The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-04-15
SPECUlATiONS FROM
THE PEN OF ALFRED BALcH.
The Jay" Frame of Mind Leads Each
to Think His Own the Most Exacting
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Works Hard in
the United States-Fisures.
special Correspondence.I

the country districts, called Jay" by some
very loudly dressed youths ON the ferry.
For l remember once having hired a sail
boat on the upper Hudson. A steamer
coming along damned me in on a lee
shore, the wind being fresh, and to get
out | was forced to jibe. When | got back
the owner Of the boat told me he had been
all ready 10 come TO my assistance when
he saw me extricate myself. You know, y
he added half alphabetically, 1--WE country
folks don't think you city men know any
thing"
The average city man without good
manners, when one of his fellows who has
spent lifetime on a farm comes to town
calls him lay" By this is meant tn j.,
farmer knows nothing of city life. is liable
TO be taken in and swindled, and is in short
an innocent let Loose in strange places
The charge Is true enough, but when 4
man from the city invades the country and
calls field of oats "a fine crop of wheat"
the farmers boy who hears him speaks to
his fellows Of that city jay" In other
words, he who is ignorant becomes LAY"
to him that is learned, and TO be called
Jay" signifies contempt by the caller for
the callee-
This Jay" frame of mind extends itself
10 other things, and TO nothing so much as
labor. Il is a fact that doing anything in
the positive degree is pleasure and recrea-
ton, while if the degree be made superla-
tive II becomes work Of the hardest kind.
For example, reading novel is generally
looked on q being recreation, because for
the great majority of people novels are
only read with this object But 10 re-
viewer OF books novel reading becomes
very hard work. /, who have so read
them, can assure gou this is true
Il naturally results from what have
said hat 4. who follows one line of bust
( ness IL lie, is unable to understand why
Il. who follows another. should complain
/ OF having 10 work hard, and vice versa
! Fer \ finds bis recreation in doing Just
what b does for living, and he honestly
/ cannot see that while ne mas lie positive
! degree OF BIS business, B HIS The superla-
/ tive. He accordingly looks ar > work as
the recreation he himself fi1s.s in it and
. wonders TO hear B groan Yet nothing
/ can De more certain than that B works
: very hard. because hard work is the especial
heritage of Americans. Fortunately, that
hard work brings with it its tangible re-
( ward
Who are the hardest workers in the
United Statess Asked this question the
other day, at once replied, Newspaper
men" But l am a newspaper man, and
On rejection think my answer was cap
ital illustration OF the first sentence of this
letter. In poin. of fact, l do not know
what class works the hardest
Work must be measured by the exhaus-
ton that follows it. We eat, we put in
fuel 70 keep up the steam, and as we work
we use that steam up. We tire ourselves
and We get hungry. These result as surely
from mental as from physical labor, and
the chances are therefore that the one is
Just as hard work as the other. 1t is net
IN the least extraordinary, though. that he
whose work Is mental and whose recreation
is physical should regard physical work as
being akin TO recreation. Here the lay
frame Of mind is active, and the lawyer
wonders how the farmer can complain of
the hardships Of life spent in the open
air.
| suppose of all men stock brokers do the /
greatest amount of work in the Shortest
time. 1t seems light enough, this coming
to the Office at 10 and leaving at I. with
an hour out fer lunch. Five hours as a
days work, and not continuous werk at
that, certainly OF The face OF it appears
light enough. Ist | have known many
brokers who were fairly tired out when +
o'clock came, and who gave every phvs-
ical sjgn OF having worked very hard A
smaller amount Of morphine VIII produce
the effect OF a larger dose of opium, and
work in concentrated portions during a
short time viii fatigue
The common idea Of the duties of a news
paper man does not involve much labor.
All he has to &C Is 10 write articles and go
H. -
akin TO the popular theory of the farmers
life, popular IN tne cities. All the farmer
has to fl up his time is to ride around
the fields on horseback and get up early.
The one is a. funny as the other to those
who know. New paper men work very
hard. and in view .. the fact that newspa-
pers are published every day in the year.
they are among the most constant Of work
ers. Ii seems simple enough TO run around
town asking questions or to sit in an Office
and write articles. yet those who have
never tried it would be amazed TO ind
what weary brains result In the one
thing alone Of thinking up subjects 10
write about every day in the year man
may become baiohea3ed.
1t may not &c denied that great law
yer studying great case has has work cut
out for him From the thousand and one
facts he mast garner ont the story. care
fully sitting and RESTING until every item
in the case has its proper place aad due
importance. Nor can We look at the ply
sician, on whose knowl2iEe and judgment
may depend the life o. Gesta O. fke patient
who trusts 50 implicitly, studying the
disease and racking his brain To read
the symptoms Alright, Is one who labors
not. The clergyman. on whose shoulders
rest the so--ows of his people, has other
sources of fatigue in addition 10 the TWO
sermons week.
So much for mental work These men
depend on physical labor OF some kind for
their relief and physical LABOR particularly
such pie2saEter forms OF ii as riding. drfv-
ing. hunting, fishing. fancy farming and
tie ike, are the most perfect forms Of rec
Ration for them But carry these into the
speculative degree and they amuse no
longer. Nearly al men. and the majority
Of yoU.ng women, agree that a ride on |
horseback Is delightful JET LET man stay
Da horseback ali dsy long after cattle and
his view viii probably change
That vast bocy e Ele2 y 10 I'll the soil
n the United States, called vsnously
farmers, raaekers and planters. work SIS
hard a. j: IS possible for men 70 laho-.
During the winter season there Is always
"ork 70 DO about the farm buildings apart
from the care Of Stock winch Is G.ore than
sufficient 10 TIRE 4keM oct by bedtime.
And when the summer CONES. wiki tie
nse1s q the hArvsst- then 1acse men show
v nat man driven 10 the highest Poins ,