Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-03-23
Economizing Time.


will allow. On one hand it is Chris
tian maxim, "Redeeming the time !"
and on the other it is one of the few
Christian maxims which the mOst.world-
ly willapprove. The true idea of econ
OmiZing time is to turn it all to good
account; so that when we take our
selves to task for the hours of the day,
we will say that, having devoted so
many to the necessary offices of the
body, so many to the duties of our call
ing, such and such to reading and
meditation, to recreation and amuse-
ment, we have spent our time to ad-
vantage. If this standard commend
itself. then ''let the dead past bury its
dead" so far as lost time is concerned.
or SO far as we have been spending
our days on a wrong plan, and let us
devote ourselves to the special duty of
the moment, as it rises before us in a
wisely ordered life.
We fear, however, that this is not the
common notion of saving time. You
meet business friend on one of these
hot, dusty days, rushing along the
street as if the whole block were ON
fire, and it depended on him to put it
out You cry out, "Halloo, Brother
5; what's all the hurry?' He replies.
Cant stop just now. I'm in dread
full hurry; save times the word" Or.
you go into a restaurant, and, just as
dinner is being placed before you. in
comes your particular companion, Har-
~, whom of all men at that moment
you want to see. "Come along, Harry,
and have some dinner with me-" you
gladly say. Harry looks at his watch,
ard says he is sorry he has no time;
and then, standing at long counter,
he bolts in the twinkling of an eye as
much food as would serve leisurely
man for two or three meals. Or, you
have just got comfortable seat in a
railway car. There is every sign of
starting Immediately. The engine is
blowing her steam. The conductor has
got on board. The last shrill whistle is
heard, and the cars are in motion.
Looking out, you see man rushing
along at as high pressure speed as
locomotive, putting and blowing. With
an effort he springs on the step. Some
one takes him by the hand and helps
him up to the platform; and during
the rest of the journey he is pale and
shivering. The other day we observed
a pretty incident which illustrates the
same thing. AS we arrived at the
Astor House we observed kind-look-
ing man kissing his wife and children.
He said to the children, You'll be all
In bed by the time business is over and
[ get back to our home" Though early
In the morning, he had evidently
brought his family with him to give
them the air, and because his time was
so precious that he could not speed
any of it at home during the hours of
the day.
Well, is this economizing time? We
say that it is borrowing time that we
cannot pay back. In other words, this
is stealing time. The man who has
not moment for anything but bust
ness is taking time from some duty to
which of right it belongs. The man
who does his eating in five minutes,
when he should spend half an hour at
least, is rObbing health of its proper
time. He who rushes to the railway
station, and then drops down almost
dead, has stolen time from his heart
and lungs. And what a number of
men who are actually robbing their
families of time! They see nothing of
their children during the entire day,
unless they resort to some such meth
cd as that described, of making them
accompany them SO far on their way.
When they get home at night. their
children are sound asleep in bed. They
are too tired to say anything To their
partners in life. And so it is, day af-
ter day, till Sunday comes round, and
then they aggravate the evil by stealing
time from Sundays duties. The hours
of the one day in seven are regarded as
a balance in the bank OF life, on which
they may safely draw and make up for
the losses of the week.
Alas! how many are compelled thus
to economic time! They are the vic
tins of circumstances. They must
work, or else die. The cries of hun
CRY and naked children are ever ring
ing in their ears. Their wages will
hardly keep their own body and soul
together, let alone those of their wives
and children. They have to borrow
time from sleep. For them there is no
day of recreation. They have even to
rob Sunday of its precious hours to
spend them in labor, and ere long they
die miserable bankrupts in regard to
time.