The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1903-11-12
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our ideal. and the president Of the United
States. whom We Ill admire, 10 the ex-
emplar Of that LIE. says the Wall Street
Journal.
There u . lack Of great thinkers. The
glory Of our time IL the menwho do. We
have no poets like those who inspired.
and charmed and soothed our fore
fathers. We import our best music and
our best art. II we produce some great
painters and musicians. they 60 to Eu-
rope where the Atmosphere" is more
congenial. The air Of this country il too
bracing for fine arts. and the best think
Ing is done In Francs and Germany.
where Life 10 less rapid than In the United
States.
The types Of our nation and time are
the skyscraper, with its frames Of steel,
the electric motor and the stock tape. We
have now no great philosophers Of calm.
serene lives, like Emerson. who never
did anything except to- write few thou
sand words which have left their impress
upon the life Of the world. We do not
love money more than our forefathers
did. but we love the making Of money TAR
more We work fewer hours. but with
more intenseness and nervous energy.
We measure our labor. not by degrees
and diplomas. but by Horsepower units
and klowatt hours.
The men who do things are not content
with small achievements. They work
on a scale Of continents. They are the
captains in the conqnests Of the markets.
They build immense railroads and canals.
They consolidate industries. They Gre
ate big banks. They bridge oceans with
ships. They regulate competition 50 as
to reduce its waste. They are ever seek
ing new ways Of making consumption
keep pace with the productive energies
Of the country. They are the men who
keep labor employed.
There is reason, therefore. In the ad-
miration which we give to these men.
Admiration is the coin which the world
pays to IT'D leaders. It is great thing
to be able to do things, not. merely %
most Of us are content to do. by laying
one brick upon another. but by waving
. magic wand, or, like Aladdin rubbing
q lamp, rear vast structures almost In .
night. thousands OF hands doing one's
bidding. It is a great thing to DO able
to do one thing supremely well. to be
able. like Stevenson. to say, zone thing
do.",. In this age we have specialized
endeavor. Each man does one thing,
and IL he is Of the right kind seeks to do
that thing supremely well. The result
is an astonishing rapidity and high quail
ity Of production. But it will be observed
that the keynote which is always sounded
is. .'do." ''do." So intent are on doing
that we give ourselves very little time for
thinking. Even in our recreation we are
forever doing and never resting. With
our nerves at the highest point Of ten
sion, we do not allow ourselves time for
repose and thought.
This is the great defect Of this age. We
not only do. but we overdo. We work.
but we overwork. We play and We over
play. We eat and we oyereat. We spec
ulate and we overspeculate.
The most pressing need is moro time
for thought. After all, It is not action
that keeps things moving, but thought,
and that nation is not the greatest and
the most powerful which does not pro-
duce men who think as well as men who
do.
This fact has vital bearing upon the
business situation. Much Of our present
depression in Wall street is the result Of
OVERRIDING and overthinking. We were
too eager to get rich quick. and too eager
to crowd into half q decade what should
have been the legitimate achievements
Of twenty years, and we are now paying
the penalty Of overpromotion. And fact
is that as q nation we have become q
trifle too strenuous.