Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1905-02-23

enon? In the divergence or their In
tentions One has the mercenary spir-
1t, the other has slngleness 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 diff
cultles of living. From day to day 1t
becomes more imperative to combine
well ones forces in order to succeed
in feeding, clothing housing and bring
ing up family. He who does not
rightly take account of these crying
necessities, who makes no calculation,
no provision for the future, Is but a
visionary or an incompetent and runs
the risk OF sooner or later asking aims
from those at whose parsimony he has
sneered. And yet what would become
OF us If these cares absorbed us Ell
tirely-lf, mere accountants, we should
wish to measure our effort by the mon
ey 1t 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 lcdger2 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 1t cost you to speak the
truth? Observation-Disclosures, sometimes
sufferIngs and prosecutions. To de-
fend your country WEAKNESS, wounds
and often death. TO do good? An
noyance, ingratltude, even resentment.
Self sacrifice enters into all the essen
tial actions of humanity. | defy the
closest calculators to maintain their
position in the world without ever
appealing to aught but their calcula-
lions. True, those who know how to
make their 'plle" are rated rs men of
ability. But look little closer How
much OF It 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 service"
Let us be outspoken. 1t is due to GER
tain people who do not count too rlgor-
ously that the world gets on. The
most beautiful nets 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 dlscouraglng.
Who OF us has not heard recltals of
experiences wherein the narrator re-
GREETED some past kindness he had
done, some trouble he had taken, to
have nothing but vexatlon In return?
These condolences generally end thus:
at was folly to do the thing" Some
times 1t Is right so to judge, for 1t ID
always 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 ut the credo of the
mercenary spirit. 1t Is characterized
by brcvity. For the mercenary man
the law and the prophets are contain
cd in this one axiom: "With money you
can get anything" From surface
view of our social life nothing seems
more evident, THE sinews Of war;"