Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1902-02-08


mand Is, tle;cfOrc. for safe men us
well us safety signaling devices. The
man In the signUl tower should he
clcar.brained. clcar.sighted. alert.
wntchful and faithful. Men who are
considered for these positions should
he subjected to rigid mental aud ply.
steal examination. They should then
be required to work reasonable hours
ana should be given the rest that Is
necessary to insure the highest efii.
cheney.
~HqA
There may be cynical persons upon
whom Mr.. Carncgie's buOyancy Of
spirits AMI optimism will net like black
bile. And " such there he they will
say that II Is easy to be cheerful with
an income Of millions II year. and that
laughing while others work IL an ON.
plOymcnt that would not he ungrutcful
to most men. But to laugh during ones
work, us Mr.. Carnegie advises. Is cor.
tninly much better than to weep or to
grumble. \ sunny temper helps In the
immediate task; II helps to prcfcrlncnt.
II 1t Is combined with industry and
fair ability II counts for good work and
for success every moment. Its intlu.
encc IL always beneficial. and the cir.
cuDlstnnces Of the rich irOnmnster do
not affect the sOundness Of his doc.
trinc. Rich and poor should subscribe
to that doctrine with equal hcartincss
ana recognize that the way toward
which this joyous teacher points Is the
way Of health. strength and happiness.
At the same time It might bc urged
that he should have been a little more
definite when he came to the question
Of competence. While we IRE all
agreed that supcrfiuOus wealth IL SUI
pcriiuOus, there must he n cOnsi,lcrn bic
variety of opinion rs to the exact sum
that should d. laid aside for the rainy
day nnd the days of llfe's decline. Mr..
Carnegie lets IN just u glimmer Of
light on his personal convictions con.
corning the subject when he says that
he himself Is loaded with somewhat
more than u competence. Hut we
should like II more accurate weighing
Of the load. The modest word "some.
what" suggests that perhaps 1t was
only tn, last million that made Itself
felt as Il burden. Yet It II possible
that the strain began with the last ten
million or the second hundred million
In any case. u competence can hardly
mean the same thing to him that 1t
does to the day labOrer. ana though he
advises well 1t IL doubtful II he would
he content with the smaller cOmpe.
tence which he approves. There IL the
castle In Scotland which he would
have to resign. ana those frequent ana
pleasant trips abroad. They are not
strictly necessary, ana yet when one
had formed the habit OF castles and
long journeys some pent-up suburb OF
small homes In the vicinity of Pitts.
burg might leave something to be de.
sired. Hut u competence that has been
won through years Of toll with the
help of II wife who has been
good manager sometimes goes no fur.
ther than the humblest of homes ana
the slenderest Of incomes, and II hap
pens occasionally that the hardest Of
struggles does not bring even such u
competence. The promise IL never Ger.
tain, AMI yet In spite Of all this there
Is wisdom In Mr.. Carnegle's philoso.
ply. Laughtec Is u tonic. worry IL a
poison. No sentence of the Scriptures
conveys Il more wholesome lesson than
the injunctlOn Fret not myself; 1t
tendeth only to evil"
~eA
After all. he big men OF America
are not the milliOnaircs. The fellows
who are raising hogs ana cattle. the
farmers and the stOckmen show up In
the aggregate in Il way that makes the
combined fortunes OF u dozen financial
kings look like playthings. Talk about
expanding industries II you Will. but
don't forget that primarily this Is u
f0od-producing nation. 1t grows things
to eat. 1t markets the substances that
humanity must have. be the times good
or bad. The market for pianos and
gold watches may become depressed.
Those who manufacture luxuries may
feel the pinch OF poverty ut times. But
us long us Humanity eats, millions up.
on millions of money must flow to the
United States. The United States has
completed census of the domestic an
finals of the country. 1t includes horses.
mules, cattle. sheep, hogs ana goats.
The total Is 223, 12l,737. and the aggre-
gate value Is $3, 49,, G01.0G5. The value
of cattle alone IL $l,2G2, 90, 600 ana Of
hogs $293,22 600. The figures are SO
vast that their meaning IL almost lost.
A billion doesn't convey much informa.
ton to the average mind. Let's try 1t
another way. The aggregate value OF
live stock exceeds the total combined
value Of the products Of the fields. for.