The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-02-19


We wish to say word to the farmers.
The impending clouds of national debt
and taxation which. hang over the country
can only be dispelled by the practice and
effects of labor and economy. The ire
sistihle and gigantic accumulation of our
national indebtedness, by the most compe-
tent and soundest estimates, must, before
this war is closed, swallow up at least one
fourth of the assessed value of all the
property of the country. In other words,
it will be the same in effect as the annihi-
lation of One-fourth of the wealth Of the
nation. So that the farmer may feel that
he is Just one-fourth poorer than the esti-
mated value of his lands, implements and
stock-the merchant that he has lost one
fourth of his invested capital, and all
classes that they are impoverished in an
equal degree.
These results are so much in allegiance
that it will be difficult to illustrate or i'm
press them, because financial calamity
of such extent is without precedent in our
national experience Yet the soundest
and most far-sighted public economists
pronounce these results to be inevitable.
We say, then, to the agriculturalists OF
our State, that they, in common with the
rest, must consider themselves indebted
and their possessions incumbered, to an
extent that would be alarming if the re-
suit alone of private selt-imposition. Adj
ded to this, they must consider, also, that
one-third of the bone and muscle which
titled the soil and harvested its products,
has been taken away aud devoted to the
service of the country. These two con
siderations unite in making it the duty
and interest of the farmer to adopt the
only remedy his condition affords. That
remedy is to redouble his efforts, enlarge
his fields, and take for his motto the
heading of this article.
We know that it appears anomalous
to propose an Increase OF labor and pro-
ducts as a compensation tor the want OF
hands to perform and produce them. But
it must be remembered that unfortunately
for the character of the agriculturalists OF
Minnesota it can be truly said that their
occupation in many cases is little better
than "patcl work" To be sure there
are hundreds of farms in the State con.
Quoted on grand and highly profitable
scale, to viii h, If course, the above allu-
sion cannot apply; but we refer to that
tented themselves tho often with holding
hundred AMI sky acres Of land, strip
ping it of its i b,r and living upon the
proceeds, together with their expectations
of rise in the price of real estate aud the
products of a poorly titled half acre corn
an / POI atoe patch. 1t will not be difficult
tor any Of our readers to call to mind
many instances of this kind of farming.
Heretofore they have made sort OF
plausible eXcus. for the sipshOd character
of their occupation, in the alleged made
quacy of price for cir products. 1t has
Oten been asserted that the price of labor
has always been too hi-h to justify the
pur.uit of farming in Minnesota, for any
other purpose tlltn the supply of the ne.
cessary victual' Tor the farmers own fam.
ily. So soon however, as crops of any
sort were intended for market, they either
refused to grow or help could not be oh
tanned to reap the harry st; and these so
called farmers have consOled tliemselve
with the pretence that it was more profit
able to idle or lounge about in town, or
home, half the time, than to sow or dlI
for the inexhausti0.e wealth vi agriculture
There has also been large class OF Ob
jectors who have spent more time IN urg
ing their theories against the capablllty
Minnesota tu produce Gel tain grains, thai
they have devoted to labor to pioduc
them. ke .sr
| But time has proved the alleged agri
cultural capabilities of our State and thi
calamitous war, either as the real or as