The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1874-10-15

common labor has proved 4 sad drawback OH
our general prosperity. 1t is high time that
new departure was taken in the matter. The
old and peculiar institution, which did go much
injury to the South by degrading. labor, las
Lecn swept away, and with it should 60 all Its
demolalizing accessories. We cannot all fill
high professional positions, nor can we all find
profitable employment as politicians. Coming
down to plain matters of fact, more Of US must
earn our bread by the sweat of our brows. Our
section will be far better off when it learns to
appreciate the value of the working mechanic
and when it esteelns that the entry Of the
youth of the land upon this course Of life is in
the highest degree worthy and honorable"
| There is rs much practical common sense in
Z: the above extract, which is taken from the
New Orleans Times, as can readily find
expression in so many words. Until the peo-
pie OF the South recognize the fact that it Is
their business to put their shoulders to the
wheel instead of their neighbors, we may ex-
pect to blunder along in poverty and be forever
dependent upon other sections for subsistence.
Dr. Engel, Director OF the Prussian Sbatjsti-
cal Bureau, estimates the average net value OF
every manual laborer, man or woman, at
seven hundred and fifty thalers, about six-hun-
dred and fifty dollars, and says.that every emf
grant that leaves Germany is clear loss to the
government Of that amount. In this country
where the field Of operation is so much more
extensive, we may safely compute the net
value of every manual laborer at double that
amount. or about thirteen hundred dollars.
Now when we consider the subject from the
point of view OF political economy, we can form
some idea Of the millions of dollars that the
government annually loses through the misel-
able drones that infect every portion of tie
United States and particularly the South. 1t
the men of this section would devote one half
of the time consumed i'll attending politics
meetings, haranguing their neighbours, and
finding fault with the government, to some
good honest labor, there would be less calls fe r
federal troops and better feeling between all
classes.
If the people of Louisiana had gone manful,y
to work instead of wasting their time and
money on White Leagues, and the like, after
the courts had decided that Kellog was gov
|
PROSTATE, but might have taken its old stand
in progress and prosperity.
! Almost decade has passed since the insti-
tuition OF slavery was swept out of existence
and yet the peosale do not seem TO comprehend
their situation. or recognize the fact that they
must depend upon their own exertions for 8
livelihood Or if they do, under the whip and
| ~ r. nd
that to the great law OF human nature which
demands that every man shall live by the sweat
OF his brow, no special amendment was added
in there favor, three-fourths Of them will
spend days and months searching for en-
| ploynent which comes under the head of res
pectable, from which catalogue is excluded all
business in which intellectual aud manual la
| Dor are combined. In other words, they scorll
the idea OF learning trade, but are content 10
waste their time and energy for one fourth ct
the compensation, which every skilled me-
chanic receives. AS cons .quence all the pro-
LESSONS are crowded to- overfowing, and an
advertisement for clerk has twenty apioca-
| tions in as many hours. Not SO With ms
| chanics; the man who is master Of a gtod
deprive him of, OF crisis remove. He lnowA
that mankind is dependent upon tie work ef
| his head and hands, for its necessities al
uxuries, and with such knowledge, demand S
Just return for his labor. He knows that he
| is independent and can afford to look down
i'll pity on the little popinjays that fit by him
| on the street and who look with holy horror on
,;c NJ md HOY hon
Huma natare is consttutionaliy active, and
| unless that activity is employed to benefit, it
| must operate as an evil. Unless the people can
| be made to understand that what we want is
| fewer politicians and more plowmen; fewer
| lawyers. and more laaorers; fewer merchants
and more machinists; fewer clerks and more
carpenters; in short, fewer PROFESSIONALISM Of
| all kinds and more skilled mechanics and far
mers, we may expect to be compelled to sup
port incbriatc and lunatic asylums. poor houses
and PRISONS to accommodate the swarm OF idlers
and drones that must be cared for in some
way.
No government or legislation in the world
can place a nation on = prosperous footing if
the people themselves are not prosperous. The
nation is the grand sum OF individuals. The
quantities are additive and substractive Each
is set down with its proper sign prefxed and
Of course opposite qualities cancel. Look
| around among your acquaintance and ask
yourself to how many you can prefix the sign
minus some OF the zero, minus, than
nothing, on running up the SUM remem-
Der that these are all to be deducted from tie
other Side, and you will not be so much sur
prised to find that the government is not more
prosperous than it is. We are constantly car
rying dead weight, and unless we throw it
off now and forever, we cannot reasonably
expect to see the United States as powerful as
they would otherwise have been. If every man
will see that he contributes to the general well
fire of the country, instead of criticzing the
administra ion, we would have mach less cause
of complaint.
RICHMOND DISTRICT.-It is a source of re-
greet to every man in the State, who desires the
success Of the Republican party, that the diff
fercnces between Messrs. Smith and Burgess
have resulted in the candidacy of both. We
have no disposition to critcise the action of
their respective friends, except to say that the
success of the party in that district onght to be
regarded as OF more Importance than the pro-
motion of any individual We earnestly hone.