The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-08-07
LABOR.
Extract from an address aessre'eo oy
w. w. HoLDEN, before the Chamber
LABOR.

LAbOtGs
Extract tsonatan address o1eSScerea oy
w. w. HoLDEN, before the Chamber
kand Agricusturas association, No
oens6er Sd, 1859:
have said. felIow-citizens, that ag-
riculture is the chief pursuit OF man;
vet it is dependent on, and indlssollbly
connected with the mechanic arts. Ihey
exist together, they flourish together,
or they anguish and decline together.
Slight, neglect, injure one, and you IN
lure the other. If the farmer feeds us,
the mechanic clothes us. If the farmer
looks to the soil for support, and for
sustenance for others, he looks to it and
labors in it with the implements which
the mechanic has placed in his hands
Every ship that sails; every fortlhca-
ton that towers along the deep; every
improvement upon our rivers, lakes anu
seas every town and city that adorns
the surface of the world every temple
dedicated to law, art, science, or reLi-
gion; every telegraph wire, annlhliatinS
space every steam-car, uniting the IN
terests and sympathies of distant com
munities every telescope, sweeping
the heavens and bringing other worlds
largely before our vision; every micro
scope, revealing the hidden wonders OF
the world around as; every printed
book, which informs, instructs, delights
and elevates the mind every fabric
and continuance which contributes to
our convenience and comfort, or which
protects us from the heat of summer
or the cold of winter, is the direct re-
suit of mechanical ingenuity, industry
and skill.
Let no man be ashamed of mechani-
cal labor Some of the greatest and
best men that ever graced the earth
with their presence, were mechanlcs.-
The hard hand of toll is infinitely more
honorable than the soft hand Of sloth
and luxury. Rather let the mechanic
be proud of his skill, of his industry,
and of his usefulness to society. Let
him honor his vocation, ana his voca-
ton will honor him. The true test of
merit is in the performance OF duty in
whatsoever situation we may be placed.
Tried 10y this test, the mechanics and
working-men of North Carolina are the
equals of any and all others. Be true,
gentlemen mechanics, to yourselves. to
your country, and to your God. be
true to your State and its interests, as
you always have been, and as your
brother mechanics were before you, who
followed WASHINGTON, the farmer, and
Greene, the blacksmith, and Morgan,
the WAGNER, and Sherman, the shoema-
ker, and Franklin, the printer, in the
war of independence. Remember that
you are now a power in the State; and
that Common Schools and internal i'm
oonofonf1I-
your intelligence, your influence and
your power Remember that labor of
all kinds, rightly appreciated and justly
protected and rewarded, is the happiest
temporal inheritance of mar. Its fruits
are seen every where, benetitting, glad
dening and blessing the earth. Labor,
of whatsoever kind, is the life of the
State. When it prospers, all interests
flourish when it languishes, all inter-
ests decline. Let US, then, cherish, en-
courage and honor it; and let the me-
chanics, whose interests and destinies
are inseparably associated with those of
the farmers, resolve to do their full part
in advancing the prosperity and aug
menting the glory Of our good old State.
"Toil swings the axe, and forests bow;
The seeds break out in radiant bloom;
Rich harvests smile behind the pillow,
And cities cluster round the loom:
Where lettering domes and tapering spires
Adorn the vale and crown the hill,
Stout Labor lights its beacon fires,
And plumes with smoke the forge and mill.
The monarch oak, the woodlands pride,
Whose trunk is scanned with lightning
scars,
Toll launches on the restless tide
And there unrolls the flag of stars:
The engine with its lungs of flame.
And ribs of brass and joints of steel,
From Labor's plastic fingers came
With sobbing valve and whilling wheel
IT'S Labor works the magic press,
And turns the crank in hives of toll,
And beckons angels down to bless
Industrious hands ON sea and soil
Here sun-browned Toll, with shining spade,
Links lake to lake with silver ties,
Strung thick with palaces of trade,
And temples towering to the Skies