Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-12-31
FARMER LIFE IDEAL
THE LOT OF THE TlLLER OF THE
SOIL is TO De ENWEo.

SOIL is TO RE ENvIEo.
Drudges In CITY Steps Know Moth
Ing OF His Irdeaendcncc, and Al
though the work l. Hard nnd In
cesxant the Reward Is Sure.
If some of the farmers who are dis
couraged because they have not made
fortune off their farms and who feel
inclined to envy their brother toilers in
the city, imagining that life In the city
Is more desirable than theirs, easier
and filed with plenty OF leisure to en-
joy all the pleasures with which the
rustic Imagination gilds and glorifies
those distant scenes and activities,
they need only try to find out their
mistake. Far fields are green" and
lose much of their attractiveness upon
q nearer view.
To the city man OF ordinary mems
and opportunities. who, like the ordi-
nary farmer, has no bank account to
fall back upon in case of emergency,
life is one "demnition grind" and with
out the soothing Influences of nature
that surround the farmer to quiet the
fever and unrest with which the strug-
gle, competition and turmoil around
him keep his nerves on the rack day
after day. AS a rule, such men are not
their own masters, but must order
their speech, demeanor and inclinations
to please the powers that have control
over their daily doings in order to keep
bread in the mouths and clothes on the
backs of both themselves and their
families.
The farmer. IL he does not feel well,
can rise in the morning at whatever
hour 1t pleases him SO to do. for IN
hour or so or a day or two does not
make much difference in his affairs,
except Mt the most critical periods of
planting and harvesting. He can have
his own opinions. and voice them, too,
on politics and religion and all the
stirring questions of the day without
fear of antagonizing the powers that
be, who can sack" him it his views
and opinions do not happen to coincide
with those of his masters or "over-
lord'' (the boss.
That the farmer is a hard worker no
body can deny. Tilling the soil is not
easy work. Since God gave the COM
mand to man to earn his bread by the
sweat of his face" the farmers life
has been life of toll. 1t takes some
strength and effort to dig a living out
of the ground. 1t is not easy to earn a
living, much less fortune, without
effort, and the farmer is not the only
one who ''sweats." Brain workers
have no sinecure, although some per-
sons imagine that all they have to do
is to sit at desk and add up figures
or to twiddle n pen in their fingers. The
life of n salesman behind the counter
is most we3risome and monotonous.
The beautiful days of spring so by,
the birds are singing as they build
their nests. the flowers are blooming In
the valleys and on the hillsides, and the
grass is growing greener and greener
in the meadows. yet never glimpse
does he get of the beauty of the bright
world except when he can take car
ride of an evening or ON Sunday or
holiday.
A grocer's clerk works more hours
and harder than the average country
boy, who can go to the corner" and
pitch quoits and gossip with his cronies
when the city young man is just get
ting from work, and, as for the man
who delivers milk in the city, he has
even harder work and longer hours.
AT 4 in the morning and even earlier
his wagon is heard ON the streets and
himself racing from top to bottom Of
the high apartment buildings in the
cold and sleet of a midwinter's morn
ing or in the enervating heat Of sum-
mer. AT breakneck speed he goes, and
one could almost imagine that his life
depended rpon getting through his
rounds in due season. Competition is
SO great that he must neglect nothing
and always be pleasant and obliging
to the most unreasonable of customers
for fear of losing one. There are the
icemen, carrying fifty pounds and often
100 pounds of ice up four flights Of
stairs, which Is no easy task, and as 1t
is not skilled labor the pay is probably
not more than 1t should be, considering
the amount of strength expended.
Hard as the work Is and moderate ns
is the pay, no man can afford to lose
his job, so he has to be very careful not
to antagonize his employers.
The man who does business on a
small scale and is his own boss prob
ably finds 1t no easier to make a living,
for he has to do the greater part of his
own work. and In the case of bad or
Improbable season is sometimes not SO
well off as his hlreling, who is sure of
his wages at least.
That man who owns his land and
has good health is poor farmer who
cannot make at least living for him.
self and family. 1t may not be sump-
tuous living, but 1t may be compara-
lively comfortable one. This cannot
be said of all sorts of occupations.
There is another hope ahead for the
farmer. If he doesn't have good luck
this year. he may the next. There is
always chance that there will be q
better yield in crops and better price
In the market. The element Of uncer-
tainty adds zest to life which settled
amount of wages from month to month
and from year to year cannot give, and
he is always sure of enough to eat on
the farm of some sort or another.
Ihe time Is coming and is not far dis
tant when the farmers life will be
looked upon as the ideal life by many
of the world weary toilers of the
crowded cities. Even now the one
bright dream Of many drudger in the
stores and offices is of happy time
coming when he will have farm, a
home all his own in the country. where
he can rest his tired brain and nerves