The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1898-01-04
STICK TO THE FARM.
Cotton Planters Journal.

The advice given in the caption of
this article is no longer a sentiment
that appeals to the tender feelings,
a stern proposition that appeals to
the common sense of the young men
OF the country. The cities are over
crowded with a painting, struggling,
mass Of dependents, who
throng The streets and clamOr for an
opportunity to work for II liviny-men
and wome and children who play
their parts in the ever present drama,
and who offer up their lives and souls
to hcighten the effect, of the dark and
terrible tragedy of life. The country,
alone, Affords room for the symmet-
rical Development of manhood and wo-
manhood. The country, alone, con-
duces to the generous expansion of
mind and the healthful development of
the body. The country, alone, nour-
lShcs individuality, huctities patriot
ism, and makes iuen feel and know
that the Declaration of Independence
IS no. meIe bcmbast, and that call
meu arc created free and equal" Yet,
strange as it may seem, the census re-
ports land these reports are con irmud,
and the truths which they contain are
emphasized by the observation of those
who have taken the trouble to invesli-
gatc-show that ever since the wal
there has been a constant exodus of
Tho youth of the land from the country
TO the city. n" bright country boy con
sidered his l;fc anything but Il failure
untll he esca, ,cd from the parental
roof and found something for his hands
to do Sin town." The re suit of thi,
is that the country is denuded Of much
of the intclligcl &C and thrift TO which
it is entitled. 1t is being yearly robbed
of 1t choices. product.
This grcyariousness is one of the
most unnaccountable characteristics of
human nature. Why, with the lights
before them, sensible people will hud-
die together in crowded cities when
the broad country is so inviting is
more than difficult to understand.
This foolish rush to a focal center
brings out in sharp contrast the accrc-
tons OF wealth, the lcanness of want,
the beauty Of virtue, the basenrss of
vice, the pride of the millionaire. the
poverty OF the mendicant, and all the
Jutt!nS promoDtorics in this life of ours.
Great men are not Gorn in cities.
Greatness MAY mature in the metrop
oils, but it must matriculale in the
country. No young man would seek the
city did he know the meaning of city
life, could he see the facts as thew
really exist, could he look upon urban
life apart from its false glamor and
glitter.
Many and many a young man who
has a good home, Il good farm, good
~neighbors and pleasant surround .gs
becomes discontinued and signs 70,
something to divert his mind. He
regards The life about him rs dull and
monotunous, and he is seized Ivy tn,
itch for change. lie sees no myster,
in the vegetation growing about him
hn sees no wondrous beauty in tn,
rose, hears no mysterious message il
the modest violet, hears no voices il
!, the night winds. He il dumb ant
, blind and deaf. TO him the silence.
, are oppressive and unresponsive. II,
Graves excitement. His ambition i
: fired, and to the city he mast 90
/, Unless he has been prepared for pro
r f%essional life, and unless, in additio,
z " ITO piSlaiotlOly lC has c0Dlla
enough to sustain him while he i
. building up practice, he must tax
{ the first thing that comes to hand. III
may obtain q lositlOn at $40 or 80
per month, and his seems a grea
e deal to him. He paws at least $50 fo
board. Other necessary expenses NOR
0 than exhaust his mcomc. lie admire
o the electric cars that hurry him fror
place to place, forgetting that he pay
t fcr the hurrylng. He aomires tn
n electric lights that shine with rar
n bril- fancy, forgetting that these light
turn night INTO daN, and are constant
0 reducing the average number of tn
n years allotted mankind within The orb
of their glare. He glorics i IN the hun
G and hustle, IN the crowds that thrnn
e the streets, in the solemn grandeur G
the churches, in the spectacular mac
mticcncc of the thcaters, where tawdr
n and tinsel arc made to shine an
sparkle like the real and genuine. III
+ revels IL all these things until finall
e he begins to consider what relation h
bears TO them all.
AT home he was as good as the best
as proud us the %proudest, as rich as Tn
richest, and he was received and wei
n coined at every hearLhstone. In hi
\ chosen abiding place he finds himsel
6 so hcdgcd ABOUT by the lines of socia
8 discrimination that he feels like al
4 outcast or a parlah. His income. g
, munificent in his eyes at first. he find
[ insufficient and paltry. His month";
{ stipend amounts to no more than som
t last and rich young men spend in
night. He feels keenly his poverty, i
pinches aud burns him every day. d,
2 what Ae will, he finds himself sinkiil,
, deeper and deeper in debt az the day
I, flow by, and unless he is buoyed u,
and fortified by a moral character bull
up when a youth under happier skies
r he may he led to provide himself will
funds in ways that will bring him int,
, tr uhlc. But the great danger is that b,
will discover that he has untitled himsc,
for country life. In such an event he
drifts from dependency to despair
loses courage and hope and is cas-
adrift, with many another wreck, upor
the waste waters of Lissolu. ion. Ir
the cities, the struggle for existence il
50 fierce, the competition so desperate
that only the strongest and most reso.
lutte natures, equipped for the combat,
survive and achieve ven Il modicum OF
success.
How fares the mediocre man whu
remains in the country, content 10
follow the ways of his fathers, content