The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1888-08-23
FARMERS COLUMN,
A PATENT SERMON.
~ ). !. cosKLts.

- a GkS
NJ .. J. coNKIIS.
naod helps them that help shemselves."
Farmers aud iaborers Of Dakota the
text we have selected as the basis q,
this discourse to you, maybe Yaundi in
BENJAMIN Franklin's Poor Richard,
and no greater truth has been uttered
by any man before or since. Cut out
this jewel of thought aud pin it in
your hat; write it over the doorway
OF your holhe. fof 1T is specially
applicable to you and should be en-.
craven on your hearts, follow it and
it will be the "cloud by day" and the
pillar of fue. by night" hal shall lead
YOU out of the bondage you are in
and away from the Pharaohs that are
expressing YOU, into the Canaan o,
eauaf rights, equal opportunities, equal
laws, and abundant prosperity.
Many Of you have not been helping
yourselves; you have been waiting fo1
others to help you you have puI
faith in promises faith is good il
well founded, but even then faitl
without works is little if any less dis
astrous than unbelief; faith in a class
of men who have y kept a promise
given you, is twin brother to lunacy
or imbecility. Many Of you are
praying for reliefand have been pray.
ing for years. Prayer is good,
but don't you think if you had done
less praying and more sensible
voting, it would have been quite as
effective? Will prayer pull the weeds
from your corn? How much faith
without works ana praying without
doing, do you suppose it will take to
reduce the cost of transportation on
your crops, or the price Of coal, or the
ratio Of your taxes, or to bind hand
and foot the combinations that you
have helped to create and permitted
and still permit to exist, for no other
purpose than to rob you year by year?
Praying without doing is the morally
lazy mans refuge, and faith the downy
pillow which lulls him into fancied
security. He reads that if a man
"haye faith as a grain of mustard
seed he shall remove mountains;" he
is sure he has mountains of faith, and
is surprised to find he cannot remove a
grain of mustard seed; his faith is
without works; he does not help him.
self and therefore God will not help
him.
Grumblers and ardent kickers are as
plenty among you as toads after a
shower. That you have abundant rea-
sol for complaining, l admit, but
kicking and complaining without
works will never furnish you the relief
you need. You curse the combina-
tions that buy and grade your grain
and name the price you must take for
it, the combinations that prevent COM
petition in the price Of lumber, and
coal, farm machinery, and much olse
you have to buy; you curse the lawyer
and the usurer who rob you according
to laws made by representatives Of
your own selection, according to laws
you still permit to exist. You censure
the town where you do business, aud
the men there you do business with,
and thus far, that is all many Of you
have done to help yourselves.
Our revolutionary sires objected to
being robbed by unjust taxation; they
could not relieve themselves by the
ballot as you can do, and so thcy re-
sorted to the bullet, and through years
Of war they devoted time and money,
and sacrificed thousands of human
lives to save themselves and posterity
from oppression. Are you praying.
hopeing, grumbliug, cursing, do-noth-
ing farmers, sons Of such sires? Are
you who for years have tamely sub
ihittef and are now submitting to
takation a hundred fold moa-Rnjust,
and to expressions a @handred fold
worse than our revolutionary fathers
revolted against. any kin to, or have
you any Of the manhood, patriotism
and valor of those veteran fathers in
your veins? Can you blame any one
who questions your legitimacy or de.
nounces you as bastard Americans?
You have been fattered and soft-soap-
cd long enough, it is time the truth
was spoken and spoken plainly, and
the Dakotian assumes that duty and
will speak the words Of truth and
s~oberness." For all the evils of WHICH
you complain, for all the Dakota laws
which tend to make the rich man
richer and the poor mar poorer, for
the lack Of laws to restrain corpora
tions, combinations and trusts, and to
give you an equal chance, you farme RS
and laborers are wholly responsible;
YOU need to blame no one but your
selves; you comprise two-thirds Of the
voters Of Dakota, and you have held
that predominence since it was settled
You have had the right and power to
select your representatives and if you
did so it was their duty to make such
laws as you wanted, and not such as
they or some other interest wanted.
You could have had such representa-
tives, and can have them now if you
will. 50 what are you kicking about?
You should kick yourselves because
YOU richly deserve it; Won have been
robbed because you have permitted it
to be done; you have permitted a few
light weight political aspirants, with
4 vast deal more check than brains,