Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE ANNUAL MIRACLE. The Beautiful Story of the Coming of Spring, And Its Meaning. A. B. Williams in Richmond News Leader. The annual miracle is developing. The earliest spring flowers are in bloom. The delicate perfume of the violet and the jonquil are in the air. Just beneath the surface of the earth the others are ready, waiting eagerly for the time when they may put aside the thin partition between them and the light and - spread their varied forms of beauty before the sun which has brought them life through in finite distance. The trees, like virgin brides, timidly conscious of their own beauty. begin to' deck themselves in their summer garments and show us a pale. lovely suggestion of the green :hat will be so vivid and luxuriant in JTune. We have more light than dark ness now. the sunshine is with us innger than the night shadows. Pres ently we shall have the sweet, slow evenings and gently hovering twilight of the late spring and summer. All these things seemed very far away a month or two ago, while the bitterl cold.,the long. black nights* in~d tfie -gloomy days of winter were upon-us. The story of the coming of the spring is familiar and the meaning of it should be written in our hearts to keep alive hope and faith and good cheer. Many of us have needed them, many of us do need them, all of us shall need them in the days to come. All of us have known. know or must know times of fear and gloom when deliverance seems far away and happiness impossible. Individuals and families endure years of it-years of poverty, humiliation, anguish and bitterness or many kinds. Willing and faithful labor brings no reward' but daily renewal of the struggle for the bare and scanty needs of life. Other willing hands are denied even the ogportunity to labor. The mis take of a moment of weakness, of yielding or over-confidence bring trains of disaster apparently endless. Sins hastily done and repented in misery bring consequences which seem blacker and heavier and harder to bear as years go by. We go down until we think we have reached the bottom of distress and the limit of desolation. and shudder to discover yet lower depths awaiting us; and our very souls within us cry out against the anguish and the darkness, some times the horrible degradation, often the laceration of our sensibilities Even when our little harmless vanities -and with what pathetic fondness we cling to them!-have been torn from us by hard and remorseless circum stances, our poor remnants of pride are bruised and tortued pitilessly. We ponder desperately within ourselves whether there is any limit to our pun ishment for sin or error, for neglect or misuse of opportunity, whether what ~we have done or left undone may never be expiated by suffering. None of us is exempt. Sorrow and h,. and pain, the wretchedness so closely akin to uitter despair that the div:ding line is lost, come to all men and women, the rich and poor, proud and humble. strong and weak, good and bad, young and old. Black disas ter falls suddenly, like a pall from clo udless skies and hides from us the glory, the light and the beauty of the world. leaving us to deal with the squ:alor, the gloom and the hardness of :t. Ruin creeps upon us like an in visible, destroying niend of the air. Our dearest, fondest, most confident hopes die in the darkness of the night, the morning does not come and the merciful oblivion of sleep is denied us. Dreary days and weary nights follow each other in bleak procession and, looking ahead, we see no rescue nor prospect, Yet every year the springtime comes. bright and fragrant. balmy and beautiful, and the long summer days of sunshine, rustling leaves and abundant roses follow. "There's a *good time coming boys; wait a little longer." used to be a popular song, and it is a personal exhortation for each of us, the profound philosophy of life --and oi death-the war cry of the stout, true heart battling gallantly *against adversity and dalling to the . coldest, blackest and gloomiest win ter day the rbightness and the glory of the spring. In the very darkest and worst days. wait and strive and hope and believe. That is The teaching of the spring. We cannot see its pro cess. *The niassive planers swinging' :i:.;thei.r vast orbits and avenues through space are working for the 1-luil ee planter1 in the ground or thrown there by the winds or cast byl the blighting frosts of October. None of us knows what mighty, unseen, far-: off forces are working for us. As dis aster and ruin, sorrow and destruction I of hopes come from the clouds and the air, unheralded, sudden and in visible, so may new hope and blessing and comfort and peaceful, sunny days and happy nights come. It never is too late. The winter may be long, but spring and summer come. None of us fall too low, no man and no wo man. The seed or root buried and -trampled in the ground, part of the mud, hid beneath the snow these five. six, eight twelve months, will wave triumphantly beautiful to the gentle melody of April breezes and showers. The trees from which the last leaves were rudely torn. leaving them gaunt and tossing skeletons, will be clad gloriously with foliage. In every community in this land we have men fighting manfully but desperately day by day to keep the wolf' fro;n the door: old and broken men sadly con fessing themselves as failures, some ai tliem even seeking iTuge in the almshouses, where -.they air their. quarrels with the world and mburn-1 iully call thC roll 'of theirninfiortvnes; outcast men w-ho have:aiade them selves enemies of organized . society and the "law; tired. discouraged, and h'eartsicc Women who - have striven honestly and apparently in vain: wo men who-try to hide behind paint and, gaudy raiment and bought smiles the protests of their womanhood and the yearnings of their souls for homage and decency, and the respect that was theirs by right, until it was forfeited. For all these. miserable. there is hope because history tells us. as the spring tells us. that from all these classes have blossomed some of the flowers and beauties and glories of human ity. All of these have claim upon and appeal to those of us who are more fortunate-not always because we de serve to be: frequently because we happen to be so. And the world is full of good. There is help always for those who will summon the strength to seek and try to deserve it. There is hope always for those who will hold it and with honest heart and earnest purpose look for it. The spring and the good time will come for those who will faithfully believe in them and will borrow and welcome and cherish their warmth and sunshine. There is an old, sweet hope, an humble yet aspiring and triumphant faith, that has gladdened many hard lives, lighted many stricken hearts in all the generations through these many long centuries. It may live when even at the end we sadly con fess-as most of us must-that we have failed: that our dearest and most ten-derly cherished wishes have been disappointed, that what we longed for most has been denied to us, what we loved must have been lost. It is the hope and faith that however grievous our sins may have been, however, we have failed and lost, however bitter may have been our disappointments. disillusions and sorrows, death itself, by infinite mer cy. may mark the coming of the ring, may be the wooing by mighty and distant power of the poor seed to bloom into beauty and loveliness through endless tranquil days in in. effable light increasing. LATIMER TALKS PARKER. Says He is a Winner-Talks Confi dently of His Good Roads Bill. A dispatch from Gaffney to the Co lumbia State says that Senator A. C. Latimer stopped over in Gaffney for a few hours to visit Capt. Ross' tin mine. He was on his way back 'to t his home. Senator Latimer is of the opinion that Parker will be the democratic nominee for the presidency. It all depends on what New York state oes. At one time Gorman had the lead, but Parker is growing in popu larity every day. One of the planks n the platform will be the good roads ovement in some form or another. Ihat question is attracting more at entiog than any other at this time. On 'May.i and 4 Senator Latimer will be in Springfield. II., to address a. good roads convention, and from May 5 to 21 he will be at the National Good Roads convention in St. Louis. The senator does not think that the attempt to boom Gen. Miles for, the presidency will- amount to any-i thing. The senator is very enthusiastic over his good roads measure and says that if this had not been a presiden ia yea the bill would have been re-, ported at this session of congress alLd would have passed, in his opinion. Since the hill has been introduced it has grown more and more in favor till now there is very little likelihood of its not passing. There has been no measure introduced in congress since the war that has grown more in favor. There is now a majority of one in favor of it on the committee, but the republicans would rather that the measure go over. Its report now would embarrass some of them at home. He savs that one clause in the bill will provide that no city oi over 20, ooo will be counted in prorating the funds, which will be given to the states according to population. This provision will put the thinly popula ted states on a par with the thickly populated states of the north and east. He seems to think that South Car olina will get her proportion without increasing taxes one penny. His ar gument is about this: There are now 2oo.ooo men in South Carolina subject to road duty for four days. By mak ing the commutation tax $i.oo a day instead of just $i.oo, that will give the state credit for $8oo,ooo; there are 0oo convicts on the roads whose work can be valued at $i.oo a day, which will make $i5o,ooo: we have inules and road scrapes to the value of Sioo.ooo; the one mill tax will raise S2oo.ooo more, while the state will be given credit for what it spends on bridges. He thinks that this state can count on getting from $i.ooo,ooo to $i,5oo.ooo from the national gov ernment without increasing local taxes. Letter to J. M. West, Newberry, S. C. Dear Sir: There are two sorts of furniture. You know both: for you sell 'em both. One sort looks better than it is, and the other is better than it looks. There isn't any other sort. The same. two sorts of paint, no more: and we make 'em both-we make tons of stuff that isn't worth its freight. Belongs to the business have to. Belongs to your business you have to. But this is aside. We put into cans, with our name on the very best paint there is in the world: Devoe lead and-zinc. It takes fewer gallons than mixed paints, and it wears twice as long as lead-and-oil. Mr. C. 0. Brown, Columbia, S. C., painted his house with Devoe lead and-zinc. The painter, on seeing the quanity sent to the house, said there wasn't enough. There were ten gal lons left. when the job was done. Your truly 65 F. XV. Devoe & Co. P. S. The Newberry Hardware Co. sells our paint. We have in stock a full line of Har ness, Plantation Gears, Saddles, etc. When in need call on us, can supply your wants at reasonable prices. Sole agents in Columbia for the cele brated. WHITMAN SADDLES. he best on earth. Try them. DAVIS & CO. 1517 Main St. Columbia. BRICK FOR SALE very Cheap. Apply to GEO. W. SUMMER, Mollohon Mill. CEREALITE. Don't forget to top, dress your grain with Cerealite. Now is thej time to use it to obtain best results, will double1 yield. We also carry in stock all grades of! Guano and Acid, also Kairit, Potash, Nitrate of Soda, etc. SUMMER BROS. HAIR & HAVIRD,J + The Right Price Store. * The past two weeks Business in Mil-* linery at our store, proves that we have* . the Right Styles, The Right Goods and they* are Priced Right. We will sell you your$ Millinery at a Saving Price of a Good Pair of Slippers or Shoes: for anyone of your family. Come to the 2 Place Where You Get Them Priced Right, I HAIR & HAVIRDI + The Right Price Store. HAVE YOU GOT A KEY? Do You Need A Pair of Shoes? IF SO APPLY TO 0. KLETTNER. W11Iskey --moahilne CIHZBt! All Dm%lad i0baco Habit, iartt HaIt 5 cured by Keeley Institute of South Carolina 1529 Lady St. (or P. 0. Box 75,) Columbia, S. C. Confidential correspondende solicited. Southeastern Lime & Cement Co. CHARLESTON, S. C. Building Material of all kinds. High Grade Roofing "RU BEROID." Write for prices. Lime, - Cement, - Plaster, Terra Cotta Pipe, Roofing Paper. Car Lots, Sma~I Lots. Write, arolina Portland Cement Co., - - Charleston, S.C. An Unlimited Nunder of Free Trips to the St. Louis Exposition, with Money for 17 -- THE STATE is offering a'free trip to the St. Louis Ex1a.a : ny one who wvill send it a number of new paid-in-advi'xe su The first offer is a first-class ticket to St. Louis and return x'!1 S! cash for 16 new annual paid-in-advance subscriptions. T wo rix ma~ ~ubscriptions. or four three months subscriptions will be received 3s nnual subscription. If 26 new annual paid-in-advance su's'rinti are sent in. the round trip ticket and $20 in cash are given. and if thir..y six new annual paid-in-advance subscriptions be sent in. the free ticke'f nd S4o in cash are given. The offer is to every one. and wvery: o: omplyn)ing with the conditions will be given a free trip to St. Lou:s a:v'! ,he cash according to the offer. To those who try, but fail to get enough subscriptions to win the free~ trip. but get as many as 10 new annual paid-in-advance subscr:pianN. cash prize of Sio will be given. lesi<ies these free trip)s THE STATE offers to send the two most nuar ministers and the two most popular school teachers in ~lir. to~ tihe exposition. giving each of them a first-class round! tr :2 et~A to St. Louis and S4o for expenses. WVho are the most para i i:::d school teachers is to be decided by issuing certificates 3 p:d X-i,-:oivance subscriptions sent to THE STATE. TIl EK T'ATE is also offering free trips to St. Louis to the R. F. D. d Star route carriers. Fuller details may be had of these ofters by writing to the Exposition Department of THE STATE, Columb:a.