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SOCIOLOGICAL
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE—Rev. C. B. Wilmer, J.
P „ J'KinT'n 5 ®* < -'^ ea ^ on > E. Marvin Underwood, Dr. R. R. Kime.
CRIME AMONG NEGROES
l/in Address Delivered to the Sociological
Society by C. B. Wilmer.
Officers
Atlanta Society.
President:
Dr. R. R. Kloie.
t Vice-President:
J E. M. Underwood.
• Secretary-Treasurer:
• Dr. E. C. Cnrtledge.
• Regular Meeting on
• Second Thursday
•Night of Each
t Month at Carnegie
• Library.
it u sometime* said that the "negro
nroblem" i* only a human problem.
Th«t is true if it be meant that It comes
within the limits of the human, but
ulse if it be meant that there are not
Mcullnr condition* hero in the South
which differentiate the problem from
me question of crime in general. When
i, is remembered that more case* of a
certain unnamable crime done and at
tempted by negroes occurred in nnd
•round the city of Atlanta within a few
weeks than are recorded aa happening
ID the whole history of the negro race
In the whole of this country prior to
1S«1, it Is seen that we ars "confronted
by a condition, not a theory.” It I* the
itrangeness and the extent of this aw
fui situation that appal us and have
caused us weil-nlgh to lose our heads.
Lynch Lew Both Useless and Ruinous.
Nevertheless, losing our heads is the
one thing we can not afford to do. It
Is when a ship is in a storm that she
can least afford to dispense with her
pilot or lose sight of the North etar by
night and the sun by day. Our expe
rience has at last convinced the most
unwilling to be convinced of the utter
futility of lynch law a* a deterrent of
crime; and not only of lte futility, but
of us perniciousness. You might as
well expect to break down the dykes
of Holland and let in the sea only to
one foot to drown a rat without en
gulfing the whole country; you might
as well expect to destroy gravitation
that holds suns and moons and stars
and planets In their places for tho
lake of capturing and destroying ons
wayward meteor, without turning cos-
moa Into chaos, as expect to turn loose
the demon of lawlessness and control
It within specified bound*. The lynch
ing of even guilty men lead* to the
murder of innocent men, and this Is
only one step from anarchy in which
no man's property or life are safe. We
have come to the very verge of thli In
Atlanta; Ood help the man who can not
tee this even now!
On* Lesion We Mu*t Learn prom Mob*
There is one leiaon we must learn,
even from mobe. Something more I*
necessary than "letting the law take It*
course.” We must try to prevent
crime. And to that end the first step
Is to study the subject. Crime, In gen
era!. by whomsoever and upon whom
soever committed,'!* due to a number of
causes, some subtle and some tangible;
some immediate and some remote;
some personal and some sociological—
due, that is, to conditions under wbleh
the Individual criminal has been
brought up. The first lesson a man
has to learn. nft*r he geto^the passion
of revenge and: the spfrlt' of lawless
ness out of him—and then only can he
learn it—is the lesson of the law of
cause and efTect in human society. A
brute commits some awful crime and
ve stand aghast. If we realty, are In
tamest about trying to prevent such
crimes, we must inquire what were the
conditions under which that man was
bom and brought up? What can wa
do to better those conditions? How
may we deal with the criminal after
the commission of the deed, so aa to
bring to bear a maximum of deterrent
force upon others? Refusing to heed
the voice of passion, wo must ask,
what does experience teach?
Analysis of th* Existing Situation.
1. Some facts about crime among th*
begroes.
In 1890 the proportion of negro prls-
snera In the United States was IS to
every 10.000; that of the whltss being
10 to every 10,000; the Mongolians 38
*nd the Indians 55. Tho negro Is mors
criminal under freedom than ho was
under alavery. He Is more criminal at
the North than he Is In the South. As
to whether crime Is on the Increase or
decrease among the negroes, there are
SO statistics for the past two years, but
the Lnlted States census seems to
•how, for the country at large, an In
crease both absolutely and relatively up
to the years 1890-1898, and a decrease
•mce that period down to the year 1900.
m Georgia serloua crime among the
negroes appdars to have Increased
down to tho year 1595, and to have de
creased from 1895 down to 1904. The
total number of negro convicts In
Georgia In 1895 was 2,210, or 2.83 per
thousand; and In 1904, 2,059, or 1.78 per
thousand.
Another fact of Interest .and impor
tance is.that crime Is committed main
ly by the young. In 1810 more than
one-half of all the negro prisoners were
between 20 nnd SO years of age, nnd
nearly one-flfth between 10 and 20.
-• Cause* of crime among the ne-
jT0C8.
Causes of crime In any people must
be sought partly In the characteristics
or the people themseiVes, and partly In
influences to which they are subjected.
The writer of this has thought It would
be of Interest to present here the re
sults of investigations made by the At
lanta conference, under the auspices of
the Atlanta University, In 1904, and
published as “Atlanta University Pub-
•Icatlona, No. 9; Notes on Negro Crimes,
LOOK OVER
, ? undf y and W you find any rea*
. * ,op ditaatlafaetlon you should
•nte« > to Ur ,ine ° t0 U,> *° r WC flUar *
Launder Your Linen
u?„*' l . oth,r articles In a way that
S€nno * be surpassed.
excelsior laundry,
10-42 Wall Street.
Ph «nti, Main, 41.
^lton tinted lead.
palnter knows what It Is. It
t *ctured < b t tlDlC< * lea< * ma<le ' SIanu '
F-J. COOLEDGE & SON.,
AUaula - Savannah.
let. independently of opinions ex
pressed, with which we may agree or
disagree. Is a valuable collection of
facts bearing on tho question of negro
crime, nnd 1 am Indebted to It for a
good deal of the information ui
the preparation of this article.
Following are put down as "Faults
of the Negroes;"
"1. Abuse of their new freedom and
tendency toward idleness and vagrancy.
2. Loose ideas of property, petty
plIfcrlDf,
"3. Unreliability, lying and deception.
4. Exaggerated ideas , of persona]
rights, irritability and suspicion.
"6. Sexual looseness, weak family life
and poor training of children, lack of
respect for parents.
"6. Lack of proper self-respect; low
or extravagant Ideals.
"7. Poverty, low wages and lack of
accumulated property.
"8. Lack of thrift and prevalence of
the gambling spirit. "
"9. Waywardness of the 'second gen
eration.’ . .
"10. The use of liquor and drugs.'
Bearing in mind that this analysis of
the negro is made by educated negroes
themselves, does It not appear that
there Is a commendable lack of attempt
to "whitewash” their own race? Does
not this analysis breathe the scientific
spirit, bom of a desire to get at the
truth? This ought to make us at least
patient toward what the same soclolog-
cal students say of.the whites In this
same connection.
"Faults of the Whites."
'1. The attempt to enforce a double
standard of Justice Jn the courts, one
for negroes and ona for whltys.
The election of Judged for short
terms, making them subservient to
waves of public opinion In a white
electorate.
"8. The shirking of Jury duty by the
best class of whites, leaving the deal
ing out of Jostle* to the most Ignorant
and prejudiced. -
"4.- Laws so drawn as to entangle the
Ignorant, as In the case of laws for la
bor contracts, and to leave wide discre
tion as to punishment In the hands of
Juries and petty offlclals.
“5. Peonage and debt slavery as to
methods of securing cheap and ateady
labor.
"6. Th* tendency to encourage Ignor
ance and subserviency among negroes
Instead of intelligence, ambition and
Independence.
"7. The taking of all rights of politi
cal self-defense from the negro, either
by direct law or custom or by ‘white
primary’ system.
”8. The punishment of crime
means of public and private revenue
rather than as a means of preventing
the making of criminals.
”9. The rendering of the chastity of
negro women difficult of defense in law
or custom against the aggressions of
white men. •
”10, Enforcing a caste system in
such a wgy as to humiliate negroes
and kill their self-respect."
Of th# ten "faults" charged to whites
as helping to make crime among ne
groes, No. 7 will naturally arouse the
most pronounced opposition. But pass
ing that by, will any of us white men
say that there is no truth at all In the
other nine chargee brought against us?
The Judgment of the experts of the civ
ilised world, sustains the eighth count
Is unreasonable? And, on the whole,
do not these extracts from “A Social
Study.” made almost entirely by col
ored men, suggest that we may gain
help In protecting our own race from
negro crime by working In conjunction
with the best negro minds? I venture
to suggest that the work of these col
ored educated men compares favorably
for wisdom, practicality nnd sanity
with the work of white mobs, apolo
gised for by other white men and wink
ed at by white police. More than that,
compare with the statement often heard
In high places that we "will stop law
lessness when the negro ceases from
crime,” a statement which is nothing
more or less than an abject surrender
to the devil and a confession of our
moral Inferiority to the negro—appeal
ing to tho negro to save us from an
archy instead of saving ourselves—
compare with that the following noble
appeal made by the Atlanta conference
to negroes: "Making allowiince for all
exaggeration in attributing this crime
to negroes, there still remain enough
well-authenticated cases of brutal as
sault on women by black men in Amer
ica to make every negro bow his head
In shame. Negroes must recognize their
responsibility for their own worst
classes and never let resentment
against slander allow them even to
seem to palliate an.awful deed. This
crime must at all hazards stop. Lynch
ing' is awful, and injustice and caste
are hard to bear; but if they are to
be successfully attacked, .they nfllkt
cease to have even this terrible Justl
flcatlon.”
The time has come when all men
who believe in the fundamentals ctf
civilisation should speak out with no
uncertain sound.
We must condemn the murder of In
nocent people. We must gain the help
of the best element among the ne
groes. To do that we must assure
them protection of honest, law-abid
ing negroes. If we have any superior
ity we must prove it by superior con
duct. We must set the negroes a good
ezample. W# complain that they har
bor criminals of their own race. How
many white criminals are at this mo
ment being harbored by other white
men in and around Atlanta? How
many white men are breaking state
and city laws and evading punishment
while wretched negroes are hauled into
court?
As a practical measure looking to
ward the better apprehending of negro
criminals, the appointment of negro
policemen, to be allowed to arrest only
negro law-breakers, has been tried
elsewhere and found to work welt. As
a preventive measure, 1 believe that
great good can be accomplished by a
radical revision of our vagrancy laws,
as well as by the adoption of the prin
ciple of the Indeterminate sentence for
all prisoners. Our vagrancy laws at
present consign a man or boy for a
given number of days at the chain-
gang. He serves his sentence nnd
comes out. Has any good been done?
is the prisoner not apt, on the con
trary, to come out worse than he went
In? Why not adopt the principle that
any adult, man or woman, able. and
not willing to work, la a potential
criminal and has forfeited tne- right
to remain a free member of society?
Vagrants should be given a chance to
get a permanent job or else suffer
transportation, with Imprisonment for
life, subject to pardon on evidence of
amendment, every humane opportunity
being given for learning a trade, or
aome means of livelihood. This would
not only prevent many a crime, but
would put thousande of shiftless men
nnd women to work for fear of the
penalty. People who will not work are
HOLINESS CONVENTION
BEGINS ON TUESDAY
Elaborate preparations are being
made for the Holiness Union conven
tion which begins In the Baptist Tab
ernacle next Tuesday and continues for
four days. H. C. Morrison, one of the
greatest pulpit, orators in the country,
is to be one of the speakers, and other
prominent members of the faith will
be present.
The convention Is expected to be the
largest ever held In Ahe South.
AMERICANS WERE HOSTESSES
TO SPAIN’S KING AND QUEEN
ON THEIR VISIT TO ENGLAND
last, what are we to say In the face of
the fact that so many men we are com
pelled to call white are In favor of kill
ing a negro Just because he la a ne
gro? What Inducement do the whites
offer a negro to be honest and faithful
and law-abiding, if thq good negro and
the bad negro are to 1>e put Into the
tamo Indiscriminate condemnation and
all are to be murdered together? Of
course all white men are not so de
graded aa that, but Is it not a shame
that any white man should sink so low?
So far as that cl*.*s of whits men ex
ists, are they not provocative of crime
among negroes and a direct menace to
the safety of its all?
Ill, The Cure.
The Atlanta conference report hae
thte to say under that head. The cure
for negifo crime lies In moral uplift
and Inspiration among negroes. Th*
masses of the race must be made vivid
ly to realize that no man ever hae an
excuse for laziness,. carelessness and
wrongdoing. That these are not a cure
for oppression, but rather Invite and
encourage further oppression. Negroes,
then, must be taught to stop fighting,
gambling end steeling, which seem to
be the usual misdemeanors of the care
less, and particularly the law-abiding
must separate themselves from that
dangerous criminal element among us
who are responsible for murder, rape
and burglary, and vigorously condemn
the f.“lme and the criminal. Four agen
cies among negro** may work toward
this end—the church, the dRool, Insti
tutions for rescue work, ana the Juve
nile reformatory. •
To the above !■ added the following
'Appeal to Whites;”
“This conference appeals to the white
people of Qeorgla for six things:
"Fairer criminal laws; Justice In the
courts: the abolition of state traffic
In trim* for public revenue and pri
vate gain; more Intelligent method* of
punishment; the refusal to alow free
labor to be displaced by convict labor,
and finally, a wider recognition of tho
faet that honest, intelligent, law-abid
ing black, men are safer neighbor* then
Ignorant, underpaid serfs, because It 1*
the latter class that breqjls dangerous
“i? there anything In that appeal that
latratlon plan might be made practl
cal, for negroeg roaming from one
county to another. These are some
of the things that might be done at
once. Amongst the subtle forces that
make for good In the long run, I name
but two: education and religion. Spite
of all the detects In our public school
system for negroes, and spite of all
the prejudice against educating ne
groes, the facts show that Illiteracy
tends to crime and literacy to good
cltlsenshlp. The Sociologist can treat
of religion only as a recognised fore*
In life, which It I*. As Lecky shows
in his "History of Europeon Morals,"
respect for human life don not belong
to man by nature.—It I* because of the
Influence of the Bible, basing respect
for human life on faith In Ood the
Father 6f us all, and In whose image
we ere created, that respect for hu
man life as such, has made Its way in
the world. Speaking merely a* a
Sociologist, I say, If we wish to purify
the hearts* of men, whether white or
black, and plant our civilisation upon
respect for human life, we must be
lieve In the Fatherhood of Ood and
the brotherhood of men.
In conclusion, this study Is suggest
ive merely and by no means designed
to be exhaustive. One fact should
make u* hopeful: the negro has shown
BRIDGE-COLLAPSES
WITH SHOW WAGON
Special to Tbe Georgian.
Chattanooga, Tenn. Oct. 17.—A wag
on containing the sideshow of Barnum
& Bailey’s show and' sij; big horses
fell through the street bridge over the
Southern railway here this morning.
Two horses were ruined nnd the boy
driver fatally Injured. The bridge wna
found to be rotten and several heavier
wagon* had just passed over.
Young People’s Union.
On Thursday evening at 7:45 o'clock
the Atlanta Baptist Young People's
Union will meet at Woodward Avenue
Church. A careful program has been
prepared, which promises to be enter
taining as well as Instructive. The
union earnestly solicits the co-opera
tion and sympathy of all churches of
like denomination In making this
meeting a success, and especially
urges all B. Y. P. U. workers to bo
sent at this meeting.
SHERIFF SHOT NEGRO
WHO OEFEHED EIGHT
Spoclnl to Tho Georxnln.
Charlotte, N. C., Oct. 17.—Sheriff Hood, of
Fairchild, 8. C., shot and killed Henry
Johnson, an escaped 09gro convict, this
morning, at Monroe, this state.
The negro vrns raising a shotgun when
the officer got the drop on him, nnd with
his pistol sent a bullet through his head.
Hood surrendered to tbe sheriff'at Mon*
roe.
i AT THE THEATERS
(Copyright, 1906, by W. R. Hearit.) •
Two American .women who recently entertained the young King and Queen of Spain, In England. On the
left Is Lady Leith, nee Miss January, of St. Louis, now mistress of Fyvle, Scotland, where sh* received the
young royal couple. On the right Is Lady Willoughby de Eresby, formcily Miss Breese, of New York, who
entertained Alphonso and his bride *t the celebrated eatate shown below.
MISTRESS MARY ANN’S MAD-NESS
By HELEN GRAY
Take Many
Train Rides?
If so—Why >
It’s quicker, cheaper,
safer and easier to
telephone. Bell lines
extend to all impor-
t a n t points. You
can telephone from
. your house. Rates
arc reasonable.
Don’t take our word;
try it.
Call Contract Dept,,M. 1300
BELL
SERVICE
The color scheme of the garden was
green and whits. In the green season
It had the appearance of being pow-
dered with snow. Bushels of roses,
■Ito, garlanded tbe galleries and
festooned tne low stone fence. Lilacs
and lilies and bridal wreath bushes and
saintly syringas were strewed about;
and flung acroea the center of a long
reen lawn was a rug of candytuft.
Vo tall oleander trees grew on either
eide of the high-posted, old-fashioned
rate. There were flower beds planted
n snowy-faced dalslee, portulaccos and
verbenas, and other low-growing
plants: and when a sportive breese
played white phlox danced merrily.
Perhaps the garden was never so
pretty as when the pear trees at the
rear spangled their blossoms upon the
emerald beneath.
The frame house, with its two ga
bits, which stood In the center of the
garden, was painted In white; and the
curtain* that hung faultlessly at th*
windows were of the snowiest of dotted
muslins. Even the tabby that sunned
Itself In the garden walk was white
furred.
Not th* least Interesting flower of
the garden was its mletreas, who oc
cupied th* place with her Mini-Invalid
mother. Mistress Mery Ann Merrill
was of the type that Is slender and fair.
She had hair of the kind that Is tawny
with gold, and It clustered about her
brow In little delicate spirals. She had
large gray eyes, which looked beseech
ingly. When any one Inquired of hei
the why of her penchant for white she
dismissed him or her with no other re
ply than a smile.
Mistress Mary Ann carried out her
madness for white even In the faahlos
of her drees. It was not to bs won
dered at, then, that when Abner White,
S ood looking and we|l-totdo, took up
Is abode m*AbbeyVllle, the gossips
should snicker and say that If Mary
Ann Merrill could catch him abe would
do so. If for no other reason lhan his
name. •
Sometimes Abner sew Mary Ann at
a church festival. Sometimes he leaned
over the garden cate of a twill;
moonlight evening and watch*
flitting about with her watering pot.
One night, when a white moon was
playing hide-and-go-seek with a bevy
of little cloudlets In the blue dome
above, Abner called to Mias Mary Ann
from th* gate. "Why, ’Mr. White," she
said, coming forward quickly, "how you
startled me!”
Tv# been watching you for full flve
minutes,” said Abner. “Mia* Mary Ann,
you remind me of—of—a Illy of the
valley."
"Com* In." said Mary Ann emphat
ically. And Abner unlatehed the gate
and crossed th* Rubicon.
1 reckon,” raid he, when they had
been seated a while on th* rose en-
wreathed porch, “that you’d like some
of them white blackberries, for your
garden that that feller out In Califor
nia Is getting up. Mighty powerful
thing to do—to make whit* blackber
ries.”
~ certainly would Ilk* to have some,"
himself under other conditions os not
Inherently brutal or criminal; witness
th* race before and during the war,
and the same race In Jamaica today.
Thera facts should encourage us to
believe that by bettering the condl-
tfons amongst us, we can make better
men and women of the negroes. Look
the South over and tell me Is It not
true that the more the negroes com*
under the Influence of good white peo
ple, th* better they nee?
A Splendid Production.
No more thoroughly pleasing pre
sentation of a thoroughly pleasing play
has been seen In many months than
"On Parole/’ which will be given its
final performance at the Grand Wed
nesday night. It Is so different from
tho average wartime drama that It Is
refreshing. In Its logical plot, Its
faithfulness to the spirit of tho times.
Its nbsoiute fairness from a sectional
standpoint. It stands alone. Tile com
pany, principal* and lesser players
alike present a* flawless picture of old
Virginia in the Ws. "On Parole" will
be talked of for weeks after It has
gone. O. D. ‘J.
“The G*i7T*P«t*y."
'The Girl Patsy,” a four-act comedy
drama from the pen of ‘ Mrs. Jane
Mauldin Felgt, will be the attraction
at the Grand Thursday evening, Fri
day matinee and Friday evening.
The piece deals very fairly with a
present time problem of domestic life
near New York in an aristocratic
country place, whose people date their
anchestry back to the Revolution, nnd
yet they, like alt others, have their
share of scandal, which is brought out
in this dmma.
The author has judiciously avoided
melodramatic effects, but there are mo
ments that grip the audience. Miss
June Mathis is seen In the wlnsomo
role of the girl "Patsy."
Blanche Walsh 8aturday.
"The Woman In the Case," Clyde
Fitch's play In which Blanche Walsh
Is to appear at the Grand Saturday
matinee and evening. Is said to con
tain more lines that can be remem-
bo.-ed and quoted than any play of re
cent years. Here are some that are
most frequently heard quoted In the
drawing rooms of New York:
"My faith In him Is more than hu
man. It cornea from my very soul,
and you know In our souls lives what
ever there Is of the divine In us.”
"I understand eveiythlng good of
you and nothing'bad. I understand
how I love you. You represent life In
this world to me. That's all I can
say."
"Will you men never understand
what a woman can’ endure for the man
she loves? Some men undergo physi
cal torture* for our sokes which our
bodies refuse to support, but wo make
It up In what we can endure mentally
and spiritually for you.”
“In Old Kentucky.”
It begins to look as If the "standing
room only" sign would etay on exhibi
tion all the rezt of the . week at the
Bijou, for “In Old Kentucky" has come
up to and passed every prediction that
was made for It, and the popular dra
matic success will eclipse the biggest
attendance record shown at the Bijou
since it was converted from the old
Columbia.
"In Old Kentucky" Is not a regular
popular price attraction. It plays In
theaters where the scale of prices la
larger than on the Bijou circuit, but
Mr. Wells arranged for the production
In 'Just four of his theaters, and At
lanta was one of the favored. It Is a
big offering, nnd the people who have
witnessed tho three performances al
ready given have been wondering If it
will be possible to eecure a* good seats
for some ofhor performance, nnd there
are hundreds who aro trying to get
_ . t||* "brat sent" for- some onr- of the re
in the moonlight her red-gold hair m alnlng times the performance will be
shone like an aureole about ner head. K)vpn
There will be the regular schedule of
about It. Mary Ann stepped out on
the gallery at this moment.
”1 am eorry you have doubts of me,
Mr.’White, and that you are airing
your opinion to the townspeople,” she
said, Icily.
“Mias Mary Ann, what can I do to
make you feel that I don't care whether
It's my name or not my name that you
marry me for?" said Abner.
"There Is but one thing, Mr. White,
that would convince me v that you be
lieve that I am not marrying you
for your name, and that is, that you
take my name. It you are willing to
stand up before all th* people of Ab-
beyvllle and take my name, I will feel
convinced. If not, consider the matter
at an end."
Mary Ann turned away from him,
performances the rest of the week, with
matinee performances on Thursdny and
Saturday.
DR. HEXAMER GTVEN
SILVER LOVING CUP.
N In appreciation of his services; In
making German day at the atate fair
so enjoyable. Dr. Charles J. Hcxamer
was tendered an Informal reception In
the parlora of the Kimball house on
Tuesday afternoon.
Dr. Hexatoier left for Philadelphia
Tuesday night. Prior to his departure
ortd Just after the reception, members
of the Atlanta German Society pre
sented the distinguished guest with a
handsome silver loving cup.
Dr. Hexamer, In German, expressed
hla great appreciation of the gift.
said Mary Ann Interestedly, "I'd put
’em over yonder In that comer. I
wouldn't mind navin' a saucer of 'em
to'eat now."
"Mebbe I'll get some and send you
next week when I go to California."
“I didn't know you were goln' to
California,” said Mary Ann, meekly.
"Mebbe I am,!' answered Abner, pre
tending Indifference.
Mary Ann looked down and began
to fumble with her little white hands.
Abnsr looked sidewise at her. He
Uked the cadence In her voice, and
ha thought he had never seen her look
*o charming.
"Yra, I'm a-thlnkln' of It," he con
tinued, still looking sidewise.
Mary Ann began thinking of It, too.
She had known Abner now for three
months, though this was the first time
he had crossed her threshold.
"How would you Ilk* to go to Cali
fornia?" said Abner, abruptly, when
the whlto moon had slipped under one
of the little cloudlets,
"I'd like It fine,” said Mary Ann,
blushing; "but I’ve lived all my life
In the South and perhap* th* folks
wouldn't Ilk* me out there."
'Mebbe they would," said Abner,
assuming coolness; and he waited for
the white moon to slip under one of the.
little cloudlets again before he said
any more.
Klpd moon! Jt sailed awhile through
the blue ether, and then hid Its face.
Abner moved hla chair a little nearer
to Mary Ann's, and his voice softened
Into tenderness.
Would you like to go to California
on n bridal tour, Mies Mary Ann?" he
aald tremulously.
"Mebbe I would,” answered Mary
Ann, a bit Independently.
Miss Mary Ann, you ain't a goln' to
throw jne over, are you 7" said Abner,
heartlessly. 'Tve thought of you i
thousand times as a/Wy-of-the-valley.'
At being likened unto a flower Mary
Ann's heart weakened and th* white
moon shining under a cloudlet Just
then gave Abner the opportunity of
clasping her little white hands In hla
He was In the act of stooping to kies
them when, simultaneously, tits'moon
sailed out boldly Into tbe open and
Miss Bsnnl* Pettigrew unlatched the
garden gate. The next day all of
Abbeyvllle knew that Mary Ann Mer
rill was to become Mr*. White..
“She’s Just a-marryln‘ you for tbe
name," said Mis* Bennie next morning
when she met him on the street.
Folks eay she’s craxy aa a hare on
the subject. I ain’t got nothin* against
Mary Ann; she’s as’clever as they’re
made, but she’s some off on that sub
ject."
"I wonder It you sln’t mistaken.” an
swered Abner; but he determined to
wak to Mery Ann on the question of
is name next day.
The mooji was In the same place the
following evening when Abner walked
up tfle garden path. > The same little
cloudlets seemed to be marching
through the sky. Mery Amt’s mother
was sitting on the porch alone, watt
ing to «e him.
•Tm eorry to tell you, Mr. White.”
ehe raid, rising to greet him, "that
3far>’ Ann feels ehe’s made a mistake.
She saye Mis* Bennie Pettigrew has
been telling her that you think she Is
going to marry you for your name.
She saye she could never wed any one
who Is doubtful of her affections."
Abner was much surprised at this
turn In affairs, and he so expressed
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Her eyas were. cast down, and her
long lashes seemed to rest upon her
cheeks. Her complexion was as fair
as alabastsr.
"But, Mias Mary Ann, that would
sound so ridiculous, and the boy*
would all laugh at me," said Abner.
"If you don’t think more of me than
you do of the boys." raid Mery Ann,
her eyes still cast down, "then we had
better part."
"fill*# Mary Ann—"
"Well?”
"I can't give you up."
Mary Ann's hands were held out to
him.
"I don't give you up; I'll do any-
, thing—'■
Before he knew It, Mary Ann's white
cheeks were against hla coat sleeve,
and his hand woe lifted to her lips.
"But It's a secret," ehe said, turning
eyes full of love to hla. “No one is
to know about your taking my name
until the day before the marriage."
Just then Miss Bennie Pettigrew
came up the walk.
For several weeks Mary Ann kept
very busy planning her wedding
clothes. It was to be a green and
white wedding. Abner was a devoted
lover, but he had secret qualms con
cerning the change of name.
The wedding week arrived. Pres
ents galore came pouring In. The wed
ding gown was completed. It was of
white ■ silk. Over tt wae. to drop a
fine tulle veil, which wa* to be ad-;
justed by a spray of lilt** of the val
ley. m The bride was to carry a bouquet
of the seme flowers. Abner's gift was
a white luory prayer book.
The day before the wedding the
prospective bridegroom, with but one
thought to mar bis happiness, dropped
In to eee the prospective bride.
"Are you perfectly willing?" said
Mary Ann, wlnsomely. with her arms
about his neck.
1 wouldn't give you up for the
world, Mury Ana” answered Abner,
"Didn't you know I was only testing
you, dear?” she said softly. “I never
had any Idea of making you change
your name."
And Abner agreed that It was much
better for them to be married In tho
regulation way.
A rumor concerning the matter had
been circulated abroad, but when the
ceremony was performed, and Mary
Ann became Mrs. White, the towns
people decided that the report was
without foundation—It was Just an
other of Bennie Pettigrew's fabrica
tions.
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