The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1889-09-06
sense. lie was introduced by Mayor
Pfau i'm few words, and said:

stock and cattle that are the pride of the farm
or, and the many appliances Of science and in
ventions in machinery calculated to max
lighter labor's burden. Experience, and tn
result of intelligence and study, whether IL b'
In the domain OF agriculture and mechanics
we can all profit by them. Wonderful strides
In the science of farIning, and in labor saving
machinery, have taken place In tie last hal
century, and much of II is due to competitive
exhibits and gatherings of this kind; In thu
department of agriculture these improve
ments have been most noticeable. Mark thu
wonderful change in the manner OF cutting
and harvesting Of grain. The old-time cradl'
has given way to the sClf-binder, The scythe Il
the mower. The fail has not only passed on
OF usage, but to-day is scarcely remembered
as one of the primitive methods of threshing
In its place we have the modern threshing ma
chine. And so might name numberless ar
ticles of utility. that, d few years ago, were
undreamed OF, but which have now become al
most a necessity. No doubt can be entertain
ed that these annual exhibits have stimulated
inventive genius. The fair of to-day Is pre-
eminently for the benefit OF tie farmer. Tt
be sure, many articles are a. hibited, upon
these OCCASIONS. that may be objects OF profit
able study by all classes of citizens, but as q
rule the man who tills the soil takes kecnel
interest than all others combined. He hnds
here gathered all the various kinds of grain
developed to their greatest productive power
and wonderful exhibits of fruits, vegetables
seeds, and flowers. Some inventive genius
makes this an occasion to call attention 10
new products of his teeming brain, calculated
To lessen the hours Of labor and cost of produc.
ton. Here are found specimens of horses and
cattle-perfectly developed administering
show the careful breeding that has resulted
from long years of experience, and eXpendi-
lures of large amounts of money. And so
might continue to recount the many advant-
ages OF gatherings of this character. Rivalry
and competition are always beneficial, provid-
ed they are generous, and these annual fairs
do their full part in encouraging the develop
ment of all that tends to secure the maximum
in result through the minimum of labor. and
in adding to the good things of life. The re-
quirements and results of agriculture are
such important factors I'm these exhibitions,
and are 80 pre-eminent in our national indus
trial system, as to demand first place in our
thoughts to day. The earliest records of time
of which we have any knowledge tell of the
tiIler of the land-of him who held the pillow.
In labor of this cha racter and IN the herding
of cattle, sheep and other animals, were man.
first energies employ ed, and that to-day,
through such labor, comes mans chief source
of wealth. is evidence that i'll this great world
of ours lies the source of all things necessary
for our comfort and physical being. PrCduc-
ton and reproduction nay change the char
acter OF that which is produced; methods may
differ, and the mind may more and more as
sist the hand, but the primal source of tha
which we have in this life is the same now as
in the beginning. We never have, and we
never will get beyond that point in human
living, where the fruits or the earth are not
the first necessity of our being, and their pro-
duction the main employment of our race.
The denizcns of a great city, the cunning
worker in brass and other metals, the laborcr
whose handiwork causes the massive build
ings to rise, the clerk in the counting rOum,
the merchant and lawyer, all do their part;
but to the man who sOws and reaps must we
look for the food that sustains life. 1t is the
farmer that supplies the commerce for the
great lines of transportation that traverse our
land. To be sure the freight that passes over
our great railroad systems does lot consist en-
tirely of agricultural products, but it is never
theless true that a large proportion of the
that leaves the great busy CEN
tres OF our land is destined to the home of the
farmer, and is received i'm exchange for at
ticles of food. Removed from the air of city
life, and from the influences that debilitate
physical energy and lessen desire to grapple
with hardship, II is the farmer and pioneer,
his tent n advance of all com
ers fells the forest, and opens up untricd
lands causing them to succumb to the resist
less force of energy and enterprise. He is the
first to see opportunities for betterment in
new abiding place, and Is ever ready to aid in
building up new community. BY dint of I'M
ceasing toll and repeated sacrifices, he makes
for his family home in untrodden wilds, and
lesert places to bud and blossom and yield up
the golden fruit. 1t is the farmer living in
The calm atmosphere of home life, and sur
rounded by associations ana incidents calcu-
lated to induce steadiness of habit, who exer-
cises the best and greatest influence in behalf
of good government and obedience to law.
From obvious causes great cities have sprung
up I'm differ ent parts OF the country, the vast
population attracted to them by the many in
terests that affect human thought and en-
ieayor Tn ere it is that capital centres, and
here il ia that manufactures and industrial
enterprises best flourish, for such towns and
cities possess advantages in the way of distrib-
ntion of goods as to make them important
factors in building up and supplying the
needs OF the country that they in turn depend
upon. These industrial centers are also use
full in the ir relation TO the development of all
that tends to make the country and the peo-
Die great 1t IL but nat ural that with the vast
OF wealth, incident to popu-
Ious towns should come the opportunities for
taking advantage of these refining influences
which do so much toward benehting our civil,
one things which DO their part IN sOftening
and purifying the naturally coarse instincts
Of human beings flourish ana have their best
exponents in the community which has the
advantage that only the concentration of
wealth can furnish. But with these advant
ages come the discomforts ana dangers Incl
dent to a large floating population that has
no real interest in the common welfare or in
the rights of property and citizenship. We
find i'm these cities andlarger towns numerous
class, bent only upon providing for them
little or none of that feeling Of
as to the government under
which they are accorded the privilege of citi-
who not only fail in appreai-
ating the benefits that accrue TO them through
the enforcement of just and wholesome laws,
but oftentimes become aggressive offenders
against the same. 1t is the history of mn
masses that congrcgate i'm all
large cities, that as they grow pGpnlous they
become the prey of men who hold the reins of
government for the pu! poses of
self advancement. Were it not Tor the
power of the ballot-boX In the
hands Of those without the boundries of the
cities, the same baneful influence that pre-
sides over the destiaies of manv of our larger
towns and cities would spread its DESTROYING
hand over the entire country. 1t is the
thoughtful man-the man who leads life of
Of nt1faf-an6 amid the "a fry
home, IS ever free from excitement and pre-
JUDGE, who Is best adapted to exercise Alright
the privileges that accrue under free gov
eminent. AS the country extends and fills
up, and vast regions to the West and South be-
come inhabited: as the cities become denser
and denser and I'LL to Overlooking with rest
less thrOngs, ready for any move, that, right
or wrong, would seem to lead TO better con-
ditiOn, then, more than at the present time,
shall we turn to those who dwell In the agI icul-
tural districts, to aid In maintaining the char
acter and integrity of our country and its in
situations. To the sons of the farmer must
the city look for its fresh blood and vigor.
The men to-day who rule the destinies of the
world or commerce. came from the country.
LUXURY and ease do not develop character,
and only in exceptional cases do the youth of
of either sex who are surrounded by eviden-
ces of wealth, become practical and useful
men and women. The boy or girl born in the
country, and taught to work and and rely up
on themselves and upon the fruit of their toll,
are Jar better fitted to graphic with life's
problems, and to overcome in its battles, than
are those who are reared amid the Injuries
and temptations of city home. 1t is work
that develops the mind, and the harder the
lot, the better are the results secured in growth
and progress.
Not long since was called into New
Hampshire, and while riding over that old
and honored state, noted the barren soil, the
rough and uneven contour OF the land, and
other evidences CT a sterile locality, and l
could understand, better than ever before,
not only how hard life might be under such
a fha lnNs
necessary In so obtaining an existence tended
to develop the better part of the character.
sharpen the intellect, and produce a type of
man fitted to govern first himself and then
others. From the first settlement in New Eng
land Of the sturdy men and women, who were
driven thence by a desire for civil and relig-
i0us liberty, to the present day, the effects OF
stern and perpetual warfare with nature for
supremacy has been marked. A race of re-
markable people sprung from the little colo
ny that landed at Plymouth Rock. The hand
impression upon Kmerican life that genera
tions cannot efface. Narrow in many respects
as regards religious beliefs, but ina that con-
stitutes resolute character, indomitable pluck,
tured amid the hills of New England have
shown themselves worthy of the nobler bapd
who first ventured to the New World, determ-
intd to overcome all obstacles and surmuunt
all difficulties, in order to crafty that love of
liberty which eliminated in the establishment
of free government. All men should work,
unless physically or mentally disqualified; and
especially I'm this land of ours is there no place
for the laggard. We have no leisure class. He
who fails to do his part In the building up and
maintenance of the community with which
his lot is cast lacks the essentials that are ne
cessary to good citizenship. This, the Tooth
year Of our life under constitutional govern
ment is one for thanksgiving and congratua-
ton and is the bearer of much happiness to
us as a people. But hand in hand with those
blessings come problems of the future which
we shall not be unwise to speculate upon. We
are surrounded by all the evidences of great
ness, and stand to day one of the foremost ma
lions on earth. Our development has been
such as to astonish the world, and even those
who have participated IN and been a part of
our growth as people have been constantly
forced to admit that our resources and ability