Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-09-17
Attacks on New England.

The Bangor Commercial thus defends
New England against magazine attacks:
Readers of the Atlantic Monthly who
are SO unfortunate as to live in that
section of our country known as New
England-more especially those benight-
ed people who have so far somehow man
aged to exist in those parts known as
rural New England, would be very
glad to know when the proprietors and
editors of that magazine are to stop
vilifying the respectable. inhabitants of
this forsaken and decayed portion of our
country.
Only two months ago country readers
many in rural New England, were sur
prised to find in it more than twenty
pages of the most untruthful description
of these states and the most slanderous
and libelous attacks upon the general IN
telligence, manners and morals. of the
inhabitants. Here again In the July
number of this same magazine in an ar
ticie of ten pages miscadiea h the tba ad
abuse of farmers and country people
their homes, habits, diet. manner of life
and want of intelligence Is made the ne
country people which il; SO ntrutliful
that almost any respectable magazine
would refuse to publish it. Although
the article does. In ITS last two pages .
The writer thinks is to be the. future
Of this God-forsaken country. the entire
body of the article, aside from this, con
t1nueS the CIu FpelOuS "iiiSi
the Commercial pointed out as disgrace
ing the magazines former articles on
this same subject. .
The writer tries to picture the Town OF
Dickerman, where the fields wear dlS-
couraged air." where many of the farm
houses have been tenantless for years.
and where many of the occupied houses
are so gray, moss-grown and dllapidateo
than the tenantless ones; their windows
have the traditional stuffed panes. ana
the chimneys ready to toppae over IN the
first high wind where 1.-The barn-yards
and Uttered, miry and foul-smelnng, ana
the stock within them with the exception
of the pigs, which thrive) are lean and
hungry" where "poIk in one form or an
other is the staple meat, and pork ana
hearty food are synonyms. belng sup
plemented mainly with not cream-oI-
and pies" where Chronic dyspepsia and
other internal disorders are common;
where "the social life is pincned ana
bare" and where Ito the sights and
Dumb" where ''the schools are taught by
girls without training or enthusiasm and
attended by children devoid OF ampl-
tion," and where the Sunday schools are
even worse" where THE cnurch-goers
are sadly lacking in the positive virtues
of honesty, generosity and brotherly
love" and where "the social immortality"
if the truth were told about It, would be
sad" and would lead to something be-
ing done to protect the cities against the
morals of the country
But this author caricatures the farm
ers and their families in a far worse man
ner than he does the other residents.
They have no honesty. no ABILITY, 90 not
study the markets, "are constantly sac
rificing permanent profit for ready cash;
take everything out Of the land and put
nothing into it," leave wagons tools and
implements out all the year. round and
L,r~v snrvr fIn.~r
for being poorly made and inveigles bois-
terously against the dishonesty of the
times" deacon everything they have
to sell, and have an 'incapacity for bust
ness made up of uninteHigence, shiftless-
ness and dishonesty in about equal
parts"
reading this kind OF stun month after