The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1869-11-03
DOM PIATT.
Democratic Doctrine from n
Radical.

Democratic Doctrine from n
Radical.
| Extract from his speech on Horticulture,
Tariff Culture and culture generally, be-
fore the Horticultural Society of Ross
county, OHIO, September %
DOES IT PAYl
have said that our American idea Of
country life was in ''he number of bushels
to the acre." and perhaps the reason that
rural felicity Is so unpopular is TO be found
in the fact that it is, after all, hard sort
of life. A man possessed of q vigorous
constitution and q large family Of sons, so
that he has the Iarm work within himself,
may labor like = slave fifteen years to find
that his wealth has come, if he has any,
through the increased Value Of his land,
and not through the products he has sold
We are told that it is an independent sort
of life, and one tending to produce sound
ness of judgment and great honesty OF
purpose. At least in all lectures and speech
es this is the manner in which farmers are
spoken of. I acknowledge the compli-
ment, at the same time know that it is a
dreary sort of stuff. AS q class, the far
uAGIb udhE lCWCA OppOA AOA A-A~--Ae-A5
and l may add, moral improvement, than
any other.
Take our common schools, for example.
In towns and cities they are organized, and
conducted in q way really to be practical.
But in The rural districts, as = general
thing, they are so inefficient as scarcely &c
repay the tax levied to sustain them. The
farmers sons attend these schools only q
~ v-f-far arA fhaTN ~
regularly. As for the summer, q school
mist; ess is employed at miserable salary,
To do little or nothing in the way of edu
cation,
And we have in agricultural addresses
beautiful descriptions of the hours of stud!
and reflection afforded the farmer. LIE
some of these eloquent gentlemen try thu
sort of life, and see what comes of 1t, il
the way of intellectual advancement. 4
long days toll, that began with dayligL
and ended after dark, as vexaiiOns, weari
some and heavy as any a man is called ol
10 perform, will not fit him for night
study. There is not much in the way o
literature that engages the attention al thS
hour.
The New York Tribune, the most popu
lar of ali journals in my neighborhOod
next to the Cincinnati Weekly Times, ha
to be read on Sunday, There are fev
periodicals taken by the farmers, in com
parison to other classes, and you seldom
find books in a country house. l am in
clined 10 believe that the isolation neees
sary to the calling, dulls the intellect. w
have not the advantage of the sharp com
peticn that comes of close intercourse an
rival exertiors that denizens of the town
and cities enjoy.
''rr DON'T PAX"
One reason, probably, why the pursu
is so unpopular, may be lound in one fac
that it is not profitable. The farmer Ink
a rare flower, or q choice fruit. has man
enemies. His helpless, isolated conditio
| invites attack. Indeed, the agriculture
| interest looks to me now like q huge whale
/ half stranded, and while the sharks eat
al one end, the wolves, dogs and hyenI
| gorge themselves at the other. The grea
est enemy is . relic of barbarism calle
/ protection, that is IN full force and effecI
know that in broaching this subject
am treading on delicate ground. In AZ
dresses of this sort the speaker is expecte
| to be neutral in morality, religion and pol
tics, because it is his business to agrS
with all lis audience, and as this agret
ment is not possible, it is the style TO avoi
all the grave questions connected with Il
subject. but is this wisdom2 Does
benefit any claSs3 It has been ADOPTED /
agricultural journals. They are devote
to the farmer aud yet leave out b
main interest. What is it to me that q
taught about soils, seeds, seasons and m
chinGry, if that which underlies them a
and is of the most importance, il omitted
for the objective point of all farming
the market. want to know when CT
sell to the best advantage, and if son
mart is closed to me, want the reasC
given for the arbitrary prohibit on. L
rs then look calmly in the facts, and re
son with each other like intelligent being
said that the system of municipal ls
as against that Of demand and supply, ca
ed the laws of trade, is 4 remnant of bs
barism. Christianity and civilization OF
more to commerce for their spread tn
to the recognized comforts of the one a
the divinity of the other. Merchants VI
sells, driven by these laws into unknoI
seas, brought nations in contact with ca
other, produced competition and secur
interchange of light and recognition
progress. Against this. municipal enat
ment has, from the earliest day, made V
OrOuS war. To The student, curious
such matters, nothing is more INTEREST,"
; than TO trace this extraordinary IegislatiC
From time tO time the artisan at home,
the farmer, has demanded of the law Il
king power that his fellow citizens ST
be forced TO purchase of him his nece:
ties Some of these en2ctments are
| s.aaAtror1rT nr,vA9 Nhara a
at one time law upon the statute DO,
of England, forcing surviving friends {
relatives TO bury their dead in flannel
What would you think of law of CC
gresS, demanding of you, under sew
I penalty, TO bury your dead in blanh
from the mandatory OF SprHgue BrC
ers. And yet with more plausible pt
seo!ogy, the fact is the same.
For example, some three years sine
sought TO erect q monument In Spl
Grove Cemetery. l submitted the des
10 the stone cutter, and asked the cosl
8 The response was, that to build of
cheapest American stone, would cost
two thousand dollars, A friend of u
had few years before erected h2ndsI
monument in Italian marble for eight
dred. inquired into this, and fouI
d law that prohibited my dealing und
heavy penalty with the Italian quarrie
e. Now, wherein does this differ from
d flannel barbarism Why am I force
enrich Messrs. MILESTONE and Chisel,
D, build above my dead perishable ChiC
stone, instead OF getting q cheaper
more durable material from Italy {
answer is, that the general welfare of
p; nation demands that bounties shall be
) certain pursuits, that those engaged in {
" at home may thrive rather than the
eigners abroad occupied in the same
~ ness.
Time was, in The earlier day, VIII
~ was supposed the producer paid tho b
ty. After neSriy three hundred yea
TO Akull pounding, we have arrived as
fact that the consumer pays the bount
Iy The manufacturer of England was