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WECOHSTITUTION
CLARK HOWELL Editor
ROBY ROBINSON ...Business Manager
at the Atlanta PeatefHce a*Secend
“**•• Mattar, Mar. 11, 1573.
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Labor and the Cotton Crop.
The labor problem in its relation
ship to the production of cotton is
interestingly discussed in various
phases in three articles which are
brought to the attention of The Con
stitution's readers today.
In the forthcoming Issue of The
American Monthly Review of Reviews
Mr. Richard H, Edmonds, editor of
The Manufacturers’ Record, than
whom there is no better informed stu
dent of southern business conditions,
discusses “The Cotton Crop of To
day,” some extracts from which, tak
en from the advance sheets, are pre
sented in another column. Mr. Ed
monds shows among other things that
the negro iias become with each suc
ceeding year a less important, factor
In the production of cotton, the amount
raised by negro labor in proportion to
the whole crop being steadily on the
decline.
Mr. D. A. Tompkins, of North Caro
lina. is quoted in a recent publication
as arguing that the greatest decrease
in the amount of available farm labor
in North Carolina and other southern
states is the result of the whites going
from the fields to work in the cotton
mills which have, in late years, so in
creased in number and capacity.
A prominent and successful farmer
of Houston county, a man known to
us and for whose business capacity
and good sense we take pleasure in
vouching, sends a communication
bearing upon this genera! subject of
farm labor, brought out by his ap
proval of an article previously pub
lished and which has attracted much
attention, in which the writer took the
position that the hope of agricultural
development in the? south depends
upon a return to something lilo’ the
old plantation system prevailing be
fore the' war—the application of real
business methods io cotton farming
on a large scale
The trend of the argument of each
of these writers is toward the conclu
sion that a betterment of labor con
ditions in tiie agricultural regions of
Ihe southern states must be tile first
step toward the development of the
cotton growing industry, and the grow
ing of other southern staple crops, to
anything like its highest capacity. Mr.
Tompkins, who is a close student of
the cotton situation, makes the rather
startling announcement that in N< rth
Carolina alone ''nearly Su.uou people
have left farms to go into cotton mills
and other new manufacturing plants.
Fifty thousand more have leit farms
to go into other factories such as cot
ton seed oil mills, saw mills, furniture
factories, and others Most of the
other cotton slates have, lie thinks,
experienced a similar change This
retirement of labor from the cotton
farms to go into manufacturing pur
suits is. he thinks, one of the two in
fluences which cooperate to make the
present high price of cotton, lie other
being the extended trade in cotton
goods which was made when cotton
was low. “In this new situation.”
writes Mr. Tompkins, "the production
of cotton in the southern slates of the
American union has become a very at
tractive proposition. The new condi
tion makes the south a fine field for
the European emigrant The further
development of cotton production
would seem to be contingent on find
ing a now element to take the place
of those who have left the farm for
the factory. With cotton at 10 cents
a pound and above (he thinks the
present high price is bound to prevail
for several years, at least), and with
increasing factory populations making
cash markets for perishable farm
products, the south is by far the most
attractive part ot the United States
for that class of European immigra
tion. which is made up of farmers,
who are coming to this country lo ben
efit their condition. ’
The Constitution’s Houston county
correspondent gives an interesting
example of the possibilities of greater
cotton production gathered from his
own experience. He says that but for
the labor conditions surrounding him
jte could easily produce this year a
1.000-bale crop from the plantations on
which he now gets 300 bales, and he
believes that the same relative in
crease might be brought about
throughout the greater part of the
south. In this connection he pictures
the possibilities were the .southern
planters able to secure the services
of a class of laborers like the Chinese,
for whose thrift and industry and ca
pacity as agricultural laborers he evi
dently has the highest admiration.
He does not treat of the Chinaman as
being possible of acquirement under
th? existing immigration laws; but he
uses him as an illustration of the sort
of labor we ought to have, and to
emphasize by comparison the incapac
ity of the present labor as now han
dled.
These varying opinions upon a sub
ject of so great interest to all south
erners serve to draw attention pri
marily to the great possibilities of the
development of the cotton industry
and of the south as a whole. One way
or another, the, business of the produc
tion of raw cotton will be placed upon
the same substantial basis that char-
acterizes the production of wheat and
corn upon the great farms of the
west. The present high price of the
staple has put the farmers of Geor
gia and the south in a more indepen
dent condition than they have been
al any time since the war, and with
this independence will come the abil
ity to deal with their labor upon more
businesslike terms which will in
sure better results and greater profits
in the future.
The south undoubtedly presents a
most inviting field for white agricul
tural labor, and it will come lo lake
the places of the hundreds of thou
sands of native whites who have gone
into the mills and factories. The stim
ulus given the industry by the in
jection of this element will be valua
ble to the negro labor. Things will
gradual!) but certainly be put upon a
strictly business basis, and not only
the south as a whole, but every planter
and every individual worker will profit
thereby.
♦ -
Mr. Graves’ Address.
The address of Hon. John Temple
Graves, delivered before iiie com
mencement of the University of Chi
cago Thursday, was an exceptionally
admirable presentment of the Histor
ical status of the negro in the south.
Indeed, it is doubtful if such a cogent
and comprehensive epitome of the
whole so-called race question was
ever before compressed within an
h< ur’s talk, and it is superfluous to add
that lie rounded rhetoric and moving
eloquence were Mr. Graves’ own. De
livered by such a man, in such a man
ner and under such auspices, the ad
dress could not be otherwise than no
table and is certain to inspire wide
spread renewed interest in the subject,
under discussion.
Our northern friends, ivho necessa
rily, must stuay this great question
through the haze of distance, have
been given an intimate ami vitalized
view of the south’s predicament.-—for
that is the w. <l. u. Graves has,
with his deft strokes on ihe high
lights, enabled them to put themselves
in the place of their brethren of the
south. This is well, for it is a large
question, a grave question, and any
thing but a sectional question, though
a section of our common country be
most directly concerned In it. The
problem, if it will be insisted that it
is such, is not even bounded by the
nation. It concerns humanity itself.
It requires no historical analyst to
demonstrate l ow largely and vitally
the lowly African has figured and is
figuring in our national destiny, but
we dare say that Mr. Graves’ succinct
review along this lino struck many of
his hearers as a revelation in the phi
losophy of history. If the sins of the
fathers are visited upon succeeding
generations in politics and sociology,
then the republic has atoned in blood
and treasure, n strife and enmity, be
yond figure or word to express, for the
cardinal sin of slavery, and the south,
is but now lifting her head from
sackcloth and ashes.
Admirable as is Mr Graves’ hand
ling of the wh; I<* subjet t. and as inter
esting as has '■'>!! fils elucidation of
ti, The Constitution, in common, we
believe, with an overwhelming major
ity of southern folk, takes issue with
his proffered solution. In the first
place, we Ivlieve Mr. Graves exagger
ates out of all rationality the menace
of nine million inhabitants in
th.- United States, although we are
not calling in question the gravity of
c< ’ tain phases of Lie negro’s present
condition in the south. W> do no’
believe here is anything in the racial
logic of civilization, tin ier the record
of history, that, proves the impossi
bility of widely divergent peoples liv
ing and working together for decent
livelihood and material advancement,
and that with a minimum of social and
politi'al friction. In the very nature
of modern progress civilization is het- ■
eyogeneous, and becomes the more so
tl •' higher its development. Even the j
effete ;n,d semi-barbarous civilizations
of Asia, with all their castes of reli
gion and .-.o: iety, have from time iin l
memorial been cosmopolitan in their
labor, trade and commerce. They
draw no race line in the matter of
breathing a common air.
Abstractly, the proposition of racial
segregation is race bigotry, worthy of
tne dark ages. Where, in this enlight
ened time and land, is there an
irrepressible conflict, and deadly
ineconcilability between habitant
races? Seven million negroes there
are, in the southern states, living
alongside of bnt a few more whites,
and if a volcano is under their feet,
the surface evidences are lacking.
To ail appearances they are getting
along very well together and mutually
prospering. Trite, things are not all
that we should like to have them. but.
there is being evolution along sound
lines, nobody is persecuted or op
pressed becar.se of the color of his
skin, nor is the “door of opportunity”
closed to any oil'; for this reason, if
tin phrase be sanely interpreted
Doubtless there are many negroes
iv. the country, north as well as south,
who are pining for a negro Utopia.
By the same token, there arc- more
white American citizens in the coun
try pining for El Dorado. The reason
in both instances is social, although
the negro is quick to persuade himself
that it is racial. The negro’s wrongs
are fanciful and sentimental. He has
every substantial benefit of citizen
ship here, if he will work and practice
the- prudent virtues that make for the
white man's well-being. He can ac
quire property by thrift and live in
peace and plenty. The trouble is that
the mass of negroes, like too many
ne'er-do-well whites, are naturally in
clined to wait for Elijah's ravens, am’,
lean from the waiting, imagine they
have a race problem to solve
As we have said, it is only the
worl.l-old social problem, but with
some minor racial aggravations, per
haps. People of this class, be they
white or black, are restless and gen
erally social malcontents, ready to
jump at. any chimerical scheme of re
lief. particularly ar. emigration
scheme. We dare say that if some
one would organize a fund to trans
port would-be emigrants to darkest
Africa, with a cash bonus attached, he
would find that the negroes would not
follow. The negro may talk a good
deal about his race grievances, but. he
knows the south is his congenial hab
itat, and here he will stay.
Mr. Graves claims that, by actual
authoritative statistics, "the negro no
longer makes the staple or cereal
crops of the south," and leaves the
inference that the south has reached
THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION: ATLANTA. RA. MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 7, 1903
a point where it can spare his labor.
Here in Georgia we have had recently
some eminently practical demonstra
tions establishing the fallacy of such
an argument. “Peg Leg” Williams,
the well-known, even notorious emi
gration agent of some western rail
roads. held out glittering inducements
for Georgia negroes to go west, and
thousands of them went. The result
was to the sei ions injury of the field
labor of several of the state's best ag
ricultural counties, and the resent
ment of the farmers toward the med
dlesome agent was unmistakable. He
was not only haled before local courts
on every possible and impossible
charge, but narrowly escaped being
the victim of mob law. it was not un
til tile state had enforced an exces
sive license tax upon emigration
agents that the employing' farmers
were comparatively free from such a
menace, ami for several years the
counties most, affected were sorely dis
tressed by the loss of laborers, a loss
plainly evidenced in the population
statistics of the last census.
With all deference to the judgment
and opinions of Mr. Graves and his
colonization confreres, the separatist
idea Is a dream with no appreciable
following. The negro is here and he
is here to stay. He must be reckoned
with accordingly. If his existence
here is a problem, the solution must
be by some other method than that of
wholesale deportation. As a solution
it is theoretical, visionary, impractical
and impossible.
All that Mr. Graves says as to Ihe
domination of the Anglo-Saxon cor
rectly presents the view of the south.
Whatever may be the number of the
negroes, Anglo-Saxon supremacy will
ever prevail. No possible condition
can alter this fact. The whites know
it, and the blacks know it. Mr. Graves
has made a most interesting presenta
tion of this feature of the race ques
tion and all that he says assertive of
the certainty of white supremacy is
expressive of the condition as It exists
in the south today, as it would exist,
in the north and west if the situation
were the same there as here, and as
it will ever exist, north and south, as
long as the two races are side by
side.
■Agreeing, therefore, so thoroughly
with Mr. Graves on this feature of his
address, we regret to differ so point
edly with him on his proposed rem
edy.
—•
Why Not Start Things Going?
In the midst of the doubt and uncer
tainty over the canal situation at. Bo
gota. growing out. of the rejection of
the American treaty as negotiated,
ami the evident determination of the
different parties in Colombia to play
politics at the. expense of that, coun
try’s best interests, why should Presi
dent Roosevelt not turn to Nicaragua
and Costa. Rica and renew canal nego
tiations with those governments?
That would seem to be a good busi
ness way to bring things to a head.
The politicians at Bogota, seem dis
posed to take their own sweet time in
giving tiie United States an answer,
and even if that answer should be of
a nature to form the basis of future
negotiations, there is no telling when
it will come.
In the meantime, tiie situation is be
coming decidedly clouded by the sug
gestions of a revolution growing out
of an effort on the part of ..lie state
of Panama to secerte. If that materi
alizes. any title this government might
obtain, cither from the Republic of Co
lombia or a new and independent
Pr.nania, would be of dubious value.
The president has. under the canal
act, full authority to proceed with ne
gotiations for the acquirement of the
Nicaragua route. The merits of that
have been fully attested by competent
engineers; indeed, those who have de
voted most study to the canal ques
tion are convinced that it is the bet
ter route. There can lie no possible
doubt of its bung practically as good
as the Panama route, and with that
getting beyond our reach, th< logical,
sensible thing for the president to do
is to reopen negotiations with Nicara
gua ami Costa Rica.
There would not, if begun at once,
reach, a stage where we would hav. to
accept iheir terms before knowing
those of Colombia; bit' by the time
Colombia, is ready to speak we would
have something definite to go on.
Why isn’t, that the sensible, busi
ness-like way of getting at this thing?
*-■ - - —•— — ■— ——
Secretary Shaw’s Remedy.
Currency experts who are seeking
the enactment of complicated legisla
tion on various lines will find small
comfort in the utterances of Secretary
of the Treasury Shaw in his Chicago
speech. Following as this does the
talk of Uncle Joe Cannon, this speech
of the head of the federal finance de
partment will be taken as indicating
pretty clearly that the majority senti
ment in the republican party desires
very little in ihe way of currency leg
islation.
Secretary Shaw’s address is the
plain, straightforward, business-like
utterance of a believer in the funda
mentals of the present national bank
ing system, one who would deal with
exigencies as they may present them
selves, but who ip r.ot z given over to
chasing rainbows of any kind. He
sees the needs of adding an element
of elasticity to the present currency
system, but is careful to explain that
what lie moans by this is “some pro
vision by which, automatically, the
aggregate volume of dollars shall in
crease whenever and wherever more
dollars are needed, and will as prompt
ly retire when not. needed.”
Secretary Shaw protests against
what is called an “elastic dollar,” say
ing the expression is a misnomer,
which, of course, it is; but most of
those who have talked for an “elastic”
dollar have had in mind just what the
secretary himself advocates, though
they may not have expressed them
selves so tersely. The average cur
rency expert delights in high-sounding
phrases.
The secretary makes bold to give
hi- idea of Hie simplest way io secure
the desired elasticity without, permit
ting expansion to the extent of infla
tion, and he does this with characteris
tic modesty. Instead of the tax of
ten per cent per annum upon circula
tion. which is prohibitory, he would
“add an amendment permitting na
tional banks, with the consent, of the
comptroller of the currency, to issue
a volume of circulating notes equal to
50 per cent of their (present) bond
secured ■irculaticn, at a tax of 6 per
cent, the same to be retired at will or
by the direction of the comptroller by
the deposit of an equal amount of law
ful money with the subtreasury.”
The secretary’s critics, and he will
have a good many in .’.is own party,
will probably contend that bis 6 per
cent fax is so high that there as little
likelihood of the banks availing them
selves of the privilege of this addi
tional circulation save in cases of rath
er extreme emergencies; others will
contend lor a deposit of additional se
cunaes against this emergency issue;
but replying J.o the first critics, the
secretary ..olds that any greater elas
ticity would be in the nature of infla
tion and therefore not to be counte
nanced, while to the second class ho
argues that his emergency circulation
would be safe "for the government, ab
solutely protected by the six per cent
tax, would underwrite it.
While he does not claim that this is
the only way to secure the desired
elasticity, it is one way and, in his
judgment, an effective way, “affording
a very respectable cushion against
sudden financial concussions,” which
he thinks is the only tiling to be fle
shed.
Whether his party in congress will
accept tiie secretary’s suggestion is
yet to be seen. With so many differ
ences among the experts, the republi
cans will, apparently, have a great
deal of difficulty in getting together
unless it be in support of some plain,
simple proposition like this, which
will not involve radical changes in the
present system.
Harmony in Sight.
One feature of the present Ohio
campaign is likely to attract more at
tention among the democrats of the
nation than any other. The democ
racy of the Buckeye state, although
very much in the minority, always
manages to find away to hold the
center of the stage, and deep interest
is manifested, for one reason or an
other. in every Ohio campaign. It
has been a good many years since
the democrats carried that state,
either for state officers or in securing
control of the legislature, but those
strenuous Ohioans seem to draw na
tional attention to their doings far
in excess of that manifested in the
contests of other states in which dem
ocratic chances for victory are much
better.
The spectacular success of Mayor
Tom Johnson in securing control of
party affairs and nominating himself
for governor furnished the occasion
for columns of newspaper notice.
Hardly had the campaign opened up
before the fact that Mr. Bryan had
to postpone for a few days his visit
to the state was heralded as evidence
of the Nebraskan's coolness toward
Mr. Johnson and his campaign, a cool
ness which did not. exist and for the
announcement of which there was
absolutely no wart,mt. This is shown
by the present visit of Mr. Bryan to
the state, during which, according to
the newspaper reports, he is “speak
ing enthusiastically" for the Ohio
ticket as a whole
It is this enthusiastic support of the
ticket, as a. whole that, is likely to at
tract most, attention among demo
crats outside of Ohio. There is noth
ing new in his strong, hearty indorse
ment of Mayor Johnson, for that has
been frequently given, bnt real sig
nificance may prope dy bo attached to
the warm support which the Ne
braskan is giving Hon. .Tohir. 11.
Clarke, the democratic candidate for
United States senator, duly accredit
ed by the- stalo convention which put.
this ticket in the field, because this
support signifies a desire' for harmony
for which Mr. Bryan's critics have not
given him credit.
Hon. John H Clarke is a prominent
attorney of Cleveland, who was so
Strong!) identified with the gold wing
of the party that he bolted the nomi
nees and platform in 1896 and voted
for Palmer and Buckner. Like many
another good man. h’’ has since seen
the error of his ways. Although not.
changing hit position on that issue of
the past, lie affiliated with the party
in 1900 and has b-cr since then rec
ognized as a loyal worker in the
ranks, though at no time active or
prominent, m party affairs. He was
designated as the party’s candidate
against Senator Hanna, by Mayor
Johnson, who absolutely controlled
the state convention, because of that,
gentleman's commendable desire to
bring all elements together in hai
mony; and that, action now has the
heartv and enthusiastic approval ot
Mr Bryan.
The real significance of this ap
proval lies, of course, in tiie lact that
the days of proscription, so far as Mr.
Bryan are concerned, are at an end.
He evidently realizes, as all other
good democrats must realize, that
partv harmony is the one great essen
tial: that it. is only though the draw
ing together of all elements that there
will be the slightest show for success
in the campaigns of this year and of
1901; that all men who profess to be
democrats will be welcomed as work
ers in the ranks; and. further, even
that the position taken by- a man upon
an issue which does not new enter ac
tively into the political equation need
not. be a bar to his nomination to high
office, so long as he possesses the
qualifications for that office and
stands with his party upon the issues
of the day.
It is viewed in this light that. Mr.
Bryan's hearty- and enthusiastic in
dorsement of Mr. Clarke’s candidacy
for the United States senate is of par
ticular interest to democrats outside
of Ohio. Whether Mr. Clarke may or
may not be elected to the senate,
makes little real difference; but it is
of value to see that Mr. Bryan, whose
influence as a factor in party affairs
must not be minimized, has taken
such an important step forward to
ward party harmony.
The Nebraska leader has been
quoted as declaring in the past that
this man of prominence or that one
"would not do" as the party’s candi
date for the presidency because of his
position in the campaign ol iSjil
Some of those men, like Mr. Clarke,
saw fit. to bolt the party on the issue
then paramount, others acquiesced in
the will of the majority and sup
ported the ticket, though they
did not approve of some feat
ures of the platform. It it a fair
presun.ption now, in view ot his sup
port of the candidacy- of Mr. Clarke,
either frat Mr. Bryan has been mis
quoted with respect to those other
men or ihat he lias wisely permitted
his first, tendency to criticize to give
way to the greater consideration of
party- harmony.
Now, if the abusive critics of Mr.
Bryan will join in an honest effort to
bring all elements together, party
harmony will become an accomplished
fact.
-•-
The Real Enemies of the Race.
So far as Booker Washington per
sonally is concerned, he may well feel
that he is to be congratulated upon
the enemies he has made in that
Suffrage League of Boston, an organ
ization of political negroes which has
adopted resolutions declaring that he
“is not a fit leader for the colored
race.” This sort of criticism, from
such a. source, can only strengthen
him in the eyes of those whose sup
port has made it possible io carry for
ward the excellent work in which he
is engaged.
But, this episode has a wider signifi
cance than that of its relationship to
any- one man. There is no question
of (lie political power of the negroes
in a number of northern states, where
they give the republican party the bal
ance of power, and if this action of
the Boston crowd represents the at
titude of northern negroes generally,
they must inevitably- do vast, harm to
their race in the south.
If there is one point upon which the
thinking men of the race here in the
south are agreed beyond all others, it
is that any- reaction from the present
movement lor industrial education
and enlightenment, especially any re
vival of the turmoil and strife of re
construction days by a. mistaken effort
to secure political privileges for
which they- are not. prepared, will
work infinite harm to their people. It
can have no other result. Not’’’
else is so certain to open up a Pan
dora’s box of ills to the negroes of the
southern states, and the wiser among
them fully realize it.
The negro politicians of Boston and
other northern slates who seek to ar
ray- the members of the race against
the Booker Washington programme
are, of course, looking to their own
selfish ends. Fortunately their doc
trines are not likely to make any
headway at the south, where the
masses, dwelling in peace and enjoy
ing prosperity, have come to know that
the right way is that blazed out by
the mon like Washington and the oth
ers who preach education, develop
ment of character, enlightenment and
good citizenship, rather than that of
the political demagogues who would
alienate them from their white neigh
bors and plunge them into all sorts of
st rife.
And fortunately, too, the power of
these enemies of their race to do
harm is growing smaller as each pass
ing day brings to the people of the
north a better appreciation of the real
situation in the southern states.
Useless and Unwise Talk.
The democrats of the south have
no sympathy for the recrimination be
ing indulged in by factiona.lists who
seem bent upon driving people from
the ranks of democracy rather than
upon doing their part to bring about
harmony. The Constitution has hail
occasion more than once to call atten
tion to this useless and unwise talk.
Mr. Bryan, through the columns of
his paper, has at. times indulged in
criticisms not at all calculated to ben
efit the democratic prospects, but it is
just as well to again call attention to
rhe obvious fact that he is by no
means the worst offender in this re
spect.
It. comes witli very poor grace, for
instance, for The Chicago Chronicle,
a paper which, while claiming to be
democratic, bolted the party nominees
and the party platform in the last, two
presidential contests, to be hurling
vitrolic diatribes toward Mr. Bryan
and his followers, and advising that
they be run out of the party. Quoting
some of Mr. Bryan's newspaper com
ments. The Chronicle assails him with
characteristic bitterness, predicts that
lie ami his "populistic” followers will
bolt from the next national conven
tion, and advises that the party pro
ceed with its campaign on the as
sumption that they must be driven
out.
No newspaper and no leader is do
ing the party- good service who in
dulges in this sort of recrimination
and proscription. Least of all does it
come in good grace from sources
which openly fought the party in 189 G
and gave half-hearted, if any, support
in 1900. That, sort of tactics, even
when accompanied by profession of
desire for democratic success, is cer
tain. if it has any effect at all, to
either bring about a split in the party
or to influence the masses to a feel
ing of resentment which will make
impracticable all efforts to secure a
candidale and a platform representa
tive of conservatism and harmony.
The only possible chance for demo
cratic success lies in complete party
harmony. These manifestations of
bad feeling can only hurt. They are
to bo deplored from whatever source;
but they are particularly out of place
when coming from those who have
figured m the past, as bolters, but who
now seem to think themselves pos
sessed of a holier-than-thou right to
drive out of the party all who do not
agree with them.
Caleb Powers’ Many Trials.
The remarkable phase of the case of
Caleb Powers, who has just been sen
tenced to death for Hie murder of Governor
Goebel, of Kentucky, is that in the two
trials preceding the last one he escap'd
the death penalty, receiving only impris
onment for life as punishment, says The
Springfield Republican. Powers, however,
kept appealing- for a new trial. In the
third one he entered the active defense
himself, taking the stand and delivering
an address to the jury which is described
as skillful and eloquent. Yet. this time,
he has had the worst luck of his expeii
ence. A fourth trial is now asked. Powers
was secretary of state of Kentucky and
the shot that 'killed Governor Goebel was
fired from bis office, according to the be
lief of three juries. Doubtless, his politi
cal influence has aided him in securing
so many trials, for the Goebel assassina
tion was a tremendous political event in
Kentucky. As Powers has been in prison
three years on his life sentence, it cannot
bo said that "the law's delays" have
made a mockery of justice in his case.
The number of trials he gets, however,
contrasts vividly with tiie lynch law
meted out to some offenders.
Dr. Baldwin for Johns Hopkins.
Baltimore, September I.—Professor
James Mark Baldwin, LI,. D., who since
1893 has been professor of phycnology
i: Princeton university, has accepted the
professorship of philosophy and psychol
ogy in the Johns Mopkins lUilversity,
Baltimore, and will enter upon his du
ties there as soon as he can arrange to
leave Princeton. He was born in Colum
bia, S. C., and is a graduate of Prince
ton.
“Songs of the Soil”
By FRANK L. STANTON
Hopeful in Trouble.
Tills lite is half a sermon, an’ jest 'bout
half a song:—
Financially embarrassed, but—praise God.
—it's not for long!
The corn is disappintin'—the cotton's
goin' wrong:—
Financially emlzjrrassed. but—praise God!
—it's U"t for long'
We've mortgaged the planner—likewise,
the old blind miih ;
An' dttnno how well ever git the chil
dren's books for school!
An’ tilings air topsy-turvey—the tide's
a-puilin’ strong:—
Financially embarrassed, but—pr I’.-e God!
it's not for long!
For the storm can't last forever, an' dim
the weepin' eyes:
Tiie sun chines bright off yonder—the
rainbow's in the skies;
Let 'em all foreclose the mortgage, an'
do a. world o’ wrong:—
l'inanciallv_embarrassed, but—praise God!
—lt's not for long!
There shine the lights of Canaan, across
the river’s tide,
An' there .ain’t a botherin' bailiff on the
peaceful other side!
For the streets are gold, dear brethren,
an’ there the goldhygs throng:—
Financially embarrassed, but—praise God!
—it’s not for long!
•*« * *
"De only race problem whar I come
sum." said Brother Dicjtey, "is in dese
triflin’ niggers keepin’ ten yards ahead
er de sheriff!"
* ♦ • * •
Nuggets from Georgia.
Thank God fer peace in de family, even
es we hez ter go ter war fer it'
No use ter consider w’ether de wolf is
roun', or fiat. De main question is—how
is you gwine ter git thoo’ wid it.
Es de devil wuz a roarin’ lion, de peo
ple what knowed wen dey hear him
coinin’ would be in a hurry ter git out'n
de way.
L%wd, sen' us ter de market-place—but
be sure we git our full measure er vege
tables.
When You've Left Me.
When you.ve left me, day or night,
Nothing’s ever going right;
River stops its rijfplln’ song,
Birds are silent all day long
Just as if they felt and knew
All their music was for you!
Seems that Life of all’s bereft me
When you’ve left nte—
When you've left nte'
When you’ve left me, then T say
in the sweet old tender wity,
"Wonder if she knew how I
Lover! her ere she salt) goodby?
Wonder if she saw and knew
That my heart was breaking, too?
That of all that hour bereft me
When she left, me—
When she left me!
But a sweet thought comes with this:
Here the roses wait your kiss
Here, for all earth's gloom and blight.
Falls the tenderest. sweetest light;
Here the violets, kissed of dew.
Send sweet messages to you!
Os their bright smiles Spring bereft me
When you left me—
When you left me!
And f count, the days and hours—
Hold communion with the flowers,
Tell the Rose, in songs like this,
"She is coming for your kiss!"
Tel! tiie birds, where blossoms stir,
“Save your sweetest songs for her!"
But of all that day bereft me
When you left me—
When you left me!
••• « *
Brother Dickey’s Philosophy.
No use fer mens ter talk ’bout dark
ness—de Truth is de Light.
Some folks complains 'bout do fire bein'
out in dis worl'. but of dey keeps on in de
way dey gwine it. won't be out in de
next.
Heaven is So close ter you dat all you
got. ter do is ter reach it—but some folks
got mighty short arms.
The Doubter’s Song-.
Es Moses ever hit dat rock
Eh made de water fly.
He must been in de country
Whar everything wuz dry.
Olt, believers, •
Moses time gone by!
Wen you lilts do rock now
Don't see no water fly!
Es Joshua ever stop de sun
I gwine ter tell yon why:
'Twuz ten mile tor de nighest town
En Joshua feelin’ dry!
Oh, believers,
Joshua time gone by!
De sun, he never stop no mo’
What time you feelin' dry!
Stand Fast!
Soim tune the meaning of this bitter strife
Will perfect be, when all the strife is
past;
In all the storms and lightnings that
make life
Stand fast—O, soul, stand fhst!
What are thy tears, when tears have
fallen so long?
What all the shadows o’er thy pathway
Make oi thy grief a great, irfimortal
song,
Stand fast, O, soul, stand fast!
Though the world wound thee—though its
joys forsake,
Love thou the world with all the soul
thou hast!
Give it thy heart, and though thy heart
may break.
Stand fast, O, soul, stand fast!
• ♦ * ♦ •
The Way to the Light.
It's a sigh and a song—but we’re driftin’
along
To vales where the daisies and violets
throng;
Witli courage that fails not—with faith
that is strong.
We drift to the light of the morning!
Though bitter the crosses—the sorrows
and cares.
We look to the future-the beautiful
years;
And light glimmers bright through the
rain of ottr tears.—
Me drift to the light of the morning!
And life takes on beauty, and splendidly
beams
The light on the. hillside—the valleys and
streams;
And Sorrow is only an echo of dreams
As we drift to the light of the morning’
A Change in Weather.
De mockin’bird soon hide his head
"Twill be too cold ter sing.
De alligator’ll go ter bed
En won't wake up ’twell spring.
’Twill I'- col' time In de country
En co" time in de town;
Ketch dat cane juice drippin' sweet
En shake dem simfnons down!
I Plunkett's Letter
! q-uiNK it was Stanton who said that
I Euge' lC Field clirnbed tn heave n on thr,
1 Jioulders of little children, or words
to that effect.
Bill Arp has gone to heaven leaving a
memory behind him that makes heaven a
d. arer place than ever before to the minds
of all the children and all the women and
t<» many men.
' Forty-two years ago-in the fall of IS6I
- | chanced to be present in the parlor of
, the old American hotel, then the swell
hotel «f Atlanta, standing on Alabama
' street,, on Hie corner east from what is
now Temple Court.
\ Mr Steele was then editor of I he At
! lanta Intelligencer, the greatest southern
naner then, as The Constitution is now
bitting over by a table was Editor Steel<=
I I Whittaker, proprietor of The Tn
telligmeer, and one other gentleman,
whom 1 disremember. Mr. Steele read
from the paper, and as he read several
who were present in the room drew near
,r and there I heard the first contribu
ti on‘ of I'.ill Arp to the papers, beginning
• Mr Tinkhorn-Sir: The spring has shed
its fragrance, the summer am over an ,
gone, and the last leaves of autumn now
klver the earth," ete.
From that day Bill Arp was famous
and has grown and mellowed through tlm
vears UH he was loved as perhaps no
other man was loved or will be loved for
, i„ng time to come in Georgia and th
south. Since then the generations ha' a
beard Bill Arp read from the cradle to th
-rave The boys and girls have welcom- •
Tito Constitution on Sundays ami the
Weekly and to hear Bill Arp was them
' L i'i-t own. passed the same desires on
\ x- >'tr< till it < <im*“ at List th3J.
R'hMD was the household favorite, with
1,.,!-..... -
old mothers, tne > oimg .7
fathers all conditions were tat scL
cated into loving an 1 ,b,.'con“titu-
• ters that became a part of the Comtitu
l ror S vears’i was in position to watch
the fetters that e .me to Mrs K.ng
partment—“Woman's Kingdom •
m- down and eontemplutml ' '
• i infltmnce
i through the 'Ofespondents of those d
: partmonts and thrmch all tm - ‘
multiplied according as jo mg ,
evolved into husbands ar.l «• ■ '
multi, ued in ehtldrm. This mmttp nvi-
Hon people ami Hm --novaug
I lias made Bill Arp a close friend of
i old and the yo-.mg f ‘ ! '‘“ s .'"'/‘fL'l'
learned to love him >r.d parsed tne f -I
Tng on down to their children until at
endless link of affection existed at nls
death as long as th- years b- has be<>
before the public. Dr. Talmage vis ted
the mailing room of The Weekly - on
stitution on one of his visits to Atlanta,
and waving his hand over th- th msamL'
of names that were there in sight, he re
marked upon what an audience such a
paper provided. "Why,'' said the doctor,
"we lecturers think it Is great to hav
. an audience of two or three thousand,
‘ but here we li:.v • two hundred thousand,
and many read us besides the real sub
scribers.” Perhaps a half million people
read Taimage s sermons every week,
I while they were published in Sunday
‘ and The Weekly Constitution. So it was
with B‘ll Arp. He had an audience every
1 week running into the hundreds of thm>-
I sands and, be it said to his glory, bis
. efforts were always on the si.te of mak
ing people better and happier.
j 11 1 had been called on to name the
I best man in Georgia I should have said
> Bill Arp If I were, called on to name
■ the best love.l wotuan in Georgia I would
say Mrs. King This affectionate feeling
1 for these has grown upon them because
iof the character they have reflected
1 through the great paper. There are
I thousands of people throughout this land
I that will cherish the memory of Bill Arp
1 and of “Aunt Susie” as long as they
, ' live, and dying the kindly leeling will
; live through the children for generations.
i The Constitution itself is held in very
| tender memory because of these associa
tions 1 know and the realer knows that
1 . The Weekly Constitution is much dearer
: i to many .a heart than that it is simply
■ a newspaper to be read and thrown
away. t Texts lady told me that she
. looked for the paper as the. coming of ,i
i very dear old friend from her childhood
home in Georgia. It enters thousands
’ of homes as a friend and so it has ’>• n
■ entering for year, and though Bill Arp
is dead tln-y will love it still and cherish
i its coming as a sweet reminder of the
; man.
And Mrs. Arp. Who does not know
I her and how many have pictured her m
; a sweet old woman of the olden type?
i And Carl and Jessie—all of these will re-,
j main a sweet memory and help us t >
j bear our own share of sorrow over the
dead when we think of how much greater
I the loss is to these. Os these and of all
‘ the world Mrs. Smith is the. greatest
sufferer and needs the most of sympa
thy. But we. think she will be strong
’ in resisting the crash of this last sad be
i reavement. I think that all tiie nbblo
, women who passed through our civil
war are stronger in th- resistance of
sorrow than those who have never known
such trials as wo then had
They all got used to sorrow there. Sor
row was met upon evert highwav and it
was found in every home. Mrs Smith
was a “refugee'’ of those tirpes. and thi
nieans that she saw many things sad
■ der than death and darker than th
grave. This will help her now. Tiie man
; Hint was all the world to (jer is gone.
' but he hail fought a good fight and has
entered into rest. Hqjy much lighter s
I such a sorrow as this than the sorrow
i that I am sure sjje witnessed in our war
: between (he states. The matter is over
with her and she has nothing but. the
sweetest memories in connection witn h r
! life of the last fifty years. She has seen
sorrows with the elements of uncer.aintv
so intermingled that uncertainty and sus
pense was the greater part of the grief
, This has. trained her to bear brief. 1
i think, better than these who have seen
■ no such abundance of sorrow. There is
. no suspense in the matter of Bill Arp s
I death. He is gone and hi 1 was prepared
1 to go. and as 1 have said, heaven, wil 1
1 seem a. dearej- and a different place to
1 thousands yet in life.
As a writer. Major Smith has made peo
ple better and happier. A s a citizen. In
has performed his duty,. When we reflect
that only a. few mor., years, sav ter.
years, if you please, there will be no man
I <xr woman living wjn figured in our civ
war. when we think of this, then «<■
feel how fleet is life and how blessed 7t
is to be prepared as we think our friend
was prepared to meet the time that he
has met.
SARGE PLUNKETT.
CRUISER CLEVELAND TESTED,
New Vessel Makes Official Tiial Run
Off Maine Coast.
J’ortlami. Me., September 1. —The cruiser
Cleveland, built at the Bath iron works,
and designed for service in tropical
waters, made her official trial run todaj
on the Cape Ann course, with a four
hour run against the naw departments
requirement that she develop a speed of
16.5 knots under service conditions. She
I logged an average of if,.42 knots for the
I four hours, while during the best part
| of tiie test she made 16.65 knots.