The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1922-12-15
ORANGE COUNTY WOMAN
FARM BUREAU FED
GRAFTON

At the 18th annual meeting of the
Vermont Farm Bureau Federation held
in Burlington, Dec. 9th, Mrs. Julian A.
Dimock of East Corinth gave the gather
ing some idea of what the farm stands for
in American life.
The following is taken from the Burling-
ton Free Press:
Under the interesting title "The Look
ing Glass on the Bureau, she reflected"
the spirit of the farm, protesting against,
the prevailing idea that farm life s'drud-
gery", and declaring that "work' is a
word which should be placed on a pedes-
tai in this nation Her message might be
He'd toast to the Joy Of "worl' especi-
ally farm work She maintained that the
farmers of Vermont should reflect in ''the
looking glass on the bureau, the enthu-
sasm and the JOY which they find in their
lives on the farm. She said in part:
agriculture is the first principle, On
it rests the life and happiness of mankind.
The farmer more than any one class is
living so as to fulfill the scripture: In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou earn thy
bread. In these days many people are
apparently attempting to avoid this.
"There is a class, forgetting that work
is prayer, which substitutes a string with
20 knots tied in it and morning
and evening repeats 20 times "every
day and in every respect | am grow
ing better and better"
"Another group devotes itself to what
is known as the religion of the solar plexus.
That is the religion of the trade unions
higher wages and the eight-hour day.
"There is no doubt that the good old
fashioned religion in which faith and
works 90 hand in hand is the crying need
of the world to-day. Work is one of the
chief blessings which kindly providence
has bestowed upon u.s."
Mrs. Dimock explained that many peo-
pie make much ado about work and call
it "drudgery". There is no such word
in the vocabulary of good American
citizen, she maintained. Work for works
sakeis worth while, and, when work is for
the good of all men as is the work of
the farm it is doubly worth while.
"1nspiration for the work of the best
poets and artists is said to have come
from the common people engaged in the
common round of daily toll. Workers
themselves must be made to realize some
of its beauties. Our young people must
be taught that there is something more in
life than wages or profits for compensation,
that such satisfaction can be found only
by follow ing right, truth and justice, that
material satisfaction will fail unless sup
ported by spiritual satisfaction.
"They must be shown that there is
beauty and charm in the life of the farm,
that in the accustomed light which falls
upon our own doorstep in all our homely
tasks, in the going out of the husband in
the morning and his return in the evening,
there is poetry as old as the world.
"Cne of the recent farm magazines had
an article on rediscovering New England.
Every New England State was mentioned
except Vermont. 1t is our duty and
privilege as Vermont farmers to put Yer
mont on the map"
Considerable humor which hit to the
point was sprinkled through the remarks
of Mrs. Dimock. She referred to varied
criticisms and misrepresentation of Yer
mont farm life which have appeared in
publications and in other printed form of
late. For instance, she took the state
ment that there are no young people in
Vermont, that they have all gone west and
around this she wove a story of her own
Vermont community, where youth has
large place in the life and uplift of the
whole countryside. She showed the alb
surdity of some of the statements about
Vermont that are made by writers who
have apparently not caught the spirit
of farm life.
81 Got Real Mad Nnen 1 Lost My Setting
Hen" Mrs. Hannah.
went into the hen house morning and