Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1872-03-06
Lectures in q Workshop.

sISSssAs~ a. - 'SAAt
Iftbero is q dignity In labor, il tho
means of education arc accessible TO
oil, If intelligence 10 ccrtaily rocogniz-
cd, what is thore 10 prevent the me.
chanic from clevating himself and
striving fcran exalted position? And
vet out of tho thousands of talented
designers and ingenious mcchanicians,
there arc very few who arrive at any
degree Of cmincncc. II is n manifest
truth, that largo numbers of those on
gagged In mechanical pursuit seldom
trouble their heads about mental i'm
provement. Ai(or work. hours their
time is FILTERED away in triflingj TOO
often, wc know, in vicious amusc'
mcnls which absorb their attention on
the following day, TO the exclusion Of
the thought that should bo given TO
their employment. Now, the remedy
against such worthless existence is
to 90 to work and use every opportu-
nifty TO improve tho mind aud learn us
much rs possible about everything
connected with tho trade or employ.
menL that serves for daily occupation.
1t can scarcely beeSpectcd, after eight
or ten hours unremitting labor, that
q workman sbould tic himself down
night after night to study. lie says
ho must have relaxation and amuse.
mcnt and will produce arguments up.
parcntly plausible in order to get rid
of the Responsibility Of self culture ard
mental Improvement. But tho man
who would educate himself must have
the disposition 10 learn. lie may be
chained to shoebench, or fastened to
printing. press, or stand ut lathe or
wise all day, in order to earn his living;
and yet, in his close observation of
men and manners, in his education of
thought, in his careful outstanding of
spare moments, in judicous reading,
in availing himself of all attainable
means for educating himself, benefit
ing his tellow.crcatures, and becoming
o useful and intelligent member OF
society, ho will feel his selfimprovc.
ment, The world growing larger, and
his own soul growing with it; he will
see significance in his being, and in
the world about him, of which the
manufactured scholar mover dreamed.
To every rejecting person il must be
evident, that nn educated man, SIX He'd
in his trade, with knowledge of the
laws on which it is founded, is much
moro valuable to his employer aud
hmselftha the mere workman whose
actions are akin TO those of machine,
whose mind is Il waste, and who sci.
dom thinks. There arc many nara.
tivcs Of the success Of earnest seekers
after education and scientific pursuits
amidst the discouragemcnts OF public
opposition and poverty. Franklin
rose from tho position Of printers
boy to that ofa prince among phloso-
piers; John Fitch, who built in 1911
the first steamboat for the navigation
OF the Western waters, cultivated n
potato patch in order to purchase
copy OF SalmOn's Geography; Sir
Richard Arkwright, "thc subtcrfancan
barber" was the inventor of the cot
ion.machinc; Sam Crompton played
the violin ut an English theatre for
eighteen pence each night, TO enable
him.to procure tools to make his spin.
ming. mule, and the Government subse-
quently assigned to him $4,000 as
national rew;n'd; Chantrey, the great
portrait sculptor, carried out milk in
Sheffield; Murray, the great linguist,
learned to write by scribbIng his let
tiers on m old wool card with the end
OF burnt heather stem; William
Cobbett made himself master of En-
glish grammer when he was n private
soldier; Lord Campbell, Chief Justice
ot England, was n Parliamentary re.
porter; Charles Dickens was once
lawyers clerk, and such a position in
England is neither II lucrative nor an
enviabIe one; Faraday, ono OF the
brightest luminarics Of science, was q
bookLinder'sussisianl. Therefore there
is no degree Of distinction which is
not open to the mechanic; enlightened
workers will be appreciated as well as
mere thinkers; and laborers can reap
the fruits of their industry as well us
nero spectators in labor. In what
can mechanics cducatc themselves p
In tho great workshop Of the brain
there arc discovery, invention, ingcn
nliy. perception, and design; these
se' in motion and carefully watched.
will cause the advancement of the arts
and professions, of scionce and learn.
ing, a knowledge of new truths which
unlock a world Of wonders. In what
shall mechanics educate themselves
Go study the lives and works of james
Watt, Ericsson, Stephenson, Morse,
and Fairbairn, and they will discourse
about pressure, strength, and strain,
the composition Of forces, temperature,
heat, economy of fuel, construction,
management, and security. But all
these men consumed the midnight oil
IN the earlier prosecution OF their Ia.
hors; and, with n thorough knowledge
OF the mechanical powers and the laws
OF motion, fluids and gases, they have
given tho world grand aud stnpondous
discoveries Tho most apparently
illitrate may have natural powers un.
known to themselves; and there are
those who possess the genius of n
Stephenson, a Brunei, or Davy, who
merely want education to develop their
powers Industrial Monthly.
PENSION SwISDLERs.- Rs.--Accordng to
the Commissioner, us reported by Gen.