Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-03-18
WHAT TRADE DOES
Supt. Frank RI. Hall of State
Farmers Institute Hits at
Grain Speculator.
HELD ONE OF WORST OF EVILS
Defines Difference Between Legitimate
and Harmless Dealing and the
Other Kind
(From an Address of Superintendent
Frank II. Hall, at County Farm
OPS Institutes

CFrom an Address of Superintendent
Frank H. Hail. at County Farm
ers Institutes)
Human activity is useful, useless, or
harmful Indeed, if it is useless, it is
harmful; for it is a waste of time, and
time is the stuff life is made of, and
to waste human life is harmful. So
human activity is useful or harmful,
Activity is useful if it promotes human
well being. To raise corn is useful
To make wool into cloth is useful; to
convert wheat into flour is useful; to
dig a ditch or a cellar, or to lay a
cellar wall is useful To assist in the
-four, lime, cement, eggs, butter, or
cheese, is useful. 1t is useful to please
people; to please them through the art
Of music, or painting, or sculpture, or
architecture.
1t is useful to add to the comfort OF
the people through improved condi-
lions in the home, in the town, in the
country. 1t is useful to do that which
will increase the yield of corn and
cats and wheat and clover; which will
conserve soil fertility and check the
Tavages of insects. Whatever pro
notes human happiness, human con-
enience. human health, human COM
fort, human progress in right living
and right thinking, or whatever dimin-
ishes the mistakes, the sins, the sor-
row, the suffering, the inconvenience
any of the ills of life, is useful.
But the real utility of an act must
be determined by its effect, not upon
the individual himself, but upon the
race. The useful act must affect ia
vorably the human race. The individ
ual may, in exceptional cases, suffer
seeming harm and race gain. But il
the individual prospers at the expense
of the race, prosperity must be classed
as harmful 1t is the sum total OF
human well being that we must con
slider.
Speculation is Harmful.
An activity whereby one gains wha;
another loses is not useful activity
Call it by whatever name you please
gambling, stealing, specializing. pro
moting-if the probable result of the
transaction is that one shall get what
another loses without giving an equiv
alent for it, the activity is not use
full one; it is harmful. avoid drink
avoid speculation says Andrew Car
negie. Why? Because both intoXi
cate; and an intoxicated man is :
menace to the community.
This speculative spirit, the desire tC
set something for nothing, or some
thing for less than it is worth; thi!
spirit is the root of more evil thar
strong drink 1t is more common thar
strong drink. The boy finds it in hi
arithmetic: Bought a horse for =
GER cent less than he was worth, anC
sold him for 90 per cent more than h
was worth What was the per cent o
gain?" The transaction was Lawful
one; but it was not a useful activity
To transfer a piece of property from
A to B and thereby take $50 that be
longs to B and give it to A, adds moth
/ us W lIlt WI III NCCtiNh. ITO 10 III
approved horse trade.
Legitimate Horse Trading.
Buy horse that is worth 500 ant
Ipay 500 for him. (Why not?) S
feed him and groom him and train hir
that he is worth $500; then sell hiT
for 5000. (Why not?) Or, buy horse
in Illinois at 5000 and sell them il
New York at $500 each, the differenc
being sufficient to pay for transports
ton and skill and risk in handling
Such transactions are not only legit
Innate, but useful. Moreover, educatio
lis necessary as a preparation for dea
ling i'll horses; but it may not be e1
lactly the kind of education as is neet
ed for preaching or teaching.
The speculative spirit is more con
mon in America than in any othe
lcountry-more common because Their
is more opportunity. Oil wells, gol
mines, and silver mines, Canada lands
lands in Arkansas and Texas, cit
lots. farm lands, everywhere thol
sand get-rich-quick schemes invite tn
young and the old TO take hand i
the game rather than to seek wealt
by earning it. Scarcely a day passe
in which we may not find in our dali
papers illustrations of the fact thu
Speculation and peculation are a
Inearly alike as the words. 1t is but
step and short one from one to tn
other.
A western mine may be a hole
the ground with a liar at the top.
mine worth 100000 is capitalized 6
S7,O00000. Such procedure must ne