Wichita eagle., 1888-08-08


His Last Dollar"
a somewhat extended experience with
men, and an occasional woman, convinces
me that there is es great difference in the
methods of good men who desire to help
their fellows as there is between them and
bad men who strive constantly to hurt their
brothers and sisters Every man has his
own way. 1t is folly for writers in the press,
for ministers in the pulpit. for public teach
ers in any forum whatever, to insist upon it
that their way is the only way. Effective
work is done by upright engines, by hori-
zontal engines, by oscillating engines. II is
by the quality and quantity OF effect pro-
duced, not the manner in which the work is
done, men must be judged.
look at doctors with wonder ard awe. In
my judgment doctor needs, first Of all,
moral courage. 1t requires no very great
degrees OF PHYSICAL courage TO stand before
man whose inaamed eye betokens the rage
that roars within him, because, being man,
you naturally have no fear for another man
physically. The issue of the fight must be
one of two ways. You whip him OF he whips
You, and, of course, you are prepared TO take
the chance. But to 60 int sick room,
where, in the first place, your senses are Of
Tended, you seesunpleasant pictures, you hear
discordant sounds, above ali you detect Of
fensive odors, you are brought in contract
with condition of things abnormal, from
which you naturally turn as from any other
nuisance that required moral courage. That
Of itself would determine me. l could no
more endure the close cnfinements Of a sick
chamber, with its necessary annoyance TO
every sense, and most especially to the seusi-
tive nerves of tho nasal organ, than l could
draw weight OF 10000 pounds along dusty
highway.
But that is not all Be it smallpox, diph-
theritic sore throat, yellow fever, any one Of
score of contagious diseases, the doctor
must be so dauntless in the attitudes OF bis
moral courage that he not only feels no fear,
but is absolutely regnan5 with JOY at an op-
portunlty to wrestle with foeman worthy
Of his pills. A true physician is veritable
hero.
have come to the conclusion that intelh-
gent men do know themselves. What folly
IL is to imagine for moment that well
balanced mind doesn't fully, accurately, alb
Solutely estimate himself. Could you con-
vince Bismarck, as he sits in the calm seclu-
sion OF his innerrpost study, smoking the fra
grant pipe OF happy reflection, that he has
not been successful diploInatl
You're a merchant. Continuity Of en-
deavor has brought you, step by step. from
the humility Ct an Office sweeping 81 week
lad to the proud pre-eminence of a merchant
prince, with an income, net, Of 81 ,O00,O00 a
year. Your credit stands regal in the nIarts
of commerce., your rane is e synonym for
soliGity throughout the world OF trade and
diczer. Could anybody convince you that
you are failurea Don't you know, Us you
look at your bald head and wrinkled face and
shriveled neck in the too faithful mirror that,
though you are decaying physically, YOU ara
a superb success along the line Of mercantile
endeayor and commercial enterprise!
OF course. you know yourself. And pre-
cisely as you, success, know yourself to be
a success, SO you, o Hzzle, know yourself TO
be flzzle. Every man is a type. Why it is
fact that we are all, in certain lines, unique,
peculiar, individual, it is equally fact that
We all represent great bodies of similarly
organized, identically developed men or wo-
men, here, there and everywhere. Some
people say, "Oh, he's good hearted fellow,
he viii give his last dollar"
Well, yes, but IS it a good heart that gives
didn't refuse to give literal, personal, indi-
vidual, hand to hand, heart to heart, body to
body comfortss Recurring to the doctor
thought a moment, l don't believe it would
be physical possibility for me, who have
pretty good control Of my physical organs at
that, to make practice OF visiting hospitals,
Of coming into personal contact with disease,
of upsetting my stomach by annoying my
nose. 1t is one thing to draw q check and
send it by mail or messenger; it is another
thing to so about doing good, visiting tie
sick, helping the friendless, uplifting the be-
reaved attending 10 the literal, physica!
necessities of poor, dirty devels in the very
cutters of humanity.
Talk about giving money as an evidence
of generosity. That's al nonsense 1t all
depends upon circumstances What sort of
generosity is it when you have 500 in your
pocket and somebody comes along asking you
for five or ten, that you give it, without re-
gard to anything under heavens except the
particular 500 you have in your pocket
That 500 may belong to some creditor. You
may owe that money to some man to whom
its payment would be positive relief. You
don't think Of equities, you don't care the
turn of your hand for your creditor; you let
Browne walk all over creation rather than
deprive yourself Of o moments comfort,
peace, happiness, luxury; yet because you
give five or ten dollars to some poor devil
who happens to want il, you are credited the
world around as being generous hearted,
free handed man, who would give his last
dollar TO help a creature in distress.
You buy paper Of newsboy. You hand
him a dime. Rather than be bothered to
wait for tie change, or TO have his dirty
little fists paving over a handful Of coin to
find the change, you say, "Oh, keepit. Never
mind that" Why do you say itf Are you
touched with pity for the boys necessitiesi
Is it the logical sequence of any careful
thought, estimate, Judgment Of the little
chapf Do you even go 20 far es to think
that it would please the boyf Not bit of
it 1t is, nine times oct OF ten, an inchoa5e
desire, an unthought OF impulse to be rid Of
the annoyance of the boy and the unpieas-
antness Of his dirt; yet some benevolent old
lady, looking over her spsctacles and her
stomach, SEEING you let the little boy go OF
with FIVE or six cents more than belong TO
him, smiles all over with chrubic CLEAN,
and tells her family, whom she joins In hum
be home that evening, about ''the generous
man who gave FIVE cents TO little newsboy.'
Joe Towards Letter in Boston Globe