CHAPTER VI. 



THE DISCONTENT OF THE FARMER. 



THE subject of tliis chapter includes the relation of the 

 farmer to himself and to mankind. The farmer mingles 

 less than others with other men, and so tends to become 

 introspective — to think about himself. This, when carried to 

 extremes, always produces a morbid condition of mind, as is 

 shown in criminals condemned to solitary confinement, who 

 tend to become insane. Tliere is no doubt that the compara- 

 tively isolated life of the farmer often produces an unliealthy 

 condition of mind, of which the leading symptom is an 

 unreasonable discontent with his own lot. I do not mean by 

 this that all discontent of the farmer is unreasonable, but that 

 some of it is, and that it is often hard to distinguish between 

 that which is and that which is not reasonable. 



In discussing the relation of the farmer to the politicians I 

 have had occasion to point out the low esteem in whicli the 

 intelligence and astuteness of the farming class is held by 

 those whose trade it is to induce masses of men to vote as they 

 desire, and the same feeling is prevalent to a considerable 

 degree among all classes of men and with regard to all classes 

 of subjects. The business world does not believe in the mental 

 competence of the farmer. 



I do not think this popular judgment upon the farmer's 

 capacity well founded. I think the farming class contains 

 as large a proportion of vigorous although untrained minds 

 as any other class, but they are, for the most part, inarticulate. 

 The habit and environment of the farmer are not favorable to 

 the practice of oral or written speech, nor has he at command 

 the library facilities wherewith to fortify himself for public 

 utterance. It is also true that the majority of farmers, like 

 the majority of other classes, are occupied in transacting busi- 

 ness rather than in thinking upon its principles. Finally they 

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