Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1905-01-25
By CHARLES WAGNER


lar you write for. The more elevated
In kind is the object of human labor.
the more the mercenary spirit, IL 1t be
present, makes this labor void and
corrupts 1t.
There are thousand reasons to say
that all toll merits its wage, that ev-
cry man who devotes his energies to
providing for his life should have his
place in the sun and that he who does
nothing useful-does not gain his live
lihood. In shorts only a parasite.
But there is no greater social error
than to 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-
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-
1t. the other has singleness Of 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 a grain Of
sand. out Of which nothing comes
through all eternity; the others work
is like the living seed thrown into the
ground. 1t terminates and brings forth
harvests. 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.
Unquestionably we must bow before
economic facts and recognize the dim
culties Of living. From day to day It
becomes more imperative to combine
well ones forces in order to succeed
In feeding, clothing, housing and bring
ing up a family. He who does not
rightly take account of these crying
necessities, who makes no calculation,
no provision for the future, is but a
the risk of sooner or later asking aims
from those at whose parsimony he has
sneered. And yet what would become
of US II these cares absorbed US en-
tirely-if, mere accountants, we should
wish to measure our effort by the mon
ey 1t brings, do nothing that does not
end In receipt, and consider as things
worthless or pains lost whatever can
not be drawn up In figures on the
pages Of ledger? Did our mothers
look for pay in loving us and caring
for us? What would become of filial
piety If we asked it for loving and
caring for our aged parents?
What does it cost you to speak the
truth? MISUNDERSTANDING, sometimes
sufferings 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
tial actions Of humanity. I defy the
closest calculators to maintain their
position in the world without ever
appealing to aught but their calcula-
tons. True, those who know how to
make their pile" are rated as men Of
ability. But look little closer. How
much of 1t do they owe to the unself-
ishness of the simple hearted? Would
they have succeeded had they met only
shrewd men of their own sort, having
for device, mo money, no serviceF
Let us be outspoken. 1t is due to GER
tain people who do not count too rigor-
ously that the world gets on. The
most beautiful acts Of service and the
hardest tasks have generally little re-
Enumeration or none Fortunately there
are always men ready for unselfish
deeds, and even for those paid only in
suffering, though they cost gold, peace
and even life. The part these men
play is often painful and discouraging.
who of us has not heard recitals OF
experiences wherein the narrator re-
GREETED some past kindness he had
done, some trouble he had taken, to
have nothing but vexation in return2
These condolences generally end thus:
at was folly to do the thing" Some
times it is right so to judge, for 1t Is
always a mistake to cast pearls before
swine. But how many lives there are
whose sole acts of real beauty are
these very ones of which the doors
repent because Of mems ingratitude!
Our wish for humanity Is that the
number Of these foolish deeds may
20 on increasing.
And now / arrive at the credo Of the
mercenary spirit. 1t is characterized
by brevity. For the mercenary man
the law and the prophets are contain
ed in this one axiom: with money you
can get anything" From a surface
view Of our social life nothing seems
more evident. "The sinews OF war;"
..the shining mark" 1.-The key that
opens all DOORS" liking money" - II
one gathered up all the sayings about
the glory and power of gold he could
make a litany longer than that which
Is chanted in honor of the Virgin. You
must be without penny, If only for
a day or two, and try to live In this