The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-06-26

inherited from savage ancestry love
of ease, love of ornament and cruelty;
and civilization has developed intern
perance, repacity and ayarice. Never
in the worlds history was there such
a scramble for wealth and power as at
the present time. Never since the
dawn of civilization were so many ex-
cellent qualities that the civilization
process has evolved. But those are
not to our purpose now.
Good and evil still exist and the
Millennium has not come.
Evil comes and evil goes,
But it moves me never.
For the good, the good it grows,
Buds and blossoms ever"
Another poet says:
wherever God erects a house of
prayer,
The devil always builds a chapel
there"
And it will be found upon investi-
cation that the latter has the larger
congregation.
But | am drifting, and l wish to
quote right here from good Mr.. Horn
of lthe Tribune. He says: The
great struggle of life should be to
keep from losing faith in our country
and in humanity. 1t is a striking
sentiment to me. The idea of strug-
Cling to keep our faith in our country.
Now | will return to the main sub
ject, establish myself and try to make
a few points, and show why, as it
seems to me, the people leave the
farms. Some have inherited a rest
less disposition from restless, dis
cOntented mothers. These are use
full; they go to people new lands.
We have retained through all the
changes from barbarism a love OF
ornament, and our civilization has
led to the cultivation of the beauti-
full. the ornamental and the nice
things. Nice is much used in trade
to describe high quality, but not prop
erly. So there has been cultivated
desire and taste for fine or nice
or fine things, as fine houses, fine
furniture, fine clothes, and so on
through the whole list.
The average farmer cannot afford
these and SO the wife Is dissatisfied
and the son who has developed high
notions from classical training in the
high school is discontinued.
Another point. Man is naturally
lazy Few, if any of us, would
work unless we were obliged to or
had got in the way or habit of work
ing. There is inherent in mans ma
ture a love of ease. There is an
aversion to effort. The love of ease
hampers effort and yet only by effort,
eXertion and exercise can the human
being be developed and made useful,
and be able to perform the labor re-
quired of him. And notwithstanding
this great principle in the laws of
nature that exercise strengthens aud
develops the mental and physical fac
ulties and that sturdy and vigorous
manhood cannot be acquired except
by perseyering labor, we all the time
are planning to save labor to get rid
of effort. to avoid exertion Inven-
tive people are racking their brains
to invent lahor-saving machines and
increase production. And what will
the result be finally, on the race, If
this rage of invention goes on? Now
to carry on a New England farm sue
cessfully requires considerable hard
labor. Some leave the farm because
of the hardships attending its man
agement. because of the care and
endless labor; some leave the farm
and find a tenement in the village or
city and establish temporary or per-
manent home there, for the purpose
of giving their children the advantage
of better schools than the rural towns
can possibly provide. This is some
times the proper course, probably,
hut there seems to be some defect
in the management or arrangement,
when family must leave home to
get their children educated. Are we
not educating too much?
But the chief reason why the faVms
are sold or abandoned and why the
son does not stay on the farm is be-
cause the income Is too small 1t
is hardly sufficient to meet the ex-
penses. There is not much at the
present time to induce the cultivation
of the soil for profit This the aver
age farmer finds to be true Then
farm life is dull and monotonous and
does not lead to eminence in social
or political life, and as a general
thing the isolation and secluson make
dreary the home and nursture discon-
tent
Several reasons | have given why
there is a drifting of population from
the farm. More and stronger rea-
sons there may be. but these are suf-
ficent for the case and for the oc-
casion. Much has been said and
much has been written on this great
social and industrial movement from
the farm to the city, and the process
still goes on and will go on until
things adjust themselves. And if in
the brief time allotted to most of us,
no change in the current is realized,
then must we adapt ourselves to the
conditions as best we may.
But is there no remedy for this in
bred dislike for the farm? If this
drift be an evil and adverse to the
highest welfare of the nation, and