davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
How to Make Most Of Yourself;
PrOcrastination a Bar to Success.
Bv C. s. MADDOCKS.
By C. S. MADDOCKS.

IF you walk across field once you VIII
not make an impression that cannot be
quickly obktsrated. But II you travel
many times over the same track you will
soon have made a footpath; and II you
continue to use It for years it VIII be 80 deep
that only plow can effaee It
The brain may be reasonably compared
to field IN this respect. A thought that
passes through it once makes but slight
track. but II It flashes along the same line
over and over again, this becomes as perna-
nent as the footpath across the neld.
If you make q resolution but once IN
a twelve month-say on the New Year-you
Will no more make brain path for the idea
it holds than you made footpath through
the field BY once crossing it. But II you
make the same resolution day after day.
week after week. month jsfter month, and
year after year, the idea will be 50 fairly
worn into your brain that your subconscious
self carries It into action without any eftort
OF your conscious self
To make good resolution once is better
than never 10 make II n all Just littJs
better, unless you are a person Of extraordi-
nary win. Determination viii enable you to
DO anything within reason. yet 10 carrT out
EOOQ Te3OlulAOu ug = PAAS SUI "a oD-
stinacy may be for a whiIe Ike lifting your
self by your boot straps
1t is not the great general resolutions that
are the most important. These are often no
more than the expression Of an ideal. and
not resolutions at all. not constant deterni-
nanss to action An ideal may be the last
thing a nan loses. even when he IS allowing
himself for lack Of daily resolution to de-
teriorate rapidly.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Notes from World of Science.

One OF the newest musical instrumental
operated By electricity, rsproduces the notes
Of torty-dve orchestra performers
German postal suthoritiss are experiment
ing with . Enaal three wheeled automobile
for the use of letter earrserL
The worlds largest cheese. weighing more
than 1000 pounds. recently was made IN
Wisconsin for ezhIbgtsori purposes.
The skeleton OF q man who had been buried
at least 1000 years ago recently was diseov-
cred by archeologisz in England.
While the per capita oonsumption Of tee
In the United States Il about statiooarx. that
OF coffee Is steadily inoreaslng.
In some parts of Mexico the natives hang
the nests Of large spiders In their homes to
trap niss and other small insscts
Because IT has more phosphorie Acid In
easily digested shape than any other fruit
the apple Is one Of the best brain roods.
Under the direction OF an expert frorn thu
United States the Australian vtata of W.
torla has spent tsS.5ooOoo for trrirntion.
The new French Law prohfbftinT the salsoe
milk that has not been heated to q germ de-
stroying temperature goes into eject ths
FIRST Of .he year.
A chain OF wireless stattona win n. h,,u..
along the Spanish coasts and on adiaoent
HANDS by q company to which tbe eov.r,-
ment has granted q monopofy.
To I'LL a hive With homer. an sra.r4,t h.,
figured. colony Of bees has to make niehts
totaltns a greater dissance than from the
earth to the moon
Gold and Eilver mines that have be.n
worked for more than three Centuries stri
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

form the principal resources Of the Mexican
state OF San Luis Potosi
All the walls OF buildInE being erected at
the University OF Paris for experiments with
radium VII be lined with LEAD, which is i'm
peryious to the emanations o. The metal.
One Of thebeSe known opera tsnors recsfves
royalties q c1oss to 5000 year from .
talking machine company. and q soprano Is
getting more than one third OF that amount
EnElish experimenters have found that
above temperature Of 80 degrees salty so
lutions are lsas corrosive OF iron and steel
than pure water. while below that tempera-
tur0 the reverse Il the case
A cash register to record the number Of
been installed In q New Zealand telegraph
ofnos as an experiment. with q view to their
general use
Ths reosnt discovery OF some glass mirrors
dating from the second or third century IN .
eemstery In Austria has upset the theory
that the ancients had TO depend upon pol
Ished metal to see themselves.
To lessen the danger OF an automobile
being run into from the rear when II suddenly
changes its course, mechanism operated BY
the steering gear has been invented which
turns an arrow carried on the back OF car
to indicate the new direction
So successful machine for war purposes
has the asroplane proven that the Freneh
army has attached expert maehinists to it,
aerial oorps ana has equipped huge motor
truck a. q compaete machine shop for maks
ing repairs IN tha neid.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Some Curious Mistakes.

A curious mistake once occurred because an
employe omitted street and avenue -
when he reported his whereabouts to his
superior ofiicer at the other end Of the phone
wire He was q collector for . Chicago COM
pany and reported that. having finished =
special collection he was now at FortJeth
and Lake. meaning Fortieth avenue and
Lah- street. i've miles west from the c4ty's
center. The man receiving the message
thought hN ISesnt Fortieth street and Lake
avenue. and % directed him 20 make q spe-
clal collection At some place about half a mile
from that point This locality was about the
sane distance south OF the center OF the city
a. the collector was west. 80 he had an ex-
tremely long ride TO make In the late after
noon. and after making this second collection
failed to reach the once in time to turn the
money In that night He was accustomed
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

That thought always precedes right Ge-
ton. whether you are tying your shoestrings
or building battieship.
That poverty n q shadow that haunts
millions Of lives far from any slums or poor
districtsI
That riches bring as much unhappiness as
happiness. and are often an obstacle to the
formation OF good character.
That the best civilization $1,000 years from
today will have competition in 1.-THE most
capable and yirtuous VIII be awarded the
prizes OF power and honor; leaders win al
ways lead.
That progress in an individual or in q race
never goes by leaps and bounds-gradual
curves are the rule for the advance Of man.
That we are al desirous OF increasing your
happiness, but We cannot overturn the social
system to at theory or an individual.
That business IL business Is lying
maxim II II Is taken TO mean that business
man is justified in being commercial pirate.
That personal m6raI character. aside from
skin or brain, always has commercial
value in every trade or profession.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Mistakes Often Valuable Assets;
Some Cost Jobs, but Not All Do.
BY FRANK R. WALTON

- ONE years ago 4 young man did such
satisfactory work that he was given
charge OF the dozen men who worked
with him IN the same room. though
many OF them were older than he was.
He had started life on farm. and had many
stories TO ten OF the hard plowing he had
done from dawn to dusk when hewas but q
mere boy. As clerk he was unusually ac-
eurate and reliable Rarely did he ever
make mistakes in addition or multiplication.
Probably, bis well known ability made him
feel free to tel OF q very bad blunder he once
made when IN the employ Of q railroad com
pany. BY sheer careIessness he had sent .
cargo OF perishsbIe goods from Chicago to
Portland. Ore. instead of to Portland, Ne.
For this biunder he was neither discharged
nor fined. though the loss to the railroad was
squaI to several years Of his modest salary.
When he left that Job later It was because =
better position was offered him.
How many mistakes OF this kind would
stamp man as being q blunderer II IL i'm
possible TO say. Rut Il is certain that II he
had made this Identical mistake again be
would have deserved immediate discharge
There are some mistakes one can make ten
or twenty times month without being con-
sidered blunderer. but with another class
OF MISTAKES single one IN any ien8th. Of
time would prove that the dosr was incom-
pstent The architect VINO forgets to provide
any stairs in a two or three story building f.
assurediy In the mo good class even
though the error Is made only once. The
same strict standard applies to druggists who
compound prescriptions They are supposed
TO work with such care and slovness that no
mistake can happen However, q competent
druggist may once In a very long while make
q bad break" A druggist once correctly
hued two prescriptions at the same time for
. customer whose name was familiar to him.
A week or two later one OF the bottles was
sent back 70 be reilled. The druggist noted
the number on the bottle and correctly found
that number In his prescription book. but
after having thus found the right page he
carelessly took for bis cue the name OF the
customer and filled the other prescription,
which was just below It Fortunately,
neither prescription was at all deadly, and
the customer at once saw by the color Of the
liquid that the wrong prescription had been
nIled. That this blunder was inexcuSabie is
true. but Il IL also true that this druggist IL a
competent and careful man. Can one mis-
take Of this kind be considered proof that
man u = blundererf
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Some Important Facts That
Every Worker Should Remember.
By IRWIN ELLIS.

WHAT every job Is torture to the
bungler and a training to the capable
doer.
That there Is not Job IN the world
that has no rough angles IN 1t.
That men out of a job envy toilers more
than the latter envy the miIAonaires, and
with far more reason.
That the most humble position iS post Of
honor when It is honorably flied.
That every man has his limitations, and
that overstrain on the body or brain always
injures both the body and the brain.
That while we may thoroughly believe in an
eight hour day Tor even in six hour dayl.
We notice that under present conditions few
men have risen very high without often
working twelve hours day. with occasional
work at night.
That the way to DO fast work Is arst to do
good work slowly and gradually increase the
speed.
That men are not born equal m ability any
more than q rabbit Is born lion.
That only few can win the best places,
and that every one has missed some grand
goal
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

down by what might have been. under more
resolution. life preservers.
The only way to overcome the habit Of pro-
crastnation is neyer-to allow yourself time
TO proerastinate. DO not once begin % walt
and put on. II you have been doing so.
stop abruptly. When the time comes to do a
thing. md no excuse for not doing H. nyou
leave the thing undone which you ought to
do today, you are likely TO leave It undone
tomorrow. and through q succession OF to-
morrows. IN opportunity u lost. money or
health. or both, gohe. The one genuinely in
the grip Of this evil habit may postpone
for months some simple task that might as
easily as not have been done today. They let
each blue day slip ussiezsly away. without
EIaddenIng their own hearts by one accom-
plsshment.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

Is the wealth and social condition Of the peo-
pie In your trade territory? Are they foreign
ers or Americans? II In a small town. ara
the farmers well to do? Do they come into
the town you have in view or do a good num-
ber OF them 90 to some other market7 II
the country or the city neighborhood thickly
populated. enough 50 to carry a store or an
additional store In your line? On what IN
dustries does the town or the neighborhood
depend for It's prosperity Do these furnish
employment all the year round7 Give plenty
Of time to an Inspection OF the banks and
stores as to their Appearances OF business.
the number Of clerks. customers. Ioafsrs.
Don't go into q town or q neighborhood
until you know It and are satisfied there Is a
place for you Then be sure TO get building
In a good location with bright. modern win
dows and an attractive appearance both In
side and outside.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Where to Start Your Business;
Errors That Make for Failure.
By HOLLIS w. FIELD.
By HOLLIS w. FIELD.

- EFoRE locating new shop 1t 10 necss-
sary to study your town or the section
Of your city In which you wish to do
business One advantage to consider
is In opening up where you are known
Your friends win be your hrst customers
and, II you are running your store right,
their friends will follow them into your doors.
1t will also cost you less to get started than
It would IN a strange place
In considering location two things are es-
ssntial-to pick out the real center where
people win be most thrown In contact with
you. and to estimate correctly the nature Of
the people among whom you are about to 10
cate Study the people carefully What sort
OF goods will they be most likely to buy? A
druggist in an expensive residence section
would. for instance. carry line OF toilet
articles. These would be absolutely useless
In community Of foreign hborszs What
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Most Profit in Early Soda Trade.
Rv JAMES KELLS.

cleared the operating expenses for his whole
drug store for the season by June i. Last
summer. by the way. was one Of the very
best soda seasons on record. The soda busi-
ness has become 90 important that II Is fore
ing some Of the old fashioned druggists. who
don't want TO handle It. out Of business. 1t
is also not 50 easy ~ most people think to
make money out Of soda water. A good
many druggists. II they watched their soda
accounts more closely. would ind they are
not making money from this source 50 fast
as they think.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Habit an Old One.

The habit OF procrastination Is perhaps
as old as the world itself. The foolish virgins
Of the parable procrastinated- The cricket
os the fable procrastinated while the ant
laid up her winter store Of food. Ancient
proverbs warn US against this habit. a
stitch In time saves nine" For the want
of a nail in time the shoe was lost from the
horses foot. and IN the end the rider and
the battle were lost. ana all for the want
Of 30 simple . thing as q horseshoe nan.
Parable. provero. fairy tale. fable. allegory.
and apoiogus teach directly not TO pro-
crastinate. and the world Il full Of indirect
Lessons teaching the same thing.
The thoroughly shittIess person is the one
who a1ows himself to receive disastrous
odds against this foe Of generalization,
Should he happen TO be a farmer for Instance,
there are more viabie. material proofs Of his
surrender thar in the case OF men OF different
occupation. Men in other business may be
Just a. Shiftless, but the evidences In the
shape OF fences down buildings and machin-
cry neglected. crops ungathered or but half
harvested, are not a. plainly visible
Perhaps in the beginning not more than an
hour was needed TO repair the back fence. 10
put moving machines under cover and IN
order for the next season, to put a few
shingles on the barn TO mend the cattls
trough. TO trim the decayed branches from
a fne fruit tree. but time and place were mot
found for thsss things. and In the end IN.
number undone became so large as to render
the farmer hopeless. Like all wrong habitx
procrastination tends to incapacdty, ana
either slow or rapid snnihilat1on OF power.
IL not Of life.
The line between poverty and comfort n
often very narrow ons. and the one on IA.
wrong side got there because OF procrasura-
ton
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Penalties for Tardiness.

There are q great many natural paualtte.
for being behindhand, and those penalti.,
which show not In anything visible or ma
terial concerning which We do not haya n n
immediate and keenly felt consequence. NAY
in the end represent the greatest kinda Of
losses
Every act OF dIlatorineEs results In thu IoU.
Of some advantage that would otherv4sa
have been gained Perhaps We but lose n
train and are sorely put out but quite for ths
wrong reason. We may Be too late In b1v-
ing something we Set our hearts on, or We
delay In getting our tickets to concert. thea
ater. or opera until all the seats or all The
good ones are gone. It u often nothing
more than prospective deprivation that
drives some people to do things, and % keeps
them from forming the habit Of procraStina-
ton But the losses inevitable are not keenIy
enough realized. or realized to be the result Of
a personal fault, to hinder some people from
being forever behindhand
There is no more trying man In the business
world than the one who is always late to an
appointment There IL no empIoye. no mat
ter how good in other respects, who annoys
and tries his employer by Hardness, without
loss and disadvantage Of the gravest sorts
II IT had not been for this habit time clocks
would. in all probability, never have been
installed. More serious checks than this
mechanical one are always awaiting the
tardy.
Some peoples procrastination has taken
the form OF waiting for something to turn.
up. The general prospect for such II that
they Will have to wait until the dead turn
in their graves unless something earlier than
this probIematic event brings them to their
senses and a prospect
The opposite Of procrastinatfon Is not the
impulsiys habit which drives q man TO act
on the minute. These two habits often exist
amicably side by side; for often. unless a
man can do thing In his headlong way, one
possessed OF the disposition TO do 80 will
delay and delay Until opportunity has passed
him By. He can never make q mistake,
however. II he acts On the minute dutyt calla.
or the minute when reason and the mere
course Of events demand action.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

~ oDA fountain proprietors are planning
an early opening OF business next
spring. Their experience in the 1911
season has shown than the advis-
ability of having their fountains ready
for business on the frst warm day. Last
spring most OF them-especlaIly the smaller
operators-were quite unprepared for the
sudden and early beginning OF warm wealth
er. They could not handle the unexpected
rush OF thirsty customers and consequently
lost much money. A Baltimore druggist
who had his fountain ready for business
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14

10 make long trips TO almost any part Of the
city, and as neither Of the words Fortieth :"
nor Lake was In the second address given
him. he failed to perceive that the man in
the companys once was thinking OF the
south side Of the city and not the west
The inharmony tkat results when the bass
drtmmer.in an orchestra mistakes q ny on
~ths sheet OF music for note. e one OF the
Jokes that Adam told TO the Laughing Hyena.
and nearly as antique is the story OF the
bookkeeper who could not balance his books.
but finally discovered that an eyeIash or q
ny's leg had usurped the place Of a blank
and turned 100 into 1000 This error Is
matched by that OF the surveyor who sighted
bis transit At 4 white spot on distant rock.
but finally discovered that this object was
really a white spotted COW that IN the mean
time had moved several yards. munehing the
grass from spot to spot The surveyors line
was hardly as straight a. he might have de-
sired It.
This incident recalls an engineering blum
der by which n private irrigation company
80 tapped the waters OF the Colorado river
that the vast Imperial valley, extensively
under cultivation. was completely flooded.
causing general exodus from that region
That the government engineers were abss to
again confne the rebeliious river IN its own
narrow channel Is one more instance Of the
ability OF modern engineers TO conquer al
most any force OF nature.
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Evils of procrastination.

Evils OF ProcfaStfnation.
The foe procrastination IL responsible for
more lack Of accomplishment, for more uu-
satisfactory evenings and sorry mornings
than that other arch foe of doing the thing
to do-intemperance-which is its hail fel-
low well met in thousands of cases. The man
who has a taste for drink and hesitates or
procrastinates in the putting Of temptation
Instantly behind him. Is as good as lost
No one can estimate how many Of the dead
ly Weaknesses Of the world are due to pro
crastination. "I am never tired when get
through with the program planned for the
day." says q certain famous worker, but
when there Is something left over, or left
undone, I am tired. very tired"
Thousands Of other people may be tired out
for the same reason. without exactly under
standing why. They are those who never get
caught UP with their work. Worse than this,
they get a little farther behind every year
until they become quite hopelessly dragged
The Washington herald., 1912-01-14
Daily RESOLUTIONS Best.

II Is resolutions which belong TO the day
and hour, and that must be daily and hourly
made, upon which-depend the realization Of
an ideal and the living UP to great or even
the greatest resolution.
There is one great resolution, referring to
what seems . very small thing. that must
be renewed daily. 1t IL against an enemy
that nearly every man and woman has to
array the forces OF daily life to meet, and
which must be overthrown as often as It
appears II they are to be happy and success
full in what they undertake.
This enemy, this foe to accomplishment
is ocrastination. There Is no surer him
drance to both daily and future happiness.
to health OF both mind and body. to accom-
plishment Of every sort, than this same pro-
crastination- The makers Of mo6ern busi-
ness mottoes recognized this foe as the most
insidious and persistent In the business world
when they printed '' Do It now " IN large let
tiers and got It hung above thousands Of desks
Of men OF business.
Not only in the business world but in the
social the victims OF procrastinstion are to
be counted by the thousands The prisons,
the insane asytums. and especially the poor
houses, are filed with men and women who
never did today what they could put OF until
tomorrow. The most brilliant minded men
have lost out" because they have not
resolutely risen against this foe Artists OF
all sorts have been prone to procrastinate.
often looking bitterly on while men Of talent
and resolution have outstripped them in the
race for honors and recognition. The sight
Of these unworthy ones d" in their sue.
cess has often soured the dispositions and
embittered the whole lives OF those who know
they could have done far greater and better
thing-but did not Procrastination hin
cered them in the first place. Then becoming
5espisers OF ofmen-because their own merit was
neglected and unapprecIated-theyb became
wholly unified in temper to produce beauti-
full work or to live beautiful lives. It Isa
very sad thing to see men and women who
need the world the most-need its RECOGNITION
and applause-put themselves absolutely Al
odds with It because OF some weakness which
they did not arouse their moral strength
TO combat