Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-04-13
BY ROGER w. BABsoN.


/ Gloucester. Mass, the lead ng
citizens were retired sea cap
| tains. They were a sturdy
and manly lot of men who had ac-
| complished much. These sea captains
had many quaint but impressive say
| ings. Among them was this: I'VE
| had better stop and take our bear
/ ings." BY these words they meant
; that it was time to take their latitude
and longitude.
| Aboard ship one can easily and al
| any time glance at the compass and
| tell the direction in which the shiI
] is travelling. but to take the latitude
| and longitude. that is. TO find the
J exact location of the ship at a given
| time, is quite a different matter. This
| is usually done by sighting through
| special instruments at noon when the
| the readings. Generally only the cap
/ tain and the mate are able to stop
! and take bearings
! Just Where Are You.
! After retiring from sea life these
sea captains still used this phrase
| when affairs,-town, business, or per-
/ sonal-were going too fast, and they
felt it was time to stop and take
bearings-to see where they were and
for what they were headed and
whether or not they were on the cor
rect way to the desired port.
To statisticians and analysts of
conditions this certainly seems to be
the great need of men today-espe-
cially of American business men and
! the younger generation in colleges,
I 70 20 - Nv-,N
| ing to become business men. All are
| hustling and busting, pushing and
| pulling, crowding and hunting, but
! without any clear-cut notion of To-
| cation, and in many cases without
even knowing where they are really
/, bound or how to reach the desired
port. Hence the importance Of TAX
ing ones latitude and longitude.
1t is not enough that every one be
, busy. Many are busy, trying to get
something for nothing. The burglar
! is a very busy man at times. Many
! are croWding, simply to get the other
I fellows position. Many are hurry
/ ing. to get under cover so they will
not have to work. Many are seeking.
| TO do as little as possible. All of
! us, however, are travelling like a mob
! chasing one another. believing that
| something must be ahead which we
/ should see or get. Why? Because
| avery one else is going after it. So
| we strive and crowd from the cradle
| to the grave because others are doing
/ the same thing. But we do all this
| without any clear idea of what we
are striving for or whether or not
/ we are going in d direction which
| will really give us what we want.
So the great need of today, in all
| nations and among all groups. is that
we stop and take our bearings. stop,
! look and listen" the sign of danger
| at railroad crossings, should be hung
q nf All N
; and student. Until we do thus stop
and take our bearings, we are wasting
| tremendous amount of good mate
! rial and energy.
! Are You Headed Right.
+ Statisticians are often greatly
| amused at the talks of some efficiency
! experts. These experts are great for
t efficiency-but for what purpose? The
! sea captain may be the fastest and
| most efficient" sailor on the ocean.
! but if he cannot take his latitude and
! longitude. his efficiency is of no ac-
! count. When we are headed in the
| wrong direction, the faster we go
! the worse off we are. Paradoxical as
] it may seem, often the more efficient
! we apparently are, the less efficient
! we really are. We must beware OF
)
step in becoming efficient is to get
headen in the right direction and
'-.-''s. ~, -
When ext in a farm yard. pr1ng
Q '-'GS dish of meat scraps for the
.;"GuS chickens. Instead of throw
! ing out the scraps one by one, put
! the entire plate on the ground and
watch what happens. At first the
| chickens will simply stand around
! and look at the plate. If it is the
a. -
! be some time before one has the in
j itiative and courage to go to the
! plate and take anything out of it
/ Finally one chicken ventures to seize
! morsel from the plate. What hap
/ pens? Do the other chickens go to
| the plate and eat also? No. The
I chicken which has secured the morsel
| runs away with it as fast as he can
! run. Immediately all the other
| chickens follow. Often they will
/ to follow the crowd. Often the plate
s! with the meat scraps will be left for
sometime untouched while the chick
! ems chase one another to take away
| from that one lone bird the morsel
! which he ventured to obtain from the
| plate. Certainly if one wants an illus
! tration of ignorant selishness OF
! many employers and many employees
! it is to be found in barnyard.
F.! Create Don't Covet.
On the other hand, there is the
| chemist in his laboratory seeking to
/ find a way to check disease At every
point he stops and measures He
! tries a hundred methods and makes
! thousands of tests. He cares not
I what others are saving or doing. He
! does not follow the crowd but blazes
! fIa 70 Il
! a. goal--s. goal which no one has
| found and which many say cannot be-
I reached. He seeks it just the same
! fearlessly, tediously. and alone. This
| is the spirit which brings him success.
; the spirit SO much needed TO-DAY bI
! young and old-in the mills. The
! market places. and the institutions o.
| learning.
! Moreover, in taking our bearing.
/ we should think for ourselves 1t /.
well to talk and advise with friends
but IT is never well to leave the fina
; decision with them. The sea captain
F.; who does not know how to take hi:
! latitude and longitude. or who aftel
taking his bearings does not adjus
| his course accordingly, is hopeless
( Those who, after consultation with
; others, are not willing or able t
; make their own decisions and abide
by them are lost before they start
/; The ability to make decisions is very
|
! Proba bly, the greatest decision
which we are called upon to make j:
the port into which we are to direc'
our lives. We shall never realize
one of us-set goal for our owl
| individual life. The degree of oul
success depends very largely upor
| this goal. What this goal is depends
| almost wholly upon ones religion
Fundamental decisions are largely the
product of spiritual qualities. 4
mans character often has more to dc
with his decisions than any informa-
| ton which he may acquire. Deci-
Sions, therefore, must not be based
on alone We