Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1902-12-27

Mexico is talking or adopting Lne
gold standard. What will Mr.. Bryan
say? 'Steen to one he says nothing.
-
Messrs High. Lowe and Jack Potts
are not the only men in the game.
There is Belts and Winner, you know.
The Patrick family got so numer-
GUS they had to have some way to
distinguish the several branches.
Hence we have Gill, Kirk, Fitz and
even Fitzpatrick. Good idea! The
Smiths, Browns and .oneses might
adopt it to advantage.
-
Martin Jabbers was sent to the pen
In 1879 for poisoning his son. Now his
wife protests against his receiving a
pardon. She is wise. We wouldn't
want to live with man having a rec
ord and a name like that and the par
don business can be easily overworked
anyway.
We all make mistakes. 'sOficial" is
not as good name for a public SER
want as s.off1cer'' although his acts
$
an adjective and the other a noun. On
the contrary a senator. congressman,
representative or delegate is not an
officer because he does not execute
law. However, we all use old words
in new ways and, in time, such usages
may be officially endorsed.
So
Really, is life worth living? Men
work and their wages provide susie
nance, food and shelter. Women make
and mend, cook and wash dishes. We
eat. sleep and then work again. Day
by day the daily grind repeats itself
If this is all there is in life 1t is hard
ly worth the trouble.
*x*
After all, it is work that makes life
endurabie. The pleasure of provid-
ing for the wants of others and min
istering to their comfort keeps many
good soul hard at t. 1t is we'll. Too
much rest is worse than rust But
how is it with him who cannot work:
He who is content to eat and Sleep
then eat and sleep again, at the ex.
pense of others, is no man at all. Ii
he be man and lives such life per
force then he is to be pitied.
-
What an attachment we have fol
the things of childhood and of al
them probably our first books are
best remembered. The author of thi.
paragraph began school at the age Of
live and his first book was the little
yellow-covcred primer bearing the
name McGuffey. 1t was mere pam
phlet with flexible covers. In those
days children in school were not Civ
en- "busy work" and, not being able to
read word, it was not very unnat
ural thing to chew the covers of that
book which was fast becoming dog.
cared. Then came a reprimand from
the teacher and a promise to do so nc
more. Both were soon forgotten and
then came a white ash sprout as stiff
as poker. Without raising any
question as to whether the child was
spoiled, we are sure that the rod was
not spared. 1t was pretty severe pun
ishment for a beginner but it was a
wonderful aid to memory. That was
nearly forty years ago. We have had
many books and not few slickin's'
since then but none of them is quite
so memorable as our very, very first
In those days a pupil was required
TO learn the alphabet first. 1t was
not thought possible for him to learn
anything else until that task was fin
ished except, possibly, to make script
copies OF the letters. First after the
title page came an illustrated alpha
bet. each letter accompanied by a
word and picture TO show its use and
nix its form in the mind. Let us see:
There was "a for AK, & for girl, / fol
hex, ] for jug, for xbec and for
Eebra-not so very helpful after all
This REPETITION OF the same unmean.
ing things, day after day, for weeks
months or even years. made the shoot
ing of the young idea very dull pro
cess and sometimes the book was worn
out before the child s-knew his let
ters-" Next came lessons made up OF
words of two letters aud then of three
all very dull and unnatural of course
but each accompanied by a picture
shout as large as your thumb nail
Still we like to recall them. For ex
ample. lis it /? No, it is he.'s Their
there was the picture OF two hovs ar, .