Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-06-28
Strength.

1ndG Is IIle pest rope ID my STORE,
said dealer in cordage, pointing to not
very large rope which lay coiled up on
the floor.
In what way is it best 90 inquired.
"In strength he replied.
A friend who was present pointed to a
much large rope near by, saying that it
must surely be much stronger, for the
size was greater.
The man of rope then went into de-
scription of the process of manufacture,
and different kinds of ropes, from whale
line up to the largest hawser. His eXpla-
nation was so clear, that we readily saw
that cable owed It's strength not so much
to the amount of MANILA it contained per
fathOm, as to the close union existing be-
tween the ibers, or, in other words, that
pound of MANILA made into a loosely
twisted rope, one foot long, would not be
so strong as the same amount of material
closely twisted; or, more properly. a
loosely twisted rope, weighing a pound to
the foot, would not be nearly so strong as
hard twisted rope Of the same material
and weight-and yet the loosely twisted,
weak rope would look the largest of the
two.
A familiar example of this is shown by
the shoemaker, who untwists his hempen
Wu6u uG WISHES W DT6dh 1t. 1nlS
untwisting does not rob the thread of
single fiber, and yet it is so weakened,
that the thread, which before almost de-
fed man to break it with his naked hands,
will now part with such ease, that it can
hardly be called breaking, very few of
the tibers holding firmly enough to re-
quire fracturing. Its strength depended
more upon the close union of the fibers
than upon their Individual strength.
1t is not unusual to find persons who,
like the rope-dealer's friend, look upon
size and strength as synonymous. This
impression is much more general than
some would suppose. We frequently
hear people speaking of some unusually
large man, saying, "Just look at him; |
would not like to have him take hold of
me-" Or of a church, " 1t is very strong
church-over three hundred memb ers.''
Corporations are Judged in the same man.
ner-the number and wealth of its mem
bers being taken as the standard Of its
strength; and yet the fallacy of this is APP
parent to any one who will take the trouble
to examine the facts of the case Great
size does not always indicate correspond
ing strength. Even in physical contests
the largest does not always prove the best
man. That this is true of individuals,
who acknowledge this are unwilling to
apply the same line of reasoning to socie-
ties, to whom it is certainly more applica-
BILE than to individuals. Probably many
of these same false theorists could recall
circumstances that would clearly disprove
their own theory of strength in proportion
to size. In fact, we are certain that the
most striking illustrations of this are found
in the case of numbers in societies, wheth-
er social, educational, political, or reli-
gious. Many men" are likely to have
many mlnds,' and instead of unity Of
purpose, there will be more or less indi-
vidualitY--they will be less closely united
AS great bodies exert more powerful
attractive influence upon the lesser, so
two or three great minds, running in diff
ferent directions, will soon be surrounded
by their attendant satellites Thus our
society is split into factions. And so com.
pletely is this untwisting" sometimes
done, that societies composed of hundreds,
or even of thousands, are often broken in
two with as much apparent ease as the
shoemaker breaks his thread. Surely the
strength Of the family, society, associa-
ton, church, State, or Nation, depends
upon the close unity existing between the
Individual members.-PestLe.