The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1882-10-10
Bob Ingersoll on Farmers Lite.

y
porous and the young men went to the
cities to enjoy the fortunes that we're
waiting fer them They wanted to en-
gage in something that promised quick
returns. They built railways; establish
ed banks and insurance companies They
speculated in stocks in Wall street and
gambled in grain in Chicago. They be
came rich; they lived in palaces f; they
pitied their poor brothers on the farms,
and the poor brothers envied them. But
time has wrought its revenge. The far
mer has seen the railroad President a
bankrupt and the road in the hands of a
receiver. They have seen the bank Pres
ident abscond, and the insurance COM
pany a wrecked and ruined fraud The
only solvent people, as class, the only
independent people, are the tillers Of the
SOIL The comforts of the town must be
added to the beauty of the fields. The
sociability of the city must be rendered
lpossible in the country. Farming has
been made repulsive. The farmers have
been unsocisble, and their homes have
been lonely. Tney have been wasteful
and careless. They have not been proud
tof their business. You must beautffy
your homes When / was farmer it
was not fashionable to set out trees, nor
to plant vines. When you visited the
farm you were not welcomed by the
flowers and greeted BY trees loaded with
fruit. Yellow dogs came bounding over
the tumbled fence like wild beasts. There
| is no seEse, there is no profit in such a
life. 1t is not living. The farmers
ought to beautify their homes. There
should he trees and grass, and f,wers,
and running vines. Everything should
be kept in order; gates sh ,uld he kept
on their hinges, and about all there
should be the pleasant air of thrift. In
every house there should be hath
room. The bath is civiliz,r, retiner,
q heautifier When you come from the
fields tired. covered with dust, nothing
is so refreshing. Above all things keep
clean. 1t is not necessary to he pig in
order 10 raise one. In the cool of the
evening, after day in the field, put on
clean clothes, take seat under the trees,
mid the perfume of flowers. SURROUNDED
by your family, and you will know what
it is to enjoy life like a gentleman.
There is quiet about the life of a
farmer, and the hope OF serene old age
that no other business, or profession can
promise A professional man is doomed
to feel for some time that his powers are
waning. He is doomed to see younger
and stronger men pass bin in the race
of life. He looks forward to an age OF
intellectual mediocfit& He will be at last
where once he was first. But the farmer
goes, as it were, into partnership with
nature-he lives with trees and Fl ,wers
he breathes the sweet air Of the fields
There is no constant and fearful strain
upon his mind. His nights are filed
with sleep and rest. He watches his
flocks and herds as they feed upon the
sunny slopes. He hears the pleasant
rain falling upon the waving corn, and
the trees he planted in youth rustic
above him as he plants others for the
cniidren yet TO ne.
! say again, if yon want more men
and women on the farms, something
must be done to make farm life pleasant.
One great difficulty is that the farm is
lonely. People write about the pleasure
of solitude, but they are found only in
the hooks. He who lives long alone
becomes insane. A hermit is madman.
Without friends and wife and child there
is nothing worth living for The unso-
cial are the enemies of joy. They are
filed with egotism and envy, vanity and
hatred. People who live much alone
become narrow and suspicious. They
are apt to be the property of one idea
They look upon the happiness of others
as kind of folly. They hate joyous
folks, because. way down in their hearts
they envy them.