334 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



Horace Greeley, when asked how he would make a great journal 

 ist, replied: ''Feed him on printer's ink," meaning by that to start 

 the bo}" picking type, thei'eby learning the first principals of the ''art 

 preservative of all arts." 



When Princeton and West Point were lined up for that cultured 

 and refined American game of football, the referee said: "Princeton 

 are yon ready?" The captain answered, "Yep." "West Point, 

 are you ready?" "We are ready, sir," came the well-rounded reply. 

 Notice the difference of the two answers. It means more than can 

 be told in a word or grasped in an idea. It involved a principle of 

 education. West Point had learned to do things right, a very de- 

 sirable factor in the problem of human life. 



But what has this to do with "The Making of a Farmer." Does 

 the successful operation of his business require a vast expenditure 

 of thought and labor? Does he need to do anything more than 

 sow the seed and reap the harvest, and sell the crop, and spend the 

 money? Does he even need to think for himself, or can he continue 

 to allow the other fellow to do the thinking for him? Does he nec- 

 essarily need to look carefully after the details of his farming opera- 

 tions in order to be successful? Can he afford to spend time in 

 preparation for his life work, or gain the experience of others? 

 Will it pay him to do things right? Can he afford to waste money 

 on a lead pencil and learn to use it intelligently? 



On looking back to those good old times before the rattle of the 

 mowing machine was heard in the land, we see those steady mowers 

 swinging the mow-hook so gracefully. All day long they follow 

 their intreyjid leader, generally the best mower, who sets the pace 

 for his followers. By virtue of his position, the first in the proces- 

 sion, he must necessarily have the best scythe. At the rear end 

 of the line we see the boy with an old mow-hook, unskilled in the 

 art of whetting the scythe, striving honestly and manfully to keep 

 his place. He is laboring at a disadvantage, from the fact of some 

 one else having used and abused the implement he now employs. 

 It is a "hand-me-dowm," but sufficiently good for a boy. He might 

 injure a new one, and for all that, he is only learning to mow. 



Well do I remember seeing a band of these "jolly haymakers" 

 bending to their work. I also heard, but did not understand "that 

 there is no time lost in whetting." That labor performed in sharp- 

 ening the steel was economizing strength and rendering more eflS- 

 cient service. That time expended in prej)aration was the surest 

 means of accomplishing a purpose. That in the economy of labor, 

 thought must devise the means of securing the best results. 



The young man ente'rs the service of a railroad company by going 

 into the office and gaining a practical knowledge of the business. 

 The future lawyer spends years of close application in order to be 



