GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov 



bsst way in the world for a man to accumu- 

 late property, besides being in accordance 

 Avith Clirlst's teachings. Now, when you 

 have an opportunity, try it and see if I am 

 not right about it. 



I think I will make this " Our Neighbors" 

 short this month, for I give below such a 

 long talk about being useless. 



MAKING YOUESELF USELESS. 



SOMETHING ON THE OTHER SIUE OF ".MAKING ONE'S 

 SELF USEFUL." 



rri HE head of this article 1 have borrowed 

 ^^' from an editorial tliat appeared some 

 W time ago in the Sundai/'^Sdiool Times. 

 '*■ It attracted my attention because it 

 seemed so singular. The idea convey- 

 ed was, that we should strive to do our work 

 in sucli a way that it will go on, even though 

 we are withdrawn from it. Almost every 

 one knows what it is to employ hands that 

 must be watched constantly. That is the 

 way we have to do usually in employing 

 young people. We can not give them gen- 

 eral outlines and go off and leave them to 

 finish the work as we would an older person. 

 In fact, men wlio can be set at work and left, 

 witli tlie consciousness that they will do 

 tiieir work all right, even in your absence, 

 are not very plentiful ; and when found we 

 usually have to pay pretty well for their 

 services. 



Now, then, before we complain very 

 much of older people who won't do any tliiiig 

 right uidess you are with tliem, let us see if 

 the fault is iiot a littln witli tlie employer. 

 Tlie next time you are trou1)led in this w^ay, 

 ask yourself tlie question if yom- work has 

 l)pen planned and laid out with such system 

 tliat almost anybody could, with a little 

 showing, go ahead and do it right ; that is, 

 can you so direct things to tliose wlio are 

 working for you that your presence is not 

 needed ? or. can you make yourself uselessf 

 When you can. then a great lield opens be- 

 fore vou. 



('hildreu often June to be watched con- 

 stantly. l)ecaase a system of training was 

 not co'iiuneuced in their infancy, and carried 

 out with such thoroughness tliat the ]»art'nt 

 in a little time is c(tinparativ<'ly useless. 

 Some children will go into a store (ir factory, 

 and the parent must not only be constantly 

 by tlie child's sidt". but is almost obliged to 

 liold his hands to kee)) him from destroying 

 property, or from (lesti<\viug liimself. Such 

 a parent has not learned to make himself use- 

 less when necessity demands. Suppose it is 

 your business to make machinery. Who wants 

 to buy a machine of you, if it won't WH)rk 

 uidess you are tliere to" run it or tinker it up 

 every day or every week V If we want to be 

 useless, or capable of being elsewhere, we 

 must do our work so well that it will stand 

 witliout watching and tinkering. We ought 

 to have made oui- extractors so perfect that 

 none of the friends would have to write back 

 to us because they were sprinkled over with 

 honey in the form of dew. The man who 

 writes a book should make it so plain and 

 complete that the reader won't have to write 

 back to him to e.xpla-u something that was 



left too obscure for the average mind to 

 master. The book should be so complete in 

 itself that the writer is useless to the reader. 

 When a missionary goes into heathen lands 

 to establish schools and churches he should 

 aim, if possible, to have the foundation start- 

 ed in such a way that, if he is obliged to go 

 back home, or death takes him away, the 

 good work will go on ; that is, he should not 

 be necessary to the prosperity of the little 

 colony. To do this he must keep self out of 

 sight, and let the spirit of the Master rule 

 and teach. 



A young friend of mine who had recently 

 united with the church, wanted to go out 

 for a little ride on Sunday afternoon, after 

 he had been to church. 1 was consulted 

 somewhat in the matter. Instead of decid- 

 ing such a case for him, I thought it would 

 be better for him to learn to decide for him- 

 self, or. rather, if you choose, that he should 

 inquire of Ids new-found Lord and i\Iaster, 

 rather than of my poor self. In the one case 

 he would have God's wisdom to guide him, 

 and in the other only that of a poor weak 

 and erring specimen of humanity. lie went; 

 but I was rejoiced to have him "tell me the 

 next day that he had not felt satisfied over 

 it, and that he had resolved not to go riding 

 any more Sundays. I had no doubt helped 

 him somewhat in seeking the Savior, but it 

 seemed to me the sooner he could be taught 

 to seek for the promptings of the still small 

 voice, so that, whether I was present or ab- 

 I sent, he would, of Ins oirn acconl, choose the 

 straight and narrow path, the better it would 

 be for him. You see, friends, if a man gets 

 into the habit of tliinking that no one else 

 can do anything riyJd for him, his work must 

 be to a great extent confined to that which 

 lie does with his own hands. But if he 

 makes it his constant study to develop ways 

 and means by which people may be set at 

 work, making himself for a time useless to 

 them, then he can go on starting one indi- 

 vidual after another, until he furnishes em- 

 l)loyment for himdreds or may be thousands. 

 Now% friends, to make a practical applica- 

 tion, we who are heads of families ought to 

 try to make ourselves useless. IIow many 

 times do you see children that won't behave 

 unless father or mother is present! Some- 

 times they obey one and not the other; but 

 children properly brought up should behave 

 themselves whether the parent be present 

 or al)sent ; that is, their training should be 

 such that the parent becomes, for the time 

 l)eing. useless. In business matters we 

 should aim to make ourselves useless in the 

 same way. Your business should be plan- 

 ned and arranged, and your wife should 

 liave a knowledge of your affairs to the ex- 

 tent that she should know what to do if you 

 W'ere absent on a journey, or delirious with 

 typhoid fever. In this matter of attending 

 to correspondence especially, some one in 

 the household should be able to read papa's 

 letters, and give some kind of an answer to 

 them. In fact, his good name and his value 

 to society and community depend upon this. 

 If everybody knows that any thing directed 

 to John Brown will have prompt attention, 

 winter or summer, John Brown's value as a 

 business man and a capable man comes up 



