Norwich bulletin., 1909-07-10

Specially 1OT 1Ho
Pretty nearly everything in this life
as comparative. There is almost moth
ing in 1t that Is absolute. No one OF
us all Is absolutely happy or absolute
ly wretched. Some of us are COMPARE
lively happy, and some of us are COM
paratively uncomfortable. But there
isn't a single man Jack or woman Jen-
ny of us who hasn't comforts which
others we know of must do without.
Nor is there one of us so well fixed
but we know OF others who are, in
some one respect at least better off.
If we want to find excuse for COM
plant in other peoples superior ad-
vantages we can always find it; IL we
want to find cause for congratulation
in other peoples greater misery we
won't have far or long to look It's
all a matter Of comparison. Or very
nearly all.
don't mean to say that a fellow
with jumping toothaehe can be who'll
iy happy But II he will compare his
boring, twisting. enarling demon with
the legion of fiends in Heinrich War
burton's java legion which attached
every tooth at once and set them all
throbbing with such an aggregation of
agony as to drive him temporarily in
sane, why then, fancy he will thank
his stars that only one tooth Is kicking
He might be about fourteen times
worse Off The richest man on earth,
able to own his own railroads, and his
own ocean liner, and his own dirigible
balloon, and garage full of automo-
biles, and county full Of blooded
horses. and two or three legislatures,
and dozen judges-even he hasn't
got the magnificent digestion and the
capacity for deep, renewing sleep
which belong to some Of his poorest
laborers, tamping ballast on one OF his
railroads. They envy him his wealth
and Injuries; he envies them their ro-
bust health.
One trouble with US FARMERS, as we'll
rs with other folks, Is that we aren't
fair in making our comparisons. We're
too much inclined to compare our
selves with those who are iuckier than
we. and never with those who are
worse on. man would be no better
than a fiabby gasteropod who should
always take everything as II comes for
q blessing and never seek to better
himself. Similarly a man Is no better
than q snarleyow or a jabberwock
who never gees anything but his own
nisfortunes and lacks.
We farmers don't get good nay for
cur work, as rule. We don't get fair
prices for our products, as q rule. Our
equitable share Of the money the con-
gumers pay for goods we furnish would
be very much larger than our actual
share is. Start off with this admis-
sion; make 1t stronger, II you cheese.
TIL not dispute with you. Comparine
our wages with those paid for similar
" hard work similarly skilled or un-
skilled, IN the cities and large manu-
FACTORIES, we are underpaid. We get
~ join you In a mass meeting any
MONDAY to howl and denounce and
execrate and scoid and protest-if
you'll agree to meet with me again
on Tuesday to acclaim and laud and
thank God for the good luck we've
mad and the measure Of success we've
achieved.
As class, we're not SO we'll off as
some other classes, IL you'll pardon
the use OF that tnAmerican word,
which ! use simply because there
geerns to be no other quite clear New
ertheless, as a class we are vastly
better off than we were, and we are
gaining every decade. II we get moth
Eng but unhappiness in comparing our
present condition with the luxuries OF
successful city men, we can get con-
siderable comfort In comparing what
we have now with what our forbears
had half century ago.
As a boy ! lived near q community
Of Shakers. They were farmers liv-
ang in a village OF their own in
strictly agricultural country. They
were prosperous farmers, as Farmers
went in those days, too. They had big
and fertile fields, huge barns, herds
upon herds of stock. They were bet
Ger Off, az a whole, than most Of their
farming neighbors. But they lived
they had to live-lpon the products
of their lands. They bought almost
nothing in the way Of supplies. Trans
portatlon was slow and difficult;
freights impossibly high many of the
fhings we now regard as necessaries
~ life were then looked upon an ex~l