Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1890-09-19
For Congress.
city and Country In the Census,

One significant fact clearly established
BY the published figures Of the census re
ports is that during the last decade
A rerican towns and cities have had
large, and, in some instances, a 'urpris.
ing growth, while the advance Of the ru-
raj districts in population has been far
less rapid, and their increase is compar-
ativcly ineonsnierable.
The reasons for his state of things are
not far to sock. Year after year there
il natural and steady inflow from the
country to the city of young men who
have been educated to some extent. and
who find at home no opportunities for
well dong unconnected with laborious
drudgery and inccssant toll. In most
cases these young men are Of tcmpera-
mcnt that recols from the staghatiOn of
rural life and that thrsts for the stir and
excitement which belong to the centers
Of population It were an idle task to
suggest to such natures the compensa
lions of peaceful seclu'ion, :he slow but
sure acquisition, under certain conditions,
Of property and means Of self-support,
and the possibility Of possessing, under
the most favorable circumstances, all
that makes life worth living Youth and
temperament are both against the expe-
Aenccd monitor A glowing imaginl-
ton and buoyant hopefulness see for
tune, social success. professional or, it
may be, literary distinction in the near
future of city life. This tendency of
young men toward the cities is nothing
new. In connection with it in the past,
over against few successes, there is a
sad and tedious record Of blighted hopes,
disappointed aims, fruitless efforts. and
dismal failures; and this record, with
HtH uullGS anu ClICuiuSlduCtS, Will uHu
repetition iu tho future. There are thou
sands Of lltely arr we'd young men in
sur cities to-day who have already dis
covered that in the city no more than in
the country can one hasten to be rich;
that employment, even, is hard to find
for unframed faculties and non-descript
abilities, and that, when found, it in
wolves long hours and dreary-often hu-
mlliatiug-drudgery.
The time must seon come when this
continuous influx into our cities of young
men from the country will be generally
regarded as a misfortune. The opera
tons of agriculture are a the foundation
of all our prosperity as people. With
the single exception of bad and unjust
economic conditions, the clrcu instances
Of the American farmer are especially
favorable. The me hods Of varied and
profitable cultivation of the soil are dali
ly becoming better understood, and in
ventve genius has made available for
farm work many labor saving MACH les
shat relieve it of much of is drudgery. I
There is, indeed, much to. show that ag-
riculture is arriving at sew epoch in
It's history.
But the new conditions will need new
men. The more varied the cultivation
and the more numerous the mechanical
appliances employed, the more will in
telligence and enterprise be required in
the management of the field and farm
1t is greatly to be hoped that our we'll
educated and active young men. who
from childhood are familiar With rhe pro-
eesses of farm FIFE, will see their oppor-
unity in these changed and changing
conditions. In the city they must take
their chances of SUCCESS at very great
risks. In the country, while the prize
may be less. it may almost be said to be !
IN each case within the certain reach of !
intelligent capacity and industry.
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