Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-09-12

y
he whole end and aim of the farmer s
fe. lie, with every other human being
Ipon whom God has bestowed II sound
nInd, should aspire 10 ii noble manhood
Ie should strive 10 he II perfect man
This end is reached by the training not
,nly of the hand that holds the plough,
Yields the AK, or swings tie scvthe, but
" the culture of the mind and heart. All
ueans of attaining this end within the
armer's reach should be improved. But
the farmer would rise he must do it by
levaling himself and his calling not by
quilting others down. Farmers, AS a class,
nm never rise on the ruins o. olher classes
Though the farmer feedelh all and his
,alling is an absolute necessity, vet without
dher callings society would perish. All
ire members of one great body and no
me member has II right to claim suprri n
tv over others We need men as spiritual
,nides who are well learned in theology.
We need men who have III ide the study
# law II speciality, (but we contend that
here are more OF that class than the
necessities of soci ty require.) We need
we'll bred teachers for our schools, that the
goung may be guided and directed Alright
Our bodies are liable to many ills and it Is
generally supposed that physicians are
needed The wood from our forests, the
stone from our quarries. the metals from
our mines, the wool from our flocks and
the cotton flom the fields OF he sunny
south must each be changed in form
before it is of value TO man, therefore the
need of skilled mechanics. There must
he an exchrnge of products and commod
tiles among different classes of society;
The manufacturer, for instance, needs the
wool of the farmer and he farmer requires
the goods of the manufacturer. All ask
for tea coffee, sugar and spices, the prod
ucts of all nj her climeS, and all depend
upon the farmer for food; hence the
necessity of commerce and of some mid
llemrn whose business it is to handle and
exchange uroducls But while we admit
the necessity of all The Sc classes we con
tend that each should do It's proper work
and exert It's own share of j. tluence. We
contend that such is not the case at pres
ent. The professions are over crowded.
That positions of honor, t:u,t apd prof
are with them in undue proport on. We
claim that this is on account Of their
superior culture, not on account OF supe-
rior native talent, therefore, we plead for
IA more borough education for lal mers.
If any farmer does not expect or desire
Improvement or advancement personally
he should have the good of his class and
of society in general at heart in Il sufficient
degree to strive by all the means at his
command TO eeva the STANDARD and
extend the privileges OF education AS
an fiji lent means to his end he should
endeavor TO make our common schools
more effective than at present. 1t is with
in the common schools that the farmer 8
children in the present and in the future
are to acquire the greater part of 'he
knowledge which they may possess, md
it is a fact patent 10 all who take the paius
TO inuuire or obse. that IN our rural
districts the schools are of but little bene-
fit as II means of culture. The shortest
terms and the cheapest teachers Is the rule
and away from the villages the children
have but little to encourage them in the
pursuit of knowledge. Such children
being in fttainments far behind the chill
dren of like age and natural ability who have
the advantages of the graded schools which
are now formed in many of the villages.
This state of things Can be remedied. by
consolidation of dis riots by the adoption
of the town system OF schools or by the
small districts availing themselves OF the
benefi of the school law to an adjoining
district and shall relieve their organization
which enables them to send their scnol-
ars thus giving TO many children much
greater school privileges than they now
possess. In many cases this desirable
state of things can be avaled of by dis
tricts contiguous to large village by
simply Joining the village district, then
every scholar whether farmers boy or
minister's son will have the same rights
and privileges. But who is it that stand
in the way of any such reform and when
an effort ls made to consolidate a small
district with large one and thereby give
the children of the small district better
educational advantages, do all they can by
voice and vote to hinder the consumma-
tion of so desirable an object and by all
the means in their power endeavor to
check the progress of Improvement in that
direction. Is it the profound men of the
village. the clergy physician, lawyer or
teacher, no, it is the farmers who are
voters in our rural districts that are doing
all they can to 10 er the standard OF cdu
cation and tie themselves and their chill.
TO the dead carcass of our district school
system. A system which has done much
good in its day in Vermont, but which
like the old stage coach, the spinning
wheel, the fire place and the tallow candle
and many other things excellent in their
dav has been superseded by something,
better, but which many farmers seem
bound to cling to though it be to the detri-
ment of the best interests of education.
There is no good reason why every
child in the state should not have the
opportunity of acquiring good sound
practical education through the common
school, an education which will iii him %
perform all the ordinary duties OF life In
some OF our large villages these opportun
ilies are now eLjoyed, and the farmers can
If they will but make the Effort, extend
these privileges to their own children
though they may live on the farm some
distance from the village, with The district
system abolished and Il system OF graded
schools established in each town with
primary schools located much as the dis
trict schools are at present with the prlvi-
lege given 10 each scholar attending the
higher grades at some central point.
Young farmers w"u have greater induce
ments To settle upon the farm, Tor they
would feel that their children might
then avail themselves of the benefits OF
good schools while now in the remote
districts there is no probability of anything
but the very poorest
Now in view of the fact that many
farmers are asleep as regards the educa-
tion of their class, what is the duty OF
those who are awake. What ought they
they to do, what can they doe l answer,
sgiiate the matter, talk about it. make a
luss about it, raise some sort OF Il stir, and
get people to thinking then to talking,
and at last to acting The end may not be
gained in a moment. 1t is not to BE-
expected that great things can be done in |
a day. Great results are slow in their |
acc om ulisnment. Tne world was not
made in day, it required several very /
long periods 10 bring the rocks, the noun
tainS, the valleys aud waters OF this earth |
into Just their present condition, A mush-
room will come up in night but the
mighty oaks of which ships are made are
the growth of centuries The lightning |
will fash and the thunder burst in II
moment, but the clouds had slowly and !
silently been gathering the electric fluid