1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



23 



-working on my side, even if they did not give 

 me a positive promise to do so. 



And, now, dear friends, while I talk through 

 these pages to some of the boys of our estab- 

 lishment, who knows but this same talk may, 

 through God's providence, strike some other 

 "boys, and set them to thinking in a healthy 

 and reasonable way ? Some of thi.- older ones 

 may blame me for appealing to the boys' low- 

 €r feelings, instead of the higher and spiritual 

 that are involved in this matter ; but boj s ( and 

 some Dien) will always listen to any tlung that 

 touches the pocketbook. First, did any of 

 you boys ever know of any one (boy or man 

 either) who got a raise in wages because of the 

 fact that he used tobacco, either chewing or 

 smoking? Well, I have known quite a few 

 who got less wages because of this habit. And 

 then they were out of pocket too, because of 

 the expense of such a habit. I do not mean, 

 mind you, that their employer paid them less 

 because he was cranky on the subject (as you 

 may think I am); but he paid them less be- 

 cause they were zaorih less. Tobacco destroys 

 the nerves ; and nerves and brains are what 

 every employer wants at the present day. 

 Why, my young friend, you would think the 

 proprietor of a saloon who hires a man to sell 

 beer and tobacco ( for the latter always goes 

 with the former) would expect, of course, that 

 his clerk would use beer and tobacco both (to 

 be consistent), would you not? Well, jufctthe 

 other day I was reading an article in one of 

 the periodicals that defends the saloon busi- 

 ness. There are several such journals, and I 

 read them almost every week to see what our 

 friends on the other side of the subject have 

 to say. Well, this journal was recommending 

 a candidate for some public office. They said 

 like this : " Mr. , it is true, is the pro- 

 prietor of a saloon ; but we are able to tell 

 you that he is not only a total abstainer, never 

 drinks a drop of any thing intoxicating, but 

 he does not even use tobacco /;/ atiy shape or 

 manner. He is just as clean a man as any of 

 the temperance fanatics can bring forward." 

 Well, boys, I thought this periodical was rath- 

 er "giving themselves away," as you express 

 it in slang phrase. They are arguing for the 

 beer and tobacco traffic in every issue, and up- 

 holding the business by every means in their 

 power ; and yet when it comes to wanting a 

 good man to fill an imj?ortant office they actu- 

 ally boast because they have got one who does 

 not himself use any of the stuff he sells to 

 other people. Let us now go back to the pock- 

 etbook part of the business. 



If you should lose the place where you now 

 are working, and should desire to go some- 

 where else, yoii would command better wages 

 anywhere in the world (even if you were go- 

 ing to clerk in a saloon), if the recommenda- 

 tion read something like this : "The bearer, 

 John Smith, has no bad habits ; never drinks 

 any thing intoxicating, and does not even use 

 tobacco iu any shape or manner." The whole 

 wide world wants clean boys, and is willing 

 to pay for them. Now look here : I do not 

 mean to say that every boy who does not 

 drink, chew, or smoke, can get good wages ; 

 for I know as well as you do that there are 



lots of temperate boys who are too stupid or 

 too sleepy to be good for very much anywhere; 

 and there are lots of keen, bright, smart boys 

 who use tobacco. The point I make is this ; 

 Other things being equal, the clean boy gets 

 better pay. 



I have written a great many times about 

 work and wages, and have tried to tell the 

 boys how to get better pay. I have many 

 tirties spoken of the very great importance of 

 being loyal to one's employer ; of putting 

 yourself in harmony with his likes and dis- 

 likes ; that is, of course, so far as you can 

 honestly and consistently do so. Suppose you 

 are working for a man who has a great fancy 

 for dogs, while you (like myself) do not like 

 dogs. Well, now, this dog business is a ques- 

 tion where there are many differences of opin- 

 ion. Every man has a right to keep as many 

 dogs as he pleases, or breed high-priced dogs 

 for sale, providing, of course, his dog industry 

 does not trespass on the rights of the public 

 at large. Well, j^ou are working for him, we 

 will say, in some kind of business where you 

 have not very much to do with the dogs. You 

 are anxious io get a raise in wages. You want 

 your employer to have a good opinion of you. 

 You naturally put your best foot forward when 

 he comes around. There is no harm in this ; 

 it is right and proper. Well, will it not be 

 very />ocr policy for you to give way to your 

 own notions, and to kick viciously one of his 

 favorite dogs every time it comes near you? 

 You might explain to him that you do not like 

 dogs, and wanted them to keep out of your 

 way and out of your sight. Well, even though 

 he recognizes it is your privilege to dislike 

 dogs, just the same as it is his privilege to like 

 them, would you not be very foolish to gain 

 his ill will and dislike in the way I have men- 

 tioned ? Why, the whole wide world would 

 say you were a boy of no tad, and that you 

 would never get along in the world until you 

 had learned to adjust yourself to your circum- 

 stances and conditions Let us now make a 

 little practical application of this : 



I am sure there is not a man in my employ 

 who does not know that I have fought the to- 

 bacco habit almost all my life; and I think these 

 same boys know, too, that it is not a selfish 

 motive altogether, but that I really have the 

 best welfare and interests of the boys and 

 girls both whom I have employed for so many 

 years. I do not believe you will think I am 

 boasting when I suggest to you that, during 

 the years you have known me, I have not been 

 doing business to make money ; that is, mak- 

 ing money has not been the first consideration. 

 If I could make money by doing something 

 that would injure the boys, I would not touch 

 it under any consideration. You certainly 

 know this ; and as I believe tobacco is harm- 

 ful to both body and soul, I would not have 

 any thing to do with it, no matter how much 

 money was offered. One of the favorite texts 

 of my life has been, " Seek ye first the king- 

 dom of God, and his righteousness, and all 

 these things shall be added unto you." In 

 working for God's righteousness, the promise 

 has been verified. You know, boys, that I 

 have been blessed in trying to give people 



