Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1875-02-11

Inc sooner people Deg1n 10 comPre>
bend that practically there is no busi-
ness, calling, trade or profession which
any one man can master in oil its
branches in lifetime, the better will
it he for every individuals prosperity.
We believe that half the failures in
the great struggle for livelihood are
due to men trying to do too much,
trying to fulfill all the requirements
indicated by name because their
fathers did, but forgetting that, in
tn ir fathers time, that name included
an aggregate Of labor OF very differ
cut extent to that which it row en-
compasses. Every day as it closes
leaves the world richer in knowledge,
and the aggregation of many days
produces store of learning which in
creases vastly the quantity which the
beginner must master ere he ape
proaches proficiency. A couple Of
centuries ago all that the world knew
OF the healing art Was within the easy
grasp Of any average intellect Now,
there is no physician living, however
eminent, who pretends to have mas
tered or even to be moderately versed
in all the details of medicine and sur
gerry. SO it is with Science, with law,
with mechanics, with journalism, until
each calling has reduced itself to an
agylomeration of specialities and,
without doubt, each speciality i'll the
future will be divided and suhdivided
AS learning and education advance.
That which is true Of the professions
is equally true OF the trades. The
lawyers say that the man most to be
dreaded as an adversary is she OF one
book" The individual who knows
only one thing, but that root and
branch, is unuuestionably ADLER and
wiser than another VINO has dabbled
in this and that until his mind is but
a tumble of ill assorted ideas, superficial
at the best. If mechanic, for eX-
ample, finds that there is any one
operation for which he has special
liking, and can accomplish it just u
little better than anything else, that is
the thing for him to stick to. He
should make up his mind to cling to
it through thick aud thin, to try and
improve certain parts until o uniform
perfection is attained. 1t does not
take the world very long to discover
who is the best man for this or that
purpose; and when it finds out that
man, who has made specially of one
operation and uuquestionably does it
better than oayhody else, tho world
must avail itstlf Of his labor and, in
so doing, must pay him his own terms.
We do not mean to argue that a
man should be like y horse, capable of
entertaining but one idea at II time,
for that would be to advocate narrow
minuelneSs but We do mean to say
that no man should be without one
essential aud prevailing object, in the
prosecution OF which he is determined
10 excel, and it does not make any
difference what that is, whether clean
ing gutter or saving lives. We
should lhen this upperinost purpose
in u mans brain to ;In elaborate treat
les on one SUBJECT alone in library of
general ency ciopssdiAs. The last in
dictate the expansion and grasp of
ones views on all things, the first
their concentration on u hte-work.
The simie Is all the more apt, for
after all, when we come to examine
everything We know outside our one
calling, We find We are only in posses
sion of more or less copious index.
And We are led to the certain conclu-
sion that the very best We can ever