The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1888-10-25
A Foolish and Flipnaut Critic.

Il the object Of the managers of The hurch
Review in publishing the article on Decay Of
Rural Life in New England 10y Rev. William
Wherefore Newton. NJ. A.. was to secure
gratutou> advertising at the expense of the
reputation OF thcir periodical. they have GER
taiuly accomplished their purpose. The arti-
Gle ha> attracted the attention of the whole New
England press and has been generally con-
demned as false a. to facts and wrong a. TO
conclusions. Indeed it reads like the produce
ton of a school boy. or of writer who courts
notoriety without regard to it. cost. lie i
tlippant AMI superficial. a subject for Ticue
rather than serious criticism. To refute his
errors >eriatm would be work Of -uperero-
cation. The intelligent reader who may be led
10y curiosity to glance Al this absurd production
will supply The Necessary comments As he reads.
says the Rev. William Wherefore Newton.
NJ. A.:
There are three cau-e> at present al work
hich are >trcNng their influence in the threat
ened decline in the rural life Of New England.
These are
l. The Western fever.
IL. The American ambition 10 rise.
ILL., The defiance Of the law, Of health in
farm HE.
In support of the first proposition he tells
how the Young men ii NeW England are at
trartcd to Tho West. and thu Thirty miles i'll
ward from Worcester" where there i cNc Gel
lent farm land. '-you lind OLD men and hired
farm lab,rrr>, Irish. Canadian. French, and
non1e>-ript help. but ,., y,o,4uJr4 iadiH nr4S
i.MD soU." El~eW here in the article the writ
Dr. complains bat we have no pea~antry in this
country. although most people consider ii a
cause for COZ graduation If we conccde tia,
the small section of Massachusetts referred to
i repres entatiye Of the whole Of New England
# need only he said that the fact that the rough
or and more mental work i, rce.atcd to mon
do>rript help" j. rather an argument III favor
of the advance Of our People than otherwise.
rs 1t shows that they are more pleasantly and
prottabIy engaged. If We hal the pea>antry
thi, writer longs for, they would be doing tie
digging and ditehiu@ and railroad building. A-
farther result Of the Western exodus it is de-
cartd that, "ln religious matters Maine. New
Hampshire ana parts Of Ma->achl>t 1ts are like
mission fields in The West. ~ be successfully
served with the Gospel the day i coming when
the decayed and feeble parish organizations in
rural districts must yield before the stronger
and more helpful method of the missionary
Circuit Even the literary hea,l>hip of Boston
is Il souvenir Of the past The financial attrac-
tiOn> Of the great metropolis are simply ire
s>tbc.'
hat j. said Of the second propo>itiol-the
American ambition to rise-which the writer
evidently ranks among the deadly sins that
contribute to the decay of rural life in New
England. j simply lauglabe. He arrives at
hi, conclusions in the rides and fishing excur-
sion> Of long drive through Western Ma>>a-
chu>ctt>-and this, by the way seems to be the
only part Of New England with which the
writer is acquainted-:tn1 they are summed up
n follows; u came across farmer this sum
mer who wa> rendered unhappy NOT because
Of worms and potato bug, but because his
daughter was not >cbc6l mistress and bis son
failed in the election Of County Supervisory
This is all. Not one other actual or ALLEGED
fact or illustration is given Of The fatal "lmer-
lean ambition to rise" How must this solitary
farmer feel if he ever come, to know that he
figures i'll the pages of The Church Review a.
representative Of the tbwArtpd ambition of
all New England:
Now comes the defiance Of the laws of
health" In describing what he would have
his readers believe is the average life of the
New England farm home. Rev. William VII
berforce Newton. VI. A., says:
Three or four Girls viii sleep in one room
together with window down and door shut
The boys OF the family do the same down stairs
on the ground tioor-ncar the odors OF the
Kitchen. Regular airing of the house there is
none. The fry ng pan is used AT every meal
Pie at breakfast. doughnut, and pie sent off TO
the hands in the field for dinner, and greasy
hot fry for supper is the daily bill of fare.
The writer may have found such home in
Western Massachusetts,. although we doubt it.
He is more likely TO have evolved this ustri-
ton from his inner Consciousness, which
evidently needs ventilation and purifying. 1t
certainly would not he recognized anywhere as
iicturing the average condition and mode of
life of farmers families in New England. If
applicable at all it relates to the remote past
and not to the present. in which our farmers
homes are models of comfort and convenience
while the luXurieS and retinement> of life are
not wanting. Statistics show an increasing
longevity, which is the best reply to ACCUSE
tons Of unhealthful modes Of life. Within
the past few days Mrs. AzIbah Ryder of Orrng-
tom aged l03. and CheSley Heal of >earsmont,
aged 100 have died. and the Journal has among
its readers many hale and hearty men and
women who have numbered over eighty wears
and every community in Maine can boast of
such In conclusion we may say of this article
on the Decay of Rura! Life in New England
that it must be the product of an alleged mind
far gone in decay.