The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-09-18
FARMING COMPARES WELL WHEN
SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN
VEsTMENTS ARE COMPARED.

FARMING COMPARES WELL WHEN
SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN
VEsTMENTs ARE COMPARED.
Some one signing himself Partaker
sent the Neto England Farmer an article
entitled 1.-THE Dark Side" dealing ex-
clusively with the dark side of farm life.
In recent issue Clara Hamilton Reed
deals with the question in the following
incisive style:
Did you ever, Mr.. Partaker, take your
field-glass out upon high hill overlook
ing beautiful scenery in the valley be-
meath and, raising it to your eyes, be-
hold only horrid, blurred nothingness !?
If so, what was the trouble? Why, sim
ply the lenses of your glass needed adj
justing with reference to your eye, the
distance of surrounding objects, etc.
Did it necessarily follow that the beauti-
full landscape at your feet was simply a
meaningless blot on the surface of ma
ture because it appeared so to your eye?
We think, if you will take the trouble to
adjust the lenses of your mental vision
in regard to the subject in question, by
comparing the condition of working
men in other branches of business, with
no more capital to invest than the aver
age farmer, the farming outlook will not
look quite so dark to you. But to be
more practical. Did you ever, Mr.. Par
taker, ride through some of our charm
ing New England villages, perhaps, as
the guest of friend, who, as you pro-
coed continues to make such remarks
as the following: "Do you see that big
tenement house over there? Well, that
was once prosperous boot shop, but
some way at last the business didn't pay
and hid to be given up. The building
was sold for almost nothing and cut up
into tenements as you see." 'Notice
that tumbled-down brick building yOn-
der. Ny father can remember when it
was the biggest wooden mandatory in
this region, but some way the whole con-
Germ failed up years ago, couldn't stand
the competition, SUPPOSE" etc. What
about these abandoned places of which
New England is full ? Again, Mr.. Par
taker, have you kept run of the failures
reported in the papers for the last five or
ten years, great and small? If so, what
proportion of them has been among the
farmers? In making comparisons, it is
never fair to compare the condition of
the average farmer with that of the So
called moneyed men, whether of city or
country The moneyed farmers land
there are many owners of vast estates,
blooded cattle of uncomfortable values,
etc., should always be used in compari
son with moneyed men of other callings.
We claim that when such just compari-
son is made the condition of the farmer
of any class will compare faYorably with
those of like class in other branches of
industry. 1t is time of close competi
ton and business depression in every de-
partment. None of us need look far for
practical proofs. Recently an extensive
business man of our town died, leaving
his affairs in terrible condition. He
was large meat dealer. 1t is found
that his poor debts contracted on ac-
count of hard times and strikes amount
to so many thousands that when the es-
tate is settled his family will have
almost nothing. Last week our country
doctor, a man of much education and ex-
perience and honOred in his profession,
told us in all seriousness it would take
all he could save from his practice, above
his family expenses for the next four
years, to support his daughter at Vassar
college. A manufacturer in small way
in one of our neighboring cities recently
told us that while his workmen all took
vacation of two weeks every summer,
he was obliged to work all the time,
early and late, to make his business pay.
80 we could multiply examples to prove
the point in question, but space forbids.
In regard to the social condition of the
farmers family, think it lies in a great
measure with the family itself what po-
sition it takes to society. In this connec-
ton, Shakespeare's old couplet always
come to my mind: . .-..
THE fault is not in our stars
But in ourselves that we are underlings."