The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1899-12-30
DOING ONES DUTY.
A CASE THAT IS WORTHY OF
EXAMPLE. v
from the President Of the United
States Addressed to h Late General
Garcia Then in tho Wllds Of Cubs.
copyrighted, 1899, by Gilbert Hub

Copyrighted, 1899, by Gilbert Hub
bard.)
In all this Cuban business there is
one man stands out on the horizon of
my memory like Mars at perihelion.
When war broke out between Spain
and the United States, it was very nee
essary to communicate quickly with
the leader of the insurgents. Garcia
was somewhere in the mountain fast
nesses of Cuba-no one knew where.
No mail nor telegraph message could
reach him. The president must Sc
cure his cooperation, and quickly.
What to do!
Some one said to the president.
There's a fellow by the name, of
Rowan will find Garcia for you. If any
body can
Rowan was sent for and given a let
ter to be. delivered to Garcia. How
the fellow by the name of Rowan
took the letter, sealed it up in an oil
skin pouch, strapped it v his heart,
in four days landed by night OF the
coast of Cuba from an open boat, dis
appeared into the jungle and in three
weeks came out on the other side of
the island. having traversed a. hostile
country on foot, and delivered his let
ter to. Garcia, are things l have no
special desire now to tell in detail.
The point l wish to make is this:
Mckinley. gave Rowan a letter to be
delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the
letter and did not ask, Where is he
at?" ~.
BY the Eternal! There is a man
whose form should be cast in death
less bronze and the statue placed in
every college of the land. Iteis not
book-learning young men need, no in
struction about this and that, but a
stiffening of the vertebrae which will
cause them to be loyal to trust, to act
promptly, concentrate their energies;
do the thing-carry a message to Gar
cia!"
Gen. Garcia is dead now, but there
are other Garcias.
No man, who has endeavored to car
~ out an enterprise where many
hands were needed, but has been we'll
night appalled, at times by the imbe-
cility of the average mantle inabil-
ity or unwillingness to concentrate on
a thing and do it.
Slipshod assistance, foolish inatten-
ton, dowdy Indifference, and half
hearted work seem the RUE; and no
man succeeds, unless by hook or crook,
or threat, he forces or bribes other
men to assist him; or maynap God, In
his goodness, performs a miracle, and
sends him an angel Of light for an as
sistant. You. reader, put this matter
to a test. You are sitting now in
your of1ce-six clerks are within call.
Summon any one and make this re-
quest: please look in the e%ncyc1ope-
dia and make a brief memorandum
for me concerning the life of Correg-
gio."
will the clerk quietly say, "Yes,
SIR" and go do the task?
On your life he will not. He will
look at you out of a ishy eye and ask
one or more of the following ques-
tions: .
"Who was he?"
(Which encyclopaedia"
Where is the encyclopedia" s.
"Was l hired for that?"
Don't you mean Bismarck"
whats the matter with Charlie
doing it,"
"Is he dead?"
SIS there any hurry?"
"shan't I bring you the book and
let you look it up yourself?"
What do you want to know for?"
r. And 1 will lay you ten to n that
after you have answered the questions,
and explained how to find ~the>informn-
ton, and why you want it, the clerk
will go off and get one Of the other
clerks to help him try to ind Garcia-
and then come back and tell you there
is no such man. OF course I may lose