Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-14
The Simple Life
By CHARLES WAGNER
Translated From the Freneh by Mary Louise Hendee
Copyright 1901. BY Mcclure Phillip. u Co.

who loves not his work puts into IL
neither interest nor dignity-is, in
short. bad workman. 1t is not well
TO conf1de ones life to n doctor who is
wholly engrossed I'm his fees, for the
spring OF his action Il the desire 10
garnish his purse with the contents of
yours II IL Is for his interest that
YOU should suffer longer. he is capable
Of fostering your malady instead Of
terrifying your strength. The instruct
or OF children who cares for his work
only so far as II brings him profit Is a
sad teacher. for his pay is indifferent
and his teaching more Indifferent still.
OF what value il the rnercenary jour
nalist? The day you write for the dol
lar your prose Is not worth the dol
lar You write for The more elevated
in kind Is the object OF human labor.
the more the mercenary spirit, II IL De
present. makes this labor void and
corrupts II.
There are n thousand reasons TO say
that all toll merits its wage. that ey-
cry man who devotes his energies TO
proyid'ng for his life should have bis
place in the sun and that he who does
nothing useful-does not gain his live
lihood. I'm SHORTS only a parasite.
But there Is no greater social error
than 10 make gain the sole motive of
action. The best we put into our work
be that work done by strength of
muscle. warmth Of heart or concen-
tration Of minds precisely that for
which no one can pay us. Nothing bet
ter proves that man Is not machine
than this fact: Two men at work with
the same forces and the same move
ments produce totally different results.
Where lies the cause OF this phenom-
enon? In the divergence of their in
tentions. One has the mercenary spir-
IL. the other has sinGleness or pur-
pose Both receive their pay, but the
labor OF the one Is barren: the other
has put his soul into his work. The
work OF the first Is like n grain of
sand. out of which nothing comes
through all eternity: the Others work
is like the living seed thrown into the
ground. II terminates and brings forth
harvcsts. This is the secret which ex-
plains why so many people have failed
while employing the very processes by
which others succeed. Automatons do
not reproduce their kind. and merce-
nary labor yields no fruit.
Unquestionabiy we must bow before
economic facts and recognize the diff
culties OF living. From day 10 day il
becomes more imperative to combine
we'll ones forces in order TO succeed
in feeding. clothing. housing and bring
ing up family. He who does not
take account of these crying
who makes no calculation.
no provision for the future. is but
or an incompetent and runs
the risk OF sooner or later asking aims
from those ut whose parsimony he has
sneered. And yet what would become
OF us IL these cares absorbed us en-
tirely-if. mere accountants we should
wish TO measure our effort by the mon
cy IL brings, do nothing that does not
end in n receipt, and consider as things
worthless or pains lost whatever can
not be drawn up in figures on the
pages OF n ledger? Did our mothers
look for pay in loving us and caring
for us? What would become of fillal
piety II we asked IL for loving and
caring for our aged parents?
What does ii cost You TO speak the
truth: Misunderstanding. sometimes
suherings and prosecutions. To de-
fend your country? WEAKNESS. wounds
and often death. To do good? An
noyance. ingratitude. even resentment. |
Self sacrifice enters into all the essen |
iial actions OF humanity. I defy the |
closest calculators to maintain their |
position I'm the world without ever
l.uf
tons. True. those who know how to |
make their pile are rated as men Of
ability. But look a little closer. How
much Of IL DO they owe 10 the unself-
shness OF the simple hearted? Would /
hey have succeeded had they met only
'hrewd men OF their own sort, having
or device. No money. no servicef"
let us be outspoken. Ii Is due to GER
ain people who do not count too rigor-
'usly that the world gets on. The
most beautiful acts of service and the
hardest tasks have generally little re-
or none. Fortunately there
ne always men ready for unself1sh
leeds. and even for those paid only in
unering. though they cost gold. peace
md even life. The part these men
@"
Who OF US has not heard recitals Of
wherein the narrator re-
'retted some past kindness he had
lone. some trouble he had taken. to
ave nothing but vexation in return?
these condolences generally end thus:
IL was folly to do the thingr' Some
lines IL Is right so TO judge, for IL In
ways a mistake to cast pearls before
wine But how many lives there are
whose sole acts OF real beauty are
hese very ones Of which the doors
epent because Of mems ingratitude,
,ur wish for humanity is that the
lumber Of these foolish deeds may
o on increasing
And now I arrive at the credo OF the
lercenary spirit. IL IL characterized
y brevity. For the mercenary man
be law and the prophets are contain
q In this one axiom: with money you ,
an get anything" From a surface
low ~ ar- social life uOftfug | /,