The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-06-18

rho address OF HoD. a. w. ierreii before
10. State university last Wtdo ,sday
mastery effort. His. theme was
lis Individual Ownership and Gull
.,o, the surest Safeguard of Free Gov
.~mept." After reviewing the progress Of
- American civilization in Texas AMI
=. ,mportanoe attached to the individual
~ of land by the revolutionsts Of
,sss the speaker said;
~ arocess of the revolution secured to
~ sss GOA 900 acres of land, which is
ieAd with climate in which the de-
,,"s.su coolness of each night invigorat s
~ ~ hodv for the labors OF another day.
~. 49, Grandeur of legislative enactments
lid he measured by their results, surely
sa,hins In ancient or modern timss can
lsnnare with the magniiicence of the gift
~ Texas revolutionists made. when
,.a.s from battle, they donated one half Of
hst great domain to the education of
Nth That England which William of
xornandy parcelled out to his barons did
~, eoIal it in magnitude. Texas has APP
r-onriaied that land with impartial hand
r. educate her children and the childr, n
n our former slaves. Over four millions
" srrss we're given also in addition to the
Haunt
.s'o and n half millions for the university.
rts three millions which were appro-
..s,ol to construct the State capitol are
,f..s,eJ north of the sand hills and are not
a, for agriculture.
THO nrocress of Texas in material de-
s,ianment during the thirtyfour years
Nat have elapsed since the close OF the
.lr,l war has been as marvellous as her
revolutionary birth. and 1t Is but the out
Growth of our industry on the farm and
Il the pasture, for we have concentrated
M great wealth in large cities or by COM
rerce or manufactures. At the close Of
AIR civil war in 1865 our taxable valuc s
we're reduced in 1867 by the abolition OF
slavery to $4,000, 900; land and the
indomStable energies of an impoverished
people we're alone left TO them. Frustrated
ncon the lap of Mother Earth, Antenus
ike they arose with renewed vigor from
,he embrace. Behold how well they have
wrestled with adversely. In 1890, the true
,aluaiion of our taxable values was nearly
toprtsen hundred million dollars, eleven
hundred millions of which represented our
land and improvements, the products OF
which In one year amounted in the ag-
rregate to over $500. 900, 600. The mendicant
Is rarely seen in Texas towns. and he Is
never seen among our rural homes, whe G
plenty abounds everywhere. and where
treat accumulations of individual wealth
lre unknown. The census of 1880 shows
that 70 per cent of all the farms through
out the Union were free from debt and
unincumbered. No other industry can make
such showing.
In 1T76 nnety-seven out Of every hum
dred Of our revolutionary ancestors livel
on farms and but 3 per cent had thei :
t., mr.; hp n.
ton about the same proportion had rural
homes In 1850 only so per cent and in
1890 less than 40 per cent of the people
o. the United States cultivated the soil.
The farm was the birthplace ard favorite
home Of eleven of our presidents during
The first fifty years of our National life,
beginnlng with Washington and ending
with Mr.. Polk Each desired. like Cicero,
after an eyentful career. TO return to the
aflishts nf rural life Then the great am
billion Of the professional man and thH
merchant as well was TO purchase land and
occupy farm when he retired from bu l.
ness All this is changed and the grrat
nan'rs OF tho city now caricature The
former as ignorant. rude and unkemrt.
Thirty wears ago the public taste even il
cites, had not been prostituted by VIII l.
% termed refined society to appreci Ia
"
induleng in it would have been without
tubscrbers
JEFFERSON ON AGRICULTURE.
lhomas Jefferson, from his poplar grove
larm wrote the following memorab' e
WORDS In 1851 "Those who labor in the
'drtn are the chosen people of God, If
ever be had chosen people whose hearts
DE has made his peculiar deposit for
genuine and substantial virtue. 1t is the
focus in which he has kept alive that
.asTed hre which otherwise might escape
.,em the earth. Corruption in morals n
Ie mass of cultivators of earth is a
pl.nomenon Of which no nation or ase
'an furnish an example. 1t is the mark $ t
w ,nose VINO, not looking UP to Heaven
" .heir own soil and industry as does the
tssuahunan for his subsistence, depend
W u on the casualties and caprices of
.,'ers Generally speaking, the propor-
uOl OF the aggregate of other classes of
,AlIehs In any State bears to that of the
aasDahaman is the proportion of its un-
sna 10 its healthy parts, and coed
ssoaen barometer whereby to measure It's
sns OF corruption. Depend snce bege s
vs s. and venality suifocatcs the
ia I " virtue and prepares fit tools for
ss'S VI ahhpltlOH. ut IIUp5 VI SiN"I
nn .es add Just as much TO the support Of
s,. government as sores do to the
Ssus'h OF the human body"
ny spoke the author of the American
,,.aia'lon OF Independence. l make no
-syosy for this lengthy extract.
n,.'au the great source and support OF
n,s anu self-reliant manhood. must .be
"a for the individual ownership
s.ui'iVatlon Of men, its ownership
i, ~, against all combinations of cap
n Ia, ana those who cultivate II educated
81 saserstand and assert the true dignity
., euiture in the scale of employm ents,
vii fail. 'ep'''"A so' '-'''>
m we can not be guided by reason, let
t,nsne the warnings of history before
IN ana fashion have destroyed us.
rtonl. most prosperous era of the Roman
sbs. was IN the early days OF the republic
chiss uuring peace agriculture was the
d M enjoyment. Saturn. the patron saint
INV v, farmer, was worshiped in the treas
b. s@nere an altar was erected to symbol
lfs,.r dependence on agriculture. Long
crlv arus discomfort began. when not
sas shpania around Rome, but all ltl y
tsre appropriated by rich patricians in
anas ~ oi the law de mode agri. Thous-
Ny ~, SCARED veterans, who, with POM
tsrrsnaauu swept the pirates from the Med'-
ana so,',. were in the streets of Rom
mt