The Washington times., 1919-09-07

to the great French liberal thinkers than Lafayette the
although he useful and welcome Jefferson,
Franklin and the other American radicals were educated
and inspired by the thought Of France The revolution
here against England was like the revolution against kings
in France largely the work of Voltaire thinking at the
edge of the Swiss frontier Of Rousseau writing earnestly
about the rights of man.
France was in dreadful hole horrible rut of misery
for the peasants horrible brutal luxury and extravaganza
for the king and court. The French THINKERS pulled
France out Of that hole They supplied the mental expo
sfve that blew up the old order.
Thought pulled France out of the hole and thought will
pull YOU out you happen to be in mental hole wonder
ing why the Of thought given to you and how to
use it.
in an actual physical hole in the ground would
have doubt at all to how he must get he might
be pulled out by others so well and good Otherwise
he must climb out for himself struggling with arms and
legs, digging his knees into the side of the hole And
especially he must refuse to be discouraged at slow progress
or at often falling back
So with all of US when we wake up and realize that
we living in hole MENTALLY. Out of that hole no
pull yoH
You have to get out for yourself and the only way is
to THINK yourself out It is often slow process Think
ing is trade like any other It must be LEARNED
Repeating patudes old sayings not thinking Railing
at Others accusing them and envng them because they
better of than you is not thinking It is stupidity and
prevents thought Too much that calls itself radical and
original thought is merely blind envy.
Thinking is a trade; you must practice it a long time
apprentice before your work is worth anything And
thinking HARD work and the mind that works hard must
be fed like the hard working body The mind that works
must eat It's food the thought of other thinkers Your
thought to be of use must be based other thought and
other knowledge New trees grow out of dead trees
animal bodies live the bodies of other animals and
thought lives thought To think you must read good
food for the mind not trash And with the stomach you
must eat what you digest no more.
Nothing is foolish than reading to excess, for
the sake Of reading sponge soak up great deal of
water, but do nothing with it. Some must come
along and squeeze it out.
So with reading. It is not how MUCH have you read
but what has reading added to your mind to your thought
to your power to deal with the present know the past
and reason logically about the future.
In addition to reading thought has other food Some
times misfortune is the best stmuant Bunyan
did work that will last after he went to JAIL and while IN
jail II he had stayed out OF JAIL he might have merely
talked-and one would hear of him.
Some become useful when fortune and their
friends turn against them. The umbrella would not have
been invented if it had never rained.
Men that live cooped up cities, eyes on the paving
stones the street lamps the stage lights do little think
ing The clouds the stars sunset and sunrise essential
to lofty thinking Slaves in mines peasants bent over the
cods have been freed not by THEIR discomfort but by
thinkers that looked upward and pitied them.
Even the loftest thinker is, comparatively man in
hole For there heights of thought to which nothing
this earth ever attain We may dmy perceive the
possibilities of the universe, but only dmy And every
should work to his last day to make his mind produc
tive and more receptive.
However high you may stand you can, if you will, go
higher
THINK your way out of the hole