Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1904-09-02
THE AMERICAN MOTTO.

Il UCt 1heTe rs Responsible 1OT MUG
y that Is Deteriorating.
If we may judge by it's effects OIL
> those who obey it's command, on
slang motto, Get there" is not al
! elevating or ennobling one. On til,
/ contrary, 1t is brutalizing. 1t appeals
Z to the lower and rot to the higher in
stincts in man.
Yet this motto Is quoted all Owe
our land. 1t Is demoralizing the law
1t is creeping into the pulpit; it speaks
from our schools; it looks out OF the
eyes Of the ambitious; it undermine:
health; and it frequently destroys al
| nobility of character.
The old-fashioned, slow and surt
methods Of attaining competency art
tabooed. The man who spends halt
a lifetime in making a fortune is &c,
garded as SLOW" Shortcut processes
at any cost, are the demand Of tho
hour. From the time a boy enters
school he is goaded ON by unna tural
ambitions. He is not satisfied with
steady, permanent growth. He must
progress by leaps and bounds. Boys
and girls are encouraged by their par
ents to get ahead in their classes,
even If they must burn midnight oil
and risk their health in order to do so.
Business and professional men are
80 accustomed to "hurry-up" methods
and forcing processes that they find
1t impossible to relax even after bust
ness hours. They want to be ON light
ming express trains all the time They
cannot enjoy their evenings at home
They are uneasy; their minds are con-
tinually on the alert. Constantly living
at high pressure, they have lost the
power to slow down. Indeed, the
modern business man is like a horse
which has been trained to run ON a
track. He is not willing to trot or
walk, but must run all the time for
dear life.
1t is pitiable to watch a typical
American going to business in the
morning. He is not content to sit
quietly and relax until the, train car
ries him to his destination in the city.
Long before that he leans forward in
his seat, and makes ready to leap off
while the train is moving. With every
muscle tense, an anxious, worried ex-
preston in his face, and a nervous
twitching Of the hands, clutching his
cane, umbrella, parcel, or the back Of
the seat in front Of him, he wastes
enough energy and strength before he
reaches his office to execute the labor
OF half the day. Z
The same feverish intensity and
anxious haste are seen in restaurants
at lunch counters, on the streets, and
wherever men and women are intent
on business. Yet these people wonder
why they are no exhausted at night!
They do not realize that every muscle
and every nerve in their bodies have
been draining off their reserve energy
all day, squandering vitality as the
leaks in dam steal the reserve power
which would have ground grist,
sawed lumber, or woven cloth had it
been forced through the mill wheel
The life of the average American
Is feverish, unhealthy, and unnatural.
We are in too great haste with every
thing, and, consequently, lack poise.
In the perpetual rush to "get there
we are in very great danger Of losing
our equilibrium.
Even boys and girls are trying to be
leaders. They want to do something
that will bring
them into publicity, and get their
names and photographs into the pa
pers. An average student is eager TO
much, but because he loves
distinction more. A young clergyman
overworks in an effort to be popular.
A lawyer becomes prematurely old in
rying to keep pace with his practice.
A man Of affairs keeps himself loaded |
Town with responsibilities, with di-
and memberships in a
score of institutions until a paralytic |
stroke, or heart failure, puts an end |
o his abnormal activities,
Old age is overtaking men and WON
N in middle life. Under our forcing
system people hardly reach full
growth before they begin to show
igns of decay. What a travesty ON
life 1t Is to see aged men and women
II their thirties and forties!
This pushing and crowding. iam-
ming and elbowing, and rushing at ey-
'ress speed from day to day. from the
nursery to the grave, is not life: il is
race for death Orison SWEET Mar.
len, in Success.
!, - . man always likes his. mathor-,r