Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-02-05
THOSE IMMIGKAN rs.
A Farmers Reply 90 the Criticism
OF Farm Hand.


Editor Every Gazette. A short tim
siDee En article appeared In your pape
.igI ed "FAEm HsId," 10 which he mad
loud complaint Of The hardships he an
bis fellow farm hands had to endure
There ia no iubL that his complaint
were all true. Yet there Ia possibilit
that the man who owns or rents tArr
has an equally woeful tale which, II b
choose, he oould also tell, and by II ge
some public sympathy. The com
plainAnt says: al know goo,
deal about horses, COWS, sheep, pigs
poultry, &o. Still / find It very hard /,
get work In the winter and still hardel
to get wages enough TO feed and olotl
myself and family" am a little sur
prised that man OF such general know.
ledge Of farm matters, has SO hard q time
OF IL as he represents to have. Will,
/ know that there is good demand fol
men who have the knowledge which ht
represents himself to have, there must bt
some drawback which he has not stated,
that he has so much difficulty In getting
along.
The farmer who has to invest in land
at 300 per acre aud raise wheat to sell al
80 cents per bushel and corn at 40 cents,
oats at 80 cents and other farm products
at an equally low figure, pays heavy
tsxes not only TO help to pay the OK
penses of an ignorant, yet extravsgant
immigration commission but also to pay
our county, road and poor, rs we'll as
school tax on his land, HIS farm stock and
his poll, the same az the farm hand, only
the latter tax will be double what the
farm hand pays. We're II mot for the
heavy school tax paid by the farmer the
farm hands, children no doubt would
grow up in ignorance.
He complains Of the "grsenhorn," and
then In the same breath tells You they
are not 30 green after all, for they soon
learn TO "jump the State" a good farm
hand like good hand at any other bust.
ness can, as q rule, find work at all that
he is worth and II "Farm Hand" has
such an uphill job to get along there is
something which belongs TO himself Of
which he has not told us, but which no
doubt every farmer within FIVE miles Of
his locality knows all about, and which
accounts for the hard time which that
poor fellow Is having. He may know all
he says he does, but farmers, as rule,
do not pay As much for brains as they do
for labor, as most farmers think they can
do the head work, and want hands who
have muscle, and are both ready and
willing to use 1t when paid for. It is the
lack Of these last qualities which causes
farm hands to be out oil work In winter
time.
10 looking around among my farmer
neighbors find they all keep q certain
number Of hands throughout the entire
winter and find work for them, but as
rule they select the most industrious,
attentive and oblising hands so that they
can have them for the coming season and
let the worst hands 60 in early fall or as
soon as the corn is gathered. am half
inclined to think that your correspondent
Is one Of the latter kind. 10 my journey
through life, have found the worst
GLASS Of hands the greatest com.
planners and one Of that kind in q locality
Is enough to keep Il whole community in
turmoil and no doubt II the truth were
known your correspondent has played
himself out talking and nov has started
to upset the farm labor throughout the
entire State by writing for your paper.
He says "now fellow workmen this piece
Of business is nothing SHIRT of an outrage
on us poor farm laborera asking the
Legislature to tax us to help to bring to
this country people to take away ourown
living"
he tells you that the immigration COM
mission has spent the enormour sum Of
1000. Now there are about 80, 900 poll
taxes in our State, and II every one paid
Just the exact sum his share would be
about six cents, but as farm hands only
pay poll tox of about 81 80 each and
farmers pay from &20 to $3.50 each the
is that the farm hand who is
making such q wall has probably paid
less than one cent. 1t no doubt ia
an outrage on the farm hands that
immigrants are allowed to be brought
In, but II we farmers have to depend
upon such as your correspondent must
be judged to be from his article, then we
had about ss we'll give up and let them
come and take the farm. And we're we
to do 30 the next complaint we should
hear from Farm Hand" would be s0ms.
thing like the farmers reply to the three
lazy men who were starving for food:
He agreed to give corn to the LATEST; two
Of them were ready to take It,
while the third wanted him to
haul It to his house. And so,
am inclined to think, II would be with
"Farm Haud;" II he were given farm
he would want the doner to work It for
bin and give him the proceeds. Had
not immigrants been brought from Ger.
many, EnRlsnd, Ireland or some other
foreign country, 1t Is more than likely
that "Farm Hand" would not have been
here to eDlie hten his fellow farm hands
10 day. 9is kind often forget that 1t was
only little time since his ancestors were
Of the detestsd class of immigrants.
A Poor FARMER.