Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-09-15
From the Southern World.
ON LABOR, OR ANY OTHER SUB
JECT. d
Remarks Before the State Agricultural
Convention Of Georgia, by DR.. S. W.
Zealand, of Gainesville.

want 10 announce here tnat am no
agricultural tramp, no dead-head, no
kid-glove farmer, and only political
wlre-worker when there is great ques-
ton involved, or l have friend in the
field.
own hundred acres of land in
Barlow county, composed of woods,
public road, yard, garden, orchard,
horse-lot, pasture, pond and field.
Having no sons to work for me, |
have a little mill at the end of my
pond, 20x12, the busiest little corn
cracker that ever worked for only its
feed. | am the miller, and there is
my Office; in it l keep few books,
newspapers and stationery; and the
only extravaganza Pm guilty of is TAX
ing "The Atlanta Daily Constitution"
as Pm determined to keep up with the
times.
emphatically earn my daily bread,
and having no other resources, | sup
port my family from this vast estate
and do not owe human being cent.
The Bible says, "seest thou man
dilligent in business, he will stand be-
fore men," Verify this day is this
Scripture fulfilled in your hearing, for
here | stand in the presence of the
lords of the soil and the sovereigns of
the State of Georgia.
Through the courtesy of the Execu-
tive Committee and our honorable
Secretary, was invited to deliver
an address on "Labor-or any other
subject" AS was chosen from the
rank and file of this society, and wanted
as much latitude as possible, deter
mined to accept, and will make an eff.
fort to address you on "Labor-or any
other subject" particular by the latter
clause Of the verse.
l will give you some valid reasons
why you should listen with patience
and forbearance to this my first ex-
pertinent. have been member Of
this society for ten or twelve years,
have never occupied minute of your
time, have never even risen to offer q
motion of thanks, Or moved an ad.
journment, to get my name mentioned
in the proceedings.
When | first came among you,
found men who talked great deal
men who aUOuld talk, and who I liked
to hear talk. As delegate, /, too, had
right to talk, and could, no doubt,
have learned to do so, at your expense
but as difidence and modesty have
weighed like an incubus upon my am
bition all my life, l preferred to listen
and to learn, and have patiently sat al
the feet of these agricultural Gamalies,
and absorbed wisdom as it was scatter
ed broadcast, drilled and narrowed into
me.
During the last few days have
changed the whole programme of this
performance. l had written an essay Oh
labor, so deep, so full of research, 81
exhaustive, SO laborious, that my name
would have been handed down among
the McCauleyS and Carlyles of litera
ture. and "Nancy's Greek" would have
appeared on the next published MAJ
as an important branch of the Etewah
because the the "Great American Es
sayist" lived upon its verdant banks.
But the weather was too hot, thu
domestic, farming and milling calls to-
frequent, for me to perfectit. So, will
my heart filled with kindness and pity
for a suffering audience, l kicked tn,
pedestal of fame from under my feet
and pigeon-holed the ralalable documen
for my grandchildren to use as wrap
ping paper, and determined to draw
inspiration from laborng mill-rocks
floating meal-dust, and the music o
falling water, and scratch dow
thoughts as they occurred to me, al
ways certain that if it was not on labor
it must be on some other subject, max
ing up by length what it lacked il
depth, and confident of paying bacl
some that had proceeded me, in meas
ure, full-packed and running over as
millers toll-dish.
obor - N srb;oot d;H,sa anouob !,