Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-07-24
WARE OF OVERPRA|SE;;
SCHWAB RtfUTEO
Those Who Achieve Most Are
Patient Pluggers, Working
Without Approval.

al believe" said Charles NJ. Schwab
the other day, "that no man accom-
plishes the best that is in him except
under the stimulus of praise and APP
prevail
That is fact that is not commonly
recognized, or at least 1T is not com
monty acted upon by those whose bust
ness it. is to furnish the stimuli for high
achievement Most earnest workers
have to plug along and do the best they
can without this stimulus. In the aver
age experience far more dlsapprovai
than approval is bestowed upon human
effort, and perhaps this is responsible
in large measure for the fact that the
great majority of men fail TO accom-
plish the best that is in them.
But it would not he safe to Jump to
this conclusion Like about nll ques-
tions. this one has two sides The ell
fort of many men has undergone n vlo-
lent slump as the result OF overprnlSe
The determining factor would seem TO
be the personal equation In every IN
stance. The reaction to approval ana
iisapproval probably is governed by the
development of the chronological
bumps of self-esteem and appreciation.
man who is large In self-osteem and
comparativelv small in appreciation IL
likely to be fairly independent of out
side opinion. He will even thrive on
disapproval, for it will excite his spirit
of logged resolution. The more you tell
him he ia mo good the more con-
WINGED is he of his ability and the more
determined 10 demonstrate IT lie Is
bound to make good II only Tor the sake
of having the laugh on you;
But the persons with this excellent
for in bp
minority. 1t seems to be fact that the
majority have fairly well developed
bump Of appreciation. A reasonable
amount Of praise is necessary to their
proper spiritual nourishment. Without
it their moral purpose weakcns and
their effort lags.
An overdeveloped bump OF approba-
ton, of course, If an abnormality, but II
is a fairly common aiillctIon. he VIC
tins of it not only hunger for praise,
but thev actually feed on fiattcry and
without it their systems have ten
denCy to go sour. An overdose makes
them content and consequently deadens
their will for further achievement. Even
in the moderate instances too much
praise is dangerous thing. IL If n
danger not only in it's effect upon tho
subject but in the reaction set UP IN the
opinions of others
Isaac Goldberg has written an essay
IN which he makes an interesting expo
sition of this question, especially IN Its
relation TO literature. IF | had an
! enemy who wrote tales that ] would
gladly soc annihilated SAYS he,
should write an article IN the grand
manner ending with something like
this He unites in his wonderful stores
the inpersonality OF Maupassant. the
cumulative horror of Poe, the metro
politan geniality Of Q. Henry, and the
sublime grandeur of the Book of Books
Having committed that crime OF cnti-
| csn, | should lean back In my char
and laugh at the ruin | had wrought, ?"
The trouble with critical praise Of this
sort is that it sets up IN the reader 8
mind a glowing expectation that ls al
| most impossible OF realization. A lily
does not need TO be gllded, for that only
renders it absurd, and il II Is an onion
that happens to be gilded in this fashion
the reader Is sure 10 learn that It IL an
onion as soon as he bites into st. Any
| thing that is overpraised in advance Is
| quite likely 10 fall fat with its audi
ence. Besides, there IS queer contrary
streak in human nature. AS Mr. Gold
! berg saws. in it's present state OF evo-
| luton humanity is still human enough
| to approach overpraised works OF art
with something very like unt1 hostility.
One factor that figures largely in the
/ t"rAoncy TO overpraIse the more con-
"a manifestations IN art and IN
Is our abnormal modern respect
and speed. Critics are continu-
! i. attempting to identify the world S
| greatest artist or the worlds great
| est writer" or the worlds greatest
man in point of general greatness.
| We are not satisfied unless some au-
| thority tells us at intervals the names
| of "the ten greatest books, and APP
| praisers OF our commonplace utilities
| are continually quarreling over the
| Identities of ''the world greatest match, >
! ''the worlds greatest stove polish, and
''the worlds greatest ready-to-wear resi-
| dences"
| Mr.. Schwab, of course, was not speak
| ing of the praise that is bestowed upon
art productions or commercial success,
| but of the value of praise as an lncen-
| tive to the rank and file of workers. II
| is all well enough for the manufacturer
| of the worlds greatest stove polish To
| bestow lavish praise on his product, but
| does it ever occur to him that a little
praise occasionally would be appreciated
| by us who are working among his watts
/ and kettles and contributing IN our small
| wav to the success of his stove polish
| OF critical disapproval most Of us get a
! plenty, but the praise that stimulates Is