Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-06-17
Quick and Accurate.

"Fredr called Uncle Seth. Eyes,
sir" 'Have you finished that wallT'
Fred came slowly In sight around the
corner Of the barn, with3a paint brush
in his hand.
1--WE painted about half" he replied
"Half!' repeated Uncle Seth, re-
proachfully. why, you have been two
days at the jobr'
"slow and sure, Uncle Seth" said
Fred, with sly look '1've heard you
say that is a good rule"
''Ah! that's it, is it?" rejoined Uncle
Seth. Don't you know that there are
many exceptions to that ruler
MOO" answered Fred, slowly.
"Well, there are. Suppose you were
in burning building, and had to de-
wise means of escape-or suppose you
were in India, and shoIlld suddenly
come face to face withsa man-eating
tiger-in either case wouldn't you pre-.
fer to be quick and accurate rather than
slow and sure?"
81 suppose would" admitted Fred,
reluctantly.
"And don't you know" continued
Uncle Seth, that all great men-warri-
ors, business men, sailors, and so on
have been celebrated for coming to a
quick decision?'
''Then why do people say that fel-
low ought to be slow and sure?" asked
Fred.
Because a fellow ought to be-" re-
piled Uncle Seth, under certain cir
cumstances; but the saying has been
wilfully misconstrued to mean that the
person who takes the longest time at
any performance does it better. There
is line to be drawn between laziness
and haste. If you had a large sum Of
money to invest, for instance, it would
be proper for you to be slow in invest
ing it until you were sure of the sound
ness Of the security. The same, thing
would be true about choosing a profess
sion, or going out on a long journey,
and perhaps hundred or more very
important projects, but in the thousand
and one little things in life you must
be quick and accurate"
Using a typewriter, for instance"
said Fred, who was getting interested.
as well as convinced.
Exactly; or setting type, or being
telegraph operator. If you were a
locomotive engineer and ran your en-
CINE at the rate Of ten miles an hour
when the schedule called for forty,
somebody else would take your place
next trip. You belong to a baseball
club, don't your
81 am shortstop Of the Alerts," an
swered Fred, proudly.
How long does it take you to stop
a grounder and throw to firstY
LESS than no time" said Fred, with
a laugh. 'It don't do to hold the ball
when a mans Logging for the first bag"
Don't stop to think?'
Don't have to. / know just what to
do"
That's it, Fred! All the slowness
and sureness has been put in the pre-
liminary practice. When it comes to
real business, it's your duty to be quick
and accurate; and if you were not, the
Alerts would soon find another short
stop. That is the lesson l am trying to
make you learn"
lat OuSul " uitc pdiuteu IQ6
side of the barn in a day?" asked Fred.
dejectedly.
Not exactly that alone, although that
is the object lesson now. You knew just
what you had to do, you had all the i'm
plements and you can handle the brush
we'll enough. yet you have wasted
about two-thirds Of your time. There
are plenty Of excuses for the man who
feels his way through the woods on a
dark night, but none at all for him If
he dawdles along a well-kept road in
broad daylight. When you get older
and learn a trade, as 1 hope you will,
you will find that quickness, as well as
accuracy, is required of every work
man. And remember that quickness
does not mean haste. No good workman
is ever in a hurry"
"But he must hurry when he gets be-
hindhand," objected Fred.
HE must not get behindhand. A good
workman knows just what he can do.
and that is why he can work quickly.
You have sen a typewriter and a tele-