The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-03-24
THE BOY ON THE FARM.

Mr.. W. F. Mcsparran writes as follows to
HOdTds DdiTpnan: UNLESS we are all mistaken,
| the Lord knows we need that many of our
| country boys should remain on the farms. 1t is
| doubtlessly as well known in that high quarter
that the social, the moral. the intellectual life
| of the cities need many of our boys, with their
| high ideals, their clean morals and their keen,
practical minds. 1t is right that much of the
country in our strong youths should go as a
| saving grace to the towns. We need the admix-
ture of suburban with the urban that our so
ciety and our politics be saved from the disaster
| of the growth of class.
an fact, we should not, If we could, keep all
| our young men at home on the farms. The
| farms couldn't afford it, and while we recognize
4 these economic social questions and feel a just
1 fable exaltation in making our human, farm
| grown contributions to the civic welfare of our
| land, do not think we should systematically go
| about educating and training our boys away
| from the farm so that their ultimate and final
going Is as assured as that the sparks fly upward.
1.-THE general education of the boy should be
| started on q foundation of pure manhood and
| heightened citizenship. His education should
| be a comprehensive, systematic and thorough
| training of his faculties. He should be taught
| to think and reason correctly and logically. If
there is any bias to this development OF the boys
mind and his inclinations, under the influence of
paternal interest or authority, assuredly 1t may
be assumed that such shall be in the direction
aud in favor of the business of the farmer
parents.
"The farmer believes that when all the evil
dence is in the life of the countryman has more
IN its favor than the lives of the city profess
slonal men or tradesmen, and It'll entirely proper
that all aspects of the case favorable to country
living shall be presented In their most attractive
lights.
NOW this is just one of the important points in
the general education of the country boy that is
too often ignored. The claims of the town have
the glamour of distance, for the eye of the mex
perienced country boy, used only to the COM
monplace performances of the farm, and unless
the eye has been trained to look well below sur
faces and superfcialities and the mind schooled
to reason from cause to effect, or from effect by
every step back to the bare initial cause, the city
men will win and the boy will pass downward,
away from the sublime Inheritance of his life.
.Itfs too true that many of our country boys
are not qualified by education or breeding, by
natural ability or inherent adaptability to COM
prehend or value this sublime inheritance, and
such we should allow by all means to find their
level in the crowded towns.
Gas good citizens we should all do missionary
work for the integrity of country life. but we
are not required to take on martyrdom also.
intellect is the magnet of intellects. The
greatest attraction the city holds for the brainy
country boy is not the possible dollars men may
gather up where men do congregate. but the ac-
tual intellectual atmosphere he feels he can
enter there. That the fruit that he may gather
in that atmospheric illusion is often dead sea
fruit he has no premonition.
ut is therefore clearly the obligation and the
privilege Of the country parent to show his son
that the farm can be conducted by strict busf-
ness methods that it offers excellent business
opportunities, that In environment it has the
best chances for one TO livea clean, straight life
and that intellectually 1t has no limitations ex-
cept the natural ones of the universe"
THE ATTENTION of the readers of TIN UNION
is invited to the advertisement of Webster's
International Dictionary, which appears in
our advertising columns today. This stand
ard work has been recently enlarged and con-