Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-01
THEH Ter BALD.
THE FARMER PAYS FOR
ALL.
From the Washington Republic.

cultural communities there have not
been wanting demagogues, who Tor
the purpose OF ingratiatlng themselves
among the husbandmen, have unduly
exalted their calling on the one hand,
and have spoken in detraction OF all
other classes of society. The case of
the farmer against government and SO.
ciety is. moreover, embodied in the
popular catchword, which has been
repeated by a thousand tongues, "The
Farmer pays for all!'
1t is gravely asserted that, not only
all the expenditures of the govern
ment, but the entire expenses of socl
ety. are derived solely from the farm
er, ard that all other classes, like SO
many parasites, fatten upon his toll.
Whatever merits this system of dem
agoguery may have, it is not that of
novelty, because the fable Of the re-
voting members against the abdomen
has come TO US from the very dawn of
written history.
1t is a fact, as notorious as indis-
putable, that those countries and com
munlties where the vast majority of
the people are solely devoted to agri-
culture are poor and feeble. 1t is
Greece and not Asia Minor that has
Illuminated the pathway of centuries.
Nor is it known TO us for its agricul-
ture, but for its craftsmanship, fine
arts, and literature; and imperial Rome
which has sent down the echo of its
name to be reverberated by centuries
yet to come, achieved its fame, not
by agriculture, but by its proves in
war.
Modern nations, like Spain, Portu-
gal, Brazil, Mexico and the South Am
erican republics, whose people are
chiefly engaged in tilling the soil, do
not present a desirable state Of socie-
". The reasons for this are obvious.
When the husbandman is compelled
not only to till the soil, but also to
construct his own pillow and the cart
in which he conveys his produce to
market, and the very garments which
clothe his body, his productive power
is reduced to the minimum by the va
riety Of these tasks, so that he will
be unable, by the greatest bodily ex-
ertions, to raise himself above abiect
poverty.
It's the division of industrial pur.
suits and the organization Of different
classes to act comparatively with each
other, which has enabled modern civ
ilIzaton TO place so many comforts
within the reach of the poorest in the
land, our very poorest to-day contain
lng more solid comfort, and even ar
ticles Of luxury, and the abodes Of the
Saxon nobility of the tenth century.
Unfounded and indiscriminate accusa-
tons of idleness and unproductivcness
have been more particularly directed
by political shysters against those
classes of society that do not perform
manual labor, yet Iiebig, the author
Of the science of agricultural chemis-
try, has enabled the agriculturalists of
the civilized world to obtain with the
same expenditure of force a million
times more of products in q single sea
son than he could have produced if he
had held the pillow for an hundred
years.
The numberless inventions of the
present era, and, for illustration, we
simply cite the engine and the thresh-
ing and the harvesting machines, have
empowered the farming communities
not merely to multiply their produce
tons with the same expenditure of la
Dor, but have SO enabled them to dis
pose OF their surplus produce at profit
and to receive as an equivalent there
fore such additional Injuries as they
may adyantageously select In view
Of these facts it will take but slight
reflection to establish the conviction
that the inventor and the man of sci.
ence are bestowins blessings on man
kind, though they may not toll with
their hands, but he owes his life to that
physcian's SKILL nevertheless.
a team has run away, and farmer
who has been thrown from the wagon
has broken his limbs A sympathiz~
ing crowd of neighbors gathers about
him, and what is their first thought?
A horse for a messenger! Let him
be swift as Sheridans charger, to call
q surgeon so that the limbs may be set
and the life saved. 1t is true in the
course Of time, when the patient is
once more hale and hearty, he may
forget to pay that surgeon, and he
may again rail against those classes of
society who toll not with their hands,
but he owes his life to that physicians
skill, nevertheless.
Again, death has set its seal upon
the brow of beloved child, and we
are brought face to face with that aw-
ful chaSm that lies between time and
eternity. The form Of the beloved
one is about to be placed beyond our
sight forever. 1t is then we take coun-
Sci with the minister Of the Gospel the
representative Of that Word which, in
that solemn hour proclaims: 81 am
the life and the resurrection" Then
the minister is needed, though he may
be scofed at in times Of prosperity and
health
What can crude toll achieve when
performed by man OF ignorance
Did not the system of slavery impoy-
erish the land IN which the ignorant
laborer was employed? Can the far
mar do without the teacher? Can lie
see his little ones grow up unable to
plan and calculate, and to invest with
profit the proceeds of their labor :?
Then We must have the teacher; and
we cannot have him with the reqris.
tie competence and ability unless
We establish she university and the
seminary.
We care not how much the farmer
may toll in his field, or how hard the
mechanic may labor in his shop, if the
laws do not guarantee to him the pro.
ceeds of his labor, bis industry has
been in vain. Thus, for the security
Of our civil and political rights the sci.
ence of jurisprudence is all essential,
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