The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-03-20
LETTER FROM UNCLE JOSH.
FIDDLER's CREEK, March ..
No. 9.
Editor Free Fress:

No. 8.
Editor Free Fress:
In my last letter / told you would
finish the "rainy day" talk that the
Deacon and / were enjoying at his
house. The Deacon had the floor, as
usual, for he could talk all around me,
and was saying that ''the Alliance
would fail in politics, but could win in
business" or words to that effect.
81 was saying to you awhile ago." said
the Deacon, 'that the farmer should
take lessons from the successful bust
ness men. Now let us, follow that line
awhile, and see where we come out.
Let us take an average business man,
no matter in what part of the country
he is in, for they are all about alike.
He works hard, no question about
that; farmer would think he was
killed if he undertook to keep up close
to the heels of a business man for
month, to say nothing about doing the
actual business done. Yet the bust
ness man comes up smiling every
morning ready for his days work, and
he goes through the day with rush.
He makes mOney-that's what he
is working for, not for fun. If he is
in large city, he rushes into restau-
rant at noon time, and ruShes lunch
down his throat, and rusheS back to
business, and when it comes along
about o'clock he rusheS home to his
dinner, and there the rush ceases.
His business he leaves at the shop or
office. In the evening he takes his
family to the theatre, and gets rested
up. He takes the papers and keeps
posted on the news of the day, paying
little attention to the political news,
but knows what is going on in Wash
ington, all the same. He has pew in
a church, for which he pays anywhere
from $50, up to $500 per year, according
to his means, disposition or environ
ment. When election time comes
along he takes more interest in poll
tics. He votes to suit himself, and if
his party wins he feels happy. If it is
defeated, he is sorry about it for two
or three days perhaps, but he does not
neglect his business. He makes money,
and he spends more of it for pleasure
every year than the average farmer
can earn.
He enjoys life-feels friendly to all.
He sits in his pew on Sunday, and
listens to the preacher who is telling
him that it is easier for camel to go
through the eye of needle, than it is
for rich man to get into heaven, and
the preacher speaks just as earnestly
as though he believed it, and probably
he does, for before he has finished his
discourse, he makes powerful appeal
for money, for this or that charitable
purpose, or to support foreign mis-
sions, or to help a struggling church
society out west that has built a
church and can't pay for it-thiS APP
plies especially to the east. The
church hospital is in need of, funds,
and IS 1UGGhw @RRst R9 e tfGsGd to f p4dyy
softly while the boxes are passed, and
the business man drops five or ten
preacher? we'll, he knows his flock
must be made poorin order to be saved,
according to the camel and needle
story, and he does his best to save
them, and so the business man pays
more for church purposes than the
average farmer can earn, and yet he
prosperS, and does his best to make
money, and so he lives out his allotted
in Inv p,Ify bot Of 70
mer: Does he live in a twenty thou
trio lights, furnaces, hot and cold
fine steaks, and good cigars, and fine
want, and furs, and fine clothes, and
and play the piano, and does she take
three or four hours day, to improve
her mind? Does the farmer send his
boys to college, to fit them for useful
any opportunity whatever for Self-im-
work, for every member of the family,
from morning till night? Is it not
one constant grind the whole year
round: simply pinch and save, pinch
and save, until manhood and woman
hood is we'll nigh ground out? The
farmer earns so little that he must be
small and stingY, he can't help him
self, and so'with his cheap clothes and
cheap notions, he banters for cent,
and is calleda ''hayseed" by those who
have more money, and why, Uncle
Josh, are these thing so? Simply be-
cause that little bit of gray matter
under the farmers skull is dormant.
He chases political phantoms, when
he should be studying how to make
money out of his business; and / will
tell you now, Uncle Josh, just what
the farmer should do, and will do
when he sees his way clear" find |
must leave the most interesting por-
tion of this matter for another letter
UNCLE JOSH.