"BACK TO THE FARM! " 147 



ing; and with only short intermissions for meals, his 

 work went on till dark, no matter how long the day. 

 I am not an advocate for such long hours of labor; I 

 am only stating conditions as they formerly existed. 

 This was the condition of affairs that has led Abe Mar- 

 tin, the Hoosier philosopher, to say, " Twelve dollars 

 a month an' no picture-shows makes Jack leave the 

 farm." At the present time the laborer is not expected 

 to begin work until seven o'clock, and he has an inter- 

 mission of an hour at noon, and " knocks off " at six. 

 At the same time he is not satisfied with seventy-five 

 cents or a dollar a day, but must have a dollar and a 

 quarter for ordinary labor, while at harvest and corn- 

 gathering his wages rise to two dollars or more a day. 

 Paying cash for labor is a burden to the farmer which 

 is well-nigh intolerable; and yet if he does his own 

 work, he must either have a very small farm or a very 

 large family of boys and girls, who, moreover, are likely 

 to leave him as they approach their majority. It is 

 not strange, therefore, that the cry, " Back to the 

 farm ! " fails to appeal to the boy and the man in the 

 city. 



WHY THE BOY LEAVES THE FARM. 



Why does the boy not the lazy boy, but the boy 

 of industrious habits leave the farm in the first place ? 

 Because of his desire for a greater opportunity. He 

 sees in the city a greater future for himself than he can 

 possibly expect on the farm, and he will continue to go 

 just as long as city life offers greater chances for suc- 

 cess and a happier existence. Have we ever studied 

 the psychology of the farmer's boy who has seriously 

 considered his own future? These musings are doubt- 

 less very much alike. I remember my own mental at- 



