The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-02-14
The Agricultural Guerilla,

Ny neighbor, Sam. Simpson, has sold ont
and is going West There has been a plain.
| honest, industrious German-Hans Leiben-
stein-hsnging around Simpson for some
! time trying to purchase his farm. At last
Hans got it. Simpson thinks he sold it at
= bargain. Doubtless Hans thinks he got
! it at a bargain. l had an GRAND down TO
| Simpson the other night. l had not heard
| that he had sold his farm but upon my
entrance into the house, l saw by the look
! on the faces of the family that some unusu-
| al excitement was anirnating them.
Wen, Crumple, you're going to lose me
/ for neighber," was Simpsons first words
after had got settled i'll the splint- bottom
ed chair his daughter Sally handed me
and the whole Simpson family looked at
me as if they expected 1 would jump out
of that chair on account of the news, with
a suddenness and force only equaled by an
! explosion of nitro glycerine undor me-
| But / did not. l simply asked, 'How's
that?' ''I've sold" ''Sold what P" ''The
! farm" '"To whom Hans" That was
! the whole story. l didn't need further eI
planation but Simpson proceeded to say
you see the old farm is completely run
| out. | can't make the two ends meet the
| best of years. I've got tired of tumbling
around the stones, and I'm going where
I there's some virgin soil that will produce
something. So l struck up trade with
| Hans. He has been after it, off and on, for
! = year or more. I wanted $40 per acre for
| the old place. He offered me S23. Final
! ly he offered me $50; and after considering
| the subject told him l would take it, if
| he would pay me cash down. Hadn't t any
idea he would do If, but he said if would
throw in the stock and farm implements
he thought he could raise the money
finally told him l would and what do you
think, sir He hauled out Of his greasy
old pants pocket 81, 900 bill and handed
I ffNr 70 ind h. h1rS nd gai1
soon as the papers were receiptcd he'd pay
mo tie balance, which he has done to-day.
feel kind O sorry to part with the old
place, but the thing is done, and there's
| an end on it What dye think?'
All this time my Crumple nature had
been rising within me like an inspiration.
Here was this man Simpson who inherited
this farm, one of the finest in the neighbor-
hood, who had skinned it without scruple
until it would scarcely raise white beans
under his system oftreatment. And he had
got to leave, or mortgage the farm of his
ancestors to live on
Then here was Hans, who came into the
neighborhood with his lot of little ones and
his frau five years before, with only his and
his frau's strong and willing hands, econo-
my and industry. They had rented a worn
out farm which they had finally purchased
and paid for. and had saved So, 600 with
which to pay for Simpsons 100 acres. So,
III answer 10 - w nat u S6 lllHh WIS
ready to respond; and did it in this wise.
.'What do l think? I'm glad you're
going, neighbor Simpson ! Pm glad Hans
has got the farm. He deserves the farm
you don't. He has got brains and indus
try you haven't got either. Under your
management the farm is a disgrace to the
neighborhood. Hans will make it credit
Your farm lying next to mine, depreciates
the value of my land 10 per cent. 1 shall
be the richer for your going. l am glad
you are going"
You should have seen Simpsons and his
family faces. They grew cloudy and long.
Simpson said
You're pretty rough on an old neigh
Dor, Crumple, now that hos going. Itho't
you and l had always been friends. I've
tried to be good and accommodating neigh
Dor. You've been good one to me, and
1 NJ sorry to leave you but if you are glad
I'm going, I'm not sorry either"
Simpson, l said 'let understand
each other. AS aneighbor, so far as neigh
borly intercourse is concerned, I've no
fault to find, and am sorry you are going.
In talking about you as farmer-you are
and have always been apoOr one. No man
with such a farm as yours ought to want
| to sell-at least there ought to be no neces-
sity for selling. But you are not a farmer.
You haven't got a single quality essential
| to make good farmer. In the first place.
1
any pride or interest in it you don't care
dn Or not f YOU 1aTd Want tt Get ali you can of IT
without taking the trouble to pay anything
back yoa skin it year after year, and cry
out against the seasons you denounce
every man you deal with as a sharper or
swindler because you do not get the price
for your products other people do; and yet
you do not seem to know that the reason IS
that your products are poor in quality and
] aIa alNnY
stock has been running down ever since
your father died you haven't built new
! fence and scarcely repaired an old one
your manure has not been hauled out and
iudiciousy used on the farm your pigs
have bothered your neighbors more than
they have benefited you your cattle have
bscome breachy and l have had to shut
them up in my stables in order to keep them
ont of my grain; you have distributed from
your fence corners more weeds than any
farmer / know of, and thus given your tidy
neiChbors more trouble than your favors
to them would compensate. In short, it is
time for you to move.
'"You ought to have virgin farm 1t
will take you but few years to strip it of
its fertility; then you'll have to move again,
and keep moving. You belong to very
large class of farmers who are a curse to
any country The fact is you are not, new
er was and never will be a farmer, III the
right sense of that word. You are only
guerilla You live by robbory-rObbery OF
the soil. And it is not right, nelghDor
Simpson! You had better seek some other
vocation now that you've got the cash to
start with. You like horses; you know
horses ; you can talk horse from daylight
till dark you can't be fooled with horses
YOU like to trade horses, you had better go
into some smart town and start livery sta
ble. You'll make at it you'll never make
any money farming you'll grow poorer
and poorer the longer you attempt it.
SEEK THE SUN.-Sleepless people--and
there are many in America-should court