The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-08-12

AEA4O0O hLAA1A
will cost him more than he ever
dreamed of. Under this head will be
tho expenses of going to a show occa-
sionally, an excursion, a birthday
celebration, for which occasion he will
have to buy a present. As n matter
of course, he must occasionally spend
& Sunday (for he has no other time
from his counter, as he is busy from
early till late during the week. with
the old folks at home. He is also pay
ing some attention to a lady friend
in the city, and of course she must
not be neglected when it comes to
taking an evening drive. Now where
is his horse and buggy? 1t is at the
livery stable and it will cost him from
So to So per day to use it. And then
there is the drug store CHATS where
they keep cold drinks). Ny! how the
boys have to apply their wits to keep
from running up on a crowd of the
girls there. And there r many other
things which will, to use a slang ex-
preston, "pull his leg" for a little
more than he feels able to hold up
under, but he cannot well avoid. He
must do these things in order to be
popular and weIl-known, and thereby
advertise his employers business.
With some clerks these society de-
mands, we'll call them, get the con-
troll of them and-sometimes the
money-drawer is touched. Then what?
Position gone! Cannot easily, if at
all, get another, because business men
cannot trust him; ashamed to go
home; money giving out; becoming
respondent; tries to game at the card
table but loses; then tries to drown his
troubles in the bottle, and-you a
easily see the end of such a couse.
And they do occur just that way, do
they not?
But we shall consider him to be a
young man of steady habits, atten-
tive to his duties. (Remember just
here that he has only a common-school
education, and it is rare that a man
can rise to fame and distinction, and
gain wealth with a meager education.)
Let us go back to where we see him
enjoying social life in the city. After
a season, of longer or shorter dura-
ton, of social festivity, he gets mar
ried. We will grant that he has on
Quoted himself in such a hammer that
his employer has raised his wages to
$50 per month. (The average in a
certain North Carolina city regarded
as representative, will not exceed that
amount.) He now has to rent a house,
and he cannot afford to pay over SIS
or Sc per month for it. And my, how
often the end of the month comes!
and how exacting those rental agents
are! He has to buy all of his fuel,
and in many instances has to pay for
his water; he has to buy everything
that goes on his table; Gust think of
a former country boy going to the
market house and paying from 25
cents to 40 cents for a half-grown
chicken-the same kind he used to
eat on the farm without cost, save the
catchingD; and many other expenses
that will eat into his $50 per month
like rats eating into a cake of butter.
He is now getting along in life and,
although his family increases, his
earnings are very little, if any, more.
We hear a great deal said about going
to town to educate children. Our
friend is trying hard to keep his chill
dren in school, but there are so many
places for his hard-earned dollars to
fill hat he feels hat he must have
some help. He sees no source other
than taking the children out of school
and putting them to work. This is
done. Their education is incomplete,
hardly begun. They go to work at al
most anything they can find, and at
small wages. And of course they have
little expenses of their own, and they
must have a little spending money"
which seems to be necessary to every
child's life. The children, on account
of their unfinished education, have
not been able to make rapid advance
ment in their work, and the family is
now in the same condition-perhaps
worse.
The father has now reached the
crest of the hill of life. He is less
useful now than when he was younger