News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-10-30
TALKS WITH THE BOYS.
THE BOYS WHO DID NOT WANT TO BE
FARMERS
f,ut Forced to Hold the Plow and Reap and
sow. They Never Made Anything but
Botch Farmers Anyway.

But Forced to Hold the Plow and Reap and
sow. They Never Made Anything but
BOtch Farmers Anyway.
I'M. Quad in Detroit Free Press.l
Twas talking with sturdy old farmer
the other day, and asked him how many
boys he had.
five" he replied, ''and I'm going to
make farmer Of every one of EN-.
"How do you know you are p
"Why, they're my boys, amt they,
and reckon they'll do as I say about
it."
''Do they like farming ?"
"No matter whether they do or not,
they've got to work at it r.
The man was what you might call
representative farmer. He was fairly
educated, more than comfortably well
off, and was looked up to in his town.
ship. If anybody had called him stingy
or mean his friends would have been
shocked, and yet he coolly planned to
sacrifice the future of his five boys
through purely selfish motives. The
chances are not all of the five would Sc
lect agriculture as an occupation, or
make a success of it if they did, but
this father wanted their services until
each was 81 years old, and he had no
care how they turned out after that,
Too many farmers take this same view
of the case Under the law a father is
entitled to the services of his son until
the latter reaches his majority. Half
century ago no boy began trade until
he was 81. Now the majority of them
begin at 16 or II, calculating to have
their trade finished at 81. II the farmers
boy, who is determined on learning some
trade or profession, must stick to the
pillow until he becomes of age his pros
poets are greatly damaged, He is no
longer boy, nor can he accept of boys
wages.
A blacksmith or mason or carpenter
with five sons would not have answered
that he was determined to make every
one of the boys learn his trade. Had
any one suggested such a thing he
would have laughed in derision, fully
realizing that he had no moral right to
sit in Judgment that way.
During the last six months I have
been hunting for statistics about farmers
talked with at least sixty farmers, only
or enthusiasm in agriculture. The
! others replied to the question with:
81 wanted to learn a trade, but
father opposed it, and so I had to stay on
the farm"
Out of the forty-seven men who
answered nae in that way not one was
rich. All complained more or less about
hard luck and poor crops, and it was
easy to see that they had no heart in the
business. These were the sons whose
selfish fathers had obliged them to be-
come farmers. OF the others all were
well off, CHEEKY and contented and full
of pluck. These were the men who had
taken up agriculture from choice. OF
the fifty or sixty farmers boys whom 7
interviewed not more than ten intended
to stick to the farm. The others wanted
to learn trades or professions.
There is one particular point in which
the average farmer is cantemptibly
mean with his boy. He sets himself up
as standard. If he didn't want SO and
so why should his boy? If he had to
turn out of bed at o'clock a. m. and
work until dark why should his boy be
spared? He didn't have a decent suit
or fine boots or any spending money,
and why should his offspring go into
such extravaganza The farmer who
reasons that way has a selfish motive
under it. He knows as well as other
people that the boys of to-day cannot
be and are not treated like the boys OF
fifty years ago. He will admit that his
father wore hickory shirt without col
lar to meeting, while he must have a
Nuh cfo
with collar and neck-tie, but he won't
admit that his son has uny right to i'm
prove on him.
If boy feels enthusiastic to learn to
be a printer, harness maker or wood
engraver no father with any sense in his
head will command the boy to learn the
trade of a stone mason. Why then
should a farmer decide that his son, who
has exhibited a taste for mechanics.
spoil his whole life by ordering him 10
stick by the farm? If bow who
wanted to learn the carpenters trade is
made to learn the harness makers, and
thereby becomes botch workman, why
shouldn't farmers son, who ought to
have been an architect, make a poor
farmer? He certainly will, figure as you
may.
/ have letter from a resident of Ala
bama who says he hated farm work and
ran away to escape it. His father wanted
him to be farmer, and he wanted to be
something else. The boy ran away, and
is now comparatively rich and doing
well. He reasons that farmers sons
should run away to get along in the
world. The idea is pernicious and alto
gether wrong. The chances for run
a. or in, N
bare fact of his having run away is
enough to condemn him with all honest
men. Out of fifty who run away not
more than one or two will stand any
show of success.
Let the farmers son seek to discover
what his taste runs to. If to agricul-
ture, he should be given fair show. He
should have the best of agricultural pa
pers and every chance to improve on the
system his father has worked under.
Some of the land and the live stock
should be his, and he should be to GER
tain extent a partner. No man will dig
and delve for you without pay as an in
centive. boy who is expected to put
in his best efforts on the farm because
the law says his father is entitled to his
services, will certainly disappoint you.
If his taste runs to trade or profession
the father must argue the matter as a
reasonable man would. He has no right
to cucumber the earth with another
botch farmer. He has no right to con-
denim his son to poverty when he might
be rich by his own exertions. If he is
wise he will even encourage the boy to
follow out the bent of his inclinations.
Nine times out of ten where you hear
of a farmers boy being set down as
hard case, you find his father to blame
for it. He has been too harsh and
arbitrary. He has gone on the idea that
his son was a drudge. His idea has
been to make money out of his tired
muscles and back. aches, and give back
the least possible reward. All farmers
are not so, but too many still are, no
matter how much other classes have i'm
proved. The results have been and will |
ever be disastrous.
A Costly Expedition.