FARMERS' CLUBS. 265 



wasted, and worse than wasted, upon the sensation novels and 

 self-styled literary papers of the day, and which are oftentimes no 

 more fit for a pl3.ce upon the sitting-room table than the yellow- 

 covered trash of Eugene Sue is for a Sabbath school library. 



But why dwell longer upon this point ? The great truth that all 

 men were created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights, 

 &c., was deemed so plain by our forefathers as to be declared self- 

 evident, and it seems to me that no less apparent are the good re- 

 sults to be expected from a well conducted fanners' and mechanics' 

 club, provided the pe'ople can be influenced to avail themselves of 

 the opportunities thus held out. And here we come to the real diffi- 

 culty. Two or three, or a dozen men can be found in almost any 

 community to organize and start a club, but how hard we find it 

 to get the rank and file to fall in and take hold in earnest, as they 

 do of the practical operations of their farms and shops. What is 

 wanted is, for a few of the leading men in the community to take 

 hold of the matter in earnest, giving to it their attention, support 

 and influence, and being present at its meetings, alwa3''s of course 

 taking their wives with them, for it is to be suj)posed that the bet- 

 ter half is to be found under the roof-tree of any man with public 

 spirit and enterprise enough to run a farmer's club, and it is idle 

 to expect the gentlemen to show themselves for any length of time 

 where the ladies are not found. Let these leading individuals at- 

 tend, not to show their superior attainments or abilities, or to pat- 

 ronize their more unpretending neighbors, for of all things earthly 

 men and women object to nothing so much as being patronized. 

 But let them do so to show that they appreciate the importance of 

 the matter, and are as willing to labor for the good of the com- 

 munity as for themselves, and to help all who are trying to help 

 themselves, to take a step in the right direction whenever the way 

 is opened for them to do so. 



Too many in every community are disposed to look on and see 

 if an enterprise is likely to succeed or to become popular before 

 they identify themselves with it. They act on the principle of Josh 

 Billings, who advised his friends never to bet on a horse race, but 

 if they ever did so to be sure and bet on the winning horse. 



The pioneers in every progressive movement are often looked 

 upon as enthusiasts or fanatics, but if a movement of this kind 

 succeeds, somebody has got to step boldly out in advance of the 

 age, being only careful to get an affirmative answer to the question 

 Is this right ? is this for the best interest of all concerned, present 



