The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-17
A woMAN,s LESSON TO MEN.

If one were to Judge of the condi-
lions Of our farmers by the walls emit
ted during the recent session of the
Alliance, the oppressed fellaheen Of
Egypt are a burdenless class beside
them. If one goes out among them.
he will find that prosperity exists
among them in just about the same
proportion that it does with all other
industrial classes, and, accident aside,
depends upon the thrift, industry, econ
only ard good management which are
brought to the work of extracting
wealth from the soil. If the railways
are the robbers pictured in lurid colors
by the average Pop, if bankers are the
bloodsuckers, the greedy cormorants,
the rapaciOUs Shylocks against whom
the Populist orator delights to hurl his
anathemas, there could be no such
instance Of the accumulation of wealth
by agriculture as is given by the Win
dom Reporter. Zone square yard of
Kent is worth all of Utopia" says
Macaulay, and one such case Of sue
cess amid surroundings so formidable
is worth all the panaceas Populism pre-
scribes for the enrichment of the farm
err
There is widow in Mountain Lake town
ship" says the Reporter, whose widowhood
is of five or six years standing. Her husband
left her in bad shape financially. and with
S, vCr&l children to take care of. Among
other debts that of about two thousand
dollars on piece of land bought of the rail-
road company upon which only small pay
ment had been made. There were two things
for the woman to do when she became a
widow: to sit down and mourn her lot, curse
mankind for the ills it brings to the rest of
the people, or go to work with intelligence
and determination to carry on the work laid
out by her husband and succeed. Like a
brave woman she chose the latter managing
her work and employing such help was
necessary. She worked the farm intelligently
and perhaps not being able to vote has been
a blessing to her. In that one word vote
fortunes. but not possessing the right she
gave no thought to statecraft but to getting
out of the soil the wealth with which God
endowed it, before he made so many acute
statesmen who can see no profits in other
than hauling down somebody else's house
What has the widow done did YOU ask?
Well, we have had hard times for five years,
ten-cent oats and forty-cent wheat a gold
money and a bowling Bryan trying to
vince people that they couldn't live. During
the evils of politics and getting rich wind,
the widow has been raising wheat. oats, fax,
barley, corn, stock, chickens, geese and tur-
keys minding her own business and raking
in the shekels She has paid all Of her hus-
bands debts paid for the land. clothed her
family better than they were clothed when
the father lived. and possesses a peaceful,
quiet mind l know of statesmen who have
been growing poorer all these years while
she has been growing richer, and not only
richer, but better. better woman, a better
mother, better friend better financier and
a better farmer.
Together with paying all these debts. etc,
she has bought considerable new machinery
ell that has been needed to carry on her half
section of land. She has kept 1t housed and
cared for when net in use, while statesman
ship has scattered plows, drags, reapers,
mowers. harvesters. headers. rickers, stack
ers and everything it could get trusted for
over the prairie to decay under the opera
ton of the elements"
What farmers want, what they have
the right to demand, is to be let alone
neither fooled with pretense of legis-
lative aid nor handicapped by burdens
imposed by law. Take off the burdens,
give them an equal chance with every
other class, and let them alone to work
out their financial salvation as ability
to do it is given them.