The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-10-08
FARM LIFE PAST AND PRESENT

down to the work OF investigating
farm life it will be struck with the
contrast between the farm of the
present and that Of the past. with
~ generation the general condition
of affairs in rural homes has been
revolutionized. In the days of our
grandfathers the country family was
remote, isolated, lonely. Life then
was monotonous. Existence was
drudgery. Labor was continuous.
Difficulties we're all but insuperable.
Sociability was an unknown quanti-
ty, Bad roads made travel practical
ly out of the question. They made
crop moving a prodigious thing,
scarcely less prodigious, It appeared
to the crop mover. than the moving
of the world. At first there we're no
railroads, and when the railroads
came they had to be reached some
. how, and IL was an event to go TO
town" To be at home was to be en-
tirely out of touch with a neighbor
miles distant. The mail service eth
er did not exist or else it was meag-
er Lack OF adequate machinery
made the task OF handling the crops
one OF enormous difficulty. House
comforts were few Water had to be
carried from the spring or we'll Gas
was unknown.
Not all the farmers of the present
have taken advantage Of the possibili-
ties OF farm life They have not eS-
pended their earnings on all the con-
veniences and comforts which they
might have, and have cheaply. But,
| nevertheless. the average farm home
of today is so different from that of
the other days as TO seem Of total
| " different world. The telephone is
TO be found in almost every rural
house, and this instrument puts
| neighbor in communication with
neighbor and with the outside world
every minute of the day and night
Good roads are expanding in all di-
rections, and so travel Is easier and
crop-moving simpler. The railroads
have extended more generally and
their trains run more frequently and
| the trolley-here Is one of the most
important of the agencies that have
wrought the revolutiOn-has brought
| county into close proximity to the
| city. Free rural delivery brings the
farmer his mail. including his daily
newspaper, regularly. Invention has
produced machinery that makes the
labor of farming less brdensome.
| Even the automobile has invaded
farm life and given swftness OF loco
motion as well as pleasure to the
rural inhabiLant. There is no longer
| the need OF carrying water from the
spring, for It flows through pipes in
| the house. The smoky oil lamp is
not as prevalent as il used to be. for
a simple system has been devised for
| placing gas in the home. All these
| things have sOftened the life on the
farm. The farmer and his family are
now in the world and not out of It.
] They have a different outlook from
| the narrow view of the bygone times.
| Country daughters have social life
which their grandmothers did not
have, Country sous are up-to-date
young fellows-we speak of the
change that has come over The aver
age farmer and his family, not over
! all-who rub elbows with up-to-date
people.
This is the contrast which the COM
mission will note. While there are
yet millions of farmers who do not
live right, the general conditions Of
| the present are so much better than
former ones that there is reason for
| rejoicing. 1t is to arouse the back
ward, apparently, that President
| Roosevelt undertakes his campaign.
| He cannot overcome this backyard
ness by legislation. Even If he
could, such legislation would be
vicious in its paternalistic and cen
| tralistic drift But any influence he
or anyone else might exert in the
direction OF further improving the
| conditions of country living for the
! sake OF the happiness OF the rural
inhabitants themselves, as well as
for the economic value of attractive
farm life. Is certainly TO be welcomed,
One of the principal hardships Of
| the farmer in recent years has been
the scarcity Of labor. When harvest
| lime rolls around he lacks sufficient
hands TO do the work. BY making
! rural life inviting this hardship ought
10 be reduced. The lure of the cities
has been the great drawback The
youth has been drawn away from the
farm. Instead Of carrying on the
work of the parent he seeks the
| chances of the city. In most in
stances he would have been more
prosperous and more successful and,
therefore, happier had he stayed on
he farm.
One of the noteworthy aspects OF
the town ana country question is the
trend Of the country boy toward the
town and the movement OF the city
folks toward the country. The long
ing of the city residents for the
country has become familiar. Their
yearning has resulted of late in the
springing up OF pretty homes--some