Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1915-03-26
LEISURE thai KILLS.


In the April American Magazine
George Fitch writes another Home
burg sketch of life in a small town
entitled, "homeburg's Leisure Glass
OF the dangers Of loafing in small
towns Mr.. Fitch writes in part as fol
lows:
Leisure has killed more people in
Homeburg than work ever did. Fol-
years our biggest problem was the
job of keeping our retired farmers
alive. When a farmer has worked 4C
years or so and has accumulated a
quarter section Of land, and a few
children who need high school educa
tons, he rents his farm and moves
into town, where he lives comfortably
on $50 a month and fills a tasty tomb
in a very few years. 1t isn't so hard
on the farmers wife,. because she
takes her houseWork into town with
her and keeps busy. But when the
farmer has settled down in town, far
from a chance to work, he discovers
that he has about IA hours of leisure
each day on his hands with nothing
to do with them but to eat. Out Of
regard for his digestion he can't eat
more than three hours a day. That
leaves him II hours in which to &C
down town for the mail and do the
chores around the house.
"He stands it pretty we'll the first
year. The second year is so long thai
he begins to lay plans for his centen
NAL. and about the third year he
takes to his bed and dies, with a sigh
of relief. That's what leisure does
to a Homeburg man who isn't used tc
it. And that is one of the reasons
why when / see a mar in New York
with nothing to do from choice,
think of the sad army of the unem
ployed in Homeburg draping them
selves around the grain office every
day in fine weather, and wearing away
the weary years in idleness because
they are too old to work, and DOM
have to, anyway.
"Of late years we have been work
ing earnestly to conserve our retired
farmers. They are fine men, and we
hate to see them wasted. We have
been trying to reduce their leisure
just as a city nan tries to reduce his
flesh. We elect them to everything
possible. VIE have taught a number
of them how to play pool in the Com
mercial club. We have started 9
farmers elevator; a farmers bank
and a planter factory, and have got
them to invest money. That has beer
a godsend, because it has kept q
large number of them busy and happy
trying to w the said money. But
where we have saved one retired
farmer, the automobile has saved ten
| Whenever one of our unemployed
comes out with a machine, we sigh
with relief and stop worrying about
him. It's just the same as if he had
been given wings and a world to ex
plore. In summer our retired farmers
who have autos loaf around the coun
try from Indiana to Idaho and talk
crops in the garages Of a thousand
towns. And in winter they rebuild
their cars, and talk good roads. Tween
ty years ago you could talk good
roads to a farmer or bang him with
a club, with the same result. But
last year our retired farmers organ
lied a good roads association, and tt
amuse themselves they have dragged
| the roads for miles around and have
built a mile of rock road leading south
to the cemetery-where in the OLD
April days, as Henry Snyder says, tile
deceased was buried once, but the
mourners got buried twice-going out
and coming back" LII