The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1860-01-20
The Producers of Wealth.

Labor has been defined by Ricardo, NJ
eminent banker, to mean the employ
4 ment Of our force and he affirmed that /
constitutes our real treasure. and oul
only power. Liberty, he says, is the fre,
power of executing our will it is our firs
good, and includes all others. Right.
arise from wants-duties from means
/ Weakness, in all its kinds, Is the source
of all rights, as power is the source of all
duties--and vet how sadly these princ
pies have been overlooked by Legislators
in all past time. The laws of justice EN-.
| phatically declare that labor is the source
of wealth; that industry is the parent Of
riches that il is, therefore, honorable to
be industrious and useful, and dshonor-
able to be idle and useless; that those
who build our houses navigate our ships,
who provide us with all the necessaries,
comforts, and even luxuries of life. are
the most useful. I'D. consequently the
most respectable in the community.
In our present artificial state of society,
this natural order Of things is entirely re-
versed. The idle class is the most re-
spected--those who do nothing but live,
are thought to he the most genteel. Do
not understand by this, that we desire to
sec every man hold a plough, build house
or dig canal; but simply that no man
has a right to be idle. Every man is
bound to labor with the head, or the
hands; no one is so much deserving of
pity as he that does nothing and has
nothing to do. The idler is guilty of q
permanent fraud upon society; he is not
only absolutely good for nothing, but he
is worse than useless. His existence is a
positive evil, inasmuch as he diminishes
the wealth of the country, by diminish
ing the number of producers, and the in
dustrious are compelled to support him
by their toll and fatigue into the bargain.
One of the earliest laws given to man
was, that by the sweat of his brow he
should eat bread. BY what authority has
this law been reversed, or been repealed !?
Industry is the parent of knowledge and
virtue, as we'll as of wealth-why then
should it be deemed disreputable to la
bor? 1dleness is the mother of guilt,
the parent of vice and ruin-why should
it be respected and honored? An en-
inent writer upon Political Economy has
taken the high ground, those who do not
work themselves, have absolutely moth
ing in common with labor, the laws that
govern it, nor with the interests that di-
rect it.
One OF the bcscttng sins OF this money
loving age, one of the most nsidious
dangers that threaten us, is this mock
gentilty which looks upon labor as fit
only for scrfs and bondmen. We seem
to forget that the laborer is Natures no.
Jleman, receiving his patent from the
Deity himself. We db not seem to re.
collect that the pr2udest names in ancient
annals, were those that belonged to the
tillers of the ground. Cicero was not
only an orator, but farmer; Cincinna-
tus left his plough to win less glorious
laurels in the red battlefield. Almost
all the old poets of Rome culogized, in
cxulting strains, the pleasures of agri
culture. The good and the great, in all
ages, have been delighted to enjoy an op
portunity of quitting the dust and tur
moil Of smoky city, and to send out
their hearts rejoicing among the greer
leaves.
In modern Europe the possession o
land is the highest aim Of the privileged
orders, and is considered one of the test:
of true gentility. But in many parts o
this country, how painfully sad is the re
verse The rich mans son must be made
a gcntieman-that is, an idler, because la
Dor is thought to be undignified. So he
becomes third or fourth rate lawyer
without practice, doctor without pa
tients, or minister without n parish
Our men of wealth but too frequently
seem to prefer that their sons should
grow up in idleness, or enter some one o
the already over-crowded professions
rather than they should become farmers
or master mechanics. 1t is melanchol,
infatuation, as pernicous as it is false anc
unfounded. 1t is species of madness
and folly, which, if not checked, vii
sooner or later cover our land with des
olaton. Without wholesome reform il
public opinion in this respect, the hard,
virtue, which alone can preserve our hal
lowed institutions from decay and cor
ruption, will have passed away forever.
What other pursuits offer surer guar
antee of an honest and honorable indie
pendence than those of the farmer an,
mechanic? Where else can we ,ool
with more confidence for safety of in
vestment and ample returns? In com
mercial speculations all is chance and un
the learned professions how few ther
are who much more than meet their in
cidental expenses! How are we, then
to account for this fatal misdirection @
public opinion!
How TO PREVENT SORE SHOULDERS I
WORK HoRsEs,-The Boston Journal says
"The plan we have tried, and never foun
it to fail, is to get piece of leather an
cut it INTO such shape as to lie snugl
between the shoulders of the horse an
the collars. This fends off all the friction