The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1908-10-17
LIFE ON THE FARM.
An Indiana Farm Hand Writes In
tercstipp Letter TO President.

washington, OCTOBER ian IN
diana farmland has written let
ter to President Roosevelt about the
work which the Country Life Com
mission is carrying on. The presi-
dent has turned the letter over to
the Country Life Commission and
| the commission has asked the farm
| hand to write some more.
II have been a farmland just long
enough" says the presidents cores
| pondent, ito learn the cause OF SO
many sons and daughters and we'll
meaning, reliable farmhands leaving
the beautiful farm and country and
going to the city. A lack of order
| and system on the farm and too
long hours for day is what is driv
| ing the best minds from the farm to
| the city and shop. What can we ex-
! pect of hand, or the farmers wife
and her posterity, in the way of in
| tellectual development when they
get out of their beds at $3.50 in the
morning and work from that time
until s or 8 p. M? And no attention
paid to the sanitary conditions of the
home, and necessary conveniences
on the farm for doing the farm
work with the least labor and time. ;,
| This man has given the Country
Life Commission some very interest
/ ing first-hand information about ru-.
raj conditions and recommendation
based on long experience in farm
work and farm life. He has worked
for all kinds of farmers, good and
bad, he says, and he has always had
his eyes open to detect the causes of
1 hnir nv al 1trrn n no
drawn his own conclusions and sets
them forth in downright, straight
forward fashion. Education pays in
farming, he says. The farmer who
plans out his work and carries it
through in a systematic, business
like manner, just as the city man
does, will be able to shorten the
hours of labor so many farmers
measure everything on the farm from
the standpoint of muscle he con-
thames, and are extreme in some
things and slack in others. | decid
ed several years ago that life is too
short to work for Peter Tumbledown
| farmers.
Now, Mr. President" he writes,
you can take this for what it is
worth. have not given you half of
my experience" The Country Life
Commission has written him that his
suggestions are SO useful that they
hope he will send more.
| Compel the farmer TO be bust
ress man." he says--"Go into the
homes OF some of the farmers and
the so-called farmers and ascertain
how they live, and learn of their
methods of doing the business in
which they are engaged. And you
will be surprised what a variety you
will find. Ascertain what they read,
and what stress they put on the lit
lerature that comes into their homes
! (if any comes) bearing on the bust
mess they are engaged in. See what
iper cent study their business.
Give me the educated farmer as
alb oss and the educated farmland
as a hand When | come in contact
with hand or, farmer that studies
his business | find him advancing
land it is a pleasure to work for such
linen.
THE majority of the farmers are
Ieight-hour men, that is, eight-hours
lin the forenoon and eight in the af-
Iternoon Eight or ten hours on the
farm cannot well be adapted in all
leases, but it need not be from six
Iteen to fourteen hours. If the family
iarise every morning at O'Clock and
the wife and daughters attend to the
household duties, and the farm
hands and sons attend to the chores
land go to the field at O'Clock and
work until IL or 1880 and go to the
field again at ! and keep at it until
l & ~ and tho hnuSp and
eat the supper and then do the even
ling chores, they have done farm
days work Regular hours for work.
land regular hours for meals, and
Irregular hour for sleep, and regular
hours for rest and recreation, with
lplenty of standard papers and books,
Including the best agricultural pa
lpers and books, and full faith in
iGod. and good grub is wanted.
THE family should rise at 5
o'clock on Sunday morning as well
las on week days, and do the neces-
sary Sunday morning chores, and
then go to church and show the bust
mess man in the city that Sunday on
the farm does not consist in chang
ing the stock from one field to anoth-
err or sailing it, or unloading a load
of hay that was brought in on Sat
urday evening.
Coming to the meals at the meal
hour makes it easy on the wife so
she can arrange her household du-
ties in order, as can also the hus-
band his farm work.
Men of worth and standing in the
shop and city tell me that If order
> land system were used on the farm
|, they would go back to the farm Ii
the farmer wants to keep his sons
and daughters on the farm he must
not lengthen the hours for a day s
work at both ends. Limit the hours
of work on the farm to twelve or
thirteen with pay for overtime, and
freedom to the hired man on Sun
day"
The Country Life Commission
welcomes letters like this, because
as Professor l.. n. Bailey, chairman
of the commission recently pointed
out, one of the objects of the investi-
! cations of the commission will be to
obtain, as fully as possible, the opin-
ions of both farmers and of their
hands concerning the question OF
farm labor and the condition of hir-
4 ..th t1rD