Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-12-18
Thc Modern Man OfgrZ,


ofthe Farmers Congress ofthe United States,
made an address before that body at st.
Paul, Mimi, in August He uttered wall
over the hardshipa Of his bucoIic brethren.
and predicted sore evils 20 the country if
their teskmasteTs--ths protected manufac-
turcr, the traffic manage: and tna ''corpor-
g ton seDator'-ContinusG tC make the life
of the farmer hitter with naul bQndage.n
The men ia fine linen and faring sumptu.
ously every day turn deaf aud distant ear
to the Lazarus in linsey woolsey. Pharosh
hardeneth his heart.
Our bowels melt with mercy towards
these Sudras CT the coil, whom the nigh
and naughty Egamins OF commerce and
coin "spurn with the loot aa q stranger cur.n
We know their sorrows ard 6ni;erinus; the
trial of temper in stumpy fields; the Vllcuess
Of plautain: the Wicledncsa Of leeds: The
deceit Of cookie the "birh-sin'' in wild
Cuior While the average citizen eau hard
y hold bis own against the Ec0iid, the flesh
aud the devil, the unhappy prisoner of
Land measure" rod and rouG-is
tormented by the Apaches OF the vegetable,
mineral and animal kingdoms IVc lift NJ,
a lament with Brother Beverley, and chant
q war song against the tobacco worm and
tho tobacco tax.
The Virginia farmer has cur Div. lie is
the drudge-~ihe helot Of political economy.
Everybody rides him nobody currr: bin.
lie is the victim Of hog cholera, high tariff
and fraudulent fertilizers. Pastoral poetry
may dclude him, for the moment. !G,e i,
dream OF rural bliss but the sheriff rudelv
wakes him 10 his WFetche.ug.g
He can't strike for Increase 0i wages or
shorter time Of toll. The mechanic has his
guild, fixes his own pay and hoGia for work.
The cobbler is n "kuight'': the pInughman
. dumb driven OK. TIE .rgn Of tools lol-
lows his trade often in q warm iavtoiy. and
always sheltered from the weather The
farmer must rise with the dawn, face the
storm, ami iorsake the field orly with ,he
departing day.
In city OR town, superior schools train The
child of the poores, ab0rer for ten months
in the yesr. Short sessions, a"G frequently
Indifferent instruction, H:e furnished the
country patron. And, indeed, Ito boy can
I've spared but for Il br!e: period from the
farm.
A war tariff III these ysars Of peace
plumbers, By hundred cunning devices. the
landowner. The "Rohbec Barcaa" u mo.
nopoIy have him by the thrci; sad their
hapds upon MS pur.p. .Ihev are mere
merciless than the icoia tnnt sseer ;scvay
his crops. The toCronts dcva>lGta GAGE IN
decade. A i!arbarous revenue rads i!ir
with the regularity ol the zodiac and tie
hunger Of Inc Eorss !esch.
The unhappy planter, like the eviscsrateG
Ilsu in Warrock's Almanac, is beset by III.
emies Oh all sides-Dan beast and insect.
The earth is treacherous. Weeds choke tho
good grain wire grass sntraps the innocent
timothy sassalras hourishes in immortal
Vigor where wheat pines and pariahes Let
the husban3man set cut vine or sprout
seed. II NUS, run the gauntlet of The frost.
The mole huntA for the root to destroy The
grub guaws it. Caterpillar, cut worm,
bGrer and countless enemies, winged or
creeping, with tooth or sting, prey upon it.
Mildew. rust and blight fall on IT, Potato
bug, turnip beetle, bean weevil. tomato
worn, leaf slug, onion magsot, rose chatter,
cabbage lice, lead an army C vegetable
pests IN forays upon the fruits cf his toll.
Every invader lays eggs By the thousand
and hatches q new brood, in The run of q
single sun, to ravage the rewards Of rural
industry. The air is dim with buzzing van
dals and the earth alive with the crawling
devourers.
The untaxed cur destroys lI;s flock. The
sly fox and slippery weaZel revelin his hen
merry. The hawk ny day and the owl by
night capture the survivors Of the gapcs
straddles and cholera.
His capital in farm stock is a Drecarious
investment. Murrain and black tongue
| slay his COWS. The bot fly is ever intent on
| fastening its deadly egg TO tho horse. The
scsb, the tluke, the rot ruin his fold
| No electric light shines for him along
| paved highways. In tbs short, dark days
of winter mud imprsons his family and de-
tains his harvest in the barns till rats fatten
on it and the weavil reers myriad progeny
| for future foraging The hoof that escapes
| dog or disease, the sacks Of grain saved from
crow or mice, find at tho depot The priests
Tor rather the pirates) Of commerce., de-
mandiDg q tenth Of the increase of the earth
for transportation over railroads built out
of the taxes of the agricuituris;
The element battles his hopes. The Sa-
| beans make incursions upon him and levy q
war tarif'' on his property. Eiphsz, Bill
dad and Zophar, with the usual IinguaI lin
! berness of the small statesman, "darken
counsel by words without knowledge" and
rather side with satan and the marauding
! Chaldeans.
The modern Job, sitting amid his broom
sedge turrows, with the lary;c Of infant liz
dustrles" feeding with fostering ulcers upon
his life, vexed with the gabbie Of the re
mantle, the Shuhite and the Noamathite-
is it strange thing that be "aecravates his
voice" roars against his tormentors, and r.
pines at his misesable lot-Despnir on an
ash-heap ?-Dr. Laterty, in Christian .Adro-
cate.