Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1859-06-08
The Working Men

This nation owes every thing to her work
ing men. ldlers, men of leisure. or drones
have been an incubus, which must have held
her back and ruined her, but for the power
full intellects, the stalwart arms and the en-
terprise Of her working men. They are the
true nobility of the land, whose wise coun-
sells, untiring industry and indornitable ener-
gy, have pushed he" forward with such giant
strides, among the nations of the earth. In
this classification, weinclude, men ofall work.
whether it be the labor of the intellectual ,r
the physical man. Degradation of position
does not inhere necessarily to either class.
The man who labors with his hands or delyes
and tolls under the pressure Of manual labor.
is as much a man, nay, is as much a gentle
man, other things being equal, as the man
who labors with his mind, closed in from the
burning rays of the sun or sheltered from the
chill winds and rains of mid winter. Both
are working men, and are equals, if they be
men of sound principles and virtuous habits.
or both are equal, if alike degraded by vicious
conduct.
The conventional and irrational rules of So
ciety, unsound as it has become, we know.
make distinctions where there is no Difference;
stamping with honor and position men who
belong to that class of working men, whose
employments are intellectual, and too often
branding with disgrace, those who labor with
their hands apd from ,rboeo lro,- H., .Lo
sweat of toll. But who does not see the in
Justice and the baseness of this? Does the
vocation of a doctor, a lawyer, a merchant
possess any intrinsic excellence per sc, over
the vocation of a mechanic? We think not.
All are essential to the well-being of society
and equally so, yet superior intelligence and
superior wealth, have raised the one, while
the lack of these have depressed the other
Yet really the poor laborer is a more impor-
tant fixture in society in some respects, than
either of the others. His hands feed and
: clothe and provide the conveniences and lux
), uries of life for them. Without him, time
= and means, would be desired of them for the
pursuit Of knowledge or wealth. Indeed, if
there be wealth and intelligence and happi-
ness and prosperity in the land, we owe it to
that class ofmen, who are not too indolent or
too much ashamed to obey the divine command,
to work with their OWE hands.
he Every man should work. His " health
a and virtue and happiness and the good Of so
ciety, demand it. Labor, in no sense, Is de
grading. But there are disabilities connec
It ted with manual labor, which often lead Il
ne degradation and ruin. Men whose lot o.
choice it may be, TO engage in the mechanica
or agricultural persuits, should be placed il
. positions in early life to acquire intelligence
- to receive The bias and bent of a %virtuous ed
~ucation, so as to fit them to take positions i
society, which they can rightfully claim. b,
m cause of their essential Importance to mar
kind. Intelligence and virtue are as preciou
:, in the rude sailor, the blacksmith. the sho,
- maker, the tailor and all other laboring me
as in the more privileged walks Of life an
these should entitle mechanics to positions
err honor and influence, and as high as any othe
living men. Let the working men Of til
NJ. land look to these objects and labor to pr
u mote it,