Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1899-12-29
copyrighted, 1899, by Gilbert Hub
hard

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
he 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 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 over his heart,
in four days landed by night off the
coast of Cuba from an open boat, dis
appeared into the jungle and in three
weeks came out on the other side of
|
country on foot, and delivered his let
ter to Garcia, are things | have no
| special desire now to tell in detail.
The point l wish to make is this:
Mckinley gave Rowan letter to he
| delivered to Garcia Rowan took the
letter and did not ask, Where is he
att"
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. 1t is not
book-learning young men need, nor o.
struction about this and that, but a
stiffening of the ver:ebrae 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
ry out an enterprise where many
hands were needed, but has been we'll
might appalled, at times by the imbe-
cility of the average mantle inabil-
ity or unwillingness to concentrate on
a thing and do it.
l. 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 brides other
men to assist him; or mayhap 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 office-six clerks are within call.
Summon any one and make this re-
quest please look in the encyciope-
dia and make a brief memorandum
for me concerning the life OF Correg-
gio."
Twill the clerk quietly say, Yes,
sir" and go do the task?
On your life he will not. He Will
look at you out of fishy eye and ask
one or more of the following ques-
tions:
Who was he?"
(Which encyclopedia"
Where is the encyclopedia"
"Was | hired for that?'
Don't you mean Bismarck"
whats the matter with Charlie
doing it?"
rs he dead?"
is there any hurry?"
"Shan't l bring you the book and
let you look it up YOURSELF"
What do you want to know for?"
And l will lay you ten to one that
after you have answered the questions,
and explained how to find the Informal
ton, and why you want it, the clerk
will go off and get one of the other
clerks to help him try to find Garcia
and then come back and tell you there
lis no such man. Of course | may lose
my bet, but according to the law Oh
average, l will not.
Now If you are wise you will no.
bother to explain to your assistant
that Correggio is indexed under the
C's, not in the KS, but you will smile
isweetly and say, Never nknd," and
go look it up yourself
And this incapacity for independent
action, this moral stupidity, this in
trinity of the will, this unwillingness
to cheerfully catch hold and lift. are
the things that put pure Socialism so
far into the future. If men will not
act for themselves, what will they do
when the benefit of their effort is for
all? A first mate with knotted club
seems necessary; and the dread of get
ting 1.-The bounce" Saturday night
holds many worker to his place.
Advertise for stenograpner, and
nine out of ten who apply can neither
spell nor punctuate-and Go not think
it necessary to.
Can such one write letter to Gar
cha?
You see that bookkeeper," said the
foreman to me in large factory.
Yes, what about him."
well, he's a fine accountant, but If
I'd send him up town on an errand, he
might accomplish the errand all right.
but on the other hand might stop at
four saloons on the way, and when he