Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1884-08-27
LETTER TO FARMERS.
What May Be Done for thu Bright
Ambitious Farmers Son.
M. Quad Tells What He Would De
for Boy OF the Right Sort.
A Word to the Wise
Granger.
fDetroit Free Press.l

detroit Free Press.
An Ohio farmer wrote the other day, ask
ing: "Why don't you write something for
country boys What has been written has
applied TO all boys in general way, but in
this article viii hit the country boys in
particular.
To be farmers son is too often, to he .
drudge. The farmer himself is one, and he
cannot spare his son. In some cases this must
necessarily lie SO. but there are many excep-
tions. To be farmer means to be out Of
bed at daylight and hard work until SUM-
down. 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 selfshness 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 rca-
son why he shouldn't have those things in the
house for his boys and girls. know plenty
OF farmers with cash in bank who are too
stingy TO take anything beyond local
weekly newspaper. They make any old
buggy do. They have no pride about their
horses and harnesses. They buy slop clothes
for the boys pinch 'em down to the last cent,
and then wonder that they don't want to at
tend some fashionable town church ON Sun
day.
The old-fashoned farmer came about as
near being two-legged hog as is possible to
get. Because be 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 furnished him plenty of reading his
family has no business to want newspapers
and magazines. He wanted his sons to feel
as big As ''them ERE Barker boys" and yet he
refused them everything which has made the
Barker boys their superiors.
If You will consult the criminal records OF
cities and villages you will find that farmers
sons are pretty disorderly characters. They
bring to town with them spirit of reckless
ness that calls forarow Why! can tell you,
because | have asked at least fifty of them.
Bring boy up without any privileges and
you make him hate half the world. When be
becomes young man and feels his lack of
education and polish he will hate the other
half He comes to town feeling that he has
had no show and is nobody, and this breeds
a spirit Of defiance He has just as much
right in the world as the lawyers SON. He
has just as much BRAIN and in his young
days was the best looking. The lawyers son
has been schooled and his mind expanded,
while the farmers son has been toiling and
drudging. Cultivation, education and asso-
Citations have made the lawyers SON a fine
looking young man. Snow, wind rain, hard
work and bitterness Of spirit have so changed
the looks of the farmers son that he Is
ashamed OF himself
am not going to advise farmers in the
case, but I'll tell you what I'd do if l was a
farmer and had q boy about Is years of age
whom i wanted TO follow the same pursuit,
I'd have kept him in school up to this time,
and he'd be fairly posted in geography, gram
mar, mathematics, photography and chirog-
raphy should have sent him to school in
town in order that he might have the rough
corners sandpapered down by contact with
society. If he Lad any musical talent I'd en-
courage it. III allow him SO much money
per week. and advise with him until he could
spend it intelligently. I'd get him good
clothes and encourage him to be neat and
tasteful in dress.
could not have done this had been pin
poor, but eight out of ten of our farmers
could do even better. When my boy came
home he would find at least one good daily
pslpcI iH tHc HouSc, utCheu up Uy u llVefdTy
weekly, an agricultural journal, magazine
and a scientific publication The farm should
be mapped, every field numbered, and we'd
open a book account to show how many dol
lars and days work were expended for GER
tain returns My boy should be my business
partner We'd read together, discuss and
plan together, and while l endeavored to
make him feel his responsibility, / should do
nothing to make him lose his independence.
Intelligence and energy rightly applied to
farm labor would give every farmers boy a
holiday in every week of theyear. Let him
go fishing or hunting, or swimming or riding
Let him go to town and consult buyers and
sellers and post up. Let him have books and
papers and tools. Give him a chance to earn
something and to own something Surprise
him some day by the statement that he is not
a slave whose only return for his hard work
are slop clothes, cheap fare and poor lodgings
Surprise him still more by asking his opinion
now and then and by giving him chance TO
prove his theories.