Evening star., 1933-05-12
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

But till we are built like angels. with
hammer and chisel and pen
We will work for ourselves and .
woman, for ever and ever. Amen" "
Any one can make such catalogue
Of employments for himself by recall
ing to mind some business block with
which he Is familiar.
Or he might turn to some residential
section With which he Is fairly well
acquainted and run over in his mind
the various things the people there do
to earn their ivings.
And no matter how extensive his
resulting list, 1t would constitute but
a very small part Of the various things
human beings do to exist.
The saving factor is that each one
of them has q certain amount of hu-
man dignity about 1t.
One seldom sees q man who is
ashamed OF his work, but when one
does the sight is pitiful. in q sense
More common is the man or woman
who somehow seems to be ashamed Of
what some relative does.
In the great majority Of cases such
work Is simply some sort OF practical
work which a little education mot
enough) has rendered commonplace to
the one who processes shame.
A bit more self-educatiOn would re-
move the stigma, because that sort of
knowledge soon brings one to the place
where he sees that all labor rightly in
tended. and decent, Is on a par with
all other labor.
= X 4
There may be q vast disparity in ex-
ternals, but down at bottom work Is
u 10 ha mir In, xnl,ic ich 10
approached which counts.
II the attitude Is right, the work it
self will be right.
The attitude Is everything, but 1t Is
subjected to many handicaps the worst
of which is fear Of fear, as the Presi-
dent so aptly said.
A good attitude toward ones work
is sometimes harassed by sneers. mott
waited by jealousy or other inimical
emotion, perhaps as harmful to the
one who holds it as to the one who
is made the butt of it.
Almost every one has felt this, at
some time or other and even those
who, by reason Of high positions, have
not been subjected to 1t personally,
have felt the back-wash Of such nasti-
ness. in one way or another.
These are the Ill emotions which
tSAIA W tdAC VIC yOy OuL Va WOlh dllu
have resulted In more loss to industry
than any other one thing. although
almost impossible of proof by hard and
fast figures, not being repOrtable.
~
Action and reaction are never the
same among human beings.
Reaction in machinery and chemi-
Gals may be measured. charted, ex-
pected to be the same the next time,
under identical conditions. as the last
time. but with human beings there is
never any saying how a man may be
upset by the picayunish blauings of a
comrade.
One day, owing to a fine state OF
health. he may be immune. may smile
broadly. take it all as a joke: the next
time. under apparently identical con-
ditions, he may be vastly offended. un-
able to do his work properly. although
he may conceal 1t from all, since self
protection is the first law of nature.
Confidence and a certain serenity
come to the man who does the best
he can. In any line He. too. if he
knew anything better to do. would do
it, il he could. Whatever he is doing
must be his contribution.
Whatever one is doing that Is ones
contribution. There is a certain dignity
in that thought. wholesome some
thing which helps make any day bet
ter. and We thank Mr.. Henry Ford
for It.