The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1895-08-24
THEORY AND PRACTICE.

The theorist who writes on principles
of government that he knows little
about is an unsafe guide. Notions and
theories are the product of immature
or visionary minds. and to make any
principle substantial and safe it must
be tested by a practical demonstration.
--visionafies An every department, Of
knowledge accomplish no lasting
good, and a practical test must be
mads.befoFe any idea viii be con-,
sidered fact and furnish safe and
solid foundation for action. Battles
have been planned in coy par
lors that could never have been
carried into effect, political poll
cies matured in editorial rooms
that would have bankrupted any
nation, and reforms inaugurated by
dreamers that never could materialize.
Faith should not be placed in any
scheme that attempts to make the
world better or wiser that has not had
practical test, and the same is true
of plans and policies mapped out for
the guidance of society or govern
ment. Whether it is caused by the
peculiar habits of our people, the eli
mate or the environment it seems
that Americans spend more time in
flights OF fancy and chasing will-o'-the-
wisps than those of any other country.
We have pretended military men who
have never drilled an hour in their
lives or seen a battle, even from dis
tance; fnanciers who assume perfect
knowledge of the money question who
in their own right, and whose lives
haye been miserable failures in this
regard; reformers who should begin
with themselves; and scientists who
are ignorant of the first rudiments.
The list might be largely increased,
and active trainers of theories on sub
jects of which they have the least in
formation can be found almost every
where and in every walk of life. This
dreaming is undoubtedly fascinating,
because it requires little labor or ef-
fort; but it makes existence unreal
and . is frequently disastrously
delusive. 1t should be under
stood that life is real and earnest,
and it is often necessary to receive |
and give hard blows to achieve success.
The dreamer frequently goes hungry,
and is often forced to borrow money to
pay his debts. If he does not act he
will cease to live, and the sooner he |
learns this fact the better for his body |
and mind. And one should be satis-
fed with the sphere to which he is ac-
customed and to which by habit and
inclination he is adapted, and not at
tempt to branch out in realms of
thought or action of which he knows
little. The general should be man
who has studied the art or science of
war, and had practical experience in
the field; the fnancier one who has
managed his finances successfully, and
has reduced to practice the plans that
he advocates; the farmer he who tills the
soil, the mechanic one who is accus-
toned to handicraft. Theories are COM
posed of very thin air, but facts have
been hammered into their present
shape by hard blows from actual ex-
perience. The former are unsafe and
unsatisfactory and rest on no founda-
tod; the latter are solid and substan-
tial and as lasting as eternity.
All men would be better if they
we're to theorize less and practice
more, and give credence and support
only to that which has been proved by
actual experiment. Let everything be
submitted to a crucial test, and that
which fails in the ordeal should be
thrown aside. Life would be truer
and nearer honest if all persons would
practice what they preach, and leave
ancies and visions alone. This would '
id the world of shoddies and hum /
Bugs, and politics would be purer, So
,iety cleaner and life happier and
more enjoyable.