The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-09
The Dead Line.

| In view of all that has been said about
the "dead-line at fifty rule. the spectacle
| of Lord Roberts achievement in South
Africa is extremely interesting. Here is a
man who should, by all odds. have been re-
tired twenty years ago. according to the
| rule in question. and yet here he is plung-
| ing into the thick of the fighting and
| gently. removing laurels from the heads Of
younger generals. The rule of retirement
at fifty does not seem to work in the mill
tary profession, and yet it might be ex-
pected that here. if nowhere else, youth
and strength would count General
Wheeler is not retired yet. either. He is
still capable of climbing trees to see what
the enemy is doing.
The truth is that the right sort Of man,
or woman. is not by any means incapaci-
| tated at fifty. and it is time that this fact
should be generally recognized. There are
thousands OF grandfathers and grand
mothers in the country who can get
| through more actual work and three times
as much planning and directing as their
younger relatives: and there might be
more il the conditions which produce these
active elderly people were thoroughly
understood.
One OF the canny old proverbs on this
subject was that it is better to wear out
than to rust out: in other words. that the
person who keeps active. energetic, and
hopeful, always busy about something will |
not break down or grow old as soon as the
one who has little to do and no plans or
interests. There is nothing in all this |
world which will age a person so quickly |
as thinking about himself; and if he has
nothing else to think OF he must perforce |
fix his mind on his own problems, woes |
and experiences.
The way in which to avoid the dead |
have other interests besides ones own to |
consider. Another important factor In the |
problem is determination not to get into
a rut. 1t will generally be found that men
like Lord Roberts and General Wheeler are
always learning something. always going
of on little side excursions from the
beaten track in which their lives are
passed. and coming back into it. They
never get very far from their work, but
they do not remain always in harness.
and that keeps them supple. and active.
and comfortable.
writer who has had the somewhat
unusual experience OF having been a navy
in the course Of his preparation for book
writing. says that shoveling dirt, espe-
cially sand, is the most firing, and the
most demoralizing to the physique of all
- I,ho 1
is that a great strain is continually put
upon one set Of muscles, in Just one way
Sand is harder to shovel than clay or COAL
because the weight OF every shovelful is
the same. The sand slides of the top OF
the shovel in Just about the same way
every time whereas, in the case OF clay
the cohesion of the particles makes a
slight variation In successive loads. After
a certain length of time spent in this work
a man becomes muscle bound" one set
Of muscles being disproportionately de-
veloped at the cost of the others, and he
is slow, awkward. and clumsy in his move
ments. There are a great many men in
intellectual employments who get muscle
bound" in precisely the same fashion.
They DO It by using one set Of faculties
all the time. till they are as awkward as
a cow on a racetrack IL taken outside
their familiar environment. Every man
in the professions should endeavor to have
some hobby or outside interest which will
save him from this peril. for only SO can
be hope to preserve his powers beyond the
limits Of the 'dead-line" and spend USE
ful and enjoyable old age. 1t is good for
anyone, man or woman, to be thoroughly
in some particular task, which
S the worlds tax on the individual levied
or the payment Of the debt OF civiliza-
ion; and besides this, to have some pet
occupation of a different sort from the I.
Iaily task, in which other faculties of the :
mind and body can be exercised. =