St. Landry democrat., 1888-03-03
Editor ST. LANDRY DEMOCRAT

Dear SRA few days ago there was
a rift in the clouds through which the
rays of the sun Streamed to warm up
our mother earth. | had for sometime
been watching the opportunity to pre-
mare land to receive the seed aud waited
not to be told that seed time had ar
rived. lhitched a pair of horses and
was soon breaking the stubborn glebe.'
Was it because [ wanted work ? Not at
all. The man who really wants work is
a monstrosity. wanted certain things
for which | was willing to exchange la
Dor. / am endowed with powers and
have wants and desires. ] want no
philosopher to tell me that these pow
ers were given me that | may satisfy
my wants. The co-eXistence of the
powers and desires constituted an I'M
polling force.
See what a far-reaclling effect the
simple act of turning up the soil has !;
The farmer in Minnesota sows and
reaps his grain. the miller converts INT"
flour, the drayman delivers the Hour td
| the common carrier. the railroad peo-
nla convey IT. Ia the wholesale mer-
chant, Why I? Because my merchant
in Vile Plate spoke to all these pennsc
saving he wanted a barrel Of -four. Oh
serve the number of prenle required to
produce a barrel of tlonr. Nor
| vet have I named all the parties to the
transaction. To facilitate the trans
action n banker drew hill OF exchange.
Rehiud all these were tle people who
erected the buildings to receive the ma
| cbinery. the people who constructed the
mill. gearing. etc. All of MS must have
food and raiment, and u little trans
action gave rise to a multitude Of other
transactions. Plow, wagon, shoe and
other factories cams into being at our
command, and merchants. bankers,
common carriers. etc, assisted 80 make
the exchange. No one OF us can truly
| be said t o have performed a more I'M
portant service than another. any more
| than it can truly be said that the heart
performs q more important function than
the liver, ia the animal economy.
IF I am inclined to give airs TO my
self from considering how | employ so
many people, I PROSTATE myself in the
dust when I consider that | am more
helpess than a toad, if thrown on my in
| dividual resources. Without the aid of
tools, made by others, | could not con-
| strnet the rudest kind of a Init in q
life time. to say nothing of finding food
in the meantime. When myability to buy
| is curtailed, the ability of my mechant to
sell is curtailed to the same extent. and
the effect is felt through the whole circle
of exchange. 1t is to his advantage
that sh0nId be free to exert the pow
| ers nature has given me to the utmost /;
| and generally it IS the advantage of
each and all that no restraint be placed
on the fullest exercise of the natural
powers, so long as others are not in
iurrd by their exertion.
Men are naturally endowed with pow
ers in varying degrees. 1t is obvious
that the possession of these powers car
ries with it the obligation to exert them
| in satisfying those desires natural to all
men and as = corollary to this it follows
that those who create or obtain wealth
by fair exchange, should enjoy it. The
reverse of this is the rule as society is con
| stituted. A duke or an earl consumes i'll
wastefnl extravaganza the earnings of
ten thousand men adding nothingt to the
wealth of the community himself. The
result to society ia the same as it he had
| burned q city of ten thousand inhabi-
tants. The difference between him and
a mechanic ia as great as between him
| who constructs a house and him who
burns a city. And vet such is the per-
version of the moral sense of man, that
one is barely tolerated and the other the
recipient of divine h0nors. He also con
sumps the wealth produced by ten thou
sand men. producing nothing himself;
necessarily produces ten Thousand
tramps. The latter is the corolary Of
| the former. re you have any prejudice
against tramps. good friends, (and the
most Of you llave) let MS cast about
among us for those producing
crops of these UNNECESSARY specimens
| of humanity. The tramp is the rip
ened fruit of constituencies monopolies..
"RUsTIcUs.n