Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-07-02

see golden pumpkins squashes and mel
ons rising from those dark heaps of filth
which we term manure, while the bursting
buds and blossoms of fruit trees give
promise of many feast before the season
closes or the year is gone, There is plenty
of hard work to be done before all these
things are secured, but the man who looks
upon the dark side only and takes no
pleasure in his business is certainly unfor-
tuRate. The successful man, with scarce
ly aD exception, is the one who puts his
whole soul and energies into the work
which he has in hand. No matter whether
he is a lawyer merchant, minister or
farmer, his success in great measure de
ponds upon the pleasure he takes in his
business or profession.
T There is no royal road to wealth or to
fame in this country; all depends upon a
mans industry and careful attention to
whatever he has in hand. There are no
| laws Or customs which exclude any one
from pleasant occupations; therefore,
every man is free to choose for himself,
and success or failure depends more upon
the capacity Of the individual than upon
circumstances.
AS regards the words success and failure,
we do not consider them as synonymous
with wealth or poverty; for man may be
eminently successful and at the same time
be extremely poor, and 0ace versa. Some
of the most noted men that ever lived and
those who enjoyed the most pleasure
through life were always poor in purse.
We are far from wishing to deprecate the
love or desire to accumulate wealth, but
we do protest against considering it the
chief promoter Of happiness. This is the
Io1,
farmers who think they have, and indeed
do have hard lot in life, mainly because
the pleasures which might be enjoyed to-
day are put off to some unknown time in
the future.
has probably much to do with their I'M
happiness. The farmer purchases more
land than he can either cultivate with
profit or pay for, even if there are no fail
ures in his crops. The idea that cash capital
is required to work farm with profit, even
| after it is paid for, seldom enters into the
| calculation Of our farmers. If man has
a thousand dollars, or ten thousand, and
desires to purchase farm with it, he ex
ponds the entire amount in land, reserving
nothing for working capital This is
about on par with man who would in
vest all his capital in paying rent in adj
vance on store, and have nothing left
with which to purchase goods. More
than one-half Of the farmers in the West
ern States are at this time heavily in debt,
and why? Simply because they have in
vested too much in land They have done
and are doing just what the gamblers in
stocks are doing every day-betting on a
rise or fall, and putting up small margin
to enable them to control a certain amount
fN10 o<lyfr,Jy O1oo
certain in any business liable to be affected
by the fluctuations of markets, whether
the articles to be sold are stocks or farm
produce. But if man owns all that he
has in his possession, the rise or fall in
prices seldom brings disastrous results.
Now, the farmer who is in debt must
get out: better sell one-half or twO-thirds
OF his farm and have the remainder clear
of all incumbrance, than continue this
gambling system of betting On the weather
and future price of grain. Reduce ex-
penses by cutting off interest on mort
cages, labor and implements required to
raise crops the price of which is an un-
certainty, and then commence putting
what is left in order, taking pleasure in
the abundance of good things which sur
rounds us. Let quality become the stan
dard instead of quantity Keep none but
the best OF animals and give them the
best of care, SO that it will be pleasure
to see them grow, work or yield the natu-
raj product of the food consumed In
stead Of raising ten bushels of corn per
acre, make each acre yield one hundred,
and pursue the same system with all
crops, thereby doing away with the neces-
sity of large farms, especially for men with
little capital. Follow this line until you
reach the fruit and vegetable garden, not
forgetting the flowers, which are the I'M
mistakable signs of refinement in every
home which they surround III
This is no fanciful sketch of impossible
tiles, but plain, practical truth, which it
would be well for every farmer who is
embarrassed financially and finds no pleas
ure in his occupation to heed, and the
sooner he begins to put these hints in
practice the quicker will he be able to en-
joy his possession, whether great or small