, the doctor. the bankcr---young
men from every walk in life. The
rich mans war and the poor mans
hght' is an old cry, worn thrcadbarc
"A nevcr-cnding source Of supply
for the croaker who. wishing to es-
cape personal duty. seeks to obscure
facts by distorted fancics.
We have no quarrel to make on
the score Of the weak -knet;I
voter" They are among the mon OF
our country, aud from criticism OF
them we have no desire to dissent.
E>The criticism is meritcd. But 10 our
critical women stop to think that each
woman has the m0lding Of at least
one voter sooner or later? A good
woman can. nine times out OF ten,
make OF her husband a right-think-
6 ing, right-votlng citizen If she will
The tenth ono possibly can't be re-
made, and isn't worth the trouble 1t
would take to try It,
And when one comes to you with
the proposition that 81 wouldn't give
TO the Red Cross or the Y.M.C.A." :"
4 because there ls suffering and priva-
+ itions&iil certain quarters into which,