The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-01-10
Fe~ 21s Ar&zassw Tresessv.
 TO THE MAN WHO TRAMps.
BY pm,l rARRApAv.

You say you want work. young man
 You confidently assert that you yeaEn eo
 earn some meat ard bread hy Aeaess
 lah6E. You aver that you are a peripA-
 tetic seeker for something to do. but
 you stand upright and looking me in the
 face, make the Asseveratien that, with al
 tAis will on your part, you cannot dis
 cover the way with all this commenda-
 ble determination to catch a job, you
 have up to date failed to even catch a
 sight of one on the road you have beea
 travelling. Therefore, as a matter Of
 course, your clothes are grimy and filthy.
 your pockets contain nothing more valu-
 able than sand and tobacco crumbs, and
 your stomach longs to be comfoEted.
 Well, i, is hard tate that puts a mans
 nese to the grindstone of poverty. Your
 statement is calculated to make the hu-
 manilarian hewail the evils of our mod
 ern civilization, and it may be used with
 occasional effect in bringing the broken
 meats from the table of a soft-hearted
 housewife to your rescue. But do you
 state the whole facts Of your case1 Do
 you cover the whole ground thereof as
 completely as you have the line of dis
 tance from your starting point of tramp
 ing to the position you now occupy be-
 fore me9 fear you don't. Dispstatious
 am not, and unlike the great Gold
 smith, do not love an argument for its
 own sake. But must here and now
 deny your allegations, and, if necessary,
 defy the allega,or. You are a we'll de-
 veloped specimen of physical manhood.
 Your arms are muscular, and could
 easily wield an axe or hoe. You are
 we'll put up about the loins, and could
 lift box of goods or a log withou, any dasEst of breaking down in that portion of your structure. This country is made up principally of forests; there are plenty of trees to cut down and convert into rails
 and frewood. You never sough, labor ln that direcuonp knew it. The cleared
 lands are not all in cultivation could
 you no, make up your mind to cease gss. ing so far ahead for something supremely good that you will never fad, aud expend little of your misapplied energy
 upon a small section ,hcreof1 But you know nothing about farming never had rake or hoe in your hand in your 'ife1 Come and walk half a mile with me and will show you some. thing, and tell you of a few facts ID connection herewith, which should
 make you ashamed that you, man with the strength of horse and the endurance
 of mule, ever went twenty four hours in quest of honest employment and failed
 to find 1t.
 2 There now. See the old woman In that | diminutive piece of ground, digging
 swee, potatoes with pitchfork and pilins ] them up in little mounds along the row she is followinyl They look nice and . tempting, don't they5 Make your mid 2 riff upbraid you for your shameful neglect !, ot it. That woman is hhy-hve years o age. She is hip-shot- see how she limp, 7 -asthmatic and rheumatic. This bit o l ground she rented the middle of las
 May. The stones on it were enough tc . co hble Main street up to Fifth. She be [ gan by throwing them over the fence , Then she hired man to plow the ground
 She planted corn and beans, and large
 variety of vegetables. These she culti
 vated. She went to work early and qui,
 late. When the crop of corn and bean, had fulfilled its mission she cleared I the rubbish away and put in turnips and
 potatoes. The potatoes, with the exeep. 2 ton of what she has reserved for hei ewn consumption, she sold at one dollar and forty cents bushei As fast as the
 grass grew up to the estate Of grasshooc
 she would cut it down with a sickle and sell 1t to the fellow who did the blowing , for her; and when ste had disposed oi 2 the roasting ears at fair price she cut down the stalks with a rusty case-knite { and sold them to the same party. Alto : gether, she has lived of the yield Of this } truck-pateh, and made enough money to : carry her through the winter assisted by the turnips. Nor is this all. She has i, husband who is drunk half the month , and sober but sick the other half; she has supported him, too-and given him money to buy liquor when he vas taper ? ing of, for have seen him come cut ol : Broadway street saloon with fall quart bottle in his hand. When he is in his sober half of the month she keeps . clean clothes on him. and they 10 to