Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-02-22
wALHALLA, 8. c. /,
The Town Farmer.

. /.
The town farmer is undoubtedly a
funny fellow. He has loaded him
self up with conceit of his own
imaginary Importance aud can hardly
be brought to remember the good old
country farm where he was born.
The town farmer has some other
name for his occupation now, but he
isa farmer all the same either q
boas farmer, tenan: farmer, oT
hired hand. He is one or the other.
He is honestly hired hand. There's
many hired hand in the big cities
who would be better off feeding pigs
in the country, but it is not polite to
tell them 80, therefore we let it 90 at
fthat.
OF course the town farmer wears
good clothes, or there would be no
attraction in town farming. In
town even the tenant farmer aud
farm hands wear good clothes.
A country farmer will buy good
suit of clothes to wear on high days
and holidays, and his good wife will
help take care Of the clothes. After
they have done service for several
years for best, they are still comforta-
bic to work in. The town farmer
lives in the smoke and dust of the
city therefore he needs two or three
suits year in order to keep himself
looking decent. There is many a
town farmer who has no home of his
own, and has no prospect on earth
beyond his monthly pay, who has to
spend all his spare change just to
keep up appearances. A good, styl-
ish appearance and nothing in the
bank represent the average condition
of the town farmer. We have moth
ing against him 4; but the truth is in
order and he is getting it. We could
make this part of the story a great
deal worse, but we will let it 10 at
that.
In St. Louis-which is not bad
farming community--most of the
town farmers are to be found in the
vicinity of Broadway, and most of
the homes in which the town farmers
live are out toward the park where
the Worlds Fair was held some time
ago. The homes are not on the
farms, and that is strange part of
. it. The town farmer sleeps out west
all right enough and works at the
farm down town. He has ten hours
at the house and ten hours at the
farm and the balance of the time is
occupied going backward and for
ward. A few days ago the town
farmer had to put in about six hours
going and coming.
There was storm which shut the
town farmer out. The railway
trains we're broken down, the street
cars were frozen up, the automobiles
were packed away for better weather,
and nothing was left to take the town
farmers to their farms except plain
horses and shanks' mare.
1t seems little peculiar to notice
the town farmers and their wives and
children riding backwards and for
wards. BY some remarkable aian-
agement the towns are built in the
interest of the street cars. The
farmer pays 5 cents to go to the farm
and S cents to 60 home again. His
wife pays S cents to 60 down shop.
ping and s cents to go hcme again.
Eighty per cent of the children pay
to ride to school and thon back home
again. The theatres, the summer
gardens and churches all have to be
reached by street cars. Town farmers
seldom have any money, for the rea-
son which / have stated. A dollar
day is fair-sized expense bill for the
average family. 1t really is great
deal worse, but j. Hawker will let it
go at that.
The town farmers are an awful lot
of kickers. They have to buy but
ter, eggs and milk. They pay rs to
80 cents pound for butter, an aver
age of 25 cents per dozen for eggs,
and they get twenty.six pints of milk