Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-05-08
From the Columns Enquirer
JESS so! JESS SO!"


'It's mighty hard times, IteU you,'
We took short walk yesterday, and
this was the salutation we heard one
man give another. The speaker was a
tall man, in his shirt shirt sleeves and
slonched hat, and he stood holding
In his strong hand a rope attached TO
the horns of stunted Juvenile steer,
that, with Its consumptive little COM
panion, looked as if the rope were
superduous; for there was nothing
more foreign to their thoughts or
spirits than running away. The little
shambllng wagon to which the attenu-
ated cattle We're hitched groaned in
its oilless joints under nine sticks OF
green wood, unsplit because too thin.
The wood looked like English hop
poles, and the man who vowed the
times were hard could have carried
the load easily. In TIE back part of
the wagon, secured by strap, was a
glazed earthen jug with a corn cob
stopper supplemented by piece of
red rag. We did not wait to hear
more of the stale platitude, but went
on the sight of such teams, such
loads, such men and such statements
have become too common to excite
comment. Late In the afternoon we
saw the team again, going home through
the mud, rain and Increasing darkness.
The driver had the glazed jug under
his head, as he lay On the two planks
that formed the wagons bed. We do
not know what the Jug contained, but
whatever 1t was the man had given all
the contents he could, an inside pass
age. The little steers had yisibly
shrunken since morning, looking, poor
things, as If they were gradually wash
ing away, and longing for the job to
be over. This man was not a type of
the yeomanry of this land. Untortu-
nately. 1t has no class corresponding
to the -eomGn. He was poor, ignor-
ant white man, with wife and large
family, no doubt, and he lives in a
wretched one-roomcd cabin, on a piece
of water-washed land, unknown and
uncared for, with no impulse, and no
aid to rise to nobler life. "Hard
Times p Who are making them {?
The poor wife, with her little ones hud-
died about her last night, knew what
brought ''hard times to her wretched
abode, when the famisLed brutes
stopped, with hanging tongue, in the
darkness, and she heard the oaths of
the greater brnte as he staggered in
with the glazed jug in his hand.
Hard times ~ says the man who
| never did a stroke of earnest, honest
work to make them better. "Hard
times J" says the young man, too proud
to labor with the white hands which
he folds as he waits for chance to give
him an easy job. lizard times :" SAYS
the planter, as he begs the merchant
to give him time for the food he needs.
and paying 80 OF 100 per cent for his
advances, he goes back over barbarous
roads to an uncomfortable home to bet
his remaining time and credit on that
game of characterization. Hard time:.'
cries the merchant RS notes fail due
and not one dollar OF tie thousands
owing him comes III to meet them.
Yes the times are hard and tie cause.
lies at our own door Our merchants
are the slaves Of New York, and our
farmers the vassais of the merchants.
There is too little earnest, manly ef-
fort, too many OF heavens blessings to
Incl to persistent labor SIX months
from now Will ted the story, and the
farmer who from neglect Is forced then
to buy his food, deserves ali the hard
times it will be possible to iniiict.