The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-05-08
What do We Work For

Ihe question we desire briefly to d;so,
WY 90 we work :" but What do we W.. not
some may answer at once: "For money I'm ioffh
saiares We do not think this correct ans ss Or
ply 10 the question Labor may be the Adam, 'ui re-
buti so, tue innate desires of man and h;s Curse
ness and ambition for improvement have nta restless
curse to positive blessing, and made tho sea the
thorn and thistle cursed-to bloom ana earth
the rose We work partly because we mood son Ike
need it for health of mind as we'll az of hod. We
ness leads to decay and decay to death, Ia ias'
through years of active exerton leaves H.; 4te Who
ment and sretres from business rsuaIlv employ.
death warrant. He vegetables for while in =, Dis
aud dies, unless he has sense enough To 'uiehess
mistake IN time and return to the paths of ;' bis
fulness. There are few more pablc oh;ao, ~ USE
man who alter many years of active service j.; taa
ness is delTded into belief that hapninos Al Dust
ward for his labors are to be found in ~ aad re-
from all participation in the work of life nla a"lhs
excuse for dleness, but the possession IF ae Il
not "'y u
We do not work for money alone The n,oo,-
who would be content to do the work of an 'no
tce merely because he could earn more waco "pptel
be hardly worthy the name of meehap;c ' NV
amount wages salary is recognition IF ,s Inc
and standard of value for services performer ~.
not the only incentive to cxerton. 4 workman rI
pride in his work-in the results of his sL;n 'ee'
trely anconnected with the amount of MONEY reca,
for it. he did not one very strong motive for ~
pioNSueHt "ouiu De tdtklDS. Almost
chanic will agree with that he has done iobs h;al
afforded him more qualification in their success tbsa
he derived from the possession of the pecunisry roa
pensation therefor How often man will undart,1'
a job which he knows beforehand will not "nayn :;
cash what it costs, but mainly for the pride Of nav
forming it successfully 1t is true that "the Lahore.
is worthy of his hire" but to agree that the hire i; ~
only or even the principal incentive is unreasonab
not sustained by facts and derogatory to the dan'
ty of labor, phrase often misused but perraotl
correct one. To be sure if the efforts of the work,
by this term we mean all who do-are M,
appreciated by adequate compensation he seeks Other
employers who have proper appreciation of his value
We work for progress; for progress individually
and for the progress of the One means to tina,
progress is the payment for services rendered AZ il
will enable the skillful workman and the inventive
mechanic to carry forward their plans of improve.
nent in manual labor or in labor-savins machines
We work for the godke pride of creation. The ma
'bine which is an offspring of the brain of the me-
hanic is much, and more his than that of his loin
f he is lily paid for bis labor, mental or physical he
las the compensation of a satisfaction in his success,
which cannot be assured by money only, but which
must be felt in the knowledge that he has succeeded
there others failed, and has secured an mpregneblu
oson as one of the pioneers in the grand march of
Improvement.
There are few pursuits which demand more hard
of the brain-than that of the mechanic
no sense can he be considered exemplar of Bun
ans g Muckrake." He must live in order to work
ut he does not work merely that he may live. Heis
ways striving to mount the next step on the ladder
nd never does he mount but that he carries with him
lie living, moving world. 1t is his pride to excel:
ever satisfied with mediocrty but always striving for
perority. From the workman to the inventor il
1T step-a long step it may be-yet not beyond
is powers if he employs them properly; and the in.
entor, not mechanic, is often dependent on the me-
,anc for the success of his Improvement
Scientific American