About The sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1875-1907 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1887)
b THE SONNY SOUTH, ATLANTA, GA„ SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 15, 1887. 2000 Presents! PUBLISHED EVERY 8ATUBDAY. BUSINESS OFFICE21 MARIETTA ST J. M. SEALS. EDITOR. Terms: Two dollar, per Annum. One dollar t<>r Six Mcnt^ '' ’ Advertising« Tan cents P« Un* ' BT^bicrTberi should always give the thaportoOce to which their I*Pf™ «•’ fatawd afitas^sss SSri arsfsf s ssEi slants, and name both offinee. , TO CONTRIBUTORS. Write at plainly as PossibU on °n« »* «*« of tto amt uee paper of medium weight- D ° not roll your MSS. Fold them flatly, a rolled page it troublesome both to reader and printer. Letter tite 'ZSZZet preferred. It Is well to write the name or the MSS. at the top of each page; the popes ihcvld be carefully numbered according to their regular sequence. The writer-» real name and res- idence thould be written on the MSS., ae letter! are .ometimee misplaced. If a nom de plume is used it thould he written directly under the title. It must at distinctly state* whether pay «e expected for MSS. sent in. We cannot return MSS., nor be responsible for them when tent in voluntarily, unless specially re quested to do to and in such cases stamps must be inclosed. The writer thould always keep a copy. Address all latter* concerning the paper and make .U bill. Payable to ^ H & CO., Atlanta. Ua. The First Sermon in New England. The first sermon ever delivered in New Eng land by a regularly ordained minister, was preached by Rev. Robert Cushman at Ply mouth, on November ft, 1621.. Iniquitous Discrimination. Grain is now being carried from Chicago to Liverpool for 6c. per 100 pounds less than from Chicago to New Tark. Here is a fine opening for the Interstate Railroad Commis sion to get in a little work, if the law authori zes it. ^ A Naval Reserve. 11 is proposed to establish in this country a naval reserve, consisting of officers and mem bers of the merchant marine, yachtsmen and watermen generally, and of vessels to be built with reference to their use in time of war as auxiliary to the regular navy. The only Golden Trout. Golden trout are found in but one place in the world—that is in the brooks of Mount Whitney, up near the banks of everlasting snow. They have a golden stripe down each side, and are the most beautiful fish; that swims. American Legion of Honor. At the recent meeting of the Supreme Conn ell of the American Legion of Honor, consist ing of forty-six delegates, representing 62,000 members, it was reported that the order was carrying a benefit insurance at $18,000,000, and during the last two years has paid out $4,000,000. A Political Pointer. Governor Bodwell of Maine told a New York correspondent that Hon. James G. Blaine would accept the nomination for the presiden cy. Mr. Bodwell said he would go farther and state that Mr. Blaine is confident of a practical ly nnanimons nomination and expects to be elected. A Huge and Costly Vessel. The new English vessel, the Trafalgar, cost four aDd a half millions, and is 345 feet long and 73 feet wide. We haven’t got any vessels to hurt, but Zalinski’s dynamite cannon'could Hinder that huge structure into a very large quantity of very small particles in ths ten thousandth part of a very short while. An Old British Deserter Pardoned. Seventy-two years ago Robert Tirrell, of Rhode Island, then a soldier in the British army, deserted and came to America. The old m<>3, who is ninety-three years old, has just received a pardon from the grand-dangbter of the king he deserted, and is going back to the old country to die among his kinsfolk. A Work to be Proud of. One of the most successful temperance work ers beyond the Mississippi is Miss Lanra Winkler, of low a. She was born blind, but her earnest real is not impaired to any serious extent by her affliction. Miss Winkler’s fa vorite ftald is the workshop. She visits facto ries during the noon hour and makes personal appeal to the workmen to shun King Alcohol. Another Grand Distribution on Jan. 1st or 15th, 1888. The last drawing was so satisfactory to every one, and ao many people were absent from home who desired a chance, and money was so scarce in some sections up to October the 1st, that we have yielded to a general wish for another showing and will have one more draw ing on the 1st or 15lh of January next. Have not decided upon the date yet. It will be upon a much larger and more com prehensive plan than the other and will em brace some 2,000 presents in all. Full particu lars will be given very soon. Every subscription, whether new or for re newal which has come in since the last distri bution on the 1st Lost,, has been carefully en tered in snch a way as to have a ticket placed in the box for each in case we decided to have another drawing. Let them come along there fore without delay. Each and every one shall have a showing. As we cannot and could not have a preference in the matter we take great pains to see that all have a fair and equal chance. Let all the fi iends of the paper go to work for"it at once and secure good clubs. For the Piedmont Exposition. Mrs. John SharoD, an old lady who has passed her three score years, Bainbridge, Ga., has just finished a knitted quilt and pillow shams for the Piedmont Exposition, and will place on exhibition. It is reported to ns as being an exquisite piece of wotkmanship, any way—and considering the age of the lady, re markably fine. A Distinguished Compliment- Mrs. Mollie McGee Saell thus praises the press of Mississippi, for its decided stand for the right: “We are getting prouder and prouder of the press of Mississippi. So unani mous has it become for right, that the few straggling exceptions are scarcely to be noted at all. This State has a great future before her, which is indicated from the spirit of the press. As long as these noble editors stand by the “ship,’’ she need not fear to breast the sea, for ‘the breath of God is in her sails, the rudder in His hands’." Thanks. In addition to those already received, we acknowledge, with thanks, copies of “The Hunters of Kentucky,” from Col. John W, Hays, Oxford, N. C., and Mrs. H. A. Law- rance, Waldo, Fla., and from the last named, a piece in this number—“Brooklyn Heights. 1812.” We are under special obligations also, to Mrs. M. C. Blain, Brunswick; L. D. P. Gainesville, and G. H. Brackett, Augusta, Ga to Mrs. Mattie Gilmore, Florence, Ala.; Mrs. Lucy Webster, Dandridge, and Mrs. Ella L. McLeskey, Brownsville,' Tenn., for copies of “Tenting on the Old Camp Ground." Since writing the above we have received copies of the "Hunters’ of Kentucky,” from Joseph Jackson, Jonesboro, Ark., and W. J. Finlay, Ohio, who will accept thanks. The Largest Organ. It is claimed that Chicago’s new Auditorium building will contain the largest organ in America. The plan submitted specifies one hundred speaking and forty mechanical stops, six thousand pipes and four manuals. The instrument will consist of six distinct organs, will have ail modern appliances, including elec tric action, will take from eighteen months to two years to build, and will cost about $30,000. City, National Exposition—Kansas Missouri. The Editor of the Sukwy South returns thanks for an invitation from the management of the above-named exposition. It would af ford him very much pleasure to attend, and if he can possibly arrange his business so as to do so he will. Kansas is a growing State, the acquaintance of whose progressive people he would be particularly glad to cultivate—as the Susur South is rapidly winning its way to their good will. An American Soientist in China. The Department of State has been informed that Professor Church, of Columbia College, New York, a distinguished mining expert, re cently arrived at Tientsin, China, and entered the service of the Viceroy, Li Hung Chang, lie has made a personal examination of and full report upon the iiterior Chinese copper and silver mines, in which he deprecates the continuance of the old system of handling la bor in mines, and recommends the adoption of machinery. Florida Defended. The worst oranges consumed in America come from Italy, hut, in spite of the inferiority < f the Italian fruit, the officials of that country appear to take much interest in the trade in mis product, though they betray a great deal of ignorance on the subject. In a recent re- p jrt made by the Italian ministry of commerce it was stated that California could supply the A ruerican market throughout the year, and that in Florida the plantations were not situa ted on land suitable for the growth of oran ges. The authors of this report ought to visit a Florida orange plantation next winter. Not only would they have the opportunity while there of eating the fittest oranges in the world, but, says the Philadelphia Record, they would enjoy a climate that Is destined to attract grea rr crowds of health-seekers than the fa mous Riviera itself. The Championship and the Cap. The championship, to he decided next year, is as good as challenged already. A Mr. Sweet, a Scotchman hailing from the town of Ayr, in the land of Burns, who, though a member (until since the race) of the New York Yacht Club, and holding large American interests, has never been naturalized, and who is on the roster of the Royal Thames, Royal Northern and Royal Clyde Yacht Clubs, has about decided to build a boat that shall win the cap. He was so sure the Thistle would win the late race that he told his friends in the New York Yacht Club that they would “have the pleasure of seeing her stern every time she raced,” and the measure of bis disappointment can therefore he guaged by the measure of his former fervor. A member of the New York Yacht Club re marked that “Mr. Sweet is Scotch enongb, and therefore shrewd enough, to see where his best opportunity for victory lies. He knows that oar second-class sloops are not all that they ought to be.” [It is well to remark that the term second- class here used does not refer to quality, bnt to tonnage—first-class being a craft of say one hundred tons; second-class fifty or less tons.] A Mr. Fyfe, whose birth-place is near Ayr, Scotland, designed a second class sloop—the Clara—which is one of, if not the fastest boat of her class. To this designer it is understood Mr Sweet will confide the construction of his yacht, which will he built of steel. So there is work and excitement ahead for another year. The pleasant and peaceful con tests but demonstrate oar superiority in naval architecture and construction, and what may be expected of ns should dire necessity compel us to contest for supremacy on the ocean either with a peaceful commercial marine or naval armament. Carrying Things too Far. The fears of the brave and follies of the wise have long been held as legitimate subjects of satire. The intemperance of the temperate is not so much a matter for ridicule as for grief. When a man who is known tosympathize with bad people, and who is believed to he govern ed by wrong motives, gives expression to ill- considered words, it excites little surprise, and not much regret. It is cot apprehended that his words will have much weight or that be will do a great deal of harm. But when a man who is known to wish well to his country and to his race, and whose benevolence is known to be such that he would cheerfully make large sacrifices for the public weal, is betrayed by the warmth of his feelings into making re marks too sweeping to be wholly true, the damage to the cause that he advocates cannot fail to be great. Men endowed with zeal in large measure, yet lacking in discretion, are not kept from the position of leadership easily. But to accord them this rank is apt to bring the cause to disgrace and ruin. The eloquence and personal magnetism with which they may be endowed will only make them the more dangerons if cot conjoined with a common sense which will tell how far to advance and when to stand still. Almost every scheme for human advancement has had some such un wisely zealous champions as we have describ ed, and the sober, patient friends of these plans have generally found them as much re tarded by the too great haste of these rash ad vocates as by the efforts of opponents. En thusiasm is assuredly a desirable thing, bnt the enthusiast needs the check rein of pru dence all the time to restrain from positions which oannot he maintained. In moral ques tions certainly—it may be in all others—going too far iB as bad as not going far enough. Some of the most unlovely vices which men exhibit are bnt virtues carried to excess. The miser but carries the maxims of thrift to the last extreme; tyranny is too often the outcome of an earnest desire for every one to do his dnty, and too much of what is called the mis sionary spirit has made men of tender con sciences haid-hearted persecutors. He is wise who knows where to stop. • • Stick to Tour Own Language. An old devotee of science once said to a young friend of his: “If you want to talk heavy science, say 'protoxide of hydrogen’ in stead of ice. It sounds huger, and not om- man in a thousand will know what yon mean.” It is fair to assume that it is upon this principle that so many persons interlard their writings and speeches with foreign words and phrases, which perhaps not one person in a thousand thus addressed will understand. To a select few the use of foreign words by a writer or speaker may convey a more delicate shade of meaning than the borrower could give in plain English, but to the vast mijority of readers and listeners it is an effoit as utterly thrown away as would be the employment of a number of hieroglyphics from an Egyptian monument. Those who indulge in this sort of thing artf rarely conversant with the languages they so often mutilate. “Like savages who have man aged to pick up a few articles of foreign fin«ry,” says the London Saturday Review, “they are merely anxious to make a very harm less display and to dazzle the eyes of their less fortunate countrymen.’’ Not so Mr. James Rnssell Lowell—for he is a scholar—whose ad dress at the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Harvard College, is spoken of by the New York Inde pendent as follows: “Our readers will admire James Russell Lowell’s address at Harvard; but not half of them will be able to translate the Latin lines with which he adorns his theme. This raises the qnestion ‘What is the use of sprinkling in all this Latin?’ As Parson Wilbur, Mr. Low ell could very properly do it, for that was travesty on the pedantry of a past generation. But it might be Parson Wilbur himself who in terlards the Latin in Lowell’s address. We suppose it is done out of flattery to the audi ence. They like to have it supposed that they understand it; that they are scholars unlike the common herd. We venture to say that not half of Lowell’s own audience, nor a quar ter, could follow the Latin, except when it came to a stock quotation like that about the man who was ‘teuacem propositi.’ We humbly think that, however fine and grand it may he to stick in a Latin quotation here and there, it is nothing else, after all, than an affectation, and is out of the way of downright and direct literary effect.” Some one has said that “if a man can not express his thoughts without hacking to pieces half a dozen languages, he has mistaken his calling, and should go to chopping cord wood." Pretty rough but to the point. It is a very cheap sort of literary snobbery, of which men who can express themselves in the mother tongue ought not to he guilty. The use of foreign words seems to imply one of two things: that the writer or speaker wishes to display his knowledge of the language from which he borrows, or that he is ignorant of the corresponding words in the English language in the former case it is pedantry, while in the latter it is ignorance, and in both cases it is departure from true simplicity and elegance A few examples gathered a few years ago by periodical devoted to educational interests, will illustrate our meaning as well as show the folly of the practice: * “An excellent periodical, in a critical notice of Whittier’s Poems, says, ‘The Physique of the book is charming.’ To the mere American this conveys the idea, that as a medicine the book is agreeable. The reviewer probably means that the mechanical execution of the hook is charming, but it may be doubted whether this is a correct use of the French word. _ “Examples of this useless intrusion of for eign words abound most in novels, and the light literature of the day. A novel before ns has such expressions as these:—‘They have just escaped from Paris, where they had been for some years among the detenus,’ (detained., “If it is religion that does all that for her, it is a religion of which I can form no idea; ce- lannepaste." Here the French is a mere par aphrase of the English words that- are itali cised, and how will the foreign wordB help the reader to anything new—but the vanity of the writer? “She had surrounded herself with vases of flowers, to give her apartment un air de fete, (a festive appearance.) “In such books, a medleu or mixture is a melange—a fray is nothing short of a melee, and the select are not the chosen hat the elite. Disputants do not differ entirely, but toto ccelo, and they do not begin again but de novo, or as some goslings prefer to say, ob ovo. “But our newspapers have caught the dis ease, and some editors who know too little of English and nothing of any other language, al low themselves to use foreign expressions and oftentimes commit egregrious blunders without the salutary plan of knowing it. Perhaps no foreign word is so frequently spelled wrong as as naivete, a word of three syllables, meaning artless ness, ingenuousness. The common error is to spell it naivette. Then the pretty word posy has been snperseded almost entirely by the French word bouquet, or as nine-tenths of our editors spell it boquet. “The most common items of news are inter larded with such barbarisms. Thus the Presi dent is never going to Washington, but he is en route for that city. No remark can he made by the way, or in passing, but it must be en passant. A rising of the people is no longer a mob or a rebellion, but an emuete. Onr ances tors did without ennui for many centnriea, but their sons pretend that no English word ex presses the full idea, and even Worcester has been compelled to give the word a place in his »reat dictionary. The difficulty of pronounc mg the word more than balances any shade of meaning that it possesses over listlessness, te diousness, irksomeness, etc , which the best dic tionaries have always given as completely synonomous with eunue.” The Charge of Plagiarism. It is sometimes said that plagiarism is the worst form of theft; that the man who will de liberately appropriate the results of another’s brain work and claim merit- for it as his own is as vile as the highwayman or the pirate. Snch assertions have been written, doubtlessly, by authors while smarting under the wrong of having some favorite thought or expression stolen. They are perhaps too strong. Beyond question, a man of conscientions honesty will not steal the product of another’s intellectual labor. He certainly deserves to be branded as a wrong-doer who will speak, as his own thoughts, that he has not coined from his own brain, or who seeks pay and praise for a book which he has not composed. Wrong as it is to do these, however, men and women do them who are not, at the time of perpetration, con scious of doing some one an in j ary, and have not that sense of vileness which one mast ex perience when robbing a drawer or invading an enclosure. Writers and speakers do show off themselves in borrowed plnmes who are not mean in other things, and who are not humili ated by a consciousness of doing a meanness even in this. In fact a very large portion of the literary theft that is done is done uncon sciously. One stores his mind with ideas and expressions as he reads, and when he speaks or writes he uses them without being aware that they are not his own. Many gain the rep utation of being profound and Independent thinkers simply by having pursued a train of reading out of the ordinary line. A little re markable is it that this charge of having stolen the brain work of others should now be brought against some who have been rated as having wrought most largely and successfully in the realms of thought. A few years ago it was as serted, with an air of gravity, that Lord Bacon was the author of Shakspeare’s plays. Now some is seeking a little notoriety by attempting to prove that Dr. Watts, the matchless hym- nist, wrote “Roderick Random” and “Pere grine Pickle.” At different times the effort has been made to affix the crime of literary theft upon Macaulay, Longfellow, Poe, Byron and others who have been famed for their abil ity to put good thoughts into good language. If snch authors as these escape not this accu sation, it is no matter for wonder that it should be brought against smaller men. ’Tie a cheap way of bringing one’s self into notice to prefer a preposterous charge of plagiarism against some literary celebrity. m , The Great Question. Ex-President Davis’ Strong Letter. J. Wofford Tucker’s Response—Tke Letter of Mrs. Mollie Mc Gee Snell. As considerable interest has been manifest ed in regard to the letter written by ex-Presi dent Davis during the Texas campaign, and the influence that letter was supposed to have had on the result of the election in that State, we present it below, together with the letters of Judge J. Wofford Tucker, of Florida, and Mrs. Mollie McGee Snell, of Mississippi, in reply. We invite attention to them not only on account of the interest which clusters arouud them now, but of their value in future contests. Mr. Davis’ Letter. Beactoir, Miss., July 20, 1887. Colonel F. II. Lubbock: Mv Dear Friend—Yours of the 12.b inst with its enclosures, has been received. I have heretofore declined to answer any of the many inquiries made for my opinion on the constitutional amendment, now pending in Texas. My reason for Dot replying was ah unwillingness to eDter into a controversy in which my friends in Texas stood arrayed against each otber- In departing from the rule heretofore ob served, I trust that it will not be an unwar rantable intrusion. Reared in the creed of Democracy, my faith in its tenets has grown with its growth, aDd I adhere to the maxim that “the world is gov erned too much.” When our fathers achieved their independ ecce, the corner-stone of the governments they constructed was individual liberty, and the S' cial organizations they established were not for the surrender, but for the protection of natural rights. For this governments were es tabiished, deriving their just powers from the consent'of the governed. This was not to subject themselves to the will of the majority, as appears from the fist that each community inserted in its fundamental law, a bill of rights to guard the inalienabie privileges of the indi vidual. There was then, a two-fold purpose in gov ernment, protection and prevention against trespass by the strong upon the weak, the many on the few. The world had long suffered from the op pressions of government under the pretext of ruling by divine right, and excusing the inva sion into private and domestic affairs on the plea of paternal care for the morals and good order of the people. Our sires rejtcted all such pretentions, their system being: Government by the people, for the people, and resting on the basis of these general propositions 1 will briefly answer the inquiry in regard to the prohibition amend ment at issue: “Be ye temperate in all things,” was a wise injunction, and would apply to intoU ranee as well as to drunkenness. That the intemper ate use of intoxicating liquors is an evil, few, if any, would deny. That it is the root of many social disorders is conceded, but then the questien arises, what is the appropriate remedy, and what the pres ent necessity? To destroy individual liberty and moral responsibility, would be to eradicate one evil by the substitution of another, which it is submitted would be more fatal than that for which it was offered as a remedy. The abuse and not the use of stimulants, it must be confessed, is the evil to be remedied. Then it clearly follows that action should certainly b. directed against the abuse rather than the use, If arunkenness be the cause of disorder and crime, why not pronounce drunkenness itself to be a crime and attach to it proper and ade quate penalties. If it be objected that the penalties conld not he enforced, that is an ad mission that popular opinion would be opposed to the law; but if it be true that juries could not he empaneled who would convict ao de graded a criminal as a drunkard, it necessarily follows that a statutory prohibition against the sate and use of intoxicants, would be a dead letter. The next branch of inquiry is as to the pres ent necessity. I might appeal to men not as old as tuyself to sustain the assertion that the convivial use of intoxicants and the occurrence of drunken ness had become less frequent within the last twenty years than it was before. The refining influences of edneation and Christianity may be credited with This result Why not allow these blessed handmaidens of virtue and mor ality to continne, unembarrassed, in the civil izing work? The parties to this discussion in your State have no doubt brought forward the statistical facts in regard to the effect produced in other States by this effort to control morals by legislation, and I will not encumber this let ter by any reference to those facts. You have already provision for local prohi bition. If it has proven the wooden horse in which a disguised enemy to State sovereignty as the guardian of individual liberty was intro duced, then iet it be a warning that the pro gressive march wonld probably be from village to State and from State to United States. A governmental supervision and paternity, instead of the liberty the heroes of 1776 left as a legacy to their posterity. Impelled by the affection and gratitude I feel for the people of Texas, and the belief that a great question of American policy is involved in the issue you have before you, the silence I had hoped to ob serve has been broken. If the utterance shall avail anything for good it will compensate me for the objurgations with which I shall doubt less be pursued by the followers of popnlarism of the day. I hope the many who have addressed me let- ters of inquiry on the same subject will accept this as an answer, though somewhat long de layed. Faithfully yours, Jefferson Davis. I certify that the joregoing is a true copy of the original received by me and now in my possession. F. R. Lubbock. July 23, 1887. Judge Tucker’s Letter. Sanford, Fla., Aug. 20, 1887. To the Editor of the Times-Union: Many thousands of good men and good wo men, who had heretofore entertained senti ments of respect for Mr. Davis, were surprised and pained by the appearance of his letter de fending the liquor trade. On the eve of an election in a great Stats to ascertain the will of an enlightened people and the policy, or impol icy, of a legalized whiskey traffic, this letter was written and then held in secret till just in time to reach the white voters through the newspapers, but not in time to reach the negro voters, who wonld probably vote against the advice of Jeff Davis on any subject. The occasion, the object and the substance matter of the letter were alike humiliating. The letter does not contain one new sugges tion. The substantive points made in opposi tion to the prohibitory amendment are of the woof and texture of the vulgar declamation of the saloon. Prefacing his points with some platitudes on the nature and design of liberal government. Mr. Davis insists: 1. That the State has no constitutional au thority to suppress the trade in liquor. Now the question of the right of States, con sistently with the fundamental law, to regulate or control or abolish this traffic, has been judi cially declared by the very highest tribunals. That is not an open question. U it were assumed that the State can not limit or restrict or abolish such a trade be cause it interferes with individual discretion and business and profits, why, then, the estab lishment of a quarantine to shut off an infec tions disease from the public would be a fla grant violation of individual right, since it sus pends trade and travel and the commerce of ife, affecting communities and States. Then, too, all the restraints of law against gambling and scandalous violations of the sanctity of the Sabbath, and kindred regulations for the pro tection of society and in the interest of public mor&lity, are unconstitutional. Mr. Davis insists: 2. That snch prohibitory laws “destroy in dividual liberty and moral responsibilities,” “which wonld he more fatal than that for which it was off red as a remedy.” We can scarcely conceive a proposition ex pressed in English words more monstrous than the above! We have laws against seduction, and against the ruin of girls under the age of consent. Now, such laws invade “the individnal liberty and moral responsibility” of those who seek to commit these crimes against morality. Let ns repeal snch laws. Let the criminal be de terred and reformed by “the twin hand maid ens of edneation and relieion,” according to the suggestion of Mr. Davis. Why, yes, so let the burglar and robber be reformed by these blessed hand-maiden? I Meanwhile, let them rob and murder, it will all come right in the endl Take another illustration. in many large cities there is carried on a regular trade in gills of tender sge. They are employed in some capacity, and then, by ar rangement, decoyed by depraved men, who pay largely for this facility, for purposes of lust. The loathsome and horrible depravity tends to sins humanity down into the depths of moral putrefaction. It challenges the ven geance of a just God ! It is punishable by law. Now, on Mr. Davis’ theory, why interfere with “the liberty and moral responsibility" of these traders in young girls? Why not let “the twin hand maidens of ed ucation and religion” work out a reform? Why not license and legalize this trade? Why not take the large revenue that could be de rived from this Heaven-insulting work? In short, why not repeal the laws against seduc tion and bigamy and all forms of immorality and vice, and let “the twin hand-maidens of religion and education” restrain the depraved and the cruel? One sickens at this miserable sophistry which can only insult the understanding of the intelligent and offend the moral sense of the virtnons. Finally, Mr. Davis insists that such prohibi tory laws can not he enforced. Now, actual experiment here at our doors, just across the State line, demonstrate the falseness of this thread-bare commonplace. Was this the best the Texas whisky men conld bring out? Would snch flimsy, out-worn, in sipid taik satisfy the native Texas white man to take a posi Jon with ignorant negroes and Mexican greasers and stupid foreigners who think liberty means license, and Texas Mor mons, who are a stench in the nostrils of Chris tian civilization? These classes constitute the majority against prohibition, as ably shown by the New York Evening Post. The personal friends of Mr. Davis can only reflect with shame upon the at titude in which he has placed himself. J. Wofford Tucker. Miss Mollie McCee Snell’s Reply to Mr. Davis. Not only in Texas has your letter met the loud hurrahs of the liquor traffic’s advocates, but in Mississippi every anti-Prohibitionist, saloon keeper and saloon polilicion believes that you have furnished the “trump card” which will perpetuate the terrible traffic in our State. In the name of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Mississippi, I address you this letter in a spirit more of grieved surprise than angry resentment. The women of Mississippi have always felt for you a peculiar devotion, that brooked no harsh criticisms from the Northern press or vindict ive foe. We of the Southern W. C. T. U. of Mississippi especially have said to the North ern W. C. T. U.: -‘Here are our hearts, our hands; we will unite with you in fighting for our homes. We desire to be one iu purpose with you, bnt understand, we come with no apology for the past. Where Mexico waters flow, in a’sacred home called Beauvoir, we have a chieftain who has been made deathless by defeat. Your dear women of the North mu3t honor our coming by allowing us to ever cherish our Mr. Davis and never, by word or deed wound us by harsh reference to him or the cause he led.” This has been granted us by the Northern W. C. T. U., and you have been reverently guarded in our national W. C. T. U. But Mr Davis, what shall we say now, when it can be truly said to us, “Your Mr. Davis has joined the forces that work against the women of the South. He has thrown his in fluence with the saloon regardless of the ef forts of your children, wives and mothers clone the saloons." When i he saloon keepers, the saloon politi cians, and anti-Prohihitionists show us your beloved face as the face of their patron saint, dear Mr. Davis, what must we women say ? When the Southern army marched away into the raining storm of shot and shell the breaking of the slave bondage began. Every unshackled negro cost the South the blood of her noblest and best. There is another war upon us; this time our noblest and best are the chains. The weapons in this war are be “spiritual not carnal.” The war is for the redemption of the home and the home trea sures from the ever increasing reach of the liquor traffi 3. The home and its inmates, Mr. Davis, we women think, are more important than holding negro slaves, and he who joins ix the fight for these is indeed the Christian sol dier and patriot. The advocates of the liquor traffic insist that this “peaceful war” inter feres with personal liberty, but the women an swer this by pointing to the thousands of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters who bear to-day the agony of living sorrows caus ed by theliquor traffic, and say, “What about the rights of these suffering mortals? 1 Then, too, we point to the thousands of little children old in grief because of, fathers, and, we ask, “What of these little ones? Have they no rights?" You say you believe drunkards should be punished as criminals. If you regard the slow, insidious growth of the alcoholic appetite, and the deception it practices upon its victims, you probably would agree with the W. C. T. U. in her profound sympathy for the drunk ard. Bat, Mr. Davis, even if it would be best to strictly punish drunkenness with the ex treme penalty of the law, will the women who are the true sufferers, be relieved from any of the woe, poverty and disgrace brought about by the drunkard? The argument that the punishment of drunkards would prevent drunkenness is lost in the fact that the min who slips down the steep slopes of alcoholic disease weald, when lashed by his furious thirst, sell his very soul for drink. The drinker becomes oblivious to the law in proportion to his iacrease of appetite. Yon say that the world is too much gov erned. In this you ignore the statistics of offi cial records which show that the liquor traffic is the groat feeder c f the courts and the pro lific cause of the needed police force of the country. More law making is needed to re strict, punish and otherwise legislate upon the traffic and its attendant results than the com bined questions of government before the peo pie require at the hands of political thinkers and lawmakers But why argue the question with you, Mr. Davis? The very need of meet ing an opinion of yours with dissent is sad enough, and doubly sad when this dissent is provoked by the question of the home versus the liquor traffic. We profoundly deplore the fact that you have given your influence to the defenders of the traffic. We have regarded you as the embodiment not only of Southern patriotism but of Southern chivalry. We have never doubted that you would answer the plea of the saloon keeper by stepping between him and the women whcFbear the “consequences’' of his business. In other words we have al ways thought that you would ever he found in the front ranks of the army which under the banner of right marches against the traffic for the sake of “God and home and native IaDd." When I read your letter to Governor Lub bock a profound feeling of regret possessed me that our “Dear lady of the Confederacy” and our beloved “Daughter of the Confederacy,” did not with a woman’s intuitive sense of what is best, ende ivor to persuade you not to write the words which have so rapidly become therousing battle song of the liquor traffic’s soldiers, who, revived and encouraged by your influence, come with renewed power against the cause for which so many burdened souls pray to day. With great respect I am yours, for the homes of the South. Mollie McGee Snell Hoi to Become a Writer. Some Practical and Plainly Put Advice by Judge A. W. Tourgee. Qualifications Necessary for a Suc cessful Writer—The Author of •‘The Fool’s Errand” Advises Literary Aspirants to Stop Aspiring and Go to Work. Massachusetts was the only State which de cently bore the expenses of its militia at Phil adelphia. It cost $4,000 to fit up for the First Regiment and the Cadets the rink which they occupied. A new opera house in Pittsburg has an inno vation in the shape of a pair of opera g! asses fastened with a gilt chain to every parquet chair. When a man gets mad with a newspaper he quits subscribing for it and borrows the paper afterwards from some fellow that isn’t mad. The N. O. States define the new Sonth as -‘a small square of ground in Atlanta on which Mr. Henryfltady publishes the Constitution." Washington is the best shaded city in the world. At present there are 63.000 shade trees in its streets. A United States recruiting office was estab lished at Portland the 1st of August, which was the first of the kind east of Boston since the war. Abont fifty men have offered them selves, and eleven have been accepted and for warded to New York. The States of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Tennes see employ women as librarians. [Copyrighted, 1887.] [Special Correspondence of Sunnt South.] Mayvillk, N. Y., Oct.—I have frequently been asked to give some practical advice to literary aspirants. Before any “literary aspirant” can be well advised one must know a good deal about him. To what does he aspire? What preparation has he for literary work? What are his mental and moral attributes? What is his temper? Is his digestion good? Has he a sturdy constitu tion? Can he endure disappointment? Can he outwork and outwait more competitors than he will find in any other calling on pursuit? Does he base his expectations on geniue, chance or pluck? All these and a hundred other ques tions must be answered before any one can give a “literary aspirant" advice that will be of real value. Without such knowledge one might as well ask a business man how to make money. The answer would probably be, “Go and make it.” In literature it is somewhat different Niee out of every ten aspirants must fail be cause of obstacles that cannot be overcome; nine tenths of the remaining tenth fail b cause they have not the nerve to overcome the ob stacles they might. To all these the best advice that can be given is, "Don’t aspire!” Ix tne young writer will not accept this as final we must ask; To what does he aspire— success or excellence? The two are by no means synonymous, though success must no doubt imply a certain degree of excellence, and excellence will unquestionably insure a certain amount of success; so that there must be some common quality, some general ground which is essential both to success and excellence. This common ground is no doubt that of abstract literary merit, and literary merit will be found, when carefully analyzed, to consist of honest thought, honestly and vividly expressed. By honest thought, of course, I mean the aspirant’s own thought and by honestly expressed I mean expressed in his own way, as he thinks it and as he feels it. He must learn t iat original t/ consists, not in mere form of express.on, hut in a certain individuality of thought itself. One man’s words will never exactly express another man’s ideas. He should study the best authors, therefore, not to find a model orbirrow a style, but to note the sources of the strength of each and find what he may safely adopt as harmo nious with his own and what re j ect as inconsis tent with his temper and method. In doing this he must keep in miDd the condi tions under which the author whom he studies wrote. Not because the standards of excel lence change from age to age, as is often said. This may be true, but it is only half the truth. He must remember that the writer, whether he wills it or not, is the product of his age, stamped with its characteristics and possessed with its ideals. We often hear it said that if Homer or Milton should write to-day bis works would be unread, that Scott’s novels would on ly provoke yawns] that Byron’s poetry would be received with jeers, that Patrick Henry’s impassioned eloquence wonld be greeted with laughter and that Webster would speak to empty benches in the Senate. Do not give heed to such foolish and pernicious theories, if these men were living to-day they would be awake to the intellectual conditions of the pre sent, and the divine fire would show them the way to men’s hearts as easily now as when they sang “the songs of immortality.” A Flooded Literary Market. One who has been inside the literary mill can hardly realize how mnch literary “aspiration,” of one sort or another, there is in these days. Men, women and children take to printers ink as naturally, if not as successfully as ducks to water. I have no doubt that ths manuscript, proof, &c., which are carried by the mails of the United States average a ton a day, and I am well assured that the postage which American writers pay on what they call poetry amounts every year to more than the poets of the United States receive annually for their work. Yet there is a good chance for men or women' of fair ability to earn a competence and win tolerable success in literature if they will be honest with themselves and honest with their readers, writing their own thoughts—that is, in the best style they can attain. But this means work, preparation, care. The trouble with most “aspirants" is that they do nothing but aspire. They have a vagne wish to acquire money or get fame. They have an indefinite longing to be known as authors. They would aspire to be artists in the same sort of way, but they know that people will not look at the daubs of the unskilled hand and untrained eye. They cannot take the trouble to become skilled artists—to learn to use pencil and brush. Perhaps they know it would be vain to attempt to do so; bnt they can write, and they thiDk that little more is necessary to enable them to become poets and novelists. They call over for their encouragement the roll of those who have become famous in the liter ary world at a stroke and without preparation as they think. I do not believe in any of these things. No man ever paints a successful pen- picture without as careful preparation as it would require to put the same on canvas. The literary “aspirant” must do something more than aspire—he must work. A Common Example. A young man thrilled by the recent perusal of some powerfully written book, perhaps, is suddenly seized with literary aspirations and sits down to write. He thinks once writing enough. Indeed, be feels that he has done the world qttite a favor in doing even that. He sends his manuscript post-haste to the literary periodical. It is declined “with thanks.” He s, of course, aggrieved, and at once writes his name at the head of the first page in his own private “book of martyrs.” He raves of in- ; ustice, envy, favoritism and all that sort of twaddle, which has become the stock in trade of the literary grumbler. What is the matter? Forty-nine times out of fifty a trained eye,, anxiously seeking for something new and worthy, has glanced over the “aspirant’s” pro duction and regretfully perceivedj that it has no merit—it is not honeBt thought nor honest self-expression. It is merely a collection of spasmodic attempts to do something fine or witty, with perhaps here and there a bit of native humor or ill-digested observation. In half the other cases it is no better than what is on hand, or, if better, comes too late—after the other has been purchased. The publisher, whatever his character, wants always the best —that which will sell. He employs trained in tellects to sift this oat of the mass of manuscript that comes to his hand. No amount of puffing can make a literary success and no amount of adverse criticsm can mar a deserved triumph. My advice to the “literary aspirant,” there- fore, is to stop aspiriDg and go to work, know what he writes about and write about what he knows. Study nature’s moods and tenses as those in the grammar. Never let anything go out of your bands until yon have done it as well as you can. Always work in a room with an open fire—not for the sake of the fire, but in order that you may barn five sheets for every one you send to the printer. Learn of the proof-reader. He may not always ba right, hut he iB very likely to show you how to get right. Bless the critic. He may condemn you uDjust- ly, hut he is more likely to praise you unde servedly. Praise liaR its uses and scourging is always profitable. When you describe a bird, tree or a flower be sure you know what you are describing; when you paint a man, study him so that others will know his lineaments. If you are writing for a periodical, write what the editor wants; it you are writing a book, try and write what the public wants. Common-sense the Standard. In marketing your wares use common-sense. A rule that would be of advantage to one would be an injury to another. An unknown author may win popularity and appreciation by much work at low rates. One who is well known may depreciate his value by doing too much at any price. Every writer must consider his own capacity, know his own limitations, study his own firid, judge his own work, make bis own market, tight his own battles and take the fortune that comes to him without whining. The world does not care a fig how hard you work or how deserving you may be. It is no more renaiu that yon will succeed in literature than that you wonld be a shining light in the pulpit or an invincible* bull” upon “the street” Do not expect help from other authors. It i i like a soldier asking his comrade to carry his knapsack. Each has his own burden. If people will not buy your books do not scold the people. They have the right to take their choice, and are quite as apt to be correot in their opinion as you. Finally, if youcanrot succeed in literature, try something else. That is what people do when they miss success in otherlines. Everybody may be mistaken about your merits hut yourself, though they are not likely to be. In a financial point of view it is well to remember that “literature is a good staff, but a poor crutch.” Most men have found it so. We hear a good deal in these days about literature as a profession. It may be a good one, bat you had batter have another to fall hack upon. By all means learn to use a typewriter and send yonr copy as “clean” as yon can make it. Put it on small pages of good paper. Learn to paragraph; learn to punctuate —not out of books, but by studying expression and its relation to recognized symbols. Read your proof-sheets aloud to yourself, not to others. Keep your temper, preserve your digestion, and do not expect success without deserving it. If you win, be grateful that you still live; if you fail,|thank God that you are not as dead as the hopeyou fondly—perhaps fool ishly—cherished. A. W. TouKasfil Extraordinary Glob List. The Sunny South and Any Other Paper or Magazine at About the Price of One. Clubbed with Dailies at Less than the Price of One. By special arrangement with the leading publishers we are able to offer the most liberal clubbing rates that have ever been presented to the public. Examine the list and see for yourself. Any leading paper or magazine may be secured with the Sunnt South at very nearly the price of one. For instance, the reg ular subscription price to Puck is $5 and ths Sunny South $2, but we furnish them both for $5.75. No subscription for less than a years will be forwarded for other publications. All complaints in regard to other papers must be addressed to the publishers of those papers, and not to the Sunny South. The Sunny South must be included in eaoh and every order for any other publication. That is, a person cannot order one copy of the Sunny South and two, three, or a half a dozen other papers. The Sunny South must be or dered with each. We give our old subscribers the benefit of these clubbing rates when they renew for a year, but they cannot renew their subscriptions with other papers though this scheme. They can only get the benefit of these rates when ordering publications to which they are not al ready subscribers. 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