Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1904-09-13
THE AMERICAN MOTTO.
"Get There" Is Responsible for Much
that Is Deterioratin9.


If we may judge by its effects on
those who obey its command, our
slang motto, ''Get there" is nor an
elevating or ennobling one. On the
contrary. it 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 demoranzing the law;
it is creeping into the pulpit; it speaks
from our schools; it looks out of the
eyes CT the ambitious; it 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
a lifetime in making fortune is ce-
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 IL their classes.
even If they must burn midnight Oil
and risk their health in order to do so.
Business and professional men are
so 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
ring 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 horse
which has been trained TO run on
track. He is not willing to trot or
walk, but must run all the time for
dear life.
1t is pitiable to watch 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 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 have
been draining of their reserve energy
all day, squandering vitality as the
leaks in a dam steal the reserve power
which would have ground a grist.
sawed lumber, or woven cloth had 1t
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
misunderstanding that will bring
them into publicity, and get their
names and photographs into the pa
pers. An average student is eager 70
lead his class, not because he loves
knowledge much, but because he loves
distinction more. A young clergyman
overworks in an effort to be popular.
A lawyer becomes prematurely old in
trying to keep pace with his practice.
A man of affairs keeps himself loaded
down with responsibilities, with d.
rectorships and memberships in a
score Of institutions until a paralytic
stroke, or heart failure, puts an end
to his abnormal activities.
Old age is oyertaking men and wom-
en- in middle life. Under our forcing
system people hardly reach full
growth before they begin to show
signs of decay. What a travesty on
life it is to see aged men and women
in their thirties and forties!
This pushing and crowding, jam
ming and Glowing, and rushing at ex-
press speed from day to day, from the
nursery to the grave, is not life; it is
race for death.-Orison SWEET Mar
den, in Success.