Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-02-27

Mr.. BUCoLIC EDITOR:
am not farmer by occupation, but
wish to stretch hand across the chasm
and give yours friendly shake-on paper
in consideration of your recent remarks
under the head of Farmers Boys 1t is
refreshing to the soul to find IN agricul-
tural writer talking sense on this subject
Agricultural and other papers dependent
upon farmers for support have got into Il
habit of talking slobber and cant about
farming us an occupation which is simply
disgusting. We are continually being told,
in one way and another, that farming is
the only honest and proper occupation of
mankind; that farmers are the only real,
true original DR.. Jacob Townsend saints
of the earth; that they are despsed
and down-trodden upon all hands,
and that all men who are not farmers are
sinful upstairs who walk in darkness. Oh
course this talk is all bosh, but it Gets
swallowed, and it does harm 1t is always
pleasant to see u man think well of his oc-
cupation, and have no sort of DISPOSE
ton to quarrel with a farmer who consid-
ers his work the very best in the world
but he must not declare that his is the
only or the only necessary work in the
world, and that all other men are useless
and worthless. To be sure nobody does
say that in so many words, but just exact
ly that substance is being roared into our
ears continually. The farmer has his
place among men; it is n large place, and
in many respects the most important one
of all, but he stands with other men, and
he cannot stand without them, except rs Il
savage. 1t is true that neither carpenter
nor lawyer could exist without the fur
mer, and that the farmer could exist with
out the carpenter and lawyer, but tile cx-
istence would not be worth having. The
farmer only is essential to existence; the
other occupations to civilization. Our
neighbours in the planets probably see very
little difference between them.
And perhaps it will not be amisS to say
few words about the dignity Of labor
talk we hear so much of. The matter is
crowded until we are told in effect, that
labor is only digniied when it is drudgery,
and have seen successful farmer get up
in public meeting and boast that he had
shovcled dung with his own hands, us if
he, and not the land to which it was cart
ed, got direct, positive benefit from the
operation. Now, shoveling dung is nee
essary and proper thing TO do, and very
likely it was very necessary and proper for
the man in question to do it, but don t
and can't see why on earth he should
brag about it. What would be thaugbt ola
carpenter who should publicly take credit
to himself for filing u saw, or doctor who
should exultingly proclaim thot he had
made dozen pills? All occupations have
their drudgery,-mortals accomplish moth
ing without it,-and the man who takes of
his coat and goes quietly through it, what
ever it is, is always entitled to respect and
always gets it.
AS you suggest, let us see farmers look,
ing at their occupation somewhat us othel
men look at theirs, and let them keep then
boys on farm by all means, unless they
will fit better somewhere else. But before
making n senseless howl of keep the
boys on the farm" let US consider wha
has been done in the social and political
and business world of this country, by
men whose fathers were farmers and by
men whsse fathers were Vermont farmers
and whose mothers were Vermont far
mers' wives.
IGNOTo.
Woodstock, VT, Feb. 18th, 1873.