The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1902-11-27
THE RoUSTABOUT.


Roustabout used to have a little
sympathy for a man who swears, be-
cause he himsen occasionally found
relief in cuss word. But the older
he gets the less use he has for bias
phemy, and when he hears a person
in public besmirch his manhood with
foul mouth he feels like washing out
the opening with a handful of mire
from the gutter. 1t is a deplorable
fact that the silly and vicious practice
of using profane language of the worst
sort on any and all occasions seems
to be on the increase among men Of
all ages and classes and particularly
among young boys. 1t is only neces-
sary to listen for a few moments to
the casual conversation of boys
and young men who congregate
on the street corners and other
public places to aware of this.
The practice is not only silly but
vicious and degrading to the last de-
gree and parents, religious leaders
and teachers, and all others who have
oversight and guidance of the young
cannot too strongly reprobate and
discourage the habit. No man who
would have the least respect of those
whose respect is worth having will in
dulge in blasphemous language no
matter whether he has any religious
scruples or not. 1t is never the mark
of gentleman anyway.
Roustabout ran up against a son of
the soil the other day, one of the kind
who along with his corn and his
pumpkins has raised good crop of
hard sense. The conversation driftcd
from one thing to another unit! the
subject of cheap farms in other states
was reached. Funny, amt it." said
the old man, "the further you get
away from a country the more fertile
it appears to be-'cordin' tew the land
agent Paradise is like the rainbow
its always a leetle further on. Yew
can sell Ohio land to New England
man and make him believe that date
palms will grow there if they git half
chance. The Ohio man buys Iowa
land and the Iowa man bites on a
prospectuss of Oregon which make
out thet Eden wuz only a tangle of
underbrush and hole in the ground
compared with that lovely country.
Nd expect that out In oregon they
are selling humsted claims in Luzon
and tibet in Luzon some smooth agent
with a map of New England and a q
horse power jaw is selling fruit farms
in that garden spot of the earth.
amt sayin' enything against eny
of these places but / have observed
that nine out of ten fellers who go
gaily off tew shovel up wealth in far
off country come quietly back tew
good old Iowa. Nd some of the rest
would come back If they could stand
the long md tiresome walk. Iowa sile
when sprinkled with plenty of perspir-
alton and Iowa air when charged with
good old common sense will raise some
phenomenal crops. If they had pros
pectusses md an easy lynn promoter
to help 'em out, they would probably
show up ez well ez any place in the
nation. There is only few places
where a man kin live without work
anyway and ! amt never yearned tew
live in 'em. Yew either wear striped
clothes or none at all.
Roustabout is in receipt of the fol-
lowing communication which explains
itself: Il don't think Jeff Harbour is
very smart in making fun of the art
divine. If embryo poets were not al
lowed to try their wares on the pub
lie through the country press, many a
flower would waste It's sweetness on