The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1876-04-20
From the Philadelphia Ledger
Intelligence and Labor.

The old delusion that education is un
favorable to labor has almost passed
away. We no longer argue that the more
a man thinks. the less he is inclined "a
work, nor fear that the material inter.
ests OF our country will suffer through
intellectual cultivation We acknowl.
edge that a well educated man may work
as well as his neighbor who can hardly
sign his name; and we even 90 a step
further and admit that a certain amount
OF education is necessary to secure the
best kind Of labor. Yet we are still far
from apPreciating the full effect Of men
tai progress upon industrial employ
ments, or estimating the vast debt which
the latter owe TO the former.
! Intellectual culture, so far from unfit.
ting men and women for exertion, actu-
ally excites them to IT, Ignorance is the
chief cause OF Incidence, and they are
rarely separated. Savage tribes know
| but little Of the benefits that industry
can secure, and. having scarcely a motive
beyond that OF appeasing hunger. are
l proportionately idle. Educate them
show them the superiority Of a house to
a wigwam, and of q comfortable dress to
blanket--and the industry which can
secure these benefits Immediately begins
to expand. Each fresh accession Of civ
ilized life demands q fresh accession OF
labor and in proportion as the results
OF industry become more and more appa-
rent, industry itself will more and more
develop.
Education benefits industry, not alone
by exciting and increasing IT, u has an
equally direct and powerful influence
upon it in raising and improving its
quality. How is the soil made most pro
ductive2 Not by an unthinking routine
OF drudgery upon il, but rather by a
knowledge Of its nature and require
ments; a thoughtful consideration OF the
relations which subsist between human
needs and the powers Of agriculture to
supply them. The success Of manuiac.
lures is due almost wholly to the busy
thoughts that are ever planning i'm
provements making new inventions
constructing machinery; combining aud
regulating labor and adapting all the
various means within reach TO the high
est and most productive ends. Com
merce, too, owes its very existence to the
same source. The more forethought,
judgment, discretion, and knowledge the
merchant possesses, the more certain we
may be Of his ultimate success
The same is true Of those occupations
which we are accustomed to consider
wholly manual. The mechanic or la
borer who thinks out the meaning Of his
work, who enters into its spirit. who de
vises improved plans for its execution,
and sends a thought with every stroke.
has tenfold the value Of one who only
bestows physical strength upon his work
In the province of domestic service, eve
ry housekeeper knows that the great
lack is Of mental, not bodily. power
There are plenty OF girls who have the
requisite muscle, but few who can furnish
the judgment, care. foretnought, and
economy which are so needful in the
kitchen and the nursery. Each laboror,
whatever be his sphere Of action, needs
to understand the laws which govern his
department Of labor, and so TO adapt his
efforts TO conform with them. II he
does not his woTk.must be TO that ex.
tent unproductive and unsuccessful
These laws, however, are so entwined
with those Of other branches, and so de
pendent upon those of life in general.
that thorough education upon a broad
basis is the best preparation for any kind
OF labor, and q continued mental disci.
pline the best safeguard for its success
No industry can afford to slight the in
tellecti no man or woman who Is a mere
machine can ever dive out his full value
to the world, no nation OF community
can ever emerge from Incidence, except
IN so far as they emerge from ignorance.
In this country. where the opportunities
OF education are so numerous and so
widely spread. it would hardly seem nee
essary to urge their acceptance yet IL is
OF the highest importance TO our ma.
tional prosperity and personal we'll
being that we all recognize the intimate
between the growth Of intelli-
gence and the value Of labor