The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-07-10

too much neglected-farms and homes
given over to neglect that ought to be
maintained and earnestly respected.
1t is not poor country, but full of
wealth, If men will work and plan with
care. 1t is not a beggar-land, deserving
to be left behind for boundless prairies.
If it were so, then how comes it that mill
ions upon millions of hard cash have
gone and keep on going to the West in
search of approved investments "? 1t
is not an unworthy land, and its people
make mistake in sending off their sur
plus funds to return no more. Better,
thousand times better, for this brave old
Yankee land if the farmers living here
put out their extra earnings in keeping
up these farms and homes. The day
will surely come when this unfair drain
ing of what these lands have earned,
and are yet earning, will make rural
New England what some foolish folk
say it is, ca good place to get away
from" There is no country so rich
that it can stand undue and constant
sapping of its resources, and that is
just what is going on in this mountain
land to-day-sowing that the West may
reap. 1t is worse for New England
that this is so. Who shall say that it is
not worse in the long run for the West
ern States?
One wanders now as in picture
land-a land that loses nothing by COM
parsons. Nowhere in any farming
land are more home comforts to be
found - wel-built villages, school
houses, snug homes upon the farms,
too many of them falling into decay
through need of earnest labor and that
profitable content that is pleased to let
the well enough alone. l am passing
every day fine large farm-houses,
guarded round about by groves of
shapely maple trees and in the midst
of well-watered meadow lands and pas
turage, that are falling to decay because
their props have all gone out West,
and the " old folks " can't keep things
up as they used to do. Treat western
farms and dwellings in the same way
and they, too, would soon be part of a
train, the other day, l asked a rather
respondent, seedy-coated man, who
with his family, sat near by, where he
was travelling to. Nowhere; coming
back" he said. And where have
you been?" "To Florida" he said.
" Been there long? "About five
years." was his answer. Fine eli
mate?' No, sir; not at ALL" Good
place for poor man to get start in?"
l asked. " HUH The worst 1 ever
saw" "Tell me for he was getting
interesting" tell me, how is money to
be made out of Florida soil?' "Wall,"
he said, "the only way l know of for a
fellow to really make any money out of
Florida farming is for him to take
money with him, start an orange orch
ard, and when he gets it to looking
pretty slick sell it out to some Florida
struck Yankee who has got the cash to
buy" "Oranges not profitable?"
asked. emo, sir; there is no money in
oranges-hardly pay for growing them
and you can't live on oranges. Druthel
have an acre of potatoes up on the side.
oranges in Florida-to live on-and
there amt no great noise made about
potatoes, either" He got off at New
Hampshire station-he and his not toe
well-dressed wife and children-glaC
enough, after laying down the price Of
their New England farm in Florida, tC
get back to the old sod and hunt for ;
living there again.
Lots of men and women lose thei
heads from too much dependence upor
booming advertisements of lands tina
overflow with milk and honey, whea
BELTS" "cotton belts Obtaining rail
road poster pictures, in which the land i
always more productive than any othel
land, and silk-dressed girls are driving
four-horse reapers to the tune of fit
bushels of S2-wheat to the acre. Ri!
thing on paper-fine two-story villa
playing croquet, counting like fury
prancing around on saddled thorough
breds, dressed to kill and all of thi
somewhere way out on the heat o
blizzard-blasted wastes of Kansas o
Dakota. Grand thing on paper, ant
pity tits it's true that there are so man,
gullible suckers down east :" an,
"out west to bite at such bait.
| am wandering about Groton an,
Peacham and among the Barre hills
and taking comfort Not much tim
to fish, but lots of charming scenery
and no end of pie and doughnuts
Good livers here-too high feeders
probably; but Vermont is such poo
old state, as many an out-wester
thinks, the people must do something t.
keep body and soul together, so the
, live well here and loan money tout il
, 1llinoy." Might do worse. Good oil
, lumber and farming towns; might b
better if the boys would stay at home
more of them, but too many of then
, won't. And the girls are left behind
, most of them, to see the farms ru
, down, else go off somewhere to teac
,. school, peddle books, do store or oflic
? or shop work in the cities-anything
anything but homework. Worse luc
for too many of them. Time was whe
Vermont girls went out to service i
| housework and factory. Not one in
! thousand does so now They aspire
Z "higher life," whatever that ma
mean. Some find it; some few exec
too many drag out unrequited old-mai
. lives.
? The Saloon i'm Politics.
THE results in Rhode Island, Penn