The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-03-04
From the Charleston News.
Labor is Honorable.

One Of the Rabbis of the Tai
mud, more than a thousand years
ago, declared that he who teach
es not his son trade is as though
he brought him upa theft: The con-
ditions Of society have changed
much since then but there is still
a deal Of truth and force in this
"ancient saw" sIn the sweat of
thy, face shalt thou eat bread' is
the divine decree and until this
mandate is revoked, man cannot
emancipate himself from labor.
True, with the progress of society,
came the demand for different
kinds of labor. New wants were
developed, and mere muscle soon
became subordinate to brain work.
Talent, skill; industry and frugal.
>ty produced property, and proper
ty asserted it's rights, exempting
it's possessors from the more men
ial offices. This has been and is
the case in every civilized COM
munity. A man is only .emanci-
pated from manual labor, l. if he
has wealth, either amassed or in
herited 2. if he is endowed with
some faculty, or has acquired skill
in some art or science, rendering
his services in THAT hiatt capacity Pc
.culiarly valuable to his fellows,
No man can be said to be exempt
from work because Of his birth or
station. -. ...
Yet, although this doctrine
would seem to lie at the. very
foundation of society in arepublic,
it has never been practically ad-
mitted and, acted upon. to any
great extent anywhere in the
United. States. This is due to
many causes, of which. the abun-
dance and consequent cheapness
of fertile lands, the vast and con-
stantly increasing tide of immi-
grafton, and The institution of sla-
very, have perhaps been, the chief.
For generations, the great bulk Of
the actual labor, in city, town and
country, in clearing. forests, dig
ging bitches, building railroads,
and tilling the soil, has been per-
formed either by European immi-
grants or by negro slaves. Nor is
fhis all. Many ofthe more ardu-
Gus trades and handicrafts have
had to recruit their ranks mainly
from these same two classes OF
our population. Nowhere in the
United States is it common to see
poor. white girls of native birth,
serve in the. capacity of house
maids, They will starve as seams
tresses, or, in their necessity re-
sortsto various questionable avo-
cations in the large cities, rather
! than secure plenty and respecta-
bility in the capacity Of house
! servants. How rarely we find a
native blacksmith, timer, lock
smith, bootmaker, OF even tailor,
No, the genius of the American
generally disdains to stoop to such
pursuits. He prefers to live by
his wits-to 'sget along" without
work; to be a "clerk" a book,
keepe4 a "drummer," over-seer
shop-keeper, a doctor, a lawyer
or, in default Of all these-a ''gen
tleman."
In the days Of slavery this was
practicable. When there was
a certainty that a moiety Of the
population at least was engaged
in the cultivation of the soil, il
was possible for the remainder tc
live as non-producers. But this i:
the case no longer. Society has
undergone radical change. Tt
all intents and purposes we have
been thrown back more than :
century in our civilization, 50 fa1
at least as the demands of intel
lectual labor preponderate owe