Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1905-11-14
THE FARMER's son.

THE FARMER's son.
Views Of . Farm Boy Of, Relations BE
tween the Farmer and His Son.
Breeders Gazette: have been In
terrested In the discussion In The
Gazette Of the relations Of farmers to
their sons, but the remedies suggested
seem to me somewhat like trying to
cure consumption with cough syrup,
or a scrofulous eruption with cos
mettcs. The treatment is directed to
a symptom rather than to the disease
itself. The disease Is one OF the en-
tire family constitution and needs cor
responding treatment Any attempt
to cure 1t by financial concessions Is
likely to be about as effective as to
apply court plaster In a case OF
gangrene. s,1ssl :.s - f.
nc "a fathers way Of viewing the
matter is that the boy has had to be
kept for nothing for the first few
years Of his life and must be made to
do enough work before he Is Of age
to pay for the free board, the boy Is
likely to resent it and there will be
friction. The real cause of the
trouble Is selfishness, and giving boy
horse or a pig will not cure that. If
boy sees that his fathers chief aim
is the welfare of his family he will
think less about his own rights.
Perhaps may be excused for citing
the treatment that I received when
was boy. The papers are so full of
items telling of unpleasant family rela-
|tions that We are likely to forget all
about the much larger number of hap
by homes that are never heard of in
public. I mention my own case, not
because it differs from others, but be-
cause I know more about it. I never
had the feeling that boys are said to
have, that I ought to have a share in
the profits of the farm myself My
father seldom said, IT," 'me," "my,"
or s'mine," but used "we," GUS" 'our," "
or "ours" instead, and it was not the
meaningless editorial we. It was the
unconscious expression of what we
all felt to be the case, that the whole
family were in partnership, and that
we had a common interest in the bust
ness. The fact that got possession
of a calf which traded for colt, and
that the colt grew into two or three
horses before was of age made little
difference with my work, or my mo-
tives for work. The first on my list
of financial ambitions was that my
father should be entirely out of debt
while was still at home to helL. And
I have never made greater effort to
accomplish my own financial ends
than did for that. Perhaps in the
final analysis was entirely selfish for,
as I said before, I felt that the bust
ness belonged to all of us. From the
treatment had always received felt
that my interests were as safe with
everything in my fathers name as If
had something in my own. g.
I believe this is only a sample of the
conditions prevailing in a majority of
farm homes. Children of other people
often contribute their wages for the
support of the family, and it is unfair
to suppose that farmers sons are
willing to work only when they are
paid for it. OF course children like to-
have something that is their own and
the desire ought to be gratified. And
when boy grows older he will have
some needs that his father, however
thoughtful, will forget to supply, and
he should have some money of his
own for the purpose. But when it is
necessary for boy to have it stipulat-
ed just what he is to have there is
evidence of disease that can be treated
better by regeneration than with sooth-
ing syrup. A Farmers Son.