Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-01-30
Fifty Years Ago and Now.

Fifty Years Ago and Now.
Fifty years have wrought . great
change in the lives and conditions OF the
people of this country. / we'll recOllect
memory extends back over 70 years..
The people were primitive in their
habits and desires; their wants were few
compared with what they are now. At
that time farm machinery was practical
ly unknown. The farmers had but q
few utensils to farm with. Their work
was done with oxen, and it did not cost
| much to tit out an OK team. The farm
ers then raised their bread, mostly.
They were not dependent upon the west
for their corn and flour; they did not
buy much, if any, provender to feed out;
consequently, If they had any money
they could put it to a different use.
They would haul their produce to mar
ket, perhaps 80 or 40 miles, and ex-
change for the necessities of life. Sugar
was not used.
In the olden time the most of the
clothing was manufactured in the house
holds for the use Of the families, the
spinning wheel and the hand loom being
found in most of the households.
Fifty years ago threshing machines
were not in general use; the most of the
farmers pounded out their grain with a
fail. we'll remember the first thresh-
ing machine introduced; 1t did not have
a separator attached, but merely thresh-
ed the grain, and it was cleaned up by a
hand mill in the evening.
In building houses, the work was all
done by hand. i think that planning
machines were not in use.
Fifty years ago, dairying was on a
small scale in this country; the most Of
the farmers would keep a farrow COW
through the winter, in order to have a
little milk to use, and perhaps make a
little butter; some families would have
to 60 without butter during the winter
months.
Now let us consider the present time.
Fifty years have made great change.
Farmers to-day have all kinds of ma
chinery to carry on their farming opera
tionS. will not try to enumerate all
the machinery that is in use to-day; it
would take too much paper; and in the
dairying business, what change from
the olden time. Now We have our but
ter factories, creameries and cheese fac
tories and also condensed milk factories; !;
the cities, and villages, also, have to be
furnished with milk and cream, which is
a great business for the milk farms.
There is also great change in the
stock that is kept. The farmers general
ly want good blooded stock of the differ
ent breeds.
There has been great change in
newspaperdom. Fifty years ago, it was
slow and laborious work to get up a
family newspaper. At the present time,
with the improved press and other appli-
ances, they can strike off the sheets
rapidly and the papers are we'll illustrat-
ed, some of them are quite a picture
gallery. But with all of this improve
ment, think there are some things that
are decidedly wrong, for instance, the
sensational fiashy story papers are not Of
much benefit to the reading public. The
press is power in the land for good as
for evil; the advertisements that you
find in these papers are misleading, in
fact, they are astounding. If you could
credit them, you would think they were
willing to give you a fortune, almost; it
is all free; they don't want any money.
Some have discovered a panacea that
will cure all the ailments that afflict the
human family; they have even discover
ed the elixir of life and pretend to per-
form miracles. This perniciOus litera-
ture that is afloat all over the land is a
great damage to the young people; many
of the boys are led into crime by the
reading of it.
On the whole, doubt whether we are
so much better off than our forefathers
were. In some respects, we are, and in
some, we are not. There is so much
corruption in the world, so much that is
false; it costs so much more to live to-
day, there are so many artificial wants; |;
we are living on the high pressure
principle; we eat and drink In hurry,
and sometimes we die in hurry.
am quite sure there will not be many
that will get rich at farming in these
days. 1t takes the smartest men that
we have to make success of farming at
the present time, it costs so much to
carry on farming operations, what with
the machinery they have to buy, taxes to
pay, provender and commercial fertil-
izers and hired help. After paying all
these bills, how much will be left? Yes,
great change has taken place in all
that pertains unto American life, within
the last fifty years. Old methods and
means of farming and living have passed
away, and behold, all things have be-
come new; so be it, and may the time
hasten on when the people of the coun-
try will live better lives, will be better
prepared to fulfill all their duties as