Norwich bulletin., 1921-01-08
THE MAN WHO TALKS


 a distinction between black pepper and good old fashioned cayenne But it doesn't require scientific knowledge to
 learn that a sudden change from mild ness to severity in the weather brings in full winter conditions. That is. a pond free of ice in the morning is never safe ! to skate on in the late afternoon, how
 ever keen the sting in the air may be. Boys, please note that fact! It is also
 well to remember that a pond of still water is safe for skating long before a river is. The sheltered parts of river are safer than the more exposed Of course every boy knows that it is always l risky to skate over rapids, however cold It is. Don't take any chances of losing your lives, as there will probably be enough of smooth thick ice before winter ends.
 This is tho season of the year for I making the proverbial good resolutions. Man has been doing this ever since Adam tripped up in The Garden of Eden and ate a good-sized Rhode Island GreeninE. Doubtless Adam made good resolutions at the beginning of each year that he wouldn't eat appies-or whatever fruit it was that had been forbidden. But when he saw how Eve licked her chops over Greening, he sailed in, and was kicked IraDned by woman. Ever since this little scrap in the life of our first parents, men and women with great regularity have been making good resolutions in the neighbor- hood of January 1, and with equal con- sistency have been breaking them some time during the year. And thus it will continue until apples or forbidden fruit we love so well shall be no more. But let us go right on just the. same, for, in
 spite of apples, more good resolutions are kept than we imagine.
 It is perfectly natural that the one chief topic of conversation and newspa- per publication is the crime wave that has attacked our American life. It has one feature to which I have not seen any attention called, and that is the differ ence in the names of the culprits Gas far as they have been apprehended) and their victims The latter are names we have always been familiar with: An drews, Harris, Baldwin, Jones, while the eulprrs names are mostly unpronounce- able, pointing strongly to continental Eu- rope. That raises the matter of making our immigration laws more stringent. Why should the riff raff of Europe be dumped here? We are sending food by the shipload to feed Europes starving because her man power is not sufficient to keep her people alive. Why weaken her producing capacity still more by immi- grafton? If Europe ever needed men she needs them now. and any man, in face of existing conditions, who will 6esert his country now is a coward. =
 When we cross the threshold of a new year there are two directions in which our thoughts run-or at least they ought to. We ought to look backward and de- GaI f4r forward and thank Him equally for pres ent opportunities. Around the opportu- nifty hangs the blessing. If we scrutinize the past closely we shall find that the ofesslng has largely come from making a good use of the opportunity. If in 1920 We missed great opportunity of serving God and humanity and consequently did not receive the uplift of a great bless ing we are apt 10 grumble because God has hidden his hand, and that something mas been denied us to which we have ar. nai1enable claim. When we realize that there is a close logic between our endea Vors and our blessings, we shall give up repining our past Saharas; and 20 to work and carve out for ourselves a fu tnre Canaan flowing with milk and hon. ey"
 The other day when I had a particu- iarly hard task before me I actually took down my Bible-which was not so dusty as some of you may imagine-and, turn ing to the Psalms, read The One Hundred Third. l say, fellows, if you want a real intellectual stimulant before tackline a real mans job, don't go to your Black stone and Kent or to Shakespeare ar Browning, but try the One Hundred Third Psalm. Now you will find the Psalms in the Bible-very near the mid oie-and you will come in contact with the grandest literature of all ages. Their strength lies in the direct appeal to fine human heart They create the impres- slon that one is under invincible leader snip: who redeemeth thy life from de- structlon who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies" I wish school boards would insist. that this splendid Psalm be committed to memory by every public school scholar and recit- ed every day. Such words bring in no dispu ed points of theology, but would be a garment of light to our schools, and most schools need it.
 In this age very much is said about emciency; So much in fact that it makes one feel that more stress is laid on the means of achieving results than on get ting results themselves. After all isn't the important thing to get there? If one only succeeds in an undertaking the method employed Cf above boar2) is of secondary importance. In b:idge-build- Ing it makes no difference if the <scaf folding is pine, oak, or mahogany, for if Is knocked to pieces when the keystone IS laid In many business offices you see the motto: Do It Now" That is to say that conception and and execution ought to be synanomous terms. It may be questioned whether rushing to do a thlng the moment the idea pops into ones mind is always wise When I see that sign, Do It Now" I feel like asking. dc what now? Of course it is intended as slgn of efhciency, but is it not better to sleep over some things, then to rush into action without due deliberation? It is all right if what we do has been care fully considered.
 There is one thing VIC must do if we expect 10 meet with even a measure of success m life, and that is We must over come Not once, nor twice, but oyercom- Ing must become one of the constant hab- it's of our lives. We can not lie back on our oars and regard ourselves safe be- cause one dragon has been slain. Their name is legion" and they assail us in all forms and shapes and all the time. The mere fact that We overcame some
 mp In 1920 will not make Us irnnuna from attack in 1921 Victory in 1920 glVes us the advantage in 1921 but it will not fight the battle; it puts us into the position of victor if we fight this year with the same faith and valor as we did last year. Ralph Waldo Emerson says;
 We acquire strength from the forces we overcome" If one cannibal eats another he gets bodily strength If a fox over comes rabbit and feeds upon him he Is Strengthened. FiguratiYelY this Ia