Evening journal., 1902-12-26
FARMERS LIFE
AN IDEAL ONE
Lot of Tiller of Soil Is to be
Envied Although Work
Is Hard

rouraged 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-
10y all the pleasures with which the I
rustic Imagination gilds and glorifles !
those distant scenes and activities,
they need only try to find out their
mistake. Far fields are green and .
! lose much Of their attractiyeness upon |
nearer view.
( To the city man Of ordinary means
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
I 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
I 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 $50 or 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, aud 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 If 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 a life Of toll. 1t takes some
: strength and effort to dig a living out
: of the ground. 1t is not easy to earn
! living, much less q fortune, without
= effort, and the farmer is not the only
one who "sweats." Brain workers
have no slnecure. although some per-
! sons imagine that all they have to do
! is to sit at desk and add up figures
? or to twiddle pen in their fingers. The
, life Of salesman behind the counter
. is most wearisome and monotonous.
! The beautiful days Of spring so by,
4 the birds are singing as they build
s their nests, the flowers are blooming in
! the valleys and on the hillsides, and the
Y grass Is growing greener and greener
( I'm the meadows. yet never glimpse
4 does he get of the heuuty Of the bright
d world except when he can take a car
4 ride Of an evening or on Sunday or
e holiday.
A grocer's clerk works more hours
e 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
b 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 midwinter's morn
. ing or IN the eneryating heat Of sum-
e mer. At breakneck speed he goes, and
Q one could almost imagine that his life
!, depended upon getting through his
|, rounds IN due season. Competition Is
3 so great that he must neglect nothing
,,e and always be pleasant and obliging
Ic to the most unreasonable Of customers
: for fear Of losing one. There are the
II icemen, carrying fifty pounds and often
= 100 pounds Of ice up four flights OF
= stairs. which is no easy task, and as II
= Is not skilled labor the pay is probably
net more than It should be, considering
A the amount Of strength expended
y Hard as the work Is and moderate as
ID Is the pay. no man can afford to lose
his Job. so he has to be very careful moi
to antagonize his employers.
The man who does business on q
% small scale and is his own boss prob
q ably finds It no easier TO make living
:. for he has to do the greater part of his
le own work, and IN the case of bad OF
sci Improbable season is sometimes not St
Ia well Off as his hireling, who Is sure OF
his wages at least.
That man who owns his land anc
n. has good health is a poor farmer who
cannot make at least a living for him
: self and family. II may not be a sump
tuous living. but 1t may be compare
lively comfortable one. This canno
= be said of all sorts of occupations.
There is another hope ahead for thl
N farmer. II he doesn't have good lucl
e this year. he may the next There Il
. always a chance that there will be 1
: : better yield In crops and better price
It in the market. The element Of uncer
IS tainty adds zest 10 life which a settles
. amount Of wages from month to montl
h and from year to year cannot give. anS
he is always sure OF enough to eat OF
n the farm OF some sort or another.
he The time is coming and is not far dis
u tant when the farmers life will bl
y. looked upon as the ideal life by man!
sr of the world weary toilers OF tn
~ crowded cities Even now the on