pAPtfN
VOL. XXIII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, DEC. 29,1888.
NO. 52
ELOQUENT TBIBUTE TO PAEMER3.
The Agricultural  Glasses the Important
factors in our Progress.
BY HON. WILL CUMBACK.
'Extract from   an   eloquent address lately delivered to the farmers of Owen county, Indiana.
Let us go back now three quarters of a
century. We can better appreciate our
present privileges and opportunities by a
brief review of the difficulties our fathers
had to overcome to attain them. This
rich county of O rren was then an unknown forest. It wore out one generation
to cut down the trees, burn the logs, and
grub the undergrowth, and fence in the
cleared patches. The next generation
pulled oat the stumps, and took down the
old cabins, erected better houses and
barns, opened the roads and built school'
houses and churches. The present generation has given us the turnpike, the railroad and a general improvement of the
farms, having the use of machinery and
labor-saving implements that the first
two generations had but little knowledge
of. It has also given us the daily newspaper, the public library, institutes for
teachers, institutes for farmers, county
fairs, colleges, universities and many
other educational and elevating forces for
the betterment of the condition of tho
generation to come after us.
IN THE EARLY TIMES
there was but little time, or opportunity,
for any organized eff-rt for mental or
moral improvement. Alone iu his cabin,
distant from any neighbor, the hardy pioneer and his family lived. He had no
higher ambition than to protect, and provide for the comfort of those he loved.
He had to cantend with the wild beasts of
the forests, the reptiles of the swamps,and
the savage Indian, who disputed his title
to his home and his right to live in the
forest. He had the courage and the grit
to face and conquer them all. The only
enemy that unnerved him and made him
tremble, and robbed him of home, and
filled him with indescribable despair, was
the Indiana ague,that shook him up worse
than an earthquake. Bat the second generation had a better comprehension of the
situation, and more ability to apply the
remedy, and legislation was had to drain
the ponds and malaria-producing swamps
of the State,ind the farmer supplemented
the good work by putting in the under-
drain, and the stagnant water and the
ague—the one producing the other—took
to the undergrouni diich, and bade farewell to, the Hcosier pioneer. Then health
and hope came to the brave men,and roses
and ruddiness to the pale and faded faces
of the women of Indiana, and our State
came to the front, and has been there ever
since as one of the very best places in the
world, for health, happiness and prosperity. When the time has come to crown
him who has been the greatest 'benefactor
to our S a'.e—the poets who have, written
them salves down as equal to the best in
the world of song, the great orators who
have been socond to none the world has
ever heard, the statesmen, who, by their
wisdom and far-seeing comprehension of
the duties and scope of good government,
and who have taken their sure place in
history and added so much luster to the
fair fame of Indiana—these will all be
passed by, and the modest man in his
shirt sleeves, with the drain tile in his
hand that he himself invented, will be
called to the front, and on his modest-
brow will be placed the jeweled crown.
ALL IIAIL THE TILE DITCH
and the genius who conceived it—the one
as the benefactor, the other as the benediction to our glorious Commonwealth
We, of to-day, are reaping the rich and
abundant harvests that have come to us
from the thrift and energy of those who
have gone before us.
Bat with all these blessings has come a
curse. Tae rapid appreciation of the value
of our lands, making men rich almost before they were aware of It, has begotten a
money-getting spliit that Is a reproach to
our religion, and ablot onour civilization.
Like the children of Israel, Aaron's golden
calf has more attraction for us tban Moses
with the Commandments of the Lord.
This mercenary spirit is deadening our
moral sensibilities, prostrating our self-
respect, and Is the most formidable obstacle to the forward march of human
progress. It is corrupting our politics,
and boodle izlng our legislation. It Is sub
fctituting shams and shoddies for the real
and substantial. It is besmearing trade
and traffla with the slime of falsehood and
dishonesty. It is bringing man, with his
great mental and spiritual endowments,
down from the high cansideration of what
is right, and just, and the contemplation
of what is duty, to the lower calculations
of what will pay. It effaces the divine image from his soul, extinguishes conscience,
expels love and sympathy from his heart,
and then sends him forth a selfish demon
to prey on his fellowmen. It dethrones
God and defies mammon. It Is arraying
LABOR AGAINST   CAPITAL
and capital against labor. They stand
faoing each other with grim antagonism,
each.seeking to get gain by the destruction of the other, when, in fact, one is
powerless without tho help of the other.
It is a matterof serious concern to every
patriot and philanthropist that our cities
are falling into the hands of the vicious
and the dissolute. In most of them they
are now the governing class. Lvw Is defied in open day, and our municipal governments are essentially wicked and corrupt. In addition to that, our cheap lands
and higher wages are attracting daily to
our country hundreds, who come bringing with them oqmmunism, nihilism,
anarchy, and bitter hatred to all law and
order. The oppressions they have suffered
from monarchy cause them to hate any
and every form of government. While
many of them accept our civilizitiou and
become Americans, and are good, law-
abiding citizens, a large number re-enforce the lawless element, and greatly increase the difllaulties of enforcing and preserving order. If our free institutions are
to stand, then the conserving forces must
come from the farm. Chiefly from this
source of virtue and intelligenea must
came the needed power to hold in check
these evils that threaten the permanonce
of our beloved form of government. Assuming the correctness of this position,
the farm, then, is not only the source ol
supply to feed the world, but the
FARM HOUSE IS   THE   FORTRESS
against the dangers that are a menace to
the safety of the Commonwealth. His
castle in the midst of his fields, surrounded by his forests, he is free from the
contracting effect of narrow streets and
alleys, and the impure atmc sphere of the
garb »ge and filth of the suburbs. The
farmer, therefore, should be broad in his
comprehension, like unto the wide fields
he cultivates—as pure as the air that
sweeps over his golden harvests, and as
sweet in his heart as the wild flowers of
the valley. This may be thought to b a a
rather rosy view of the farmer's life, yet
his propitious surroundings tend at least
to produce that result. It Is true that he
has sometimes to contend with drouth, or
flood, and sometimes a countless variety
of Insects attack his crops. Any of these
opposing forces may shadow the brightness of his hope. Yet, if he be skilled in
his profession, and have the essential grit
and perseverance, he may to some extent
conquer them all, and have a fair success
and be happy. When his barns are filled
with plenty, and his granaries are over
flowing with his abundant harvest, then
the great temptation comes to him as it
does to all success'ul men in the various
vocations of life, strives to b9Come rich.
If he yield to the temptation, then the
mercenary spirit enten»,*\nd drives out all
interest in the public welfare, banishes
charity, silences conscience, and the man
and his family aro dragged down to the
low level of living only for pelf. Tho
charm of home is goii**, and the mental
and spirit ml needs of the household are
sacrili ;ed, and that home,instead of being
a helper, Is a hindrance in the work of
elevating the human raie.
Qitcry mifl &usxutx.
Give your name and postoffice when asking questions. Many queries go unanswered for failure to
observe this rule.
Where can I get an   English
and at what price?
Who knows?
bull  pup,
F S.
I would like to learn through the columns of your paper a good way to build a
cellar above ground. J. M. L.
Some one who has built such a cellar
will please answer.
I wish to purchase about 40 rods of portable fence, if It is manufactured and sold
at a reasomble price. Can you direct me
to a firm? M. J. K.
Hoover, Ind.
Will some manufacturer of such fence
reply to the above,by advertising his style
and price?
Can a fair association make its laws so
that it will prohibit its stockholders from
voting by proxy at the election of direc-
tors,and not oonflict with the general laws
goverlng such associations in the State of
Indiana? M. A.
Yes. The la"w on the subject does not
specify in regard to the matter, and hence
each society is at liberty to make its own
rules on the subject.
Please tell us something about the Oil
Well Baring Company. They are going
through the country leasing farms wherever they can for five years. Is it a reliable company, or is it bogus? They
claim to bo from Pennsylvania. Aren't
they like somo of the lightning rod men?
Grant Co. It, D. S.
We are sorry to say we know nothing of
the company you refer to. Probably it
will be impossible for you to find out for
sometime. But you are not obliged to
lease to them,and If they offer you enough
to justify you In leasing you can make
such stipulations as you see fit, and if they
do not keep the contract you can have the
lease canceled; so that you are safe enough
if you have the lease drawn up to suit
you. If it were our case we should either
reserve the right to use what gas we
wanted from the company's well, or we
would reserve part of the farm from the
lease, sa that wo could have a well of our
own, If we wanted one. Don't sign away
all your rights and advantages.
State Beekeepers' Meeting-.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Please publish the following notice in
the Aplcultural Dapartment.
The annual meeting of the Indiana State
Beekeepers' Society, will be held ln the
Slate house, at Indianapolis, beginning at
10 o'clock a. m., January 10 1880. Ke-
duced railroad rates can be secured by
purchasing through tickets to Indianapolis, taking ticket agents certificate for
same and having it countersigned by the
secretary of the society.
Sautbport.       Geo. C. Thompson, Sec
—This notice came too late to get into
the Apiary Department this week.—Eds.
 a    a»    a	
Can't Get Along Without it.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Enclosed you will find $100 for the
Farmer, for another year. I have taken
your paper for years, and cannot well get
along without it.        * McF. B.
Anderson, Ind.
THE INDIANA FARMER
ONE OF
The Most Practical and Popular Agricultural Journals Published in
THE WESTERN STATES. .
The intensely practical character
of the Indiana Farmer is what has
given it the immense popularity it
now enjoys among farmers.    Indiana has come to be known as one of
the best agricultural States in the
world, according to area, in the production of all the staples, and in live
stock.   The Indiana Fakmkr has
kept pace in this movtment to the
front rank until the agricultural importance of the State is fully reflected
in  its  pages.    A   State  is   largely
measured by those outside, by its institutions.    The  great and  rapidly
growing circulation of the Farmer
has enabled us to show that the agricultural industries and improvements
of the State have kept pace with
Ite Railway extensions.
Its growing Manufactures.
Its Mining industries.
Its developing Cities and Towns.
The farmers of Indiana, and of the
sections of other States naturally and
practically allied to us in trade, know
the value and importance of a representative   of   their   interests.    The
census to be taken in about a year
from now   will it is believed, show
that the center of population of the
Nation is near the center of Indiana.
We want by that time to double our
present number of constituents, the
readers of the Farmer.    We appeal
to the State pride of our farm*readers
to stand by their own representative,
which stands by them.    We do it in
confidence, for the past is the assurance for the future.   Twenty-five
thousand more readers will add so
much more to our effectiveness and
ability in holding up the agricultural
interests.    All other industries are
heartily  supporting and advancing
their own  class   interests.    In  the
heart and center of population, let
us keep agriculture in the front rank
also.   And the Farmer proposes to
do its part in the work.
It is the largest weekly agricultural paper now published for $1 a
year. Each one of our present subscribers can with a word or two secure us one more, and that would be
a small work for each, but great in
the aggregate good that it would enable us to do for the farm interests of
the State.
Try it, and report to us.
Sample copies will be sent if requested.
THE INDIANA FABMER 00.,
Iudianaoolis, Ind.