Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-05-12
Depew's Philosophy of Life.

tauk Club Brooklyn, said:
1T seems to me that the agnostic
and the iconoclast lose much OF the
restfulness, content and satisfaction
which comes from faith. Better be Of
ten deceived than lose faith in friends
Faith in our church or political party
grows by work. The Richmond colored
preacher said, My brethren and sis
tiers, faith can move mountains, but
whar's de faith? 1t is behind the
strength which is constantly moving
mountains of difficulty, troubles and
worry.
ct have tried, or known others who
have tried. allopathy, homeopathy, os-
tecpathy, Christian science, faith
cures, Swedish exercises. massage, IA
NOUS healing springs, Turkish baths,
chasing climates and other famed pre-
ventives and cures for relief from Ills,
or TO prevent their recurrence or pre-
serve long and healthy life All have
merits But mind governs matter and
u laugh with out friends. to contribute
- their cheerfulness. to find out and
enjoy the inexhaustible good fellowship
which can be found iii everybody,
have done more than all else 20 keep
me healthy and happy. The fated four
score years have gone by. The past
has lad its full share of accidents.
mistakes, errors. misfortune and hard
luck. but its compensatlons are so
many and so great, that each knock
down seems in the retrospect Just the
punishment and discipline needed to
learn the lesson for a fruitful life and
q &c
The philosophy CT useful life lies in
that last paragraph, it seems to Us. We
are nodded to a purpose by the Incl
dents of life and the way we meet
them and make use of them. Ii every
mistake, every misfortune, every ac-
eident disheartens and embitters US,
We are little comfort to ourselves or
those about us, and our service to
the world may be measured in very
small receptacle. We should accept
the things which halt or oppose our
natural desires as discipline If we are
good soldiers we accept discipline as
necessary to success of the whole
army and do not resent IT.
We can make of disappointments
what we will. A disappointment loses
its sting if we look at it right, and the
thing that would sour one mind would
thus sweeten another. Most of us take
life or ourselves too seriously. In that
state of mind matters that should have
been passed off as jokes sometimes be-
come pitiful tragedy.
A farmer friend wished to hire a
few hundred dollars with which to
build a barn. He became so impressed
with the Importance of the transaction
when he applied for a loan at the
bank in a neighboring town, that he
finally gave up in despair after hav-
ing revealed his financial conditions
to the cashier, then the board of di-
yectors and finally their lawyer. He
had discovered that under the micro
scope of banking business he was so
much worse off than nothing that the
struggles of half a life time had gone
for naught. His business was neces-
sarily calling of chances. Every day
he had thrown all his resources into
the hopper of chance. His faith had
been his only asset and every day he
had proven his faith by giving another
But when he came down to the hard
cold facts of doing business with men
who are not blowing and sowing and
trusting in the Lord while fighting
floods and drouths and insects and dis
case, he found his poor faith that he
had a chance to win dissected until it
fell apart in sorrowful fragments. He
went home a sadder if not a. wiser
man. He had been living and bank
ing with Providence; men were a sad
disappointment to him. He did not
build barn. His old barn blew down
and killed jersey cow and his wifes
pet horse. His wife more disappoint-
ed than he, and unable to understand
why he was unable to hire money
ASA improvements as OlilSr men mao
done, blamed him and finally left him.
Perhaps the lesson may not be i'm
proved by the sequel, but the farmer
committed suicide as the result of his
first attempt TO do business with real
business men. He took them too seri
ously. They overawed him with things
he did not understand. They could get
safe" business enough and they saw
e chance" in his appeal for assist
ance.
The farmer lives on faith in the av
erase of Gods dispensations. but bus
incss lives on faith in its ability to
always get the best end of the bar
gain. A little more experience with
men and less with Providence and
our farmer friend would not have
taken business men SO seriously as to
Providence. A little larger
sense OF humor and he would have Sc
cured his loan, builded new in place
pf the old barn. saved his cow, his
sorse. bis wife rnd his life to future
,s~r,.fp~ns