The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-01-17

gard to the desirability of farming as
life occupation.
F'irst-It is an independent way of liv
ing, compared with work in the city. The
farmer can supply his table with meat,
vegetables, bread, milk, butter and eggs,
and he is less affected than the residents
of the city by fluctuations in the price
of these commodities. The clothing ac-
count, too, is less for those who live upon
the farm than for those who live in town,
so that it is much easier and much less
embarrassing to practice economy. Not
only in dress but in living, the farmer
and his family avoid the rivalry that
leads to extravaganza, false pretense and
the enervating vices.
Second-It requires less capital to be-
gin work upon farm than to enter any
other sort of Independent business, and
one can usually obtain farm land on. the
shares, whereas for my mercantileS3ur-
suit it is necessary to pay rent, often
in advance. If one has not the means
to buy horses, and plows and other ag-
ricultural implements, he can usually find
a small piece of ground near a town or
thus make a start that will enable him
to equip himself for larger farming.
Third-Al the members of the family
can assist in farming, and that, too,
without hardship. The wife can. without
sacrifice of dignity of a great amount
of drugery, look after the milk, make
the butter and look after the chickens.
The girls, as they grow UP, can assist
the mother, and the boys, before and
after school and during the vacation, can
help with the chores and with the farm
ing. Their work is not only OF pecunl-
airy value to the household, but it can
be rendered in such way as not to inter
fere with their schooling, and is of much
more value to them in the way of exercise
than any sort of sport in which they can
indulge.
Fourth-Life upon the farm is health
full. One has outdoor air and exercise,
both of which are strengthening to the
body The vigorous constitution devel-
oped upon the farm enables the farmer
boy to outstrip the city-grown boys in
the test of endurance that comes later in
life
Fourth-The habits of industry and APP
phcation acquired upon the farm are val
liable capital, no matter to what occupa-
ton or profession the mind is turned.
The patience, perseverance and energy
which are developed in rural life are the
founds tions upon which one may build
in every honorable vocation.
Sixth-Farm life cultivates hospitality
and generosity, and, without entirely re-
moving temptation, gives parental infiu-
ence chance to strengthen the child
before the seeds of disobedience are i'm
planted by evil associations. People who
live miles apart in the country are bet
ter acquainted with each other and more
attached to each other than the neighbors
who are huddled together in the same
house, and the children who grow up on
the farm can be more careful in their COM
pany, and are less apt to contract bad
habits, than boys in town.
In the city, there is little manual labor
for the boy to do, and to keep him from
associating with the boys who are by
chance thrown in his way requires a can
slant exercise of parental authority. In
the country, darkness shuts out the
world and makes the fireside a welcome
retreat for all. The farm is also conduc-
i've to good morals. Those who till the
contact with the earth and it's marvellous
activities breeds reverence and respect
for the Creator of all things The farmer
lives amid miracles and feels each year
his dependence upon the unseen hand
that directs the seasons and sends the re-
freshing showers Reverence teaches re-
sponsibility, and a sense of responsibility
is a wholesome restraint upon conduct
Seventh-The farmer learns early in
life the true basis of rewards BY having
to give dollars worth of labor for a
dollars worth of product he is taught
that service to be fair, must be reciprocal.
He never falls into the demoralizing habit
of expecting something for nothing He
teaches by example that labor is honor
abe, and has that sense of propretorship in
his handiwork which only those have
who feel that they have honestly earned
all that they receive. His ideas of life
are, therefore, apt to be high, and he i'm
parts to others the stimulus which his
occupation and environments excite in
aim.
Eighth-The husbandmen is also the
most reliable political factor in the nation.
He is the best informed and the most in
dependent of all who take part in politi-
cal life. While he is conservative and
not subject to frequent change, while he
has convictions and is usually a strong
partizan, yet his opinions are his own.
as a rule, he can neither be bought nor
driven to cast his vote contrary to mis-
judgment.
While it is true, that in close states
the corruption of voters has sometimes
extended to the farm, still it is we'll
known fact that repeating and bribetak-
ing are largely city vices.
The summer days are long, and the ia
tigue of the harvest leaves little energy
for study, but the winter evenings bring
compensation, and the Sabbath day is in
the country usually a day for thought
and reflection.
While the labor organization has now
done much to turn the attention of its
members to the study of economic ques-
tions. yet with the growth of great cor
porations, the laboring man has become
more and more dependent upon his en-
rloyer and the wagc-earner is not so free