The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-09-15

the creditor, impatient through long waiting,
Is at hand to carry 1t away. From day to day
and year to year this goes on weary, grind
ing routine. In ireland, poor land, unfortun-
ate for many years; things are infinitely
worse, will not trust myself to describe
the state Of affairs there but rather read to
you the observations of one who went there
tn assist some of the people to emigrate to
this country. "Taking stroll on my return
to be rid of the stiffness caused by long car
journey, l met the relieving officer OF the
district who was seeking me. A woman (al-
ways the first here) had come beseeching and
imploring help from him. She had sold her
little hcifcr and all her belongings and just
raised enough to buy the tickets, costing lee
which she produced for her husband, herself
and her child for the steamer on Friday, and
hadn't "penny" to take them fifty miles IL
Galway, or pay for the kit or ITO lave a
half penny" when they landed would I give
her help They were most Industrious pee.
pie, he said; the husband "splendid" work.
man; ana the woman was here; would l see
herr Yes: and very tidy pleasant looking
young woman was introduced. Relieving
officer: SNOW, tell the gentleman the story;
every word must be truth. Whist. what's the
use of crying? Don't you see the kind gontle-
man means to help your He's taking down
the notesY' and SD had the story over again.
"Well, how much would II beT'' swell, In
deed, IL u sovereign could be had II would be
great help. There was the car to Galway a
pound, and they were very short OF clothing,
ana they had friends In Ameriky burst OF
tears stopped by relieving ofilcer) somewhere
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania" Well,
how would they get there? She didn't know.
but II the good God helped them to Boston,
she must lave that. Then I summed up
the very lowest that all these would cost, and
hearing from the landlady Of the hotel that
her story was quite true. and that she had
been sav.~st 9TH he.4$I Viz tier E<ssld
give e for the whole, 80 that they might not
be stranded in the streets of Boston. She
hardly took il seriously at frat; it seemed SO
unreal. She had asked for sovereign and
had six promised. "well, them" at length
she burst out, "then it's the Lord Himself as
has sent you to me this day. praised be His
holy name
Would you see where these people liver
poor Mick Nee was not at home; no had OBJ
tanned two or three days work. at Is. ID,
day, helping a neighbor to dig his potato
ground. His wife with a welcome which
could not have been exceeded in genuine
cordiaIity, asked me to enter the howell, and,
leaving the only seat. begged me to take 1t.
The children were at school, four miles dis
tant She was busy with her needle, making
some small garment for her expected infant.
They were all getting weaker she said. The
potato planting, In which her husband was
assisting, would soon be over and then he
would have no work. The thought OF being
able to emigrate filled her with hope and
thankfulness. Spite of all, there was no
complaining, no bitterness; with subdued
tone she told me, I'm answer to Inquiries, that
the large wooden dresser, the pride OF their
former dwelling, and which had formed the
end and gable of the turf ''housheen" on my
former visit. had been sold for Z 8. or 8 s. to
buy half bag Of meal for the children Let
me once more describe the dwelling In which
had been seated. 1t was too low to stand
upright in. and to enter 1t needed that you
should almost 20 on all fOurs. A great bowl
der which stood up above the roof cut OF one
corner, forming, with the door, one side, z IT.
inches in width. The other end where the
wooden dresser had stood. now filed up with
sods, was #. wide and tho total length was
#. In this irregular shaped room, dug out
about eighteen inches, the sods forming the
walls, and some rafters aud other sods the
roof, u man and wife, with four sous and two
daughters. had been living since the FIRST
week I'm January; as his rent was 10 & 1865 a
year, his was by no means one Of the smallest
holdings. He had owned cows and been
comfortably of till the bad times came"
These people, the agriculturists OF other
lands, the last speaking your own language.
are not thriftless, wanting in ambition or
lazy. 1t has been my good fortune during
the past summer to travel extensively
throughout the manufacturing portions of
this country. ! have seen chain on chain of
canals and railroads built by Irish labor.
have seen Irishmen managing mines, f,Irn-
aces and rolling mills. and many OF the labor
ers were their fellow countrymen. I came
away with an increased admiration for the
energy of the Irish character. The cause of
the sad condition of Ireland must therefore
| lie elsewhere than In. the character of the
people. believe il to be In this; they have
been driven by natural causes to rely alto
gether on the yield of one crop, the potato.
When IL failed poverty came, when IL failed
for successive years, poverty became famine.
There may be a lesson In this, for the farm.
ers of this Western land. Bear It in mind a
few moments while we turn to another con-
sideration that cannot be altogether passed
by.
WHY BOYS LEAVE THE FARM.
Compared with the agriculturist Of other
| lands the farmer Of this Western country Is a
prince. His condition is royal and his life
that of one of the favored Of the Earth. Why
| then have we to face the sad fact that many
| and those of the very best and brightest of
the farmers children are eager and striving
continually to leave the country for the
town. They will do anything that will keep
| body and soul together rather than stay on
the farm. As pupils in our schools, they
will study early and late, work during their
spare hours at any employment that offers,
| to secure the means of paying for their liv-
| ing and tuition, board themselves with food
brought from their homes, work until they
become sick, until their dizzied, Overburden-
ed brain gives way to At themselves to make
their living elsewhere than on the farm. The
same pluck and energy devoted to farming
would make them independent. There must
| be something In life on the farm that an
energetic wide awake boy dislikes. There
is an old proverb that q bow steadily bent
breaks at last and that the pitcher carried to
the well will sometime break. Herein be-
lieve lies the cause OF the evil. In the ad-
justment of the family expenses thought is
taken only OF food and clothing, Of things to
eat and things to wear. no attention Is given
TO the wants Of the mind, 10 the money that
should be spent for literature and beautify-
ing the house-things that feed the mind and
not the stomach. How many farmers when
they calculate the family expenses set aside
any thing for books, magazines, newspapers
and such matters2 The bright, eager, ambi-
tious boy, who plods painfully and patiently
along the burrows from morning to evening.
or the girl who goes through the daily rou-
tine of Homework, what have they too look
forward to when night comesP good book,
an interesting magazine or newspaper, the
ioy and rest that lies i'm flowers and music2
Hardly any of these. There may be some
talk of the next days work, some idle gossip
of the country side and then comes bed time
with the same routine for the next day. The
farmer is not the only one who neglects
these matters but he suffers most from their
neglect The boy I'm town has opportunities
his cousin in the country has not. II the
town boy can not have music In his own
home, he can listen to that made in the house
of his neighbor. If his father is too stingy or
too poor to buy books, he can borrow from
his neighbor or the public library. In order
to make life pleasant for his children the
far,,or ,,pst centre I'm his own home all the
possibilities Of enjoyment afforded by the
town. VIM. II. Seward did a grand thing for
New York State when through his initiative
a public library was established in every
school district Of the State. The fruits Of
this enlightened policy can be seen to day In
the intelligence and culture of the farmers OF
that State. Such measure as this Is much
more effective I'm lifting the condition OF the
farmer, IN making him proud Of his work,
independent and prosperous than political