The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-10-31


that his labor pea>-S him. On the other
hand, the workman whose labor meets with
the approval of his master 5 thereby giWen
Il strong impetus to still further improve
upon his work. Nearly all employers are
cugnZant OF thi, fact. ana are seldom back;
ward in expressing Their satisfaction at the
meritorious work accomplished by their
employees.
| I'm this regard it may be stated that we.
too often seek praise for ork that is utterly
unworthy of praise. and which should at
once be condemned rather than i'm any WISE
condoned. We seem unable to SEE in our
actions faults which stand out prominently
| To the vision of Others. Our reason ny no,
matter how excellent in other respects. is
| biased and unrel able in the Judgment of
our own actions and that VIII CHI directly eff
| fect> us. We are too partial in Judging our
selves and hypercritical in Judging others
Not many young ladies there are who can
stand before a mirror and admit that the
reflection before them is inferior i'm beauty
to that of any of their female acQuaInt-
ance>: and but few young men will submit
to comparing themselves unfavOrably with
| their a>SOciateS-eXcept in both instances.
! the comparisons be- excessively ridiculous.
If we could. As Burns expresses it, see
ourSelS as others see us. it would mate
| rally change our personal estimates. and
would give us more substantial basis from
! which to start a reformation OF our secret
failmgS. But. As Providence has ruled
otherwise. and wisely no doubt. we must
decide our merits 10y the Judgment of others.
| 1t is possible in the simplest kind of la
! I'm tn max iah
in the yard of the prison for a few moments
one day last week watching the men en-
gagged in HE erection of the addition to the
| boiler room. Several OF the men were as
>lSned to move some large qIarrled rocks,
and it was in watching these men that it
dawned upon me that Il certain amount of
skill is necessary in the most ''unSkilled@
labor. Two of these men were putting an
extra large r"ck in a suitable position. One
of them took matters very easily and at
first sight appeared to be sinking; but
when the proper time arrived he told
his companion to stop a moment. and Civ
Ing the stone a SIMPLE move it dropped into
its proper place This was a very common
affair: but. if at that time | was asked
which was the better workman | should be
compelled to admit the apparent ''Shirkerf
was
In order to have our work appreciated. it
is essential that We call into action our
best efurt>: and even then we may have to
wait a long time before our merits receive
just cnmmendaton. 1t is related of tine
late w lbur +. Storey. former proprietor
of the Chicago Times. that he never deigned
! id show by word or action his approval of
The work of any of his editorial writer's or
other employees. but was on elk to condemns
when things did not suit him. There are.
many ''Storey>" still in existence. And
the positions are sometimes reversed. En-
pluyeS and subordinate, are very often the.
ones to not appreciate civil treatment. An
instance in support Of Ibis statement is the
story of the rOUStabDuS on a Mississippi
boat. 1t happened that the mate ON this
steamer was of Il more kindly temperament
than the generality of men who hold that
position on MSSiSS phi boats. On one trip
down the river passenger who noticed
that the rOuSlabOutS We're continually
crawling about Their poor food and harsh
treatment, took it upon himself to improve
their lot Go ny to the mate he requested
that the latter make the experiment of feed
| ing the men better. The mate consented
and that night the rousta5uutS' fare was
exactly similar to that of the cabin paSsen-
gers and was served upon snowy liner.
The men were surprised. to say the least:
bun one IF the old heads picked up nicely
cooked chicken and. after smelling it, said
in IA Knowing way: Il knew it was rotten
| or they wouldn't give it to U.s. The men
were naturally dStruStful: they were not
| accustomed to good treatment ON other
boats: still we Will venture to assert that
| it The good food was continued da ly they
| would soon learn to appreciate it.
Ii employers and employees, superiOrs and
subordInateS. could learn to more clearly
understand each other: to render due Justice
one to the other and to fairly reward and
aplrec ate earnest motives and noble. in
trnti"nS on both SIDES. this world would
soon feel the effects of such a grateful lu-
hrcamt and Wnnld move along with lesS