one shoemaker. It takes
them all, assisted by a great number of machines, to make a shoe. Each
does a particular part, and not one of them knows the entire trade. The
result is that the moment the factory shuts down these men are out of
employment. Out of employment means out of bread--out of bread means
famine and horror. The mechanic of to-day has but little independence.
His prosperity often depends upon the good will of one man. He is liable
to be discharged for a look, for a word. He lays by but little for his
declining years. He is, at the best, the slave of capital.

It is a thousand times better to be a whole farmer than part of a
mechanic. It is better to till the ground and work for yourself than
to be hired by corporations. Every man should endeavor to belong to
himself.

About seven hundred years ago, Kheyam, a Persian, said: "Why should a
man who possesses a piece of bread securing life for two days, and who
has a cup of water--why should such a man be commanded by another, and
why should such a man serve another?"

Young men should not be satisfied with a salary. Do not mortgage the
possibilities of your future. Have the courage to take life as it comes,
feast or famine. Think of hunting a gold mine for a dollar a day, and
think of finding one for another man. How would you feel then?

We are lacking in true courage, when, for fear of the future, we take
the crusts and scraps and niggardly salaries of the present. I had
a thousand times rather have a farm and be independent, than to be
President of the United States without independence, filled with doubt
and trembling, feeling of the popular pulse, resorting to art and
artifice, enquiring about the wind of opinion, and succeeding at last in
losing my self respect without gaining the respect of others.

Man needs more manliness, more real independence. We must take care of
ourselves. This we can do by labor, and in this way we can preserve our
independence. We should try and choose that business or profession the
pursuit of which will give us the most happiness. Happiness is wealth.
We can be happy without being rich--without holding office--without
being famous. I am not sure that we can be happy with wealth, with
office, or with fame.

There is a quiet about the life of a farmer, and the hope of a
serene old age, that no other business or profession can promise. A
professional man is doomed sometime to feel that his powers are waning.
He is doomed