The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-05-02
The Good Old Times.
From the Kansas CITY Journal.


On Saturday night. in the little town Of
Hamlin, Brown county, Governor Morrill,
delivered an address in aid of local
church. The church itself was packed
with people from the town and surrounding
country, and the address was more in the
nature of talk with old neighbors than of
a regulation lecture
The Governor chose as his theme sold
Times and New, and the leading thought
was the desirability of contentment with
the things which are The speaker opened
with the remark that, as boy, he could
remember well how the old fellows sat
around just as they do now and told fairy
tales about the ''good old times. The
''times' of the present were so transcend
emily better than any of the times
which had gone before that people were
thoughtless indeed who pinned for the past.
Among other things the speaker said that
it was in 1744 when the first American
stage coach began to run. In 1856 the
first stage coach from Philadelphia to New
York was placed in service. In George
Washington first term two stage coaches
and twelve horses sufhced to transact all
the business between New York and
Boston, The conveyances are described
as old and shackly, the harness mostly
made of ropes, the beasts ill-fed and worn
to skeletons 1t took six days to make
this trip in the 'good old times and now
it is done in five hours. If journey of
any considerable length was to be under
taken prayers were offered in the church
for the traveller and his friends wore a look
of sadness, as if some great danger hung
over him. On his safe return he was
looked upon as hero. The First Con-
gress was delayed three weeks from organ
izing because of the non arrival of members
who were impeded by bad roads.
One hundred years ago the only fruit
which found its way to the market was the
common fox grape. An orange was the
rich man luxury The mechanic who
could not pay his doctor was thrown into
Jail and later sold to the highest bidder.
\ mechanic or laboring man could no more
think of buying ''store clothes than he
could think of flying.
''An old friend of mine, said the Gov
ernor, ''who lived in Illinois told me that
until he was IS years old he had never
had a store hat or cap. In the winter
they killed coons and squirrels, and from
the skins of these his mother made him
caps, and in the summer she braided him
hats from straw from the field. When Is
years of age he hauled load of wheat Il
Market and the trip occupied just | 2 days
He sold the wheat for 80 cents bushel
and bought his first suit of clothes ready
made.
The man who sawed wood, pitched hay
or carried the hod used to receive tw,
shillings a day in the good old times.
The pay of soldier was SO month, anC
when bill was introduced in the First
/ Congress to increase it to IS Z month Con
gresham Smith, of Vermont, declared he
could get all the men the army needed fol
the first named sum. Fifty years ago i,
New England farm hand could be employed
for 500 year aud board. \ giltedged
price for days labor was IS cents.
The inefficient mail service was then de-
scribed by the speaker. In the good old
times newspapers were not permitted tc
90 as mail He read from the New York
Journal, of December II, 1877, an edi-
torial which complained that New York
paper was not permitted to enter Philadel-
phia unless it contained some fulsome
praise of Frankie's new roof. - This
''Frankie" was the Honorable Benjamin
Franklin.
When Washington was President bill
was voted down which permitted the mail
carriers to carry passengers. The only
way newspaper publisher could get his
papers into the hands of subscribers was TO
bride the mail carrier to deliver them at
the different offices.