The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1884-10-08
SHORT TylLEs WITH The I.oYs
by NJ. onad

Five" he replied. land Pm going to
snake farmer Of every ono of en-
How do YOU know you are ?:
why they're my boys. amt they.
: " | reckon they'll do as | saw about
it?,
they like farming 2,
NO matter whether they do or not.
they've got to work ut it y,
The man was what You. might call a
representative farmer. He was fairly
educated, more than comfortably well
"f' and was looked up to in his town
snip. 1T anybody had called him stin-
sy or mean his friends would have been
shocked. and yet he cody planned to
sacrifice the future of his five boys
through purely selfish motives. The
chances arc that not all of the five
would select agriculture rs an occupa-
or make Il success Of It'll they did. but
his '"ther wanted their services until
ZACH was Fl years old, and he had no
care how they turned out after that.
FOO many farmers take this; view of
ithc case. Under the law a father is en-
nt'cd to tho services Of his son until
the latter reaches his majority. Half a
century ago no boy began 4 trade until
MIC was II. Now the majority of them
"cs'n at ut Ii or II, calculating to have
their trade finished at ~. Ii the farm
'ers boy, who is determined OH learning
some trade or profession, must stick to
the piow until he becomes of age his
prospects are greatly damaged. He is
II" longer u boy, nor can he accept of
boys wages.
n blacksmith or mason or carrentcr
with five sons would not have answered
that he was determined to make every
one OF the boys learn his trade. Had
amy one suggested such II thing he
would have laughed in dcrision, fully
realizing that he had no moral tight to
sit in judgment TINT way.
During the last six months | have
been hunting for statistics about farm
.crs and their sons. In that time | have
talked with at least sixty farmers, ONLY
ten or twelve of whom had any love
Tor or enthusiasm in agriculture. The
Others replied to the question with
II wanted to learn a trade. but father
opposed it, and so | had to stay OH the
farm
Gut OF the iurty-Sevcn mon WHO an
.Swcred me- in that way not n was
rich. All complained more. or less
about hard work 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 become farmers. or the others all
were we'll 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 I 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 contemptibly mean
with his boy. lie sets himself up as n
standard. If he didn't want so and so
why should his boy? IL he had to turn
out of bed ut 4 O'Clock n. III. and work
until dark why should his boy he spar
ed? He did't have a decent suit or fine
boots Or any spending money, and why
should his offspring go into such cxtray-
nganee? The farmer who reasons that
way has a selfish motive under it. He
knows as well rs other people that the
boys Of to-day cannot be and arc not
. treated like the boys of fifty years ago.
lie will admit that his father wore n
hickory shirt without collar to meeting.
whilc he must have Il white one we'll
starchrd and adorned with collar and
ncck-tic, but he won'l admit that his son
has any right to improve on him.
If Il boy feels enthusiastic to learn to
he a printer, harness maker or wood-en
gravcr, no father with any sense in his
head will command the boy TO learn the
trade of a stonc-mason. Why then
should n farmer decide that his son, who
has exhibited a taSc for mechanics, spoil
his whole life by ordering him to stick
by the farm? If a boy who wanted to
learn the carpenters trade is made to
learn the harness. makers, and thereby
become II bot;h workman, WHY
Shouldn'ta farm .r's son, who ought to
have been an architect. make IL poor
farmer? lie certainly will. figure it as
you may.
have n letter from a resident of Ala
bama who says he hated farm work and
ran away to escape it. His fathcr want
cd him to be a farmer, and he wanted to
he something else. The boy ran away,
and is . comparatively rich and doing
well. lie reasons that farmers sons