Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-12-15
FARMER LIFE IDEAL
THE LOT OF THE TlLLER OF THE
SOIL is TO BE ENVlED.

Drudges In City Shops Know Moth
ing Of Ills undergraduates, and AL
though the Work Is Hard and In
cessant the Reward Is Sure.
If some of the farmers who are dis
couraged because they have not made
fortune OF 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 filled with plenty of leisure to en-
JOY all the pleasures with which the
rustic Imagination gilds and glorifes
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
a nearer view. .
TO the city man of ordinary ean
and opportunities, who, like the ordi-
nary farmer, has no bank account to
fall back upon in case of emergency,
life is n "demnition grind" and with
out the soothing influences Of nature
IAoC SuIAoulu ~ Lux " AuASI SAC
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 W masters, but must order
their speech, demeanor and inclinations
to please the powers that have control
their daily doings in order to keep
bread in the mouths and clothes on the
backs Of both themselves and their
families.
The farmer, if he does not feel well,
can rise in the morning at whatever
hour it pleases him so to do, for an
hour or so Of a day or two does not
make much difference in his affairs,
except at 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 a~ntagonizing the powers that
be, who a sack" him if his views
and opinions do not happen to coincide
with those of his masters or cover
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 learn his bread by the
sweat Of his face the farmers life
has been a 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 a fortune, without
effort, and the farmer is not the only
one who "sweats." Brain workers
have no s%inecure, although some per-
sons imagine that all they have to do
is to sit at a desk and add up figures
or to twiddle a pen in their fingers. The
life Of a salesman behind the counter
is most wearisome and monotonous.
The beautiful days of spring go by,
the birds are singing as they build
their nests, the flowers + blooming in
the valleys and on the hillsides, and the
grass is growing greener and greener
in the meadows, yet never a glimpse
does he get Of the beauty of the bright
world except when he can take a car
ride of an evening or IN a 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
wen harder work and longer hours
At 4 in the morning and even earlier
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, anC
one could almost imagine that his life
depended upon getting through his
rounds in due season. Competition ii
so great that he must neglect nothing
and always be pleasant and obligins
to the most unreasonable of customer
for fear Of losing one. There are thu
icemen, carrying fifty pounds and Otter
100 pounds of ice up four. flights o
stairs. which is no easy task, and as !
is not skilled labor the pay is probabl!
not more than it should be, considering
the amount of strength expended
| Hard as the work is and moderate al
is the pay, no man can afford to los,
his job, so he has to be very careful no
to antagonize his employers.
The man who does business on {
small scale and is his own boss prob
ably finds Il no easier to make a living
for he has to do the greater part Of hi
own work, and in the case of a bad O.
improbable season is sometimes not 81
well off as his hireling, who is sure o.
his wages at least.
That man who owns his land ant
has good health is a poor farmer VIII
cannot make at least a living for him
self and family. 1t may not be q stump
tuous living, but it may be a compare
lively comfortable m This canno
be said Of all sorts Of occupations.
There is another hope ahead for tn,
farmer. If he doesn't have good lucl
this year, he may the next. There
always a chance that there will be
better yield in crops and a better pric