Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-01
A Plea for the Old Folks of Maine.

Il voice or their behalf, / am going To
! endeaEer to point cut how we. the
| Young ana the strong can help bright
| en- AND gladden. the lives of the old
veterans. who have almost got to the
enc OF their struggle. and on whom
| the hand of fate seems to press harder
the nearer they get towards the end
Of the journey. Why do we treat
them as we do? The srandfathers
and grandmothers Of our race who
have done so much in their time to
make Maine what it is today. The
men and women who must have had
the heart and the courage of lions to
put the country whore it is; who put
MP the stone walls around our fields
who cleared the forests and built the
comfortable homes we now enjoy, and
TO whom hardly word of thanks and
YER little kindness is accorded.
What is the attitude Of the younger
generation today towards these old
folks suggest that il is simply to
look on them as more or less encum
branees and to crush and grind every
cent out of their hard-earncd savings
that IS possible. Take the case of =
poor old couple in Maine today and
i'm citing enc case | cite many thou
sands Possibly they have never been
blessed with any children. and if they
have, often hardly ever see them. let
alone receive any help from them;
they have arrived toward their allotted
span their days of work are past, but
they still cling TO tie old homestead
and cndeavor by keeping few hens
and a cow To keep body and soul to-
cethor. The poor old place Yields less
and less each year. | want To ask the
Young folk is 1t right to treat them
as Nc are doing?
The old man approaches us regard
ing lie cutting of his hit Of hay, yes.
we will favor - him by doing it On
halves: is it not shameful that we can
take one-half of his hay for putting
the other half into his barn? He
wants a little wood cut yes We viii
put in a short winters day or two, as
. favor 90 also. on condition that h.
pays us $1.50 or $2.o0 q day. as much
probably IS he has to keep him and
his faithful old mate week. and Yet
he has got to find the money, or go
without.
Is this civilization Is it Christian
it? Is it worthy of young America
It is none of these. it may be nature.
il is also barbarism. Ii is what would
be expected of the young braves to-
wards the old warriors who lived 80
Years ago. If the present generation
is Christian and progressive. there
isn't an old couple over 30 years of age
in Maine today, WHOSE wood ought
to cost them cent. to he put at their
DOOR and whose bit of hay should be
put into their barn for the love and
honor of doing it.
The old folks have to pay anywhere
from four to ten dollars a year extra
IN taxes, simply because bits of boys
who seem to think they are men, ask
and get Sis day for fooling away
their time on so-ealled road work. To
give an instance of the spirit of the
Younger generation today, a man I
know offered last winter to give a To-
cal place of worship some wood on
condition that the single men did the
cutting. and the married mon with
teams did the hauling, so that tho
wood would arrive at the church WITH
out costing ANYTHING. Yet | believe
not a single boy or young man came
forward to do the part that was right
" theirs, and it all had to be doEe
by the older men; and yet these same
boys VIII gladly give Il couple of dol
lars at basket social for the priVi-
lege of sitting and eating lollipops With
some charming Young girl of their ae-
ouaintance. or spend days following u
dog round with a gun on their should
er. If it were possible to convert the
energy expended at dances Into some
useful channel, neither the churches
nor the old folk would want for tuei.
Let not the boys think for moment
that / wish to deny them the genuine
pleasure of the society of good girl
or days sport or a dance once In
awhile. but let them show some real
manhood occasionally by doing some
thing more unselfsh, and then they
will have a right to be called men. Let
the old folks wake up some bright
july morning to find the boys IN their
meadow and to hear the num of the
moving machine as it works a laool
Of love for those whose days are near
~ over. or how it would gladden. the
old mans heart if on some bright
frosty morning around Christmas time
half a dozen good big loads OF WOOD
came rolling into the old fellows door
ward. Wouldn't it be lots better than
sending him u picture postcard?
Talk about surprise parties, lei $
have them occasionally in the morn
ing. as we'll as in the evening, ana
give the old folks Il surprise once III
a while. The old ladies' can be just as
charming as the young ones If treated
as well as the Young ones are, anu
they will think of the kindness long
after it is forgotten by the boys ana
girls. We could very well do with an
other day or two set apart in the year
and call them odd folks F" days one
in midsummer when all hands turn
out and hoe the old peoples gafden
and get in their bit of hay, and an
other midwinter when the woods
would ring with the boys axes ana
the team bells. as they gave just the
one day each winter to the old folks
who in the past have done SO hueh
for them What genuinely happy DAYS
these might be for all. they would 40
more real good than all the other pun
lie holidays put together, and II MAIN.
WAS the pioneer in this good WDrK-