THE FARMER'S LOT AND PROSPECT.
MAN'S original occupation was tilling the soil. The Lord set this occupation before him before the blight of sin made his labor irksome. In no other calling are the baneful effects of the fall so marked, for the reason, perhaps, that no other business enterprise existed at that time, and it seems to have been the only industry essential to the race. And even now the burden of supporting the race rests upon the farmer. Therefore it would seem that the enemy of souls schemes continually to make it hard for the agricultural classes. Almost every kind of covetous speculation bears directly or indirectly on the resources of those who labor to cultivate the natural productions of the earth. Here are some pertinent words recently spoken in Congress by Hon. Henry D. Green, of Pennsylvania, while discussing a certain enterprise which it was proposed to regulate by law:— “The farmer's lot is a hard one; it means incessant toil of the severest kind; it means manual labor under the burning suns of July and August and in the drenching rains of March and April. His wife and every one of his growing family must contribute their share to keep the wolf from the door. He suffers from drawbacks which come to no other occupation. At one time it is too much rain; at another it is too little; at another it is the fly in his wheat, the cholera among his hogs and poultry, or some other disease among his sheep or his cattle. “Hardly a season goes by that he must not face a substantial and unlooked-for loss. His taxes are high, and the owner of land and farm stock can not escape them, as does the coupon clipper. Profits never come to him in a great lump, as they do to the manufacturer. Good years are only comparative to him, as his margin of profit is never large, and bad years are often as disastrous as they are to the manufacturer. Ease and luxury he knows little about. He is always the victim of tariff legislation, for he pays a tariff on even the imported grains which he sows. He pays the direct and indirect exactions of all tariff-taxed commodities which he is forced to consume. He is forced to sell in the markets of the world at a price fixed by his foreign competitor, and buy at protection prices. “He suffers most from freight discriminations. He contributes the largest part by far to the profits of all trusts. He has suffered from the fall in the price of lands. He pays the highest rates of interest for the money he is forced to borrow. He asks but little consideration at the hands of Congress; he asks them not favors, but only rights.” Yet the farmer should not be discouraged; there is hope for his honorable calling in the world to come—in the new earth “wherein dwelleth righteousness.” Let the farmer have faith in God and in the power of His Word, which endureth forever. It is God's promise to “create new heavens and a new earth.” “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of My people, and Mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” See Isa. 65:17-24.