The Washington herald., 1916-10-06
Leveling the World Up.
BY oRIsoN SWEET MARpFN,

in England" said Christabel Pankhurst,
speaking of the lessons of the war, I'VE have
once more learned the dignity of labor with the
hands, and with womans hands at that. To-
day no woman in England, no matter what her
rank, is afraid to work, and this is lesson we
in England will not forget after the war. That's
one reason why l have always admired the peo-
pie of the United States-they appreciate the
honor of labor, of hard work and are not ashamed
of It. God pity them if their wealth makes them
ever forget this great truth"
God pity any who is ashamed to work
or who is not ashamed to do bad work. There is
no dignity or advancement in work into which
we do not put our best. There is no health or
real happiness growth in anything outside
of work. work into which one throws himself
heart and soul.
George Elliot makes Adam Bede say There's
nothing but what's bearabe so long as a man
can work, for the best O work is it gives you
a grip hold O. thing outside of your own lot"
That is, the best thing about work is the strength,
the practical grip, which it gives upon oneself.
Independence, self-reliance, a sense of personal
power-these are the things which work develops.
And there is nothing else that will draw out
these qualities, nothing else that will make a
coTDete or woman.
Instead of being a curse, as many people still
seem to think, work is our best friend.
The necessity for downright hard work has
kept more people from melancholia and from
suicide than almost anything else.
Good, hard work has cured more dyspepsia,
more liver troubles, caused by worry and anxiety
and too much leisure, than anything else. Work
is natures great physician, lfe's balm in Gilead.
Even the humblest kind of labor has kept many
out of the insane asylum.
Work does for the idle mind what motion
does for water which has been stagnant, and
which, because of its stagnation, has bred slime,
miasma, and all sorts Of vermin. When stirred
into activity by a running stream, the water
becomes healthy again, giving life and gladness
to the plants and flowers and trees in the
meadows through which il runs.
Many an idler has been restored to health and
usefulness by work Many a youth who lost
in reckless living the fortune his father left
him has discovered himself found his real re-
sources, his ability and developed his latent
talents in the work forced upon him 1t was
work or die, and work saved him.
1t Is part Of the great plan of evolution
that the so-calIed privileged" classes in every
country are awakening to the dignity of labor,
the privilege and the glory of being worker.
The drones are becoming ashamed of themselves.
The time is already past when almost the
entire human race had a sort Of silent contempt
tor the working classes and admiration for the
idle classes, those who did not earn their own
living, either with the work of hand or of brain.
Even in the Old World people are recog-
nizing that producers deserve more respect and
admiration than the do-nothings, the drones, who
eat up, consume and enjoy the products OF
others efforts The world is being leveled up.
Natures gentleman, the great man, is the
man who works. No great character has ever
been built up except by a life of persistent in
dustry.
The who has found his work has found
his fortune. He needs no other. He can say
with Henry Van Dyke:
Let but find it in my heart to say,
When vagrant wishes beckon me astray;
This is my work-ny blessing, not my doom;
OF all who live l am the one by whom
This work can best be done in the right way
Then shall ! see it not too great or small,
To suit my spirit and to prove my powers;
Then shall cheerfully greet the laboring hours,
And cheerful turn when the long shadows fall
At eventide, to play and love and rest,
Because l know for me my work is best"
tCopyrtEht,