Norwich bulletin., 1909-04-10

| Once he interjected a swift question, when my talk got bit muddy on one phase. For the rest he just listened, all over. When I was quite through, he asked two more questions-ques- l tions so direct and pointed that they went to the very heart of the whole matter-ouestions no one could have asked. unless he had absolutely grasp ed and made his own every single idea I had been formulating. And then he gave his answer. No matter whether | it was the answer l wanted or not. | The point is that it met and either sanctioned or vetoed every one of my points. and then drove straight to the central heart of the whole question. In other words this real statesman, having | thought ,t worth while to give ten minutes time to me, gave me his full attention for that ten minutes and, at the end, knew exactly every smallest phase of my statement and argument.
 There you have the difference be- tween the trained and untrained mind. The question whether one doesn't, somehow, show a little better heart than the other, I'll leave to you. It doesn't require a university education and & trip to Europe for the least lit crate among us to train our minds to this capacity of giving attention. Yet, of all my nelgfbors whom have stud fed for generation and have learned as well az one can learn another, l know of but one whom I can trust to read accurately what is written or printed, and to hear accurately what is said to them. Neither of these men is highly educated. as regards schooling; one is day laborer. who pretends to nothing beyond the three R's."
 The other day one neighbor stopped on his way from the postofice with his gress has put a duty on tea said he. ''Now we shall have to go back 10 sage and catnlp, I spose." Yet the very Washington despatch which he had read simply said that the ways and means committee had decided to rec ommend laying a duty on tea Con- gress hadn't laid it. nor taken any acK was telling an apparently deeply inter eSted and sympathetic neighbor how my pet COW. in moment of too ebullient playfulness had torn the skirt of my coat with her horn. She beamed on me for a full minute after the tale was ended and then suddenly said: Shall you have to uso a crutch?" I thought she meant some joke" which I was too dull to comprehend, and laughed teebly. Later heard that another neighbor the day before had cut his foot while splitting wood. Then knew just how her mind had been gallivanting over the neighborhood while she seemed Co be paying atten- ton to me.
 lt isn't stupidity, it isn't solely sell fishness; 1t isn't intentional rudeness, which leads to this sort of thing. It is simply that lack of mental self control and restraint which permits the mind to wander aimlessIy and pur- poselv' as vaguely, almost. as smoke drifts on a windless day. It's a per petual discomfort, just the same; a source of constant loss to its victims; cause of irritating annoyance to others. Why, half the inane or in- furious gossip which goes seandalling around a community is due to tliis in- ability to hear, see or think straight. Very few people lie about their neigh bors, deliberately. and from a nude de- light in lying. But they hear crook edly and they see Historically.
 lt would not be true to say that farmers are worse ir this respect than the majority. They are no more to be blamed than other people in other avocations. But think they are just in the average. And they ought not to be; they ought to be better. They are less crowded by people with diver gent interests; they have greater op- portunity to grow symmetrically; they have better chance for learning to control themselves, since they are less controlled by forces from without.
 I don't want to be jabbing pins into my farmer neighbors, for we're all tarred with the same stick, and for every one I put in the other fellows chair have to sit on its mate myself.
 But these things are sure: If a man is worth listening to at all, he's worth listening to with complete attention; if anything Is worth reading at all. it's worth reading understandingly; and if any one of us has mind which he can't keep on the job in hand, whatever 1t be. he'd better drop the job and devote himself to fashioning some sort of a bridle which will enable him to control that mind of his.
 THE FARMER.