The Portage County Democrat. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-08-10
pENc1I1Nes BY LAMp-L1eHr.
Shaving Farmers.

A writer in the Homestead, of June goth:
"Ihere seems to be a notion among some of
our farmers that it is life's mission to do all
the ,cork they can. to literally SLAVE them
seluss from early in the morning till late at
night, besides being meanwhile in a sort Of
.fsrment, internally, because Themselves and
those they employ do not accomplish more
This is the great error of farmers, almost uni
versally, throughout all the free States At
the South, the owners of the land enslave the
negroes ard compel them to do the toiliDg.-
AT the North the owner enslaves himself and
tolls like slave. and frets because he cannot
do more. He forgets, or rather be will not
learn. that slauing toll does not produce
Weolth, or else the unintellectual toilers who
grade the way for iron tracks over mountains.
or cut passages for canals and aequeducts
through hills, would be the wealthy ones. On
the contrary, the intellectual men who DIRECT
and GUIDE the hands and brute force that &C.
complish these great works, are the ones uho
acquire ,Dealth. The same order of intellect
applied to farming would enable the owner to
hire men who are able and willing to do the
slavish toll, who have not the mental ability
to live without-men who must toll and be
directed by others, at least until they learn to
direct themselves. Now it seems to us Just
as preposterous for the owner of farm to
act upon the principle that he must slave him
self in daily toll, and do his own work, he
cause be cannot afford to hire as it would
for the owner of factory to insist that he
must wash and cleanse and card and spin the
wool, and weave and dye and dress the cloth
because by 80 doing so he could save the wa
ges and laborers. In each case both o,oner.
sOould gain ten fold their profit by meue,
touching their o,ou hands to The ,oork, If the,
haze intellect enough TO direct the hands OF
others. There is not only no need of owners
of farms making themselves toiling slaves, bu
it is extreme folly for them to do so; and j
is equally for them to put themselves in fer
ment because they cannot get as much werl
as they desire out of those they hire to d.
Sheir farm labor. Let the owner enlighten hi
own mind, and let the light of that shine upo
his lahors, and both will soon grow bette
satisfied. The ignorant slave spends hours q
toll, and the united strength of four men t
move stick or stone that one man and SC
ence moves in few minutes without au
great expenditure of his own strength Th
oftstory CT the Yankee traveller who locke
over the Mohawk Dutchmau's fence at th
fruitless labors of several men and oxen /
get bowlder out of its bed to haul it ava
o-some other spot merely to get it out of I'll
way, work which he contracted to do aIor
for five dollars and his dinner, and accomplis
before night, is only simple illustration
what po wer intellect has over brute force.-
The Dutch farmer was one of those willir
slaves who work hard and think little. IT.
Yankee was one who thought how ca
it would be dig hole in the soft earth by 4
side of the rock and roll it in, and cover
out of sight with portion of the cart
the surplus being bene6 cial to spread abo
or useful to gil other holes. 1t is the want
thought more than of hands that Greats
much toll, that makes slaves Of men.
thoughtful application of means, within
power of every farmer, without slavish lat
will secure him all the comforts and conve
ences OF home just such home as ev
American farmer should enjoy, but does 7
and give him little surplus to assist his c
dren to commence living in the same way
secure to himself comforts afier the &C,
time Of life is past, as well as provide for
A.
called away from its superintendence or in
lectual management. 1t is q fact deeply
be lamented, that we have many good. v
thy owners of farms all over the country '
actually toll more hours in a year, and en-
the bounties of Providence less than