Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1904-11-03
IcEMAN AND WAsHERWoMAN
Housekeeper Reveals Secret That
Has Made Two Industrious
Persons Successful.

Persons Successful.
There was a discussion In progress
about success and persons who are
classed as successful, relates the New
York Times.
why" spoke up one woman, IT
seems to me that my little world Is full
Of successful men and women.
'You think take too rosy view OF
life? You will be more surprised. per-
haps when tell you that among the
really successful class my washerwom-
an and the iceman.
mo, he isn't bit like the iceman
we read about, and he doesn't get his
picture in the comic papers. He's a wiry
young fellow with q public school edu-
cation and the proud record of having
worked himself up from the place Of the
youngster who hangs onto the danger
sign on the rear Of the ice wagon till he
owns little business Of his own, with a
darby boy to help him.
"Only the other morning, as settled
my monthly account. he confded to me
with undisguised pride that he had re-
ceived over 800 in the past four days.
I tell you,' he said, I've got beauti-
full ice route-beautiful. Has 1t ever
occurred to you to apply that particular
adjective to an Ice route? No, nor had
1t to me, but just that enthusiasm and
that burst of confidence revealed the
whole secret of the spirit that he put
into his work.
Successful? OF course he is success
full. He can't help being so. don't
mean merely in financial sense, either.
He has the possibility in him of some-
thing more than that.
"And the washerwoman? only wish
that could do her justice. She has the
warmest kind of Irish heart and the
richest sort of Irish brogue, with the
girth of rain barrel and an arm with
the strength of a suspension bridge ca
ble
"She fills the kitchen, to be sure, but
1t Is with the cheer of her smiling face,
and blue Monday is unknown at our
house. There is no way of telling from
her looks and actions that she is wild
ow with one helpless crippled boy and
two mites Of girls, none too sturdy,
either of them.
"And whenever she has what she calls
a good week she puts by a dollar or two
so that when those little girls are grown
up they can go to some business college
and learn to support themselves at Of
fee work. For as she says, they are
much too frail to stand factory hours or
work of the sort their mother does, and
she can't bear that they shall not have
4 chance at something better.
"The only attempt at coincidence
ever made was when ventured to say
that 1t was too bad that her husband had
died and left her to struggle so. But
she would have none Of 1t.
"'Sure, now, and 1t amt so bad, she
back quite briskly, and went
On with her scrubbing.
"And the pleasure that she gets out
If doing her hard work well is some
hing worth talking about. The other
lay she boiled Susie's snowy gown to a
Inowy white and ironed its frills to
tate of fluffiness that made Susie perk
ike little peacock, and she took the
'ich chocolate-colored paint stain out
If Sammy's blouse as If she never had
lnything to do before that she enjoyed
lalf so much
IAN artist scraping an old canvas and
hiding under the disguise some choice
landiwork of an old master couldn't
york with any greater enthusiasm, and.
might add, with any higher motive.
That is Just the point.
"She puts the spirit vf the artist into
he work that we call drudgery. So
Ioes the iceman. They are both suo-
essful in the best sense Of the word. In
heir own humble callings they are
themselves artists. I only wish that my
wn work was as worthy Of being meas
red by the same high standards.