Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-02-08
STORY OF "TAMA JIM. :"
How He Gathered Corn and Studied
'Cushing's Manual"

The present secretary of agriculture
when about Is years of age came to
this country with his praents and set
tied in Connecticut, but soon removed
to Iowa Not long ago a friend Of
Secretary Wilson wrote to him that in
going over some old books a volume
had come to light that bore upon the
fly leaf the autograph of one James
Wilson of Traer, Iowa. He forwarded
the little siXteen-mo volume, and the
secretary recognized it as his old COM
panion of thirty years ago.
Il remember" said Mr.. Wilson, in
referring to it, that when l was first
elected to the legislature in Iowa I did
not know much about parliamentary
procedure as l thought a representa-
tive should in order to be useful to his
constituents and at ease on the floor of
the house 1t behooved me to learn
something about the rules of order.
and to that end I sent for a copy of
Cushing's Manual, that famous little
book which has been indispensable to
the house. 1t behooved me to learn
lators. This is the identical copy that
I bought thirty years ago.
The book reached me, as it hap
pened 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 gath
cred the corn from what was called
the down row. otherwise the row
which was pressed down by the "a ron
body passing over it. In consider ton
of the fact that he had to stoop more
or less to do his work his row was
held to be third of the whole job.
II could not stop to study Cushing's
Manual, and I had very little time to
master the work as / wished before
the meeting of the Legislature.
thought / could work and study. per
haps, at the same time, the manual
work being mechanical, so I took to
myself the labor of the down row
and found had some intervals of les-
ure while the other men were doing
their two rows apiece. The book I
fixed between the tail of the wagon
and the iron rod which held it's sides
together. / could take an eyeful OF
Cushing and digest it materially while
gathering the corn, process which
seems unfavorable to close study. but
which l found quite practicable
got pretty good idea Of the manual.
and when the legislature met my
knowledge of the rules was quite inval-
liable to me.
'It is hardly necessary" added the
secretary, ito point the moral of this
story-he who runs may read; but the
very obvious benefit | derived from
utilizing those minutes in the corn
field taught me something of the value
Of time which l hope 1 have not for
gotten. To be sure, one can't keep the
bow bent all the time; the mind must
relax occasionally or it will lose it's
elasticity; but it is undeniable that
any man who is sufficiently in earnest
about it may acquire much useful
knowledge by employing the more IN
considered 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 his life his fellow citizens
sent him to represent them in the
wider field of the national legislature
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