The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-01-19

Producers Versus Non-Producers.

eacn claSS-Jne proportion Oh CnlS
worlds happiness which falls to the
lot of each. And first, the farmer:
what part does he perform in the
great human hive? He has adopted
as his profession a heaven ordained
pursuit-the natural business of the
human race. He takes the soil
which God has made, and by
laborious effort-''in the sweat of
his face"-prepares it for the seed
which He made, "each after its
kind" He tolls day after day,
through heat and cold, aiding nature
in converting the elements of the
soil and atmosphere into food and
clothing for the millions of the
earth. In a word, he is creating
wealth, making valuable and con
ducive to comfort and happiness
that which was before inert and in
capable of ministering to our
personal wants. So with the me-
chanic who pushes the plane or
yields the hammer; and the opera
tive who guides and tends the whirl
ing machinery of the mill and work
shop. He creates wealth by chang
ing the form and adapting to our
use the raw material produced on
the farm, or found in the forest and
mines. "From the soil and the
waters comes every solitary penny,
which, in one shape or another, con-
stitutes nations wealth.
The lawyer, physician, merchant,
and other professional men, are all
very convenient, at times, but neither
is absolutely necessary to the ex
istence of the human race: there
were none in the early years of the
world. Professional men (so-called)
as a rule create no wealth. But
when we inquire who enjoys the
wealth produced by the toiling
farmer, artisan, miner and fisherman,
the answer is plain. The produc-
ing classes, as a rule, have only the
simplest comforts of life, and are
rarely able to exchange their sur
plus products for more money than
will be required for taxes, doctors
bills, necessary tools and plain cloth
ing. On the other hand, the luxu-
ries of life, the superabundant COM
forts, the facilities for high intellect
ual culture, and the refinements Of
social life which are so dependen-
dent on wealth and leisure, are al
most exclusively enjoyed by the
non producing portion of the com
munity. Who are they that roll in
luxurious carriages, and ''fare
sumptuously every day, clothed in
purple and fine linen;" who take
their ease in palatial mansions, sup
piled with all that ministers to COM
fort and ease of body, and filed with
costly paintings, statuary, libraries
and other accessories to a refined
and intellectual enjoyment? All
know the answer the banker, the
merchant, the lawyer, the physician,
the manufacturer, the bond holder
men who are either wealthy in
accumulated capital or in the pos
session of large incomes from their
business.
1t is customary to warn young
men of the deceptive allurements of
city life by pointing out the large
number of merchants that fail com
pared with the number who grow
rich. But the inference intended to
be drawn is hardly just, unless we
consider the fact that most profes
sional men, and, perhaps, large
majority of the merchants, have
comfortable if not large incomes, al
though they may not have accumu
lated great wealth or ''made for
tunes" They enjoy many of the
advantages which wealth confers,
and only fall short of large accumula-
tions because-perhaps uisely-they
'eat, drink and make merry" as they
go. That is, live up to their in
comes. Many of the failures $50
called) are the result of fast living,
and are not chargeable to the nature
and uncertainties of business.
1t is well to remark that nearly
all Of the non producers live in
towns and cities. This circum-
stance is suggestive of combination,
sympathy, co cooperation, on the part
of non producers, and furnishes a
key which will help in the investiga-
ton of the question presented.
What do farmers need9 We
answer:
1. Education. They need to
understand the science of farming,
and all Of its practical details, that
they may get the greatest returns
for the least expenditure of labor
effort. They need to understand
the forms of business, especially as
applicable to the business of farm
ing. They need to be able to fur
nish, from their own number, repre-
sentative men, fully prepared to cope
with the best intellects of the day,
in the halls of legislation or in the
of the parties, in the dis
cussion of all questions which have,
or may have, a practical bearing on
agriculture.
We do not mean to intimate that
there is not a considerable number
of educated and well informed
farmers; but it is to be regretted
that such large proportion of edu
Gated sons of farmers are entering
the ranks of the professions instead
Of devoting their minds and hands
20 the business of their fathers, and
% aiding in elevating agriculture to
he position which its Importance
demands.
Mere routine education of the or
linary schools and cOlleges-though
and, as yet, hardly attain
.ble-will not suffice. Farmers
hould have representative men,
rained in political economy as it is 4
pplied to or affects agriculture. +,
There should be facilities afforded a
n our agricultural colleges and de-
artments for thoroughly enlighten-
1g farmers as to their relations to
he state, and to other professions,
heir just rights under the govern