HIS LIFE AND WORK 



Another McCormick trait, which is not usually 

 found in men who have the pioneering instinct, 

 was Thoroughness. He never said, "This is 

 good enough," or "Half a loaf is better than no 

 bread." He wanted what was right whether 

 it came to him or went from him. He never 

 believed in a ninety per cent success. He wanted 

 par. Once his mind was fully aroused upon a 

 subject, there was no detail too petty for him to 

 consider. He labored hard to be correct in 

 matters that appeared trifling to other men. 

 Even in his letters to members of his family, the 

 sentences were carefully formed, and there were 

 no misspelled words. Once he gave advice to 

 a younger brother on the importance of spelling 

 words correctly. "You should carry a diction- 

 ary, as I do," he said. 



All slovenliness, whether of mind or body, he 

 abhorred. To take thought about a matter 

 and to do it as it ought to be done, was to him 

 a matter of character as well as of business. 

 When a telegram was submitted to him for 

 approval, it was his custom to draw a circle 

 around the superfluous words. This was a 



[145] 



