then
that nobody meant any harm--it was all just in fun. A few glasses of
"White Horse" will keep a man from being too sensitive about things.
So he laughs with the others at the indecent joke. This is life--town
life. Now he is out in the world!

So begins the degeneration of a man, and it is all based on the false
attitude we have toward labor. His idea of labor was wrong while he
was on the farm. He worked and did nothing else, until he forgot how
to do everything else. Then he stopped working, and he was lost.

Why any rational human being wants to "retire" to the city, goes beyond
me! I can understand the city man, worn with the noise, choked by the
dust, frazzled with cares, retiring to the country, where he can heal
his tired soul, pottering around his own garden, and watching green
things grow. That seems reasonable and logical! But for a man who has
known the delight of planting and reaping to retire to a city or a
small town, and "hang around," doing nothing, is surely a retrograde
step.

The retired farmer is seldom interested in community matters--they
usually vote against any by-law for improvement. Coal-oil lamps were
good enough on the farm--why should a town have electric light? Why
should a town spend money on cement sidewalks when they already have
good dirt roads? He will not subscribe funds for the support of a
gymnasium, hockey club or public baths. He does not understand about
the need of exercise, he always got too much; and he doesn't see any
reason why the boys should not go to the river and swim.

It is not that the farmer is selfish or mean above or below other men.
It is because he has not learned team play or the community spirit.
But it is coming. The farmer has been an independent fellow, able to
get along without much help from anyone. He could always hire plenty
of men, and there are machines for every need. So far as the farmer
has been concerned, he could get along very well.

It has not been so with the farmer's wife. More than any other woman
she has needed help, and less than any other woman has she got it. She
has been left alone, to live or die, sink or swim.

Machines for helping the man on the farm are on the market in great
numbers, and are bought eagerly, for the farmer reasons out the matter
quite logically, and arrives at the conclusion that anything which will
add to the productiveness of his farm is good buying. He can see the
financial value of a