The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-29
SEATTLE. SUNDAY. SOV. 80.
DYING OF ovERwoRK.

The late William L. Scott, of Pennsyl-
vania. died in his Gath year, worth $50, 000,-
600 and he died of oyerwork. He had, since
early in life, devoted himself intensely to
his rapidly increasing business and po-
litical interests so that unquestion-
ably large element of nervous
strain must be recognized in the
case, which doubtless contributed to his
broken health of recent years and his sud-
den collapse at the last. To work at your
ease as mere contemplative thinker does
not kill, hence purely literary men or men
of virtuous leisure, subject to no bitter
anxieties in their battle for bread and no
large, varied or complex executive repon-
sihilities live long in the land. The men
who die of overwork are men who not only
work hard. but work under the ceaseless
strain and stress of a vast variety of re-
sponsibilities; work under fire every hour;
work under the lash, discharging duties
that cannot be put off; that are always
pushing the weary man from behind and
filling his ears with the war cry of For
wards Forward! Forwardp'
1t is this relentless pressure of varied,
perplexing, vexing responsibility that
never relaxes its push; that never gives
the man time to catch his breath, that
kills, because il wears out the nervous
system prematurely. Indigestion and in
somnia attend the victim as his gentle
men of the bedchamber; unceasing excite
ment and anxiety precipitate the circula-
ton, and heart failure at last claims the
exhausted executive for its own. Even
literary men when they work under the
lash of anxiety, sorrow or labor that knows
no rest break down prematurely, like
Scott, Southey, Lamb, Coleridge
and Hood. Overwork is gener-
ally associated with occupations that
involve necessarily exceptional anxi-
ETY., and ceaseless labor under high
pressure and excitement. Such men
are apt to die of heart failure, Just as
hypertrophy of the heart was one of the
common causes of discharge from the
army during the war. The nervous ex-
element and anxiety incident to life of
constant battle, joined to exceptional
bodily exposure and hardship, produced
heart disease in 1l,o00 young soldiers who
had passed the surgeon and had no heart
trouble when mustered into service.
Mr.. Scott is a notable illustration Of a
man prematurely worn out by his cease
less, concentrated life of action, associated
with the exceptional anxiety and excite
ment that is inseparable from position
whose duties are always kicking the doer
from behind and squirting the tired steed
to fresh burst of speed. There
are workers and workers, and
there are some kinds of work
associated with peculiar anxieties and
oppressive responsibilities that, as they
never cease, generally kill the man who
carries their burden. The man who has a
fearful spree periodically often lives to old
age, but the man who never has a spree
but drinks deeply every day dies before so;
and so it is with some workers whose
work permits no halt whose pace is always
the double-quick or the forced march; they
die of sheer exhaustion on the field of
battle.
No mans work can be measured in its
severity by the number of hours he labors.
il Is the taxing nature and perplexing. ex-
hausting variety of a mans work, and its
daily ami hourly stress that is the test of
its killing quality. 1t is this scope and
daily stress of work, not the number
Of hours it takes TO perform il.
that wore out prematurely Mr.. Scott, as il
wore out Secretary Stanton, Governor
Andrew, Tom Scott, Greeley and Sam
Bowies Napoleon's father died of can
Ger, but 1t is not likely that the same dis
ease would have developed itself so early
IN his great son had it not been for the
tremendous anxieties and mental suffer-
ingS he endured from Moscow TO Waterloo
Genera sherman said that in his Judgment
cancer would not have developed itself in
Grant had it not been for the severe men
tai and bodily depression consequent upon
the financial ruin Of himself and family
and the misappropriating of his good
name by the Wall street svindler, Ferdi-
nand Ward.
The strongest brain and body will yield
under the stress of anxiety, sorrow.
trouble and relentless responsibility that
never let's up an hour or 3 day in the life
OF the man whose business il is to bear a
mountain load Of burdens. whose cares
perplex and vex his soul; whose snxieties
infest both his days and his nights at
home and abroad. That such workers
should die premslurely of heart failure Is
net remarkable. for they are always in
battle or organizing for battle: ALWAYS
under IRE or expecting 20 be shot at;
always spending their nervous power
from January 10 January; from Sunday
20 Sunday; from dawn TO dark, AMI not
seldom from dark to dawn.
1t is the daily pace that tells; il is the
failure 20 halt betimes that makes the
finest war horse fall at last with ais rider.
Men then DO die Of oyerwork. and vet
their overWork sometimes seems unavoid-
able. Mr.. Scott probably would have
reached his 6ath year = sturdy. healthy
man. good for dozen years more Of com
Portable life, if he hai taken life easier but
then he would not have satisfied his stand
ard OF success. To reach the goal of his
ambition he could hardly have worked
less, and from his point Of view lie died