Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-11-08
THE POOR FARMER.
A Travelling Man Has His Ideas
Somewhat Shaken.
He Thought the Maine Farmer Was Necess.
ariiy q Jay.

There We're four at the table and
every man was stanger to his neigh
Dor, but that made no difference. There
is a sort of a fellowship among men
when they are far from their own fire
sides and no man is considered good
fellow unless he can make talk with his
neighbor even if they have never be-
fore met.
First of the group, the one who would
be noticed first, was very distinguish
ed looking man dressed modestly but of
material that was better than what
any of the rest wore and withal he
wore a sort of blase air that was all
his own and not at all affected. The
other three set him down at once as
the wealthy man who had travelled
considerable and was in the city on
some business "A common sensed
banker" was the thought OF one of the
other men.
The second was a commercial travel
Ter from Vermont. A man who had
graduated from g medical school and
was register ed NJ. D.. but who prefer
red to travel for a wholesale drug firm
than to practice. The third man was a
merchant of Portland, while the fourth
was newspaper man.
Say | pity those poor farmers" said
the doctor. after the conversation had
drifted from the Maine prohibitory
law, to the fair grounds. games of
chance and finally to the farmers who
We're exhibiting on the said fair
grounds. They seem to be hard
worked class of men AMI then | suppose
they are so ignorant"
They are not necessarily ignorant"
remarked the merchant" in fact they
are very much misrepresented class
of people. The comic papers make
them out as a set of jays and all that,
but l would like to have you find me
one of the latter day farmers who look
anything as the papers picture them
But the travelling man was skepti-
cal on the subject of farmers and he
continued his talk on the degeneration
of the farmer and all that sort of talk
and finally said he had never seen a
type of the so-called prosperous farmer.
Il would like to have you show me
a member of the farming fraternity
who has not got the word JAY writ
ten on him as plainly as though it
were in black and white letters he
finally said. The others joked the mat
ter off and soon the talk came to pro-
fessons.
Lets compare indentities." said the
voluble travelling man. Now | am d
travelling man as you may have
guessed. | represent the well known
firm of P, d. & CO.. wholesale drug
Gists.'
o. said the merchant. lam Mr. H.,
of the firm of L.. H. & @. of Portland.
We carry a line of dairy supplies
Il am poor pencil pusher.' said the
newspaper man who was not ashamed
of his profession. II represent the
State paper. the Daily Kennebec
journal here during this week"
The fourth man who had taken part
in the conversation in the manner of a
well informed man and one who was
not at all inclined to boast but knew
and could state his opinion on any
subject showing his superiority over
the others by his superior learning,
was the next one to speak
My name is Reginald Fernald' he
said. L belong to that class of men
whom my friend. the travelling man,
says have a hard time, and indeed we
do. If you ever come to H don't
fail to notify me and | will send a
team for you and show you over my
large farm
If there was ever a man aghaSt 1t
was the travelling man and his apOli-
giles were as profuse as they were long.
He looked the well informed man over
and could not take his eyes from him.
All the while the man who should have
been jay looking object sat and actu-
ally seemed to enjoy the others dis
comfture. though he was too much of
gentleman not to try to make the
other at ease as possible. 1t was as
good as a box of monkeys to watch the
performances of the travelling man
before the dinner was over.
Il shall always have different
opinion of the farmers hereafter" he
confessed to the Journal after dinner
was over and we We're strolling down
the street. oh by the way. | never
thought of it before, do you suppose
he is the real type of a Maine farmer? ?
He wasn't Stringing me, was he? Well.
he is a slick one. and I have had my
idea of Maine farmers changed some
what since l sat down to dinner
The farmers down in this section of
the State don't seem to observe Sun
day very greatly" remarked the New
York man who was riding down on
one of the Sunday afternoon express
trains. He was looking over a field of
grain where the teams We're to be seen
with the men at work loading the rcks
with the golden grain and the horse
rakes near by We're raking after the
cart.
The New Yorker probably did not
know that when the farmer has piece
of grain down and it is not ready to go
into the barn on Saturday. he thinks it
his duty to his stock to do the work
on Sunday. and. therefore. the sight
the New Yorker saw was really moth
ing out of the ordinary. for Sunday
in the haying or harvesting season, but
Is not a natural course of events
throughout the year.
That matter of the wickednesS of
working Sunday has ever been the
source of much discussion among farm
ers. The ordinary farmer does not
hesitate about working in case he can
get his crops in the barn in good con-
dition. but there are those who would
no more work Sunday than they would
trade their soul for the next years