The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1884-08-20
Short Talk With the Boys.

An ONO farmer WrOte the OtneY Oay,
asking: "Who don't you write some
thing for country boys?" Wha. has
been written has applied to all boys1n a
general way, but in this article I will hit
the country boys in particular.
To be farmers son is, too often to be
a drudge The farmer himself Is one,
and he cannot spare his son. In some
cases this must necessarily be so, but
there are many exceptions. To be far
mer means to be out of bed at daylight
and hard at work until sundown. 1t
means, in the majority of cases, plain
clothes, plain fare and few privileges.
The farmer himself may not care for the
concert and circus and excursion, and in
his selfishness he refuses his boys such
privileges. After his back-breaking work
of the day he may not care to sit down
with a newspaper or book, but that is no
reason why he shouldn't have those
things in the house for his boys and
girls. l know plenty Of farmers with
cash in bank who are too stingy to take
anything beyond local. weekly news
paper. They make any old buggy do.
They have no pride .abont their horses
and harness. They buy slop clothes for
their boys, pinch 'em down to the last
cent, and then wonder that they don't
want to attend some fashionable town
church on Sunday.
The old-fashioned farmer came about
as near being two-legged hog as is pos
sible to get Because he liked fat pork
the year round, his family must eat it.
Because he could get along with 81 suit
of clothes, every one else must come to
| it, Because the almanac furnishes him
plenty of reading, his family has no busi-
hess to want newspapers and magazines.
He wanted his sons to feel as big as
them ere Barker boys and yet he re-
fuses them everything which has made
the Barker boys their superiors.
Ifyou will consult the criminal re-
cords of cities and villages you will find
that farmers sons are pretty disorderly
characters. They bring to town with
them spirit of recklessness that calls
for row. Why? I can tell you, be-
cause have asked at least fifty of them
Bring boy up without any privileges
and YOU make him hate half the world
When he becomes young man and feels
his lack of education and polish he viii
hate the other half. He comes to towr
feeling that he has had no show and is {
nobody, and this breeds spirit of def
ance. He has just as much right in thu
world as the lawyers son. He has JUS
as much brains, and in his young day
was the best looking. The lawyers sol
has been schooled and his mind expand
ed, While the farmers son has been toll
ing and drudging. Cultivation. educa
ton and associations have made the law
yer's son a fine looking young man
Snow, wind, rain, hard work and bitter
ness of spirit have SO changed the look
of the farmers son that he Is ashamed Q
himself.
/. 1 am not going to advise farmers in tn
case, but I'll tell you what I'd do if wa
a farmer and had boy about ID years {
age whom l wanted to follow the sam
pursuit, I'd have kept him in school u
to this time, and he'd be fairly posted j
g geography, grammar, mathematics, ortl
ography and chirography. l shoul
have sent him to school in town In orde
that he might have the rough corner
u sandpapered down by contact with soc
ETY.. If he had any musical talent L
= encourage it. I'd allow him SO muc
money per week. and advise with hi
. until he could spend it intelligently. I
get him good clothes and encourage hi
a to be neat and tasteful in dress.
could not have done this had bee
It pin-poor, but eight out Of ten Of our "a
is mers could do even better. When n
boy came home he would find at lea