The Western news., 1904-09-28
THE AMERICAN MOTTO.
"Get There" Is Responsible for Much
that 10 DeterioratinR.

"Get There" 1s Responsible for Much
that 10 Deteriorating.
II we may judge by it's effects on
those who obey its command, our
slang motto. "Get there" is not an
elevating or ennobling one. On the
contrary. 1t is brutalizing. 1t appeals
to the lower and not to the higher in
stincts in man.
Yet this motto Is quoted all over
our land. 1t is demoralizing the law;
1T Is creeping into the pulpit; 1t speaks
from our schools; 1t looks out Of the
eyes Of the ambitious; 1t undermines
health; and it frequently destroys all
nobility of character.
The old-fashioned, slow and sure
methods Of attaining competency are
tabooed. The man who spends half
lifetime in making fortune Is re-
garded as "slow." Shortcut processes.
at any cost, are the demand Of the
hour. From the time a boy enters
school he Is goaded on by unnatural
, 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 II they must burn midnight oil
and risk their health in order to do 50.
Business and professional men are
SO accustomed to "hurry-up" methods
and forcing processes that they find
it impossible to relax even after busi-
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 pitiabe 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 of
while the train Is moving. With every
muscle tense, an anxious, worried ex-
preston in his face. and 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.
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 so exhausted at night
They do not realize that every muscle
, and every nerve in their bodies nave
been draining off their reserve energy
all day, squandering vitality as tho
, leaks in dam steal the reserve power
, which would have ground grist
sawed lumber, or woven cloth had II
, been forced through the mill wheel.
The life of the average American
, Is feverish, unhealthy, and unnatural
/
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 b.
leaders. They want to do somethin!
misunderstanding that will brini
them into publicity, and get thei
names and photographs into the pa
pers. An average student Is eager +
: lead his class, not because he love
knowledge much. but because he love
distinction more. A young clergyma
overworks In an effort to be popular
A lawyer becomes prematurely old l
a trying to keep pace with his pracuc'
r A man Of affairs keeps himself loade
4, down with responsibilities, with d
81 rectorships and memberships IN
IS score Of institutions until paralyt Il
q stroke, or heart failure, puts an en-
e to his abnormal activities.
u Old age is overtaking men and won
10 en- in middle life. Under our forcin
u system people hardly reach fu
ie growth before they begin to sho'
ie signs of decay. What travesty Q
. life it is to see aged men and wome
~ In their thirties and forties!
This pushing and crowding, jan
ming and elbowing, and rushing at e.
-. press speed from day to day, from IL
=, nursery to the grave. Is not life; it
race for death.-Orison SWEET Ma
den. in Success.
ve A man always likes his haother-i
I" law among his most distant relative