The morning news., 1899-12-31
Fiscal year
AN ANECDoTE WITH A MORAL.
Secretary Wilson Learned ParIia-
mentary Law While Harvesting.

Secretary Wilson Learned ParIia-
mentary Law While Harvesting.
From the Philadelphia Saturday Evening
Post.
The present Secretary of Agriculture
when about 10 years of age came to this
country with his parents and settled in
Connecticut, but soon removed to Iowa.
Not long ago an old friend of Secretary
Wilson wrote to him that in going over
some old books volume had come to light
which bore upon the fiy-leaf the auto
graph of one James Wilson of Traer Ia.
He forwarded the little sixteenmo volume
and the secretary recognized it as his old
companion Of thirty years ago.
"I remember" said Mr.. Wilson, in re
ferring 10 It, "that when L was first elect
ed to the Legislature in Iowa 1 did not
know so much about parliamentary proce-
dure as 1 thought a represen tative should
in order to be useful to his eonstii uents
and at ease on the floor of the House. 1t
behooved me to learn something about the
rules of order and to that end 1 sent for
a copy of Cushing's Manual, that famous
little book which has been Indispensable to
SO many state and federal legislators. This
is the identical copy that l bought fully
thirty years ago.
1.-THE book reached me, as 1t happened
just when we were busiest with the corn
harvest. 1t was The custom in those days
and I suppose still is-for three men to
accompany the wagon into which the ears
of corn were thrown as gathered. One
man walked on each side of the wagon
and gathered the ears from two rows,
while the third man went behind and gath
cred the corn what was called the down
row. otherwise the row which was press
it, In consideration of the fact that he
mad to stoop more or less to do his work
his one row was held to be fair third of
the whole job.
II could not stop work to study Cush-
ings Manual, and l had very little time
to master it before the meeting of the
Legislature. I thought I could work and
study, perhaps. at the same time, the
manual work being mechanical so 1 took
to myself the labor of the down row and
found l had some intervals of leisure whi e
the other men were doing their two rows
apiece. The book fixed between the tail
of the wagon and the iron rod which held
it's two sides together. I could take an
eyeful of Cushing and digest it mentally
while gathering the corn, a process which
seems unfavorable to close study, but
which l found quite practicable. l got
a pretty good idea of the manual, and
when the Legislature met my knowledge
OF the rules was Quitt lANdiudbit 10 tAlS.
1T Is hardly necessary" added the sec
retary "to point the moral of this story -
he who runs may read; but the very OBJ
vious benefit / derived from utilizing those
spare minutes in the cornfield taught me
something Of the value of time which I
hope have not forgotten. To be sure. one
can't keep the bow bent all the time; the
mind must relax occasionally or It will lose
its elasticity; but It is undesirable that any
man VINO Is sufficiently I'm earnest about
It may acquire much useful now.edge by
employing the mere uneonsldered moments
that are generally wasted"
Three terms in all Mr.. Wilson served In
the Legislature Of Iowa. and was Speaker
of the House during the third. Later in
life his fellow-citizens sent him TO repre-
sent them In the wider fed of the nation
al legislature.