The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-10-26

He then quietly resumes his work to return
home at night to find ready for him a SUBJ
stantial meal of meat, vegetables, bread
and as rule all the beer he needs. In
TACT, beer seems to be the mainstay of the
laboring classes wherever you go.
Some six miles beyond here, just after
leaving Brentwood, another pretty little
nam ct, had a peculiar experience with a
peasant, whom found IN the field eating
his lunch, and taking things exceedingly
easy. l talked to him about his life, and he
seemed perfectly contented with it. When
| suggested that one of our laborers would
think his diet very light one, he said
Yes, my brother who got into bit of a
scrape here and has gone to America says
that man will not go to work there in the
morning until he has a shilling's worth of
meat in his stomach
found this laborer
QUITE AN INTELLIGENT MAN.
Which is not the rule in this country, and
he gave me many interesting facts about
peasant life in the south of England where
he has lived all his life. An hour after
left him l stopped at the home of cottager
Dy the roadside for glass of milk, which
was only an excuse to talk with the good
woman who presided over the place in her
husbands absence, and probably quite fire.
quently when he was at home. She said:
Good girls about the house usually get
from els $50 to e24 (Sl25) year, accord
ing to the work they have to do and how
smart they are. Cooks get $50 a year
(sl5O) according to how they please. A
servant who is fl and wants to work can
get good home and good wages, as rule,
but many of the young women are wild to
get off to the city, where they get harder
work and less wages than at home"
This woman's testimony was only cor
roborative of what ! had learned in many
parts of England where good agriculture
dominates But she also voiced the general
sentiment when she said that while the
girls could earn something in the summer
time it was difficult for them to get any
thing to do in the country distrits in the
winter and that was cause of serious dis
content among them. But things have
greatly improved of late years and all
classes of farm labor has better chance
than in times past.
ON ONE OF MY TRIPS
CHANGED TO stop at cottager's home about
supper time, which is the real family meal
of the day, when father, mother and chill
dren can all sit down together. | got a
plate at the humble board and found plenty
OF vegetables and goodly portion of
picked meat, together with plenty of beer
to cheer the heart and invigorate the body
1t was typical PEASANTS family gathering,
such as | had seen at dozen places in
western or northern England, only varying
In example according tothe thrift and ca
price OF the laborer. But one thing is ever
apparent, that his family are brought up to
be tidy and polite, and no matter how poor
their clothing, it is almost always clean
and health is pictured on the rosy cheek of
every member.
| have said this much of the agricultural
classes in England as | have seen them
Much more might be written, but it would
add nothing of moment to the story. The
picture is not all rosy one, and there are
localities where dark lines of sadness are
drawn around the PEASANTS life, just as
sucn communities can be discovered in any
country | have ever visited, for have
always found that hired labor is, under the
most favorable conditions, now and then
harshly treated. Many of the peasants
houses are overcrowded where the families
are large, but they are never so overlooking
that the homes are not pleasant to the eye,
If the depths OF the household reveal un-
pleasant truths. One thing is ever apparent
in making a careful research of this char
acter, both from observation and the testi-
mony OF those who labor on the land, and
that is as rule
THE CONDITION OF THE NORWEGIAN is M
PROVING
when his efforts tend in the right direction
Ii it IS not what it should be, it may be-
come so in the future, but what surprises
me Is that they are as well off rs they are
IN this country where life is settled, and
the struggle for something to do IS so
great Another thing of interest is that
you con find very few of them, who would
even consider the question of trip to
the new world, where such golden promises
are made to the ear to be harshly broken
to the hope. After this careful inquiry,
can quite easily understand why the Eng
llsh peasant prefers TO remain at home.
While In our country he would have a
thousand chances for advancement, where
he would have one in these overcroWded
communities, and even have a chance to
reach wealth and position, he accepts with
perfect grace the exactions which class
imposes and has perfect confidence "that
1t is the honest intention OF the law
to be fair to all alike, and that in the end,
his government will not neglect his true in
terests." No citizen in the country is more
independent or enjoys more political power
than these peasants, and the laborers of any
community can raise ruction about the
simplest matter, and one of the strongest
governments On the face of the earth will
heed their protests. Liberty he has in large
doses, but license, no. and he obeys law be-
cause he respects it.
FRANK a. BURR.