The Yale expositor., 1910-01-28

THE Farmer, His Rank Among Men
and His Duties as q Citizen"
BY Mrs. Joseph YuiI
Continued from page y
place is best" "Let not the eye say to
the hand, l have no need Of thee; nor
again the head to the feet / have no
need of you. There should be no
schism i'm the body; the members should
have the same care one for another"
l ask, only, that the man who tills the
soil and furnishes food for the nation
be treated with the same courtesy and
consideration shown to other members
of the body polite.
Nor would / have you think the
farmers life one long glad day of bliss.
The lover of ease, the sloven and the
sluggard are out of place upon the
farm. God never meant that man
should live in idleness. He put the
man whom He had made into the gar
den of Eden to dress IL and to keep it.
Mother earth yields up her treasures to
those only who exert themselves to Sc
cure them. AS the miner has to dig
and delve for the precious ore, so the
successful farmer must, also, put forth
strenuous efforts ere nature yields to
him her ample store.
But harvests of fruits and grain are
not the only compensation the farmer
receives. The struggle to overcome
obstacles developes muscles and intel
lect and gives strength, courage and
character to theoVercomer. Thus it is
that the noblest manhood is attained.
Congressman H. G. Adams is quoted
as saying; off any young fellow asks
my advice about making farming a
business, l ask him, are you man
enough? Ii not, don't do it, but go
and be lawyer, or doctor, or
preacher, or something like that
Let the farmer not be discouraged,
but rather let him count his blessings.
With the telephone, rural free delivery,
farm journals, daily papers, farmers
Institutes, agricultural colleges, inn
proved machinery; with comfortable
homes, unadulterated foods, fresh air,
health-giving sunshine; with green
fields, shady woods, running brooks,
singing birds, with fruits and flowers;
with close contact with nature and
with natures God, surely the farmer
may well join heartily in the singing of
the universal Carbohydrates God
from whom:all blessings flowp
But there is another side to the farm
er's life. He is member of the COM
monwealth and has his public duties as
do other men. The farmers of America
are American citizens and il is not
only their privilege but their duty to
exercise the right of franchise when
ever called upon to do so-even at the
expense of time or effort. 1t is said
that the greatest need of our country
today is ga stricter honesty and higher
sense of public duty. If this republic
is to endure, it must be thro' the strict
integrity of its voters, and their firm
adherence to the principles of justice
and honesty in public affairs. Yet we
are told that on an average one out of
every four qualified voters fails to cast
his ballot at every presidential election.
In states where female suffrage is OPP
posed would not this suggest to one
the story of "The Dog in the Manger?"
The rural home has ever been the
source of our national strength and de-
Tense, both in times of prosperity and
adversely. All history teaches that the
welfare of any country depends upon
the development, character, industry
and patriotism of its tillers of the SOIL
The sterling virtues, exemplilied in
the lives of George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln are needed as much
today as ever. Another war is on.
Another form of slavery to be put
down. "The enemy is in line, and in
arms, and united to a man." The
battle-cry is heard throughout the
length and breadth of our land, 1.-THE
N,lI 1ok
at the breaking out of the Civil war,
when President Lincoln called for
seventy five thousand volunteers, in
seemed to rise. Men of all parties for
got political prejudices, and hurried to
the defense of their country. Again
the conflict is in behalf of suffering hui
mainly. Let not the enemy deceive
his own but every man his neighbor's
good" Rouse We, men of st. Clair
County, "Watch, stand fast, quit you
like men. be strong" VIII you not re-
spond to the call for volunteers in this
warfare against the liquor traffic and
give your loyal support to the Anti
Saloon League for the complete exter-
mination of the saloon, until the final
victory is gloriiied by Stainless Flag
over Saloonless State and Nation"
and thus prove once more your right to
the claim of patriotic citizenship?
Before closing, want to commend
the farmers throughout the state for
the attitude shown by them toward the
management of the Michigan state
fair, especially would l commend the
action taken by the Oakland County
Pomona Grange in passing the follow
ing resolution
The following resolution was adopt
ed by unanimous vote, which presents
their opinion of the Michigan state fair
in the language of many who have Wis
tied it during the past few years, 1t
also voices the sentiments of thousands
of people about the state
Whereas, it is evident that the Mich
igan state fair is being run in the inter
ests of fakirs, race-track gamblers and
liquor traffic, to the neglect of the i'm
portant agricultural interests of the
Of ata and 10 a TOana0a RI tha morals IF