The Washington herald., 1917-03-07
The Thing That Makes Men
ny ORIsON SWEET MARDEN,

an experiment in brotherhood is on
trial, there are people who have con-
victed themselves of uselessness. For
years those people have been the
victims of an obsession that they do
not amount to anything, that they are
of no use to the world or to anybody
in it. The brotherhood institution
has already rekindled hope in them,
and they are trying, some of them
even in old age, to start life anew
The hope that they may still amount
to something has encouraged them
to make one more effort to get hold
OF themselves.
No greater misfortune can befall
any human being than to be separated
from the life of work.
Yet how little do the majority of
us realize that everything desirable is
so only because of its cost in effortl
Supposing the Creator had provided
everything full grown, ready made
for our use, and that every human
being had been college educated when
born; supposing every wish could be
grati6ed without any effort on our
part, who would want to live in such
a backboneiess, jelly-hsh world,
where there was no stamina, no
initiative. no grit, no resolution, no
incentive to activity, and consequent
ly no stalwart manhood, no strong
sweet woIIanhood-because these
things would be impossible without
the constant struggle to attain? Who
would care to live in a world of salts
fed desires, with no motive for
climbirgo
This is not Gods way. He planned
a life of glorious achievement and
seli-development for man through
personal effort.
If Harry Thaw had been obliged
to make his own way in the world, to
do his own struggling, there is every
probability that he would have been
very different sort of man than he
is today. It would have been impoS-
sible for him to have led the degen-
crate life which resulted in his nine
years terrible experience in an insane
asylum, his late cscapadcs and at
tempted suicide. He would have been
much happier and very much more
OF man than he is today if he had
had to exert himself to earn a living,
because he would have had to develop
his more stalwart, his better qualities.
He would have been more normal, be-
cause he would have been compelled
TO live more normal life. The SIM
pie life, with its legitimate portion of
good honest work would have made
him a useful citizen.
Every substitution that has ever
been tried for life of wholesome
activity, of personal effort, has been
failure. Only a small percentage
Of the sons and daughters of million
aire parents could get living today
II they were thrown upon their own
resources. Many Of them, if they
were suddenly to lose their property,
could not get a e-dollar-a-wcck
job. They are undevcloped; their
characters are flabby, they lack stam-
ina, have practically no initiative, are
almost powerlcss when it comes to
self-reliance, helping themselves, be-
cause they have not been trained to
work; their self-rcliance has never
been developed. Measured by all
that constitutes the full grown man
and woman. these rich drones would
rank very low.
Many Of them should be at Point
Iona to be treated for useIessness.
IF the unfortunates now under treat
nent there had not hypnotized them
selves into believing they were use
less, if they had kept on working in
spite of everything, they would never
have been reduced to their present
condition.
In the long run no one gets so
little out of life or pays so much
for so little in return as the idIer.
He sells his birthright, the splendid
manhood the Creator designed for
him, for mess of pottage.
The difference between lion that
has long been captive in the ZOO and
the lion running wild in the jungle,
gives a good idea of the difference
between the worker, the man who
does things, WHO, develops hand and
brain by use, and the idler, the man
who has never worked for his living,
but who enjoys a fortune or wears a
crown which his father or some an
cestor won by toll.
The thing that makes men is self