Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-03-31
The Dignity of Labor.

tile ufccuaHlc 0fGS lanSuSuou anu SuHCreQ So
cial degradation. The planter held dominion,
and all other men contributed to make his
position most enyiablean most powerful. His
sons were taught the accomplishments of ah-
cient Persians, when Persia survived in Cyrus,
and, as inhoritors Of patriarchal acres, gave
themselves little concern about the avocations
which are pursued by the sons of toll The
vicissitudcs of life rarely shocked them by
rude assaults and revolutions of sphere They
managed to live and die lords Of the land, and,
living however stintedly, they were seldom
forced into what they deemed menial labor.
All this immunity has passed away in great
degree, whether nAppy or not, we do not pre-
tend to say, but tho fact remains, and upon
this fact we propose to descant. The planters
sons, shoulder to shoulder in the ranks of war
with the sons Of mechanics, learned to know
and appreciate each other, and, with the gen
erous impulses of youth, the social barrier has
been immcasurably weakened by the light of
battle which shone in the eyes of either, aid
the midnight bivouac in which they shared
their canteen op haversack. The arbitrament
of war being against us, old systems having
been uprootcd and destroyed, and desolation
boing wide spread, it has come to pass that
thousands of delicate hands seek unusual la
Dor, and thousands of scholars are glad to earn
q pittance from some Gradgrind that profted
while they bled. Gloriously have these devo-
ted men succumbed to inevitable destiny and
shown themselves worthy.of their proud estate
of yore Profoundly do we honor and rever-
ence this industrious nobility of spirit, Just as
profoundly as we abhor and despise those 9TH
er men who prefer the insect.lifc of loafers to
the hard ordeal Of work. 1t is not the trade,
if it be crcditable, that humiliates the man !;
it is the man that mikes the trade detestable
or honorable Labor is no curse Tt is, theo-
Gods economy, it has become blessing
There is no happiness for the drone, and he
is made to experience this misery always and
>inexorably. a thousand times better is the
man that gains livelihood by honorable labor
in health Of body, mind aud soul; and thous-
and times moro respectable is he than the lazy
creatures who scorn to work, and damn the
miserable negro for the very idlcness they wal
low in themselves. The gmndcst thing III all
the Confederate story lis the a]acrity with
which our best aud bravcst have gone to work
They do not feel disgraced; and they who
fodght under Gardner at Port Hudson are
proud of their old commander as the local re-
porter Of Il New Orleans journal. There is
an undying halo round Professor Lee, and
the old First Corps think none the less Of
James longstreet, Commission Merchant, any
more than the cavalry of the West would shun
N. B. Forrest, hcud Of u soao mill.
The monarchs Of Europe are all taught
trades, and very useful do they sometimes find
them. Crowns and sceptres are uncertain
matters, but substantial trade can never come
amiss. How shall a considerate parent imag-
inc his child lowered by being taught a trade,
when even the Hapsburg and the Bourbon
have found the virtue of such tuition? We
haven superb chance to elevate the mechanic
arts in the South and make them what they
shoull be ever deemed honorable To the
mechanic We owe nearly all the solid prosper
ity Of the country, and that class which pro-
duced a Watt, Stephenson, Brunei, a Wi
mans, and host of benefactors of their race
is more to be regarded than all the desoati6ns
since the food, whether they wear the shaggy
crown of Attlla or the usurped purple of Ma
poleon.
1t would be horculean labor to sum up
the responsibilities attached to the disciples
of the mechanic arts Take, for example, an
engineer. What cargo of precious lives does
he daily hold in his hand what sleepless Wig
lance must he not exhibit-what fertile re-
sources husband 1t is false pride that
seeks to trample these mon; it is the purest
gentility to seek their advancement and respect
their worth. We always foster any improve
ments looking forward to the dignity and
y,roc nf lax ~ 20 I,