Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, December 18, 1915, Page 16

NOIiWIC_H BULLETIN, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1915 % FARM ERS TAL TO FARMERS AN EXCEPTION WHICH SHOULD BE THE RULE (Written Specially for The Bulletin.) They're telling the story, out in Wisconsin, of a certain young farmer who last September won several prizes fn a state-wide competition. ~The prizes included a free ten days’ trip to the San Francisco fair. But the winner didn't go to the fair on his freo ticket. He explained that he w: too busy, just then, with the nece sary farm work, and couldn’t leave Exactly. That's why he won! | supposs it's tiresome reading the preachment of old moralities. surely tiresome writing them. there are things worse than ti ness. Mollycoddling is one pambyism is_another. is another. Physical degenerac other, And moral rot is another. All of which five things are a good deal more dangerous—and a good deal more imminent over the coming gen- eration than simple tiresomeness. Just what are the causes which pro- duce these dangers one may perhaps suspect. DBut what they are is neither cows as usual. It would be and quite-to-be-expected farmers of Wisconsin at- to their work first and took when the work was of that state the conduct of the young tended their play done, wouldn't be “featurin; this particular young farmer. whether as a m or paper notice. “news” that the sun rose this morn- ing or that Jabez Jenks milked his Both these things hap- pen every morning. It would be “news” if the sun set at 7 a. m. instead of rose. " if Jabez Jenks, instead of milking his cows, braided their tails and round their horns and drove them all into the parlor and played When the Cows Come Home to them piano. e tied holly on It it was on the pape: then When one comes to consider it coolly ter of abstract ethics tical H®ss-sense, is hard to see why being sensible and doing what's right should be so unus- 1 as to be thought worthy of news- One would think that such plain action ought to be so com- as one of p ‘wreaths the the usual and customary thing that it ever born, wrote Lowell, whose work is not born with him. And the man who does not attend to that work is taithless to the law of his own being and gives no excuse for his own exist- ence. Nor can he ever know what real play is till he has earned the right to play by doing his proper man’s work first of all; doing it fully, wholly, thor- oughly, up to the limit of his strength and of the daylight. ‘We talk of “recreation:” what is it but just a re-creation: a remewal of vigor spent in duty-doing; a rebirth of joy after the hardship of the irk- some task is over? One cannot re- create what was never created; one cannot renew vigor which was never spent; one cannot have a rebirtb of that which hasn’t been at least tem- porarily laid away Whether man was endowed with work as a blessing or punished with it as a penalty I leave to others to dis- cuss. It makes little difference. The fact is omnipresent and supra-dom- inant. It is as inevitable as the sun- rise; as universal as the attraction of gravitation. We might as usefully dis- cuss whether the circulation of the blood is a blessing or a curse. What- ever we argue or whatever we decide blood will continue to circulate in our veins as long as we continue to live. And work is the first law of the race as_long as it endures. Whether we like it or don't like it, it must be done. And the man or wom an who avoids or seeks to avoid his or her fair and equitable share of it is not only unworthy, but is stupidly unwise. Nevertheless, the tendency of great numbers—a tendency which is grow- ing, too s to regard work as some- thing to be avoided and escaped from whenever possible. Ease, amusement, irresponsibility, these seem to be the chief gods of hordes of us. Many who have to work look upon it as abhorrent drudgery from which any escape is desirable and to avoid which any means are permissible. They actually seem to regard the ideal of a life wholly without work and wholly given up to amusement as one worth aspiring after. They seize the chance of a “day off’ as eagerly as a hungry trout seizes a fat worm. They are eter- here nor there. The sorry fact is too | mon and general that not it, but ex- | nally scheming to avoid work and palpable that a big proportion of the | ceptions to it would become matter | spend soul-sweat profusely in trying generation now b ng the stage|of “news i to find some plan for escaping pore- or coming into possession of it are| That's just where the seriousness of | sweat. fonder of taking their ease than of | the situation makes itself manifest. doing their duty: of the rewards of their work rather than of the work itself; of wages rather than of ser vice; of self-enjoyment rather than of self-improvement. It is just the commonness of this course of the ordi That which ought to be the rule has become the exception. ought to be accepted as a matter of ha come so unusual and out as to demand course That which This idea that life ought to be and was meant to be one long picnic and amusement park is distinctively one of the modern ideas which affords the surest foundation for pessimism to build its dungeons on. It means de- cannot help but see that it is growing more and more general. Do not understand me as assuming or asserting that any such heresy is more common among farmers than among others. I do not so believe. The ultimate fruit of the evil seed is pauperism. And pauperism is not so common among farmers as in the cities. As a class, I am confident that we tillers of the soil are still less in- fected with the poison than some other classes. But any infection is to be deplored. A single case of it is one too many. And that it is spreading among us as well as elsewhere is un- deniable. There always has been “slackness” and “thriftlessness” among farmers. But the days were when the thing was sneered at and the slack and thriftless ones despised. Have those days passed? Have we, too, got into such a state of weak mollycoddle- ism that we take it for granted the most of us would drop our duty, any time, to go to the circus or take in a free show? Have we really got to the point that we find it worth a news- paper paragraph when one of us re- fuses to shirk his duty in order to pander to his pleasure? Genius is two per cent. inspiration and ninety-eight per cent. perspira- tion, according to Edison. Life, as we are born into it, is about ninety-eight per cent. doing the things we must and two per cent. having the things we want. Any attempt to re- verse those percentages will result in something unpleasant if not disas- trous. You can’t make a silver whistle out of a pig’s tail. You can’t make an un- ending picnic out of a farmer's life. The wise man is the one who attempts neither. And the really happy man—I sus- pect the omly really happy man—is the one who, accepting the common lot as probably the wise as well as the inevitable thing, turns his work into his joy. He, and he alone, makes his own happiness as he goes along, trans- figuring the tasks which others look upon as drudgery into actual satis- factions and delights, finding in_the faithful doing of necessary work finer recompense than in the neglecting of it to chase some treacherous ignus fatuus that promises a pleasure it n er can bestow Do you remember Wordsworth’s Ode to Duty, that “stern daughter of the voice of God” Stern lawgiver! vet Godhead's ce Nor know we anything so falr As is the smlile upon thy face; Flowers laugh before thee on their thou dost wear most benignant and editorial com- | gener for the race and woe for the | And fr nce in thy footing treads; state of things which makes such cor t seems to be the | world, not in some w: checked | Thou dost preserve the stars from duct this Wi n young farmer . Instead of its| and scotched. wrong; “ne For “ne is something un- the customary thing there for Yet it is altogether too widespread | And the most ancient heavens, through usual and out of the ordinary. It isn't s to sti to their job when it|and those of us who have the thee, are fresh and strong.” nds tentic it seems to be| changes of two or three generations THE FARMER. 7 sidered quite a remarkable affair for one not to neglect his duty for the sake of a picnic or a free trip to the Se LETTERS FROM TWO STATES Now, | know that the indictment g which this seems to make is not a true TemtayE mOTning. e oo oo Gl it P esds g, when the runner [ Din a all farmers. 1 know there Toliand County St i e Cthut i A E rs—and a good many of Sl HONEY m 00, if they could all be bunched SVERTRY ephone out of order as well as the ds; farmers to whom the COVENTR telegraph. T i T h Loren Maine was a Hartford ir duty is still more im- " " B v e OF the taking of their ease, | Weight of lce Breaks Wires—Pole Wednosday. HOREHOUND hope, dear reader, that| Blown Down, Blocking Traffic— arley DeWolf was a Hartford vou're one of that s If you are, esday. AND TAR For Coughs and Colds AR Druggists Pike’s Toothache Drops Relieve Pain who a | erl natural order by quence of the whole t a not! Years ago | used to hear it said that “All work and no play makes Jack a m: ed he universe. lot of neighbors given some work. Prop- me of both in t is the se- No man is s| Tuesday The Eaton Chasfe‘Company 29 Main St., Norwich Outdoor spor.ts give health to the young and old See our SLEDS, SKATES, GOLF SUPPLIES, ETC. Why not buy a new Fixture or two for the bathroom as a cift. Soap Dishes, Brush Holders, Towel Bars, Glass Shelves, Etc., will be most welcome. Cutlery, Carving Sets, Mechanics’ Tools, Scissors, Razors, Etc. All our Portable Reading Lamps are new designs and very Mother would like one of them. attractive. needs of all kinds. Thermometers, Family Scales, Driving Lanterns, Carpet Sweepers, Tea Kettles, Percolators, Coffee Pots. Flash Lights, E / Toy Motors, s / Telegraph % e Instruments, 3 ‘Telephones Thermos, Souvenirs of Norwich, Welcome Gifts For Everybody The Eaton Chase Company Useful Christmas Gifts Exclusively Household Souvenir Calendars. The snow of Monda: able gamage to telephone and tele- graph wires here. Ice collected on the wires till they were two inches in di- did consider- dull boy; ameter. The great weight together | Al play and no work makes Jack a{ with the strong wind caused the wires mere shirk.” on the Providence to Poughkeepsie But it isn't to prevent Jack’s being |line to break rear August Hillman's. e is allowed some play; it| A pole or the Hartford line near Miss ve him from becoming a|Perkins’ was broken off and fell across the turnpi ing travel. cut ce completely block- All telephone service was off for several days, the R. F. D. carrier as about three hours late when he react ed here. which is only about half of the route. Gave Illustrated Lecture. arold S. Winship occupied the pulpit Sunday morning as a supply. In the evening he zave a stereopticon lec. ture on Missionary Work in Africa. The slides were loaned from the A. B. Ciim B Worked For Charitable Purpose. The Ladies' Aid society met with rs. 1. P. Fiske Wednesday afternoon. he work done was for a special char- itable purpose. Helpers will give scrip- text calendars to members of the me Department as Christmas gifts. e annual entertainment and tmas tree of the Sunday school will be held next Friday evening. SOUTH WILLINGTON Miss Clara Hall Has Leading Role In School Play—Probable Call to Rev. Charles A. Packer. H. H. Hall and son Holman, went to Wellesley, Ma: 1 Satur- day night to see the presentation of “The Sleeping Beauty,” a drama in three acts, given by the pupils of Ten- acre, young girls of 10 to 14 years of s daughter, Clara, played the part, “The Princess.” Tolland county had a second repre- sentative in the play in Harriett Mar- | well of Rockville, daughter of Col. rwell. Candidate Pleases Church Society. Rev. Charles A. Parker of N tle, N. H.. preached here Sunday and incidentally strengthened the good opinion already formed of bim. A vote will be taken Dec. 26th an the question of extending a call to Mr. Parker to become pastor. This seems to be somewhat of a formality (necessary of course) as there seems to_be no dissenting voice. Next Sunday Rev. Leonard Smith of Mansfleld will preach here. During the snowstorm electric lights and telephones were put out of com- ion but automobiles kept run- ewcas- again last BOLTON MNOTCH A number from this place attended a dance in Bolton hall Saturday night. M. A. Howard was in Hartford on Saturday. The storm Monday night put the tel- Mr. Brant, a milk man, got turned out of his sleigh, milk cans and all, ALL CARS STOP i YOUR WH EAR OFPEN EVENINGS U Uy Y OLE FA CAN SECURE ' CLOTHING ON CREDIT 'CROWN OUTFITTING G S7° 59 ST ATE ST J 1 Howard was home over OLUMBIA Complaints That State Road Is Slip- pery—Church Society Formed—New Pastor Arrives at Parsonage. Considerable complaint is made of the very slippery condition of the sec- tion of concrete road between Colum- bia and Willimantic, east of the Willi- mantic river, on snowy or even fros- ty mcrnings. Many horses have fallen. Thursday morning of last week Mark Edwards, who carries milk for the producers here, was unable to get his load over this section of state road; his hor: not ing sharp shod were both down. He finally unhitched his team from the load, took them to Willimantic and had them sharp shod. But the milk was not shipped until the next morning. to Willimantic, Played at Baltic. ur piece orchestra play- e and supper at Bolton evening. Choral Society Organized. The Choral scciety held its first meeting Thursday evening of last week. About forty, most of them younz people were present. An or- ganization was effected as follow President, Herbert P. Collins; vice vresident, Mrs. J. A. Isham: secre- ta lib; or and treasurer, Horace E. Little; n, Herbert Woodward. One pieces were rehearsed. From present indications the Choral so- ciety under the able direction of its promoter and irstructor, Mrs. E. Lyman, will prove a success, as well as enjoyable and beneficial. Water Supply Short. Wells and streams are quite low. Columbia lake is nearly eight feet below high water mark and last week the American Thread Co. ordered W. two A. Lyman, gate keeper, to hoist the gate at the lake to supply the Willi- mantic mills with water. New Pastor Arrives. Apprecfative resolutions were adopt- ed at a recent meeting of Union Con- egational Church and Parish so- ciety in Seekonk, Mass., upon the res- ignation of the pastor, Rev. T. Newton Owen, who was formerly the minister the Fi Congregational church of ol, R. I. The Rev. Mr. Owen has accepted a call to be pastor of the Congrega- tional church in Columbia. Rev. Mr. Owen arrived here Thursday of last week as did also their househould zoods, and are now settled at the parsonage. Mr. Owen occupied the pulpit last Sunday for the first time as pastor. Personal Items. Mrs. Clayton E Hunt and son, Clay- ton, have been pending several days with Mrs. Hunt's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Simon Goff at Johnston, R. 1. F. Hutchinson is serving as ju- ror from this place at the present term of superfor court at Rockville. Miss Lena G. Wolff of Norwich, SToRE MILY \ NEW L ONDON CONN SATURDAYS UNTIL 10 Bus STRIKES the average man about right. A malty, hop flavored beverage for temperate people. On draught everywhere in New England. Ther'amous “BEST BY FAR™ spent the week end with her mother and brother on Columbia Green. Effects of Storm. It was snow all day Monday, rain onday night, and snow again early uesday morning, making a heavy compact mixture which clung to trees and telephone wires. There was from 6 to $ inches of this mixture, enough to insure good sleighing it conditions remain good. The tele- phone service was not badly demoral- ized, although one pole was down on the green. No mail was received here Tuesday forenoon and Hartford | and Norwich papers reached us on the i p. m. mail. Rural Mail Carrier Lyman had but a small amount of mail to take out Tuesday morning, only what was received at the office at 4 p. m. Monda Tuesday morning Milk Carrier Ed- wards took the milk to Willimantic on runners, for the first time this sea- son. "STAFFORD Universalist and Baptist Choirs Combine and Give Cantata—James A. Johnson’s Death. Mrs. H. C. Fisk is in Hartford hos- pital for treatment. Mrs. E. M. Bugbee of Hartford was the guest for a few days recently of Miss Lizzie Gerould. The topic for the Y. P. C. U. day evening is Christmas by Candle- light, leader, Dewey Murray. Will Give Cantata. The combined choirs of the Uni- versalist and Baptist churches will the cantata, Star of Bethiehem, Harker, Sunday, December 26th, meeting of Wolcott lodge, F. ! A. M, for the installa- tion of officers will be held Thursday evening, December 23. Funcral of James A. Johnson. James A. Johnson, 71, died last Thursday morning after a long illness. Mr. Johnson was a capable and higl 1y respected citizen. For twenty years he was boss weaver at the Phoenix mill, but retired a few years ago. He came here from Wales. His widow survives him, also one son, Fred John- son. The funeral was held from his home Saturday forenoon at 11 o'clock and burial was in the family lot at Wales. Hand Had to Be Amputated. John Ernhoff was badly injured at the Phoenix mill last Thursday. He caught his hand in a carding machine the muscles and flesh being stripped to the bone. The doctor found it necessary to amputate the hand. Play Well Given. The three act drama, Just Plain Folks, was presented in Memorial hall last Friday evening before large audience. Every character was well taken and showed careful train- ing for which Dr. Puffer received due credit. BOLTON Members of Gurleyville Methodist Sunday School Give Entertainment —Dance For Hall Benefit. Members of the Quarryville Metho- dist Sunday school gave an enter- tainment in Bolton hall last week on Friday evening. The programme con- sisted of a reading, Rebecca of Sunny- brook Farm. by Miss Julia Rogers Beach of Milford, which was inter- spersed between acts with vocal and piano solos by Mrs. J. Carlo Stirling. violin solo by Master Elmer Shaw. vocal solo by Fred Reichard; duet by Mrs. H. B. De Wolfe and Fred Eaich- ard; recitatichs by little Miss Char- lotte Relchard. The proceeds are for the benefit of the Christmas en- tertainment of the Methodist Sunday school. Supper and Dance. Mrs. Jennie S. Bolton and Leslic S. Bolton gave a supper and danca at the Bolton hall Saturday eveninz for the benefit of the hall. There wa= a good attendance of out of town peo- ple, all reported a good time. A good profit was realized. A. E. Lyman’s orchestra played for the dancing. . S. Doane prompted. Walter A. Dewey of _ Torringfor spent Sunday at Mrs. W. C. White" Mrs. Charles F. Sumner spent = few davs in_Hartford recently. Miss Ida E. Holbrook of Columbl: spent several days in town the past week. Damage Done By Storm. The snow storm of Monday serlous | | | to] Sun- | interfegred with the routine of af- with rain and winding up with & snow fairs in Bolton, the trains were so|storm. late that no mail was received at the| Silas and Joseph Woodmansee were al office Tuesday, telephones were | recent visitors in this vicinity. riy oll out working order; the _R-(TCKVI* telegraph operators reported little or LLE no work for a few days owing to Y practically all of the wires being | = Ay broken. Quantities of telesraph poles| AThe Loval Workers served o vari- o - ny arms were brok- |G, odmansee last Saturday eveni Washington Eount;, G The erty o held Wednesda Isaa smith building turned to Barberville. Ebe Moore were recent Joseph Wickferd The very Arthur Burdick, who has been work- ing in New London for some ti at his home here suffering from blood poison in a finger caused by a piece of steel. RICHMOND Mrs. I. L. Cottrell, who has been 1ll with bronchial trouble for the past — two weeks, is somewhat improved. auction sale of personal prop-| Some from this place attended the f the late Alfred W. Kenyon was | auction Thursday at the home of late Deputy Sheriff George H. ber, at Hope Valley. Mrs. Charles O. Crandall is in very poor health. Bar- has the opened a E. Lane black- ¢ Roberts E James' op on 1. Moore and Joseph Dunn, who been assisting Everett Moore in Christmas green, have re- eel plates of the new bat- place the 14. The first tieship California were set in with imposing _ceremonies at Brooklyn Navy Yard on October Three years will elapse before t battleship will be ready for ser Her propellors will be driven by elec- tric_motors, the first venture of this kind by any government. r J. Sherman Robert E. allers in Wyoming. has returned to Kenyon storm of Monday night was evere in this locality, beginning HAVE YOU A TELEPHONE IN YOUR HOME?