The record-union., 1895-04-01
Weather Forecast.
A WORD FOR THEORISTS AND
CRANKS.

There is great deal of loose talking,
and more of loose thinking, about the
men and things called practical than is
creditable to general intelligence. If
new thing or work is proposed, the cry is
set up for the practical man to promote
and manage it according to the practical
way of doing it. If a new system is to
be inaugurated, Immediately the demand
is made by the loose takers for the prac-
tioal to manage it, to the exclusion of
its authors. This is invariably in an
tagonism 10 what is known as the pre-
tension and enthusiasm of the theorist,
though it is amusing to note that nine
out of ten of all the advances made are
born of the thought, persistence and de-
votion of the enthusiasts, so called.
1t is worth while to look at this peculiar
phase of common thought. Who is the
practical man and what his place, who
Is the theorist and what his Office? Ac-
cording to our conception, either may
be an extremist The severely practical
man is generally he who is content with
things as they were and are; the man
who is a theorist only is he who advances
no further than speculation. Neither is
at for administrative or executive func-
ton in the affairs of men, yet both are
essential in our system.
Bnt the men who combine the push,
spirit of research, persistency and energy
OF the theorist, and the carefulness, clear
sightedness and business sense of the So
called practical man, is he who achieves
and is entitled to the confidence of men.
The practical extremist and the theoreti-
cal extremist accomplish little save by
the aid of the men who combine the
qualities of both, the wisdom and genius
that perceive new things and the business
sense that applies them to life and its ac-
tivities.
Edison is one of this class, Fulton was
another; Stephenson was ideally repre-
sentative Of this order. But it required
Howe to make his theories practicable.
Morse could never have succeeded alone.
Unfortunately for them, the theorists,
who are the real pioneers, rarely receive
the respect or the credit to which they
are entitled; only the few among invent
ors and discoverers reap the reward of
their genius. Unfortunately for society
and civilization the practical man has too
much credit and receives too large a
share of public consideration. In ma
jority of cases, without the theorist to
pioneer the way for him he would be a
STUN bling block and drag, retrogres-
sive factor in civilization, since he would
stand still, and inertness in human life is
retrogression in fact.
1t is popular to exclaim against the
theorists and denominate them con-
temptuously as cranks, dreamers and
Impractical fellows, but Heaven bless
them, without their protest the world
would still be going to the mill with one
end ofthe bag carrying stone. They are the
men who have given to science her great
est victories; they have triumphed over
time and space; they have eliminated
distance and touched with their daring
genius the boundaries Of the other worlds:
they have been the lead horses in the
drive forward of the ages; they are the
men who never hear the retreat beaten
by the drums of human progress; they
clear the path and make smooth the way
of the practical man with his dollars and
his heavy arms of achievement; they are
the advance guard who are deaf to the
taunts of the enemy and the recall from
the rear; they stand in the front rank,
and fall but to rise again; they are i'm
mortal, for death never touches them
with his dart. All honor to the theorists
and cranks; let the world of practical
men do them obeisance and sit at their
feet to learn wisdom, neither being drunk
with nor yet ignoring the enthusiasm and
excitement of these John the Baptists
who prepare the way and make straight
the paths.