The Leavenworth weekly times., 1874-10-08
Andy johnson Speaks Again,

Ex-President Andrew Johnson appear
ed before the people o: Gallatin, Team,
on the 18th inst, not, as he said, to use
flowery language and say things that
were merely pleasing to the ear, but to
talk to them about solid, sensible facts.
He spoke at considerable length on me-
chanica! and agricultural questions, and
alluded in the most favorable terms to
the Changers. He said that the granger
and the mechanic, and the lab0ring
classes, claimed a better representation
in the legislative halls of the country, to
the exclusion Of the parties who had re-
presented them heretofore. Lawyers hal
been allowed to occupy high places. Le-
! gal talent was necessary in the legisla.
tive halls, and SO was the good, hard,
solid business sense Of the merchant, me-
chanic, farmer, and the laborer. Out of
293 persons. representatives in the Con-
gress Of the United Ststes, he said, there
were scarcely farmers enough to make up
a committee on agriculture, nor me-
chanics enough to make up q committee
on subJecs relating to their branch Of
trade. The drought OF the past year had
greatly damaged the prospects Of the
farmer, but no less those of the mechanic
for one depended upon the other. The
farmer might own good land, with fine,
rich soil, and all that, but it was worth
less to him unless the things wrought by
the skill OF ingenious mechanics were
brought into requisi,ion. But with ali
their hard anu honest toll, droughts
would sometimes come fnd misfortunes
would follow. In ordinary times it was
hard enough to make livelihood, with
little something to lay up for rainy
day, but with the drought things became
worse and more discouraging. by the
time the farmer paid his taxes, his hand,
for working in the crops, got his crops
ready for the market, and paid the trans
portation bill for shipping them to mar
ket, and had them sold, he had nothing
left for the vast amount of labor expend-
ed. lie had seen eleven columns of ad.
veriisements of tax sales in q Memphis
paper, and the taxes there aggregated
six per cent, and the same rule would
apply to a very great extent to Nashville.
Large quantities of properly had been
advertised there for sale. The taxes
we're six per cent. The farmere did not
average more than n profit of four per
cent, showing that they we're plunging
steadily into debt. Where, under such
circumstances, was the country going to?
Where would they be if there taxes kept
up at that rate, with only a gain of four
per cent? Mr. Johnson then compliment
ted the ladies. who he said, were never |
lacking in doing that which would result |
in the most good. But he said there |
were TOO many soft-handed young men,
the cons of hard-working farmers They |
ashamed TO work, unwilling to work, be- !
cause they thought it degrading to them.
They did not care to roll up their sleeves
and delye in the soil, and make an honest
living, They would rather sit around
and do nothing. They should wake up
a different realization, and make up their
minds TO be men, to be tillers of the soil
one of the proudest advocations man
could follow. As for his trade, he had
rever been ashamed of 1t, and hoped he
had never done it any dnhonor.