Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1926-04-22

amount of money will not be
able to enjoy cultural education,
no matter how much of it he may
have. The body comes first,
then the mind.
But the mind comes upon the
heels of the body. The moment
man is fed, clothed and housed
he seeks to enjoy his mind by
using it. A cultural course, such
as one may take at college, turns
the mind toward some of the
things that it may enjoy. But
there is no such thing as getting
a cultural education even in col
lege. All anyone can do is to
begin it there. Whoever gets it
must keep at it for life And it
may be got without going to col
lege at all. 1t can be obtained
with any fullness only by a life
time of reading and reflection.
I The books in college make but
a small group in comparison with
the books outside. If reading
maketh a full man." the only
place one can become full is at
home where it will take him all
his years to do it. If there were
any way that the young could be
induced to form the habit of
reading while still in high school,
| it is a grave question whether
colleges, as they are now organ
lied, would find much that they
could do.
| 1t is very serious thing for
a young man who has his way
to make in the world to take
four years off to go to college
while the young men who are
destined to be. his competitors
in the struggle for existence are
learning their business where
men know how to teach it; that
is to say, in business. A bright
youth in industry will, In four
years, gain such a lead over a
bright boy in college. that it is
more than likely the bright col
lege boy will never again catch
sight of him.
1t is also a very serious thing
for a bright boy to go into in
dustry, read nothing but the
sporting pages of the newspapers,
and never give thought to any
thing except his work. Sooner
or later he must begin reading
or he will never do much think
Ing except about his work. And
no work is big enough to fill a
mans life.
There is something in human
nature that reaches out beyond
the job and tries to get in touch
with everything in the universe.
Nobody is satisfied just to know
himself. Those who read nothing
but the sporting pages at least
want to know about the sports.
1t is their effort at understand
ing, and the more one knows
something about, the richer is
his life.
| Making the most of ones life
is, therefore, matter of pro-
noting two lines of development.
One line, by providing money,
makes life possible, the other,
by providing appreciation of
things worth while, makes life
rich. No amount of money is
worth so much as a taste for good
books. Friends die or move
away, but good books remain.
Good books are whatever are
good for you. No book is good
for a reader if he cannot under
stand it. AS the understanding
increases, taste calls for some
thing more solid. But solid does
not mean soggy. Books that are
good for reader always inter
est him.
! What kind of books are in
teresting? All kinds. Or, rather,
all subjects are interesting if
they are handled by somebody
who has something to say and
says it. The North Pole may be
a bit cold, but many hot book
has been written about it's vici-
nifty. Everything in the world
is interesting if it is told as it is.
One will, therefore, always do
well at least to take dip into
every book upon which he can
lay his hands. Read to be in
formed, read to be amused, even
read once in a while to see what
an ass the author is. Sometimes
there is no pleasure greater than
this.
The tragedy of many millions