From the Omaha Daily Bee, February 20, 1914. By S. E. Kiser.
“I claim it takes more brains to farm,” said Ebenezer Brown,
“Than what it does to git ahead and make a splash in town;
Why, I know six or seven chaps from this here neighborhood
Who went away to cities, where they’re busy makin’ good.
“You take Chicago and New York—size up the big men there—
The lawyer, doctor, merchant and the multimillionaire—
You’ll find they’ve all been farmer boys, or lived in towns, at least,
Where they could have a chance to learn the ways of bird and beast.
“Now, take these city chaps who come to cultivate the land—
I don’t mean millionaires who farm for fun, you understand—
But take the common city folks who try to farm, and say!
It’s pitiful the way they try to make their farmin’ pay.
“I’ve saw a dozen of ‘em fall; I never seen one yet
Who managed to be prominent or not get into debt;
And so I claim a man may make an awful splash in town
And not have brains enough to farm,” said Ebenezer Brown.