Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1853-10-19
lions of capital as surplus for the future

the various and almost countless elements
which have contributed to the present enviable
condition of the inhabitants of the Western
Reserve, the abundance and cheapness of the
substantial comforts of life, which they so en-
inently enjoy For in the words of Mr.. LOCKE
at is not only the plowman's pains, the reap
ers and the threshers toll, the bakers sweat
that are to be accounted in the bread we eat;
the labor of those who broke the oxen who
digged and worked the iron and stones, who
felled and framed the timber employed about
the plough, mill, oven, or any other requisite
utensils, from the time the seed is sown till the
bread is made, must all be charged to the ac-
count of labor. It would be strange cata-
logue OF things (he adds) that industry employ
ed and made use of about every loaf of bread
before It comes to our use, if we could trace
them: iron wood, leather, bark, timber stone,
bricks, coal, lime cloth, dying drugs, pitch tar,
masts, ropes and all the materials made use of
in the ships that brought away the commodi-
ties made use of by any of the workmen in any
part of the work; all which it would be almost
impossible at least, too long to reckon up"
Labor, therefore, being the only true source
Of a0ealth, it will no longer be denied that in
dustrtdI economy, under the protection of a
liberal government, has thus, in few years,
transformed Northern Ohio from waste howl
ing wilderness, into fruitful fields and gardens
made her the seat of prodigious enterprise,
the storehouse of inexhaustible collective
wealth, and given her proud eminence in the
eyes of the world
Every thing, therefore, that has a tendency
to facilitate labor and to render it more pow
erful and efficient, or reduce the price of COM
modities so as to bring them within the reach
of all, adds proportionably to the means of OBJ
tanning wealth and riches, and consequently
must be of prime Importance to every member
of this society and of the commonwealth
Every new improvement in machinery, every
additional resource from the vegetable, animal,
or mineral kingdom, should therefore be hailed
with enthusiasm, and be made at once to con-
tribute its aid to the advancement of society.
Notwithstanding the people in this section
of Ohio have made astonishing progress for the
last fifty years. and at this time exhibit grea-
ter show Of wealth and substantial independ-
ence than any equal promscuous population
on the face of the globe; still it cannot be sup
posed that they have arrived at the summit of
improvement, or that they will be content to
remain in their present condition.
Progress is now more than ever the law of
humanity; and there certainly exists no reason
why human ingenuity should not improve as
much hereafter on the present, as the present
has already improved upon the past. Indeed,
for the next fifty years we are to look for far
greater improvements than the world has ever
seen. The time has now come, especially in
the United States, when every improvement,
however slight, goes at once to aid in the pro-
duction and distribution of wealth, while at
the same time it diffuses abroad the light Of
civilization. The time has now arrived when,
it is the interest of every member of the COM
munity that all the intellect, science and prac-
tieaI kno,cledge of man, should be brought to
bear upon the economical well being of society.
This happy union of mental and corporeal
labor will create an irresistible power, which
as it goes on increasing, will cause exclusive
selfshness to fade away, and the whole commu-
nifty, like one great family, to be firmly united
by the bands of peace, industry, mutual inter-
est, and common hopes. Then will knowledge
flow apace, human skill triumph over every OBJ
stacle, INSTRUMENTATION become permanent
and perfect, so that the isolation of families
will be no longer probable; geographical dis
tance be measured by brief intervals of time,
and wealth and power be proportionally in
creased.
By the ul1tiring efforts of this and similar So
cieties, the way is now open, SO that all may
take part in this sublime march of social pro-
gress; and to hasten on the results of this most
brilliant consumation, let every individual lend
his aid to the immediate advancement and per-
fection of the great business Of Agriculture.
That business that was pre-eminently ordained
as mans occupation at the time he was crea-
ted; that business which involves almost un-
numbered millions of fixed capital and many
millions of the human family in its daily pro-
secution-the parent of commerce and the arts;
which in all ages and nations has been, and must
be the foundation and top-stone in the broad
temple of civilization, without which the world
would be desert, and with which, the earth,
instead of being blighted with curse may be
made to glow in all the verdure and fruitful
ness of primeval Paradise.
It is true that by " mans first disobedience'
and curse was placed upon the ground. A
curse was also laid upon Cain for killing his
brother. But let it be remembered that there
mever was a curse laid upon agricultural labor;
and the idea that Adam would have spent a
long life on earth in Incidence or without la
bor provided he had not snews, is one full of
obcurditu Was bn not eminentlv formed for
labor and action with bone, sinews, joints and
muscles? Was he not commanded to replen-
ish the earth and subdue it? Was he not put