THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



101 



voir and irrigating ditches connected with 

 the irrigation project shall be turned over 

 to the said homesteaders, who shall man- 

 age and maintain the same either as a body 

 or through a corporation formed by them. 

 SEC. 9. That nothing in this Act shall 

 be construed as interfering with the laws 

 of said States concerning irrigation. 

 . SEC. 10. The Secretary of the Inter- 

 ior is hereby authorized to make such rules 

 and regulations for the purpose of enforc- 

 ing the provisions thereof as may be just 

 and proper. 



WHATCHANCE HAS A MAN AT 

 FIFTY? 



The critical age in the life of a man well 

 preserved is certainly 50. At that age 

 tnan really reaches his maturity. His 

 mind, having spent half a century acquir- 

 ing knowledge of the world, ought to be in 

 condition to do its best work. His body 

 should be vigorous as ever and more than 

 ever free from illness or other troubles that 

 go with youth. 



At 50 man is either hopelessly gone to 

 the bad or he has recovered from his foolish- 

 ness, got over experimenting with folly on 

 his own hook, as we all do, and has begun to 

 live the serious life that was mapped out 

 'for him in the earth's planning. 



A few freaks in history have achieved 

 their great success long be fore 50 and are 

 old at that age. But of the world's great 

 men a mijority have begun to be something 

 only 50 years after birth. 



Modern life has two ways of looking at 

 the man of 50. The successful man is the 

 '* wonderfully successful man, and so young, 

 too" Mr. Bryan, nearing 50, is called a 

 "boy orator." Mr. Chamberlain, past 60, 

 is a considerable English statesman, "con- 

 -sidering how young he is." 



The man not successful is seen at 50 in 

 a sadly different light. 



When he wants to work, there is noth- 

 ing against him except that a "young man 

 -is wanted." If he seeks work as a mechanic, 



or on a railroad, he is afraid to take off his 

 hat, lest the thin hair, turning gray, be 

 noticed. 



Hair dye, almost unknown now in bar- 

 ber shops frequented by prosperous men, 

 is sold extensively in cheap little shops 

 men of 50 dye their hair to get work. 



There is no reason why any man who has 

 lived sensibly up to 50 should not be at 

 his best when 50 comes. There is no rea- 

 son why a man should not at 50 take a 

 new start, if he has the mental energy and 

 hopefulness to do it. 



The trouble with the average man past 

 50 is this: 



C He thinks he is old. He allows himself 

 to sink down and begins looking backward. 

 The elasticity dies out of him, and elasti- 

 city means success in a man as it does in 

 a sword blade. 



Human beings are largely made byauto- 

 hppnotism, or unmade by the lack of it. 

 We hypnotize ourselves. We believe that 

 we can do a thing, and then we do it. 



Ask a young woman to break down a cer- 

 tain door, and without hesitation she says 

 that she can not do it. She thinks she can 

 not and therefore she can not. But let the 

 house be burning and her child on the 

 other side of that door. A different story 

 may be told. She thinks she can burst 

 open the door. She feels that she must 

 and will. And hypnotized by her own will 

 power, she performs marvels almost incred- 

 ible. 



So it is with men and women at all stages. 

 While the determination and will power 

 are there, they are young and capable of 

 successful accomplishment, no matter what 

 their age. 



Success keeps us confident, and the suc- 

 cessful man at 50 works well better than 

 ever. Lack of success weakens confidence 

 in one's self, and that weakened self-con- 

 fidence accounts for the sad and unneces- 

 sary failures of many middle-aged men. 



A man of middle age if he has not 

 wasted his force in dissipation is as good 



